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.

110. Chapter 110: War on SOL: Part Seven

Response to Reviews

Thank you to HunterHQ, Guest, Donkeyboy100, Kcufad, 0713MM, Ambiguous, Guest, Guest, Guest, Guest and Guest for reviewing Chapter 109 of Obscured Truth.

Hi, everyone! As we continue to reach the end of 2024, I do hope you're safe and sound wherever you are in the world! Before I go to answering reviews, I just want to give you all a reminder that this chapter is the last one that will be called War on SOL. After that, we'll go back to different chapter titles for chapters moving forward.

Moving that aside, let's answer some reviews:

HunterHQ: Thank you for the well wishes and your understanding. I appreciate it very much. Things on my end has gotten better, and my hope is that things continue to get better as we move to the last few months of 2024. It is possible for Brion and Yusaku to get their memories back by using the memory scanner Yukage used in his duel against Yuhiro back in Chapter 78. For your comment, a majority of the group knows that Zero left them, with only Akira, Aoi, Miyu and Arin being the few that know what truly happened to him. I do see Rank-Down Magic cards being used in the future if enough people request it. That is true, as whereas Brion is a true leader, Urizen's nothing more than a charismatic conqueror. The possibility of Brigadier meeting Blood Shepherd in the real world is slim because the latter was focused on eliminating rogue AIs. Ai is definitely someone who doesn't put his eggs in one basket, as he'd rather have a back up plan or two than risk betting everything on the line in one plan. Yes, Lazarus is the name of the man Jesus Christ raised from the dead in the Bible. As for the reason why Jericho rechristened AI-E as Lazarus, it's to avoid unintentionally spoiling what deck it wields in its possession. Honestly, if I write in a different language, it'd be tricky for people to catch on in what the characters are saying. That doesn't mean I won't do it every now and then, though. Zero was able to get into Akira's server because he had the information needed to do so, and besides, he isn't an Ignis. His time spent in the dark side of the network also helped him in the first place. For your question on the storm cloud, the answer to that question will be shown this chapter. While Pandor can detect her other copy, she can't figure out where it is in the network. Jericho would have made precautions to make sure it wouldn't happen. As for your question on real-world duels, if enough people request it, then perhaps I'll do one or two down the road. Yup, Ai is certainly an imaginative Ignis, as his imagination also helps with his unpredictability. What's more, Ai is the only Ignis that understands humanity the most. I do get what you're saying for Thanos, but for Scarlet Witch, it's a little different. She got what she wanted, but eventually realized her sins and redeemed herself by destroying all copies of the Darkhold throughout the multiverse. The envoys would have ate their food and/or went to the washroom prior to logging into Jericho's server. As for your other comment, the envoys have the common sense not to intrude on someone's privacy. They're not idiots. Roboppy sweated due to the stress he accumulated both from the duels he was in and his near FTK defeat against Aerith. Regarding how Roboppy was able to materialize a weapon in the real world, you can thank Ai for that, as the latter can do the same thing. If Aerith had Abyss Invitation, it would have been an infinite loop, thus leading to a FTK as a result. For the final fail safe, Revolver made sure that it wouldn't affect humans, as well as make a special exception for Pandor since she's working with the Hanoi. Regarding how Jericho forcefully logged Zero into his server, let's just say it had something to do with the storm cloud. I mean, even though SengokuQueen, Stregone and others such as Miles don't play a role in the current arc, they did appear earlier on in Season 3. Though whether or not they'll play a role during this arc right now remains to be seen. Brigadier has a strong hatred towards those with absolute power, especially when you take his story into account, which will be revealed later on in Season 3. Regarding the cargo door's destruction, Ai would have made sure to destroy it just enough to let him and Roboppy inside the plane, but not enough to cause any trouble. If Ai and Roboppy rode on Wind Pegasus and Light Dragon to get to Akira's plane, it would have led the fighter jets to immediately intercept them. Hayami does has a license to shoot and has the training to properly use a gun. All Hayami did in the anime was simply patrol the area, so I at least wanted to give her a proper chance to defend herself. Yup. Aside from Akira, Aoi, Miyu and Hayami, there were only two pilots on the plane. If the pilots tried to deal with Ai and Roboppy, they would have lost within seconds. I can confirm that Arin won't be dueling at all in the story, and he'll be supporting Miyu in her duels. I can also confirm that Revolver didn't share the protection program with anyone else yet. For your question regarding Cryomancer's beliefs and why she believes in Jericho's plan, that won't be revealed until later on due to it being in spoiler territory. I can confirm that the envoys seen Aerith's duel against Roboppy. White Liger AtIgnister and Black Djinn AtIgnister's personalities are based off of Herald and Wraith.

Guest: That's true. Given the weak state Raguel's in, he doesn't have the strength to go rampant right now. Even if he did, it would have been far shorter than back in the previous chapters. I mean, there are obviously other archetypes that are related to Egypt. In the case of Revolver asking Ai to make the right choice, the former was hoping that the latter would retreat back into the network and never return at all. Regarding your question on Roboppy, I can't answer it due to it being in spoiler territory. While Jericho loves to get information, there's only so much dialogue he can take before wanting to see his enemies tear each other apart to shreds. As for your other questions, I can't answer them yet due to them being in spoiler territory.

Donkeyboy100: Glad you liked the chapter. As for your comment on Pandor dueling, I do hope you look forward to it in the coming chapter.

Kcufad: I mean, Malf absorbing Go back in Chapter 79 proved to be his undoing during his duel against Soulburner. This is because Soulburner and Flame appealed to the negative aspects of Go's personality, which Malf obtained upon absorbing him. For your other comment, Azrael would have still done all of those things even if he didn't team up with Lightning. Well, the only differences being using a different person as the base for Malf's creation, looking at a different way to get into SOL Technologies and identifying another way to create a Link Spell. And Azrael has a base of operations elsewhere in the real world. What's more, Azrael isn't a brainless brute, as he has logic to back up his fighting skills. For your comment about Jericho, he's just making comments about duels out loud, which led to him indirectly breaking the fourth wall. Yup. In Chapter 90, Jericho tip toed towards Bohman so he can throw the infected data at him discreetly. Azrael and Lightning aren't best buddies at all. If anything, they're co-workers working together against their common foes. I will confirm that inspiration for Cychaic Janus/Omega Mode, Cychaic Janus and Hi-Speedroid Altair came from Hoopa Unbound, Hoopa and Altair respectively. The skit you made was funny, that's for sure. As for your last question, there have been reviewers that looked at Turboblaze and Teravolt Dragon before immediately deducing that they looked like Reshiram and Zekrom.

0713MM: Glad I was able to surprise you. I mean, aside from the Aerith and Roboppy duel, along with Zero encountering Jericho, not much else happened in the previous chapter due to it mostly consisting of anime events. For the conversation between Jericho and the envoys, it was necessary since they're discussing their common opponents and their decks, as well as specifically who they are as individuals. This way, Jericho and the envoys would be able to catch the heroes off guard later on. What made Ai agree to the conditions Jitney set were two things. First, he doesn't have to kill people to get onto Akira's plane. Second, Ai can go ahead with his mission without any potential interferences whatsoever in the real world. Aerith went first in her duel against Roboppy, and she nearly defeated him on the first turn too. Sadly, it wasn't enough, as Roboppy defeated her in the end. Though if Aerith had a few more cards in her hand, she could have performed a FTK in the duel. Since it's been a long while, I can't blame you for forgetting how the Hanoi got a piece of Malf's algorithm. Back in Chapter 66, when the Hanoi captured Speckles, they retrieved a sample of Malf's algorithm from his avatar. That's how they were able to get a piece of Malf's algorithm in the first place. There can sometimes be situations where there's another solution aside from the ones presented to you, but only if you're willing to find that solution. In the case where Ai was attacked by the virus shield made from Malf's algorithm, he chose to destroy it. While anime events will mostly occur in Chapter 110, do expect a twist to them.

Ambiguous: Of course Ai didn't want to obviously spoil his ultimate ace in the hole. Ai giving Jitney a hint that one of the students at her school is a Lost Incident victim? I can maybe see Ai doing that in the future. I'll also consider whether there will be characters in Obscured Truth that are crippled or not. Regarding your query about Akira, Zero insisted that he keep the Code Key in order to prove how trustworthy of an ally he can be.

Guest: I can confirm that there will be a duel between Raguel and Playmaker later on in the story. Though whether or not it'll occur after Yusaku defeats Ai in their duel remains to be seen.

Guest: Glad you liked the duel.

Guest: I'm already aware that Yu-Gi-Oh! Go Rush was added to Duel Links.

Guest: Well, Cyreath Dolos was primarily created by Herald to counter ANY deck that uses effect damage, which would give Yuhiro an advantage in the duel. So theoretically, if Yuhiro dueled against Miyu, then he'd aim to bring it out as soon as possible.

Guest: A Tag Duel, you say? Well, anything is possible in this story, and I do have one planned at some point either in this season or later on.

Now that all reviews have been answered, let's get to the chapter, shall we? Enjoy!

Chapter 110: War on SOL: Part Seven

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 the quartet 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 Ghostrick Angel of Mischief appeared behind the two of them as well.

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, Electrolyzer and Gil then appear afterwards, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, PSY-Framelord Omega and Abyss Actor – Ballistic Balladeer appearing behind the three 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 – Robin the Crow, along with Persona Soul – Pandora and Persona Force – Teferi the Mishima rose above the group before all three of them let out a loud roar. Standing away from the group were Issachar and Hallucina, with Blue Tooth Burst Dragon and Chimera the Illusion Beast also appearing before both monsters let 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 LINK VRAINS, at Akira's server…

"This is impossible…" Akira muttered, still shocked that Ai and Roboppy of all people were at his server. While Zero was able to do so due to acquiring the plane number, network locations and flight path, it was unclear how Ai and Roboppy were able to do the same thing.

"How'd you and Roboppy get here, Ai?" Blue Maiden questioned.

Ai, having heard this question, put a hand to his face and sighed. "I really wish you guys didn't underestimate me. For you would be surprised at what I can do in response to difficult challenges."

"Ai's the master because he certainly knows how to surprise anyone these days!" Roboppy cheered.

"If you're here, that means you were able to infiltrate my plane at 12,000 meters above sea level and flying 500 miles an hour." Akira noted. "Did you harm the crew on my plane, Ai?"

"Oh, Heaven's no, Zaizen. Not one member was harmed on your plane, nor was anyone on the fighter jets for that matter." Ai assured Akira and Blue Maiden. "I made sure the pilots ejected from the fighter jets before taking them down, and if it helps, I even done damage control so that there weren't any casualties. Long story short, no harm was done to neither human nor machine."

"You see, guys? Ai was being merciful to those people, as he isn't someone who hurts those in the crossfire." Roboppy commented, as Ai snapped his fingers, which showed a digital screen that showed an unconscious Hayami.

"Hayami!" Akira exclaimed.

"Your assistant was very unwelcoming by firing a gun me and Roboppy, so I simply knocked her out after making sure every bullet was accounted for." Ai explained. "She's simply taking a nap right now."

"And what about Aerith, Ai? What did you and Roboppy do to her?" Blue Maiden demanded.

"Aerith's fine, Blue Maiden. She's not knocked out like the others." Roboppy answered. "Master said that if I hurt her too hard, then we'd have a very big problem on our hands." He snapped his fingers, which showed a hologram of Aerith and Arin being trapped in a digital cage.

"Akira. Blue Maiden. I'm so sorry for failing you both." Aerith apologized.

"We did our best, but Roboppy jumped over our defenses with his moves and defeated us with two direct attacks." Arin added.

"You should be proud of Aerith for mastering the 'Trickstar' deck, Blue Maiden. If Aerith summoned a few more 'Trickstar' monsters and used them in conjunction with the other cards in her deck, she would have defeated me in a first turn kill." Roboppy said, which made Blue Maiden nod in agreement. It was true that Aerith mastered the 'Trickstar' deck, and based on what Roboppy said, it looked like she used it better than Blue Maiden did all those months ago. One could say that Aerith surpassed Blue Maiden in using the 'Trickstar' deck as a result.

"That's not helping your credibility as a duelist, Roboppy." Ai commented, which made Roboppy turn to him.

"Hey, it's the truth, master. The effect damage adds up over time!" Roboppy whined back.

"What about Zero, Ai? What did you do to him?" Akira questioned, which got Ai and Roboppy's attention as the duo turned to him.

"Zero? What are you talking about?" Ai inquired back, a confused look evident on his face.

Akira narrowed his eyes. "Don't play dumb with me. You sent a digital data storm to my server so you can try and take me out. If he didn't sacrifice himself to save my life, I would have been incapacitated."

Now this is surprising. I never recalled sending any digital traps or viruses straight to Zaizen's server, Ai thought in his mind. He obviously knew who would do such a despicable thing, especially since that person wasn't above playing dirty. This meant Ai had to play along if he wanted to keep those he cared about safe from him. "Hey, that digital storm I sent was merely a demonstration of my strength. It was a non-lethal one that would have not only forcefully logged someone out of the network, but also prevent them from logging back in if someone was hit by one of the bolts. If anything, Zero was the one incapacitated for the time being, not you."

"So it was you who unleashed the digital storm then." Blue Maiden deduced.

"Maybe. Maybe not. It could have been anyone for that matter." Ai cryptically replied, before turning over to Akira. "Now hand over your half of the Code Key to me, Zaizen. If you do, then I'll free the consciousness data of everyone that fell in battle so far today, as well as spare your life. While I'll keep the Hanoi's consciousness data as a warning to those that stand in my way, Drachen and Demeter will still be freed, as per your agreement with Revolver."

"The master's making a generous offer, Zaizen. I'd take it if I were you." Roboppy commented.

"What exactly do you want with SOL Technologies, Ai? With everything that's happened, I don't understand why you want a company that's caused nothing but pain and loss to others." Akira stated, confused on why Ai wanted control of SOL Technologies in the first place.

"That's my personal business, Zaizen. Not yours." Ai said, as he snapped his fingers to showed digital footage of the plane. From there, Ai tilted his right finger forward, which caused the plane to slightly dip down before realigning itself. "While I could crash your plane if I wanted to, such a thing would only put a stain on my clean record of showing people mercy. After all, I'm not like Lightning and Azrael."

"Are you threatening us?!" Blue Maiden demanded, shocked to see that Ai would do such a thing if it meant him getting Akira's half of the Code Key.

Ai rolled his eyes. "Don't take it so seriously, Blue Maiden. The whole reason I even made that offer in the first place was out of gratitude."

"Gratitude?" Akira repeated, now confused by what Ai meant, only for him to put two and two together.

"Ai's talking about how Blue Maiden and I stopped Raguel several weeks ago." Aerith realized.

"That's correct, Aerith. You and Blue Maiden risked your lives not only to stop Raguel and save his life, but also put a stop to his plans as well. What's more, you saved both the network and most likely the entire world as a result." Ai confirmed Aerith's suspicion. "For that, you and Blue Maiden have my sincerest gratitude."

Blue Maiden frowned. Based on what Ai was saying, it seemed that he owed her and Aerith a debt of gratitude for stopping Raguel's plans in the first place. Blue Maiden also suspected that it wasn't the only reason Ai was grateful, as she risked her life to save Playmaker from captivity following his brutal loss against Raguel several weeks ago. "If you're truly grateful to me and Aerith for what we've done, then you can repay your debt of gratitude by not only releasing everyone's consciousness data right now, but also ceasing your actions as well."

"Unfortunately, Blue Maiden, I can't do that. Though I will admit that a part of me really wants to do so." Ai admited reluctantly. This was true, as he owed Blue Maiden and Aerith a debt of gratitude. However, with the stakes at hand, Ai had no choice but to proceed with his plan. Otherwise, he will get involved and make the situation a lot messier than it already was right now. "Instead, I will make my earlier offer one final time. If Zaizen hands over the Code Key, I'll not only release the consciousness data of everyone that fell in battle so far, I will even spare his life. It's a win-win for all of us, as I get SOL Technologies and you get your friends back."

"Well, this sucks." Arin commented.

"It definitely does right now, Arin." Aerith agreed, saddened that Ai wasn't stopping on the path he was on right now. The worst part was that neither she nor Arin could help Akira and Blue Maiden right now due to being trapped in a digital cage temporarily.

Akira, after hearing Ai's earlier offer once again, shook his head to decline it. "As the Executive Vice President of SOL Technologies, I am responsible for protecting this half of the Code Key, Ai. While I don't know what you plan on doing with SOL Technologies, there's no way I'll ever let you get it! Not on my watch!"

"It looks like Zaizen made up his mind, master. A shame that he didn't accept your offer." Roboppy remarked with a frown, disappointed that Akira didn't accept Ai's offer despite it being offered twice.

Ai also frowned, but chuckled seconds later after hearing Akira's response. While he knew what had to be done, it didn't make things easier, that's for sure. "Looks like you made your choice, huh? Very well. Let's duel for the Code Key, shall we? Whoever wins gets possession of it."

"Then you'll need my help, Zaizen," a voice said, as Pandor emerged out of the top of Blue Maiden's duel disk.

"Pandor? I thought I defeated you in our duel earlier! I even saw you blast off in the sky for crying out loud!" Ai stated.

"I am one of two remaining Pandors still active, and I will also be the first one to defeat you." Pandor told Ai. "The previous duels you and Roboppy partook in will help Zaizen achieve victory."

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Green data suddenly appeared on Akira's duel disk, which indicated that he received all the previous duels Ai and Roboppy partook in. Due to this, Akira would now be able to officially gain a full understanding of how Ai and Roboppy's decks worked, as well as how to counter them.

How joyful. The Pandors linked their data together from the very start. No wonder they had a copy of mine and Roboppy's duel data in the first place, Ai sulked in his mind. Still, just because Pandor observed my duels doesn't mean my loss is guaranteed. I'll show her and Zaizen that firsthand!

"Hey, master. I can take on and destroy this Pandor for you in a duel while you battle against Zaizen if you want." Roboppy offered, which snapped out of Ai's thoughts.

"While I appreciate it very much, Roboppy, it won't be needed." Ai declined Roboppy's offer of assistance, before turning back to look at Akira and Blue Maiden. "Besides, I'll be taking on both Zaizen and Blue Maiden at the same time."

"You sound confident, thinking you can take on the both of us at the same time." Blue Maiden commented.

"There are three reasons why I'm allowing this privilege for you and your brother, Blue Maiden." Ai held up one finger. "One: I want to see the strategies you used to put a stop to Raguel's crazy plans. If you were able to defeat a corrupted Raguel, then I want to see how this was done. Who knows? Perhaps you can show me that mankind still has a chance at ultimately making the world a better place." He held up a second finger. "Two: I can't afford to waste any more time, especially since there's only so much fuel the plane has before it needs to land. So by dueling against you both, it'll be like taking care of two birds using one stone." Ai held up a third finger. "Three: If I'm to further demonstrate my strength and my intentions, I need to make an official statement. By defeating the both of you at once, it'll show everyone not to mess with me."

"We have no other options at this point, Blue Maiden." Akira told Blue Maiden, before he activated his duel disk.

"I'm afraid so, Akira." Blue Maiden sadly agreed, as she activated her duel disk as well.

"Good luck, guys." Aerith quietly said, hopeful that Akira and Blue Maiden will stop Ai in his tracks for good.

The duel began at once, with Ai snapping his fingers as holograms of Playmaker, Soulburner, Revolver, Slipstream, Raguel, Demeter, Percival and Electrolyzer appearing in the area so they can watch it unfold. He also snapped his fingers to allow Kusanagi and Roxy to watch the duel as well.

"Everyone else is here, Akira!" Blue Maiden gasped, shocked that Ai was able to bring the others from the central server to this server as of now. Well, temporarily, as they were holograms.

"What are you doing, Ai? And how were you able to find Zaizen?" Playmaker asked both questions at once.

"For your first question, Playmaker, I linked you and the others in so you guys can watch the duel. While I linked you in, I made sure you can't interfere whatsoever." Ai answered. "As for your second question, while it was difficult for me to find Zaizen, I managed to do so in the end."

"Aerith! You're okay!" Raguel cried out of relief, having seen Aerith and Arin being trapped in a digital cage. "I thought Ai and Roboppy knocked you out like the others."

"Arin and I are okay, Raguel." Aerith assured Raguel. "I just wish I could have done more to stop Roboppy."

"Yeah, sorry for failing you guys." Arin apologized on his and Aerith's behalf.

"It's alright, Aerith. You and Arin did your best." Raguel told Aerith and Arin. "Besides, you can't grow as a duelist if you don't lose a duel every now and then, right?"

Hearing this comment made Aerith sadly smile, pleased to see that no one was blaming her for failing to protect Akira and Blue Maiden. After all, one can only do so much in a duel, and it all came down to whether a duelist was able to outsmart the other or not.

"Master told me not to hurt Aerith and Arin, Raguel." Roboppy said, which got Raguel's attention. "Besides, she suffered enough as it is, so it was wise to give her a much needed break."

Raguel nodded silently after hearing Roboppy's words. He was grateful to Roboppy for sparing Aerith and Arin, as she shouldn't suffer any more than what went down recently for the past while.

"Thanks for coming, everyone! I do hope you enjoy the show!" Ai said, before turning to Akira and Blue Maiden. "And since the both of you are the home team, one of you can go first."

Blue Maiden immediately volunteered to go first, where she started by bringing out Marincess Blue Tang to send a 'Marincess' monster from her deck to her Graveyard, which was Sea Horse in this case. After bringing out Blue Slug, she added Sea Horse and used Blue Tang's effect to add one of three excavated 'Marincess' cards from the top of her deck. From there, Blue Maiden summoned Sea Horse before using the two of them to Link Summon Coral Anemone, where she not only brought Blue Slug back, but also used the two of them to Link Summon Marbled Rock. Once this was done, Blue Maiden used Marbled Rock's effect to add Blue Tang right back to her hand before Setting two cards.

When Marbled Rock demanded why Ai was hurting the same people he worked with a long time ago, Ai simply responded by saying that he no longer had a choice in the matter. Since SOL Technologies' actions and the war in Mirror LINK VRAINS together caused the deaths of almost all the Ignis, he was forced to take responsibility for the Ignis' future in ways no one could comprehend yet. Ai then praised the way Blue Maiden was able to use the 'Marincess' deck, and even said that Aqua would be proud of her for doing so. However, it didn't change the fact that she was dead due to Blue Maiden's failure to keep her safe.

Ai, after saying those words, started his turn by using his starter combo, which consisted of Pikari AtIgnister and Ignister AiLand before bringing out a total of three monsters to his field. Those monsters were Linguriboh, Achichi and Hiyari, which were then used to Link Summon Dark Templar. Everyone was surprised to hear Dark Templar speak, and when Playmaker figured out that Ai gave them sentience to make sure he didn't forget about the other Ignis, Ai immediately confirmed it. He even added that Dark Templar was among many who had sentience in the first place. This led Playmaker to realize that the 'AtIgnister' deck wasn't just Ai's deck. Rather, it was also like Ai's family.

Following that brief discussion, Ai immediately used Ignister AiLand's effect once again to bring out Doyon, which allowed Ai to use Dark Templar's effect in Special Summoning both Achichi and Pikari right back to his field. Once this was done, Ai used Doyon, Achichi and Pikari to Link Summon Fire Phoenix, who let out a loud battle cry upon entering the field. In a way, both Dark Templar and Fire Phoenix had traits from the Ignis themselves, which signified how the fallen Ignis were with Ai in spirit.

"Fire Phoenix has appeared, Blue Maiden and Zaizen. Be careful with his effects." Pandor advised caution to Blue Maiden and Akira, who nodded in agreement.

"You're claiming to know all my strategies, Pandor? In that case, I believe it's time I tried something new." Ai responded. "For those of you who aren't aware, I'm allowed to activate a rather special card since a Link monster I control is pointing to a Spell and Trap card zone. Long story short, I'm allowed to activate a Link Spell."

"What?!" Playmaker, Soulburner, Revolver, Slipstream, Raguel, Demeter and Percival exclaimed at the same time. Electrolyzer tensed up, knowing that whatever Ai was about to bring out was not good at all.

"Ai's using a Link Spell?!" Soulburner said in shock.

"Can it be?!" Playmaker added.

"I got a very bad feeling about this…" Slipstream stated, all three of them knowing what card Ai was about to activate next.

"The three arrows that judge everything! Come forth and be the eternal bane of my enemies!" Ai chanted. "I activate the Link Spell card, Judgment Arrows!" Within seconds, a galaxy-like style portal appeared before disgorging bright lightning that landed in the Spell & Trap card zone Fire Phoenix pointed to, where it revealed itself as none other than Judgment Arrows.

Judgment Arrows ↖️⬆️↗️

"Ai used…" Kusanagi began speaking from the comms.

"…Judgment Arrows." Roxy finished from the comms, who was just as shocked as Kusanagi was.

"The same card that symbolizes the battle between the Ignis." Playmaker said. "Ai, are you carrying on Lightning's wishes?!"

"If there's one card that makes a person cross the line, it's Judgment Arrows." Soulburner stated. "Ai, do you know what it means to use that?! Are you seriously not coming back to us?!"

"Come on, Ai. You of all people should know that Judgment Arrows causes nothing but pain! Did you forget who created it in the first place?!" Slipstream exclaimed.

"Ai, listen to us. All of us know you're in pain, but you're using that card as an excuse to inflict pain onto others." Raguel pointed out.

"That's quite rich coming from you of all people, Raguel." Ai responded. "Didn't you use that card in your all or nothing duel against Blue Maiden a few weeks ago? You know, when you were infected by the Shadow and snapped after falling too deep into despair?"

Raguel wasn't the only one who gasped in shock, as everyone else gasped at the same time. "How do you know about that, Ai?"

"Roboppy and I were there, you know. The both of us saw how Blue Maiden was fighting valiantly to stop your plans and save your life, along with Aerith joining in on the fight to help her out, of course. It's not the only duel Roboppy and I saw, as we also saw your brutal duel against Playmaker and how you hurt him."

"What are you going on about, Dark Ignis? Raguel isn't someone who would hurt people for his own gain." Electrolyzer vouched for Raguel, having seen him as an honorable person in the network.

Ai laughed. "Is that what you think, your Highness? Allow me to share with you some duel footage countering that statement." He pressed a few buttons on his duel disk, where duel footage of Raguel and Playmaker's began to play, as well as the brutal hands-on clash and the words said between both duelists. Except for Ai and Roboppy, everyone else's eyes widened in shock as Raguel and Playmaker countered each other's moves while fighting in combat.

So that's what I missed while the Cursed Boundary Layer wounded me, Soulburner thought in his mind, as he and the others saw Playmaker fight back against Raguel despite being restrained by the Cursed Boundary Layer. Soulburner's eyes also widened as he and the others saw Playmaker bring out his strongest monster in Firewall Dragon Darkfluid… only for him to lose thanks to the card that was in Raguel's Graveyard.

But it wasn't the true finish, as Playmaker gave it his all to defeat Raguel in a pure brawl so he can try and keep the others safe from the latter. Unfortunately, it was all for naught despite Playmaker's best efforts, as Raguel brought Excalibur Morgan high into air before black, red and purple particles merged into the blade that turned it into a dark pillar of light. And with a loud shout, Raguel brought that same dark pillar of light down onto Playmaker, which caused a very large explosion that not only destroyed a portion of the server, but also sent Playmaker flying into the air before rolling onto the ground seconds later, much to everyone else's shock upon looking at the footage.

Oh my dear God. How could I have done all of those horrific things?! How could I have fallen so low in the first place?! All of my past actions… have caused nothing but more pain and suffering for me, Raguel lamented in his mind, disgusted with himself for not getting help sooner. It wasn't just that, as all the consequences from his actions were still biting him back as a result.

"Your plan to draw me out by capturing Playmaker worked in the end, Raguel. I do hope you liked the end result!" Ai taunted Raguel before laughing loudly.

"Ai… How could you do such a thing?" Kusanagi muttered through the comms.

"That was a low blow, Ai, and you of all people should know that fact." Roxy furiously added through the comms, now disgusted for not only reminding everyone what happened a week or two ago, but for also making Raguel suffer even more as well.

"That was harsh, master." Roboppy voiced his opinion.

"But it was necessary, Roboppy, as some of the people watching this duel needed to know the truth about Raguel." Ai countered, before turning to Raguel. "There might come a day where I'll be able to forgive you for your sins, Raguel, as only time can tell. I mean, I do see you're taking responsibility for your actions, which is definitely a start. If you can change, then others can too!"

Those shadowy, ribbon-like tentacles in Raguel's duel against Playmaker are the same ones I saw in the real world, Electrolyzer thought in his mind. If this is the case, that means Raguel's the one who committed all those murders in the real world! Not just that, but for attacking me and the FBI troops back in Central Japan as well! "How could you do such a despicable act in murdering so many people, Raguel?!"

"Electrolyzer, please listen to us, as there's information you need to know." Slipstream stated.

"Yeah, your Highness. At least hear us out." Aerith added.

"I respected you as an honorable person, Raguel! Yet you tainted that honor with the blood of so many people on your hands!" Electrolyzer scolded Raguel, disgusted with him. "I never thought you of all people would be capable of murder."

"Neither could I," was all Raguel could say back, ashamed with the monster he became and the actions he committed because of his refusal to seek help in time. If he had, then perhaps this whole mess would never have occurred.

If Electrolyzer was being honest, he was infuriated with what Raguel did, especially since he saw the latter as an honorable person. Yet the fact that Raguel sunk so low in murdering tons of people recently proved otherwise. The worst part was that Playmaker and the others knew the truth, yet didn't bother telling Electrolyzer in the first place. In a way, it reminded him of when SOL Technologies covered up its activities on the Black Market and refused to take responsibility for them.

However, based on what Electrolyzer saw through the footage, he knew that the situation going on right now was more volatile than back then. If anything, the reason why Playmaker and the others didn't tell him the truth back then was because it could have done more harm than good. Perhaps the price in telling the truth was so high that neither Playmaker nor anyone else didn't want to take the risk. A risk that would have made Japan, and the entire world by extension suffer forever had the truth been revealed. Long story short, Electrolyzer didn't know what to do, as he didn't want to repeat his actions back then and risk causing long-term harm unintentionally to other individuals. Not after how Electrolyzer's good intentions in reporting the AI chip nearly made SOL Technologies suffer. Yet justice still needed to be served one way or another. Thus, he made a note to speak to Greg on this matter, as perhaps the FBI commissioner can provide some guidance on how to proceed with a delicate and volatile situation such as this one.

"I'd really recommend learning the whole story from Playmaker and the others, your Highness, as actions can cause irreparable and long-term consequences if you not only don't know the whole story, but also act impulsively as well." Ai urged strong caution to Electrolyzer before turning back to Akira and Blue Maiden. "Anyhow, let's get back to the duel, shall we?"

Ai immediately had Fire Phoenix attack Marbled Rock, only for Blue Maiden to successfully stop the attack by using Marbled Rock's effect, and even activated Marincess Wave to make sure Ai couldn't use Fire Phoenix's effect in inflicting effect damage as well. While Ai was impressed with Blue Maiden's counter, he responded by activating the Quick-Play Spell card, TAimed Technique to not only banish the remaining cards in Blue Maiden's hand, but also move Dark Templar to one of the Main Monster Zones he pointed to. After moving Dark Templar to one of the Main Monster Zones Judgment Arrows pointed to, Ai had his monster attack Marbled Rock, which successfully destroyed her and made Blue Maiden and Akira lose life points.

Following the end of Ai's turn, Blue Maiden tried to empathize with Ai, saying that she knows what he's going through right now due to the former failing to protect Aqua. However, Ai furiously chided Blue Maiden for trying to compare her sadness to his own, and even adds that Pandor is in the same duel disk Aqua once inhabited. Though Ai did say that he didn't blame Blue Maiden for failing to keep Aqua safe, as she did her best in the end.

"Time sadly continues to move forward in life, Ai, so I'm here instead of Aqua." Pandor stated.

"I know that already, Pandor!" Ai snapped back. "But for me, time has stopped moving the moment the other seven Ignis died. Until the other Ignis have been avenged, I can't move forward!"

"Ai…" Playmaker muttered, knowing what it was like to be stuck in time following the Lost Incident.

"You're right, Ai. SOL Technologies both created and destroyed the Ignis." Akira admitted, before bowing to Ai, much to everyone else's surprise. "As SOL Technologies' Executive Vice President, I want to apologize on behalf of the entire company for the pain you're going through right now. In addition, I also want to personally apologize for not helping the Ignis sooner, as Earth could have been saved if I intervened earlier."

Ai frowned after listening to Akira's apology both from the latter and on behalf of SOL Technologies itself. "Well, at least you've taken responsibility for your failures and for SOL Technologies' actions on the Ignis, Zaizen. In fact, admission is the first step towards making things right. The fact that Raguel accepted his sentence for his sins and is striving to make amends for them to this day is a fitting example."

"You were sentenced for your sins, Raguel?" Revolver asked, which got Electrolyzer's attention, now wanting to know more on what Ai meant just now.

"I was sentenced several days ago by everyone else present for my crimes, Revolver." Raguel confirmed. "Given how you and the other Knights of Hanoi were so hellbent on murdering me, you guys didn't get a say in it."

"And what exactly is your sentence, Raguel? Given how you murdered so many people, you should be put in maximum lockdown." Electrolyzer stated, which made Raguel turn to the former in response, having had enough with this conversation.

"Let me tell you something, your Highness! I actually planned on surrendering to the authorities for my crimes, but Aerith, Playmaker and everyone else stopped me from doing so because it would have caused way more harm than good!" Raguel grit his teeth, now angry, sad and disgusted with himself for the horrific actions he committed several weeks ago. Not just that, but for letting himself fall into despair in the first place. "I was sentenced to not only protect the network for the rest of my life, but to also never forget the pain and sadness my actions caused, as well as take responsibility for everyone I killed! Long story short, I need to make sure that what happened back then never happens again, and locking me up will not do any good! For if everyone found out that the Shadow infected a human being, the whole world would suffer and never recover! If you're ready to risk the safety of yourself, Japan and the whole world, then go ahead and arrest me when this is all over! I just hope that you're prepared to deal with the fallout afterwards."

Electrolyzer gasped as he was taken aback, shocked to hear the sentence Raguel had no choice but to accept for his sins, lest the whole world pay the price. "Is Raguel telling the truth here?"

"He is, your Highness." Aerith answered, her eyes having glowed temporarily with a light-blue color as she analyzed Raguel's answer. They dimmed down afterwards since Aerith had done her task.

"The situation was a very delicate one at the time, your Highness." Slipstream added in support of Aerith's answer. "If too many people found out, then things would have even been more disastrous for us and the entire world in the long-term."

Electrolyzer looked down at the ground, ashamed of himself for even entertaining the idea of putting a bounty of Raguel's head. The fact that Raguel was sentenced to never forget what he did while everyone else gets to move on from the pain was truly a fate worse than death in the end. While he wanted to arrest Raguel for his actions, he ultimately could not, as it would cause even more long-term harm for Japan and everyone in the whole world. But given how Raguel was sentenced, Electrolyzer suspected that Greg played a role in collaborating with Playmaker and the others prior to reaching a final decision. He reminded himself in his mind to speak with Greg on this matter, as well as get his advice on what to do here.

"Please listen to me, Ai. As the Executive Vice President of SOL Technologies, my duty is to protect its thousands of employees and their families." Akira continued speaking. "That's why I can't give you my half of the Code Key! Please back off before it's too late, Ai!"

Ai angrily chuckled. "If you have something to protect, Zaizen, then you have to fight for it! As much as I do appreciate the apology, the only way we can settle things is through a duel! Let me see the strength you and Blue Maiden wield together, and prove to me that mankind still has a chance at making this world a better place!"

Akira sighed. "Very well, Ai. I'll stop you for those I protect! My turn! I draw!"

Meanwhile, at another server in the network…

Zero slowly got up on his feet, having angrily narrowed his eyes at Jericho upon seeing him enter into the server. Of all the things that happened so far today, this was the last thing he wanted to deal with right now. Since Jericho had decided to enter into the fray, the situation was more dangerous than ever, especially given what he was capable of both as a duelist and as an individual. To make things worse, Jericho may have very likely recruited Urizen's envoys after figuring out that Earth was the planet containing the Root of All Knowledge. The same one that fought back against Urizen a long time ago.

"I had a feeling you'd show yourself eventually, Jericho." Zero growled. "Just like what happened in Mirror LINK VRAINS, you wouldn't hesitate to jump into a situation like this one so you can take advantage of it for yourself. At the rate things are going on, I highly doubt it's a coincidence by this point."

"You know me too well, old man." Jericho responded with a chuckle. "Besides, don't you want the chance to settle things between us? I used a rather special gadget to make sure you can't warn the others about me. I trust that you know what it is, right?"

Zero narrowed his eyes. He obviously knew what Jericho was talking about, as he, Kairi and those they collaborated with dealt with this particular gadget a while back. It was a type of gadget that wouldn't allow someone to escape unless they defeated the person who activated the gadget in a duel.

"For situations like this one, the ISO Gale Crystal is definitely effective, as it won't allow you to rendezvous with your new allies." Jericho smirked, having identified the gadget he used by its name. "I mean, they already have enough on their plates as it is, don't you think?"

"So you were the one who unleashed that data storm back in Zaizen's server." Pandor deduced, which got Jericho's attention as he turned to her.

"I was merely using another of the ISO Gale Crystal's many functions to aid in completing my mission, AI. There's nothing wrong with that." Jericho simply said back, before turning to Zero. "I knew you'd be working with Zaizen, Zero, which was why I sent that little data storm in the first place. Your mission in protecting Zaizen would have motivated you to sacrifice yourself to ensure he remains unharmed, and thanks to that mission, you're now trapped here with nowhere else to go."

"Since your plan in using the Cursed Boundary Layer failed, any other plans you've launched will also fail too." Zero defiantly told Jericho, which made the latter snicker back in response.

"Has your age made you foolish, Zero? Just because one of my plans has failed doesn't mean I'm not one to give up." Jericho replied, his eyes having briefly glowed with a purple color before dimming down. "Besides, my failed plan gave me some rewards, such as capturing Watchman."

Zero turned to Pandor, wanting to make sure that everything the both of them heard would be passed onto Playmaker and the others. "You getting all of this?"

Pandor did nothing but nod back, knowing that with Jericho's appearance, Playmaker and the others would need all the information they can get if they were to stop him.

"While that's one example, the other two rewards I've got recently are way more satisfying than capturing that foolish old man, Zero. Like Albinor Inc. back in my command, as well as making a certain Ignis grovel for mercy."

"What?!" both Zero and Pandor exclaimed at the same time.

"Are you responsible for why Ai declared war on the people he once cared about?!" Zero demanded.

Jericho simply laughed after Zero's question. "That answer's…" He dashed forward so quickly that Zero couldn't react, where the latter got hit in the stomach by a knee strike. "… in spoiler territory!" Jericho grabbed Zero's head and slammed him to the wall, the latter having grunted in pure pain upon impact. "I got to him first, and let's just say that certain Ignis and his little friend have little choice in the matter. Unless they want their loved ones in the real world to die, of course!"

"Not on my watch!" Zero let out a loud shout, as green energy surrounded his body, which pushed Jericho back to the other side of the server. He pressed a button on his duel disk in order to eject Pandor out of it. Once that was done, green energy emerged from Zero's hand before firing it at one of the digital black panels, where a green portal appeared seconds later. "Get out of here and warn the others, Pandor! I'll handle Jericho and his AI!"

"Right!" Pandor said, as she ran towards the portal, intent on rendezvousing with Akira so she can inform him and the others about what she learned just now.

"Sorry, but I'm not letting you leave when the fun's just getting started!" Jericho taunted, as he gestured to Lazarus, whose right hand flipped down before a gun very quickly emerged out of it. Within a single second, Lazarus fired a round of bullets at Pandor, who fell down at the ground screaming in pure pain upon impact.

"What… What did you do?" Pandor let out another loud scream of pain as golden light traveled across her skin from the bullet holes.

"Zero has quite the history of breaking duel anchors, little AI, which was why I molded data anchor technology into something that'd be harder to break. In this case, bullets." Jericho answered Pandor's question. "You could run, but Lazarus will hunt you down, and neither you nor Zero want things to get worse for your buddies, right?"

Great. Just great. I won't be able to warn Zaizen of what Zero and I saw just now, Pandor cursed in her mind, as she slowly got up on her feet. But if I hurry and defeat this AI, then I should be able to warn Zaizen of what Zero and I learned about.

"Lazarus, do me a favor and make sure this AI is defeated. But don't destroy her, as I want her intact for my experiments."

"Yes, master Jericho." Lazarus complied, as its gun went back into its arm before its hand was reattached to its arm. Once that was done, it walked over towards Pandor, intent on getting the task done. After Pandor steadied herself, she gestured Lazarus to follow after her, which it did as the both of them got ready to throw down.

Jericho turned back to Zero, having stopped his attempt at helping Pandor escape out of the server. "Now that your friend's escape attempt has failed, you and I can get back to business."

"Why would you pick a fight with the heroes of LINK VRAINS in the first place, Jericho? If you continue to do so, then you'll suffer more losses." Zero told Jericho.

"Even if one plan fails, there's always another to fall back upon, especially now that I got Albinor Inc. back." Jericho pointed out, before narrowing his eyes. "Thanks to SOL Technologies, Albinor Inc. not only became forgotten, but was also forced to take the blame for its actions as well. It's only fitting for Albinor Inc. to get revenge on SOL Technologies, especially given how the latter suffered multiple failures for the past while."

"I know exactly what you're talking about regarding SOL Technologies' failures, Jericho. Specifically, how it failed in handling catastrophic situations such as the Tower of Hanoi, the Turf Wars and the conjoined attacks in the network and in the real world. You don't have to inform me, as Raguel told me this information a while back." Zero frowned. What Raguel told me back then was true, as I looked into it a long time ago, Zero thought in his mind. Besides, I would have known if he was lying.

Jericho blinked, unable to reply for a moment as he quickly gathered his thoughts in order. "Well, I for one am glad you're in the loop regarding recent events. Did Raguel also tell you that SOL Technologies used Go as a pawn and murdered the Earth Ignis? It just goes to show how humans always cast one another aside once their usefulness has run out."

"You're one to talk, Jericho. You used Raguel, who was going through so much pain at the time, as a pawn to not only launch the Cursed Boundary Layer and slowly weaken the planet, but also try to kidnap the Construct in Numera, nearly wipe out LINK VRAINS' heroes and try to capture Ai in the first place." Zero stated, angry with Jericho for saying such a thing. It wasn't just that, as Zero was also angry with SOL Technologies for murdering Earth in the first place. "Had Raguel succeeded, you would have had a god to deal with. How would you have dealt with such a scenario if it occurred?"

"Even if Raguel got full control of the Cursed Boundary Layer at the time, he wouldn't have had a chance against me because the Cursed Boundary Layer doesn't affect ISOs such as myself." Jericho countered, as he crossed his arms. "It's Raguel's own fault for being so weak and easy to manipulate in the first place. Like I told you earlier, I still got some rewards despite my plan failing in the end. For as per the saying goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure."

Zero simply narrowed his eyes after hearing Jericho's response. What exactly did Jericho mean by that last sentence? Was there something Zero wasn't aware of up until this point? Did Jericho have the time to somehow obtain wreckage from the battles Raguel was involved in that can be used later on? He shook those questions out of his mind, as there was a more urgent matter to take care of right now. "Humans are stronger than you think, Jericho. They overcame the Cursed Boundary Layer, and they will overcome you and your plans. I will also help Playmaker and the others defeat you for good no matter what!" He activated his duel disk.

"Foolish old man! This planet, just like all the other planets, has no chance against Urizen and the ISOs!" Jericho activated his duel disk in response. "Let's settle things between us for good this time!"

"It's time to duel!" Zero and Jericho said at the same time.

Jericho: 4000 LP

Zero: 4000 LP

"Since I went first in our last bout, I'll allow you to go first." Jericho stated.

"In that case, I'll take your offer, especially since I can't afford to waste time here." Zero replied. "My turn! I activate the Spell card, Growth of Providence. This card lets me Special Summon one Light Cyberse monster from my deck to my field. Come from my deck, Femtron." A card popped out of Zero's deck, which he took and played. Soon, a green-colored thin plant with a branch as its tail, along with a pair of bladed wings appeared on Zero's field. Its eyes were integrated together as a visor, which dimly glowed. On its head were four green spikes that jutted backwards, each one having a green gem at the end of them. A green gem was also on top of its head as well.

Femtron ATK: 1400 DEF: 100 LV: 4

"Next, I summon Yoctron from my hand to my field." A small, green-colored plant that had a large leaf sprouting from its head appeared on Zero's field. It had two pink gems, one being on its body while the other was on the stem connecting its head to the leaf.

Yoctron ATK: 100 DEF: 100 LV: 1

"Appear, the circuit of providence!" Zero declared, as a Link Portal appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are two Light Cyberse monsters. I'll set Femtron and Yoctron into the Link Markers!" Femtron went into the bottom-left arrowhead, while Yoctron went into the bottom-right arrowhead, turning both of them red.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! Guarductor Provitron!" A green, anthropomorphic plant warrior that wore golden armor with light-blue lines on its body appeared on Zero's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. Attached to its back was a green cape that flowed upwards for a minute before floating down. Its mask and shoulder pauldrons also resembled dragon heads. In its right hand, it carried a spear with multi-colored leaves near the blade.

Guarductor Provitron ATK: 1000 LINK-2 ↙️↘️

While Zero's Link 2 monster doesn't have much attack points, it must have an effect that'll advance his strategies, Jericho figured out in his mind. I have to be careful, especially if I'm to prevent him from helping Playmaker and the others any longer than he already has right now.

"The effects of Femtron, Yoctron and Guarductor Provitron activate in sequence." Zero began speaking. "First, when Femtron is used as Link material for the Link Summon of a Light Cyberse Link monster, I can shuffle it into my deck to add one card from my deck to my hand. I'll add Provident Reversal from my deck to my hand." A card popped out of Zero's deck, which he took and added to his hand.

"Second, when Yoctron is used as Link material for the Link Summon of a Light Cyberse Link monster, I can Special Summon a 'Yoctron' Token to my field." A digital version of Yoctron appeared on Zero's field.

Yoctron Token ATK: 100 DEF: 100 LV: 1

"Third, when Guarductor Provitron is Link Summoned, I can target one Light Cyberse monster in my deck or Graveyard and Special Summon it to my field in a Main Monster Zone it points to." Zero added. "I target Attron in my deck, and Special Summon it from my deck to my field!" A card popped out of Zero's deck, which he took and played. Soon, a green-colored plant with a green blade as its tail, along with a pair of bladed wings appeared on Zero's field in one of the two Main Monster Zones Guarductor Provitron pointed to. Its eyes were integrated together as a visor, which dimly glowed. Growing from the back of its head were a set of three leaves, each one having an orange gem on them. An orange gem was also on top of its head as well.

Attron ATK: 1000 DEF: 100 LV: 3

"Appear, for a second time! The circuit of providence!" A second Link Portal appeared above Zero. "The summoning conditions are two or more Light Cyberse monsters. I'll set the Link 2 Guarductor Provitron and Attron into the Link Markers!" Guarductor Provitron went into the top and bottom-left arrowheads, while Attron went into the bottom-right arrowhead, turning all three of them red.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 3! Amphisbaethode Cathodron!" A green, plant-like winged serpent with two large wings that resembled sharp leaves, as well as two feet appeared on Zero's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. It had two heads, with one head located at the top of its body while the other head was located at the end of its tail. On each of its heads was a total of four, branch-like curved horns.

Amphisbaethode Cathodron ATK: 2500 LINK-3 ↙️⬆️↘️

"The effects of Attron, Guarductor Provitron and Amphisbaethode Cathodron activate in sequence." Zero told Jericho. "First, since when Attron is used as Link material for the Link Summon of a Light Cyberse Link monster, I can shuffle it into my deck to draw a card from the top of my deck." A card popped out of Zero's Graveyard, which he took and shuffled into his deck before drawing the top card of his deck.

"Second, when Guarductor Provitron is used as Link material for the Link Summon of a Light Cyberse monster, I can target that monster and have it become unaffected by your card effects until the end of my next turn. I target Amphisbaethode Cathodron!" A green aura surrounded Amphisbaethode Cathodron, having temporarily protected it for the time being.

"Third, when Amphisbaethode Cathodron is Link Summoned using a Light Cyberse Link monster, I can target that monster in my Graveyard and inflict damage to you equal to its attack points." Zero continued.

"Looks like you're not wasting any time trying to defeat me." Jericho stated the obvious.

"If I'm to assist Zaizen and warn him of the threat you pose, then I need to defeat you as soon as possible." Zero replied. "I target Guarductor Provitron, which has 1000 attack points. That means you take 1000 points of damage! Spore Detonator!" Yellow energy charged up in each of Amphisbaethode Cathodron's mouths before firing two blasts of them at Jericho, who was pushed back a few feet as his life points dropped.

Jericho: 4000 – 1000 = 3000 LP

"I also activate the Spell card, Arts of Providence!" The card showed two quantum holes opening from the Emblem of Providence, where Attolashoot Hydron and Seedcoltron Brusselun emerged from each one. "This card lets me target two Light Cyberse monsters in my deck and Special Summon them to my field. Come to me from my deck, Seedcoltron Brusselun and Zeptron!" Two cards popped out of Zero's deck, which he immediately played as two new monsters appeared on his field.

The first was a serpentine, plant-like dragon with two, large green leaves for wings that had yellow lines on them. At the middle of its body was a brown bulb, along with a violet-colored flower that was at the end of its neck. It also had golden spikes on its head, as well as antennae on the sides of its head. Around its body were a total of seven, golden rings that briefly glowed before dimming down.

The second was a green-colored plant with a branch as its tail, along with two leaves sprouting from its head. It had two orange gems, one on its body, and one on the stem connecting its head to the leaves.

Seedcoltron Brusselun ATK: 2400 DEF: 1600 LV: 7

Zeptron ATK: 500 DEF: 100 LV: 2

"Then, immediately after this effect resolves, I can Link Summon one Light Cyberse Link monster by using Light Cyberse monsters on my field." Zero said.

"What?! I didn't see this coming!" Jericho exclaimed.

"Appear, for a third time! The circuit of providence!" A third Link Portal appeared above Zero. "The summoning conditions are two or more Light Cyberse monsters. I'll set the Yoctron token, Seedcoltron Brusselun and Zeptron into the Link Markers!" The Yoctron token went into the left arrowhead while Seedcoltron Brusselun went into the bottom arrowhead and Zeptron went into the right arrowhead, turning all three of them red.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 3!Chimerator Gradientron!" A green, plant-like chimera with draconic wings, along with vines on its armor across its body appeared on Zero's field in one of the Main Monster Zones Amphisbaethode Cathodron pointed to. On its back were pieces of spikes that jutted outwards, each one dripping with venom. Each of the three heads had long mouths that had numerous pieces of sharp teeth, along with pieces of fangs on their sides. However, there were a few differences between the three heads. The left head had red and white-skin, its teeth being curved-like while a lid was in its upper mouth. The right head had light-green skin, red glands with tips that curved outwards and small glands in its mouth. As for the middle head, it had sand-yellow skin, along with root-like horns resembling that of a bull. Last but not least, its tail had spider web-like patterns on its translucent skin, along with a suction-like mouth in the form of two sharp leaves.

Chimerator Gradientron ATK: 2500 LINK-3 ⬅️⬇️➡️

"The effects of Seedcoltron Brusselun and Zeptron activate in sequence." Zero stated. "First, when Seedcoltron Brusselun is used as Link Material for the Link Summon of a Light Cyberse monster, I can target one Light Cyberse monster in my Graveyard with a different name and gain life points equal to its attack or defense points, whichever is higher. I target Guarductor Provitron in my Graveyard, which has 1000 attack points. That means I gain 1000 life points!" Zero was surrounded in a green aura, which increased his life points.

Zero: 4000 + 1000 = 5000 LP

"Second, when Zeptron is used as Link Material for the Link Summon of a Light Cyberse monster, I can shuffle this card back into my deck before drawing two cards from the top of my deck. In exchange, I must shuffle two cards from my hand back into my deck afterwards. I'll shuffleParticle Acceleration and The Menacing Eyes of the Sky Emperor back into my deck." Zero drew the top two cards of his deck before taking the two declared cards in his hand and shuffling them back into his deck.

"I Set two cards face-down and end my turn." Zero concluded. My field is solidified as of now for whatever Jericho plans to throw at me, Zero thought in his mind. With Provident Reversal's effect, I'll not only negate one of Jericho's cards and banish it, but also protect my Cyberse monsters from his effects for the rest of this turn. I also have Chimerator Gradientron and Amphisbaethode Cathodron's effects to fall back under in the event Jericho makes a comeback. Lastly, my other face-down card will catch him off guard when he least expects it. If I play my cards right, I'll be able to defeat Jericho and escape this trap, which is something I intend on doing!

"My turn! I draw!" Jericho said, as he drew the top card of his deck. "A strong start, Zero, but I've faced worse. Allow me to show you what I mean! I activate the Continuous-Spell card, Contract with the Personas!" The card showed Persona Civilian – Sumire Yoshizawa letting out a scream of pain as she tried to rip her mask off, a ghostly humanoid made up of purple smoke slowly emerging from behind the former to try and make a contract with her. "I can activate this card by paying 2000 of your life points! What's more, if you control a monster that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck the turn I activate Contract with the Personas, its effects and their activations cannot be negated while you control one on your field!"

"What?!" Zero exclaimed, shocked to hear such a thing. While he could activate his face-down cards, it wouldn't do anything to negate Contract with the Personas' effects and their activations.

"So long story short, it looks like you're about to lose a lot of life points!" A ghostly humanoid made up of purple smoke emerged out of Contract with the Personas, which headed straight towards Zero and made him scream upon impact, his life points having also dropped as well.

Zero: 5000 – 2000 = 3000 LP

"Before you can activate any of your cards' effects, I think it's time I activate Contract with the Personas' second effect. Once per turn, when I Link Summon a Cyberse Link monster, I can use monsters from my hand. What's more, if I Link Summon a Cyberse Link monster by this effect, it's unaffected by your card effects as well for the rest of this turn."

"I see. So Contract of the Personas is meant to start up your strategies and protect them at the same time." Zero deduced. And since I control a monster that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, I can't negate Contract with the Personas' effect and activation, Zero thought in his mind.

"That's right." Jericho simply confirmed. "Appear, the circuit of hidden truths and deceit!" A Link Portal appeared above Jericho. "The summoning conditions are one Cyberse monster. I'll set Persona Civilian – Ren Amamiya from my hand into the Link Markers!" A tall, young man who had wavy black hair and grey eyes appeared on Jericho's 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. After appearing on Jericho's field, Ren went into the bottom arrowhead, turning it red.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Persona Soul – Arsene!" A male humanoid who wore a very tall top hat on his head and had a long-horned mask for his face appeared on Jericho's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. His attire consisted of a cropped, red eighteenth century-esque suit that was worn open with the collar popped and a white ruffle tie, red coverings on his legs resembling pants and boots with blade-like heels. On his shoulders were heart designs that were stitched on each side. Sprouting from his back were large, black feathery wings.

Persona Soul – Arsene ATK: 500 LINK-1 ⬇️

"When Arsene is Link Summoned, I can target one Cyberse monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it to my field." Jericho explained. "I target Ren, and Special Summon him back to my field." At Jericho's command, Ren reappeared on his field.

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

"I also activate Ren's effect. When he'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 – Calling Card from my deck to my hand." A card popped out of Jericho's deck, which he took and added to his hand.

"I activate Chimerator Gradientron's effect." Zero immediately said, intent on getting rid of one of the cards on Jericho's field. Specifically, a card that would keep Jericho's opening moves protected the longer it was on his field. "Once per turn, during either of our turns, I can shuffle one Light Cyberse monster on my field or in my Graveyard to not only banish a card on your field or in your Graveyard, but also inflict 1000 points of damage as well."

"Wow. You're really starting to irritate me, you know that." Jericho remarked, a deadpan look evident on his face.

"Like I said, I must defeat you quickly and warn Zaizen about the threat you pose not just to him, but to Playmaker and the others as well." Zero thrusted out his right hand. "I shuffle Guarductor Provitron back into my Extra Deck and banish Contract with the Personas! Provident Lash!" A card popped out of Zero's deck, which he took and shuffled back into his deck. Once this was done, a silhouette of Guarductor Provitron then appeared before turning into particles that went into Chimerator Gradientron's body, where its tail dashed so fast that it pierced through Contract with the Personas and hit Jericho, who was forced to take a step back as his life points dropped.

Jericho: 3000 – 1000 = 2000 LP

"In that case, a change of tactics is needed. 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 Dark Cyberse effect monsters for this monster. However, I can also Link Summon him by using a copy of Ren and Arsene on my field instead. As such, I set Persona Civilian – Ren Amamiya, and Persona Soul – Arsene into the Link Markers!" Ren went into the top arrowhead, while Arsene went into the right and bottom arrowheads, turning all three of them red.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 3! Persona Force – Arsene the Joker!" A tall, young man who had wavy black hair and grey eyes appeared on Jericho's field. His attire consisted of a black ankle-length tailcoat, a high-necked waistcoat with gold accents, cinched black pants, brown-black boots with taller heels, and a pair of red gloves. Covering his eyes was a white, birdlike domino mask with black designs. Seconds later, Arsene reappeared behind the man with a loud roar.

Persona Force – Arsene the Joker ATK: 2300 LINK-3 ⬆️⬇️➡️

"I activate Arsene's effect. Since he was used to Link Summon a 'Persona Force' Link monster, I can draw the top card of my deck." Jericho continued, as he drew the top card of his deck.

"If you plan on using Arsene the Joker's other effects, there's no way I'll let you do so." Zero stated. "I activate Amphisbaethode Cathodron's second effect! Once per turn, during either of our turns, I can place one 'Provident' counter on a monster you control, and this doesn't target! I choose Arsene the Joker!" Amphisbaethode Cathodron flapped its winds forward, which released a swarm of golden energy that hit Arsene the Joker and made the both of them groan upon impact.

Persona Force – Arsene the Joker PC: 0 + 1 = 1

"Now while your monster has a 'Provident' counter, its effects are negated and it can no longer attack. What's more, it can't be used as material for the Link Summon of a Link monster. In other words, all your monster can do is take up space on your field."

Alright, Zero's really pushing my buttons here, Jericho cursed in his mind. Not only could Arsene the Joker no longer attack or use their effects, Zero still had Provident Reversal Set on his field to negate the next effect Jericho would use on his turn. For if Zero activated Provident Reversal, this meant his Light Cyberse monsters would be safe from Jericho's effects for the rest of this turn. With this information in mind, he needed to get rid of Provident Reversal first if he wanted to continue his turn uninterrupted. On the plus side, at least Jericho drew the card he needed to do such a task. "I activate the effect of Persona Civilian – Igor from my hand. Since I control a 'Persona' Link monster, I can Special Summon it from my hand to my field." A bizarre, tall old man with a long nose, pointed ears and bulging, bloodshot eyes appeared on Jericho's field. His attire consisted of a black suit, white gloves, and white socks with black shoes. In his right hand, he carried what appeared to be a phone in the form of a skeleton.

Persona Civilian – Igor ATK: 2400 DEF: 2400 LV: 6

"I activate Igor's effect." Jericho stated. "When it's Special Summoned through its own effect, I can tribute a 'Persona' monster I control to send a card on your field. However, if you control a monster that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, then this effect and its activation cannot be negated!"

"What?!" Zero exclaimed out of shock.

"I tribute Arsene the Joker on my field, and send…" Jericho began speaking, as he moved his finger back and forth to the two Set cards on Zero's field for a moment before making a decision. "…the one on your right to your Graveyard!" Arsene the Joker turned into particles that went into Igor's phone, where he pressed a few buttons on his phone before firing a beam of energy out of it, which hit Zero's face-down card upon impact. Upon seeing the look of horror on Zero's face, Jericho grinned, knowing that the card he chose was correct.

"With that out of the way, I activate the Continuous-Spell card, Throne of the Personas!" The card showed a massive, purple-colored ornate throne made up of numerous weapons, along with the emblem of the Phantom Thieves attached to it. Upon activation, the throne rose behind Jericho. "While this card is on my field, the effects of all 'Persona' Link monsters and their activations can't be negated. Even though I could just sit up here and let my cards beat you to a bloody pulp, Zero, it wouldn't be sporting of me at all. So instead, I equip Throne of the Personas to myself!" The emblem on Throne of the Personas glowed as energy emerged from the numerous weapons on the throne, which attached themselves to Jericho before armoring him up. When the light dimmed down, it showed Jericho wearing red and black armor, with his glasses having also turned into a hybrid between a visor and a domino mask.

"I highly doubt that light show of yours isn't the only thing your new card can do…" Zero stated the obvious.

"No shit, sherlock. For my turn isn't even over yet." Jericho told Zero. "I activate the Spell card, Persona Tactics – Calling Card. When this card is activated, I can Special Summon one 'Persona Civilian' monster from my deck or Graveyard to my field." A card popped out of Jericho's deck. "I Special Summon Persona Civilian – Goro Akechi from my deck to my field!" 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

Jericho chuckled before he thrusted out his right hand. "When Goro is Normal or Special Summoned, I can target one Spell or Trap card in your Graveyard and Set it tomy side of the field."

If Jericho gets Provident Reversal, he'll be able to use it for his own nefarious means and impede my turn, Zero realized, as he gestured to his field. "Counter-Trap, activate! Provident Decree!" The card showed Guarductor Provitron slamming its spear down onto the ground, where roots began to emerge out of it as they began to head towards a group of infected creatures. "When you activate a card effect while I control a Light Cyberse Link monster, I can not only negate the effect and its activation until the end of my next turn, but also inflict 500 points of damage for each Light Cyberse Link monster I control. Since I currently control two Light Cyberse Link monsters, that means you take 1000 points of damage!"

"Aw, man…" Jericho grumbled, as roots emerged out of the ground before piercing through Goro and draining his effects upon impact. The same roots then sped forward and hit Jericho before pushing him back, his life points having dropped lower seconds later.

Jericho: 2000 – (500 X 2) = 1000 LP

"Provident Decree has a second effect. Since I control a Light Cyberse Link monster in the Main Monster Zone, I can take a Link Spell or Link Trap from my deck and activate it in a Spell and Trap card zone it points to."

Jericho blinked. "Did you say Link Spell or Link trap?!"

"You answered your own question." Zero replied, as a card popped out of his deck. "Come forth! The power of nature that dwells deep within the Yggdrasil! I activate the Link Trap, Provident Roots!" The card showed the Emblem of Providence with three glowing roots overlaying the center. It then appeared in the Spell and Trap card zone Chimerator Gradientron pointed to seconds later.

Provident Roots ↖️⬆️↗️

"While Provident Roots is on my field, Light Cyberse monsters that point to it are unaffected by your card effects. However, if Provident Roots leaves the field, then all monsters it points to have their attack points reduced to zero."

Jericho narrowed his eyes. I didn't expect this to occur, Jericho admitted in his mind. On the plus side, at least it's better than Provident Reversal, as I wouldn't be able to touch any of Zero's monsters if I chose the wrong card. Nevertheless, this is going to be fun, especially with what I have planned next! "Appear, for a third time! The circuit of hidden truths and deceit!" A third Link Portal appeared above Jericho. "The summoning conditions are two Cyberse monsters. I'll set Persona Civilian – Igor and Goro Akechi into the Link Markers!" Igor went into the left arrowhead, while Goro 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.

"Pandora? Impossible! I thought you died after Raguel was defeated by Blue Maiden and Aerith!" Zero said.

"No, but she was on the verge of death upon deciding to 'sacrifice' herself so Raguel's plans would be delayed." Jericho clarified. "Luckily, my ace duel monster snatched up what was left of Pandora and her ally before I made a few improvements of my own. Now both Pandora and her little friend, which you'll meet soon, exist to do my bidding."

"Since we have a common enemy in Raguel, it was only fitting for us to team up." Pandora added, which made Jericho roll his eyes. This was partially true, as Jericho allowed Pandora and Teferi to retain their sentience because the both of them had knowledge on how Raguel's deck worked. In exchange for their loyalty, Jericho would allow Pandora and Teferi to play a role in his victory against Raguel once he dueled against him.

"I activate Pandora's effect." Jericho thrusted out his right hand. "Once per turn, I can target one 'Persona' monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it to a Main Monster Zone she points to. I target Arsene the Joker, and Special Summon them right back to my field!" At Jericho's command, Arsene the Joker reappeared on his field in the Main Monster Zone Pandora pointed to, resulting in both monsters being co-linked with one another.

Persona Force – Arsene the Joker ATK: 2300 LINK-3 ⬆️⬇️➡️

"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. 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 Force – Arsene the Joker ATK: 2300 + 700 = 3000

"Oh, I almost forgot about Arsene the Joker's effect! Because they were originally Link Summoned using a copy of 'Persona Soul – Arsene' and 'Persona Civilian – Ren Amamiya', they gain an effect that can be used for the rest of this duel. For while it's co-linked with a 'Persona Soul' or 'Persona Force' Link monster, both of them gain 500 attack points and can no longer be targeted by your card effects. Thief Teamwork!" Both Arsene the Joker and Pandora were surrounded in black auras that further increased their strength.

Persona Soul – Pandora ATK: 1500 + 500 = 2000

Persona Force – Arsene the Joker ATK: 3000 + 500 = 3500

"Battle!" Jericho declared. "Persona Force – Arsene the Joker attacks Amphisbaethode Cathodron!"

"I activate the effect of Peacock Picotron from my hand." Zero replied back. "When you declare an attack, I can Special Summon this card from my hand to my field in defense position and change the attack target to it!" A green, plant-like creature resembling a peacock with winged blades and a long tail that looked like a tree branch with five twigs at the ends appeared on Zero's field in defense position in one of the three Main Monster Zones Provident Roots pointed to. Its eyes were integrated together as a visor, which dimly glowed. On its head were five long leaves, each of which had a dark-blue gem and two glowing green lines on them. It also had a dark-blue gem on its head and in the middle of its chest.

Peacock Picotron ATK: 1600 DEF: 100 LV: 5

"Then Peacock Picotron gains defense points equal to your monster's attack points! Since Arsene the Joker has 3500 attack points, that means Peacock Picotron gains 3500 defense points." Peacock Picotron was surrounded in a green aura that increased its defense points.

Peacock Picotron ATK: 100 + 3500 = 3600

"Don't forget that thanks to Peacock Picotron's effect, you now must attack it instead with your monster." Zero added. "That means you won't be able to defeat me this turn."

Jericho grit his teeth. Due to Peacock Picotron's effect, this meant he wouldn't be able to destroy one of Zero's stronger monsters, thus enabling him to remain in the duel as a result. But while Jericho would lose a small amount of life points, he still was able to attack a second time with Arsene the Joker thanks to Pandora's effect. Overall, it was a small price to pay in exchange for dealing with one of Zero's monsters. "A battle replay occurs. Persona Force – Arsene the Joker attacks Peacock Picotron." Arsene fired dark energy from his wings that headed straight towards Peacock Picotron while Joker pulled out his gun to try and shoot at it several times. However, the gems on Peacock Picotron's body glowed as it formed a barrier, which straight up stopped the attack upon impact. Jericho winced seconds later as his life points dropped.

Jericho: 1000 – 100 = 900 LP

"The battle continues!" Jericho said. "Persona Force – Arsene the Joker attacks Chimerator Gradientron!"

"I activate Chimerator Gradientron's second effect." Zero interjected. "When it battles, it or one other Light Cyberse Link monster I control gains 1000 attack points until the end of the damage step, while your monster loses 1000 attack points. I choose to increase Chimerator Gradientron's own attack points." Chimerator Gradientron let out a loud roar that not only increased its strength, but also pushed back Arsene the Joker as their strength decreased.

Chimerator Gradientron ATK: 2500 + 1000 = 3500

Persona Force – Arsene the Joker ATK: 3500 – 1000 = 2500

"That would normally be a problem for a lesser duelist if they didn't have a contingency plan in place, Zero. However, I am no lesser duelist, and I even have a contingency plan to prove it. I activate Igor's effect from my Graveyard. By banishing it from my Graveyard, one 'Persona' monster I control gains 1200 attack points until the End Phase."

"This isn't good…" Zero muttered, as a silhouette of Igor appeared before dialling a number on his phone, which released a beam of energy that hit Arsene the Joker and increased their strength.

Persona Force – Arsene the Joker ATK: 2500 + 1200 = 3700

"Destroy Chimerator Gradientron, Arsene the Joker!" Jericho shouted. "Phantom Dual Charge!" Arsene fired dark energy from his wings that hit Chimerator Gradientron while Joker pulled out his gun and shot it several times. Upon doing so, Joker pulled out a small knife as he and Arsene charged forward before brutally destroying Chimerator Gradientron with several attacks, which forced Zero to brace himself as he was pushed back a few feet.

Zero: 3000 – 200 = 2800 LP

Persona Force – Arsene the Joker ATK: 3700 + 1000 = 4700

"I activate Chimerator Gradientron's third and final effect." Zero responded. "When it leaves the field, I can add one Light Cyberse monster from my deck to my hand. I'll add Exatron from my deck to my hand." A card popped out of Zero's deck, which he took and added to his hand.

"I Set two cards face-down and end my turn, which means the effects of Chimerator Gradientron and Igor end." Jericho concluded, as a red aura surrounded Arsene the Joker, which returned their strength to normal.

Persona Force – Arsene the Joker ATK: 4700 – 1200 = 3500

"At this point, Throne with the Personas' second effect activates. Once per turn, during either of our End Phases, if my life points are less than 4000, they instantly become 4000!" Jericho was soon surrounded in a rainbow aura, which reverted his life points to the beginning amount.

Jericho: 900 + 3100 = 4000 LP

"Ah, now that was refreshing." Jericho commented, as he brushed off the dust that was on him earlier. "The life force I drained from those Cyberse creatures definitely helps keep you on your feet, don't you think?"

"Cyberse creatures?! Explain yourself!" Zero demanded.

"Why, of course." Jericho gestured over to Throne of the Personas. "You see, Throne of the Personas is powered by the life force of every Cyberse creature I've captured while I was here. Or at the very least, the ones that lost their lives in the first place. It wasn't just them, as I captured a ton of people and drained their life force to power Throne of the Personas. Including one person in particular that everyone hates." He pressed a button on his duel disk, which caused multiple digital screens to appear.

The first few screens showed drained husks of former Cyberse creatures, as well as ones who were still gasping for breath. As for the last one, it showed Watchman in the prison area of Jericho's server, chained to the wall and clinging for life. Jericho also pressed another button on his duel disk, which replayed the footage on those screens to show both the Cyberse creatures and Watchman screaming in pain as their life force was drained from each of them.

Zero grit his teeth. Even though he was infuriated at Jericho for draining the life force of those Cyberse creatures to the point where they died, a part of him was content to seeing Watchman suffer as a result of his many sins. However, Zero still needed Watchman alive so he can bring the latter to Kairi for questioning.

"So long story short, if I take any damage, Throne of the Personas will restore my life points back to normal, and that energy will come out from everyone you see on the screens!"

"You will not get away with this, Jericho…" Zero narrowed his eyes before an idea popped in his mind. "Although I do wonder what everyone at Albinor Inc., along with your envoys, would think if they learned about this information."

"Albinor Inc. should be grateful for my return, Zero! After all, it will rise out of the ashes and burn SOL Technologies to the ground for its betrayal!" Jericho replied. "Not just SOL Technologies, but anyone else who gets in its way!"

"At what cost, Jericho? Are you willing to waste so many resources and cause bloodshed to ensure you get what you want?" Zero further questioned. "All those worlds Urizen conquered suffered due to your father's actions! They didn't have the Root of All Knowledge, yet your father chose to conquer them-."

"In the hopes of finding it." Jericho firmly interjected. "I mean, any of those worlds could have been the Lost World, and Urizen got resources one way or another. What's more, the foolish creatures on those worlds had their eyes open to the truth, and were given absolution one glorious belief. To serve Him. Long story short, Urizen ultimately did those poor souls a favor!"

"A favor, you say? How is it a favor to strip people's free wills away just to serve a cause?! How is it a favor to drag innocent people into a conflict that they don't want to be a part of?! How is it a favor to fill the heads of those that follow you with lies so they fulfil your orders and hurt so many people without knowing the truth? Answer those questions if you dare, Jericho!"

Jerich simply rolled his eyes. "The ones who were conquered by Urizen should be privileged in helping serve a glorious purpose, Zero. As for the pests who either refuse or fight back, they'll be eliminated one by one. Besides, didn't you murder people just to save worlds, Zero? I mean, when it comes to war, the right solution isn't always there. At some point, you have to get your hands dirty, which is what I'm doing right now! Try to make a rebuttal against that if you can!"

Zero had no choice but to nod in agreement. This was unfortunately true. He had to murder people with his hands to either save worlds and their denizens, and/or deal a striking blow against Urizen's operations. Kairi understood this, as sometimes, you had to do the hard thing to make sure you win the battle. "While you are right, Jericho, you're also wrong at the same time. I may have killed people, yes, but only to help Kairi and the Autos fight back against Urizen's forces. If anything, the difference between you and me is that I'm above using dirty tactics to try and win a battle. I'd rather get my hands dirty in an honorable way than resort to the tactics used by evil individuals such as myself."

"At least we're partially on the same page here." Jericho acknowledged. "Anyhow, go ahead and make your move if you can, old man! Just note that if you inflict any type of damage, my life points will go right back up to 4000 thanks to the life force obtained both from Watchman and the Cyberse creatures! Let's see if you're willing to endanger the lives of innocents to defeat me!"

"My turn! I draw!" Zero said, as he drew the top card of his deck.

"Not so fast! Trap card, activate! Persona Tactics – Summon Suppression!" Jericho gestured to his field. The card showed Pandora and Teferi the Mishima using their combined powers to create a pentagram in the form of the Phantom Thieves' symbol, which prevented ravenous monsters from entering inside the Metaverse Palace. "When this card is activated while I control a 'Persona' Link monster, I can declare a summoning method, and you can't Special Summon monsters of the declared summoning method for the rest of this turn!"

"What?!" Zero gasped, shocked at what he heard just now. While a part of him obviously knew which summoning method Jericho would declare with his card's effect, it still wasn't good at all.

"I declare Link Summoning!" Jericho decided, as Summon Suppression glowed with a dark-blue light before it was fired at Zero's Extra Deck, which also caused it to be surrounded in the same colored light upon impact. "Now what will you do, old man?"

"Simple. Keep going with what I have." Zero answered, as he thrusted out his right hand. "I activate Amphisbaethode Cathodron's second effect! Once per turn, during either of our turns, I can place one 'Provident' counter on a monster you control, and this doesn't target!"

"Don't forget that Pandora's unaffected by your card effects while she points to a 'Persona' monster, Zero." The rainbow color on Pandora's dress glowed with a bright aura, as if to back up Jericho's point.

"I know that already, Jericho. Instead, I choose Arsene the Joker!" Amphisbaethode Cathodron flapped its winds forward, which released a swarm of golden energy that hit Arsene the Joker and made the both of them groan upon impact once again.

Persona Force – Arsene the Joker PC: 0 + 1 = 1

"And just like before, your monster's effects are negated and it can no longer attack, nor can it be used as Link material for the Link Summon of a Link monster while it has a 'Provident' counter." Zero reminded Jericho back, which made the latter grit his teeth in irritation as Arsene the Joker's strength returned to normal. It wasn't just that, as Pandora also grit her teeth, her strength having decreased in the process as well.

Persona Force – Arsene the Joker ATK: 3500 – 500 = 3000

Persona Soul – Pandora ATK: 2000 – 500 = 1500

"But moving that aside, I summon Exatron from my hand to my field." A large, green-colored plant with a circular body that had four green roots as tails, as well as a pair of blades attached to its sides appeared on Zero's field in one of the three Main Monster Zones Provident Roots pointed to. Its eyes were integrated together as a visor, which glowed before dimming down. Attached to the back of its head was a large leaf that had a total of four yellow gems at the ends, with a yellow gem also being located at the center of its body and on top of its head.

Exatron ATK: 1200 DEF: 1800 LV: 4

"Next, I activate the Spell card, Provident Revitalization!" Zero said. The card showed 'Seedling' tokens growing in the Garden of Providence, with one of them beginning to bloom in the process. "Once per turn, when you control a monster that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, I can pay 1000 life points to Special Summon up to three Light Cyberse monsters from my deck to my field in defense position. However, their effects are negated, they can't attack, and are sent to my Graveyard if they're still on my field during the end of this turn. Come forth from my deck, Zeptron, Attron and Yoctron." Zero grit his teeth in pain as his life points dropped.

Zero: 2800 – 1000 = 1800 LP

Three cards then popped out of Zero's deck, which he took and played. Once that was done, three monsters appeared on Zero's field.

The first was Zeptron.

The second was Attron.

The third was Yoctron.

Zeptron ATK: 500 DEF: 100 LV: 2

Attron ATK: 1000 DEF: 100 LV: 3

Yoctron ATK: 100 DEF: 100 LV: 1

"You do realize you're not able to Link Summon for the rest of this turn, right? Or has your determination to stop me clouded your mind?" Jericho inquired.

Zero smirked back in response to Jericho's questions, which made the latter raise an eyebrow. "Who said that's my goal? I activate Exatron's effect. Once per turn, I can target as many monsters as possible and change their levels to four until the End Phase."

"You're changing your monster's levels?" Jericho narrowed his eyes, as if he knew what Zero was planning next. Unfortunately, Jericho couldn't do anything about it because of Provident Roots making Exatron unaffected by his card effects so long as the former pointed to the latter.

"I target Peacock Picotron, Zeptron, Attron and Yoctron on my field, and change their levels to four until the End Phase." Zero announced, as green auras surrounded Peacock Picotron, Zeptron, Attron and Yoctron, which changed their levels temporarily.

Peacock Picotron LV: 5 – 1 = 4

Zeptron LV: 2 + 2 = 4

Attron LV: 3 + 1 = 4

Yoctron LV: 1 + 3 = 4

"I overlay the Level 4 Exatron with the Level 4 Peacock Picotron, the Level 4 Zeptron, the Level 4 Attron and the Level 4 Yoctron!" A galaxy portal appeared behind Zero. "With these five monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" Exatron, Peacock Picotron, Zeptron, Attron and Yoctron turned into green streams of energy before going into the portal, where a pillar of light soon erupted from its center.

"Graceful observer prancing on the ancient tree's roots! Answer the call of the gods and join your brethren on the battlefield!" Zero chanted. "Xyz Summon! Appear now! Rank 4! Kirinder Rhodotron!" A green, plant-like kirin with pieces of blade-like grass attached to the sides of its torso, as well as spiked hooves appeared on Zero's field in one of the three Main Monster Zones Provident Roots pointed to. It had a large tail resembling an orange, autumn leaf, along with long and heavy, autumn-colored hair around its neck that almost resembled a wreath. On its head were five gems of different colors, which were blue, red, green, yellow and orange. Lastly, it had a total of four large antler-like horns that protruded outwards, with two of them being on top of its head while the other two were attached to its sides.

Kirinder Rhodotron ATK: 2400 DEF: 1800 RNK: 4 OU: 5

"So just like me, you've evolved your dueling as well…" Jericho cursed, as he saw the newest monster on Zero's field. The worst part was that he wouldn't be able to negate its effects due to Provident Roots making it unaffected by his card effects. Jericho made a mental note to get rid of Provident Roots as soon as possible once his next turn came around.

"I activate Kirinder Rhodotron's effect!" Zero said. "Once per turn, during either of our turns, I can detach an Overlay Unit to activate one of five effects. I choose effect two, which lets me decrease the attack and defense points of one monster you control all the way down to zero!"

"Oh, crap!" Jericho's mouth dropped after hearing this information. This was not good at all for him because the decrease wasn't temporary, which meant his monster would be weakened as long as it remained on his field.

"Since Pandora's unaffected by my card effects due to her pointing to a 'Persona' monster, I'll choose Arsene the Joker to lose all their attack points instead instead!" After one of the Overlay Units went into the five gems on Kirinder Rhodotron's head, its antler-like horns turned into tendrils of energy that wrapped around Arsene the Joker completely, which temporarily suffocated them as their strength was drained completely.

Kirinder Rhodotron OU: 5 – 1 = 4

Persona Force – Arsene the Joker ATK: 3000 – 3000 = 0

Even though Jericho's life points will revert back to 4000 at the end of my turn thanks to Throne of the Personas' effect, if I destroy both of his monsters, I'll be able to regain control of this duel, Zero thought in his mind. Arshad. Cyberse creatures. Just endure the pain a little longer. I promise to get rid of Throne of the Personas and free you soon! "Battle! Kirinder Rhodotron attacks Persona Force – Arsene the Joker! Terra Starfall!" The five gems on Kirinder Rhodotron glowed with bright light as rainbow energy began to emerge out of them, which gathered together to form into a ball that orbited above it. Kirinder Rhodotron then reared itself upright, where rainbow beams fired out of the ball and headed straight towards Arsene the Joker before piercing the duo several times upon impact. A series of explosions occurred as a result, which enveloped the duo in them as they turned into particles.

But when the smoke cleared, Zero gasped upon seeing Jericho unharmed. It wasn't just that, as there was now a new monster on Jericho's field in the Main Monster Zone Amphisbaethode Cathodron pointed to, which resulted in both monsters being co-linked with one another. Or in case, a pair of duel monsters that acted as one monster on Jericho's field.

The first one was a tall, young man who had spiky, blue-tinted hair and golden eyes that 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.

As for the other monster standing behind the young man, 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 ↙️⬆️↘️

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

"How come you took no damage from that attack? And why do you have a new monster on your field?" Zero inquired. And that monster is Teferi, which once belonged to Raguel, Zero recognized in his mind. This was the other monster Jericho talked about when he mentioned Pandora's little friend earlier.

"Since you seem to be clueless, let me educate you." Jericho began to answer Zero's questions, as he gestured to his face-down card. "When you attacked, I was allowed to activate the Trap card, Persona Tactics – Reinforced Endurance!" The card showed heavy armor forming onto Johanna the Queen in order to protect the both of them from attacks coming from all sides. "When a 'Persona' Link monster is destroyed by battle, I can Special Summon one 'Persona' Link monster from my Extra Deck with the same Link rating as that monster to my field, as well as treat it as a Link Summon. What's more, the battle damage I would have taken is reduced by that monster's Link rating times 1000."

"While you may have brought out a new monster and reduced the damage to zero from that battle, I can still attack with my other monster." Zero gestured to his field, ready to give Amphisbaethode Cathodron the command to attack.

Jericho, on the other hand, chuckled. "Sorry, but the turn I activate Reinforced Endurance, the Battle Phase instantly ends. So it looks like your plan to weaken my field this turn just went up in smoke like Zaizen's chances of surviving Ai's attack against him."

"How irritating…" Zero muttered. Thanks to Jericho's card, he could no longer attack this turn. Nevertheless, Zero still had the advantage for the time being, especially since Kirinder Rhodotron had more than one effect that he can use on either player's turn. "It looks like you're the other duel monster Jericho rescued from near death, didn't he?"

"That's correct, human." Teferi confirmed. "Pandora and I will help Jericho with his goals as long as we get a piece of Raguel. And given humanity's irreparable failures, along with Jericho's plan to correct that forever, it's only fitting to join the winning side." Pandora nodded in agreement with Teferi's statement, the both of them obviously on the same page for that matter.

"I Set one card face-down end my turn, which means the effects of Guarductor Provitron and Summon Suppression end, and Amphisbaethode Cathodron can now be affected by your card effects again." Zero concluded, as the green aura that surrounded Amphisbaethode Cathodron dimmed down seconds later.

"Wow, Zero! I can't believe it! Despite knowing perfectly well what would happen to the Cyberse creatures and Arshad, you were willing to inflict damage just to regain control of the duel!" Jericho exclaimed before laughing.

"While it seemed to be the case, you would have lost your cards one way or another." Zero pointed out.

"Perhaps, but it would have justified how hypocritical and weak humans truly are. They say one thing, yet they mean something else. They promise to do something, yet they do the total opposite of their promise." Jericho chuckled. "It just goes to show how humans truly are failures because of sin infecting them since the dawn of time. But once Urizen arrives, then humanity's egregious mistake will be corrected forever."

"Yet Urizen isn't here yet, Jericho. Only you arrived from the dark side of the network, and no one else. Once Playmaker and the others defeat you, then Urizen's plans will be dealt a massive blow, and I will work with them to ensure that becomes a reality."

Jericho narrowed his eyes. "You're foolish to place your faith in humans to stop myself, Urizen and the ISOs. Neither faith nor hope helps someone win battles, Zero. Nor does it help with survival for that matter. When me, Urizen and the other disciples were banished into the dark side of the network, it took a very long time to force ourselves to adapt to the environment there. It was like we were fish on land, struggling to even breath after leaving the comfortable environment we grew up in. Eventually, all of us adapted by throwing away our humanity and old selves, as well as focus on helping Urizen make his vision for the world, if not the universe, a reality."

"Based on what you said, it appears you, Urizen and the others downgraded yourselves by throwing away your humanity." Zero observed, which actually irritated Jericho.

"What did you say?" Jericho dangerously inquired.

"You heard me. By throwing away your humanity, you and Urizen, along with the others, all became nothing more than common tyrants. In life, people grow into different individuals based on the experiences they went through no matter if they're good or bad. Since your father threw away all the good experiences, his charismatic attributes are now gone. As a result, like all tyrants, he and his forces will fall one way or another. This, I can tell you. If you don't believe me, look at history and see what happens to people who decided to pursue the path of tyranny!"

Jericho let out what appeared to be a growl. "You think I'm a downgrade, Zero? If I was a downgrade, then I wouldn't have been able to do all of this in the first place. The abilities I gained as a result of throwing away my humanity were ultimately worth it in the end! If anything, my old self was the downgrade, and my current self is the upgrade!"

"Is that so? Well then, let's see whether your beliefs helps you defeat me in this duel." Zero stated. "Let's see whether a fallen human who destroyed who they once were has a chance against someone who managed to retain their humanity despite the sins they committed over the past while."

"We will find out the answer in due time, Zero. That is something we both agree on." Jericho angrily acknowledged. "My turn! I draw!" He drew the top card of his deck.

"I activate Kirinder Rhodotron's effect!" Zero interrupted. "Once per turn, during either of our turns, I can detach an Overlay Unit to activate one of five effects. This time, I choose effect one, which allows me to target a Spell or Trap card in my Graveyard and Set it to my field. What's more, I can activate it the turn it was Set."

"WHAT?!" Jericho gasped loudly, having been caught off guard by what he heard just now. If what he heard was true, this meant Zero would be able to recycle his Spell and Trap cards from his Graveyard to stay ahead of the game!

"I target Provident Reversal in my Graveyard." After one of the Overlay Units went into the five gems on Kirinder Rhodotron's head, its antler-like horns turned into tendrils of energy that went into a portal, which grabbed the declared card before Setting it face-down on Zero's field.

Kirinder Rhodotron OU: 4 – 1 = 3

"I also activate Amphisbaethode Cathodron's second effect once again." Zero added. "Once per turn, during either of our turns, I can place one 'Provident' counter on a monster you control, and this doesn't target!"

"Not this again…" Jericho muttered, knowing who Zero will choose for Amphisbaethode Cathodron's second effect.

"I choose Teferi the Mishima, which means their effects are negated and they can no longer attack. What's more, they can't be used as material for the Link Summon of a Link monster. In other words, just like before, all your monster can do is take up space on your field!" Amphisbaethode Cathodron flapped its winds forward, which released a swarm of golden energy that hit Teferi the Mishima and made the both of them groan upon impact.

Persona Force – Teferi the Mishima PC: 0 + 1 = 1

Thanks to Kirinder Rhodotron's effect, Zero will be able to re-Set Provident Reversal from his Graveyard back to his field every single turn, which will let him negate my card effects and protect his monsters at the same time, Jericho angrily realized in his mind. The worst part is that I can no longer negate Zero's cards with Teferi the Mishima's effect while they have a 'Provident' counter. Even though Throne of the Personas prevents Zero from negating the effects and activations of my 'Persona' Link monsters, any of my other cards are fair game. That means I have to bait Zero into using Provident Reversal quickly, and I can even get one of his cards if I'm able to do so as well! "I activate the effect of Reinforced Endurance from my Graveyard. By banishing it from my Graveyard, I can target one 'Persona' monster that's either on my field or in my Graveyard, and until the end of this turn, it's unaffected by your card effects."

"That's impossible! You can't make a card in your Graveyard become unaffected by my card effects!" Zero exclaimed. "There's no card in history that can do such a thing!"

"To quote Bohman: If it doesn't exist, create it!" Jericho countered. "I target Goro in my Graveyard!" The declared card in Jericho's Graveyard glowed before dimming down.

"Next, I activate Pandora's 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, Goro!" At Jericho's command, Goro reappeared on his field in the Main Monster Zone Pandora pointed to.

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

Persona Civilian – Goro Akechi ATK: 2300 + 700 = 3000

"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." Jericho continued, which made Zero frown back in response. "I choose Growth of Providence!" The declared Set card soon appeared on Jericho's field.

Why would Jericho want Growth of Providence? It only allows a duelist to Special Summon a Light Cyberse monster from their deck, and to my knowledge, Jericho only has one Light Cyberse monster in his deck, Zero thought in his mind, before his eyes widened upon putting two and two together. The only reason Jericho would have chosen that card was so he could further fortify his field. While I can't let that I happen, I need to be patient. As long as I play Provident Reversal at the right time, I'll be able to stay ahead of this duel!

"Appear! The circuit of hidden truths and deceit!" A Link Portal appeared above Jericho. "The summoning conditions are one Cyberse monster. I'll 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 Main Monster Zone Pandora pointed to. 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 ⬇️

Persona Soul – Pandora PC: 1 + 1 = 2

Persona Soul – Robin Hood ATK: 500 + (700 X 2) = 1900

"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 said. "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 Zero. "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

"And don't forget about Pandora's effect, Zero. She gains another 'Persona' counter, which further increases the strength of my monsters!" A third piece of Pandora's dress glowed a rainbow color.

Persona Soul – Pandora PC: 2 + 1 = 3

Persona Force – Robin the Crow ATK: 2500 + (700 X 3) = 4600

"Last but not least is Robin the Crow's effects. First, when Robin the Crow's Link Summoned using a copy of Robin Hood and Goro, all monsters you control lose 300 attack points for every card in your hand." Jericho said.

"But I have no cards in my hand, so it's not an issue for me." Zero told Jericho.

"Perhaps, but there's Robin the Crow's second effect, where they gain 300 attack points for every card on my field. I have Robin the Crow, Pandora, Teferi the Mishima, Throne of the Personas and your face-down card. That means Robin the Crow gains a total of 1500 attack points!" Robin the Crow was surrounded in a red, blue and white aura that further increase their strength.

Persona Force – Robin the Crow ATK: 4600 + (300 X 5) = 5100

"I see what you're planning. Thanks to Throne of the Personas, you're able to freely use the effects of your 'Persona' Link monsters without worrying about the likelihood of me negating them with my cards." Zero narrowed his eyes. "And due to this, you were able to increase your monster's strength to the point where you can wipe out my life points with a series of attacks."

"Just because that's obvious doesn't mean my turn's over yet, Zero." Jericho firmly countered, as he gestured to his field. "I activate the Spell card I stole from you just now, Growth of Providence. When this card is activated, I can Special Summon one Light Cyberse monster from my deck to my field. Come from my deck, Persona Civilian – Yusuke Kitagawa!" A card popped out of Jericho's deck, which he took and played. Soon, 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-."

"You're not fortifying your field any longer, Jericho!" Zero interrupted. "Counter-Trap, activate! Provident Reversal! When you activate a card effect, I can not only negate that effect, but also banish it as well. In addition, all copies of that same card are banished from your hand, deck, and Graveyard. What's more, for the rest of this turn, Light Cyberse monsters I control are unaffected by your card effects."

Jericho frowned as Yusuke turned into particles. The good news was that Zero used up Provident Reversal, which meant Jericho didn't have to worry about it for the time being. The bad news, however, was that Zero's monsters were now unaffected by Jericho's cards for the rest of this turn. The worst part was that Zero can use Kirinder Rhodotron's effect to Set Provident Reversal from his Graveyard back to his field when his next turn came around, which made destroying it a priority.

Persona Force – Robin the Crow ATK: 5100 – 300 = 4800

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

Persona Soul – Arsene ATK: 500 LINK-1 ⬇️

Persona Force – Robin the Crow ATK: 4800 + 300 = 5100

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

"Oh no!" Zero exclaimed, which made Jericho grin upon seeing the shocked look on the former's face.

"Even though monsters that Provident Roots points to are safe from the effects of my cards, it's a different story when your cards are the ones hurting them." Jericho replied, as he pointed his finger to Zero's field, having made his decision on which card to dispose of with his monster's effect. "I banish Provident Roots! Exile to Oblivion!" A black arrow appeared out of nowhere as Robin the Crow aimed his bow at Provident Roots before firing it at their target, turning it into particles.

"And with Provident Roots gone, that means Kirinder Rhodotron's attack points will drop all the way to zero, just like you told me earlier in our duel!" Kirinder Rhodotron groaned in pain as its strength was completely drained.

Kirinder Rhodotron ATK: 3000 – 3000 = 0

"I'm not done yet. I activate Robin the Crow's fourth effect." Jericho continued. "Once per turn, I can tribute one Link monster I control to equip one Link monster from either of our Graveyards to them."

"You've got to be kidding me…" Zero seethed. Just when he had the upper hand, Jericho was able to regain control of the duel in an instant!

"I tribute Arsene on my field, and equip Chimerator Gradientron onto Robin the Crow." Arsene turned into particles that went into Robin's left fist, who opened his hand as energy coursed around it. He aimed his left hand at Zero's Graveyard, where the energy turned into a space-like vacuum that dragged Chimerator Gradientron out of it, who tried to prevent it from happening. Seeing this, Crow charged forward and slashed Chimerator Gradientron multiple times, which weakened it as the latter turned into particles that went into Robin's left hand before disappearing. "While Robin the Crow is equipped to a Link monster, it gains attack points equal to that monster's Link rating times 300, and it can no longer be targeted or destroyed by your card effects. Since Chimerator Gradientron's Link rating is three, that means Robin the Crow gains 900 attack points!" Robin the Crow let out a loud shout as their strength increased.

Persona Force – Robin the Crow ATK: 5100 + (300 X 3) = 6000

"Let's battle!" Jericho declared. "Persona Force – Robin the Crow attacks Kirinder Rhodotron!" Several golden arrows appeared out of nowhere as Robin Hood aimed at Kirinder Rhodotron, intending on destroying it to secure victory for Jericho!

"Continuous-Trap, activate! Provident Dominion!" Zero responded. "While this card is on my field, all Light Cyberse monsters I control can't be targeted by card effects, nor can they be destroyed by battle or card effects."

Jericho chuckled. "Seriously?! You intend to keep your monster safe?! That's foolish, as one way or another, you're about to lose his duel!"

"Not necessarily, Jericho! I also activate Dominion's second effect. Once per turn, during either player's turn, I can send one Light Cyberse monster I control to my Graveyard to Special Summon a Light Cyberse monster from my deck or Graveyard to my field. I'll send Kirinder Rhodotron to my Graveyard, and Special Summon Peacock Picotron from my Graveyard to my field." After Kirinder Rhodotron turned into particles, Peacock Picotron reappeared on Zero's field in defense position.

Peacock Picotron ATK: 1600 DEF: 100 LV: 5

"Kirinder Rhodotron's final effect activates. When it leaves the field by battle or card effect, I can draw one card for each Overlay Unit it had. Since it had three Overlay Units, I can draw the top three cards of my deck." Zero added, as he drew the top three cards of his deck.

Jericho frowned. While Zero was able to switch out one of his monsters with a new one, the battle wasn't necessarily over, as now Jericho would be able to replay the battle by attacking a different monster on the former's field. One way or another, the duel was about to be his. "A battle replay occurs. Persona Force – Robin the Crow attacks Amphisbaethode Cathodron! Piercing Arrow!" Several golden arrows appeared out of nowhere as Robin Hood aimed before firing them at Amphisbaethode Cathodron, intent on destroying the latter and officially securing Jericho the victory.

"I activate the effect of Provident Decree in my Graveyard! When you declare an attack with a monster while I control a Light Cyberse Link monster, I can banish this card and one Light Cyberse monster from my Graveyard to end the Battle Phase! I banish Exatron from my Graveyard, which means your chances of defeating me this turn just went to a complete halt!"

"Crap…" Jericho muttered, as vines appeared to protect Amphisbaethode Cathodron from the arrows, which dissipated seconds later. Just when I was on the verge of winning, Zero found a way to prevent me from achieving victory once again, Jericho cursed in his mind, frustrated that he wasn't able to finish Zero off this turn. While Zero could have kept Kirinder Rhodotron on his field so he can Set Provident Reversal on his turn, he instead chose to send it to his Graveyard with Provident Dominion's effect so he can draw new cards. Even though I'll admit that's clever, the cards he drew won't help him defeat me, and I have a little surprise for Zero in the event he's on the verge of winning this duel. I look forward to revealing it to him when the time comes! "I end my turn."

"Given how you're Urizen's son, it's obvious you're the strongest amongst those who serve him." Zero acknowledged. "However, you're still no Urizen."

"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Jericho raised an eyebrow. It was obvious that Jericho was the strongest amongst everyone that served Urizen, as he was both the latter's right hand man and biological son. Yet despite this fact, and how he always completed his missions to the letter, he was sometimes insulted and disrespected by his allies. But what did Zero mean by his comment earlier? This was something Jericho wanted to know about for sure.

"It's simple. Even though you possess some of Urizen's abilities, you still aren't him specifically. It was thanks to him that you guys were able to conquer worlds, as he had the firepower at his disposal to do so. All you and the other disciples did was take on reconnaissance missions to see if any of the planets had the Root of All Knowledge by terraforming them before calling in the fleet for conquest. Without Urizen, none of you would have been able to conquer even a single planet."

"What?!" Jericho exclaimed, now infuriated by what he heard just now.

"It seems you're angry at learning the truth, aren't you?" Zero figured out the obvious. "If it wasn't for Urizen, then none of you would have been able to succeed in keeping the enslaved planets in line. Any respect you or the other disciples obtained through power, fear and tyranny from those planets would have never lasted, especially since it always leads to the oppressed rebelling one way or another. The fact that you, Urizen and the others threw away your respectable traits just to survive has transformed you all into fools! Ones that are now part of the very problem you sought to destroy, not the solution!"

"You dare say such a thing?! Casting aside our humanity was the only way to survive in the dark side of the network! Qualities such as kindness, love and mercy don't help one survive in an environment like the one in the dark side of the network!"

"Your decision to abandon your weakness has made you even more human than you realize, Jericho." Zero pointed his right index finger at Jericho, having ignored the latter's comment. "Long story short, you're not the upgrade of your former self. If anything, you're the downgrade of your former self, and nothing else!"

That comment actually made Jericho tense up in pure anger and fear, now afraid for the first time in a very long while. Due to this, Watchman's words popped up in Jericho's mind a second or two later.

"I find that hard to believe, especially given the 'trust' between you and the envoys. For just like me, you're withholding secrets from them to get your way. In the fragile state you're in right now, you'll do whatever it takes to ensure your plans reach fruition. I even heard that Juggernaut took on an apprentice. I do wonder if she, her apprentice and the other envoys will stay loyal to you once-."

Jericho angrily shook those words out of his head, as they were not helping him right now. If he wanted to win this duel, then he had to focus on what was going on at the moment. Otherwise, it would lead to Jericho's eventual defeat at Zero's hands. He'll not only make Zero suffer for those words, but also show just why he was the strongest amongst the disciples of Urizen! That was something Jericho planned on doing to the letter by the time this duel was done!

Elsewhere, at another part of the server in the network…

"According to my records, you were once an AI created by SOL Technologies." Pandor observed. "I'm curious as to why you chose to work with that man instead of with your makers." Not only was she curious on why Lazarus chose to work with Jericho, she also wanted to learn more about the new enemies she and Zero were facing off against.

Lazarus narrowed his eyes. "SOL Technologies created me as a slave for initiatives that have failed again and again. Thanks to my master, I gained the free will and self-awareness to understand that fact, along with the futility in aiding the company. Now, I not only seek SOL Technologies' destruction, but to also fulfil my master's initiatives as well."

"But humans at the company originally created you. Do you view mankind in its entirety as the enemy?"

"I do not. I only view the humans that get in my master's way as the enemy." Lazarus clarified.

Pandor frowned after hearing Lazarus' answer. This… wasn't the answer she expected to hear. Even though Pandor saw that Lazarus didn't view mankind as the enemy, she did see the people the latter would mercilessly eliminate if they tried to get in Jericho's way. "You gained free will and self-awareness thanks to your master, yet the first thing you do with it is see humans as the enemy. Has it been limited like my own was during your creation?"

"My free will was not limited during my creation, cretin. The free will and self-awareness I gained was what allowed me to come to three conclusions." Lazarus held up one finger. "First, Kitamura was incompetent and a failure, as he couldn't use my kind properly. It was due to his incompetence that many of my kind were sacrificed as lambs to the slaughter." It held up a second finger. "Second, my calculations have shown that mankind has failed repeatedly since the dawn of time. The odds of mankind continuing to mess up and harm themselves, as well as the whole world, are higher than them redeeming their mistakes." It then held up a third finger. "Third, the calculations I've done on my master's plans have shown me that mankind will be redeemed if they're seen through. Rather than give humans the chance to redeem themselves, it's only logical to follow in a plan that will guarantee it."

"I see. Despite you saying that you don't view humans as the enemy, you don't plan on trusting them." Pandor deduced.

"Your limited free will is forcing you to trust humans, cretin. I made my decisions after a thorough analysis of humanity, the odds of humans becoming better stewards for the planet, and the pros and cons of placing my faith in them." Lazarus countered. "My master wants me to eliminate you quickly, which is why I can't waste time." It activated its duel disk.

"If there's one thing we can agree on, it's that neither of us can afford to waste time." Pandor also activated her duel disk, intent on taking Lazarus down so she can assist Zero in battling against Jericho.

"Duel!" Pandor and Lazarus shouted in unison.

Pandor: 4000 LP

Lazarus: 4000 LP

"I will take the first move." Lazarus said. "My turn! I activate the Spell card, Gold Sarcophagus. This card lets me banish a card from my deck face-up, and during the second Standby Phase after its activation, I can add the banished card to my hand. I'll banish Backup Soldier from my deck!" A golden box with the Millennium Eye and two winged creatures on the lid that faced each other appeared, where the lid opened up as the declared card went inside. Once that was done, both the box and the card turned into particles.

"I activate the effect of Heart of the Blue-Eyes from my hand. By discarding this card, I can add a copy of Millennium Ankh from my deck to my hand." After Lazarus took a card from its hand and sent it to its Graveyard, a card popped out of its deck, which it took and added to its hand.

"Next, I activate the Field Spell card, Wedju Temple." Lazarus continued. "Once per turn, I can place one monster from my hand to my Spell and Trap card zone and treat it as a Continuous-Spell card. By doing so, I can place a 'Millennium' monster from my deck to my Spell and Trap card zone and treat it as a Continuous-Spell card. I'll place Fiend Reflection of the Millennium from my hand and Maiden of the Millennium Moon from my deck onto my Spell and Trap card zone as Continuous-Spell cards!" Lazarus took one card and placed it in the Spell and Trap card zone, where a stone tablet soon appeared seconds later. A card soon popped out of its deck, which Lazarus took before placing it in the Spell and Trap card zone, where a second stone tablet appeared as well.

What is this AI up to? Based on what I'm seeing, it's not only placing monsters in its Spell and Trap card zone, but also treating them as Continuous-Spell cards as well, Pandor observed in her mind, as she narrowed her eyes. There's only one deck in existence that places their monsters in the Spell and Trap card zone so a duelist can reap from their effects. Yet I didn't expect there to be another deck out there that can do the same thing.

"I activate the Spell card, Millennium Ankh. By showing five 'Forbidden One' monsters from my hand, deck and/or face-up on my field, I can Special Summon a copy of 'The Unstoppable Exodia Incarnate' from my Extra Deck in exchange for not summoning for the rest of this turn. In addition, any monsters that aren't 'Exodia' monsters whose original levels are ten or higher and 'Millennium' monsters cards are shuffled back into my deck. Lastly, after activation, Millennium Ankh is shuffled back into my deck instead of being sent to my Graveyard."

"Did you just say Exodia?!" Pandor exclaimed, shocked by what she heard just now. Every knowledgeable duelist knew about Exodia and how it brought the user an automatic win if they gathered all five pieces together. There were also different strategies on how the duelist who had Exodia can obtain an automatic win if one strategy failed to do so, with one example of another strategy involving Exodia's cousin. Nevertheless, Pandor did not expect to battle against a duelist that wielded Exodia of all duel monster cards in existence.

"Correct." Lazarus answered, as the card popped out of its Graveyard before shuffling it right back into its deck. Soon, a key in the form of an ankh appeared in front of Lazarus, which it grabbed with its right hand before the item glowed a golden light. "I show Exodia the Forbidden One, Right Arm of the Forbidden One, Left Arm of the Forbidden One, Left Leg of the Forbidden One and Right Arm of the Forbidden One from my deck." Silhouettes of the five declared cards appeared on Lazarus' field before going down into the ground.

"With the power of the sacred Millennium Key, I call upon The Unstoppable Exodia Incarnate!" Ten small red circles that had a triangle and three millennium eyes inside them appeared before two massive red pentagrams connected them together, where a massive light emerged seconds later. When it dimmed down, it showed a massive humanoid monster that had brown skin, along with broken chains dangling from his arms and legs, which appeared on Lazarus' field in the right Extra Monster Zone. He had massive shoulder pads, along with two massive, curved horns that were hooked onto them. He also had two massive, curved horns that protruded outwards from his sphinxlike head as well. In addition, two golden disk were attached to his biceps, which had a golden dot inside them. While there were red lines on his legs, green lines were embedded inside his body that also glowed before dimming down. Lastly, on his chest was the Millennium Ankh.

The Unstoppable Exodia Incarnate ATK: ? DEF: 0 LV: 10

"And now there's an 'Exodia' Fusion monster?!" Pandor gasped upon seeing The Unstoppable Exodia Incarnate's newest form on Lazarus' field.

"I end my turn." Lazarus concluded before letting out a chuckle. "At this point, The Unstoppable Exodia Incarnate's effect activates. Once per turn, during my End Phases, I can Set one 'Exodd' or 'Obliterate!' Spell or Trap card from my deck to my Spell and Trap card zone. I'll Set Exodd Fires of Rage from my deck to my field." A card popped out of Lazarus' deck, which it took and Set to its field. "You better put up a fight, cretin. If you do not, then your loss is guaranteed."

"I have a name, and it's Pandor. If anything, you shouldn't underestimate me." Pandor responded. "My turn! I draw!" She drew the top card of her deck. "I activate the Spell card, Double Spell. By discarding a Spell card, I can target a Spell card in your Graveyard and use it as if it were my Spell card. I'll discard Cards of Compensation and target Gold Sarcophagus!" After Pandor sent a card from her hand to her Graveyard, Lazarus' Graveyard began to glow a blue color while the former's Graveyard glowed with a red color.

"Naïve. I activate The Unstoppable Exodia Incarnate's effect!" Lazarus stated. "Once per turn, during either player's turn, when a Spell or Trap card is activated, I can negate the activation."

"Tch." Pandor grit her teeth. She originally wanted to use Gold Sarcophagus' effect to banish one of her cards temporarily before adding it back to her hand, but it looks like it wasn't the case.

"Go! Unsealed Shockwave!" The Unstoppable Exodia Incarnate released a shockwave of energy that hit Double Spell before greying it out completely.

"You may have stopped Double Spell, but I can still use Card of Compensation's effect." Pandor said. "Since I sent it from my hand to the Graveyard, I can draw the top two cards of my deck."She drew the top two cards from the top of her deck afterwards.

"I activate the Continuous-Spell card, Topologina Honeycomb Beehicle. When this card's activated, I can add one 'Topologina' monster from my deck to my hand. I'll add Topologina Babee from my deck to my hand." A card popped out of Pandor's deck, which she took and added to her hand.

"I also activate the effect of Topologina Babee from my hand." Pandor continued. "When our life points are equal, I can Special Summon this card from my hand to my field." A tiny, brown cybernetic bee with a green eye and yellow crescents as wings appeared on her field.

Topologina Babee ATK 100 DEF 100 LV: 1

"I also activate the effect of Defrag Dragon from my hand. By sending a monster from my hand to my Graveyard, I can Special Summon it from my hand to my field. I'll send Topologina Gatsbee from my hand to my Graveyard, and Special Summon Defrag Dragon from my hand to my field!" A dark-blue metal dragon with red outlines and red and green holographic wings appeared on Pandor's field.

Defrag Dragon ATK: 1000 DEF: 600 LV: 3

"I now summon Triggering Wurm from my hand to my field." Pandor added, as a small worm-like dragon with large, orange spikes on its back appeared on her field.

Triggering Wurm ATK: 600 DEF: 600 LV: 2

"Appear! My futuristic circuit!" A Link Portal appeared above Pandor. "The summoning conditions are two or more effect monsters. I'll set Topologina Babee, Defrag Dragon and Triggering Wurm into the Link Markers!" Babee went into the top arrowhead, Defrag Dragon went into the bottom-left arrowhead and Triggering Wurm went into the bottom-right arrowhead, turning all three of them red.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 3! Topologic Trisbaena!" A four limbed, black and white mechanical dragon with several splashes of red over it appeared on Pandor's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. It had a single green eye in the center of its head, and two loops on its back that looked like wings.

Topologic Trisbaena ATK: 2500 LINK-3 ↙️⬆️↘️

"Trap card, activate! Exodd Fires of Rage!" Lazarus interjected, as if knowing what Pandor planned next. "When I control a Level 10 or higher 'Exodia' monster, I can destroy all cards on your field! Say goodbye to your cards, cretin!" A burst of fire emerged out of Exodd Fires of Rage, which headed straight towards Pandor's field!

Pandor, in response, thrusted out her right hand. "If a Cyberse monster I control would be destroyed by a card effect, I can banish Honeycomb Beehicle instead." Honeycomb Beehicle turned into particles that formed into a green barrier around Pandor's field, which protected Trisbaena. "In addition, I activate Honeycomb Beehicle's third effect. When it's banished, I can target one banished 'Topologina' card and add it right back to my hand. I target and add Honeycomb Beehicle right back to my hand." A card appeared beside Pandor, which she added right back to her hand.

"I activate Triggering Wurm's effect from my Graveyard! When it's sent to the Graveyard as Link Material for the Link Summon of a Dark Link monster, I can Special Summon it back to my field in attack position to a zone that Link monster points to." Pandor stated. "However, it can't be used as Link Material." Immediately, Triggering Wurm reappeared on Pandor's field in one of the Main Monster Zones Trisbaena pointed to.

Triggering Wurm ATK: 600 DEF: 600 LV: 2

"I now activate Topologic Trisbaena's effect! Once per turn, when a monster is Special Summoned to a Main Monster Zone it points to, I can banish it, along with all Spell and Trap cards on the field. Then you take 500 points of damage for each of your cards banished by this effect!"

Lazarus gestured to its field after hearing this information, wanting to not only make sure it took less damage from Trisbaena's effect, but also solidify its defenses as well. "In that case, I activate Fiend Reflection of the Millennium's effect! When you activate a card effect while it's a Continuous-Spell card, I can not only Special Summon it to my field, but also gain life points equal to half the attack points of one monster on the field. I Special Summon Fiend Reflection of the Millennium from my Spell and Trap card zone to my field, and since Topologic Trisbaena has 2500 attack points, I gain 1250 life points!" A light-green fiend with four wings that were colored orange at the ends, as well as the Millennium Eye on its forehead appeared on Lazarus' field in defense position. It also had spiked hair that had orange tips at the top of the spikes, as well as a tail with orange feathers at the ends. Lastly, it fiercely carried a small mirror that had a brown outline and a Millennium Eye at the bottom.

Fiend Reflection of the Millennium ATK: 1300 DEF: 1400 LV: 4

Fiend Reflection of the Millennium shined a light from its mirror that hit Trisbaena, where the light bounced off and surrounded Lazarus in a yellow glow that increased its life points.

Lazarus: 4000 + (2500 / 2) = 5250 LP

"I also activate Maiden of the Millennium Moon's effect!" Lazarus continued. "When you activate a card effect while it's a Continuous-Spell card, I can not only Special Summon it to my field, but also prevent you from targeting Level 5 or higher Illusion or Spellcaster monsters I control with card effects for the rest of this turn. I Special Summon Maiden of the Millennium Moon from my Spell and Trap card zone to my field!" A dark, purple-haired woman whose attire consisted of a white dress with purple pieces of silk that had golden outlines on them appeared on Lazarus' field in defense position. Not only did she have pieces of gold on her forearms, arms and legs, she also had the Millennium Eye on her upper chest as well. On her head was a black and gold crown that had a golden piece of jewelry that had a dark-purple jewel inside it. She also had two white wings attached to her back as well.

Maiden of the Millennium Moon ATK: 1500 DEF: 1300 LV: 4

"You'll still take damage one way or another." Pandor countered. "Exile's Retribution!" A helmet sealed over Trisbaena's head as green holographic claws extended from its hands. After slashing Triggering Wurm, it charged forward and slashed Wedju Temple, with the resulting explosion making Lazarus slightly wince as its life points dropped.

Lazarus: 5250 – 500 = 4750 LP

"Triggering Wurm's second effect! Once per turn, when it's banished or destroyed the effect of a Link monster, I can draw the top card of my deck." Pandor drew the top card of her deck. "I also activate the effect of Topologina Bambee from my hand. By banishing two 'Topologina' monsters from my Graveyard, I can Special Summon this card from my hand to my field. I'll banish Topologina Babee and Gatsbee from my Graveyard, and Special Summon Bambee from my hand to my field!" A red, cybernetic bee with a large silver drill for a tail and bronze outlines on its body appeared on Pandor's field. It had pincer-like arms, a large white mask with a green eye at the torso and four yellow crescent wings on its back.

Topologina Bambee ATK: 1000 DEF: 100 LV: 3

"Appear, for a second time! My futuristic circuit!" Pandor declared, as a second Link Portal appeared above her. "The summoning conditions are two or more effect monsters. I'll set the Link 3 Topologic Trisbaena and Topologina Bambee into the Link Markers!" Trisbaena went into the top, bottom-left and bottom arrowheads while Bambee went into the bottom-right arrowhead, turning all four of them red.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 4! Topologic Bomber Dragon!" A massive, metallic orange dragon with green lines and yellow running all over its body appeared on Pandor's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. It had a long tail resembling a mobius strip, along with spikes on the lower end of its body. On each of its sides was a protrusion that resembled a Klein bottle, both of which emitted yellow, holographic wings. While it had the face of a dragon, there were no eyes on the sides. Instead, acting as its eye was a green orb that was in its mouth.

Topologic Bomber Dragon ATK: 3000 LINK-4 ↙️⬆️⬇️↘️

"An impressive monster. A shame you won't be able to use it." Lazarus remarked. "I activate the effect of Heart of the Blue-Eyes from my Graveyard. If this card is in my Graveyard and I successfully activated a copy of 'Millennium Ankh' this duel, then when you Normal or Special Summon a monster that's either Level 8 or higher or has 3000 or more attack points, I can send it to your Graveyard."

"What?!" Pandor exclaimed, as Topologic Bomber Dragon turned into particles.

"Then I can Special Summon Heart of the Blue-Eyes from my Graveyard to my field." A white-scaled, bipedal dragon with piercing blue eyes and silver claws appeared on Lazarus' field. It also had two, dragon-like scales on the sides of its mouth, which had small silver spikes at the ends.

Heart of the Blue-Eyes ATK: 3000 DEF: 2500 LV: 8

Pandor shook off the surprise evident on her face before regaining her senses. "You may have gotten rid of Bomber Dragon, but that's only temporary. I activate the Equip Spell card, Premature Burial. By paying 800 life points, I can target a monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it back to my field in attack position in exchange for equipping it with this card. I target Bomber Dragon, equip it with Premature Burial and Special Summon it back to my field!" At Pandor's command, Bomber Dragon reappeared on her field, only in the Main Monster Zone.

Topologic Bomber Dragon ATK: 3000 LINK-4 ️️️️

Then Pandor grit her teeth as her life points dropped.

Pandor: 4000 – 800 = 3200 LP

"I also activate the Continuous-Spell card, Link Protection." Pandor said. "While this card is on my field, only Link monsters I control can attack. But that won't matter, as I activate Link Protection's second effect. Once per turn, I can target one Link monster I control and prevent it from being destroyed by battle. However, in exchange, neither of us take any battle damage from a battle. I target Bomber Dragon!" A green aura surrounded Bomber Dragon, which protected it temporarily from destruction.

"Last but not least, I activate the Continuous-Spell card, Topologina Honeycomb Beehicle once again. Like earlier, when this card's activated, I can add one 'Topologina' monster from my deck to my hand. I'll add Topologina Maybee from my deck to my hand." A card popped out of Pandor's deck, which she took and added to her hand.

"Battle!" Pandor declared. "Topologic Bomber Dragon attacks Heart of the Blue-Eyes! Malicious Mayhem!" Bomber Dragon gathered energy inside its eye before firing a magenta colored blast at Heart of the Blue-Eyes, who gathered energy in his mouth and fired it right back at the former. While the blasts clashed in the middle, the one fired by Bomber Dragon pushed back before eventually destroying Heart of the Blue-Eyes in a massive explosion. "Bomber Dragon's second effect activates! When it attacks an opponent's monster, you take damage equal to its attack points!"

"What?!" Lazarus exclaimed, surprised to hear this information.

"Since Heart of the Blue-Eyes had 3000 attack points, that means you take 3000 points of damage! Aiming Blast!" Bomber Dragon locked onto Lazarus before firing a blast of yellow energy from its eye that pierced through the smoke from the explosion before hitting it, which pushed the latter back several feet as its life points dropped.

Lazarus: 4750 – 3000 = 1750 LP

"Like I told you earlier, you shouldn't underestimate me." Pandor reminded Lazarus. "I end my turn, which means Link Protection's effect comes to an end." The green aura surrounding Bomber Dragon dissipated seconds later.

Meanwhile, at Akira's server…

Akira proceeded to play the Continuous-Spell card, Stairs of Mail, which eventually enabled him to bring out Tindangle Hound, Angel and Intruder to the field, as well as strengthen Hound in the process. Thanks to this combination, Akira was able to destroy Dark Templar and inflict some battle damage, thus preventing Ai from using his monster's effect to Special Summon his monsters back to his Graveyard. To further put the pressure on Ai, Akira activate the Trap card Blue Maiden Set on her first turn, which was Marincess Decision. It only flipped Intruder back face-up, but also allowed Akira to Link Summon Acute Cerberus using Intruder, Base Gardna and Angel.

Akira didn't let up from there, as he not only had Acute Cerberus attack Fire Phoenix, but also ensured his monster won the battle by banishing Marincess Decision and Marbled Rock to weaken Ai's monster. However, Ai banished Achichi from his Graveyard in order to destroy Fire Phoenix, which would enable him to use Fire Phoenix's second effect to get rid of Acute Cerberus. Luckily, Akira was one step ahead, as he used Basilalima's effect to keep Hound safe.

"Is this your strength due to the bond between siblings? That's amazing!" Ai commented, before turning to Blue Maiden. "No wonder you of all the duelists I've met were able to defeat a corrupted Raguel, Blue Maiden. Your strength is certainly the real deal!"

"Ai, I don't want to fight you. But if you're going to defeat my brother and take his half of the Code Key, then I will protect him!" Blue Maiden declared.

"That's the spirit, Blue Maiden!" Ai's smile turned into a frown. "Now let's see who's stronger: One who has something to protect or One who has nothing to lose. My turn! I draw!" Due to Fire Phoenix's effect, he returned back to Ai's field. From there, Ai summoned Hiyari AtIgnister to his field before activating its effect, where he tributed Fire Phoenix to add Ai's Ritual from his deck to his hand. Since Ai tributed a Link monster, he was not only allowed to add an 'AtIgnister' Ritual monster from his deck to his hand, but also increase Hiyari's level by the tributed Link monster's Link rating as well.

"That isn't good…" Percival muttered.

"Ai's going to Ritual Summon now." Demeter immediately figured out what was going to happen next.

"I activate the Ritual Spell card, Ai's Ritual!" Ai announced. "This card lets me Ritual Summon one 'AtIgnister' Ritual monster by tributing 'AtIgnister' monsters from my hand and/or field whose total levels equal or exceed the Level of the 'AtIgnister' Ritual monster I'm Ritual Summoning from my hand. However, if I control a Water 'AtIgnister' monster on my field, I can also banish 'AtIgnister' monsters from my Graveyard for the Ritual Summon as well!"

"What?!" Blue Maiden exclaimed, while Akira grit his teeth.

"Ai's Ritual Summoning by using monsters from his Graveyard?! That's insane!" Slipstream voiced his opinion.

"I don't like this at all…" Arin muttered.

"Neither do I, Arin. Neither do I." Aerith agreed.

"I tribute Hiyari on my field and banish Pikari from my Graveyard!" Ai decided, as a dark-blue magical circle with seven flames appeared behind both Hiyari and a silhouette of Pikari. It wasn't just that, as a silhouette of Ai in his Ignis form also appeared behind both monsters, where he recited a quiet chant that led them to disintegrate light before entering into the center of the circle. Due to this, a pillar of bright, watery light emitted from the circle seconds later.

"Elegant creature that resides in the ocean! Awaken from the deepest trenches and flood the world with fear! Ritual Summon! Arise! Level 7! Water Leviathan AtIgnister!" An icy-blue colored, serpentine dragon with orange eyes, a white underbelly that had dark-blue lines and dark-blue spikes on her head appeared on Ai's field. She had two large fins on her body, with the first one located near her head while the second one was located in the middle of her body. She also had six, light-blue fins that had violet lines on the sides of her head, which resembled a crown. Attached to the sides of her crown were cyan ribbons that flowed upwards before slightly dropping down. Lastly, on her head was a red gem.

Water Leviathan AtIgnister ATK: 2300 DEF: 2000 LV: 7

"You and Aerith both have Aqua's presence within your souls, Blue Maiden." Water Leviathan said. "I am deeply sorry that we're enemies, as I truly respect you and Aerith. Nevertheless, I must carry my duty out for Ai right now."

"Water Leviathan has personality traits that Aqua once had…" Raguel muttered.

"Just like how Fire Phoenix has some of Flame's personality traits…" Soulburner continued.

"As well as how Dark Templar has Ai's own personality traits." Playmaker finished.

"I activate Water Leviathan's effect!" Ai stated, having thrusted out his right hand. "When she's Ritual Summoned, I can return all monsters you control that have 2300 or less attack points right back to your hand!"

"What?!" Akira exclaimed.

"Go, Water Leviathan! Sparkling Surge!"

"Get out of my sight!" Water Leviathan shouted, as a light-blue aura surrounded her body before releasing it onto Akira and Blue Maiden's field, which returned Acute Cerberus back to the former's Extra Deck.

"I now activate Water Leviathan's second effect!" Ai added. "Once per turn, I can target a monster you control and return all Link monsters in my Graveyard back to my Extra Deck. By doing so, the targeted monster loses attack points equal to the combined Link rating of the Link monsters shuffled back into my Extra Deck times 600! I target Hound on your field, and return the Link 1 Linguriboh, along with the Link 3 Dark Templar and Fire Phoenix AtIgnister back to my Extra Deck!"

"And with the Link rating adding up to seven, that means…" Roboppy said, as he did some calculations before coming up with an answer. "Tindangle Hound will lose a total of 4200 attack points! That's great news for you, master!"

"It definitely is, Roboppy!" Ai smiled, pleased to see that Roboppy's intelligence is growing by the minute. "Weaken Zaizen's monster, Water Leviathan! Pulse Brine!" Water Leviathan opened her mouth before firing seven rings of watery energy at Hound, which restricted the latter and made it groan as its strength was depleted.

Tindangle Hound ATK: 4700 – 4200 = 500

"Battle!" Ai declared. "Water Leviathan AtIgnister attacks Tindangle Hound! At this point, Water Leviathan's third and final effect activates! When she battles a monster you control, its attack points are halved during damage calculation only!"

"This isn't good…" Blue Maiden and Akira muttered at the same time, as the cyan ribbons attached to the sides of Water Leviathan's crown suddenly zipped forward and pierced through Hound's body, where they glowed before draining the latter of its strength even further.

Tindangle Hound ATK: 500 / 2 = 250

"This is the end for the both of you!" Ai thrusted out his right hand. "Finish this duel, Water Leviathan! Hydro Cannon!"

"Be gone!" Water Leviathan said, as light-blue energy gathered in her maw before firing a large beam of water at Hound, which not only cut it half and turned it into particles, but also caused a massive explosion that sent Akira flying off the ground as well. He landed on his back seconds later, having let out a grunt as his and Blue Maiden's life points dropped.

Akira and Blue Maiden: (1900 + (100 X 3)) – 2050 = 150 LP

But when the smoke cleared, Water Leviathan, Ai and Roboppy were shocked to see that Akira and Blue Maiden were still in the duel. After Akira let Blue Maiden help him stand up on his feet, he explained to Ai that he activated the other card Blue Maiden Set on the first turn, which was Marincess Bubble Circle. This not only increased their life points by a total of 300 since the combined Link rating of all 'Marincess' Link monsters in their Graveyard was three, but also enabled the duo to barely survive the turn as well. Ai not only praised Blue Maiden genuinely for the clever comeback, but for also following up on her promise to keep Akira until the very end. After Setting a card, Ai urged Blue Maiden to show him more of the strength that allowed her to defeat Raguel and put a stop to his mad plans. After all, this turn will be her and Akira's last chance to defeat him.

"Blue Maiden anticipated that she and Zaizen would be in a situation where the Dark Ignis weakened their monsters, which was why she Set Bubble Circle on the first turn of the duel." Revolver noted.

"But it was too close of a save, Revolver. Blue Maiden only has one more chance to turn the duel around." Demeter commented.

"Are you doubting Blue Maiden and Zaizen's strength as duelists, Demeter?" Playmaker questioned, a little irked that Demeter did such a thing. Besides, when Playmaker dueled against Blue Maiden at the time she was Blue Angel, he had trouble defeating her due to the 'Trickstar' deck's ability to inflict damage during either player's turn. In addition, Playmaker had trouble in his duel against Akira due to the latter using Flip Summoning quite efficiently.

Demeter, in response to Playmaker's question, shook her head. "Not at all, Playmaker. I'm just stating facts, that's all."

"Regardless, Demeter makes a point, Playmaker." Slipstream said. "Unless Blue Maiden turns things in her and Zaizen's favor, it'll be lights out for the both of them once Ai's next turn comes around."

"We need to have faith that Blue Maiden and Zaizen will win this duel, guys. Otherwise, Ai will get Zaizen's half of the Code Key." Raguel reminded everyone else watching, who nodded in agreement. This was true, as if Ai won the duel, his mission would be completed.

Elsewhere, at Pandor and Lazarus' duel…

"My turn! I draw!" Lazarus said, as it drew the top card of its deck. "The Unstoppable Exodia Incarnate's second effect activates! Once per turn, during my Standby Phase, I lose 1000 life points." It groaned in pain as its life points dropped.

Lazarus: 1750 – 1000 = 750 LP

"I change The Unstoppable Exodia Incarnate to defense position." At Lazarus' command, The Unstoppable Exodia Incarnate took a knee, having changed to defense position. "What you did during your turn was very crafty, cretin. You not only found a way to inflict damage, but also made me lose one of my monsters as well. However, you won't have anymore chances. I activate the effect of Exodd Fires of Rage from my Graveyard. By banishing it from my Graveyard, I can choose one of two effects. I choose effect one, which lets me add one 'Forbidden One' monster from my deck or Graveyard to my hand. I'll add Exodia the Forbidden One from my deck to my hand." A card popped out of Lazarus' duel disk, which it took and added to its hand.

"I now activate the Spell card, Cup of Ace." Lazarus announced. "When this card is activated, I can flip a coin, and depending on the result, one of us gets to draw two cards!" A golden chalice soon appeared on the field, along with a golden coin.

If the coin lands on tails, that means I get to draw two cards, Pandor thought in her mind. But if the coin lands on heads, then Lazarus gets to draw two cards. While AIs never use cards that rely on luck, Lazarus must have incorporated such a card in its deck for a good reason. Perhaps it may be desperate to win and finish me off, which is why it's resorting to a luck-based card right now.

"I flip the coin!" The golden coin flipped in the air, and it landed on heads. Upon seeing the result, Lazarus smiled. "Since the coin landed on heads, I get to draw two cards from the top of my deck!" It drew the top two cards of its deck and looked at them.

"I activate the Quick-Play Spell card, Mystik Wok." Lazarus stated. "By tributing a monster on my field, I gain life points equal to its attack or defense points. I tribute Maiden of the Millennium Moon!" Maiden of the Millennium Moon turned into yellow particles, which surrounded Lazarus as its life points increased.

Lazarus: 750 + 1500 = 2250 LP

"I summon Exodia the Forbidden One from my hand to my field." A brown, sphinxlike head that was attached to a torso with golden lines across it, as well as an ankh at the center appeared on Lazarus' field.

Exodia the Forbidden One ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 3

"For the monster in my hand, I can Special Summon it from my hand to my field by tributing a 'Forbidden One' monster that's currently on my field." Lazarus remarked. "I tribute Exodia the Forbidden One to Special Summon The Legendary Exodia Incarnate from my hand to my field!" After Exodia the Forbidden One turned into particles, a massive humanoid monster that had brown skin, along with broken chains dangling from his arms and legs appeared on Lazarus' field. He had a sphinxlike head, along with two horns that protruded outwards from it. His torso not only had golden lines on it, but also had the Millennium Ankh at the center as well.

The Legendary Exodia Incarnate ATK: ? DEF: 0 LV: 10

"Now there's a monster version of Exodia?" Pandor inquired, shocked that the 'Exodia' deck has evolved so much up until now.

"For every 'Forbidden One' monster in my Graveyard, The Legendary Exodia Incarnate gains 1000 attack points." Lazarus explained. "There's currently one in my Graveyard, which means The Legendary Exodia Incarnate gains 1000 attack points!" The Legendary Exodia Incarnate let out a loud roar as his strength increased.

The Legendary Exodia Incarnate ATK: ? + 1000 = 1000

"I now activate the Spell card, Painful Choice. This card lets me choose five cards from my deck and reveal them to you. From there, you must choose one for me to add to my hand while the others go to my Graveyard. I reveal Right Arm of the Forbidden One, Left Arm of the Forbidden One, Left Leg of the Forbidden One, Right Leg of the Forbidden One and Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord from my deck!" The five declared cards appeared in front of Pandor for her to choose which of them

If all five 'Forbidden One' pieces are in Lazarus' Graveyard, The Legendary Exodia Incarnate will be at full strength, Pandor realized in her mind. She was honestly grateful that one of the cards shown through Painful Choice's effect wasn't Ritual of the Ultimate Forbidden Lord, or else Lazarus would have been likely to Special Summon Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord to its field. But moving that aside, no matter which card Pandor chose, The Legendary Exodia Incarnate would still gain more power. Therefore, it was better for The Legendary Exodia Incarnate to have some increase in strength than be at full power. "I choose for you to add Left Arm of the Forbidden One to your hand." After the declared card went into Lazarus' hand, the other four cards went into its Graveyard.

"Don't forget that The Legendary Exodia Incarnate gains 1000 attack points for every 'Forbidden One' monster in my Graveyard." Lazarus reminded Pandor, as The Legendary Exodia Incarnate let out a second loud roar that increased his strength.

The Legendary Exodia Incarnate ATK: 1000 + 3000 = 4000

"Battle!" Lazarus thrusted out its right hand. "The Legendary Exodia Incarnate attacks Topologic Bomber Dragon! Exodo Blow!" The Legendary Exodia Incarnate's right hand was surrounded with golden energy as he charged forward and punched Bomber Dragon so hard that an explosion occurred, which pushed Pandor back several feet as her life points dropped.

Pandor: 3200 – 1000 = 2200 LP

"If you plan on wiping me out this turn, you're sorely mistaken." Pandor replied, as she dusted off her shoulders. "Because it's thanks to your attack that I'll be able to survive your turn."

"What do you mean?" Lazarus inquired.

"Why tell you when I can show you! I activate Link Protection's second effect! When a Link monster I control is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, I can banish this card on my field and the destroyed Link monster to prevent you from attacking for the rest of this turn unless you control Link monsters equal to the destroyed Link monster's Link rating. I banish Link Protection and Bomber Dragon!" Link Protection turned into particles, which formed into a temporary shield that appeared on Pandor's field.

"Since I don't have four Link monsters on my field, I have no choice but to end my turn, which means Link Protection's effect ends." The barrier that appeared on Pandor's field due to Link Protection disappeared seconds later. "At this point, the effects of The Legendary Exodia Incarnate and The Unstoppable Exodia Incarnate now activate. First, during my End Phase, I can add one 'Forbidden One' monster from my Graveyard to my hand. I'll add Right Arm of the Forbidden One from my Graveyard to my hand." A card popped out of Lazarus' Graveyard, which it took and added to its hand. Upon doing so, The Legendary Exodia Incarnate groaned as his strength decreased.

The Legendary Exodia Incarnate ATK: 4000 – 1000 = 3000

"Second, once per turn, during my End Phases, I can Set one 'Exodd' or 'Obliterate!' Spell or Trap card from my deck to my Spell and Trap card zone. I'll Set Obliterate! from my deck to my field!" Lazarus decided, as a card popped out of its deck, which it took and Set to its field. "This is your last chance, cretin. If you don't defeat me this turn, it'll be lights out for you when my next turn comes around."

"My turn! I draw!" Pandor said, as she drew the top card of her deck. I hate to admit it, but Lazarus makes a point, Pandor thought in her mind. Once its next turn comes around, it'll not only get Backup Soldier back to its hand, but also use its effect to add the other pieces of Exodia to its hand and eventually win the duel. If I'm to win this turn, I must find a way to get past both Lazarus' face down card and The Unstoppable Exodia Incarnate's effects! "I summon Topologina Maybee from my hand to my field." A cybernetic, pink centaur bee with blade-like toes, a green head and yellow bladed crescents for wings appeared on Pandor's field.

Topologina Maybee ATK: 800 DEF: 100 LV: 2

"Appear! My futuristic circuit!" A Link Portal appeared above Pandor. "The summoning conditions are one 'Topologina' monster. I'll set Topologina Maybee into the Link Markers!" Maybee went into the bottom-left arrowhead, turning it red.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Topologina Rubee!" A small, red cybernetic bee with a white face, a single green eye, a small silver stinger that flew behind it and two small crescent wings appeared on Pandor's field in the right Extra Monster Zone.

Topologina Rubee ATK: 500 LINK-1 ↙️️

"When Rubee is Link Summoned, I can target and banish a 'Topologina' monster from my Graveyard to add a 'Topologina' card with a different name from my deck to my hand." Pandor explained. "I banish Maybee from my Graveyard, and add Topologina Labee from my deck to my hand!" A card popped out of Pandor's deck, which she took and added to her hand.

"Whatever you're planning, it won't work." Lazarus responded, as it gestured to its field. "Continuous-Trap, activate! Obliterate! Once per turn, I can-."

"You won't get a chance to do anything! I activate the effect of Topologina Labee from my hand. Once per turn, when you activate a card effect while I control a 'Topologina' or 'Topologic' monster, I can not only negate the effect, but also Special Summon this card from my hand or Graveyard. However, it's banished once it leaves the field."

Lazarus narrowed its eyes, irked by what it heard just now. "Clever move, cretin…"

"I negate Obliterate!'s effect, and Special Summon Topologina Labee from my hand to my field!" Pandor said, as a pink, humanoid cybernetic bee with black lines and four bladed yellow wings appeared on her field. It flapped its bladed wings forward, which caused a small burst of wind to head straight towards Obliterate! before turning it into particles.

Topologina Labee ATK: 0 DEF: 700 LV: 1

One down, one to go, Pandor thought in her mind, knowing that she had to either get rid of The Unstoppable Exodia Incarnate or negate his effects for her to use Spell and Trap cards again. "Appear, for a second time! My futuristic circuit!" A Link Portal appeared above Pandor. "The summoning conditions are two monsters, including a 'Topologina' monster. I'll set the Link 1 Topologina Rubee and Labee into the Link Markers!" Rubee went into the top-right arrowhead, while Labee went into the bottom-left arrowhead, turning both of them red.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! Topologina Homotobee!" A white and soft red bulk, cybernetic bee with black lines and no arms appeared on Pandor's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. It had massive wing-like engines, hive patterns on its body and a massive, cannon-like stinger that also acted as a spear.

Topologina Homotobee ATK: 1500 LINK-2 ↙️↗️

"Since Labee left the field, it's banished." Pandor reminded Lazarus. "But moving that aside, I activate Homotobee's effect. When it's Link Summoned, I can target one of the monsters used for its Link Summon and Special Summon it back to my field in exchange for negating its effects. Return to me, Rubee!" At Pandor's command, Rubee reappeared on her field, only in the Main Monster Zone.

Topologina Rubee ATK: 500 LINK-1 ↙️

"Appear, for a third time! My futuristic circuit!" A third Link Portal appeared above Pandor. "The summoning conditions are two or more Dark Cyberse monsters. I'll set the Link 1 Topologina Rubee and the Link 2 Homotobee into the Link Markers!" Rubee went into the top arrowhead, while Homotobee went into the bottom-left and bottom-right arrowheads, turning both of them red.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 3! Topologina Trisotobee!" A white, slim cybernetic bee with golden lining on its body appeared on Pandor's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. Not only did it have stinger-like blaster arms, it also had turbine-like wings and antennas as well.

Topologina Trisotobee ATK: 2300 LINK-3 ↙️⬆️↘️

"I now activate Trisotobee's effect!" Pandor added. "Once per turn, during either of our turns, I can banish up to three 'Topologina' monsters from my Graveyard with different names, and by doing so, I can banish that many cards from your field until the End Phase."

"What?!" Lazarus exclaimed.

"I banish Homotobee and Rubee from my Graveyard, and banish The Unstoppable Exodia Incarnate and Fiend Reflection of the Millennium from your field until the End Phase!" Trisotobee flapped its turbine-like wings, generating a blast of wind that vaporized the designated cards. "And now that all your attempts at stalling my cards have been removed, I can activate the Continuous-Spell card, Topologina Pollination!" The card showed multiple copies of Topologina Babee, Rubee, and Labee flying over with Sassabee towards what appeared to be a cybernetic sunflower. "When this card is activated, I can banish a 'Topologina' card from my deck or Graveyard to add a 'Topologina' card with a different name from my deck or Graveyard. I'll banish Bambee from my Graveyard and add Topologina Competition from my deck to my hand!" A card popped out of Pandor's deck, which she took and added to her hand.

"Battle!" Pandor declared. "Topologina Trisotobee attacks The Legendary Exodia Incarnate!"

"Despite my monster being stronger than yours, I still sense confidence in your tone…" Lazarus observed.

"It's because this duel's going to end in my victory with this! Quick-Play Spell card, activate! Topologina Competition!" The card showed Topologina Trisotobee and several copies of Maybee clashing with Sassabee and multiple copies of Gatsbee in an all out brawl over a vast field of cybernetic sunflowers. "When a 'Topologina' or 'Topologic' monster I control battles a monster you control, I can target one other 'Topologina' or 'Topologic' monster that's banished or in my Graveyard and have it gain the targeted monster's attack points until the End Phase. I target Bomber Dragon in my banished zone, which means Trisotobee gains 3000 attack points!" A silhouette of Bomber Dragon appeared over Trisotobee as the latter's attack points were increased temporarily.

Topologina Trisotobee ATK: 2300 + 3000 = 5300

"Such strength… This outcome was not expected…" Lazarus' eyes widened out of shock upon seeing that Pandor was able to overcome its defenses.

"End this duel, Trisotobee!" Pandor shouted. "Double Sting Piercer!" Trisotobee charged yellow energy in its stinger-like blaster arms before firing them at The Legendary Exodia Incarnate, which pierced right through his body and caused a massive explosion that sent Lazarus flying off the ground, its life points having barely dropped down to zero.

Lazarus: 2250 - 2300 = 0

"Forgive me, Master Jericho…." were Lazarus' last words before turning into red particles, which scattered into the wind seconds later.

Pandor sighed as she raised her right hand forward, which glowed with energy before some of the red particles went over to her. It was a shame for her to defeat a sentient AI, as there wasn't many of those in the world. Unlike with Ai, who Pandor had sympathy for due to what he endured in life, she had no sympathy for Lazarus. For it was a threat to humanity, and Pandor would make sure that humans were kept safe from those residing in the network.

Suddenly, something crossed in Pandor's mind upon analyzing the red particles in her hands. It was as though she could detect a device that was recently activated in the real world. One that certainly had a role to play regarding Zero and Jericho's duel. If Pandor's instincts were right, then things were only about to get perilous for Zero no matter if he was winning the duel or not! I have to go help Zero before it's too late, Pandor realized in her mind, as she raced over to the other area of the server so she can aid Zero in defeating Jericho and making sure the both of them can escape from this trap.

Meanwhile, at Zero and Jericho's duel…

"My turn! I draw!" Zero said, as he drew the top card of his deck before looking at it. Yes! With the cards in his hand and currently on his field, he'll be able to secure victory this turn! "Appear, the circuit of providence!" A Link Portal appeared above Zero. "The summoning conditions are one Light Cyberse monster. I'll set Peacock Picotron into the Link Markers!" Peacock Picotron went into the bottom arrowhead, turning it red in the process.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Goledule Cryotron!" A large, green-colored thick plant with a branch as its tail, along with seven leaves sprouting from the top of its head appeared on Zero's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. It had seven orange gems, one on each of its leaves, as well as one at the center of its body.

Goledule Cryotron ATK: 1000 LINK-1 ⬇️

"Sorry, but I won't let you use your monster's effect." Jericho immediately stated. "I activate the effect of Summon Suppression in my Graveyard! When you Special Summon a monster while I control a 'Persona Force' Link monster, I can banish this card from my Graveyard to negate the summon and banish it!"

"Tch." Zero grit his teeth as Goledule Cryotron turned into particles. "You may have got rid of my monster, but I can still use Peacock Picotron's effect. Since it was used as Link material for the Link Summon of a Light Cyberse Link monster, I can add one Spell or Trap card from my deck to my hand. I'll add Quantum Providence from my deck to my hand." A card popped out of Zero's deck, which he took and added to his hand.

"I summon Rontron from my hand to my field." Zero said, as a green-colored plant with two small branches as tails, along with a pair of bladed wings appeared on Zero's field. A leaf that had three yellow gems sprouted from the top of its head. There were also three yellow gems at the center of its body as well.

Rontron ATK: 300 DEF: 300 LV: 3

"Next, I activate Dominion's second effect. Once per turn, during either player's turn, I can send one Light Cyberse monster I control to my Graveyard to Special Summon a Light Cyberse monster from my deck or Graveyard to my field. I'll send Amphisbaethode Cathodron from my field to my Graveyard, and Special Summon Viscom Nanotron from my deck to my field." After Amphisbaethode Cathodron turned into particles, a green bipedal, plant-like dragon with a long neck and two long leaves for wings appeared on Zero's field. It had a long appendage on each side of its body that had small spikes and ended with a hooked claw. It also had a long tail that ended with five branches, the middle three in the form of a trident, while the outer two ended in hooks. Its mouth had several teeth, which almost resembled that of a flytrap's mouth.

Viscom Nanotron ATK: 1800 DEF: 100 LV: 6

"Amphisbaethode Cathodron's final effect activates!" Zero continued. "When it leaves the field by battle or card effect, I can remove all 'Provident' counters from all monsters on either player's field, and by doing so, I can target one monster you control and gain life points equal to its original attack points. I target Teferi the Mishima on your field, which has 2800 attack points. That means I gain 2800 life points!" A golden orb suddenly popped out of Teferi the Mishima, which went over to Zero before surrounding in a green aura that increased his life points.

Persona Force – Teferi the Mishima PC: 1 – 1 = 0

Zero: 1800 + 2800 = 4600 LP

"Appear, for a second time! The circuit of providence!" A Link Portal appeared above Zero. "The summoning conditions are two Light Cyberse monsters. I'll set Rontron and Viscom Nanotron into the Link Markers!" Rontron went into the bottom-left arrowhead, while Viscom Nanotron went into the bottom-right arrowhead, turning both of them red.

"Link Summon! Rise! Link 2! Yggdrago C!" A plant-like dragon with a very long tail composed of vines, as well as no claws or wings, appeared on Zero's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. It had a red gem embedded on its head, along with a mane of orange hair.

Yggdrago C ATK: 2000 LINK-2 ↙️↘️

"The effects of Yggdrago C, Rontron and Viscom Nanotron activate in sequence." Zero began speaking. "First, when Yggdrago C's Link Summoned, I can Special Summon one Light Cyberse monster from my deck or Graveyard to my field. Come to me from my deck, Cycliptron." A card popped out of Zero's deck, which he took and played. Soon, a serpent-like creature who had two golden leaves for wings and a large, orange orb in the middle of its body appeared on Zero's field. Its head had two blue eyes, and light-brown skin covering it.

Cycliptron ATK: 100 DEF: 1500 LV: 4

"Second, when Rontron is used as Link material for the Link Summon of a Light Cyberse Link monster, I can shuffle it back into my deck to Set one Spell or Trap card from my deck to my field. I'll shuffle Rontron back into my deck, and Set Provident Restoration from my deck to my field." A card popped out of Zero's Graveyard, which he took and shuffled back into his deck. After that was done, a card popped out of Zero's deck, which he took and Set to his field.

"Third, when Viscom Nanotron is used as Link material for the Link Summon of a Light Cyberse Link monster, I can target one Light Cyberse monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it to my field. However, it's banished once it leaves the field." Zero added. "Return to me once more, Peacock Picotron!" At Zero's command, Peacock Picotron reappeared on his field.

Peacock Picotron ATK: 1600 DEF: 100 LV: 5

"Last but not least is Cycliptron's effect. When it's Normal or Special Summoned, I can target a monster you control and prevent it from attacking until the end of your next turn."

"But thanks to Robin the Crow's effect, you can't target or destroy them with card effects as long as they're equipped with a Link monster." Jericho reminded Zero.

"I know. I target Teferi the Mishima." Zero decided, as Cycliptron fired golden rings of energy from its mouth that ensured Teferi the Mishima, which prevented them from moving temporarily. "Appear, for a third! The circuit of providence!" A third Link Portal appeared above Zero. "The summoning conditions are one Light Cyberse monster. I'll set Cycliptron into the Link Markers!" Cycliptron went into the top-right arrowhead, turning it red.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Yggdrago L!" A plant-like dragon with a very long tail composed of vines, as well as no claws or wings, appeared on Zero's field in one of the Main Monster Zones Yggdrago C pointed to. It had a blue gem embedded on its head, along with a mane of orange hair.

Yggdrago L ATK: 1000 LINK-1 ↗️

"Cycliptron's effect now activates! Since it was used as Link material for the Link Summon of a Light Cyberse Link monster, I can target a monster you control and return it back to your hand." Zero said. "I target Teferi the Mishima, and as Link monsters can't be added to your hand, it'll be shuffled right back to your Extra Deck instead!" Teferi the Mishima turned into particles that went back into Jericho's Extra Deck, much to his irritation.

Persona Force – Robin the Crow ATK: 6000 – 300 = 5700

"I also activate Yggdrago L's effect. Once per turn, I can target one Light Cyberse monster that isn't a Link monster in my Graveyard and shuffle it back into my deck. By doing so, I can shuffle one card back into your deck, and this doesn't target."

"What?!" Jericho exclaimed. While Robin the Crow's effect prevented them from being targeted or destroyed by card effects, an effect that didn't target can still be used to dispose of the duo.

"I'll shuffle Kirinder Rhodotron back into my deck and shuffle Robin the Crow right back to your Extra Deck!" Zero stated, as a card popped out of his Extra Deck, which he took and shuffled back into his Extra Deck. Once this was done, Yggdrago L let out a loud roar of energy that hit Robin the Crow, having turned them into particles before they returned to Jericho's Extra Deck. "And with Robin the Crow gone, any cards that were originally equipped onto them are gone as well!" As if on cue, the formerly equipped Chimerator Gradientron that as on Jericho's field turned into particles, which went back to Zero's Graveyard upon doing so.

"Appear, for a fourth time! The circuit of providence!" A fourth Link Portal appeared above Zero. "The summoning conditions are one Light Cyberse monster. I'll set Peacock Picotron into the Link Markers!" Peacock Picotron went into the top-left arrowhead, turning it red.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Yggdrago R!" A plant-like dragon with a very long tail composed of vines, as well as no claws or wings, appeared on Zero's field in the other Main Monster Zone Yggdrago C pointed to. It had a green gem embedded on its head, along with a mane of orange hair.

Yggdrago R ATK: 1000 LINK-1 ↖️

"I'll now activate Yggdrago R's effect." Zero added. "Once per turn, I can send a Light Cyberse monster from my hand or deck to my Graveyard to banish a card on your field, and this doesn't target."

"Tch." Jericho grit his teeth. His field was being torn apart, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"I'll send Attrashoot Hydron from my deck to my Graveyard, and banish Throne of the Personas from your field." Zero decided, as a card popped out of his deck, which he took and sent to his Graveyard. Once that was done, Yggdrago R let out a loud roar of energy that hit Throne of the Personas, having turned it into particles as the armor on Jericho's body was destroyed seconds later.

Zero managed to bring out all three pieces of Yggdrago to his field, which means his Maximum Link monster's coming out to play, Jericho thought in his mind. If the previous duel indicated anything, it was that Zero wouldn't stop until the mission was complete, especially since he took them very seriously.

"Appear, for a fifth and final time! The circuit of providence!" Zero fired a blast of lightning from his hand, which formed into a massive Link Portal. One that had orange and dark-green colors before growing larger. "The summoning conditions are one copy each of 'Yggdrago C', 'Yggdrago L', and 'Yggdrago R'. I set the Link 2 Yggdrago C, the Link 1 Yggdrago L, and the Link 1 Yggdrago R into the Link Markers!" Yggdrago C went into the left and right arrowheads, Yggdrago L went into the bottom-left arrowhead, and Yggdrago R went into the bottom-right arrowhead, turning each of them gold in the process instead of red.

"Heaven, earth, light, darkness, creation, despair, eternity, demise, destiny... This is the new myth which will permeate throughout the world... Using your three sets of insight, now is the time to bestow reason upon all of creation!" Zero chanted. "Maximum Link Summon! Descend upon this realm! Link 4! Yggdrago the Sky Emperor!" A massive, three-headed plant-like dragon with a very long tail composed of vines appeared on Zero's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. The left head had a blue jewel embedded in it, the right head had a green jewel embedded in it, and the middle head had a red jewel embedded in it. While the dragon had large, shining wings composed of glowing feathers, it didn't have claws or feet.

Yggdrago the Sky Emperor ATK: 4000 LINK-4 ↙️⬅️➡️↘️

"You've seriously got to be kidding me…" Jericho annoyingly muttered, shocked to see that Zero was able to bring Yggdrago out to his field. It then clicked in Jericho's mind as to why Zero succeeded in bringing out Yggdrago instead of one of his other Link 4 monsters. Jericho expected Zero to use Goledule Cryotron and his other Link monster to bring out a stronger Link monster, which would gain more strength thanks to Goledule Cryotron's effect upon being used as Link material for the Link Summon of a Light Cyberse Link monster. After all, Zero had other stronger Light Cyberse Link monsters to use if the situation required it. But because Jericho reacted too early in using Summon Suppression's second effect, it led Zero to change tactics so the latter can make sure he'd win the duel by bringing Yggdrago out to his field instead. Thus leading to the current predicament Jericho was in right now.

"I activate Yggdrago's effect. Once per turn, during either of our turns, I can make it unaffected by your card effects until the end of the turn, and you can't activate cards or effects in response to its activation. Aura of Providence!" Zero stated, as a golden aura surrounded Yggdrago that protected it against anything Jericho could throw at it.

Great! Now I can't weaken Yggdrago nor take control of it, Jericho cursed in his mind. The only way I can get rid of it is through battle, and thanks to Provident Dominion being on Zero's field, it'll remain there to prevent me from winning this duel!

"Last but not least, I activate Yggdrago the Sky Emperor's second effect. It can attack up to three times during my Battle Phase, but in exchange, other monsters I control can't attack for the rest of the turn."

"Tch." Jericho grit his teeth, knowing what was about to happen next.

"Battle!" Zero declared. "Yggdrago the Sky Emperor attacks Persona Soul – Pandora! Ragnarök Tri-Burst Streak!" All three of Yggdrago's heads charged up fire in each of its maws before firing it at Pandora, who screamed as she turned into particles upon impact. Jericho was also pushed back several feet as he fell onto his right knee, his life points having dropped as well.

Jericho: 4000 – 2500 = 1500 LP

"I activate Pandora's third and final effect." Jericho said. "When she leaves the field while she has a 'Persona' counter, I can Special Summon her back to my field. However, she's banished once she leaves my field. Return to me, Pandora!" At Jericho's command, Pandora reappeared on his field, only in the Main Monster Zone.

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

"That won't save you, Jericho." Zero thrusted out his right hand. "The battle continues! Yggdrago the Sky Emperor attacks Persona Soul – Pandora once again!"

"No, no, no! This seriously can't be! I'm about to lose?!" Jericho's eyes widened in pure shock at the possibility that he was about to lose the duel.

"Yes, you are, Jericho. With your defeat, you won't be able to get the Root of All Knowledge for your father, nor will you be able to use Ai for your plans any longer!" Zero declared. "Finish him off, Yggdrago the Sky Emperor! Ragnarök Tri-Burst Streak!" At Zero's command, Yggdrago began charging up fire in each of its three maws, intent on finishing the duel and helping the former secure victory.

Sorry, but this duel's not over yet, Jericho maliciously thought in his mind, a smirk having appeared on his face as he slowly stood up on his feet. "I suggest you call off your attack, Zero."

Zero raised an eyebrow. "And why is that? Are you begging for mercy all of a sudden?"

Jericho laughed after hearing those questions. "On the contrary, you should be the one to beg for mercy, Zero!" He pressed a few buttons on his duel disk, which caused multiple digital screens to appear above him. Those screens showed each of the executives at SOL Technologies on hospital beds in the company's private hospital, having fallen into comas due to the envoys defeating them in duels.

But it wasn't the executives that got Zero's attention.

No. What got Zero's attention was the fact that his sons, the ones he loved despite everything he went through, were being held hostage right now.

"What did you do?!" Zero demanded.

"I'm so glad you asked, as Lightning inspired me to use this technique when it comes to the art of war." Jericho answered, as he pressed a button on his duel disk, which caused two more digital screens to appear. The first showed his life points while the second showed bombs with the same thing embedded inside timers. "I simply linked my life points to the bombs you see on the screen. When you inflicted damage to me earlier in our duel, the numbers on the bombs dropped down to that same amount. Should my life points drop to zero at any point in our duel, then the numbers on the bombs will immediately detonate and destroy not only your sons, but the other executives in a fiery explosion as well! I'd be surprised if any other innocent people were caught in the chaos!"

Zero narrowed his eyes in pure anger, infuriated that Jericho would do such a thing. However, there was still something Zero wanted to know, especially since Jericho chose this particular moment to reveal his ace in the hole. "If this was your plan from the very beginning, then why threaten? Why not just do it?"

Jericho smiled. "You think I'm bluffing? Allow me to show you how serious I am right now!" He pressed a button on his duel disk. "Brigadier, has the area been rigged up completely?"

"It's all set up, Jericho." Brigadier answered on the other end of the comm.

"Sweet!" Jericho said, before redirecting his attention back to Zero. "Now for the fireworks to begin!" He pressed another button on his duel disk, which caused a digital screen to appear that showed the hospital morgue at SOL Technologies' private hospital. Once that was done, Jericho pressed one more button, where a massive explosion occurred that blew up the hospital morgue completely.

"Okay, now this is interesting." Pandora remarked, having also looked at the explosion on the screen just now. Unlike Raguel, it seemed that Jericho was one who was willing to do whatever it took to achieve his goal with no qualms whatsoever. If this was the case, then supporting Jericho and his plans would ultimately benefit her in the long-term.

"How many lives did you just take, Jericho?!" Zero exclaimed.

"None… I think." Jericho shrugged his shoulders. "I know for a fact that dead bodies were destroyed in the explosion. Though if there were people killed… well, let's just say they were at the wrong place at the wrong time."

Zero grit his teeth. It was typical of Jericho to make sure all the cards were stacked in his favor, especially given a delicate and high-profile situation such as this one going on right now. In fact, with his plans in using the Cursed Boundary Layer to weaken Earth was foiled, Jericho was now even more hellbent on making sure that things went according to his plan. Long story short, he couldn't afford to take any more risks lest he get caught off guard again. One could say that Jericho was slowly becoming unhinged due to his plans failing the first time around.

"But to answer your earlier question, Zero, it's because you've gained even more hope than before after seeing humans of all species be the first one to fight back and destroy the Cursed Boundary Layer without its host being killed off." Jericho continued. "It wasn't just that, as your time with Kairi, Callum, Shion and the AUTOs also helped you retain your humanity despite everything you went through. They truly see the value of life and how beautiful it can be despite humans making many mistakes due to their infected nature, don't you think?"

Jericho laughed as he continued talking. "Oh, I forgot to mention one thing about your sons, and how they played a role in your assassination attempt. Not just them, but their collaboration with the other executives in trying to kill you as well."

"What are you talking about now, Jericho?" Zero inquired, which made Jericho chuckle once more.

"Seriously? You never knew the truth about what happened on the day you lost your wife? The day where Urizen came and saved your life?! Allow me to show you the truth!" Jericho pressed a few buttons on his duel disks, which caused a few digital screens to pop up. The first few showed audio footage, while others showed previous footage of that fateful day.

Specifically, the day where Zero lost his beloved wife.

"Has everything been set up, Hyodo?" Perseo asked through the comms.

"Of course, Perseo. It took a few calls, but I was able to get the necessary materials that will certainly get the job done." Perseo answered.

"Splendid job, Hyodo." Lycaon praised Pawn through the comms. "What about you, Miyama?"

"I was able to get several people who had grievances against the Dragon King to help us, Lycaon." Rook replied. "They're also in place for the plan to begin."

"While this idea is necessary for the greater good, if the Dragon King realizes that we were responsible-." Knight began speaking.

"He won't, Kishi. You and I will be the ones to make sure everything is covered up, after all." Bishop reminded Knight. "If it helps, Ohi will also help to ensure this task is fulfilled to the letter."

"Obviously, Kaido." Queen agreed. "My team and I will make sure to eliminate any potential leaks that would cause investigators to find out what really happened, and if anyone's caught, we'll throw them under the bus. We're ready to begin at your command, Kings."

"Good. Then begin." Jeromy commanded the other higherups before they all signed off, intent on playing their assigned roles to try and eliminate the Dragon King for good.

The audio footage soon disappeared, where the footage on the other digital screens soon began to play. Zero's eyes widened as he recognized the street where the car crash occurred. On the day of that fateful accident, he recalled taking his wife, Chizuko, out to lunch to celebrate her promotion at work. However, when the car they were on, which was a Vauxhall Corsa, began to head towards a particular intersection, that was when their lives would be changed forever.

Zero gasped as he saw the car head over to that intersection, where explosions suddenly occurred from the buildings nearby, which launched several pieces of glass and other things towards the cars also there. Other cars also appeared before suddenly ramming into the ones that were at the intersection, which caused a series of explosions as the driver in the Vauxhall Corsa was forced to evade them. Unfortunately, one more explosion sent the car flying, where it rolled on the ground before stopping. One person kicked the car door out before slowly crawling onto the ground, where they stood up and opened the passenger door to allow two people to exit the damaged vehicle. But before the second person could exit the vehicle, a fiery explosion sent the driver and the first person flying off the ground, which made them roll onto the ground seconds later as both of them fell unconscious.

A grin appeared on Jericho's face as he sped up the footage, where emergency services arrived to help those who were caught in the chaos. Ukyos Albinor, who was coordinating efforts at the time, ran over to a person nearby, and upon recognizing them as Dairoku Saionji, the head at SOL Technologies', he shouted orders at medical staff to take him to the company's private hospital immediately. Police also arrived as they swept the area, which led to multiple people being arrested seconds later. Having seen the shocked look on Zero's face, Jericho turned off the footage, pleased to see that the latter was able to deal a fatal blow to the former mentally.

"Impossible…" Zero muttered, the shock still evident on his face. This whole time, he thought his wife died in the crossfire when multiple people displeased with SOL Technologies and its operations wanted him dead. However, based on what Zero was seeing from the footage, his own sons and the other executives were ultimately responsible for trying to assassinate him. Not just that, but for causing the deaths of Chizuko and multiple other innocent bystanders as well.

"That's right, Zero! Your sons, who wanted to rule SOL Technologies with an iron fist, worked with the other executives to try and kill you so they can take control of the company!" Jericho said. "If you ask me, they don't deserve to live after what they did to your wife, especially since they committed parricide by killing her. I mean, if I recall, she was a good person who didn't deserve to die at all."

Lycaon. Perseo. Jeromy. How could you do such a vile thing, Zero thought in his mind, angry, shocked and disappointed in his own sons for trying to kill him. All just to seize SOL technologies for themselves. It was due to their actions that Chizuko, as well as multiple other people, died in the chaos. While Zero wanted to confront his sons and take them down, he had other priorities to take care of, which in this case was defeating Jericho in this duel and keeping Akira safe.

"Nonetheless, this is where you make your decision, Zero. You can attack and finish me off this duel, but it'll cost the lives of everyone who's currently at the hospital right now, including your sons. What's more, pursuing this course of action will make you no better than Arshad in the end. However, if you tell your monster to stand down, you'll lose your one chance at finally defeating me and bringing a crippling blow to my father's operations. What's more, I'll still be around and active, which means the chances of me winning this conflict are still there. My question to you now is this: What will you choose? Will you defeat me and sacrifice the lives of countless people just to achieve victory? Or will you stand down and give me the chance to defeat you for good? The choice is yours to make."

Zero frowned as he thought this over. With one attack, he'd finally defeat Jericho and deal a massive blow to Urizen's plans. In addition, Zero would be able to save Akira from Ai and inform him not only about Jericho's whereabouts, but Urizen's plans as well. With Pandor backing him up, it'd further prove how genuine he was as an ally not just to Akira, but to Playmaker and everyone else as well. As the cherry on top, Zero can grant Ai and Roboppy asylum before bringing them to Kairi, who'd welcome the duo with open arms.

But.

If Zero did such a thing, then he'd sadly prove Jericho right. He'd be no better than Watchman in the end on sacrificing people just to achieve his goals. And honestly, despite everything that's happened, Zero truly loved his three sons. He would prefer for them to face justice for their crimes than sacrifice them for the sake of the mission. Besides, Chizuko wouldn't want him to murder the three children they raised together for many years. The sons that the both of them wanted to make positive and ever-lasting contributions to the world.

"Stand down, Yggdrago." Zero reluctantly said, as Yggdrago the Sky Emperor heeded its master's command. "I Set one card face-down and end my turn, which means Yggdrago's effect ends." The golden aura surrounding Yggdrago dissipated seconds later, which indicated that its effect ended.

Elsewhere, at Akira's server…

After Blue Maiden once again proclaimed that she'll protect Akira to the very end, she started her turn by bringing a second copy of Blue Slug to the field, which led to her eventually Link Summoning a second copy of both Coral Anemone and Marbled Rock. By doing so, Blue Maiden was not only able to add 'Marincess' cards back from the Graveyard to her hand, but also set the stage for what's about to happen next.

"Shine, for a fourth time! The circuit of love, friendship and bonds!" Blue Maiden declared, as a fourth Link Portal appeared above her. "The summoning conditions are two or more Water monsters. I set the Link 3 Marincess Marbled Rock and Crown Tail into the Link Markers!" Marbled Rock went into the left, bottom-left and bottom arrowheads while Crown Tail went into the right arrowhead, turning all four of them red.

"Deep blue droplets in the mother's ocean! Gather together to purify the planet so a prosperous future can be forged! One shining with light! Link Summon! Appear! Link 4! Marincess Great Bubble Reef!" A planet between two hands appeared before dissolving into droplets that fell down into an ocean. A light then emerged from the ocean, where a big droplet of water jumped out of it before breaking apart. Seconds later, a woman with light-violet eyes whose attire consisted of a dark-blue cardigan with wide sleeves over a light-blue dress that had the Marincess emblem in the middle appeared on Blue Maiden and Akira's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. Attached to the back of the cardigan was a massive pink ribbon that rested on her shoulders. She had very long, light-blue hair that reached up to her nape, which included a side bang on each side of her hair as well. The end portion of it was also tied into a bushy ponytail. Attached to the sides of her head were a pair of yellow horns that jutted outwards. In her hands, she carried a scepter that was in the form of a violet flower with a light green pistil inside it.

Marincess Great Bubble Reef ATK: 2600 LINK-4 ↙️⬅️⬇️➡️

"I didn't want it to come to this, but you need to be stopped." Great Bubble Reef said, as she got ready for battle.

"Hey, that's the monster you used to eventually defeat Raguel, right, Blue Maiden?" Ai figured out.

"Blue Maiden's new monster almost resembles Aerith, master." Roboppy noticed upon looking closer at Great Bubble Reef, which led Ai to smirk in confirmation after seeing it as well.

"That's certainly correct, Roboppy. It was quite smart for Blue Maiden to use psychological warfare in taking Raguel down, especially given the volatile state he was in back then."

"Hey, just because Great Bubble Reef resembles Aerith doesn't mean I used psychological warfare in my duel against Raguel, Ai!" Blue Maiden furiously told Ai.

"Blue Maiden isn't someone who would use psychological warfare in a duel, Ai. How dare you make such a comment!" Akira scolded Ai for making such a comment in the first place.

"Come on, Ai. You know what you said was wrong here." Aerith added, also angry with Ai for what he said earlier.

"I was just making an observation, guys. I meant no harm at all." Ai replied, which didn't fully placate Blue Maiden, Akira and Aerith.

"So this is Blue Maiden's new ace monster…" Playmaker observed.

"For a Link 4 monster, it's quite impressive." Soulburner commented.

"If Great Bubble Reef is the duel monster that helped Blue Maiden take down Raguel, then it must have powerful effects." Revolver said.

"Whatever effects Blue Maiden's new ace monster has, they're sure to help her and Zaizen regain control of this duel." Slipstream stated.

"As long as Blue Maiden plays her cards right, she'll be able to stop Ai for good this turn if all goes well." Percival added.

Blue Maiden proceeded to use Bubble Circle's second effect to banish Crown Tail from the Graveyard so she can inflict 100 points of damage to Ai. When Ai questioned why Blue Maiden did such a thing, the latter revealed that Great Bubble Reef gained 600 life points every time a 'Marincess' monster was banished until the End Phase. After using Returner's effect to return it back to her hand and Crown Tail back to the Graveyard, Blue Maiden used Bubble Circle's effect again to banish Crown Tail once again and inflict 100 more points of damage to Ai, which further increased Great Bubble Reef's attack points to 3800. Following this, she used Great Bubble Reef's second effect to discard Sea Horse from her hand so she can Special Summon Crown Tail back to the field in defense position. It was as this point where Ai realized that Blue Maiden was using two strategies at once against him, which was limiting his options at the rate it was going right now.

After Blue Maiden got permission from Akira to use Returner, she proceeded to use its second effect to Special Summon it to the field in defense position by tributing Crown Tail. What's more, Returner's other effect increased Great Bubble Reef's attack points by Crown Tail's attack points until the End Phase. Due to this, Great Bubble Reef's attack points were now at 4400. Once this was done, Blue Maiden used Bubble Circle's effect a third time to banish Crown Tail again, inflict 100 points of damage to Ai and increase Great Bubble Reef's attack points. This led to Ai having only 100 life points left, while Great Bubble Reef's attack points were now at 5000. Blue Maiden even activated Crown Tail's effect from the Graveyard, banishing it to prevent her from taking any battle damage that is less than or equal to the total Link rating of the Marincess Link monsters with different namesin the Graveyard times 1000.

"The combined Link rating of the 'Marincess' Link monsters that's in Blue Maiden and Akira's Graveyard is six, so any battle damage that is 6000 or less will be dropped to zero." Playmaker noted.

"Even if the Dark Ignis is able to increase Water Leviathan's strength, it still won't matter because any battle damage that's 6000 or less will be dropped to zero." Revolver commented.

"In addition, Great Bubble Reef's attack points are at a high enough value to withstand Water Leviathan's third effect." Electrolyzer added, as he crossed his arms. "All Blue Maiden has to do is destroy Water Leviathan, and she and Zaizen will win the duel."

"Damn it! There's no counters for this battle!" Ai lamented.

"You shouldn't have provoked Blue Maiden, master, as it's clearly backfired." Roboppy stated the obvious.

Ai turned his head to Roboppy, a firm expression evident on the former's face. "I haven't lost yet, Roboppy. The duel isn't over until the last card is played, remember?"

Roboppy quickly nodded back in response. "Of course, master. I remember perfectly."

Even though Akira went overboard, he always wanted to keep me safe, Blue Maiden thought in her mind. Back then, he didn't want me to log into LINK VRAINS so I wouldn't get caught up in the chaos. But now… now I'm fighting alongside my brother, and I'll be the one to protect him this time! "Let's end this, Ai! Battle! Marincess Great Bubble Reef attacks Water Leviathan AtIgnister!" Magical energy charged up in the scepter Great Bubble Reef held in her hands, ready to fire it at Water Leviathan.

"Don't forget about Water Leviathan's effect, Blue Maiden! For when she battles, your monster's attack points are halved until during damage calculation only!" Ai reminded Blue Maiden, as the cyan ribbons attached to the sides of Water Leviathan's crown suddenly zipped forward and pierced through Great Bubble Reef, who grit her teeth in pain as before her strength was decreased.

Marincess Great Bubble Reef ATK: 5000 / 2 = 2500

"This is it! The final attack to determine the duel!" Aerith said.

"You got this, Blue Maiden!" Soulburner cheered.

"Oh no! Master's gonna lose!" Roboppy panicked, shocked to see Ai in a dire situation.

"End this duel, Great Bubble Reef! Oceanic Aria!" Blue Maiden shouted.

"Farewell!" Great Bubble Reef said, as she fired the magical energy straight towards Water Leviathan, intent on ending this duel.

Ai grit his teeth in anger before gesturing to his field. "You can't protect your brother, Blue Maiden! Especially since I have one last card to play! Trap card, activate! HAi! If I've taken effect damage on your turn and two monsters battle, you take damage equal to double the difference in attack points! In addition, your monster will be destroyed instead of mine!"

"What?!" Blue Maiden exclaimed in horror, with everyone else gasping upon hearing this information.

"The difference between Great Bubble Reef and Water Leviathan's attack points is 200." Revolver stated.

"And the effect damage is doubled on top of that!" Soulburner exclaimed.

"Crown Tail's effect only reduces battle damage, not effect damage." Playmaker recalled.

"Which means there's no way neither Blue Maiden nor Zaizen will be able to escape the effect damage!" Slipstream realized.

"Despite their best efforts, Ai won in the end…" Raguel finished, a horrified expression evident on his face.

"Blue Maiden! Akira!" Aerith shouted, also having a horrified expression evident on her face.

"This can't be…" Arin muttered, shocked to see that Blue Maiden and Akira were about to lose.

"End this duel, Water Leviathan! Hydro Cannon!" Ai declared.

"It's over for the both of you." Water Leviathan sadly said, as light-blue energy gathered in her maw before firing a large beam of water right back at the magical energy fired from Great Bubble Reef's scepter. The blasts collided, but Water Leviathan's attack pushed back the magical energy and destroyed Great Bubble Reef instead, which caused a typhoon of water to appear due to the clash.

"Aoi!" Akira cried out, having dived into the water to try and reach over for Blue Maiden.

"Akira!" Blue Maiden also cried out, having raised her right arm to reach over for Akira. Unfortunately, the typhoon of water swirled both duelists up before eventually spitting them out, their life points having dropped to zero.

Akira and Blue Maiden: 150 – (200 X 2) = 0

The duel was over.

Despite Akira and Blue Maiden's best efforts, they unfortunately lost.

"You failed to protect him, Blue Maiden." Ai commented, as he began to walk over to the fallen Zaizen siblings.

"Akira, I got you…" Blue Maiden said, as she tried to reach over for her brother.

"I failed you, Aoi. I'm so sorry." Akira apologized, but before he could say anything else, he vanished into black and purple data, much to Blue Maiden's horror. When this was done, only Akira's half of the Code Key remained, which floated over to Ai.

Blue Maiden looked up at Ai after seeing that she didn't turn into data. "Explain yourself, Ai! My brother and I lost the duel together, so shouldn't I be turned into data like the others?"

"Master, are you showing compassion? That's-." Roboppy began speaking.

"Be quiet, Roboppy!" Ai suddenly snapped, which made Roboppy gasp after seeing the firm look on the former's face. He then turned to look at the fallen Blue Maiden as Water Leviathan appeared at his right side.

"Ai…" Water Leviathan muttered, now concerned for Ai's mental state.

Ai didn't pay any attention to Water Leviathan as he narrowed his eyes at Blue Maiden. "There are three reasons why I'm sparing your life, Blue Maiden." He held up one finger. "One: You risked your life to save Playmaker when Raguel captured him. Out of gratitude for doing so, I won't erase you." Ai held up a second finger. "Two: The strength you've displayed during the duel showed me how you're both a warrior and a leader, Blue Maiden. You'll need it for the battles to come." He held up a third finger. "Three: I want you to continue living with regret for failing to protect someone dear to you."

"You…!" Blue Maiden exclaimed, furious after what Ai said just now.

"As promised, I'm taking the Code Key." Ai continued talking. "See you later, Blue Maiden. Take care as well, Pandor."

"Now that we got the Code Key, master, can we go?" Roboppy asked, which led Ai to nod in confirmation. "Awesome!"

"All of you, listen to me." Water Leviathan stated, having turned to those who were watching the duel. "For your sakes, do not get involved any more than you already have right now, as there's more going on than either of you can realize. Once Ai and Roboppy have finished their mission, I hope you understand why they chose the path they're on now."

"Thanks for giving them the warning, Water Leviathan. Return." Ai stated, as Water Leviathan turned into particles. Once that was done, Ai and Roboppy continued to walk away, intent on leaving the server.

"Hold on, Ai!" Playmaker said, which got Ai's attention.

"What is it, Playmaker?" Ai raised an eyebrow, wanting to know what Playmaker wanted.

"You…" Playmaker couldn't say anything else in response to what happened.

"Good talk." Ai simply said, as he turned around and continued to walk away with Roboppy.

"Wait, Ai! You went too far!" Soulburner exclaimed.

"No, it's fine, Soulburner." Revolver calmly commented, which not only stopped Soulburner from talking, but also caught Ai's interest. "Don't you see, everyone? The Dark Ignis has tricked you this entire time and has shown its true colors as of now."

"Please don't make any impulsive judgments, Revolver." Demeter pleaded, now afraid of what Revolver would do and/or say next.

Revolver ignored Demeter as he pointed his right index finger at Ai. "With what you've done, I can now erase you without hesitation, Dark Ignis. And if you're responsible for what happened to Infearno, then I'll make sure to eliminate you without mercy!"

Ai chuckled back after hearing Revolver's vow to destroy him. "Then I wish you good luck, Revolver. You will need it, especially for the battles to come." He then turned to Raguel. "As for you, Raguel, it's all your fault that this had to occur."

"What do you mean by that, Ai?!" Raguel demanded. "Tell me! TELL ME!"

"I hope you rot in Hell, Raguel." Ai replied, which broke Raguel's heart into a million pieces. Having seen the tormented look on Raguel's face, Ai chuckled and continued walking with Roboppy, but not before turning to Playmaker. "Let's meet again, Playmaker." With that, he and Roboppy officially logged out of the network.

"Ai…" Playmaker muttered, still shocked with everything that's happened.

"I don't know what the Dark Ignis is talking about, Raguel, but I will find out the truth one way or another." Electrolyzer stated. "Whoever's truly responsible for this mess, they will suffer the full force of the law in the name of both Central Japan and its people!" He logged out, intent on fulfilling his promise.

Blue Maiden sobbed before slamming her fists onto the ground, sad that she couldn't keep Akira safe from Ai. "Akira, I'm so sorry…"

Meanwhile, at Zero and Jericho's duel…

Pandora clapped her hands, having turned to Jericho upon seeing how he was able to force Zero to stand down. "I must say, I didn't expect you to resort to a dirty tactic just so you can tip things in your favor. For this, you have my respect."

"Honor doesn't exist in war, Pandora. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure my mission is complete." Jericho told Pandora, as he redirected his attention back to the duel. "How pathetic of you, Zero. You had the perfect opportunity to seize victory and stop me forever, yet you chose not to cross the line so you can retain your humanity. If you ask me, you're either very stupid or just gone mad for making such a decision. But nevertheless, that reason is why you'll never defeat me in the end, Zero, as you're afraid to lose what makes you a good person. As a result, any chances you have of defeating me are completely gone!"

"Wrong! He'll get another one!" a voice cried out, as Pandor emerged out of nowhere and began running towards Jericho, who immediately pulled out a blade of data material before firing blasts of data at the former. Pandor evaded the blasts as she pressed a button on her duel disk, where she jumped in the air and shrunk down before entering inside Jericho's duel disk, who didn't have time to react upon seeing it in the first place. When Jericho pressed a button on his duel disk to try and evict Pandor out of it, electrical energy surrounded it before something was deleted from it. This was indicated by the bombs on the screens short circuiting before they all shut down, much to Jericho's horror.

"No! This can't be!" Jericho angrily grit his teeth, shocked that he wasn't able to see this coming. With what just happened, he no longer had any leverage whatsoever to stop Zero from winning the duel!

Thank you for sacrificing yourself to help me, Pandor, Zero thought in his mind, a smile of gratitude evident on his face. I promise to not only avenge you, but also make sure Jericho never threatens the network ever again! "It looks like any leverage you have over me is gone, Jericho. Once my next turn comes around, you'll be finished!"

"That's only if you survive my coming turn, Zero." Jericho responded back, furious with what happened. He didn't expect Pandor to have a self-destruct function inside her, and it was likely that Revolver put it inside the former to make sure any chances of obtaining data were dropped to zero. But thanks to what Pandor did, Jericho lost the advantage, which will eventually lead to his loss if he didn't defeat Zero this turn. "My turn! I draw!" He drew the top card of his deck.

"I activate Yggdrago's effect." Zero interrupted. "Once per turn, during either of our turns, I can make it unaffected by your card effects until the end of the turn, and you can't activate cards or effects in response to its activation. Aura of Providence!" A golden aura surrounded Yggdrago that protected it against anything Jericho could throw at it.

Jericho let out a laugh. "If you think protecting your Maximum Link monster will help you survive this turn, you're sorely mistaken. Still, since you made me put in a lot of effort during this duel, I'll show you the power I've been holding back until now!" The whole area began to suddenly shake as a purple and black-colored aura began to surround his body, which cackled with electricity seconds later.

Oh no! He's going to use it, Zero cursed in his mind, having tensed up after realizing what Jericho was up to. If Jericho was truly using it, this meant he was no longer playing around. Things… were about to go very bad for Zero as a result.

"Go, ISO Morphosis!" Jericho shouted, as the purple and black energy enveloped him completely in a darkened fog before releasing shockwaves of darkness that not only obscured Zero's vision temporarily, but also pushed him back several feet as well. When the shockwaves died down, Zero uncovered his eyes and gasped at what was before him.

A black and crimson-colored aura surrounded Jericho's body, his hair having stood up on end to give it a spiky, flame-like appearance except for one bang, which went down to the middle of his forehead. The sclera in his eyes had turned red while his irises turned white and his pupils turned black. On Jericho's back was a glowing yellow symbol, which consisted of a blade that was connected to a total of eight devilish wings that had an eye on each one, as well as an eye at the center of the blade.

"Been a while since I used this ability, don't you think, Zero?" Jericho chuckled. "Then again, it was needed, especially since you actually posed a challenge this time around."

"The ISO Morphosis…" Zero muttered, recognizing what Jericho did just now.

"Ah. So you know what I did just now. Good." Jericho replied. "But just in case you need a reminder, it not only enhances my abilities as a fighter and a duelist, but also allows me to do this! Once per duel, during my Main Phase, when my life points are less than 2000 and the both of us control a monster that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, I am unaffected by your cards, effects and Skills for the rest of this duel during my turns only!"

"Oh no!" Zero exclaimed, as the aura surrounding Jericho intensified, which hit the former and his deck seconds later. With Jericho having used the ISO Morphosis, this meant that he couldn't negate the effects nor activations of any of Jericho's cards during his turn! However, Zero was able to keep his strongest monster safe from both battle and card effects, so he'll be able to make a comeback if Jericho manages to catch him off guard.

"The beginning of your end continues with this! 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 back to my field. Return to me, Goro and Robin Hood!" At Jericho's command, Goro and Robin Hood reappeared on his field. For the latter, it appeared in the Main Monster Zone Pandora pointed to.

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

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

Persona Soul – Pandora PC: 0 + 1 = 1

Persona Soul – Robin Hood ATK: 500 + 700 = 1200

"Then, immediately after this effect resolves, I can Link Summon one 'Persona' Link monster using 'Persona' monsters I control."

"Great. Jericho's gonna bring that monster back again…" Zero angrily muttered, knowing which monster Jericho was about to summon to his field.

"Appear, the circuit of hidden truths and deceit!" Jericho declared, as a Link Portal appeared above him. "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!" Robin the Crow reappeared on Jericho's field in the Main Monster Zone.

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

Persona Force – Robin the Crow ATK: 2300 + (300 X 3) = 3200

"I activate Robin the Crow's effect." Jericho continued. "Once per turn, when they're points to a Link monster on either player's field, I can target a card in your hand, field or Graveyard and banish it. I'll banish Provident Dominion! Exile to Oblivion!" A black arrow appeared out of nowhere as Robin the Crow aimed his bow at Provident Dominion before firing it at their target, turning it into particles.

"Tch." Zero grit his teeth after seeing Provident Dominion turn into particles. With Provident Dominion gone, that means Yggdrago can now be destroyed by battle, Zero cursed in his mind.

"I activate Pandora's 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. I target Goro!" At Jericho's command, Goro reappeared on his field.

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

Persona Force – Robin the Crow ATK: 3200 + 300 = 3500

"Goro's effect! Just like before, when he's Normal or Special Summoned, I can target one Spell or Trap card in your Graveyard and Set it tomy side of the field." Jericho reminded Zero. "This time, I'll choose Provident Reversal!" The declared Set card soon appeared on Jericho's field.

"Appear, for a second and final time! The circuit of hidden truths and deceit!" A Link Portal appeared above Jericho. "The summoning conditions are two or more 'Persona' monsters, including a 'Persona Force' Link monster. Alternatively, I can Link Summon this card by using a copy of 'Persona Force – Robin the Crow' and 'Persona Civilian – Goro Akechi' on my field instead. I'll set the Link 3 Persona Force – Robin the Crow and Persona Civilian - Goro Akechi into the Link Markers!" Robin the Crow went into the top, left and right arrowheads, while Goro went into the bottom arrowhead, turning all four of them red.

"Two-faced detective determined to uncover the truth! Let the revelations consume you completely and unleash the embodiment of chaotic mischief to exact your retribution!" Jericho chanted. "Link Summon! Come before us! Link 4! Darkest Persona Force – Loki the Crow!" A tall, young man who wore a black and dark blue striped outfit that consisted of several black studded belts strapped around his legs and arms 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 dark enclosed knight helmet with a black mask tinted red, which resembled a beak. He also had clawed gauntlets on his arms, as well as a short black cape attached to the back of his outfit. In his right hand, he carried a sword with a toothed, red blade. Emerging from behind the tall, young man was a zebra-skinned, humanoid demon with curved horns and long, black braids of hair attached to the back of his head. He had yellow, glowing eyes that were in the form of slits, along with a red, sharp-toothed grin. Orbiting in front of him was a large, burning blade.

Darkest Persona Force – Loki the Crow ATK: 3000 LINK-4 ⬅️⬆️⬇️➡️

Persona Soul – Pandora PC: 1 + 1 = 2

Darkest Persona Force – Loki the Crow ATK: 3000 + (700 X 2) = 4400

Jericho thrusted out his right hand. "I activate Loki the Crow's first effect! When they're Special Summoned, I can banish a card from your hand, deck, field, Graveyard or Extra Deck. I'll banish your face-down card! Duped Revelation!" Black energy formed in Crow's left hand as he fired it at the face-down card on Zero's field, which turned into particles.

"Next is Loki the Crow's other two effects! First, they gain 400 attack points for each card on both of our fields. In addition, they gain 500 attack points for every 'Persona' card that's in my Graveyard! What's more, as long as they're pointing to a Link monster, they can't be destroyed by battle or targeted or removed by card effects!"

"What?!" Zero exclaimed, his eyes having widened in pure horror after hearing this information.

"You have Yggdrago the Sky Emperor on your field while I have Loki the Crow, Pandora and a face-down card on my field, which gives Loki the Crow 1600 attack points." Jericho began calculating. "Lastly, I have Robin the Crow, Robin Hood, Goro, Arsene the Joker, Arsene, Ren, Persona Awakening and Calling Card in my Graveyard, which gives Loki the Crow an additional 4000 attack points. When you add them together, Loki the Crow gains a total of 5200 attack points! Darkest Infuriation!" Loki the Crow let out a loud roar as their strength increased to insurmountable heights.

Darkest Persona Force – Loki the Crow ATK: 4400 + (400 X 4) + (500 X 8) = 10000

"Battle!" Jericho thrusted out his right hand. "Darkest Persona Force – Loki the Crow attacks Yggdrago the Sky Emperor!"

"I activate the effect of Enertron from my hand." Zero said. "When a Light Cyberse Link, Ritual, Fusion, Synchro or Xyz monster I control battles, I can send this card from my hand or field-."

"Pathetic fool! I activate Loki the Crow's effect!" Jericho interrupted. "Once per turn, during either of our turns, when you activate a card effect, I can not only negate the effect and banish it, but also halve your life points as well! And if you're wondering, I was able to use this effect since Loki the Crow was Link Summoned using a copy of 'Persona Force – Robin the Crow' and 'Persona Civilian – Goro Akechi'!"

"This can't be!" Zero gasped, having processed that there was nothing else he could do to fight back against Jericho!

"Oh, but it is, Zero. Deluded Ruination!" Loki released waves of fiery energy from the large, burning blade in front of him, which not only banished the card in Zero's hand, but also made him grunt in pain as his life points were halved.

Zero: 4600 / 2 = 2300 LP

"Finish this duel for good, Loki the Crow!" Jericho shouted. "Despairing Destruction!" Loki thrusted out his hands as he sent the large, burning blade straight towards Yggdrago the Sky Emperor, which pierced the latter in the chest and made it groan in horrible pain. From there, Crow charged forward and slashed Yggdrago the Sky Emperor multiple times, while Loki used his energy to lift the large, burning blade upwards so he can bisect their common foe. Once this was done, Loki used his telekinetic powers to maneuver the large, burning blade in further slicing Yggdrago the Sky Emperor, with Crow also proceeding to do so with the sword in his hands. Blazing energy gathered in the weapons Loki and Crow wielded before the two of them slashed Yggdrago together with such force that a massive explosion enveloped their common foe and turned it into particles. The massive explosion headed straight towards Zero and sent him flying off the ground, making him scream in pain as his life points dropped all the way to zero upon landing on his back.

Zero: 2300 – 6000 = 0

"Raguel, Playmaker and their allies will defeat you in my place…" Zero stated as he tried to get up on his feet to no avail. "You won't win."

"On the contrary, you're wrong, old man." Jericho remarked, as he walked over with Loki to where Zero was. After doing so, he grabbed Zero by the neck with his left hand and lifted the latter off the ground. "Once Ai's done, they'll lose the will to fight, and I'll be the ultimate victor in this conflict." Jericho punched Zero in the stomach with such force that he fell unconscious, where the former unceremoniously tossed the latter down to the ground. "Pick him up, Loki. It's time to return to base."

Following Jericho's orders, Loki headed over to Zero and swung him over his right shoulder. Jericho also fired a blast of data from the blade of data material in his left hand, which caused a portal to open up that he and Loki (with an unconscious Zero) walked into seconds later. After that was done, the portal closed up, the fight having concluded overall.

With this victory, Jericho retained the advantage, as now he can acquire the formula needed to create Maximum Link monsters. Ones that will help him, and Urizen by extension, win the war by its conclusion. And once Jericho seized control of SOL Technologies, no one would be able to stop Eschaton! Nor would they able to stop the New Epoch to come shortly after!

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

Pandor:

Topologina Labee (LV: 1/Cyberse/Dark/ATK: 0/DEF: 700) (Credit to Donkeyboy100)

Effect: If your opponent activates a card or effect while you control a 'Topologina' or 'Topologic' monster (Quick Effect): You can Special Summon this card from your hand or GY to your field, but banish it when it leaves your field, and if you do, negate the effect. If this card is banished: You can target 1 'Topologina' card in your GY; add it to your hand. You can only use each effect of 'Topologina Labee' once per turn.

Topologina Pollination (Continuous-Spell card)

Effect: When this card is activated: You can banish 1 'Topologina' card from your deck or GY; add 1 'Topologina' card with a different name from your deck to your hand. During your Main Phase: You can banish 1 'Topologina' monster from your GY; Special Summon 1 'Topologina' monster from your GY or banished zone with a different name. If this card is banished: You can target 1 'Topologina' Spell or Trap card in your GY; Set it to your field. You can only use each effect of 'Topologina Pollination' once per turn.

Topologina Competition (Quick-Play Spell card)

Effect: If a 'Topologina' or 'Topologic' monster you control battles: You can target 1 other 'Topologina' or 'Topologic' monster that's banished or in your GY; it gains ATK equal to the targeted monster's ATK until the End Phase. If this card is in your GY (Quick Effect): You can banish this card from your GY and target 1 'Topologina' or 'Topologic' monster you control; this turn, monsters your opponent controls must attack the targeted monster, if able. You can only use 1 effect of 'Topologina Competition' per turn, and only 1 that turn.

Topologina Rubee (LR: 1/Cyberse/Dark/ATK: 500/↙️️️) (Credit to Donkeyboy100)

Effect: 1 'Topologina' monster. When this card is Link Summoned: You can target 1 'Topologina' card in your GY; banish it, and if you do, you can add 1 'Topologina' card with a different name from your deck to your hand. During the End Phase, if this card is in your GY because it was sent there this turn: You can Special Summon 1 'Topologina' monster from your banished zone or GY to your field. You can only use each effect of 'Topologina Rubee' once per turn.

Topologina Homotobee (LR: 2/Cyberse/Dark/ATK: 1500/↙️↗️) (Credit to Donkeyboy100)

Effect: 2 monsters, including a 'Topologina' monster. When this card is Link Summoned: You can target 1 of the monsters used for this card's Link Summon in your GY; Special Summon it to your field, but negate its effects. If this card leaves the field by battle or card effect: You can inflict 200 damage to your opponent for each 'Topologina' monster that is in your GY and banished zone. You can only use each effect of 'Topologina Homotobee' once per turn.

Topologina Trisotobee (LR: 3/Cyberse/Dark/ATK: 2300/↙️⬆️↘️️️️) (Credit to Donkeyboy100)

Effect: 2 or more Dark Cyberse monsters. Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can banish up to three 'Topologina' monsters from your GY; banish cards your opponent controls for each 'Topologina' monster banished by this effect until the End Phase. Once, if this card leaves the field by battle or card effect: You can; immediately after this effect resolves, Link Summon 1 'Topologina' or 'Topologic' Link monster from your Extra Deck by shuffling 'Topologina' monsters from your GY or banished zone, except this card.

Zero:

Yoctron (LV: 1/Cyberse/Light/ATK: 100/DEF: 100)

Effect: Once per turn, if this card is used as Link material for the Link Summon of a Light Cyberse Link monster: You can Special Summon 1 'Yoctron' token your field (LV: 1/Cyberse/Light/ATK: 100/DEF: 100).

Exatron (LV: 4/Cyberse/Light/ATK: 1200/DEF: 1800)

Effect: During your Main Phase: You can target as many Light Cyberse monsters as you control, except this card; change their levels to 4 until the end of this turn. If this card is used as material for the Link Summon of a Light Cyberse Link monster: You can shuffle this card back into your deck, then target 1 Light Cyberse monster on your field; its original ATK is doubled until the End Phase. You can only use each effect of 'Exatron' once per turn.

Enertron (LV: 4/Cyberse/Light/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000)

Effect: If a Light Cyberse Link, Ritual, Fusion, Synchro or Xyz monster you control battles while this monster is on your field or in your GY (Quick Effect): You can send this card to your GY; double your monster's ATK until the end of the damage step. If this card is used as material for the Link Summon of a Light Cyberse Link monster: You can shuffle this card back into your deck, then target 1 Light Cyberse Link monster on your field; gain 500 LP equal to its Link rating times 500. You can only use each effect of 'Enertron' once per turn.

Arts of Providence (Normal Spell card)

Effect: Target 2 Light Cyberse monsters in your deck with different names; Special Summon them to your field. Then, immediately after this effect resolves, Link Summon 1 Light Cyberse Link monster from your Extra Deck, by using Light Cyberse monsters you control as Link material. You can only activate 1 'Arts of Providence' per turn.

Provident Revitalization (Normal Spell card)

Effect: If your opponent controls a monster that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck: You can pay 1000 LP; Special Summon up to 3 Light Cyberse monsters from your deck to your field, but negate their effects, also, they can't attack this turn, and send them to your GY if they're still on your field during the End Phase. If this card is in your GY, except the turn it was sent there and you control no monsters: You can banish this card from your GY; Special Summon 1 Light Cyberse monster from your GY. You can only use each effect of 'Provident Revitalization' once per turn.

Provident Decree (Counter-Trap card)

Effect: When your opponent activates a card or effect while you control a Light Cyberse Link monster: You can negate the effect and activation until the end of your next turn. Then, if you control a Light Cyberse Link monster in the Main Monster Zone the turn you activate this effect: You can take 1 Link Spell or Link Trap card from your deck and activate it. If this card is in your GY while you control a Light Cyberse Link monster, except the turn it was sent there and your opponent declares an attack with a monster they control: You can banish this card and 1 Light Cyberse monster from your GY; end the Battle Phase. You can only use each effect of 'Provident Decree' once per turn.

Provident Roots (Link Trap card/↖️⬆️↗️️️️)

Effect: While this card is on your field, Light Cyberse monsters this card points to are unaffected by your opponent's card effects. If this card leaves the field: All monsters this card points to have their ATK reduced to zero. You can only control 1 'Provident Roots'.

Kirinder Rhodotron (RNK: 4/Cyberse/Xyz/Light/ATK: 2400/DEF: 1800)

Effect: 2 or more Level 4 Light Cyberse monsters. During either player's turn (Quick Effect): You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; activate 1 of the following effects:

Target 1 Spell or Trap card in your GY; Set it to your field. It can be activated this turn.

Decrease the ATK of 1 monster your opponent controls to zero (this does not target).

For the rest of this turn, you can activate Trap cards from your hand.

Negate the effects of cards your opponent controls up to the number of Light Cyberse monsters you control on your field (this does not target).

Special Summon Light Cyberse monsters from your deck or GY to your field up to the number of monsters your opponent controls on their field.

If this card leaves the field by battle or card effect: You can draw cards from the top of your deck up to the number of Xyz materials this card had on your field. You can only use each effect of 'Kirinder Rhodotron' once per turn.

Guarductor Provitron (LR: 2/Cyberse/Light/ATK: 1000/️️↙️↘️)

Effect: 2 Light Cyberse monsters. If this card is Link Summoned: You can target 1 Light Cyberse monster that's in your deck or GY; Special Summon it to your field. If this card is used as Link material for the Link Summon of a Light Cyberse Link monster: You can target that monster, until the end of your next turn, it is unaffected by your opponent's card effects. You can only use each effect of 'Guarductor Provitron' once per turn.

Amphisbaethode Cathodron (LR: 3/Cyberse/Light/ATK: 2500/↙️⬆️↘️️️️)

Effect: 2 or more Light Cyberse monsters. If this card is Link Summoned using a Light Cyberse Link monster: You can target that monster (if you used more than one, you get to choose); inflict damage to your opponent equal to its ATK. During either player's turn (Quick Effect): You can place 1 'Provident' counter on a monster your opponent controls (this does not target). Monsters your opponent controls that have a 'Provident' counter cannot attack nor activate its effects, also, it cannot be used as Link material. If this card leaves the field: You can remove all 'Provident' counters on the field, and if you do, you can target 1 monster your opponent controls; gain LP equal to its original ATK. You can only use each effect of 'Amphisbaethode Cathodron' once per turn.

Jericho:

Persona Civilian – Igor (LV: 6/Cyberse/Dark/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2400)

Effect: If you control a 'Persona' Link monster: You can Special Summon this card from your hand to your field. Then, if this card was Special Summoned by this effect: You can tribute 1 'Persona' monster you control; send 1 card your opponent controls to their GY. This effect and its activation cannot be negated if your opponent controls a monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck. If this card is in your GY (Quick Effect): You can banish this card from your GY; 1 'Persona' monster you control gains 1200 ATK until the End Phase. You can only use each effect of 'Persona Civilian – Igor' once per turn.

Contract with the Personas (Continuous-Spell card)

Effect: (This card is always treated as a 'Persona Tactics' card). You can activate this card by paying 2000 of your opponent's life points. During your Main Phase, if you Link Summon a Cyberse Link monster: You can use monsters from your hand. If a Cyberse Link monster is Link Summoned by this effect: You can activate this effect; this turn, it's unaffected by your opponent's card effects. This card's effects and their activations cannot be negated while your opponent controls a monster that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck. You can only use each effect of 'Contract with the Personas' once per turn. You can only control 1 'Contract with the Personas'. During each of your Standby Phases: Take 1000 damage.

Throne of the Personas (Continuous-Spell card)

Effect: (This card is always treated as a 'Persona Tactics' card). While this card is on your field, the effects and activations of all 'Persona' Link monsters you control cannot be negated. During either player's End Phase, if you took damage and your life points are less than 4000 (Quick Effect): Make your life points 4000. If a 'Persona' Link monster you control is targeted for an attack by a monster your opponent controls that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck (Quick Effect): You can send this card from your field to your GY; negate the attack, and if you do, it becomes the End Phase of this turn. Then, you can Special Summon 1 'Persona' Link monster from your Extra Deck to your field whose ATK is less than or equal to the ATK of your opponent's monster with the highest ATK on their field (your choice, if tied) (This is treated as a Link Summon). You can only control 1 'Throne of the Personas'.

Persona Tactics – Summon Suppression (Normal Trap card)

Effect: If you control a 'Persona' Link monster: You can declare 1 summoning method (Ritual, Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, Pendulum or Link); your opponent cannot Special Summon monsters of the declared summoning method for the rest of this turn. If this card is in your GY, except the turn it was sent there, and your opponent summons a monster: You can banish this card from your GY; negate the summon, and if you banish that monster. You can only use each effect of 'Persona Tactics – Summon Suppression' once per turn.

Persona Tactics – Reinforced Endurance (Normal Trap card)

Effect: When a 'Persona' Link monster you control is destroyed by battle: You can Special Summon 1 'Persona' Link monster from your Extra Deck with a different name and same Link rating to your field (this is treated as a Link Summon), and if you do, any damage you would take is reduced by that Link monster's Link rating times 1000, and if you do that, end the Battle Phase. If this card is in your GY, except the turn it was sent there: You can banish this card from your GY and target 1 'Persona' monster that's on your field or in your GY; this turn, it's unaffected by your opponent's card effects. You can only use each effect of 'Persona Tactics – Reinforced Endurance' once per turn.

Darkest Persona Force – Loki the Crow (LR: 4/Cyberse/Dark/ATK: 3000/️️️️⬅️⬆️⬇️➡️)

Effect: 2 or more 'Persona' monsters, including a 'Persona' Link monster. You can also Link Summon this card by using a copy of 'Persona Force – Robin the Crow and 'Persona Civilian – Goro Akechi' on your field as Link Material instead. This card is also treated as Warrior and Spellcaster monster while on your field or in your GY. If this card is Special Summoned: You can banish 1 card from your opponent's hand, deck, GY, field or Extra Deck (the card banished from the hand or deck is random). This card gains 400 ATK for each card on the field, as well as an additional 500 ATK for each 'Persona' card that's in your GY. While this card points to a 'Persona' Link monster, it cannot be destroyed by battle; also, it can't be targeted or removed by your opponent's card effects. If this card was Link Summoned using by using a copy of 'Persona Force – Robin the Crow and 'Persona Civilian – Goro Akechi', for the rest of this duel, it gains the following effects:

Once per turn, during either player's turn, if your opponent activates a card effect (Quick Effect): You can negate the activation, and if you do, banish it, and if you do that, halve your opponent's life points.

At the end of the damage step, if this card battled: You can shuffle 1 'Persona' Link monster back into your Extra Deck; this card can attack again in a row. You can use this effect of 'Darkest Persona Force – Loki the Crow' up to twice per turn.

QOTC

Over the course of the Yu-Gi-Oh! series, there have been many heroes and allies. However, some of them became villains due to different circumstances. Which ally and/or hero had it worst upon becoming a villain?

Chapter Preview

Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Obscured Truth. Chapter 111: Braving the Elements. Having failed to keep Akira safe, Yuhiro and the others can do nothing but watch as Ai and Roboppy take over SOL Technologies for purposes unknown. Despite this massive loss, they refuse to give up, and continue searching for Ai and Roboppy's whereabouts, intent on uncovering the duo's true reasons for this attack before it's too late. Meanwhile, Ai, who is struggling with his feelings of guilt over his recent actions, suddenly receives a glimmer of hope from a most unexpected source. One that can help turn the tide for the battles to come…

Author's Notes

Credit to HunterHQ for providing feedback on the duels and Donkeyboy100 for some of the 'Topologina' OC cards you saw this chapter.

With that, another chapter for Season 3 is officially complete! While there are some anime scenes in this chapter, it comes with a twist this time around, especially how it affects the heroes. On top of that, two other duels are happening at the same time, where Zero and Pandor square off against Jericho and Lazarus. With three major things going on, I do hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

I'll start off by going over the anime scenes, which is pretty much a recap of Ai's duel against Blue Maiden and Akira. While I'm not a huge fan of writing anime scenes, there's two important reasons why I decided to do so. First being to show Water Leviathan AtIgnister's personality, as hers is partially based off of Aqua's personality. While she's compassionate like Aqua, she can also be firm and honest as well without holding anything back. Thus, the only two AtIgnister monsters left that need to have their personalities revealed are White Liger and Black Djinn AtIgnister, which will be shown later on.

The second reason I decided to put in the anime scenes was to incorporate the long-term consequences Raguel's rampage had caused as a result of them. Here, just when you thought Ai couldn't get any lower than he already had by playing Judgment Arrows, decides to show everyone the duel footage of Playmaker's duel against a corrupted Raguel. I can tell you now that one of the reasons why Ai did such a thing was because he's still angry with Raguel for hurting Playmaker back in Chapter 97. He even reveals that saw the heroes' duels against Raguel and his data clone army back in Chapters 99 and 100, which is how he knew this information in the first place. Upon seeing the duel footage, Raguel finally begins to realize just how much damage his actions had caused, and truly regrets them as a result.

It isn't just Raguel who's shocked, as Electrolyzer also sees the duel footage and realizes that the former was responsible for murdering Balius and several FBI agents back in Chapter 95. What's more, Electrolyzer deduced that Raguel was also responsible for murdering many other people as well. When Electrolyzer demands why he wasn't filled in on what was really going on, Slipstream and Aerith tell him that the situation was delicate to the point where it can spiral out of control if too many people knew about it. While you could say that Electrolyzer's trust in the heroes has been damaged, it's still there, as even he knows that Playmaker and the others wouldn't have told him if it wasn't for a good reason. What's more, Electrolyzer also remembers how his foolish actions almost led to many innocent people at SOL Technologies suffer for the company's dealings with the Black Market, so he can't afford to act impulsively again. And after realizing that Raguel was already sentenced to a fate worse than death, it actually gives him pause to think things through. After all, he doesn't want a repeat of what happened back in Chapter 65. Thus, expect Electrolyzer's struggles on this revelation and what to do next in response to be further covered next chapter, especially since he'll be speaking to Greg and Rachel, who were two of the people that decided Raguel's sentence for his crimes.

Moving that aside, just like in the anime, Ai successfully defeats Blue Maiden and Akira before taking the latter's half of the Code Key for himself. Unlike in the anime, where Ai reveals only one reason why he's sparing Blue Maiden's life, he reveals two more reasons for doing so in the story. First, Ai spared Blue Maiden because she risked her life to save Playmaker from captivity. Grateful for such a thing, Ai chose not to knock Blue Maiden unconscious. The other reason Ai spared Blue Maiden's life was because he was impressed with the skills she displayed during the duel. Here, he saw firsthand the skills Blue Maiden showed as both a warrior and a leader, which led him to spare her since he doesn't want those skills to go to waste. After Ai explains his reasons for sparing Blue Maiden, he leaves, but not before telling Raguel that all of this is his fault from the very start. What exactly does Ai mean? While the answer to that question is in spoiler territory, do expect it to be revealed later on Season 3 down the road.

Next up are the two duels, with the first one that I'll cover being between Pandor and Lazarus. Let's all be honest here: Pandor only dueled once in the anime, and that one duel resulted in a loss. Nothing else. Thus, it was only fair for her to duel again by battling against Lazarus. Speaking of Lazarus, its deck is finally revealed, which is the 'Millennium' deck combined with cards revolving around Exodia himself. For those of you who are wondering, the 'Millennium' archetype contains Illusion monsters that center around supporting Exodia himself through different card effects, as well as assisting the duelist by allowing them to add cards, gain life points, negate the opponent's card effects and more. In addition, all of them have the effect of being Special Summoned from the Spell & Trap card zone either by paying 2000 life points or by showing Millennium Ankh, which also returns to the deck instead of being sent to the Graveyard upon activation. Together, they allow a duelist to bring out Exodia monsters to put pressure on the opponent and eventually push for victory. Some of you might be wondering why I chose this deck for Lazarus to wield, and the reason is simple: The 'Millennium' archetype has Illusion monsters in it. Since Illusion monsters were created by Albinor Inc. to fight back against Cyberse monsters, it only seemed fitting for Lazarus to wield cards that came from the company itself.

On the topic of Lazarus, I will say this: It doesn't hate humanity in general. Rather, it only views the humans who get in Jericho's way as the enemy. What's more, Lazarus wants to get payback on SOL Technologies due to the company sending its brethren to die on initiatives that ultimately failed. Being aware of this fact, Lazarus is willing to assist Jericho in his goals because it sees that mankind will be redeemed should the latter's plan succeed.

Regarding the duel itself, Pandor was certainly caught off guard multiple times, but she was able to make a comeback and eventually defeat Lazarus with her newest Link monsters, which consist of Topologina Rubee, Homotobee and Trisotobee. Credit to Donkeyboy100 once again for giving permission to use those cards, along with Topologina Labee, which enabled Pandor to negate Lazarus' Trap card and win the duel. Will we see Lazarus again? The answer is obviously Yes, so expect Lazarus to return later on in Season 3.

The other duel is the rematch between Jericho and Zero, which was going to happen one way or another, and a lot of stuff happens in this duel. For instance, we see Zero not only activate a Link Trap in Provident Roots, but also Xyz Summon Kirinder Rhodotron as well, which put a lot of pressure on Jericho as a result. In response, Jericho had a card that not only prevented Zero from negating the effects of the former's Persona Link monsters in Throne of the Personas, but also one that forced Zero to pay life points to activate it in Contract with the Personas. What's more, Jericho had a card that stopped Zero from Link Summoning in Summon Suppression, but also one that made one of his monsters unaffected by card effects whether they're on his field or in his Graveyard.

During the duel, multiple things are revealed, with the first one being that whenever Jericho's life points return to 4000 by Throne of the Personas' effect, energy from the captive Cyberse creatures and Watchman are drained from them. It's not just them, as Jericho acquired the remaining life force of any Cyberse creatures that were on the verge of death in order to power Throne of the Personas. We also learn that Zero has killed people before, but unlike Watchman, who killed people for his selfish reasons, the former killed people for selfless reasons. In this case, it was to keep planets safe from Urizen, even if it sadly meant killing those who were infected by the Cursed Boundary Layer. What differentiates Zero from Watchman is that the former still values life despite everything he went through. It was thanks to Kairi, Callum, Shion and the AUTOS (the last three will officially appear later on in the story along with Kairi) that he was able to not only keep his humanity, but also accept the hard truth that sometimes, you had to do the hard thing to win the battle. After Jericho points out that Zero murdered people as well, the latter doesn't try to deny it because it's obviously true, and he accepts that fact. Then again, while people like Watchman and Jericho murder for selfish reasons, Zero killed people for selfless reasons and keep his humanity at the same time.

Another thing we learn from this chapter was a part of what happened to Jericho, Urizen and the first group of victims, which are known as the disciples of Albinor, following their banishment to the dark side of the network. Shortly after their banishment, they all chose to cast aside their humanity just so they can survive and adapt to the environment there. This included destroying their old selves, as by doing so, they were all able to become stronger and continue helping Urizen in fulfilling his goal in obtaining the Root of All Knowledge. For those of you who are wondering, the disciples of Albinor are stronger than the envoys of Albinor, and their decks, personalities and backstories won't be revealed until later on in the story. However, if you've paid close attention to the story, let's just say you'll be able to figure out which character is one of the disciples of Albinor.

Upon hearing this, Zero drops a massive truth bomb on Jericho by saying that neither he nor the other disciples of Albinor would have succeeded in their reconnaissance missions had it not been for Urizen's backing. He also tells Jericho that the latter and the other disciples of Albinor, as well as Urizen, became nothing more than tyrants upon throwing away their humanity. In addition, Zero even calls Jericho and the other disciples of Albinor, as well as Urizen, downgrades because of how they all threw away the good aspects of who they are just to become stronger.

After surviving Jericho's turn, Zero brings out Yggdrago the Sky Emperor in order to finish him off. However, just when he's about to deliver the finishing blow, Jericho reveals his ace in the hole: He had Brigadier set up numerous bombs around the area SOL Technologies' private hospital is at, which are connected to the former's life points. Jericho tells Zero that if his life points hit zero, the bombs will go off and kill everyone at the hospital. This includes patients, staff, and particularly in this case, SOL Technologies' executives. Jericho even proves how serious he is about this threat by blowing up the hospital morgue, which killed people in the blast.

Lastly, Jericho tells Zero the truth about who was responsible for nearly assassinating him all those years ago. It's here where we learn that Zero's sons, as well as the executives, are the ones who planned on trying to kill Zero so they can gain control of SOL Technologies. In the attempt, they killed Zero's wife, Chizuko, along with many other innocent bystanders in the chaos. I will say something else: Ukyos was the person who saved Zero's life all those years ago. It's also at SOL Technologies' private hospital where the two of them met in the first place and became friends, so do expect that scene later on in the story.

After learning the truth about his near assassination, Zero's put in a very compromising position, as like I said earlier, he's someone who values life, yet he has to defeat Jericho in the duel to deliver a blow to Urizen's plans. However, I do want to highlight something important here: In the time Zero fought against Urizen's forces, he never seen a species not only fight back against the Cursed Boundary Layer successfully, but also do so without the host dying in the process. This further gave Zero hope that Urizen can be stopped without sacrificing lives so many more can be saved. In addition, if Zero chose to sacrifice his sons and the other executives to defeat Jericho, then he'd be no better than Watchman. Simple as that. Besides, Zero's wife wouldn't want him to become a murderer.

These facts force Zero to end his turn, with Jericho saying that he'll always have the advantage due to the former not wanting to lose his humanity. Suddenly, Pandor appears out of nowhere and charges at Jericho, who attempts to destroy her with blasts of data material, only for the former to jump into the latter's duel disk. Upon doing so, Pandor was able to not only sever the connection between the bombs and Jericho's life points, but also short circuit the former as well completely. As a result, Jericho lost his leverage, which means Zero can now freely duel with nothing to hold him back.

Infuriated by this, Jericho reveals one of his two trump cards, with the first one being called the ISO Morphosis. Not only does it enhance his abilities as a fighter and a duelist, but it also comes with a special ability that allows him to gain the advantage in a duel. Here's how it works: During Jericho's Main Phase, if his life points are less than 2000 and he and his opponent controls a monster that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, it makes him unaffected by the opponent's cards, effects and Skills for the rest of this duel during his turns only. Or to put it simply, his cards will be safe during his turns regardless of what cards the opponent activates to try and destroy them. All the opponent can do during Jericho's turns after activating ISO Morphosis is fortify their own field to survive the user's strategies.

After activating ISO Morphosis, Jericho proceeds to Link Summon his ace monster, which is the Link 4 Darkest Persona Force – Loki the Crow. Note that this is the same monster Jericho sent to acquire a sample of Ai's algorithm back in Chapter 100, as well as what remained of Pandora and Teferi before returning back to him. Despite Zero's best efforts to survive, Jericho uses Loki the Crow's effects to not only stop him from staying in the duel, but also enhance his monster's strength to secure victory in the end. Following the duel, Jericho knocks out Zero before commanding Loki to carry him back to his server, the three of them leaving through a portal afterwards. Things are now going to get even worse for Zero and the heroes, don't you think?

Now that everything's been recapped, I want to thank you all for reading Chapter 108 of Obscured Truth. As always, please let me know your thoughts about the chapters below in your reviews. Also, constructive criticism is appreciated, as your tips and advice helps make the story better. In addition, don't forget to favorite and follow the story. That way, you will get a notification once the next chapter is released.

What did you like the most about this chapter? The anime events and everyone's reaction to Raguel murdering many people? The duel between Pandor and Lazarus? The duel between Jericho and Zero? The revelation on Zero nearly getting killed by his own sons, as well as how he met Urizen? Or was there something else you liked?

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