UPDATE: Updated the Cards Cheat Sheet for fixing errors.
Also fixed the use of Field Spell in Speed Duel format, thanks to HunterHQ.
UPDATE #2: I changed the title of the next chapter in the Preview at the end of this chapter.
Chapter 71
The Search for Codebreaker
"Morse! Morse! Moooorrrrrse!" Tom Gates screamed through the town as the sky darkened and started raining.
Four weeks have passed since Codebreaker went missing. The last time Tom saw Yu "Morse" Akira was when he went outside for a walk. Ever since then, he had been frantically searching for him, but couldn't find any leads. He even asked for help from his classmates, including but not least, Yusaku, Takeru, and Aoi Zaizen. They even searched around in Link VRAINS for information as to his whereabouts.
However, they found nothing.
At Café Nagi, Yusaku, Takeru, the two Ignis Ai and Flame, and Kusanagi were hanging out, each with a serious look except for Ai, who had more or less seldom, yet worried look.
"It has been four weeks. Just where did he disappear to?" Ai asked.
"That's what we all want to know," Flame said.
"I know, right?" Takeru added. "Just where did Morse and Rossy go? I feel bad for his friend, Tom."
"Hey, guys." Everyone turned their attention at Yusaku with the usual serious look. "You don't think that he and Rossy weren't taken away. Perhaps kidnapped by our enemies?"
"The enemies?!" Ai gasped. "You mean like Bohman or the Beast?"
Yusaku nodded. "It is still a theory and I don't have proof, but after being this gone long, it may be possible most likely."
The group became more worried and complicated if that was true. The possibility of Yu and Rossy kidnapped by Bohman or the Beast could be likely.
"But if that is true, Yusaku, what would be their reason?" Takeru asked.
Ai gasped. "Ah! You don't think they kidnapped him to reveal your identity as Playmaker, don't you think, Yusaku?"
"That can't be possible," Kusanagi stated. "If they did, then they would have done something to Yusaku right about now. Yu and Rossy are missing for four weeks now."
"Well, maybe he is being tortured by them right now, but being persistent enough not to spill the beans! What brave souls!" Ai said as he imagined and prayed for their safety.
"I… I don't think that is it," Flame said, disagreeing with Ai. "However, I agree with Yusaku that Yu Morse Akira aka Codebreaker was kidnapped by Bohman and the Beast. If they indeed kidnapped them to make them tell Playmaker's identities, then that is highly unlikely. If they know it, they would've done something by now."
"I agree with Flame on that," Takeru added.
"Hmmm, OK. If that isn't the reason, then what is it? Why would they kidnap Codebreaker and Rossy? For what reason?" Ai asked.
"That's what I want to know as much as everyone here," Yusaku said.
Meanwhile, somewhere else in Den City, Aoi Zaizen was with Emma Basho and her big brother at the walkaway near the river.
"So you haven't found anything, big brother?" Aoi said.
"Sorry, Aoi," Akira replied with a disappointed expression. "I couldn't find anything, even with SOL Tech's resources."
"I tried to search around the web and Link VRAINS, too, but I haven't found anything, too," Emma said.
The news from her brother and Emma made Aoi sad. Even though Codebreaker aka Yu Akira wasn't on their side, he was still her close friend.
"I've been wondering." Her brother and Emma looked at the girl with curiosity sparked in their eyes. "You don't think something bad happened to him."
Akira almost gasped, but smiled lightly and padded on his sister's right shoulder. "Don't worry, Aoi. We will find Yu Akira. And I am saying this as your brother, not as the SOL Tech's Chief of Security.
Aoi grinned. "Thank you, big brother."
Emma slightly grinned and pondered about Codebreaker's whereabout. Even she was thinking of the possibility that something bad may have happened to him and his Ignis partner.
Meanwhile, in Link VRAINS, two people were searching around on their D-Board. The two people were Blossom Star and Silver Wing. They were asking questions with other users, asking if they have seen about Codebreaker.
"Did you find anything, Silver Wing?" Blossom Star asked her Duel Disk, which was also a communication device.
"Nada. No clue," Silver Wing's voice answered through her Duel Disk.
She sighed and said, "I see…."
"Hey, I know that you want to search for Codebreaker because he is your friend, but just exactly what made you want to find him?" Silver Wing asked honestly.
"Well… He helped me a lot. Better yet, he saved us, remember? Back during the Tower of Hanoi incident. I feel like I own him much, so now I want to help him," she explained.
"That's right. I remember that" he said. "Sorry that I asked. I was just… curious."
"That's alright, Silver Wing. We will keep searching," Blossom Star said, smiling.
"Yeah! Cheer up! We'll find him for sure! I will see you later," Silver Wing exclaimed, ending the call.
'Codebreaker…It is my turn to save you. Wherever you are, I hope you are safe!' she thought.
Somewhere else in Link VRAINS, Cyber Man watched over the avatar citizens from top of a building or upper layer of New Link VRAINS.
Fate Kid, his sidekick, looked at him with a worried expression. Even though they always watched over the other avatar users from a place high above, he could tell that Cyber Man wasn't happy by looking at his eyes. Something was bothering him, and he suspected it had to do with Codebreaker being missing for four weeks, but he couldn't think of why he would be upset about that.
"Cyber Ma." Fate Kid spoke up courageously.
"Oh, what is it, Fate Kid?" Cyber Man turned around and asked, snapping out of whatever he had in thought.
"Maybe you should, um, take a break from crime-fighting today and take a rest, you know?" He suggested.
Cyber Man shrugged and said, "No thank you, Fate Kid. Thank you for your thought, but I am fine. Let's go for patrol."
They rode off on their D-Boards with Cyber Man in the lead and Fate Kid closely behind him. He was still worried about him.
Meanwhile, at the lower layer of Link VRAINS, it was a bustling plaza as usual. The Den-O News was on, but they were talking about the latest update on the mysterious VR duelist, calling himself "Reaper" force dueling some other duelists over the past 3 and half weeks and felling into their victims. According to the idol duo of Den-O News, it was reported that the Reaper used an unknown monster that destroys Link Monster and hurt the defeated duelist in the duel. Some people on the web blogs were now calling him the "Link Killer". It was one of the hot topics in Link VRAINS currently, alongside the missing disappearance of Codebreaker. Some users rumored that he quit Link VRAINS.
However, there was one user who didn't believe that.
"There is no way Codebreaker would quit Link VRAINS! He is a hero of Link VRAINS, alongside Playmaker, Go Onizuka and Blue Angel!" Brave Max exclaimed. This was Naoki Shima's alter ego in Link VRAINS.
"Though Codebreaker or rather Morse Akira-kun hasn't gone to school for four weeks. I even tried to talk with Tom, but he said that everything is fine, and the police were doing everything to find him," he talked to himself. "However, I, Brave Max will do whatever in my ability to help, too! This is like the job for Detective Brave Max!"
Suddenly, a detective hat like Sherlock Holmes wears materialized over his head.
"Hmm, yes, yes. The first thing a good detective does is find a clue. I will search for that way!" Brave Max pointed and headed in the direction.
He searched around, every nook and cranny, but couldn't find anything. After searching for a while, he stopped to take a break at an empty alleyway.
"Ah! Searching for clues is a lot difficult than I thought!" He sat down, looking tired out, but soon got up and looking energized. "But I won't give up! I will find him if it is the last thing I do!"
"Aaaaah!" He turned over to his right, hearing a scream from the corner.
"What was that?" He said as he goes over and went checking.
He turned around the corner and surprised to see what he was looking at. An avatar user was lying on the ground, looking horrified on his face as a shadowy figure stood over him.
"Please… I was wrong to challenge you! You're every bit true about what they said about you! Just leave me alone!" The avatar user begged.
"Sorry." The shadowy figure said in an unrecognizable voice. "Once you agree to my duel, you created a deal and if you break the deal, then you shall be punished. Now then."
"No, please! Stop! Noooo!" The avatar yelled in horror as his avatar turned red before he disappeared.
"Eek! He was deleted!" Brave Max shrieked
His shriek made him noticed as the shadowy figure quickly turned to see him.
'Oh crap! He saw me!' Brave Max cried in thought. 'This guy must be that Reaper that everyone's talking about! I got to do something!'
"Oh boy! It looks like this is not the way to the bathroom! I must have turned in the wrong direction!" Brave Max lied as he slowly turned around.
Suddenly, a red chain snagged him by his right wrist. "What the?!" He gasped.
"That is a data anchor. Once you are caught by it, you cannot logout and the only way to remove it is dueling me… and win," the shadowy figure explained.
"No way! So you are the Reaper!" Brave Max exclaimed.
"If that is what the others calling me, then yes. I am the Reaper…" Reaper introduced.
"Well… I…. I am the legendary Brave Max! I've been looking for you, you fiend!" Brave Max said bravely, even though that was a lie, too.
"You have?" Reaper said, questioning.
"That's right! I am a loyal disciple of Playmaker and I am tasked to find you and defeat you!" he declared.
"… Interesting. Very well then, Brave Max the disciple of Playmaker, you shall duel me." The shadowy figure summoned his duel disk, which couldn't be seen as it was also shadowed.
"Very well then. Let's duel!" Brave Max got ready in a pose.
Brave Max (5h): 4000 LP
Reaper (5h): 4000 LP
"You take the first turn," Reaper said.
"What? Really?" Reaper narrowed his eyes, scaring him a bit, and went along with it. "OK then, but don't you feel regret that you allowed me to! It is my turn, and I begin!"
Brave Max looked over the cards in his hand and smiled. 'Yes! I have a good hand! I will show off that I am a true disciple of Playmaker by defeating this guy and winning the duel! Also, I should report this guy to SOL Tech or Cybercrime Police after this.'
"On my first turn, I shall summon a monster. Come out, my loyal servant! Appear, Scrap Kong!" A mechanical gorilla with a chainsaw for arm and oil barrel for body appeared on the field, roaring for battles.
Scrap Kong – ATK 2000 DEF 1000 LVL: 4
"I activate Scrap Kong's effect!" he declared. "When this card is Normal Summoned, it is destroyed!" The mechanical kong cried as it destroyed itself. "Then, I activate the effect of Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest in my hand! If it is in my hand or Graveyard when a face-up Beast-type monster I control is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, I can pay 1000 Life Points to Special Summon this card. Appear, Green Baboon!"
Brave Max: 4000 – 1000 = 3000 LP
A giant green-skinned, brown armored baboon appeared with spiky black hair, beard, and wielding a big wooden stick for a weapon.
Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest – ATK 2600 DEF 1800 LVL: 7
"Next, I play the Spell Card, Pot of Greed! With this card, I get to draw two more cards!" He drew two cards from his deck and grinned at what he drew. "Yes! I got a good draw! I play the Spell Card I drew, Double Summon!"
Reaper watched motionless as Brave Max was conducting his turn. "Now I can make a second Normal Summon this turn, and I summon another Scrap Kong from my hand!"
A second mechanical gorilla appeared next to the Green Baboon.
Scrap Kong – ATK 2000 DEF 1000 LVL: 4
"Scrap Kong's effect activates! Due to its effect, it is destroyed!" The second mechanical gorilla destroyed itself. "Then, by paying another 1000 Life Points, I Special Summon my second Green Baboon from my hand!"
Another one appeared as it roared next to the first one.
Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest – ATK 2600 DEF 1800 LVL: 7
Reaper watched with his eyes narrowing at the two monsters with 2600 ATK each.
"Hee, hee," Brave Max chuckled as he grinned. "Are you impressed? Well, I will show you more! Open, my circuit of hero!"
A Link portal appeared above him as he began the summoning chant. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning condition is two Level 5 or higher Beast-type monsters! I set my two Green Baboons in the Link Markers!" His two monsters entered the bottom-left and bottom-right arrows. "Link Summon! Appear, Link-2! Metal Baboon, Stalwarts of the Forest!"
A third baboon appeared in the Right Extra Monster Zone. This one had spiky white hair and a beard around his head, skin gray, sharp metallic claws, red eyes, and purple, green, and gray body.
Metal Baboon, Stalwarts of the Forest – ATK 2600 LINK-2 Link Arrow: Bottom-Left, Bottom-Right
Brave Max laughed. "Ha, ha! My Link Monster is summoned to the field! This is where the show begins! Before I forget, I set a card and end my turn."
Brave Max: 0h
'So far, so good! I bet I looked cool when I summoned my Link Monster, Metal Baboon. And unlike last time when I dueled that pretty lady, I should've set a Trap Card, but this time, I had one in my hand,' he thought.
"Hmph. So you Link Summon a monster, too," Reaper said, alarming Brave Max. "My turn. Draw. Since I control no monster on the field, I can Special Summon Q# Proton from my hand."
The summoned monster was purely a body of big red, glowing particle with two purple plus signs for eyes.
Q# Proton – ATK 100 DEF 0 LVL: 2
"Since you control a Link Monster, I can discard a card to Special Summon Q# Particle from my hand."
As he discarded one card, a monster appeared on the field. This one was a body of blue particles with two glowing, sharp blue eyes with no arms, hands, feet, or any other limbs or torso.
Q# Particle – ATK 1000 DEF 0 LVL: 4
'Q#? Why's that naming sound so familiar?' Brave Max wondered.
"Then, I Special Summon Q# Light from my Graveyard." A dark portal opened, and a bright light came out. It revealed to be just a body of pure light with sharp red eyes.
Q# Light – ATK 0 DEF 0 LVL:
"This card can be Special Summoned if a Link Monster is summoned and if it is Special Summoned from the graveyard by this effect, all Link Summoned monsters on the field lose 500 ATK."
"Say what?" Brave Max gasped as his Metal Baboon cried when its ATK decreased.
Metal Baboon, Stalwarts of the Forest – ATK 2600 2100
"I activate Q# Proton's effect!" he declared. "Once per turn, I can target 1 Link Monster my opponent controls. Then this card's Level is doubled until the end of this turn. I target your Metal Baboon, Stalwarts of the Forest, and have my monster's Level increased by double its Level." Q# Proton's body glowed as its Level increased by twice.
Q# Proton LVL: 2 4
"So what? You control three monsters with 1000 or less ATK. My Metal Baboon is way stronger than all of them!" Brave Max pointed out.
"You don't read opponent's move well, don't you?" Brave Max's eyes widened. "I overlay my three Level 4 Q# monsters!" A bolt of black energy shot off Reaper's Duel Disk, creating an Xyz cross behind him.
"With these monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" His three monsters disintegrated into data and entered the red dots. The ends of the cross fired beams and created a galaxy portal. "Link-Killer Dragon! Let your roar echoed through the Cyberse realm to show your mighty power and lay destruction whoever stands in the way! Xyz Summon! Rise, Rank 4! Q# Quantum Dragon!" A shadowy dragon slithered out from the galaxy with four glowing red dots that appeared to be its eyes. The rest of the body couldn't be determined or see what it looked like due to the darkness surrounding it, but it roared powerfully and was bigger than Metal Baboon.
Q# Quantum Dragon – ATK 2800 DEF 2000 RNK: 4 OU: 3
"Wh…What is that thing?!" Brave Max squeaked.
"If this card is Xyz Summoned, then I can activate the effects of Q# monsters attached to this card as Xyz Material as its own," Reaper explained. "So, I activate my Q# Light's effect!"
"Wait, what?!" Brave Max saw his Metal Baboon's ATK decreased again.
Metal Baboon – ATK 2100 1600
"How is that possible?! That's cheating there!" Brave Max complained.
"It is not," Reaper replied in a serious tone. "If Q# Light leaves the field, its effect still applies. Through Quantum Dragon's effect, I just made your Link Monster weaker. Back on the topic at hand, I increase my dragon's ATK by that attached monster's original ATK." His dragon's body glowed in the red aura as its ATK increased.
Q# Quantum Dragon – ATK 2800 4400
Brave Max gritted his teeth as he sweated horribly.
"I activate Q# Quantum Dragon's effect!" he declared. "Once per turn, by detaching 2 of its Overlay Units, I target 1 Link Monster on the field and when I do, I attach that monster to this card as Xyz Material. I target your Metal Baboon, Stalwarts of the Forest!"
Two of the three glowing purple orbits absorbed into the dragon. The red eyes glowed brighter in red and then shot red lights over Metal Baboon, scanning it. Metal Baboon cried as its body turned into data and absorbed into the dragon, turning itself into its Overlay Unit.
"No! My Metal Baboon!" Brave Max cried.
"With that, your Main Monster Zone is empty. Battle! I declare my Quantum Dragon to attack you directly!" A dark crimson red energy sparked through its body. The energy gathered into its mouth as a crimson red sphere formulated inside its mouth. It fired the energy sphere at Brave Max. If he got hit by this, he will be done for, but he was prepared.
"I activate my Trap Card, Negate Attack! I negate your monster's attack and end the battle!" The red sphere was blocked by an invisible barrier in front of Brave Max as he covered himself. The impact was still strong enough that it made him winced and pushed him a little.
"Ah, ha! Yes, Brave Max lives on!" he cheered.
"Your resistance is futile." Brave Max stopped cheering and looked at Reaper. "I activate the Spell Card, Viral Eradication."
The Spell Card showed the same dragon attacking multiple Virus Canons in the Cyberse world.
"If my opponent didn't gain a battle damage by Q# monster I control this turn, then by Tributing my monster, I inflict damage equals to Tributed monster's ATK to my opponent," he explained.
"Equal to ATK? But that means…." Brave Max soon realized the horror.
"That's right. You will be inflicted with a total of 4400 damages! I sacrifice my Q# Quantum Dragon!" Q# Quantum Dragon turned into a body of flames and flew towards Brave Max.
It hit through Brave Max, burning him in the process and deleting all of his Life Points as he screamed. "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!"
Brave Max: 0 LP
Reaper WINS
Brave Max laid in defeat as he was crisped on the floor. Reaper walked over to him. As he did, Brave Max looked at the man's face was partially revealed, showing a black mask with a red gem in the center of the forehead.
"You are a pathetic excuse for a duelist. If you kept your two Green Baboons instead of using them for Link Summon of a monster, then you would've survived, and I wouldn't use my dragon's effect. You are just a loser who doesn't know even the basics of dueling. You're no disciple of Playmaker or anything at all. You don't deserve to call yourself a duelist."
Brave Max was utterly shocked as he couldn't say anything back. He felt something pierce through his heart and mind.
"Now, get out of here!" Reaper ordered. Brave Max slowly got back up, but only to his knee on the floor. His face showed utter fear as if he was going to cry, but he pressed a button on his duel disk and he immediately logged out.
"Well done, Reaper." He turned around to see a portal opened in the space and a dark figure came out of it.
"Master Darkside…." Reaper said.
"You've been doing well and improving after each duel you won," Darkside stated.
"Yes, but the opponents I've defeated are weak and pathetic," Reaper commented. "I need a worthy opponent! Someone like…Playmaker!"
"You will duel him soon, but there are other duelists that you must face before him and I have one for you in-plan." Darkside raised his hand out and then a hologram appeared. It was a holographic image of a certain duelist.
"This is Soulburner, one of Playmaker's allies. I want you to find him and defeat him," Darkside said.
"Is he worthy of my time?" he asked.
"Oh, he is worthy. He is equally strong as Playmaker and should give you a challenge," Darkside explained in a snickering tone. "Now go!"
"Yes, Master." He complied as he disappeared.
Though he is AI, if he had a facial expression, he would've snickered to himself. "The experiment is a success. The data about the AI chip is working well on him and he's completely under my control. With him under my wrap, my master will be pleased and perhaps we won't need Bohman to be completed, but I digress."
- Codes of Secrets –
The next day at Den High Academy, everyone at school was talking about the Reaper incident. More reports came in yesterday.
Yusaku, who didn't mind about it, was starting to become interested.
"Oi, Yusaku," Ai spoke up in his eye form. "It looks the whole Reaper incident is the number 1 trend in your entire school."
"I see that," he replied.
"Yeah, I hear it everywhere," Takeru added.
"Humans love to gossip about the current trend and whatnot, but it is good to be informed about what's going on," Flame noted. "Though, it seems like this whole Reaper incident is becoming more discussed than our missing friend, which I find it to be a bit cruel and sad."
Takeru and Yusaku looked a bit disappointed, but it shouldn't matter. Today they will continue their search for him.
"Um, excuse me." The boys turned to a student with eyeglasses. It was the President of the Duel Club at school.
"Hey, you're the President of the Duel Club! How are you?" Takeru greeted politely.
"Greeting and I am doing well," he responded. "Say, have you both seen Shima-kun?"
"Naoki Shima? I saw him yesterday, but after that, no," Yusaku answered plainly.
"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen him much lately, too and it is been kind of quiet with him not around," Takeru said, wondering.
"I see…. He always comes to the club, but he hasn't shown up lately. I don't know if he is sick or something, so I came here to ask someone from his class, but thank you, you too," he said before he left.
"Naoki Shima…Oh, now I remember! He's that loud guy who thinks of himself as a disciple of Playmaker. What was his avatar name again? Lonely Brave or something?" Ai thought aloud.
"I think what you are trying to remember is 'Brave Max'," Flame reminded him.
"Oh yeah! That's it!" Ai remembered. "So, he's missing too?"
"Never mind about him. We got to find Morse," Yusaku pointed out. "I'm sure that Shima is fine since I saw him yesterday."
"I guess so," Takeru agreed. "Let's go to Café Nagi."
The boys left out of the classroom and headed to Café Nagi. Meanwhile, one student was sitting alone and listening to all that they said.
"So, Yusaku Fujiki and Takeru Homura, also known as Playmaker and Soulburner in Link VRAINS, are searching for Yu Akira aka Codebreaker," said the male student.
- Codes of Secrets –
Aoi Zaizen was walking alone to meet with Emma when she heard a noticeable crying noise nearby.
She stopped, looking around and noticing someone sitting at a bench. She walked over and noticed a familiar male person sitting alone at the bench.
"Shima-san?" She called out to him.
He almost gasped and wiped his tear-off quickly before he turned around with his usual goofy smile. "Yo, Zaizen! What's up? How are you doing?"
"I'm… fine," she replied in a confused tone. "Were you crying?"
"What?! Me? Crying?" He gasped. "I wasn't crying! I just had, um…something in my eyes that's all!"
Aoi just stared at Naoki. He kept a straight face as best as possible, but soon broken down and starting tearing when suddenly he started crying and laid down.
"Waaaaah! Zaizen! I am so pathetic!" Naoki cried as Zaizen was surprised by his cry as tears dripping down from his eyes like a waterfall.
"OK. Just…Calm down and tell me what happened," Aoi assured him as she patted him on his back, trying to make him calm down.
"It was terrible and everything that everyone said was true!" He cried.
"About what?" She asked.
"The Reaper! I was defeated by the Reaper!" More tears came out of his eyes, literally dripping down like a waterfall and even creating a stream on the ground.
"The Reaper?" She heard of the powerful duelist who's been attacking duelists. It seemed like Naoki Shima became one of his victims.
"I…I just feel so sad and frustrated that I lost to him!" Naoki sobbed.
"Well, everyone loses sometimes, Shima-kun." Aoi consoled him. 'Though for your case, you lose a lot of time, if not every time.'
"But it is more than just that! I… I lost to him pathetically. It was the first time I've ever felt and made me realize how weak I am, like really weak! I did everything I can to stay on topic with dueling, but now...I'm thinking maybe it isn't for me."
Aoi felt genuinely sad when Naoki said that way. "Shima-kun…"
"Well, sorry for you to get involved in a loser like me. I'm going home now," Naoki said as he ran off.
"Um, wait! Hold on! Hold…." She saw him running further and further away until she couldn't catch up with him nor a chance to.
She stared sadly and thought to herself. "I'm sorry. I hope you don't take the loss too harsh."
She turned to the river and stared at the water for a little while. With this whole Reaper thing and Yu Akira missing, she had a feeling that more bad things will happen. She hoped that at least nothing bad happens to her brother or anyone she cares for.
- Codes of Secrets –
In Link VRAINS, Playmaker and Soulburner looked around to find Codebreaker while Kusanagi searched through the webs to find any known last location of him. They began their search about 4 hours ago
"Does anyone have any updates?" Playmaker spoke through his duel disk.
"Sorry, but no. I couldn't find anywhere in this sector," Soulburner admitted.
"Agree," Flame noted.
"I've been looking around the web, but all are dead-end here," Kusanagi said disappointedly.
"You know, Yusaku." He looked at his Ignis partner. "I've beginning to think that he may be kidnapped or even worse…"
"Don't be," the Playmaker replied. "There are three reasons. One; worrying will make us lose hope. Two; worrying will lose our focus. And three; Codebreaker is strong. If he is kidnapped, he will find a way to get out or at least find a way to get help, and we will help him."
"Playmaker…" Ai's eyes became watery. "You are truly the best man!"
"Yeah. I will continue searching even if it lasts till midnight!" Soulburner exclaimed.
"I agree too. I feel perk up now," Flame stated.
"Thank you for the pep talk, Yusaku. You can be pretty motivating, even though you can be cold sometimes," Kusanagi joked.
Playmaker smirked at that as he flew off and continued in his searching.
Meanwhile, Soulburner was searching around in the eastern sector of the area. This was the area where Codebreaker occupied as he is one of the current Top 4 Charisma Duelists. When Link VRAINS was upgraded to version 2, "New Link VRAINS', New Link VRAINS was split into five major sectors: north, south, east, west, and central. The Central Sector, where Playmaker was currently, was the main hub of New LINK VRAINS. The East Sector was an area friendly for beginners who started Speed Dueling and dueling in general. There were card shops and hangout spots where duelists alike hang out. This sector was ruled by Codebreaker as the number 1 duelist around, making him sort of a ruler or champion of the place, though he would usually just hang out here or in the Central sector causally. The other three sectors were ruled by Blue Angel, Blossom Star, and Metal Mayhem, who was one of the former Top 10 Charisma Duelists and second to Blue Angel and Go Onizuka when it comes to strength and skill.
As much as he wanted to have fun and duels some people here, he had much more important things to do. Once he finds Codebreaker, he was hoping to hang out with him more at a place like this and possibly duel each other for fun.
"This sector is quiet here," Flame spoke up.
"Yeah. I guess because of Codebreaker missing and that whole Reaper incident stuffs, not many users are logged in than usual," Soulburner said.
"Hey, you are!" Soulburner turned around and saw a familiar avatar with a cape flying towards him.
"Hey, you're Cyber Man!" Soulburner exclaimed.
"And you are Soulburner," he responded as he quickly remembered something important. Soulburner here was an ally of Playmaker and he still had a job as SOL Tech's bounty hunter, hired by Akira Zaizen. He didn't want to do it personally, but he had a duty.
"Wow! It's so cool to meet you in person!" Soulburner commented excitedly. "I'm like your biggest fan!"
"Soulburner, this is no time to idolizing!" Flame argued. "Better yet, we should get away from him!"
"Huh? What? Why?!" His response gave him a growl and shrug from Flame.
"Don't you remember? He's working for SOL Tech!" The Flame Ignis reminded his origin.
"Oh crap! I forgot about that!" He remembered.
"Soulburner!" He turned his attention back at the VR caped crusader. "In name of justice, I will capture you and your Ignis right here and now!"
"Tch! Well, it seems like we have no choice, but to play along," Flame stated, though a bit displeased. "Brace yourself, Soulburner!"
"Right!" He nodded.
"Speed Duel!" They shouted, declaring a duel.
Soulburner (5h): 4000 LP
Cyber Man (5h): 4000 LP
"The one who passes over that island there goes first." Cyber Man pointed to the floating island ahead of them.
"Ok!" Soulburner agreed as they sped forward faster.
They were neck to neck on their D-Boards, but Soulburner was the first to pass over the island, so he goes first.
"You passed over the island first, so you shall take the first turn," Cyber Man accepted.
"Sweets!" Soulburner cheered as he looked over at Cyber Man. "Before we begin, I just want to say that ever since coming to Den City, you are one of the first people I wanted to meet and duel you possibly, but I guess dreams do come true. Just not in a way I wanted it to be."
"I am honored, but duty comes first. I will defeat you and capture that Ignis, and head it over to SOL Tech. In the name of Justice!" He exclaimed.
"We'll see about that!" He replied. "I take the first turn!"
"I know you're excited, Soulburner, but be careful," Flame warned. "Cyber Man is nonetheless a skilled duelist who uses a HERO deck."
At around the same time, Den-O camera bot was roaming around when it saw Soulburner and Cyber Man flying by. Automatically it decided to follow them as it was programmed to find dueling in progress.
"Hey, Mimi! Mimi! Look!" Kitty pointed to the monitor. "It looks like our little bot detected a duel! That's the first time since in a long while!"
"It seems like so. Who could be dueling at this hour?" Mimi asked.
"Let's see to find out! The duel is between…. What the?! It is Cyber Man vs. Soulburner?!"
The people who were watching in LINK VRAINS and the real world all gasped and became excited.
Meanwhile, at the SOL Tech's operations center, Akira Zaizen, his assistant Hayami, and the operators were all watching the duel at the monitor.
"It's Soulburner, Manager Zaizen!" Hayami exclaimed. "Cyber Man initiated a duel with him!"
"So Cyber Man found Soulburner," Akira said.
"Well, well. It looks like that caped crusader is finally doing something useful." Akira turned around to see Queen entering the room.
"Qu…Queen!" Hayami gasped.
"I'm just here to see the show, that's all. I have high hope for our little hero," she bragged.
Zaizen didn't like how she worded that, but ignored her for now and watched the duel along with her and Hayami.
"Look at that!" Emma with Aoi Zaizen watched from their secret hideout. "It looks like that Mr. Hero is dueling against Playmaker's fiery friend."
'Cyber Man dueling Soulburner? I wonder how this will go,' Aoi thought.
"I activate Salamangreat Meer's effect in my hand!" Soulburner declared. "By discarding 1 Salamangreat monster, I can Special Summon this card from my hand. I discard Salamangreat Falco and Special Summon Meer to the field!"
As he sent a card to his graveyard, an orange creature with flames on its back appeared as it screeched in the center Main Monster Zone.
Salamangreat Meer – ATK 800 DEF 600 LVL: 2
"I activate Salamangreat Falco's effect on my Graveyard! By targeting Salamangreat Meer on my side of the field and return it to my hand, I can Special Summon Falco itself from my graveyard. I return Meer and resurrect Falco!"
Meer disappeared and then a black armored bird with flames for wings appeared as it screeched onto the field.
Salamangreat Falco – ATK 1200 DEF: 1600 LVL: 4
"Then, I activate Salamangreat Meer's additional effect!" he followed. "If it is added to my hand other than through normal draw, I can Special Summon it from my hand! Return, Salamangreat Meer!"
The orange Cyberse beast reappeared next to Falco as it screeched again.
Salamangreat Meer – ATK 800 DEF 600 LVL: 2
"Then, I Normal Summon Salamangreat Foxy!" A blue fox with a big tail and fire burning at the tip of its tail appeared in the last Main Monster Zone.
Salamangreat Foxy – ATK 1000 DEF 1200 LVL: 3
'So this is the Salamangreat Deck… Three monsters mean that he's going to Link Summon,' Cyber Man thought.
"I activate Salamangreat Foxy's effect!" Soulburner declared. "When it is Normal Summoned, I can excavate the top 3 cards of my Deck and if I do, I can add 1 excavated Salamangreat card to my hand." He took out the top 3 cards of his Deck, and briefly looked over them. He grinned at one card and picked it out, and shuffled the rest into his Deck.
"After I add one, I shuffle the rest to my deck," he said.
"Appear, the circuit that changes the future!" A fire burned in his hand before it was shot into a beam to the sky, creating a Link portal. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning condition is two or more FIRE Effect Monsters. I set my Salamangreat Meer, Falco, and Foxy in the Link Markers!"
The three monsters turned into fiery twisters and sucked into the top, bottom-left, and bottom-right arrows. "Link Summon! Appear, Link-3! Salamangreat Heatleo!"
A giant orange lion beast with claws for hands and fire for mane roared in the right Extra Monster Zone.
Salamangreat Heatleo – ATK 2300 LINK: 3 Link Arrow: Top, Bottom-Left, Bottom-Right
"So this is Soulburner's ace monster," Cyber Man whispered to himself.
"I set a card and end my turn!" Soulburner completed as a single Set card appeared briefly before it disappeared.
Soulburner (2h): 4000 LP
"Good job, Soulburner. You Link Summoned your ace monster, Salamangreat Heatleo, and prepared a Set card," Flame said before he turned and looked at Cyber Man with narrow eyes. "Now we have to see how he would react."
"You Link Summoned your ace monster already? I sense a bit of fear in you, Soulburner!" Cyber Man exclaimed. "Now, it is time for justice to shine! I draw!"
Cyber Man (6h): 4000
"I summon Cipher HERO Data-Dog!" A canine made up of data appeared, barking at Heatleo in retaliation.
Cipher HERO Data-Dog – ATK 700 DEF 500 LVL: 2
"Appear! The circuit of justice!" His hand shined in blue as a link portal appeared above him. "The summoning condition is one Level 4 or lower Cipher HERO monster. I set my Cipher HERO Data-Dog in the Link Marker!"
The canine turned into a blue twister, entering the bottom-left arrow.
"Link Summon! Appear, Link-1! Cipher HERO Double-Byte Hound!" A two-headed canine in larger size appeared as it roared in the other Extra Monster Zone.
Cipher HERO Double-Byte Hound – ATK 1000 LINK: 1 Link Arrow: Bottom-Left
"I activate the effect of Cipher HERO Data-Dog in my Graveyard!" Cyber Man declared. "If it is used for Link Summon, I can reduce its ATK to zero to Special Summon it from my graveyard! Return, my trusty canine partner!"
The heroic digital canine howled as it jumped out of the portal.
Cipher HERO Data-Dog – ATK 700 DEF 500 LVL: 2
"Appear again, the circuit of justice!" A second link portal appeared above him. "The summoning condition is at least two HERO monsters, including one Cipher HERO monster. At this point, I activate Double-Byte Hound's effect! If this monster is Link Summoned using Cipher HERO Data-Dog as its Link Material, then it is treated as two Link Materials."
Soulburner's eye widened while the two monsters transformed into three twisters, entering the top, bottom-left, and bottom-right arrow.
"Circuit combines! Link Summon! Appear, Link-3! Cipher HERO Webcrawler!" Out of the portal came out a different HERO. This one was a male humanoid in a light-blue and white cybernetic suit and white spider with the symbol of Cipher HERO on the chest area. He was wearing a mask with white eyes with dark blue outlines.
Cipher HERO Webcrawler – ATK 2200 LINK: 3 Link Arrow: Top, Bottom-Left, Bottom-Right
"Cipher HERO Webcrawler's effect activates! Once per turn, I can reduce his attack by half to Special Summon one Cipher HERO monster from my graveyard. Resurrect again, Cipher HERO Data-Dog!" The digital canine came back for a second time, appearing next to Webcrawler's bottom-left arrow.
Cipher HERO Data-Dog – ATK 700 DEF 500 LVL: 2
Cipher HERO Webcrawler – ATK 2200 1100
"That dog is very loyal to him," Flame commented.
"Yeah," Soulburner nodded.
"Additionally, if Cipher HERO Webcrawler's ATK is changed from its original ATK, then I can target one monster you control. That monster's effect is negated, nor it can attack until my next turn!"
Webcrawler shot fluid webs from his wrist at Heatleo, trapping it in sticky webs.
"Ah! That's gross!" Soulburner disgusted as Heatleo cried, trying to get the webs off from it, but it was no use as it got sticker as it moved.
"I set two cards and end my turn," he said as he placed two Set cards in the Spell & Trap Zone.
Cyber Man (3h): 4000 LP
"Though he did not damage our Life Points this turn, he managed to seal Heatleo's monster. Those two Set cards are most likely his line of defense," Flame analyzed. "Be careful here, Soulburner."
"He sealed Soulburner's ace monster," Aoi stated.
"He may not use its effect nor can declare an attack with it on his next turn, but…" Emma said.
"If Soulburner draws that one card, he can bypass Webcrawler's effect," Akira stated.
"I know, I know, but I admit that this is exciting!" he exclaimed. "My turn! I draw!"
Soulburner (3h): 4000 LP
He turned over the card he drew, and a noticeable grin showed up. "I play the Field Spell, Salamangreat Sanctuary!" It showed a silhouette of Heatleo standing inside a red sealing circle in front of an erupting volcano behind it.
"He drew it!" Akira said, surprising.
"If he uses that, he can perform Reincarnation Link Summon!" Aoi pointed out.
"Salamangreat Sanctuary's effect activates! If I Link Summon a Salamangreat Link Monster, I can use 1 Salamangreat Link Monster I control with the same name as the entire material! Now appear, the circuit that changes…!"
"Trap activates!" Soulburner was interrupted as everyone looked surprised, including himself. "Magic Jammer!"
"That Trap Card!" Flame gasped as his origin's eyes widened.
"By discarding one card, I can negate the activation of a Spell Card and destroy it. I discard Cipher HERO Web Surfer to destroy negate the activation of the Field Spell, Salamangreat Sanctuary and destroy it!" The Field Spell shattered as the red seal circle disappeared.
"Well, well, well. It looks like hiring the Hero of LINK VRAINS was the right decision," Queen snickered. "He had that card in preparation to prevent Soulburner's Reincarnation Link Summon."
"Impressive," Akira commented.
"Soulburner's strength is to use his Field Spell to Link Summon his ace monster by using his ace monster itself to activate its effect," Emma explained.
"But Cyber Man had a Trap Card to negate that and destroy it," Aoi added.
"Wow! Did you see that Mimi? Cyber Man prevented Soulburner to use his Field Spell, Salamangreat Sanctuary to do Reincarnation Link Summon!" Kitty exclaimed.
"Yes. Magic Jammer is quite a strong Trap Card that destroys the opponent's, Spell Card. Using that to destroy Salamangreat Sanctuary prevented Soulburner to Link Summon his ace monster, but also prevented his Heatleo from leaving the field and the effect of Cyber Man's monster, Cipher HERO Webcrawler," Mimi explained.
"Oh, that's right! If he did activate the Field Spell's effect, not only that Heatleo leaves the field and Link Summons itself, but it also would've canceled out of Webcrawler's effect," Kitty realized. "That's pretty smart!"
"I studied you, Soulburner when the time to duel you comes. I knew that you will likely perform Reincarnation Link Summon, so I added this card to my Deck for that," Cyber Man admitted.
"I got to say. I was a bit surprised, but it is no sweat!" Soulburner said with an encouraging smile and determination in his eyes. "It just makes things more interesting, that's all, but I won't go down that easily!"
Cyber Man couldn't help but smirked at the boy's enthusiasm. He was feeling fun in this duel, but left that feeling aside and focused on the duel.
"I set a card and end my turn!" Soulburner said.
Soulburner (1h): 4000 LP
Meanwhile, in the West Sector of LINK VRAINS, Playmaker was searching for Codebreaker on his D-Board when he noticed a bit of commotion at the plaza.
"What's going on over there?" Ai asked.
Playmaker flew a little bit closer to see the monitor without no one noticing him. He and his Ignis partner's eyes widened for what it was showing.
"What the?! It's Soulburner Speed-Dueling Cyber Man!" Ai gasped.
"He must have been forced by him to a duel," Playmaker said. "Cyber Man works for SOL Tech as their bounty hunter now."
"We should go and help him!" Ai declared as they flew quickly to the East Sector.
Back in the Speed Duel, it was the start of the fourth turn of the duel, and it was Cyber Man's turn.
"My turn! I draw!" Cyber Man drew.
Cyber Man (3h): 4000 LP
"I activate Cipher HERO Webcrawler's effect!" he declared. "By reducing its ATK by half, I can Special Summon 1 Cipher HERO monster from my graveyard! I resurrect Cipher HERO Websurfer!"
Cipher HERO Webcrawler – ATK 1100 550
A blue cybernetic hero riding on a surfing board came out of the portal, and it was summoned in Defense Position.
Cipher HERO Websurfer – ATK 800 DEF 1600 LVL: 3
"Additionally, if Webcrawler's ATK is changed from its original ATK, then I can target one monster you control so that it can't attack nor activate its effect until my next turn!" The Link Monster shot out more webs around Heatleo, making it stickier than before as Soulburner gritted to that. "Then, Cipher HERO Websurfer's effect activates! When it is Special Summoned, I get to draw two cards!"
Cyber Man (5h): 4000 LP
"While Websurfer is face-up on the field, once per turn, I can return one monster's ATK to its original ATK, and then this card gains ATK equals to that same amount until the end of this turn. I target my Cipher HERO Webcrawler, so its ATK is returned to normal. Therefore, Websurfer gains a total of 1650 ATK!"
Cipher HERO Websurfer – ATK 800 2450
"Then, I play the Field Spell Card of my own! I play Field Spell, Techno Cipher City!" It showed a city of digital skyscrapers with many different Cyberse monsters happily roaming around the streets with the tallest skyscraper building with a symbol of Cipher Hero looking over them.
"I declare to attack! Cipher HERO Webcrawler attacks Salamangreat Heatleo!"
Webcrawler jumped over Heatleo as the latter roared at him.
"But if you do that, your monster will be destroyed, not Heatleo!" Soulburner shouted.
"That is when my Field Spell comes into play!" The caped crusader revealed. "I activate my Techno Cipher City's effect! If Cipher HERO monster I control declares an attack on an opponent's monster with higher ATK, then it gains 1000 ATK!"
Cipher HERO Webcrawler – ATK 2200 3200
Webcrawler shot more web fluids at Heatleo, turning it into a ball of spider webs and swing it high into the air. Soon, it was falling over the hero until he punched it through, destroying Heatleo while it was inside it.
"Tch!" Soulburner winced as his body glitched in blue for a moment.
Soulburner: 4000 – 900 = 3100
"Now that your field is wide open, you are in the way for a direct attack! Go, Websurfer!" he exclaimed as Websurfer surfed towards Soulburner with a wave of data coming behind him.
"Not so fast! I activate the Trap Card, Salamangreat Protection!" One of his Set cards flipped up, revealing Salamangreat Heatleo using a ring of fire to block an incoming attack by Blue-Eyes White Dragon. "If I were to take battle damage, I can target a Salamangreat monster in my graveyard to return it to my hand and reduce the damage by that returned monster's ATK! I return my Salamangreat Heatleo and return it to my Extra Deck!"
The same ring of fire appeared in front of Soulburner as he braced himself for the incoming. The ring protected him, but still got a few damages to his Life Points.
Soulburner: 3100 – 150 = 2950 LP
"No matter. I still have one more monster," Cyber Man gestured to his Data-Dog. "Attack him directly, Data-Dog!"
"Salamangreat Protection's additional effect activates! If this card is in the Graveyard and my opponent declares an attack, I can add one Salamangreat monster from my graveyard to the hand to negate that attack. I add Salamangreat Meer from my graveyard to my hand. Since I added this card other than through a normal draw, I reveal it from my hand to Special Summon! Appear, Salamangreat Meer!"
The orange meerkat with flames on the back appeared in Defense Position.
Salamangreat Meer – ATK 800 DEF 600 LVL: 2
"Then I end my turn here," Cyber Man said. "Since the battle ends, Webcrawler's ATK is returned to normal."
Cipher HERO Webcrawler – ATK 3200 2200
Cyber Man (4h): 4000 LP
Soulburner released his breath, which he realized he was holding.
"I told you to be careful," Flame warned.
"Hey, at least we're still in the game," Soulburner said. "But I admit. I didn't expect to stop my Reincarnation Link Summon."
"It does not matter. There is always another way." Flame assured him before he gestured to the Deck. "You just have to draw the right card."
"Right!" He agreed. "My turn! I draw!"
Soulburner (2h): 2950 LP
"Yes! This is it! I summon Salamangreat Gazelle! A red and white gazelle with flames coming out from its back and torso appeared as it galloped out of the portal.
Salamangreat Gazelle – ATK 1500 DEF 1000 LVL: 3
"I activate Salamangreat Gazelle's effect! When it is Normal or Special Summoned, I can send a Salamangreat card from my Deck to the graveyard. I send Salamangreat Spiny to my graveyard and then activate Spinny's effect from the graveyard! If I control a Salamangreat monster other than Salamangreat Spinny and this card is in my Graveyard, I can Special Summon it! Resurrect, Salamangreat Spinny!"
Next to Gazelle, a small green, orange lizard with a fire burning through its body burst out of the portal. It hissed as it was summoned to the left Main Monster Zone pointed by Cipher HERO Webcrawler's top arrow.
Salamangreat Spinny – ATK 1000 DEF 1500 LVL: 3
"Appear, the circuit that changes the future!" Fire shot out of his hand to the sky, causing the Link portal to appear. "The summoning condition is 2 FIRE Effect Monsters. I set my Salamangreat Spinny and Gazelle in the Link Markers!" The two monsters entered the top and bottom arrows. "Link Summon! Appear, Link-2! Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf!"
A green wolf standing on two feet with a sharp metallic claw howled as it appeared out of the portal and summoned to the Right Extra Monster Zone.
Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf – ATK 1800 LINK: 2 Link Arrow: Top, Bottom.
"If Salamangreat Spinny leaves the field, it is banished," Soulburner said and then gestured to his field. "I activate Salamangreat Falco's effect! If it is in the graveyard, I can target 1 Salamangreat monster I control to return it to my hand and Special Summon it! I return Meer to my hand! Rise again, Salamangreat Falco!"
Fire flew out of the dark portal, revealing to be Falco as it flapped its wings.
Salamangreat Falco – ATK 1200 DEF: 1600 LVL: 4
"Salamangreat Meer's effect! If it is handed to my hand, except by drawing it from my normal draw, I can Special Summon it! Return to the field, Salamangreat Meer!" The orange meerkat screeched as it appeared next to Falco and summoned to the zone pointed by Sunlight Wolf's bottom link arrow.
Salamangreat Meer – ATK 800 DEF 600 LVL: 2
"I activate Salamgreat Sunlight Wolf's effect!" he declared. "If a monster is Normal or Special Summoned to the zone it points to, I can add 1 FIRE monster from my graveyard to my hand, but for the rest of this turn, I cannot Normal Summon, Set, or Special Summon monsters with the added monster's name. I add Salamangreat Gazelle to my hand."
"Appear once again! The circuit that changes the future!" The Link portal appeared. "The summoning condition is two FIRE Effect Monsters. I set the Link-2 Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf in the Link Markers!"
The wolf howled before it split itself into two fire tornados. The tornados entered the top and bottom arrows.
"Link Summon! Rebirth into the fiery power! Appear, Link-2! Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf!" The same wolf appeared with stronger fires burning brighter all over its body and summoning in the Extra Monster Zone.
Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf – ATK 1800 LINK: 2 Link Arrow: Top, Bottom.
"You Link Summon your Link Monster itself? Why would you do that?" Cyber Man asked, though had an idea why he did it.
"This!" Soulburner responded. "Sunlight Wolf's effect activates! During the Main Phase, if I control this card that was Link Summed using Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf as material, I can add 1 Salamangreat Spell or Trap Card from my graveyard to my hand."
"But that means!" Cyber Man realized it.
"I add my Field Spell, Salamangreat Sanctuary, and play it!" He placed the card in the Field Spell Zone on his Duel Disk's blade.
"Appear, the circuit that changes the future!" His hand glowed in red as fire shot out into the air, making the Link Portal appeared in the sky. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning condition is at least two FIRE Effect Monsters. I set my Link-2 Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf and Meer in the Link Markers!"
The monsters entered the top, bottom-left, and bottom-right arrows as the portal burned with fire.
"Link Summon! Appear, Link-3! Salamangreat Heatleo!" His ace monster appeared as it roared strongly in the Extra Monster Zone.
Salamangreat Heatleo – ATK 2300 LINK: 3 Link Arrow: Top, Bottom-Left, Bottom-Right
"Go, Soulburner! Burn with passion! Unleash your power!" Flame cheered as he combusted himself.
"Yeah! I activate the effect of Salamangreat Sanctuary!" A red circle seal appeared in the sky. "If I Link Summon a Salamangreat Link Monster, I can use the Salamangreat Link Monster I control with its same name as the entire material. I use my Link-3 Salamangreat Heatleo to Reincarnate Link Summon itself!"
Heatleo roared as it turned into the tail of flame, absorbing into the red circle as the duelist started chanting. "Reincarnate in the flame of power! Burn everything in the prairies and reborn! Reincarnate Link Summon! Rise, Link-3! Salamangreat Heatleo!"
The red circle unleashed a fiery twister with two glowing eyes glowed in the twister as it came out. Heatleo roared even more strongly than before with its fiery mane burning brighter than ever.
Salamangreat Heatleo – ATK 2300 LINK: 3 Link Arrow: Top, Bottom-Left, Bottom-Right
"Then, I play the Spell Card, Salamangreat Passion!" The Spell showed Salamangreat Heatleo burning in a fire with fiery silhouettes of other Salamangreat monsters appearing in the fire. "If I Link Summoned a Salamangreat Link Monster, I can target it and Tribute one Salamangreat monster on the field to increase the target's ATK by that tributed monster's original ATK until the end of the Battle Phase."
"Say what?" Cyber Man gasped.
"I tribute Salamangreat Falco to power up Heatleo's attack!" Heatleo roared as the mane and side of the arms burned brighter as it absorbed Falco into itself.
Salamangreat Heatleo – ATK 2300 3500
"I activate Heatleo's effect! Once per turn, during the Main Phase, if this card was Link Summoned using Salamangreat Heatleo as material, I can target 1 face-up monster on the field and 1 monster in my graveyard. Then, the ATK of the first target becomes equal to the other target's ATK, until the end of this turn." He explained before he pointed to Webcrawler. "I target Cipher HERO Webcrawler and turn its ATK equals to Salamangreat Meer's ATK from the graveyard! Heatleo Roar!"
Heatleo roared out three fire rings. The rings trapped Webcrawler, burning him as it caused him to cry.
Cipher HERO Webcrawler – ATK 2200 800
"Webcrawler!" Cyber Man cried.
"Battle! Salamangreat Heatleo attacks Cipher HERO Webcrawler!" Heatleo rammed towards and slashed the hero in half, destroying him as Cyber Man winced and felt the heat of the attack, quite literally.
Cyber Man (4h): 4000 – 2700 = 1300 LP
"Since you destroyed my monster and sent it to the Graveyard, I activate the Trap Card: Cipher Signal!" A signal light appeared with Cipher HERO's symbol shining through it. "Now I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Cipher HERO monster from my Deck or hand. I Special Summon Cipher HERO Firewall Guardna!"
A big digital monster with a blue shield appeared. It was as big as Heatleo and it was face-up in Defense Position.
Cipher HERO Firewall Guardna – ATK 0 DEF 2300 LVL: 4
"That won't stop me! I activate the additional effect of Salamangreat Passion! If I control a Salamangreat Link Monster that was Link Summoned using a monster with the same name as its entire material and this card is in the Graveyard, I can banish this, so that Salamangreat Link Monster can attack again, but with its ATK reduced by 500!"
Salamangreat Heatleo – ATK 3500 3000
"Go, Salamangreat Heatleo! Attack his Cipher HERO Data-Dog!" Heatleo roared as it fired a flamethrower at the defenseless Data-Dog.
"Not so fast!" Cyber Man shouted. "I activate Cipher HERO Firewall Guardna's effect! If my opponent's monster declares an attack, then the attack target is turned to my Firewall Guardna instead and it is not destroyed once per battle!"
Guardna jumped in front of Data Dog, taking the flamethrower in its place. It burned it, but it wasn't cooked to the graveyard.
"Then I end my turn and with that, Heatleo's ATK is returned to normal," Soulburner said.
Salamangreat Heatleo – ATK 3000 2300
Soulburner (1h): 2950 LP
Cyber Man flew closer to him so that he could be next to him. "I am impressed, Soulburner. You duel well."
"Thanks!" Soulburner smiled. "You duels well, too, Cyber Man, and I can see why you are strong. It just means that you truly are Hero of LINK VRAINS!"
'Me? A hero?' He repeated in his mind. He couldn't help it, but he admitted that this duel is fun, fun enough that made him almost forget his bounty hunter job.
"However! I still have my job as a bounty hunter!" Cyber Man exclaimed as he flew towards along with his monsters following him. "As I am impressed by your skill and put me into the corner, I will fight back in the name of justice!"
Soulburner smirked and said, "Then bring it on! I'm not giving up either!"
Cyber Man grinned at that, and said, "I draw!"
Cyber Man (5h): 1300 LP
"It is time for a climax! Appear, the circuit of justice!" The Link Portal opened above him. "The summoning condition is at least two Cipher HERO monsters. I set my Cipher HERO Data-Dog, Websurfer, and Firewall Guardna in the Link Markers!"
The three monsters entered the top, down, and left arrows.
"Link Summon! Appear, Link-3! Cipher HERO Modusa!" A woman superhero with cables and wires for hair summoned next to Heatleo's top arrow.
Cipher HERO Modusa – ATK 2200 LINK: 3 Link Arrow: Top, Bottom, Left.
"Cipher HERO Modusa's effect activates! During either player's turn, I can target the monster she points to and if I do, she gains ATK equals to that monster's original ATK and reduce it to zero." The wires and cables of her hair tangled Heatleo, causing it to cry in pain. "Drain Desperation!"
Green energy surged through the wires as Heatleo's fire becoming dimmer and dimmer.
Cipher HERO Modusa – ATK 2200 4500
Salamangreat Heatlo – ATK 2300 0
"This is the end, Soulburner! Cipher HERO Modusa attacks Salamangreat Heatleo! Medusa's Wrath!" The cables tightened Heatleo to the point it makes break it.
"I am not done yet, Cyber Man! I activate the effect of Salamangreat Sanctuary!" Soulburner gestured to his Field Spell. "During the damage calculation, if my monster battles, by paying 1000 LP, I target 1 Link Monster I control to make its ATK zero, and then gain LP equals to its original ATK!"
Soulburner: 2950 – 1000 = 1950 + 2300 = 4250 LP
"That won't be enough!" Cyber Man countered.
"Then, I activate the effect of Salamangreat Roost from my hand!" He revealed a monster card, which showed a reddish-orange rooster with a flame for its comb.
Salamangreat Roost – ATK 1000 DEF 1000 LVL: 4
"If Salamangreat Link monster is about to be destroyed by battle, then I reveal this card to sent it to the graveyard and reduce the damage by halved!" He sent the card before Heatleo shattered by the tightening of the wires. The fire left by Heatleo exploded over Soulburner, causing his body to glitch and his D-Board wobbling.
Soulburner (0h): 4250 – 2250 = 2000 LP
"You are persistent, I give you that, but you are at a great disadvantage," Cyber Man stated. "I suggest you give up. I end my turn and at this point, Modusa's ATK is returned.
Cipher HERO Modusa – ATK 4500 2200
"That was a close call, but as he said, we are indeed at a disadvantage," Flame noted.
"Even so, I just have to draw the right card to win this," Soulburner said.
"That is if you do draw the right card," Flame pointed out.
"Only one way to find out…" He looked at his deck. "I draw!"
He looked over the card he drew and gritted. It was a low-level monster, not the one he needed.
"It seems like you drew the wrong, but…"
"I still have my Skill!" His avatar's suit glowed in fiery red and orange color. "Skill Activates! By reducing my Life Points to 100, I can draw cards for every 1000 Life Points I sacrificed!"
"This must be…!" Cyber Man's eyes widened.
"Burning Draw!" He drew his card as his hand burned in the flame.
Soulburner: 2000 100 LP
He looked over the two drawn cards and grinned. "Yes! This is the card I needed! I play the Spell Card, Monster Reborn! With this, I can Special Summon any monster from either player's graveyard! I resurrect one from mine, and I summon the one and only, Salamangreat Heatleo!"
The lion beast came out of the portal and roared greatly for its resurrection.
"Now, appear!" The red circle appeared. "The summoning condition is at least two FIRE Effect Monsters. I set my Link-3 Salamangreat Heatleo in the Link Markers!"
Cyber Man watched and then smirked to himself.
"Reincarnate Link Summon! Resurrect in the fire of power! Rise again, Salamangreat Heatleo!" Heatleo reappeared out of the red portal, burning even stronger.
"Heatleo's effect activates! Since it was Link Summoned using itself as the entire material, I target 1 monster on the field and 1 monster in my graveyard. Then, the attack of the first target becomes equal to the other target's attack! I target Cipher HERO Modusa and target Salamangreat Roost!"
Heatleo created three fire rings, which trapped Modusa as it burned her.
Cipher HERO Modusa – ATK 2200 1000
"Battle! Salamangreat Heatlo attacks Cipher HERO Modusa!" Heatleo roared as it rammed towards Modusa in flames. It burned through her before it consumed Cyber Man in fires.
"Aaaaaaahh!" He screamed.
Cyber Man: 1300 0 LP
Soulburner WINS!
At SOL Tech's operations security center, all the workers, Akira, Hayami, and Queen were speechless. Queen's face scowled and slammed the Chief's desk.
"Damn it! I should've not put my trust in a stupid duelist with a cape!" Queen angered.
Akira couldn't help but smirk at Queen's frustration. He admitted that the duel just now was the most exciting one he has ever seen.
"The… The winner of the duel is Soulburner!" Kitty announced. "After many backs and forth, Soulburner came out as the victor in the duel!"
The users in LINK VRAINS and people in the real world cheered.
"I admit my defeat. I will stop pursuing you for now," Cyber Man stated.
"Thanks," Soulburner replied with gratitude.
Suddenly, something flew fast past them, which caught them by surprise. Queen changed her mood when it happened.
"What just happened?" She asked, demanding.
"Ah! Something moved to pass by Soulburner and Cyber Man!" One of the analysts stated.
Soulburner and Cyber Man watched as the something that passed them revealed in front of them.
It was a dark duelist riding on a dark purple D-Board. The duelist wore an all-black suit with purple lines through it, and a black mask that looked like a skull. His hair was spiky with black inward and crimson red outward.
"Who are you?" Cyber Man asked.
"I am the Reaper." The duelists' eyes widened. "I came here to challenge you…Soulburner!"
New Cards Cheat Sheet
Soulburner
Salamangreat Protection – Type: Counter Trap. Effect: If you were to take battle damage: Target 1 "Salamangreat" monster in your Graveyard; return it to your hand, then reduce the damage equals to the returned monster's original ATK. If your opponent declares an attack and this card is in your GY: You can add 1 Salamangreat monster from your GY to your hand, then negate that attack. You can only activate each effect of "Salamangreat Protection" once per turn and only that turn.
Salamangreat Passion – Type: Normal Spell Effect: If "Salamangreat" monster is Link Summoned: You can target it and Tribute one "Salamangreat" monster on the field, then the target gains ATK equals to that tributed monster's original ATK until the end of the Battle Phase.
Salamangreat Roost – Level 4, FIRE, Cyberse/Effect, 1000 ATK, 1000 DEF. Effect: If this card is in the GY: You can return 1 "Salamangreat" monster on the field to your hand, then add this card to your hand. If "Salamangreat" Link Monster is about to be destroyed by battle: You can reveal this card, then reduce the damage from that battle by halved this turn. You can only activate each effect of 1 "Salamangreat Roost" per turn.
Cyber Man
Cipher Techno City – Type: Field Spell, Effect: If "Cipher HERO" monster(s) you control declares an attack on opponent's monster with higher ATK than its ATK: Increase the ATK by 1000 points until the end of the Damage Step. If Cipher HERO monster is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard: You take no battle damage, then add 1 Cipher HERO monster from your Deck to your hand.
Cipher HERO Firewall Guardna – Level 4, EARTH, Warrior/Effect, 0 ATK, 2300 DEF. Effect: While this card is face-up on the field, your opponent cannot target any other monsters you control for attack targets, except this card. This card cannot be destroyed by battle once per turn.
Good afternoon, everyone! Another new chapter is here in just one week after the last update. Though I hope you all read my last chapter because there has been a problem on this website where stories have issue with telling followers that it was updated and everything was just out of sync.
I think it is fixed now, so let's hope this chapter goes through.
Anyway, what do you think of the chapter and who do you think the Reaper is. I will add his new cards at the end of the next chapter. This chapter is by far the longest chapter by word count. It is about over 11 thousands words! Also, I am using the format of duel used by scififan599's Yu-Gi-Oh fanfic.
Please leave any reviews and comments, and I will see you guys next time.
Preview for Chapter 72
Soulburner faces the mysterious duelist, Reaper! Who or what is he? Soulburner and Flame have their suspicion, but the only way to confirm it is by dueling against the mysterious duelist!
Soulburner: Are you...!
Reaper: Your time has come to end, Soulburner!
Flame: Watch out, Soulburner!
Next time in Yu-Gi-Oh VRAINS Codes of Secrets, Quantum Blast!
Soulburner: Into the VRAINS!