The life or death Duels start here! Let's go!

Yugioh: The Hope of Six

Chapter 35: Kaiser Arc – Part 7

Amon eyed everyone participating. "Alright. Looks to me like we got our matches set up. All that's left now is for all of us to enter our "new" arena. Echo… do it." Amon ordered his right hand woman. With a complying nod, Echo pressed the white button.

One by one, everyone was encompassed by the strange energy. At first, nothing but white could be seen all around. Then, after a moment, a new sight unfolded itself. What Judai and the others saw left them near speechless. "Where… are we?" Serena asked, stunned.

They were no longer in the main arena of Duel Academy. Instead, everyone stood on a massive rock that seemed to be floating through outer space. Everywhere they looked they saw various black points of light, like dark stars. Also, what seem to be white swirls could be seen everywhere. Nothing that resembled a planet could be seen in any direction. It almost felt like an empty universe. Judai and his friends were on one end of the rock, while Amon's team stood on the other. In the very center of that rock was a huge platform made up of dark white light, just like the dome that was created earlier.

The control center that powered up the doorway stood near the edge of the platform. There, Zweinstein and Misawa tried to figure out where they were. "This is absolutely unbelievable! According to these readings, the dimension we just crossed into has no life readings whatsoever!" Zweinstein informed everyone in compete astonishment. "In fact, the energy from those "dark stars" is very similar to antimatter! No other form of mass can be detected at all!"

"Uh, English please?" Grace asked, totally not getting it.

"To put it in simple terms, we are the only life forms present here… or anywhere in this world for that matter." Misawa translated, shocking his friends further.

"That's… kinda daunting." Masumi noted nervously.

"Amon! Where did you send all of us?" Judai demanded. Amon smiled.

"How interesting that you should be the one to ask that question, Judai. This place is known as…" The older Duelist held his arms out. "The Domain of Destruction."

"I really don't like the sound of that." Asuka said, dreading the meaning behind the name. Amon continued.

"It is here that we will duel to live… or die. Either way, Shido will reawaken once we have all the essential energy we need to make the serum."

"Amon, stop this! Please! If you truly want to save your brother, then find a way that doesn't involve taking the lives of others!" Sho begged. Amon glared at him.

"You think I haven't tried everything else? Do you honestly believe this was my first plan? I am doing what I must! Don't presume to know the position I'm in!" Sho flinched from Amon's retort. "Besides, it's too late. No one's leaving here until all the battles are settled… one way or another."

Gloria then stepped toward before the group. "Amon, I can understand what you're going through." Amon then turned to her.

"Do you?" He asked, his voice full of skepticism. Gloria locked eyes with him as she tried her piece.

"Not long ago, I was in a difficult situation where my younger sister, Grace, was in danger. I was willing to betray those I worked for to keep her safe. It is something I would do again in a heartbeat to protect her, even at the cost of my own life." She said as she glanced back at her sister.

"Gloria." Grace murmured. Amon didn't seem as touched by Gloria's words.

"Your point being?" He asked. Gloria looked back at him.

"My point, Amon, is that we both want to help our younger siblings. They are important to us. But we shouldn't risk losing ourselves in the process, even for their sake. I almost did before I learned the truth of my old mission. I don't believe Shido would want you to kill others just to save him. Don't be someone your brother wouldn't want you to be." Amon was silent for long moment before he gave his reply.

"Nothing else has been able to revive Shido. This is my brother's only chance. There is no turning back now. All of you agreed to our challenge so that all of Duel Academy doesn't get disintegrated into nothing."

"Amon…" Sho said, sad that their enemy couldn't be convinced of finding another solution. Gloria gave a disappointing sigh.

"Perhaps you are more of a lost cause than I thought." She told him. Amon snorted.

"I'm not lost. I am doing what needs to be done to save my brother. And you know what… for your pitiful effort just now, you have the honor of dueling first!" Gloria gasped, while Emi chuckled.

"I get to go first? This is going to be so much fun!" The possessed nurse slipped on her Duel Disk and stepped glowing platform. She waited for her opponent to join her.

Gloria grimaced before turning back to the others, particularly to Grace and Ryo. "Well guys, looks like the gauntlet has officially been thrown down. But…" She then looked distraught. 'If this were an ordinary Duel where no serious injuries might happen, I wouldn't be so hesitant. But if what Amon said was true, winning this Duel will cost Emi her life! What makes this even worse is that Emi is not even herself! Something is controlling her, I'm sure of it! That's beside the point, though! How can I possibly go through with this knowing what will happen to the one who loses?!'

Grace and the rest could tell her older sister was not happy with the Duels they were being forced to participate in. She then thought of something. "Hey Amon! You said the Duelist who loses a Duel here would die, right?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?" Amon questioned , wondering where the younger Tyler sister was getting at. Grace then put on a cute face.

"What if the Duel ends in a draw? Would both Duelists be spared since there would not be just one loser? That sounds right, doesn't it? Huh?" She said in a cutesy tone, feeling slightly hopeful. Amon's expression remained neutral.

"Wrong. If a draw occurs, then both Duelists would die. No loser gets off scott free in this place, even if there is more than one." Grace's face fell and groaned.

"Crap." She muttered. "It was worth a try." Gloria appreciated the effort, even if it was futile.

"It's not just Emi's life in danger." Samejima interjected. "Chronos is also going to be at risk."

"And Reggie." Fubuki added, extremely worried for her.

"There must be a way to save them." Serena said.

"Like how?" Manjome asked.

Yusuke was about to say something when he heard a low "Psst" from from his arm… where his Duel Disk was attached. He glanced down and stared into the eyeball of the Fire Ignis. With everything that's just happened, Yusuke had forgotten Flame was still inside his Disk.

"Don't say a word and listen." Flame whispered before telling Yusuke what he was planning. After that, the eyeball vanished.

Yusuke knew Flame was now someplace else. Somewhere where the digital being believed he could be useful. With that knowledge, and hope, in his mind, Yusuke needed to make sure Amon and none of his teammates catch wind of it. "Gloria… you have no choice." Gloria and the rest turned to him.

"Yusuke?" Gloria asked, being incredulous. Yusuke went on as he faced everyone.

"You and all you guys fighting already decided who's facing who in this galactic hell hole. You have no option other than to fight. Even if it means that our enemies… go out in a burst of flame." He said with a quick wink.. along with a slight twitch of his left arm.

At first, no one understood what Yusuke meant by his actions. Then, his eyes widening in understanding, Judai figured it out. He knew the expression was "Go up in flames.", not what Yusuke just said. 'Of course! If Flame's planning something, we need believe it will work!' Judai then turned to Gloria and those fighting with him. "Yusuke's right. I know things are super bad right now, but Amon's giving us no choice in the matter. We have to see this through. And…" Judai then leaned in and said in a low whisper, "Believe in our fiery little friend." Johan and Edo didn't get it, but the rest of the gang finally got the message.

"Hey, what's the hold up?! I'm waiting up here!" Emi called out, her patience running thin as she crossed her arms and tapping her foot.

Gloria nodded at her friends before turning to her friend and mentor turned enemy. "Don't get your panties in a bunch. I'll be up in a second." She informed Emi.

"Gook luck sis." Grace told her as her older sibling attached her Duel Disk on her arm and inserted her Deck.

"Please, bring Emi back to herself somehow." Samejima begged.

"I believe in you." Ryo told his fiancée. Gloria nodded at him.

Judai then walked over to her and placed his hand over her Disk, where her Deck and Extra Deck were. "Go get her, Gloria. You got this." He told her in encouragement. She did not notice, but a subtle dark golden glow from Judai's hand moved itself to the older woman's Disk.

Strangely, no else noticed the glow except Yuri. He barely saw it, but it did not escape his sight. 'What was that weird little glow just now?'

With similar words of encouragement from the others, Gloria finally stepped onto the platform and stopped several feet from her opponent. At once the two women activated both their Duel Disks and started the first life or death match.

"DUEL!"

(Gloria: 4000) (Emi: 4000)

"I go first! My turn! Draw!" Gloria declared. "I Summon Amazoness Fighter!" (EARTH; Level 4; ATK: 1500; DEF: 1300) A very muscular dark haired woman stood on the Field, fists up and ready for battle. "Then I play Amazoness Call! It allows me to take an "Amazoness" card, except itself, from my Deck and either add to my hand or send it to the Graveyard! I will add Amazoness Spy to my hand! After that, I Set one card facedown and end my turn."

"I'm not impressed, Gloria. It won't take me long to crush you. My turn! Draw!" Emi smiled evilly.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Masumi said.

"You and me both." Asuka said in agreement.

"I'm about to show you the dark side of modern medicine! I Summon Fallen Angel Nurse – Reficul in Defense Mode!" (DARK; Level 4; ATK: 1400; DEF: 600) Kneeling in front of Emi was a dark purpled haired woman with four wings and completely covered in bandages.

'I was afraid she'd bring that out.' Judai thought, having dueled Emi himself in the past. Not one of his favorite Duels given the situation at the time.

"Next I play Graceful Charity, allowing me to draw three cards while discarding two! One of my discarded cards was Burning Algae, and it's Effect activates! When it goes to the Graveyard, it gives my opponent 1000 Life Points… under normal circumstances that is!"

"Meaning what?" Gloria asked. Emi's smile widened.

"Thanks to the Monster Effect of Reficul, any Effect that gives my opponent Life Points instead becomes damage!" She revealed, shocking Gloria.

"But that means…" Serena started.

"Gloria will take 1000 points of damage instead!" Ryo finished.

"Exactly!" Emi replied as a small burst of flame struck her opponent.

(Gloria: 4000 - 1000 = 3000)

"Sis!" Grace yelled. Gloria did look a little singed.

"I'm alright." She assured her sister and friends.

"Not after this you won't! I play Monster Reborn to resurrect the other card I discarded! My new Ace and the means to end you! Behold: THE SUPPRESSION PLUTO!" (DARK; Level 8; ATK: 2600; DEF: 2000) A black and purple winged demon emerged next to Reficul. It had a silver horns on it's head, clawed hands, a long tail, one eye on each of it's shoulders and four more eyes on it's chest.

"Emi didn't have that when I dueled her!" Judai said, surprised by the new Monster. Edo gasped at the sight.

"No… it can't be!" He exclaimed in disbelief.

"What? You've seen that thing before, Edo?" Johan asked. Edo turned to him and the others, now looking worried.

"Years ago, my father came up with a concept for a series of powerful Monsters based on the planets of the solar system, called "The Legendary Planets". The Suppression Pluto is one of them. My father gave them all names and effects of their own. However, those cards never got made due to the release of "The Agent" Monsters. At least… that's what I was told." He said, his voice trailing off.

"Could he have had someone else print the cards in secret?" Kenzan asked. Edo shook his head.

"He couldn't have. My father was murdered shortly after his concept was rejected." Some of the group gasped in shock.

"Murdered?! By whom?!" Masumi asked.

"It's a long story." Edo said, not wanting to go opening that old wound. "Anyway, after that I was under the impression the Legendary Planet cards would never get made."

"Well obviously someone made them." Manjome stated.

"And whoever did gave one to our brainwashed nurse." Yuri added.

"Could Amon and his guys have the other Legendary Planets?" Rei asked.

"If they do, then our fights may be even tougher than we thought." Edo said heavily. No one liked the sound of that.

"Now I activate the Effect of The Suppression Pluto! Once per turn, I can declare the name of a card! If the declared card is in your hand, then I can take control of a card you have on the Field!"

Gloria gritted her teeth. Emi knew the name of at least one card in her hand. And just as she expected…

"The card I name is… Amazoness Spy! And lucky for me, I know you have that card since you added it to your hand last turn!" Emi said as Gloria reluctantly showed her Monster card. "And now, I get to take control of your Amazoness Fighter!" Gloria's Monster then move itself to stand by Emi now.

"Not good! Emi has two Monsters now and Gloria's got squat!" Manjome said.

"Battle! Amazoness Fighter, Direct Attack!" Amazoness Fighter ran forward and pulled it's fists, preparing to strike it's former master.

"Continuous Trap open, Amazoness Onslaught! Once per turn, during the Battle Phase, I can Special Summon an "Amazoness" Monster from my hand and give it 500 Attack Points until the end of the turn! I Special Summon Amazoness Spy from my hand!" (EARTH; Level 3; ATK: 800; DEF: 1200) A woman wearing a blue cloak appeared to block it's fellow Amazon and gained it's Attack Point boost.

(Amazoness Spy's ATK: 800 + 500 = 1300)

"That's not enough to keep her in play!" Emi told her opponent as Amazoness Fighter took out Amazoness Spy with a powerful punch.

(1500 - 1300 = 200)

(Gloria: 3000 - 200 = 2800)

"I've still got plenty of Life Points! Now I activate my Trap's other Effect!" Gloria declared. "After damage calculation, if my "Amazoness" Monster battled an opponent's Monster while Onslaught is in play in my Magic and Trap Zone, I can banish the opposing Monster! I banish Amazoness Fighter!" Instantly, Gloria's first Monster vanished on the spot. "Now you don't have my Monster anymore!" Emi scoffed at her.

"Bad move on your part! Now you've got nothing to stop this! The Suppression Pluto, Direct Attack! Three Satellites!" Emi's Monsters tossed three moonlike spheres at Gloria, damaging her more and knocking her down.

(Gloria: 2800 - 2600 = 200)

"Gloria, hang in there!" Ryo encouraged.

"That will do for now. I Set two cards facedown and end my turn."

"Ow… that hurt more than I expected." Gloria said. 'If felt like dueling Academia style.'

"You were warned about damage being real in this place. It's too bad you'll end up dying here… after you've seen the Light." Emi said.

"There it is again. First Ryan, now Chronos and Emi have brought it up. What is this "Light" we keep hearing about? What the hell does that mean?" Serena asked.

"The Light of Destruction." Judai revealed.

"The What?" Yuri asked the older Duelist.

"It is a cosmic being that wants nothing more than to totally wipe out our entire universe, starting with Earth. I'm the only one with the power to put a stop to it."

"How?" Ryo asked.

"See, there is a side of me you new guys never saw… except maybe you Yuri." Judai said, briefly reminding him of their first encounter back in the Fusion Dimension. The younger boy turned away, not willing to add to the conversation. "That side of me is known as the "Supreme King", and it is that part of me allows me to resist and fight back against the Light of Destruction… among other abilities."

"Was that why your eyes changed earlier?" Serena asked. Judai then realized it.

"So thats why you three looked so startled before. Yeah, those eyes are when I use my Supreme King powers. Sorry about freaking you out like that. Well anyways, awhile back me and one of my Monsters, Yubel, took off to seal off the Light and succeeded. But now..."

"You think it got freed somehow?" Masumi questioned.

"Sure seems like it, if it got hold of both Chronos and Emi." Judai confirmed. He asked himself how the Light managed to escape, but couldn't think of anything that would explain it.

"But why though? If this Light is so obsessed with destroying everything, then why does it take control of people?" Grace asked.

"The Light uses humans to achieve it's ultimate goal." Misawa chimed in. "It infects their minds and influences their actions. In our second year, the Light of Destruction used a man named Takuma Saio. He to tried to use a laser satellite to destroy the planet, but thankfully he failed. During that time, Saio took control of many students in Duel Academy, creating the Society of Light. It unfortunately also included Manjome, Asuka… and myself."

"You were possessed too?" Grace asked her boyfriend in great shock. He looked away.

"Yeah, not one of my best times." He said reluctantly.

"Nor mine. Thankfully, Judai freed us and stopped Saio from completing his mission." Asuka said.

"As for me, I tried to fight against Saio and his Society of Light myself. However, I failed and ended up joining them instead." Misawa admitted, sounding very disappointed in himself.

"Judai saved you too, didn't he?" Serena asked.

"When Judai stopped Saio and ended his Society, I was back to my old self." He told her. Judai was surprised by Misawa's answer. He knew that was a lie, for Misawa had left the Society on his own before he defeated Saio. He figured his friend didn't want to reveal his the reason.

Misawa himself would never tell the truth; he felt too ashamed. In reality, he only pretended to join to make himself feel important. Saio never actually enslaved him like Manjome and Asuka. His new position only led to further neglect and disrespect toward him. It was because of his talk with Zweinstein that helped him see the error of his way and be his true self once more.

While that discussion was going on, Emi eyed Gloria with disdain. "That was a very stupid move you pulled. You could've used your Trap to banish my Legendary Planet, but you sent away your own Monster instead. Why do something that idiotic?" Gloria stared back defyingly.

"Your Suppression Pluto may be stronger, but my Amazoness Fighter protects it's controller from damage in battles it is involved in. I wasn't going to let you take advantage of that. Plus, I just don't like to see my own Monsters being used against me." Gloria admitted, having experienced something like that before. Emi snorted.

"No matter. You will lose anyway so it means nothing. Now try to fight back." Gloria planned to do just that.

"Fine. My turn! Draw!" She was glad she drew this card. "I activate Enemy Supply! It destroys one Level 4 or lower opposing Monster and I gain Life Points equal to that Monster's Attack Points! I'll destroy your Fallen Angel Nurse – Reficul and gain 1400 Life Points, same as it's Attack Power!"

"Why you!" Emi yelled angrily. Gloria smiled as she regained some of her lost Life Points.

(Gloria: 200 + 1400 = 1600)

"That will help." Fubuki commented.

"Hopefully it will be enough." Yusuke added. He also silently prayed that Flame's plan would work, for their sakes.

"Next I play another Magic card, Amazoness Secret Technique! It will let me Fusion Summon a "Amazoness" Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck using Fusion Materials either in my hand or on the Field! I Fuse Amazoness Queen and Amazoness Swords Woman in my hand! Queen of the jungle! Receive the power of the valiant swords-woman, and build an empire that rules over everything! Fusion Summon! Appear, Level 8! Amazoness Empress!" (EARTH; Level 8; ATK: 2800; DEF: 2400) The form of a white haired warrior woman with an animal skull on her head materialized before Gloria.

"Now Emi's in for it!" Grace exclaimed.

"You attacked me with my own Monster, and I'm going to pay you back for that. Battle! Amazoness Empress, attack The Suppression Pluto! Queen's Fury!" Holding up it's big sword, Gloria's Queen charged toward it's celestial adversary.

"I don't think so! Trap card open, Painful Bandages! Once activated, I can Equip it to my Monster! Now by paying 600 Life Points, The Suppression Pluto can't be destroyed by battle and I take no battle damage!" After being wrapped up in a few layers of bandages, Emi's Legendary Planet was spared from Empress' assault.

(Emi: 4000 - 600 = 3400)

"Tch." Gloria grunted in annoyance. "At the very least, I emptied my hand. Now you can't use your Ace's Effect again. I end my turn."

"Perhaps." Emi grudgingly admitted.

"Good one Gloria!" Grace said happily.

On the other side, Chronos smirked. "Gloria has no chance of winning this. With her Planet card, Emi will eliminate her for certain." Amon and the others said nothing, but kept watching.

"Just because I can't use my Monster's Effect doesn't mean I have no tricks left! My turn! Draw!" 'I can do some damage with these.' She thought viciously. "First I activate and Equip my Sadistic Potion Trap card to The Suppression Pluto!"

'Another nasty card to deal with.' Judai thought to himself.

"Next I play Black Medicine, damaging your Life Points by 500 since Reficul is in the Graveyard!" Gloria grunted as she took more damage.

(Gloria: 1600 - 500 = 1100)

"That didn't feel so bad." Gloria said. Emi chuckled evilly.

"This certainly will! Sadistic Potion's Effect activates! When you take damage from a card effect, the Equipped Monster gains 1000 Attack Points until the end of the turn!"

(The Suppression Pluto's ATK: 2600 + 1000 = 3600)

"This one is going to hurt." Lieutenant Rabb said with a sadistic smile.

"Battle! The Suppression Pluto, attack Amazoness Empress! Three Satellites!" With the increased Attack Power, the impact on Gloria was even more devastating. She screamed this time as she fell again.

(3600 - 2800 = 800)

(Gloria: 1100 - 800 = 300)

"Gloria, hang on!" Grace called out.

"Get back up!" Ryo urged.

Slowly, but surely, Gloria rose up once more. She managed a smile in spite of her growing injuries.

"Don't worry so much. I'll pull through." She told her sister and her fiancé, though she did could not hide the pain she felt.

"Tough girl, huh? That won't save you in the end. I Set one card facedown and end my turn. At this time, The Suppression Pluto's Attack Points return to normal." Emi declared, her Ace's Attack Points dropping back down to 2600.

"This looks bad for Gloria." Yuri said softly.

"She has nothing to protect herself. If she hopes to win, she has to draw something useful on her next turn." Rei said.

"Gloria is the toughest woman I know." Ryo told his friends. "She won't lose."

"But Emi…" Grace said, afraid to lose a friend.

"Remember, there's hope." Asuka told her.

As she stood in the arena, Gloria knew she couldn't keep this up for much longer. She had to finish the Duel now… and hoped Emi could still be saved. "I'm not giving up Emi! Not ever! My turn! Draw! I now banish Enemy Supply from my Graveyard! For each multiple of 1000 of my opponent's Life Points, I can draw one card! With your Life Points at least at 3000, I can draw three more cards!" The cards in her hand gave her hope that she can do it.

"Nothing you have can help you!" Emi taunted. Gloria didn't believe that one bit.

"I'm sick and tired of you talking that way! I plan to get the real you back somehow, and I'll start with this: Heavy Storm! This destroys all Magic and Trap cards on the Field!"

"What?!" Emi yelled in shock as both her and Gloria's cards were blown away. "Even your own?!" Gloria smirked.

"When Amazoness Onslaught is destroyed and goes from the Field to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon a "Amazoness" Monster from my Graveyard! I revive my Amazoness Empress!" Gloria's Ace returned to serve her master again.

"Alright!" Judai said.

"Now she's back in control." Edo noted. Strangely, Emi did not look worried.

"Next I Normal Summon Amazoness Sage!" (EARTH; Level 4; ATK: 1400; DEF: 700) A cloaked woman holding a staff appeared next to Empress. "Then I activate the Effect of Amazoness Shaman in my hand! I can target one "Amazoness" card I control, except "Amazoness Shaman"and cannot Special Summon Monsters from the Extra Deck for the rest of this turn, except "Amazoness" Monsters! The card I've picked, Amazoness Sage, returns to my hand while Amazoness Shaman is Special Summon in it's place!" (EARTH; Level 2; ATK: 800; DEF: 1800) A much paler staff wielding woman appeared in the place of her fellow Amazon.

"Why switch your stronger Monster out for a weaker one?" Emi asked, clearly confused.

Gloria smiled as she recalled a special memory from last night…

Flashback:

"Gloria, I have one more thing to give you." Just after accepting Ryo's marriage proposal, Gloria was given an additional gift. From her fiancé's other pocket, he produced...

"A card?" Gloria asked, surprised even further once she read the card's name. Ryo nodded with a smile.

"I figured that card would be fitting for you... since you are now marrying "The Kaiser". Gloria laughed.

"It's perfect. Thank you Ryo."

Flashback End

"So I can use it's other Effect! When Amazoness Shaman is Special Summoned, I can add "Polymerization" to my hand!" Gloria was now ready to bring out her gift from Ryo. "Now I activate Polymerization to Fuse Amazoness Shaman with Amazoness Empress!"

'She's Summoning it!' Ryo thought excitedly.

"What? Another Fusion?" Grace asked, clearly having no idea what she was about to witness.

"True ruler of the Amazon! Reveal yourself now and unleash your tribal power! Let all fear you! Fusion Summon! Appear, Level 10! AMAZONESS KAISERIN!" (EARTH; Level 10; ATK: 3200; DEF: 2800) Everyone gasped as the biggest, strongest looking woman anyone ever scene stepped onto the Field. She looked like a seriously beefed up Amazoness Empress, but with more bonelike tribal armor and wore a red cape. Her sword was bigger and sharper, resembling a giant claw.

"Woah! I've never seen that Monster before! Where did my big sister get that?" Grace asked aloud, amazed by the new Fusion Monster. Ryo smiled big time, knowing Gloria had what she needed.

"That… could be a problem." Emi muttered to herself, now worrying a little.

"Now for Kaiserin's Effect! Since it was Fusion Summoned, I can Special Summon a "Amazoness" Monster from my Deck! I Special Summon Amazoness Holy Warrior!" (EARTH; Level 4; ATK: 1700; DEF: 300) A tanned cloaked woman holding a sword appeared next to it's new leader. "Amazoness Holy Warrior gains 100 Attack Points for each "Amazoness" Monster I control, like my Kaiserin!" Emi sneered.

(Amazoness Holy Warrior's ATK: 1700 + 100 = 1800)

Misawa had a momentary ache in his heart upon seeing that Monster. 'That was one of Tania's Monsters too…' He shook his head and refocused on watching the Duel.

"Battle! Amazoness Kaiserin, attack The Suppression Pluto! Kaiser's Blade!" With a mighty slash of it's weapon, Gloria's new Ace obliterated Emi's.

(3200 - 2600 = 600)

(Emi: 3400 - 600 = 2800)

"She actually managed to take down one of the Legendary Planets!" Reggie exclaimed in surprise.

"Emi's opponent really is a tough one." Amon said with amusement.

"Still, the battle isn't over." Echo said, still watching.

"Damn you! I swear I'll finish you on my next turn!" Emi shouted.

"No you won't!" Gloria retorted, confusing Emi. "Because "Amazoness Empress" was used as a Fusion Material, Amazoness Kaiserin can attack a second time during each Battle Phase! I'm ending this with it's second strike! Kaiserin…!"

"You won't beat me! I banish my Trap, White Vaccine, from my Graveyard! Now for the rest of the turn, if you try to attack me directly while my Life Points are higher than yours… your attack will be negated and the attacking Monster or Monsters will be destroyed!" Emi laughed maniacally, thinking she stopped Gloria in her tracks. She was wrong.

"This doesn't change anything!" Gloria said, shutting up the possessed nurse.

"Meaning what?!" Emi yelled in aggravation.

"While Kaiserin is on the Field, other "Amazoness" Monsters I control cannot be targeted or destroyed by my opponent's card effects!"

"WHAT?!" Emi screamed, realizing what this meant.

"Amazoness Holy Warrior is protected from your Trap's Effects thanks to my new Ace, so I can have her attack you without issues! But before that, I play Amazoness Essence! It increases the Attack Points of an "Amazoness" Monster I control by 800 until the end of the turn! I'm making my Holy Warrior stronger!" Gloria's Monster glowed briefly as it's power grew.

(Amazoness Holy Warrior's ATK: 1800 + 800 = 2600)

"Gloria can win this now!" Johan said. 'And if what Judai said was true, maybe save Emi too. Even if I don't know how exactly…'

"Amazoness Holy Warrior, Direct Attack!" One powerful swift strike drastically reduced Emi's Life Points, not to mention caused her to stumble back a bit in pain.

(Emi: 2800 - 2600 = 200)

"Now your Life Points aren't high enough to stop this!" Gloria did not notice but Kaiserin's weapon began to glow golden… just like Judai's eyes. 'Please… let Emi be alright after this.' She begged to no one in particular. "Amazoness Kaiserin, attack Emi directly one more time! Kaiser's Blade!"

Emi screamed again as Gloria's final attack struck home and knocked her down.

(Emi: 0)

To be continued.