490Late update, because I'm lazy
Again-again, Cyberdarks are not the only cards using anime effects.
Also, feel free to add your favorite hype battle music for this spicy duel! My recommendation is "God's anger" from the original Duel Monsters!
Chapter 45:
"DUEL!" four voices shouted in unison as their owner's arms whipped down and their duel disks hummed to life. (Team CA 4000 / Kagemaru 4000)
The three boys exchanged looks, silently communicating about who'd go first, second, and third. Jaden's eyes briefly moved over to a prone Chazz too, but given he's still breathing and their opponent wouldn't wait, they pushed that aside for later. While Blake wanted to go first to take the brunt of whatever the old man would throw at them, Jaden couldn't wait to get started.
"I'll go first, draw!" Bastion announced, causing the other two's eyes to snap at him.
Jaden quietly lamented not getting to go first, but Blake's eyes were on his best friend. Bastion put up a brave and calm façade, but Blake had seen enough people trying to look strong while on their last legs back in the underground. There was a subtle trembling in his friend's legs and a brief wince when he pulled out his card, along with sharp and shallow breaths. After everything that happened this day, he couldn't blame him.
"I start by activating Graceful Charity!" Bastion started drawing, then discarded slowly. "Next, I activate the Continuous Spell Call of the Mummy, which allows me to special summon a Zombie monster from my hand if I control no monsters! Come forth and burn the wicked; Nine-Tailed Fox!" In front of him, the white and red yokai appeared out of a ball of fire, fanning out its name giving tails protectively (2200/2000).
"I set another monster and two cards face down and end my turn." Bastion finished with a heavy sigh, but shot his teammates a reassuring thumbs-up nevertheless.
"That's all? An overgrown pet and some puny defenses?" Kagemaru mocked as he all but ripped his next card from his deck. "This academy's standards must've dropped even more than I initially thought when people like you and that Princeton brat are considered top duelists. Then again, overseeing the curriculum and toning down your teachers' efforts was part of my plan. You should've seen that clown Crowler's oh-so-high 'morals' weaken with a simple raise and promises to make him the next headmaster." The man chuckled darkly.
"And here I wondered why everything was so easy …" Bastion mumbled to himself.
"What?! Those were the toned-down tests?!" Jaden shouted in disbelief.
"Focus." Blake growled, shaking his head.
"Now, let me show you what real power is!" Kagemaru boasted. "First, I activate Opening of the Spirit Gates!" Around them, six metallic, golden pillars shot out of the ground, a ring of golden energy connecting their tips. Along their sides, scripts and symbols similar to those on the Spirit Keys could be seen. "This card allows me to add a Sacred Beast or a card that mentions it to my hand." His deck shuffled, offering him the card he wanted.
"Next, I summon Dark Beckoning Beast!" A wyvern-like fiend touched down through the ring of energy build by the pillars. Its body was sharp, skeletal, and in a tricolor style of blue, yellow and red (0/0).
Jaden's eyes narrowed at the sight, his mouth opening for just a moment before he snapped it shut. Bastion looked intrigued by the unfamiliar monster and moved to check his duel disk for information.
"… why can't I read that?" He asked out loudly, looking at his teammates for confirmation. Jaden blinked and took a look himself, letting out a confused "Huh?".
Blake on the other hand was frozen in shock, something that didn't go unnoticed by the others.
'Fuck, fuck, fuck.' Blake's mind whirred. 'Please don't let him have everything.'
"With my dark best summoned, it allows me to search for another card, exactly like the Spirit Gates." Kagemaru continued, only for the sky above them to draw in dark clouds, lightning and thunder flashing and rumbling above them. "But it also allows me to summon another Fiend with the same stats as itself. As such, I summon Chaos Summoning Beast."
His second monster was as skeletal and fiendish as the last but primarily black and grey in color, with only its talons, spikes, and head crest in a striking gold (0/0).
"Befitting of its name, this monster can tribute itself to special summon any Sacred Beast from my hand." The old man announced and spread his arms as his monster turned into pure energy. Then, a blue bolt of lightning struck it. "Behold; Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder!"
The energy spread out into the massive form of a golden beast. Its tail whipped across the ground, leaving deep rifts in it, while it spread its translucent wings with such force it threw back its opposition. Towering over them, the trees, and the pillars, Hamon's looked down upon them, its gaze focused on Blake. With a low rumble, it flexed its giant claws, causing lightning to crawl across its form and light up the night as the smell of ozone spread across the clearing (4000/4000).
'Prove your worth.' The beasts rumbling voice thundered in Blake's head, who'd just barely managed to stay on his feet due to the winds caused by the monster, but lost his cap in the process.
Looking for the others, Blake let out a sigh of relief when Bastion had been kept steady by his fox, while Jaden was in the protective embrace of a temporarily physical Inferno Wing.
"Blake!" Bastion's voice caught his attention. "What are we up against?!"
Blake shook his head and, remembering his friend's words, tried to look up any information on his duel disk. He blinked before a cold dread set into his stomach. Unlike them, he could read it, and this particular version didn't fill him with the easygoing feeling he'd planned for going into this duel. Not only was Hamon's card yellow, just like the Winged Dragon of Ra, it also held the attribute and type of a Divine Beast.
"… a lot of bullshit is what we're up against." He replied, his voice a mix between annoyed and dreadful, causing the divine beast to chuckle in his mind.
"Yes, despair upon the sight of my divine beast!" Kagemaru laughed, his tone gaining a streak of insanity. "But this is only the beginning! I banish my Summoning Beast from the graveyard to add another card to my hand and I'll activate it immediately: Fallen Paradise!"
Behind Kagemaru, a tree almost as tall as Hamon sprouted. It held no leaves, however. Instead, countless pairs of glowing eyes looked out from its roots and rind. "With this on the field, I can not only draw additional cards each turn while controlling a Sacred Beast-" the man explained as he took his free pair of cards "it also makes them impossible to target nor destructible by any sort of effect of yours."
"What the hell …" Bastion surprisingly cursed.
"Man, it's just like the Egyptian Gods …" Jaden marveled.
"Now that's just bullshit." Blake spat. "Why's he getting all those good cards?!"
"Hamon, strike down that puny monster!" Kagemaru ordered, ignoring their antics. His monster raised its claws, blue lightning running between them before shooting out with a loud crack, blasting away Bastion's set monster.
"The monster you destroyed was Pyramid Turtle, which lets me summon a Zombie from my deck with 2000 or less defense points!" Bastion announced, the familiar form of Goka, the Pyre of Malice settling down besides his other monster (2200/2000).
"My beasts effect activates: Whenever it destroys a monster by battle, it inflicts 1000 points of damage!" Kagemaru cackled.
Before Bastion could react, lightning struck from above, forcing him to one knee with a pained cry. (Team CA 3000 / Kagemaru 4000)
""Bastion!"" Jaden and Blake shouted as their friend trembled, lightning coursing over his body for a few moments before dispersing.
"I set three cards and end my turn." Kagemaru finished, brushing back his luscious hair with practiced ease. "You will regret trying to stop me, foolish children. No duelist can hope to stop me! Not Kaiba, not Muto, and certainly not a couple of snot-nosed brats!" His laughter was getting more and more deranged.
Jaden's eyes flashed golden for a moment as his head snapped towards the man.
"That's rich coming from someone who cut the island off because he's too afraid to face either of them." Blake mocked, nodding at Jaden to go next. "Then again, if it weren't for us, the gates would've never opened, no? Really, the Sacred Beasts are taking pity on you by giving you a chance to use them before your body finally gives out."
"Bold words coming from the one they didn't choose, Hound." Kagemaru sneered. "Care to back them up."
"Sure, once our resident hero is done with you." Blake smirked. Afterall, it didn't matter what cards Kagemaru used. There's no way he, no, the three of them would lose to him.
"Yeah, you better get your game on now, because I'm turning up the heat!" Jaden exclaimed.
"Before you start, my Goka creates a token." Bastion interjected as the ball of fire formed (100/100).
"Which is when I'll activate my Awakening of the Sacred Beasts!" Kagemaru joined in, causing three stone plates to appear behind him, depicting ancient pictures of the Sacred Beasts. "For every Sacred Beast I control it grants me more effects! With one, every time you summon monsters, I gain lifepoints equal to their attack points!" The picture of Hamon got a yellow outline, shining as it granted its effect. (Team CA 3000 / Kagemaru 4100)
"Is everyone done now, yeah?" Jaden grumbled. "Then I'll start with this: E – Emergency Call to pick up an Elemental HERO straight from my deck! Next, I summon the monster I just got: Elemental HERO Blazeman!" The fiery hero touched down beside Bastion's equally fiery zombies (1200/1800). Once again, Hamon's stone plate granted energy to Kagemaru. (Team CA 3000 / Kagemaru 5300)
"My heroes special ability lets me add one copy of Polymerization from my deck to my hand!" Jaden continued, growing more and more excited. "This one I copied from my good buddy Blake: I activate Future Fusion!" Behind him, a group of futuristic buildings appeared, a teal light glowing on top its highest tower. "This lets me reveal one Fusion monster and send its materials from my deck straight to the graveyard to summon it in two turns!"
Blake and Bastion shared a look. There's no way he'd be able to resolve that fusion.
"Seeing as you used Banner as much as everyone else, I'll show you a monster that remind him of the good prof: Elemental HERO Electrum! Now I send Elemental HEROs Avian, Burstinatrix, Clayman, and Bubbleman to the graveyard." The heroes in question appeared briefly before entering the tallest building, a tray of coffee cups in hand as they shot their duelist a salute.
"While we're waiting for them, I'll introduce you to another hero! I activate Polymerization to fuse Sparkman and Necroshade from my hand to summon Elemental HERO Escuridao!" The brilliant blue-and-gold Sparkman and tribal, skeletal Necroshade vanished into the swirl of magic. When the spell reached its climax, it revealed a hero clad in pitch-black, a pair of wings that looked like a ripped cape, and two dark blades attached to its hip while it flexed the vicious claw that was its right hand. (2500/2000).
"All that for such a mediocre monster? Pathetic." Kagemaru huffed as his lifepoints rose even higher. (Team CA 3000 / Kagemaru 7800)
"And that's where you're wrong! Escuridao gains 100 attack points for every Elemental HERO in my grave, so 600 additional points!" Jaden's monster glowed briefly, the faces of the heroes empowering it reflected in the shine of its armor as its claw grew (3100/2000).
"So what? That's still not-"
"And to finish up, I activate my own Field Spell: Skyscraper!" All around Jaden and his friends, towering skyscrapers appeared, stopping just at the half-way point of the field they were dueling on. "Blazeman, attack his Beckoning Beast! Escuridao, attack his Hamon! Skydive Ripper!"
Blazeman charged the defenseless monster, shattering it with a fist of fire (Team CA 3000 / Kagemaru 6600) while Escuridao shot down from the highest peak, getting a great boost of power as it gained momentum (4100/2000). But just as its claw was about to swoop by Hamon's defenses, a strange piece of jewelry appeared, repelling the attack with a multicolored barrier.
"What?!" Jaden exclaimed.
"If that attack went through, I might've actually been impressed, boy." Kagemaru mocked. "But alas, it was for naught. My Depth Amulet lets me discard a card to negate an attack. It won't last forever, but you won't either."
Jaden let out a sigh. "Sorry guys, I really thought I had him with that."
"But why didn't he negate the first attack ..." Bastion mumbled.
"You'll get him next time." Blake said, wondering the same as Bastion.
"Let's see about that. It's my turn!" Kagemaru started again. "I'll draw additional cards thanks to Fallen Paradise, then I activate Cerulean Skyfire!" The clouds above them turned a distinct blue color, the lightning intensifying even more as Kagemaru's backline was filled to the brim.
"Fuck." Blake said out loud, causing the other boys to look at him. "It'll let him negate one Spell or Trap per turn." He explained with annoyance. Now he'd have to play through that and cut down on his options.
"How do you-" Kagemaru started, his brows furrowing before he looked at Hamon. "You can't seriously still see him as a potential wielder?!" The beast promptly ignored him, its eyes fixed on Blake. "Pah! It matters not. I activate the continued effect of my Spirit Gates, which lets me discard a card to special summon a Fiend with zero attack and defense points from the graveyard: Return to my field, Chaos Summoning Beast!"
"Hey, didn't you banish that last turn? What gives?!" Jaden shouted.
"What do you think I discarded to activate my amulet, boy?" Kagemaru chided. "Now, all I need is something to summon, which is why I banish the card I discarded just now: Dark Summoning Beast! This allows me to add another Sacred Beast from my deck to my hand!" Behind him, a great blueish shadow appeared. "But alas, it is not what I'll summon just yet! Let me teach you how to really turn up the heat: Arise, Uria, Lord of Searing Flames!"
The ground between them split as fire shot from it, increasing the temperature to such a degree it made the students start sweating profusely. The pungent smell of sulfur began to mix with the already strong smell of ozone, making it harder to breath for anyone that wasn't Kagemaru. Out of a tongue of red fire, the next Sacred Beast took its place in front of them, its form reminiscent of Slifer the Sky Dragon, as its long, red, serpentine body hovered in the air, its arms spread wide with translucent wings sending out a heatwave (0/0).
'Show us who's truly worthy of wielding our power.' Blake felt another pair of eyes as well as an increasing pressure upon him. In the face of these godlike beings, even his most rumbunctious spirit didn't dare make a sound.
The stone plate depicting Uria gained a red outline. "With two Sacred Beasts on the field, my trap card negates all monster effect activations on your side! Then, Uria's ability activates! Incinerate his leftmost card!" Kagemaru shouted. A torrent of ruby flames struck one of Bastion's face-downs, turning it to ash. "Now I'll activate my final face-down: Hyper Blaze! You'll find out what it does soon enough." A river of red fire and energy cut through the ground right behind the man, glowing ominously.
"Now, Hamon, strike down this puny hero!" The beast shifted its eyes away from Blake and almost carelessly lashed out with its claw as it bat away Escuridao like it was a fly, smashing it into one of the skyscrapers. (Team CA 2100 / Kagemaru 6600) Jaden too was hit by a lightning from above, curtesy of Hamon's effect. (Team CA 1100 / Kagemaru 6600)
"By activating Hyper Blaze's effect, I can send one trap from my deck to the graveyard and Uria's attack becomes that of all my face-up traps times 1000! This is the end! Uria, finish them!" The now empowered Uria (3000/3000) buried the blazing hero under flames of its own, leaving not even ash behind.
But instead of ending the duel then and there, the boys were standing with more lifepoints than before, if now drenched in sweat and, in Jaden's case, throwing away their burnt jackets. (Team CA 1500 / Kagemaru 6600)
"What?! How is this possible?!" Kagemaru shouted.
"Easy; with my remaining face-down." Bastion coughed dryly. "My Destruct Potion lets me select and destroy one monster I control in exchange for lifepoints equal to its attack. I chose to sacrifice Goka, netting us 2200 lifepoints."
"Phew, right on time, Bastion! Nice work!" Jaden grinned.
"We wouldn't want Blake to never get a turn, would we?" Bastion replied, grinning all the same.
"Yeah, nice one. And thanks for choosing that monster, I'll need the space." Blake added with a smirk.
"You're welcome."
"Pah, like it'll matter. Try all you want, Hound, but you're nothing more than a worthless dog that's served its purpose." Kagemaru sneered and ended his turn, causing Uria's power to decrease to what its own effect granted it (1000/1000).
"Get ready for your well-deserved beating, you old fart. You ready guys?" Blake shot back before looking over his shoulder, where the several spirits accompanying him, minus Jinzo, stood ready.
'Let's give 'em hell!' Dark Armed Dragon roared, his shock and possible fright pushed aside in the face of a grand battle. The Cyberdarks screeched in unison, while Dark Honest simply nodded.
"Then let's tear down this little paradise of yours! First, I activate Allure of Darkness-" Blake began.
"Which I'll negate with Cerulean Skyfire. Has no one taught you brats to listen to your elders?" Kagemaru chided as a bolt of lightning electrified the card. "This also switches Hamon into defense position, where his own effect prevents you from attacking any monster other than him."
"Not if said elder is a complete buffoon like you, no." Blake smirked. "Now, I tribute the token on our field to summon Jinzo, who'll gladly negate all your annoying little traps, since his effect is a continuous one and not activated."
The mechanical menace hummed to life, though Blake felt the distinct lack of the spirits presence in both the card and its hologram (2400/1500).
Meanwhile, Kagemaru grinded his teeth in anger. "I still receive lifepoints before it does." (Team CA 1500 / Kagemaru 9400)
"Your lifepoints won't matter. And would you look at that? My teammates prepared the graveyard for me." Blake continued. He picked up a certain card, causing a dark aura to spring up around him, grinding away against the pressure from the Sacred Beasts. "With three Dark monsters in our graveyard, I special summon Dark Armed Dragon!" His first spirit partner strode forth from behind him, leveling the divine monsters in front of him with a glare despite them being over twice as tall (2800/1000).
"Now let's give him some additional ammo to clean up this mess! Since you've used your negate already, I'll activate my own Graceful Charity!" Blake added even more dark monsters to the graveyard before looking at what to get rid of. "Using Dark Armed's effect, I first banish Cyber Ouroboros to pop your annoying Awakening."
DAD's weapons whirred to life, one of its shoulder-arms shooting forward to destroy the trap, causing the stone plates to crumble. Uria, meanwhile, powered up (2000/2000).
"This activates the effect from my now banished Cyber Ouroboros! When it's removed from play, I can send a card from my hand to the graveyard to draw another one." Blake grinned deviously as he sent yet another dark monster. "Now DAD will use his ability again to get rid of your Fallen Paradise. Let it rip!"
His dragon was laughing maniacally as he used every tool in his arsenal to tear down the fake paradise. With its weapons smoking from all the action, the dragon took a few labored, but pleased breathes.
"We're not done yet! With your Sacred Beasts no longer protected from effects, my dragon will use its effect again to destroy Hamon!" Blake continued. His dragon slapped its tail on the ground to activate the rotating spikes on its tip as it rushed forward. Hamon crossed both its claws and wings, but neither could keep the dark tornado from penetrating through its defenses. The image of the Sacred Beast shattered with an angry, yet satisfied growl.
"Wow." Jaden gaped at how quickly the tide had turned.
"What a grand spectacle." Bastion nodded.
"Now, Dark Armed Dragon attacks Uria!" Blake ordered.
'Time for you knuckle-sandwich you overgrown snake! Or what do they say at your age? Have at you!' The dragon roared as it fired up all its weapons once more, pushing through the torrent of flames to cut through another formidable adversary. Uria too couldn't fight off the attack, its body turning to liquid fire as it dropped to the ground with a similar reaction to its destruction as its golden kin.
Kagemaru's face fell as his monster did before turning towards Blake in fury. "It matters not! The turn Hamon is destroyed while in defense mode, I take no damage!"
"Tche, lucky bastard. That won't stop my dragon from tearing down your remaining traps, though, now that it won't empower Uria." Blake clicked his tongue and waved DAD forward, who destroyed the remaining traps, leaving a broken amulet and crumbled stone plates in the dust. Only Cerulean Skyfire and the Spirit Gates remained on Kagemaru's field, both useless with no more Sacred Beasts to summon.
"But the icing on the cake happens now!" Blake's grin turned face-splitting, causing Bastion to shiver in reminiscence of their earlier duel. "First, I set one card face-down, then I activate this: Exchange!"
Kagemaru's eyes widened. "No!"
"Yes! Shouldn't have added Raviel to your hand without summoning it in all that misplaced grandeur of yours! Now; gimme!" Blake laughed as the card in question ripped itself out of Kagemaru's grasp, who tried his very best to keep hold of it, while throwing the only remaining card in his hand over to the old man. When he took hold of Raviel's card, a rush of energy, along with dark euphoria spread through his body as the spiritual form of the Sacred Beast appeared behind him.
'Worthy at last.'
"No, no! You're mine! I was the one who released you, I'm the one who commands you!" Kagemaru raged. Then suddenly, his hair lost its luster and turned into the same grey and curly mess it's been before he took hold of the Sacred Beasts. His muscles remained, but his age slowly began to show once more.
"Sucks to suck, asshole." Blake snorted. "Spirits like to be on the winning side, you know. The stronger side."
That said, his spirits all gave plenty of space to Raviel, who continued to watch Blake, who'd lost himself looking at the blue card in his hand for a moment.
Kagemaru screamed, his raw fury breaking Blake out of it and causing the other two to flinch. "You treacherous, worthless spirits! If it weren't for your powers of granting me life, I'd have never sought you out to begin with!"
Blake could feel every spirit in the vicinity, that being the Sacred Beasts, his own spirits, Jaden's legion of heroes, and surprisingly Bastion's Nine-Tailed Fox, narrow their eyes dangerously at the man. Whatever pressure he and his friends had felt earlier now pushed down on Kagemaru, who buckled for a few second before rightening himself once more with great effort.
"You better shut up, old man. Or the spirits will kill you before your age does." Blake mocked, pushing the dark picture of himself driving his fist into and through the man's chest from his mind, much to the displeasure of Raviel. "You've lost anyway, it'd be best if you surrender now."
"Do you really think you have me beat, boy?" Kagemaru coughed up a blob of blood he spat onto the ground. "Do you think the Sacred Beasts were all I had? That they joined me solely because of my promise to let them feast upon the world? No, no, no. They're but the newest addition to my arsenal."
"What?" All three boys said in shock, sharing looks between each other.
"But the Sacred Beasts are supposed to be comparable with the Egyptian God cards." Bastion noted.
"Yeah, what could be greater than them?" Jaden added.
"Something that was created to restrain both of their trinities, of course." Kagemaru grinned once more. "And while that fool Pegasus never dared to finish them, nor have the Egyptian Gods been seen for a decade, there are others who did it for him."
Blake first looked to DAD, who shared his confused look, before turning to look up at Raviel, who's baring his teeth at the man.
"You will serve me, even if I have to beat you into submission! My turn!" Kagemaru shouted, his eyes twitching violently. "I use my Spirit Gates once more, discarding the worthless card you gave me to summon back my Dark Beckoning Beast! Then, I summon Phantom Skyblaster, who's effect will create a number of tokens equal to the monsters I control!" A purple, impish creature with wings and a jetpack landed in front of Kagemaru (1100/800) and next to his other winged monster, before creating two copies of itself, albeit weaker (500/500).
"Next I activate Double Summon, so I can tribute my monsters!" Kagemaru was enveloped by a wicked black aura as his revived beast and the two tokens turned into energy. "Despair as you gaze upon my wrath! Rise, The Wicked Dreadroot!"
The mass of energy spread out into a form that equaled the Sacred Beasts height, revealing a monster more reminiscent of Obelisk the Tormentor than even Raviel itself. Its body was a dark green, with its right and left side covered in white and black bone armor respectively. A white, horned skull mask adorned its face and a pair of black wings sprouted on its back (4000/4000).
Once it finished completely materializing, a wave of energy shot out from it, shaking every monster, spirit, and human to their core. Bastion and Jaden both buckled in its wake, with the latter's eyes blinking frantically as they switched between Jaden's brown and the Supreme Kings gold. Blake's saving grace was Raviel's blue aura mixing into his own, allowing him to stay on his feet, although he still felt like he'd been submerged in ice-cold water.
The black and golden ring on Kagemaru's hand began to glow ominously and Blake flinched as the imprint his Shadow Charm had left behind on his arm began to pulse and heat up, as if calling out to this monster. Both of their veins around the imprint and ring turned a deep black, protruding from their flesh painfully, causing Blake to turn more nauseous by the second.
Blake honestly didn't know if this or Nightshroud's possession was worse, but considering Bastion's ashen face as their eyes met this might've happened while he'd been possessed as well. It took all he had not to empty his stomach then and there.
"The Wicked Dreadroot's effect halves the attack and defense points of every monster that isn't itself nor a Divine Beast." Kagemaru howled, his bloodshot eyes fluttering as the muscles near his ring began to spasm. "Witness my unlimited power! Witness the strength of a true, wicked god! Dreadroot, strike them down! Bury them beneath their foolishness!"
With its fist pulled back, the wicked god was about to end this duel when suddenly, out of the ground in front of Bastion, the form of a little black pig erupted. It shot its own skeleton forward to interrupt the attack that was aimed for the Dark Armed Dragon.
Blake, who saw his brief second life flash before his eyes as the fist crashed towards him, looked at Bastion with widened eyes, cold sweat trickling down his face and back. "… thank you." He managed the wheeze out.
Bastion gave him a shaky thumbs-up, gulping loudly. "You're welcome."
Kagemaru's roared in anger as he begrudgingly ended his turn, mumbling about how his monster was supposed to be unaffected by effects of 'lesser monsters'.
With the Nine-Tailed Fox helping him up, Bastion made his move, which consisted in putting all their monsters into defense and setting one last face-down. The Future Fusion behind Jaden had also tried to activate, but seeing as Bastion didn't have the desired monster, it just stayed around doing nothing but look cool.
"But before I end my turn, I activate Book of Life. This allows me to summon the Mezuki I discarded in my first turn, while banishing your Hamon for good." His part done; Bastion dropped down to his knees once more as his eyes began to flutter as he fell over. "Go get him … you guys …"
"A futile last-ditch effort. Phantom Skyblaster causes damage at the start of my turn for every Skyblaster monster on my field." Kagemaru said dismissively as his monster shot a blast directed at Blake. (Team CA 1200 / Kagemaru 9400)
"I activate Magic Planter to get rid of Cerulean Skyfire in exchange for more cards." The man continued, ignoring the growl of Hamon's spirit. "I summon another Phantom Skyblaster, which in turn creates enough tokens to fill out my field." Around Dreadroot, a small army of fiendish creatures cackled, although they too suffered from its weakening effect.
"And now to show you which divine beasts are truly superior I activate Divine Evolution!" Kagemaru roared ecstatically. A ring of golden energy depicting various ancient runes surrounded his wicked god, who absorbed the energy and caused the ancient script to imprint itself on its body. "This raises its power by another thousand points" (5000/5000). "Now Dreadroot, squash that blasted dragon! And due to Divine Evolution, you'll have to send another monster to the grave alongside it!"
Blake cursed and sent Jinzo away to open up their remaining backrow, hoping the Nine-Tailed Fox's effect would protect them for long enough as his dragon was crushed with a pained cry.
"Think your hero can save you in the face of god?!" Kagemaru mocked, his eyes unfocused.
"For sure he can. Everyone's counting on me." Jaden quipped weakly. "Let me show you how it's done before the big bad dawg finishes you off." He winked at Blake as he drew. "I activate Fifth Hope, which lets me shuffle back five heroes to draw two cards." Images of the worried spirits put their cards back for him, including all the heroes he'd sent there for his Future Fusion as well as Blazeman. "Thanks, you guys, what would I be without you."
Jaden shot his opponent a defiant glare. "With my spirit friends there's nothing I can't overcome. Something no one ever taught you, huh?"
"Your puny dress-up heroes scare no one, boy. Your misplaced trust will be your downfall."
"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that. You know, a hero always pulls through at the end of the night." Jaden chuckled. "I activate Pot of Greed! Then I'll discard my freshly drawn King of the Swamp to grab myself another Polymerization! With that, I'll use what Bastion's left us with! Fusing Elemental HERO Wildheart from my hand with Nine-Tailed Fox on the field, I summon Elemental HERO Nova Master!"
The monster begrudgingly left Bastion's side to aid his allies, resulting in the emerging new hero landing between Jaden and Bastion. Its usual red and golden outfit replaced the gold with white and even its flames turned into a mix of half-red-half-white (2600/2100). But it too was hit by the aura of the wicked god, halving its power (1300/1050).
"Woah, that's some sick drip our spirits made, awesome!" Jaden said in amazement. "Let's show them what you got! Nova Master, destroy one of the Phantom Skyblasters! Pale Blaze!"
A two-colored ball of fire turned one of the imps to ash in an instant, causing minor damage which went completely ignored by their opponent. (Team CA 1200 / Kagemaru 8650)
"Nova Master's effect lets me draw one last card." Jaden took a deep breath as he drew, then smiled at Blake. "I'm getting a bit sleepy here, my guy. I'll leave the rest to you, alright? I activate Emergency Provisions and send my Future Fusion and Skyscraper alongside Bastion's Call of the Mummy to the graveyard for a juicy 3k lifepoints." (Team CA 4200 / Kagemaru 8650)
"Then I set two cards face-down and end my turn." Jaden finished and plopped down on the ground with a heavy sigh.
Kagemaru coughed up blood once more, his demeanor growing more furious by the moment. "Enough! Phantom Skyblaster's effect activates once more!" Blake once again took the hit for the team, this time thrice as powerful. (Team CA 3300 / Kagemaru 8650)
"Since you stupid children just won't get it, you leave me no other choice! I offer my Phantom Skyblaster and its tokens as tribute to summon forth The Wicked Eraser!" Once again, his monsters turned into energy, once more it turned dark and wicked. In their place, A serpentine dragon along the likes of Slifer and Uria appeared, black and bronze adorning its body (?/?). "Wicked Eraser gains power from its opposition, 1000 points per card!" Kagemaru howled as his monster grew in power (7000/7000).
"Now Dreadroot-"
"Before you attack, I use my face-down." Jaden interjected from his lying position with a raised hand which subsequently activated said card. "The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh lets me summon Winged Kuriboh from my deck. Go little buddy!" The winged puffball appeared with a fearful 'Woo' as it gazed upon the monsters in front of it, though its white wings shined brighter than ever.
"As if that'd save you. Dreadroot strike down his Nova Master! And with Divine Evolutions effect-"
"I'll send Winged Kuriboh to the graveyard."
"Fool! This will be your end!"
"No way, man. I have another card for that: Battle Fusion! It powers my Fusion monster up by your monster's attack points!" Jaden shot out a two-finger salute. "Who's stronger now?"
Both monsters clashed, but despite Nova Master's sudden boost, there was no victor.
"Hey, where's the explosion and all that good stuff?" Jaden lamented.
"No idea …" Blake supplied, not being able to read either of those god cards. Where did they even come from? They weren't part of the original, nor GX, nor any other show …
"The Wicked Gods cannot be destroyed by battle against inferior creatures, nor do I suffer any damage from their battles." Kagemaru boasted before ordering Wicked Eraser to destroy Mezuki. "All you did was cling to your life for another worthless turn."
"Eh, that's all we needed, honestly." Jaden quipped. "The damage would've been the icing on the cake. Well, before you end your turn, I use one of Bastion's two remaining face-downs: Necro Fusion. With it I'll fuse Sparkman and King of the Swamp in my graveyard to bring for the shining hero we need: Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman!" The hero's shine lessened the nausea befalling Blake a little as it took a defensive stance in front of Jaden, before its light was dimmed by the wicked aura that spread across the field (1250/1000).
"It's all on you now, big dawg." Jaden said with one last grin before he too fell on his back.
"Hahahaha. They must've truly lost their mind if they think you can turn this around." Kagemaru fixed Blake with a crazed stare, the veins in his eyes threatening to pop by the looks of it. "As to be expected when faced with-"
"Oh, shut the fuck up." Blake spat with a roll of his eyes. "Don't you get tired of hearing yourself like that? Sheesh. If you were that great, we wouldn't be having this conversation, so shut up and let be finish you."
He took a deep breath and focused. There was some vague shouting in the distance, but he turned it out. This would be it. He made this mess, and probably made it even worse, so he'd resolve it. Bastion and Jaden had given it their all and he wouldn't let them down. He owed them not only this, but so much more, and he'd live to see the day he could make it up to them. And he'd start doing so now by winning this duel that should've never happened in this way to begin with.
His next draw was slow, the pain in his marked arm intensifying so much he feared passing out from it. But his hand was steadied by the hands of DAD, Dark Honest, and even Raviel. He took one look at the card and knew what he had to do.
"I activate De-Fusion to split Nova Master back into its materials. Come back Wildheart and Nine-Tailed Fox!" Both monsters nodded at him as they appeared. "I also activate my set Call of the Haunted to bring back Goka, the Pyre of Malice."
He might've been able to finish this duel if it was one-on-one. If Kagemaru would've used the cards he knew. If he would've been fast enough to beat Kagemaru before he locked him down, that is. But in the duel that happened here and now, there's no way he could've come this far without his team, his friends, spirits and humans alike. He'd been foolish when he tried to resolve the incident himself. He wouldn't be in the future. They would win. They would preservere. And they, together, would fight against what came in a future he couldn't envision, even with his supposed knowledge of it.
"I offer Goka, Nine-Tailed, and Wildheart as a tribute to bring forth a god. Arise from the shadows and destroy the wicked: Raviel, Lord of Phantasms!" Blake shouted, and the energy supplied by the Sacred Beast beat out the wicked aura pressing down on him. With a loud thump, Raviel materialized, their opponents clearly visible through his blue, translucent wings. The Lord of Phantasms growled lowly in unison with Blake, as the duelist felt his eyesight sharpen, cutting through thick aura all around the battlefield (4000/4000). The remaining Shining Flare Wingman stood to its left, its head inclined towards the superior spirit.
"So, you really managed to call him forth, marvelous." Kagemaru muttered, a touch of sanity seeping into his voice before it turned manic once more. "Then I can rip it apart for its treason!"
"You won't, because Raviel and I, and we, will beat you." Blake countered.
"You can't! Even if Raviel isn't affected by Dreadroot, he cannot hope to beat him!"
"That's what's teamwork for." Blake smirked. "By banishing Mezuki from our graveyard, I'll bring back Nine-Tailed Fox once more." The fox took its place to the right of Raviel, its power withering from the wicked aura of Dreadroot. "Next, I activate Raviel's ability, offering the final monsters of my friends as a tribute for his power. Thank you for your sacrifice."
Raviel grabbed both monsters in a surprisingly gentle way and they offered their remaining energy to boost the Sacred Beast (6350/4000).
"Impressive, but due to Divine Evolution my Wicked Dreadroot has a higher divine hierarchy and thus authority. It cannot lose against another monster if it's not on the same level."
"So that's what that's about. A problem indeed." Blake nodded sagely before he shot the man a malicious grin. "But I'm not done stealing your cards. I use my buddy Bastion's last card: Graverobber! With it, I'll take your Divine Evolution for myself!"
"… no."
"Yes. And I'll gladly pay its price to activate it. Now, Raviel: Show them who's boss!" Blake twitched as the energy was sapped from him, but it was worth the pain as now Raviel stood as the highest and strongest (7350/5000) while Eraser shrunk with the lack of targets to siphon power from (2000/2000). (Team CA 1300 / Kagemaru 8650)
"Raviel, strike down Wicked Eraser! The effect added by Divine Evolution forces you to send a monster away, and since his authority is as high as Dreadroot, neither of your wicked beasts are safe from it!"
"I … I send away Eraser …" Kagemaru replied … helplessly. His muscles began to wither as he sent away his monster.
"Then it's a replay! Raviel, crush that wannabe god! Shimmering Scraper!"
Both divine beasts clashed, their hands pushing against one another in a furious battle for dominance. Bit by bit Raviel pushed back his adversary, aided and cheered on by all other spirits around. The thought of devouring them and their power forgotten as they all stood together. With one last push, he threw The Wicked Dreadroot of balance before he pulled back his right fist and send it crashing into his enemy's chest, destroying it and its wicked aura in one climactic blow. (Team CA 1300 / Kagemaru 6850)
The resulting shockwave caused an explosion of dust throughout the clearing. Both Blake and Kagemaru were thrown back. Blake ignored the pain and another series of shouts that felt all too familiar. His gaze fell upon Kagemaru, who'd regressed back to his old, frail self, stuck in what remained of a broken tree.
The man's hand slowly crept to its deck, but instead of surrendering like Blake had anticipated, he drew another card, looked at it, grimaced, and ended his turn.
"I … will … lose … on … my … own … two … feet …" He propped himself up over the course of a whole minute, defiantly staring at Blake. The man sneered, but whatever insanity had claimed him throughout the duel had left his eyes. Along with it, the ring on his finger had broken and the black veins on his and Blake's body had vanished at last.
"Then I'll grant you a swift end. Raviel!" Blake ordered, and the Sacred Beast obeyed. (Team CA 1300 / Kagemaru 1850)
"I … was … a … fool … to … trust … them …"
"Finish it." And the Sacred Beast obeyed (Team CA 1300 / Kagemaru 0)
First Kagemaru dropped to his knees, his eyes beady and unfocused, then unceremoniously onto his face. Slowly the sky began to clear. The dark clouds vanished and alongside it the barrier of magic that surrounded the island. Blake let out one last sigh before he too fell flat on his back. Whatever energy he'd left escaped him. They'd done it. An iron taste began to form in his mouth as his vision faded. The shouting turned louder, but he couldn't understand a word. Shapes began appearing in the sky above. Small helicopters. KC. Big helicopter. I. Big dragon. Blue-Eyes. Blue hair. Wet drops.
He wanted to sleep. And the Sacred Beast obeyed.
And the storm has arrived.
Padoru, padoru, fellas! While I'm certainly not going to make an advent calendar of chapters, there will be a few more – and probably shorter – chapters coming out until the end of the year. Next one will be wrapping up the Shadow Rider arc, blue-haired best girls duel for her rightful title (lemme know if you want a full or a short duel after the back-to-back duels these past chapters), and some hints towards the future along with vacation for the students. After that will be some chapters before we reach year two, with some fluff, friends hanging out, a pair of special duels, and some light foreshadowing.
Reviews:
kazikamikaze24: There's your storm, hope it lived up to expectations! I love it!
D2268: Bastion took enough shit from the thing, he shooting back! Blake creating cards will be sparsely used when appropriate. There will be other ways to get cards as we'll see soon. Well, manga HEROs are strong enough to justify a measly fusion card that's not actually that great. Chazz did indeed hold the line, the absolute madlad. Shame he didn't have backup. Kagemaru returning is … highly unlikely, hehe, woops. I wonder if you guess the card correctly :D
uchiha-rune: Not too far off, honestly.
Guest: Save to say Kagemaru did a little trolling both with the SBs and his other cards. Where the SBs will go to we'll have to wait and see, but Raviel took a liking to Blake for sure.
Peter Kim: Interesting take on the Synchro monsters :D
demissedwaifu: And he's back with a vengeance!
That's it from me! See you in a short-er next time!