Descend to Heaven, Ascend to Hell - Chapter 6 - AccurateGap1 (2024)

Chapter Text

He who kept rising on the thinning path.

—oOo—

Kaida was walking back home with Yuto after another day at school. They took their usual shortcut through a park. Yuto’s nose was buried in another book. Likely some sort of edgy, world of the dead type of story. Not that she really cared, she just thought it was a funny quirk of his.

She jumped a little and stretched. It would be a long training session today. She would be entering her first major competition in a while. Might as well get warmed up. Her ban had been lifted several months earlier, but her master refused to let her enter any competitions until he was satisfied by her resolve. Eventually, Kaida had proved to him what she was fighting for… and living for.

As she leaned back and turned to the side, something caught her eye and she choked on her own spit and started coughing. She quickly stood up straight and patted her chest a couple times.

“Are you okay?” Yuto asked, giving her a strange look. Kaida stared at something in the distance, her jaw dropped. She slapped her cheeks and rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn’t just seeing things. “What are you looking at-?” Yuto followed her gaze and his eyes widened.

There, on a hill several hundred feet away, was Seika. She was lying down on the grass under the shade of a tree, but that wasn’t the main surprise. What actually caught their attention was who she was with.

“Is that Ohtori Kyoko?! With Seika?!” Kaida exclaimed. What was the Ace of Hearts doing with Seika of all people?

Kaida looked more closely and couldn’t believe what else she saw. They couldn’t hear what was happening, but they could definitely see. Seika had a small smile on her face and seemed to be giggling at something while Kyoko just looked on with a soft expression with his hands under his head. It was the most laid back Kaida had ever seen him be. He was usually very stoic and serious, and frankly, stuck-up sometimes. Which honestly didn’t sound too different from Kaito, minus the stuck-up part.

Kaito, well that was just Kaito being Kaito. Kyoko’s demeanor felt manufactured. Then again, she had only seen him in public spaces, not really in private. Either way, what else did you expect from someone like him who came from a prestigious family who had a hand in Heartland’s politics? There were probably plenty of skeletons in that closet.

It always felt like he was haunted by something. Like stress, Kaida knew stress when she saw it. Oh, she was very familiar with issues like that. However, with Seika, none of that seemed to be here. He looked very relaxed… and happy? But how? And why did Seika look so comfortable around him? Kaida was the only person Seika should be this comfortable with.

“Remember the incident Seika had with bullies?” Yuto said. “It was him who called the ambulance and took her to the hospital. He left right after, but I didn’t think they remained in contact with each other…”

“WHAT?!” Kaida stared at Yuto. “He called the ambulance? That was him? I thought it was some random who did it!”

“Please tell me you knew that,” Yuto facepalmed. “Please don’t tell me you didn’t know that. Oh my… it’s been a year…”

“Well I know it… now,” Kaida muttered. “Kaito didn’t tell me that! Nobody said that at the hearing!”

“Well you ran off to beat the sh*t out of those girls, so you didn’t really give him a chance to explain properly,” Yuto snorted. “Then that whole drama began. You should be counting your stars for how understanding that judge was. You usually don’t get good people like that. As for the hearing, apparently, everyone who knew about him had to shut up about it.”

“…If they shut up about it, then how did you people find out?” Kaida asked, sounding unsurprised by that.

“He made the hospital promise not to say it was him. We only found out it was him because Kaito just happened to get there soon enough to see him coming out of the building,” Yuto explained, crossing his arms and staring at them. “Knowing those girls, he put two and two together and quickly figured out it was Ohtori.”

“And no one bothered to tell me this?” Kaida said quietly.

“…Looking back on it, it was probably for the best that you didn’t know now that I think about it,” Yuto cupped his chin, while Kaida just shot him an offended look. “Seeing how impulsive you are, we were just glad you got off as free as you did.”

“But it’s Ohtori Kyoko! The Ace of Hearts! Seika’s not even a duelist! Why would he be so interested in her? If she didn’t even tell me… Why didn’t she tell me? How did she even hide this from me…?” Kaida sounded depressed. “Then she probably didn’t tell Kaito either. Imagine if he saw this!” The stern Ace of Clovers had grown to become protective of Seika since she had come to live with them.

Yuto snorted, “Forget Kaito, what about his mother? She would completely lose it if she saw Seika with Ohtori.”

Kaida looked back at the couple, who were silently enjoying themselves. Then her eyes widened as her brain registered the word “couple.” “Are they- are they on a date? I’m going to-” she began to step forward until Yuto grabbed her arm.

“Actually…” he began. “I think we should leave them be.”

“What? Why?”

“Look at them,” Yuto said. “Especially Seika. Look at how relaxed she is.”

“I know that, so?” Kaida raised an eyebrow at him, unsure what he was getting at.

“You shouldn’t ruin their moment.”

“Ruining? What are you talking about?” Kaida was appalled that he would think that. “I’m not trying to ruin their… whatever it is, I’m just trying to find out what’s going on.”

“And you can find that out later,” Yuto said. “If you go up suddenly and ask what’s up you’ll ruin the mood, and you don’t want to do that to Seika, do you?”

“Ruin it… for Seika?” Kaida echoed, looking back at Seika and Kyoko. She felt a wave of dread wash over her as she played the scenario in her head if she decided to go through with her original plan. Seeing that expression on Seika’s face, the smile that brought her, her own smiles… It suddenly felt like she would be committing the greatest sin if she ever did something to wipe it off.

“It isn’t just Seika, even Ohtori,” Yuto remarked. “Truth be told, I kind of feel bad for him.”

“You feel bad for him?” Kaida repeated. “Why? He has everything and he’s at the top of the world.”

“Because everything comes with a cost. I just wonder what that cost is for him,” Yuto narrowed his eyes. “What I do know is that he doesn’t like it… Maybe he’s being forced…”

“What are you, some minder reader?” Kaida asked uneasily, seeing her some of her own views mirrored by Yuto. “You don’t even know him. Do you read so much sh*t that you can psychoanalyze everyone you come across?”

“I suppose you pick up things,” Yuto looked at his book. “But mainly because he reminds me of you to some extent.” Kaida didn’t answer. For how dense Yuto seemed to be, he was actually quite perceptive. “The way you both stress about doing things right. Because if you do anything wrong, then it’s like the end of the world. Although, I think that’s where the similarities end.”

“Similarities huh,” Kaida looked at Kyoko, who still remained in the same position as before as Seika was seemingly rambling on about something.

“I think it’s good for Seika too,” Yuto added. “She doesn’t need to stick by your side 24/7 like she’s glued to you or something.”

“She’s not glued to me,” Kaida said haughtily.

“Oh really? Where are you after school when you don’t have training?”

“…With Seika,” she muttered.

“Where are you when you finish training?”

“With Seika.”

“Yeah, even your master scolded you multiple times for not doing your stretches and cool downs properly because you were in such a hurry to see her,” Yuto scoffed. “And where are you on the weekends?”

“Okay! Fine! I get it!” Kaida raised her arms in defeat and he smirked.

“I suppose the only weird thing is that it’s him of all people,” Yuto said thoughtfully. “Yeah-oh look,” he stopped himself mid sentence. “She saw you.”

“What?” Kaida looked back and saw Seika sitting up and staring at her with wide eyes. Like she was a little girl who got caught doing something naughty. Seika eventually seemed to pull it together and waved to her with a nervous smile. “Oh!” Kaida hesitantly returned the gesture. Kyoko didn’t seem to notice it at first, until he slowly turned his head and locked eyes with Kaida. He then sat up slightly and looked awkwardly between her and Seika.

“You okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Yuto said, snapping her out of her trance.

Kaida cleared her throat and turned around. “I’m fine. Let’s go.”

—oOo—

Kyoko slowly approached Kaida and Ruri. He didn’t say anything as he walked past them. However, Kaida noticed his eyes shift toward her and dart around. She definitely saw a flash of panic in his gaze, but he didn’t react in any other way.

“Kaida!” She heard Yuto’s voice call from the other side of the trench. Him, Shun, and Rio had recovered from that giant’s blast.

“RURI!” Shun’s head moved around wildly, he was trying to find a way to cross the trench that separated them. However, there were too many fires and hazards for him to do it safely.

“Shun! It’s okay! I’ll stay with Kaida!” Ruri gripped Kaida’s arm. “You go on ahead to Spade Branch! They need your help!”

“No! I will not- Is that Kyoko?” Shun stared, jaw dropped at the sight of the King of Hearts, with Yuto and Rio mirroring his expression.

“Oi! What the hell do you think you’re doing? Are you trying to get yourself carded?” the Academia soldier called out to Kyoko, his giant monster floating menacingly above him. Kaida could only see the back of Kyoko’s head, but she noticed the Academia soldier stumble back in surprise at something. Kyoko said nothing and flicked out his duel disk arm, his dark blue blade activating. The Academia soldier recalled his monster and activated his duel disk. “I am a soldier of Academia! The top of my class! I don’t need some Xyz nobody looking down on me!” he gritted his teeth.

“Pride,” Kyoko finally spoke. “It either holds you up, or brings you down.” His voice was icy cold, like it would slice through whoever it was directed to. His fingers silkily drew his first five cards.

“You…”

“Come, Ruri,” Kaida said. “He can handle this. Let’s-” She flinched as another building exploded and collapsed several meters away. The rubble collapsed and spread across the road toward the trench.

“RURI!” Shun screamed again.

“Just go Shun! I’ll take care of her!” Kaida yelled back. She ran forward and observed the wreckage and tried to see if she could move some of it away. Shun kicked the ground in frustration and ran off with Yuto and Rio following after him. Kaida met her brother’s eyes for a brief moment and nodded toward him.

“What do we do now, Kaida?” Ruri whispered.

“We let them duel,” Kaida answered, motioning to Kyoko and his opponent. “In the meantime, we find a way around this rubble.” Kaida put her hands on the rock and tried to move it, but she couldn’t. Her muscles were not responding. It was then that she realized something and her arms slid off.

“Are you okay?” Ruri asked worriedly. Kaida flexed her hands and fingers.

“I’m fine… I just realized how tired and fatigued I am,” she sighed. She wiped some stray strands away from her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair. “I’m sorry, Ruri. Give me a few minutes,” she walked over to the dropped bags of supplies and grabbed an energy bar and quickly wolfed it down. She felt so desensitized right now. That probably wasn’t a good thing, but she wanted to rest in that bubble just for a few minutes.

“It’s okay, Kaida. Anything for you,” Ruri looked up. “But we should keep an eye out just in case.”

Kyoko Ohtori: 4000 LP

Academia R1-03-001: 4000 LP

“My move,” Kyoko declared and he left no room for debate.

[Turn 1: Kyoko] Hand: 5

“When no monsters are on my field, I can Special Summon Oifey, the True Draco Tactician.” A young boy with medium-length brown hair wearing an orange cape with small orange wings was summoned to the field.

Oifey, the True Draco Tactician: Level 4/LIGHT[Wyrm/Effect] 1600 ATK/800 DEF

“When Oifey is Special Summoned, I can add one ‘True Draco’ monster from my deck to my hand. I’ll add Majesty Maiden,” Kyoko picked out another monster. “Next, I will tribute Oifey to Tribute Summon Level 6, Dinomight Knuckle, the True Draco Fist Fighter.” A wave of water washed over Oifey, then a large figure erupted from the liquid and flapped its wings before settling down. It was a large man wearing green armor with a pair of silver gauntlets on his fists. He had long brown hair that was tied up in a ponytail and wore a breathing mask over his mouth. Large green wings and a long green tail sprouted from behind him.

Dinomight Fist, the True Draco Fist Fighter: Level 6/WATER[Wyrm/Effect] 2500 ATK/1200 DEF

“A Tribute Summon? I thought you people were Xyz users,” the Academia soldier snarked.

“-Because Oifey was tributed or destroyed for the summon of a ‘True Draco’ monster, I can draw one card,” Kyoko added another card to his hand. His eyes were narrowed as he focused on his plays, as if it was just another day of the week. No hesitation, no fear. Is he not scared or traumatized by all this? Kyoko turned his head slightly to look at Kaida for a brief moment. His silver eyes were striking into her soul again. Stop looking at me. I don’t know where she is. Kaida tried to glare at him and say something, but she felt petrified by his look.

“Oi! Pay attention to the opponent you’re dueling!” the Academia soldier yelled. Kyoko turned around sharply and his opponent gulped a little.

“I activate the Continuous Spell Card, True Draco Heritage,” Kyoko continued, playing the green bordered card. “The first effect: During my Main Phase, I can draw one card for every type of ‘True Draco’ card sent to the graveyard this turn. Only a monster was sent this turn, so I draw one,” he drew another card. Kaida noticed his body tense when he saw the card that he drew. What did he draw? She wondered. “The... second effect: I can Tribute Summon a ‘True Draco’ monster to my field face-up.” Kyoko held up another monster from his hand. “However, instead of tributing a monster, ‘True Draco’ monsters can be Tribute Summoned by tributing a face-up Continuous Spell or Trap Card I control.”

“What?!” his opponent’s eyes widened.

“I release True Draco Heritage to Tribute Summon Ignis Heat, the True Draco Warrior,” another monster appeared on his field in a flash of flames. He was a masked warrior wearing thick red armor holding up a large greatsword. He also had green wings and a long green tail.

Ignis Heat, the True Draco Warrior: Level 5/FIRE[Wyrm/Effect] 2400 ATK/1000 DEF

“I place two cards facedown. I end my turn.” Kyoko set his backrow and finally ended. This was part of the reason why Kyoko was such a powerful duelist. He didn’t usually rely on the Extra Deck. He very much stuck to powerful monsters in his Main Deck alone, which meant that anti-Xyz cards usually couldn’t do much to him. He did heavily use Spells and Traps, but he obviously had ways to play around certain restrictions. Above all, his duel sense and foresight triumphed over everything. Almost like he was made to duel.

“That’s it?” the Academia soldier sneered. “Two weaklings?”

“Take… your… turn,” Kyoko hissed. “I have no time for little nuisances like you.” Ruri flinched and gripped Kaida’s shoulder.

“Why you… Fine! My turn!” his opponent replied, unnerved and insulted by Kyoko’s remark.

[Turn 2: Academia] Hand: 6

“I Normal Summon Antique Gear Hound Dog!” The familiar-looking mechanical canine appeared on the field.

Antique Gear Hound Dog: EARTH/[Machine/Effect] 1000 ATK/1000 DEF

“When my opponent controls a monster, Hound Dog deals 600 damage! Hound Flame!” The dog’s jaws began heating up. This person uses the same deck? Ohtori will win in the next turn. I wouldn’t even be surprised if he won now. Kaida scoffed in her head.

“I chain the effect of Dinomight,” Kyoko held his hand out. The dog stalled its flame. “And then I chain the effect of Ignis.” Here we go. Kaida thought.

“Huh?” his opponent stared.

“Both have the same trigger condition. When my opponent activates a card effect, I can activate a ‘True Draco’ Continuous Trap Card from my deck, and add ‘True Draco’ Continuous Spell Card from my deck to my hand.”

“Activating a Trap from the deck?!”

“I will add the Continuous Spell Card, another copy of True Draco Heritage, and activate the Continuous Trap Card, True Draco King’s Return,” he declared. He picked out two cards from his deck and activated the Trap. The red-violet bordered card appeared. It had an ominous feeling to its art. A large, shadowy head looking down on an ongoing battle. “And I will use Return’s first effect, I can Special Summon a “True Draco” monster from my graveyard. Will you respond?”

“...No,” the Academia soldier gritted his teeth.

“Return, Oifey!” the young boy reappeared on the field.

Oifey, the True Draco Tactician: LIGHT/[Wyrm/Effect] 1600 ATK/800 DEF

“Now my Hound Dog’s effect can resolve. Go! Hound Flame! Burn away his pathetic Life Points!" The dog fired a ball of fire and Kyoko sidestepped it. He was unfazed as the materialized heat flew past his head.

Kyoko: 4000 – 600 → 3400 LP

Kaida and Ruri had run to the side to avoid being caught in the crossfire. “He did damage!” Ruri gasped.

“Because Oifey was Special Summoned, I can add a ‘True Draco’ monster to my hand,” Kyoko calmly said. “Then I will activate the Trap Card, Metaverse,” he flipped up one his facedowns. “Then, chain the other effect of Draco King’s Return.” Kyoko did not wait, knowing his opponent wouldn’t respond. “Draco King’s Return’s other effect will let me Tribute Summon a ‘True Draco’ monster.”

“During my turn?!”

“I will release Draco King’s Return to Tribute Summon Majesty Maiden, the True Draco Mage,” the Trap Card shattered in place of a large tornado. The wind started to pick up as a thin beam of light shot up into the sky. A girl with long blonde hair descended down. She wore a gold-embroidered white and red dress along with black shoes with golden anklets. She held a long staff with a blue orb at the end. From her back sprouted spiky red wings and tail.

Majesty Maiden, the True Draco Mage: Level 5/WIND[Wyrm/Effect] 2300 ATK/1500 DEF

“Now I can resolve Metaverse, which allows me to activate a Field Spell from my deck,” Kyoko picked out another card. “I choose to activate Dragonic Diagram.” Up in the sky, large beams of white light broke through the thick ashy clouds. “While in effect, all ‘True Draco’ monsters I control gain 300 Attack and Defense Points.”

Dinomight Fist, the True Draco Fist Fighter: 2500 + 300 → 2800 ATK; 1200 + 300 → 1500 DEF

Ignis Heat, the True Draco Warrior: 2400 + 300 → 2700 ATK; 1000 + 300 → 1300 DEF

Oifey, the True Draco Tactician: 1600 + 300 → 1900 ATK; 800 + 300 → 1100 DEF

Majesty Maiden, the True Draco Mage: 2300 + 300 → 2600 ATK; 1500 + 300 → 1800 DEF

“Oifey’s effect resolves, and I will add Master Peace to my hand,” Kyoko continued, adding the monster to his hand. Master Peace, Kaida thought. Widely considered to be his ace monster. Though, she grew more doubtful of that being true as time went on. “Because True Draco King’s Return was sent from the Spell/Trap Zone to the graveyard, I can target one monster on the field and destroy it. I’ll destroy your dog.” A large shadow figure erupted from the ground and devoured the mechanical monster.

“...The great will of Academia shall crush you under its boot!” the Academia duelist declared, shaking off the destruction of his dog. “I activate the Continuous Spell Card, Antique Gear Fortress!” Kyoko looked like he was about to play another card, but then- “As long is this is in effect you can’t target monsters on my field with card effects, nor can you activate effects in response to ‘Antique Gear’ cards!” Kyoko paused. “But I won’t need it here long! Because I activate the Spell Card, Antique Gear Catapult! While I control no monsters, I can destroy one face-up card I control, and Special Summon one ‘Antique Gear’ monster from my deck, ignoring its summoning conditions! I will destroy Fortress to bring out the ultimate monster! Antique Gear Golem!” The ground rumbled as a massive monster, not as big as those giants however, erupted from the ground. It had a fragile build with its rusty metal and gears, but its single menacing, glowing, red eye looked down on Kyoko.

Antique Gear Golem: Level 8/EARTH[Machine/Effect] 3000 ATK/3000 DEF

“This monster…” Kaida murmured. “I think this duelist is using a different deck from the ones we dueled.”

“Because Fortress was destroyed in the Spell/Trap Zone, I can also Special Summon an ‘Antique Gear’ monster from my deck! Come forth! Antique Gear Wyvern!” Another appeared on the field. It was a small, machine monster that resembled a dragon. Its metal was green and it had a massive gear on its back.

Antique Gear Wyvern: Level 4/EARTH[Machine/Effect] 1700 ATK/1200 DEF

“When summoned, Wyvern lets me add an ‘Antique Gear’ card to my hand-”

“Seeing as you have started a new chain and your Fortress is gone, I activate the effect of Majesty Maiden,” Kyoko cut in. His opponent stumbled, his play interrupted. “When my opponent activates a card effect, I can add a ‘True Draco’ monster from my deck to my hand. I will add Chaos, the True Draco Primordial.” His deck spit out yet another card. “It was quite of foolish of you to get rid of your Fortress card,” Kyoko remarked, mirroring Kaida’s thoughts. “In fact, you should’ve just activated it from the start.”

“...Shut up! My monsters will end you! Now, Wyvern’s effect shall resolve, Machine Messenger!” the Academia soldier added another card to his hand. “I choose to add Antique Gear Box. Now, Antique Gear Box’s effect! When it’s added from the graveyard or deck to my hand, except by drawing, I can add another ‘Antique Gear’ Monster from deck to my hand with 500 Attack or Defense Points. I will add Antique Gear Frame, which has 500 Defense Points.” Kaida didn’t know if she should be impressed that the duelist was able to bring out so many monsters or if she should laugh at him that he got rid of his only real defense against Kyoko’s effects, but he was definitely better than those three grunts that she and Yuto defeated. “I activate Fusion!”

“Fusion,” Kaida tensed and stood up straighter. Kyoko stared on, uncaring, and let his opponent continue.

“I fuse Wyvern and Box in my hand.” He lifted his arms up. “Essential toolbox and mighty beast bearing the soldiers of old, form an allegiance and become a new power!” He brought his hands together. “Fusion Summon! Arawareyo! Level 8! Mechanical Being of Malevolence! Antique Gear Devil!” A larger winged, mechanical descended upon them. It had a thin green body, massive red gears for arms, and skinny wings. Its tail resembled a wire with a plug at the end. The body was tucked in a little, showing that it was in Defense Position.

Antique Gear Devil: Level 8/EARTH[Machine/Fusion/Effect] 1000 ATK/1800 DEF

“Devil?” Kyoko’s voice grew tight, and he narrowed his eyes at the monster. “Devil...”

“Oh, don’t worry,” his opponent said. “I’ll show you why it’s called the Devil. But next, I activate Antique Gear Fusion!”

“’Antique Gear Fusion?’” Kaida echoed. “What is that? Some archetype card?”

“This card lets me Fusion Summon an ‘Antique Gear’ monster!” he once again held his arms up. “I fuse Frame, Golem, and a second Wyvern from my hand! Ancient giant! Soaring beast! And the first automaton! Become one now, and demonstrate your power! Fusion Summon! Arawareyo! Level 10! Antique Gear Ultimate Golem!” The ground rumbled causing Ruri to lose her balance a little and hold onto Kaida more tightly. Erupting from below was an even more massive mechanical giant. Blue sparks of electricity sparked around the monster. The architecture was more jagged and spiky and its left arm was armed with deathly claws. It was riding on four legs as if it was a centaur.

Antique Gear Ultimate Golem: Level 10/EARTH[Machine/Fusion/Effect] 4400 ATK/3400 DEF

“4400 base attack!” Ruri gasped. “That’s stronger than all of his monsters!” Kaida didn’t respond, not worried in the slightest.

“Hahaha! How do you like that puny Xyz scum! No matter how many monsters you bring out, none of them can triumph over my ultimate giant! I will make sure to serve in the name of our utopia! Your struggle is futile. Most of your people have already been carded! Seeing all you survivors continue to fight is just pathetic!” the Academia soldier cackled. “I activate Devil’s effect-”

“Most…?” Kaida echoed in shock.

“Pathetic… survivors?” Kyoko suddenly said. His voice was a whisper, but it was so loud that it had given the sense that he was triggered. “...I know someone who is a survivor of a conflict. She was utterly broken and shattered. She could never be at peace. Even though she physically escaped, her mind and emotions were left behind. She looked to others for help, for comfort, for protection,” he sounded wistful saying that. “Not even in sleep, could she escape the horrors of her past,” Kaida realized he was talking about Seika. “You call her… ‘pathetic?’”

“If she was that broken, she should’ve just died to truly escape it all!” That hit Kaida deep, very deep. She bared her teeth in rage, about to shout, but-

“She should’ve… died?” Kyoko repeated. Kaida’s anger immediately froze and she started to tremble, feeling a massive chill going down her spine. She suddenly got the feeling that those invading monsters were not the most dangerous thing here.

“What? Didn’t hear me the first time? If she wanted to escape it all, then she should’ve just killed herself! Hahahahaha! We have no tolerance for the weak! It’s every person for themselves!” the Academia soldier sneered evilly. “But you won’t have to worry, she’s probably been carded by now. At least, she can serve one final purpose by contributing to our ultimate utopia!” Ruri covered her mouth in shock. How? How could they say something like that?

“She looked up to me, full of hopes and dreams…” Kyoko closed his eyes. “I... will... free her!” they burst open, the silver now dark with purpose, making his opponent step back. “I activate the Continuous Trap Card, True Draco Apocalypse,” his voice was rough, low, and menacing, as he flipped up his second facedown. “I will use its first effect, by destroying a ‘True Draco’ card I control, I can halve the Attack and Defense Points of all monsters my opponent controls.”

“W-what?!” The sneer was wiped from his opponent’s face.

“I will destroy Dinomight,” a beam of blue energy eradicated the boy. Kaida felt Ruri flinch at the sight. The residual energy that was left surrounded the mechanical monsters, but only the golem seemed to be affected.

“M-my Devil is unaffected by card effects!”

Antique Gear Ultimate Golem: 4400 / 2 → 2200 ATK; 3400 / 2 → 1700 DEF

His opponent stumbled backwards, shocked that his supposedly ultimate monster was now weaker than all of Kyoko’s.

“W-well, Antique Gear Devil’s effect deals you 1000 damage!” The mechanical beast shot lightning at the True Draco user. Kyoko didn’t flinch as the sparks erupted around him.

Kyoko: 3400 – 1000 → 2400 LP

The Academia soldier stuttered and his legs were shaking. Kyoko stared at him with an absolutely piercing, murderous gaze. It wasn’t in his expression, it was all in his eyes.

“I-I end my turn,” seeing as his monsters weren’t strong enough to take on Kyoko’s.

“Draw,” in a blur Kyoko began his turn.

[Turn 3: Kyoko] Hand: 4

Kaida noticed bones and veins bulging from his outstretched hand... He was angry. The King of Hearts, angry? Kaida did not want to know what it would be like to be on the receiving end of that. Obviously, she could physically defend herself, but would that truly protect her?

“I now overlay Ignis and Majesty Maiden to build the Overlay Network,” both monsters deformed into purple-blue streaks of light and descended into a black hole. His jacket was flapping in the wind.

“An Xyz Summon?!” the Academia soldier stared.

“Brave knight who sacrificed all, let your legacy reignite to serve your successors! Xyz Summon! Arawareyo! Rank 5! Sigurd, the True Draco Holy Knight!” The black hole exploded and the neigh of a horse could be heard. When the light cleared, a man with blue hair riding on a horse appeared on the field. He wore black tunic with a white bonnet and a black shoulder piece over his chest. Below his waist were a pair of white trousers and long black, armored boots. Over his left shoulder was a large blue cape that was white on the inside. There was some sort of blue energy swirling around his chest and stomach. Strapped behind his waist was a long sword with a golden handle and green lining. The hilt was curved up almost as if it was its own mini blade. All of his clothes were tattered with rips all over. He had definitely seen his fair share of battle. The steed he was riding was a brilliant white that was covered with the dark of ash and dust. It was adorned in cracked black armor and sprouted great dark draconic wings. There was a stern expression on his face as he looked on without fear, this was someone who had gone through a lot. His presence showed a strange contrast to the light being shined from Kyoko’s Field Spell.

Sigurd, the True Draco Holy Knight: Rank 5/FIRE[Wyrm/Xyz/Effect] 2700 ATK/2500 DEF OU: 2

Sigurd, the True Draco Holy Knight: 2700 + 300 = 3000 ATK; 2500 + 300 = 2800 DEF

“Next…” Kyoko continued. “I will tribute Oifey and True Draco Apocalypse...” A beam of white light appeared that engulfed the monster and card. “By the power of the slayers, I call forth the sovereign of dominion and strength. Rise and bring justice to this realm! Arawareyo! Level 8! Master Peace, the True Draco Sword King!” The light dispersed and a white, pristine armored warrior descended from the heavens. He wore a white mask that was shaped like a bird and had pure, white angelic wings sprouting from his back. He wielded a great, wing-like sword along with a star shaped shield embedded on a triangle, while riding on an equally brilliant pegasus with dark gray draconic wings.

Master Peace, the True Draco Sword King: Level 8/LIGHT[Wyrm/Effect] 2950 ATK/2950 DEF

Master Peace, the True Draco Sword King: 2950 + 300 = 3250 ATK; 2950 + 300 = 3250 DEF

The warrior stepped forward and rode next to Sigurd. Kyoko’s opponent just stared at the monster with wide eyes like he had just been enlightened.

“Ohhhh… Ohhhh...” He simply gasped. This. This monster was the embodiment of the hope and dreams that aspiring duelists felt whenever they looked up to Kyoko. Kaida could’ve sworn that all the duels and battles in the distance seemed to pause to look at the angelic brilliance of Master Peace. You could always rely on it to handle any threat, any calamity…

“Oifey lets me draw a card. Then, I activate Sigurd’s effect,” Kyoko interrupted the nirvana. “By using one Overlay Unit, I can Special Summon one Wyrm monster from my graveyard or hand. Return, Ignis.” The red armored Fire monster reappeared on the field.

Ignis Heat, the True Draco Warrior: Level 5/FIRE[Wyrm/Effect] 2400 ATK/1000 DEF

Ignis Heat, the True Draco Warrior: 2400 + 300 = 2700 ATK; 1000 + 300 = 1300 DEF

“Now,” Kyoko’s voice had resorted to an even harsher whisper. “I destroy Ignis on my field and Chaos in my hand in order to call upon a king.”

“A-a king?” his opponent questioned in confusion.

Boiling hot magma burst out of the ground and engulfed Ignis. One card in Kyoko’s hand started to glow as he sent it to the graveyard. Kaida felt a sense of dread, deep dark dread. The effect of the brilliance of Master Peace was starting to disappear. Everything around seemed to darken… and heat up.

“I must destroy two monsters in my hand or face-up on the field, including a Fire monster.”

A pair of scorched angelic wings erupted from the lava as an ear blasting roar sounded. A head sprouted up. Thick, black demonic horns adorned the top. There was some sort of glowing capsule on its forehead. The emerging monster’s head was soon followed by smooth white armor and red scales.

“What? What is this?” Ruri asked, her eyes widened in fear.

“From the depths of the core, let the flames of the Purgatory come forth and ascend to the zenith of the burning throne,” a bit of fire engulfed Kyoko, but he didn’t seem to be affected by it. “Arawareyo! The Calamity that burns away reality! Level 9! True Draco King Agnimazud… the Vanisher!”

There was a harsh thump, as the monster’s massive leg clawed at the ground as if it was climbing out. Bits of lava were leaking out the scales. The sight of the beast was distorted by heat waves being generated by the rising temperatures. Eventually the monster had climbed out its abyss and rested on its four legs. It was one of the biggest monsters Kaida had ever seen, aside from those giants that were ravaging the city, and even then, it was very close. It made the Ultimate Golem look like a small toy robot. Looking at its full body, it seemed like a cross between a griffin and a dragon. The area where the wings connected to its main body looked like airplanes engines that were spewing out flames constantly. It raised its head up and roared, releasing a blazing hurricane from his snout.

True Draco King Agnimazud, the Vanisher: Level 9/FIRE[Wyrm/Effect] 2900 ATK/1900 DEF

The beaming lights of Kyoko’s Field Spell had nearly faded from the ash and smoke of the giant Wyrm beast, but the effects still applied.

True Draco King Agnimazud, the Vanisher: 2900 + 300 = 3200 ATK; 1900 + 300 = 2200 DEF

Master Peace and Agnimazud rested on either side of Sigurd. The Holy Knight seemed to be a cross between them, an embodiment of hope and calamity. It was only a matter of which prevailed.

Master Peace, the True Dracos, and his Tribute Summoning, that was the Ace of Hearts.

The True Draco Kings? That. This-was the The King of Hearts.

The Academia soldier had fallen to his bottom and was whimpering at the sight of a king.

“When Agnimazud is summoned by destroying two Fire monsters, I can banish one monster from your field or graveyard,” the silver of Kyoko’s eyes seemed to flash a warm color. A familiar type of warm color. Seika? Is this all for Seika? “Chaos, the True Draco Primordial can be treated as any Attribute while in hand or face up on the field for the summon of a ‘True Draco’ monster. Now, away with that mongrel metal! A King’s Decree: Expulsion.” Agnimazud picked up the Ultimate Golem in its class and crushed it in its grip, leaving only a crumpled piece of metal.

“Eek!” His opponent had to get up quickly and jump back to avoid being picked up along with his monster.

“Sigurd’s other effect,” Kyoko continued. “If a True Draco’ monster is summoned by tributing or destroying two monsters with the same Attribute, I can detach another Overlay Unit, that monster gains 1000 Attack Points and cannot be targeted by your card effects.”

True Draco King Agnimazud, the Vanisher: 3200 + 1000 = 4200 ATK

The air around them seemed to heat up even further. It’s over now. Kaida noticed Ruri next to start to wheeze a little, it was getting hard to breathe.

“Battle,” Kyoko declared. “I attack your Devil with Sigurd,” the knight drew his blade. There was an unusual shine which suggested some sort of power being imbued into it. “Aetherial Crusade of Tyrfing!” With a loud neigh, Sigurd’s steed dashed forward and he slashed right through the Antique Gear Devil, resulting in a small explosion.

“W-when Devil is destroyed, I can Special Summon one ‘Antique Gear’ monster from deck, ignoring its summoning conditions,” Kaida couldn’t helped but be slightly impressed that Kyoko’s opponent managed to hold himself together and respond in the overwhelming face of a Crusader, a Hero, and a King. However, that feeling quickly went away when she recalled his words that Seika… that Seika should’ve killed herself...

“Come forth! Antique Gear Golem – Ultimate Pound!” a monster that looked essentially identical to the original Golem appeared on the field.

Antique Gear Golem – Ultimate Pound: Level 8/EARTH[Machine/Effect] 3000 ATK/3000 DEF

“Master Peace… purge that tainted metal off the earth,” Kyoko declared harshly. “Primal Draco Annihilation.”

Kaida was looking at the ground as intrusive thoughts suddenly entered her mind. What if… Seika was carded? What if Seika… died?

Just having those thoughts going through her mindmade Kaida want to throw up. A sharp pain in her chest started to ebb away at her. Her legs wobbled a bit, and she didn’t seem to notice the brief shock wave from Master Peace destroying the golem.

“Kaida?” Ruri asked worriedly.

“When Ultimate Pound is destroyed, I can add from my graveyard-”

“Do not waste my time,” Kyoko hissed. “Agnimazud! Burn through and send him away from my realm! True King’s Damning Judgment!” Agnimazud roared and blasted flames so white hot, they turned almost blue. The Academia soldier screamed in fear and ran away as fast as he could from the flames and just barely avoided them. The ensuing explosion launched him off his feet and he fell face first into the ground.

Academia: 4000 – 4200 → 0 LP

Winner: Kyoko Ohtori

The blast sent shock waves in almost all directions forcing Kaida out of her devastating thoughts. Some of the already ruined buildings completely collapsed.

Kaida closed her eyes and took a deep breath and forced down the sobs that were creeping out. The fallen duelist eventually vanished into blue dust, likely getting sent back to wherever he came back.

Sigurd and Master Peace vanished, while Agnimazud let out one more roar before collapsing. Kyoko deactivated his duel disk and turned around. His sharp gaze was now back on Kaida and Ruri.

“She’s not here,” Kaida said. Kyoko froze, and she barely kept herself from flinching at the intensity of his expression. She didn’t know how he would react, especially after that duel. However, she felt like it was her duty to tell him, because he made Seika happy. He at least deserved to know.

“Who’s not here, Kurorai?” he finally said. His voice was quiet and relenting, like he knew who she was talking to.

“Who else?” Kaida said sarcastically. “Your girlfriend. My best friend.” Her bitterness had reinvigorated some of her confidence.

Kyoko didn’t answer. He’s not denying it. “...No,” he suddenly said. “I promised I would…” he muttered something inaudible under his breath.

“What?” Kaida questioned.

“Isn’t she always with you?” His head was down and eyes were shadowed.

“Of course she is, but the one time we were separated, she went missing,” Kaida answered curtly, trying to stop her voice from cracking. “She went missing last night, before all this started.”

“...Why were you separated?” he asked.

“She went out alone to get something. Disappeared along the way,” Kaida summarized, not having the patience, nor the will, to talk about the whole debacle.

“How…? In the night…?” He finally looked up at her. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes told everything. Kaida’s jaw trembled and she clenched her fists. Muscles bulging against the bandages on her biceps and forearms.

“Stop… Stop looking at me like that, Ohtori,” Kaida snarled, her eyes were widened in the sudden rage that overwhelmed her. “You’re not the only one who cares about her! These Fusion people did something to her!” Rage toward him because he seemed to be blaming her… and among other things, but also because she blamed herself for letting Seika go alone and she didn’t want him of all people to tell her that. Kyoko looked like he wanted to say something, but another nearby explosion interrupted the stand off. A loud mechanical screech was heard in the distance.

“It’s-it’s Revolution Falcon!” Ruri said loudly, who seemed to be growing nervous at the increasing hostility from Kaida. They watched the large bird drop bombs on some of the smaller soldiers that were wreaking havoc. A majestic blue winged beast also appeared, one of Rio’s monsters. Everyone was in the fight now.

“These Fusion people did something to her. They know something about her that we don’t,” Kaida told, calming down a little with the tension broken.

“They took her?” Kyoko said sharply.

“Maybe,” another loud explosion rumbled in the distance, making her and Ruri wince. “…I have a feeling she came from the same place they did.”

Ruri gasped and Kyoko’s face changed ever so slightly. “We’ll deal with this,” Kyoko’s expression fell into more of a glare, “Then afterward, you tell me everything.”

—oOo—

“I’m going to Spade Branch,” Yuto said, slinging his bag over his shoulder. “Shun wants more dueling practice, and seeing as I have nothing better to do right now, I agreed. Do you want to come- Oi, Kaida, are you listening to me?” Said person was staring ahead aimlessly as they walked through the streets of Heartland.

“I wonder what Seika is doing right now. Is she with him again?” Kaida felt her lip curl up a little at the thought of that.

“You know you’re speaking your thoughts out loud right?” Yuto deadpanned.

“Are they dating? No, she would definitely tell me if she was. There’s no way she could hide it, especially from me or Kaito,” she kept murmuring to herself. A smack to the back of her head snapped Kaida back to reality. “Hey!”

“You’re mumbling to yourself, and people are looking at you like you’re on drugs or something,” Yuto said. “So stop talking to yourself unless you want someone to call the police on you.” Kaida noticed the stares, she gritted her teeth, and shook herself to refresh her mind.

“What were you saying again?”

Yuto sighed and repeated himself, “Shun wants me to help him practice dueling, do you want to join us?”

“No, I’ll decline. You go on ahead,” Kaida shrugged. “Sensei delayed today’s training, so I’m going home for now.” They entered the familiar West Heart Shopping District, and Kaida felt a small pang of disappointment seeing all the kids her age laughing and shopping with her friends. She wished Seika hadn’t taken so many engineering classes at the university.

Speaking of university, that was one of the strange mysteries about her, despite living through a war zone and being only 16, she was educated enough to pass as a college student. Seika explained that she was an educational prodigy at the orphanage she used to live in, and after those days had ended, books were the only thing keeping her sane in the small moments of peace she could endure. Seika was strangely adamant on learning about technology and engineering… Well, she at least had a goal, a purpose to work toward. But that came at the cost of her free time. They couldn’t spend as much time together as they did during the first year she was here because of her classes and Kaida’s commitments to martial arts.

She then noticed something out of the corner of her eye and stopped.

“I’m going to get some, I’ll see you later,” she told Yuto.

“Okay,” Yuto simply said, and he continued on, leaving Kaida behind, as she entered her favorite café. It was strangely not very full and she didn’t waste the chance. She put in an order for her usual smoothie and stood there near the counter, waiting for it. Eventually, her drink came and she was about to leave when something caught her eye. Sitting at corner, on the window side, was him, Kyoko Ohtori. He was sipping some drink and staring aimlessly at the wall, seemingly lost in thought.

Over the past few weeks since Kaida had discovered that Seika was friends with Kyoko, she made sure to watch them to see what their relationship was about. Was that stalking?...Yes, it was, but Kaida convinced herself it was for Seika’s own good. She definitely embarrassed by it, since people often gave her strange looks. That embarrassment was only amplified since Kyoko had most certainly noticed on certain occasions.

Overall, they seemed to have a pretty normal friendship. Just sitting and talking about things, Kaida could not really find any fault with it, no how much she wanted to. She decided she wasn’t getting anywhere with her spying and made a note to confront Seika about it soon. However, the other side of that coin was right here. Plus, Kaida had time to spare. The next action was obvious. But she hesitated a little, this was the Ace of Hearts, the strongest duelist in Heartland (read: the world), she wasn’t sure how exactly she should initiate this confrontation. After several minutes of deliberation, Kaida gritted her teeth and decided to just go for it .

She slowly approached him, but he didn’t seem to pay any mind to her. However, Kaida was pretty sure he knew she was coming. He probably recognized her from the few times she had spied on them. She had not questioned Seika yet on her relationship with Kyoko, instead opting to just observe, until now. Once she was a few feet away from him, she stopped, crossed her arms, and took a deep breath.

“Ohtori Kyoko,” she finally said, looking at him. His eyes widened a bit and he cleared his throat.

“You are…?”

“Kurorai Kaida,” she answered. He had to already know who she was.

“Can- I help you?” he asked hesitantly. None of the confidence or platonicness he usually displayed was there. He actually looked quite nervous, like he was caught with his guard down.

“You already know who I am,” Kaida narrowed her eyes at him. Kyoko hesitated to answer. “You’ve seen me around, haven’t you?” She pushed.

“...Yes,” he said. “You’re the one they call the Little Big Sister.”

“What?!” Kaida exclaimed. Her face turned red and she suddenly felt like shrinking into the ground.

“Am I wrong?” Kyoko had gradually transitioned back into his usual persona of a stoic person.

Is he screwing with me? Did Seika tell him about me? Kaida wondered to herself. She cleared her and shook her head.

“I’ll cut straight to the chase, what does the Ace of Hearts want with my best friend?” Kaida made sure to emphasize “best.”

“Best friend?” Kyoko echoed, he looked up at her.

“Seika,” she said. “My best friend, Seika. Seika who lives with the Tenjo family.”

“Uh… huh,” he simply said. “Yes, Seika...”

“Yes Seika. Don’t make me repeat myself, what do you want with her?” Kaida’s voice sharpened.

“Want? Are you trying to imply something?” There was a certain look in his eyes that made Kaida hesitate… just slightly. She suddenly realized she wasn’t used to a situation like this. He, on the other hand, probably dealt with this all the time, but she swallowed her fear and kept going.

“...That depends on you,” she answered coolly. “I know it was you who brought her to the hospital back then. Was that just by chance, or was there something else behind it?”

“...No,” Kyoko answered.

“‘No’ what?”

“No and no.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Kaida said. “It’s either one or the other, you can’t say no to both.”

Kyoko sighed and put his hand over his hand. “It wasn’t premeditated if that’s what you’re asking, but I had been planning to meet her at some point,” he confessed.

“Why?” Kaida demanded.

“A few months before that incident, I heard about her. The refugee girl who had come from a war torn country to Heartland, the pinnacle of the world,” Kyoko looked up. “The pinnacle that exemplifies that there are always good people in the world. The closest we can ever get to a utopia.”

“…” Kaida didn’t know what to say, so she let him continue.

“Heartland is the representative of hopes and dreams in this world,” he continued.

Are you sure about that? Kaida thought to herself. She herself had seen some of the ugly sides of it.

“Because of the position I was in, I never suffered. Never suffered like the normal or the poor,” Kyoko said. “So when when I heard her, I wanted to meet her, understand what it’s like for those who lived through such a hell. Then… something came up and I got very busy.”

Kaida could verify that. Around the time Seika had arrived in Heartland, Kyoko had risen to the strongest duelist in the world at just 16 years old. She assumed it was all the attention and business that got in his way that prevented him from meeting Seika.

“I bumped into her one day by pure chance during a convention at the university,” Kyoko said. “We didn’t say anything to each other, but she seemed to recognize me. That was that.”

“Then…” Kaida started to say.

“Then that incident happened,” a dark look flashed across his face. “And you know everything else that followed.”

“Why did you avoid her if you’ve been wanting to meet her?” Kaida asked.

“...Because I realized something… something I was blind to,” Kyoko said cryptically. Kaida was going to ask him to elaborate, but he kept going. “Eventually, a few months ago, I met her for the first time since it happened. She intrigued me, she seemed so happy, so bubbly. She was trying so hard. Yet she seemed so sad and…”

“And…?”

“Imprisoned,” Kaida’s eyes widened as she stared at Kyoko. “Like she could never escape. She was asking for help, help to break out. I also wanted to know more.”

“...Is that all she is to you?” Kaida asked quietly.

“What?” Kyoko looked at her in confusion.

“A… A subject, an object, just a case study of someone who’s suffered so much!” Kaida burst out.

“I-”

“Are you using her? Do you genuinely care about her? Are you-”

“Of course, I do,” Kyoko lightly glared at her, his gaze piercing into her soul. “I understand what you’re saying, but it is not what you think it is.” Kaida was silent for a few moments and tried to gauge an understanding of him.

“It’s personal,” Kaida suddenly said. “Seika’s trauma. It’s more than just a curiosity of yours. It’s personal for you isn’t it? You know someone like her.” His brief silence more or less confirmed it.

“Nowhere near to the extent that she has experienced, but someone similar, yes,” he then said.

Kaida sighed, part of her wanted her to let them be since Seika seemed so happy, she didn’t want to ruin it. The other part of her wanted her to stay away from him because it was just too risky because of the position he was in.

….

Oh who was she kidding, those were legitimate concerns, but that wasn’t the real reason she was acting like this.

“I’ll let it go,” Kaida said. “I’ll let Seika hang out with you.”

“’Let her?’ You sound like-”

“But don’t pretend like your position means nothing in your relationship,” Kaida narrowed her eyes at him. “She’s gone through so much, suffered her entire life. Don’t ruin the progress she’s making. Keep your baggage to yourself, she’s already been holding too much of her own. You understand me, Ohtori?”

Kyoko looked like he was trying to say something else, but then “...Agreed.”

“Glad we have an understanding,” Kaida gritted her teeth, trying to hide her immense reluctance.

“Do you actually have a problem with her being friends with me, aside from what we just talked about?” She noticed his eyes focus on something behind her, but she decided to ignore it.

“What? Of-” she paused herself. If she told him the real reason she was upset at this revelation, she would sound like a petty, whiny child. Yuto would make fun of her to no end and she was trying to put that Little Big Sister thing behind her. “No,” she cleared her throat. “Not unless you make it my problem.”

“Kaida?” A familiar voice called behind her. Kaida screamed and jumped to see Seika standing there with a confused expression. Her hair was curled as usual, with her front bangs tied back. Her red eyes were light with obliviousness.

“S-Seika!” Kaida’s face went red as several people nearby stared at her. The sheer embarrassment made Kaida heat up so much, she was practically releasing steam. “What are you doing here?”

“I was going home and then I saw you… talking to Kyoko,” There was guilt on her face as she said that, aware of the fact that she hid her friendship with him from Kaida.

“I-”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” Seika said quickly. “I just wanted some time to myself. I just… wanted to do things alone every once in a while,” she looked down, avoiding Kaida’s gaze. Her mouth quivered a little as she looked like she was about to cry. Kaida’s heart felt like it would explode from cuteness from the way Seika was acting, and any anger or animosity she felt vanished immediately.

“Don’t worry!” Kaida said, stepping forward and grabbing Seika’s hands and holding them comfortingly. “Y-You’re right. You should be allowed to do things you want!” She took a deep breath and let her heart rate return to something reasonable. “I understand that you might want some privacy or alone time. Just… don’t hide things like this from us. We care about you. Kaito’s family wouldn’t have adopted you if they didn’t care for you,” Kaida said kindly. Seika winced as another look of guilt flashed across her face. “...Kaito doesn’t know, does he?”

“No,” Seika shut her eyes and laughed nervously. “At least, he hasn’t done or said anything to make me think he knows.” Kaida heard some shuffling behind her and remembered that Kyoko was still there.

“Well, I have to go now,” Kaida stepped in and gave Seika a quick side hug. “I’ll see you later.”

“Bye,” Seika said softly. Kaida was about to leave when she noticed Seika smile at Kyoko and greet him.

“Don’t stay out too late, or I’ll tell Kaito!” Kaida called. Seika’s eyes widened in fear and she nodded quickly.

“R-right!”

—oOo—

Since then, Kaida noticed Kyoko began to change, she just wasn’t sure how exactly to describe it. But it had something to do with The King of Hearts.

“Ruri,” Kyoko said, looking at Shun’s sister. “Ready your duel disk. There is a high probability that you will get into a duel. I’ll do my best to keep you out of the fight and get you to Spade Branch or to your brother, but make sure you’re ready just in case.” Kaida noticed a certain fierceness to the tone of his voice as he talked to Ruri. Well… that definitely made sense considering the people in Kyoko’s life.

“O-Okay, but please, you don’t have to worry… about… me…” Ruri’s words faltered as Kyoko intensified his gaze at her. Kaida picked up the bags of supplies. They had luckily been saved from the chaos of the duel.

“Let’s go,” Kaida nodded. The three of them ran straight into the fray. As they approached the heat of the battle, Kaida noticed practically hundreds of soldiers wearing some strange mask in a blue uniform. All having Antique Gear Monsters out on their field, most of them Hound Dogs of some type. Duelists of their home were all locked in battle, forming protective lines to help the civilians get to safety, Spade Branch’s stadium to be more specific.

In the distance, far from the main battle. Kaida noticed a familiar shine in the direction of Diamond Branch. Her eyes widened in recognition, a bit of hope sparked in her chest. Perhaps some of her Diamond Branch friends, besides Rio, had survived. However, those hopes were immediately shattered when the silhouette of that familiar monster was immediately destroyed by what looked like a dragon with a strange jagged outline. The smoke was making it hard to see, but nothing else appeared.

“Did you see that?” Kaida gasped. Kyoko had also noticed it and he was staring in that direction with narrowed eyes.

“RURI!” They heard Shun’s familiar yell. Shun more or less barreled straight into Ruri and wrapped her into a hug.

“W-Where’s Yuto?” Kaida asked.

“He and Rio were dueling with Naoya, but Naoya got separated from them since these Fusion people kept trying to gang up on him,” Shun explained, his eyes surveyed the area like a hawk, until he spotted something and he pointed it out. “There!” Kaida followed his gaze and breathed a sigh of relief. Yuto and Rio were dueling a single blue-uniform duelist and their field looked fine, but she decided to run over there just in case.

“...Which lets me target one Water monster in my graveyard and attach it to a Water Xyz Monster I control,” Rio declared. “I target the Aurora Wing in my graveyard and attach it to Sylphine. Then I can use Sylphine’s effect, by detaching one Overlay Unit I can negate the effects of all other face-up cards on the field.”

Sylphine, the Sub-Zero Bird Beast: OU: 1 → 0

Yuto and the Academia soldier had a total of four face-up cards. “Then your Triple Bite Dog loses 300 Attack Points for every card negated.”

Antique Gear Triple Bite Hound Dog: 1800 – (300 * 4) → 600 ATK

“Now! Sylphine, finish him off! Sub-Zero Skystrike!” The icy winged beast flew up into the air before descending down and slamming into the Triple Bite Dog, destroying it and sending her opponent flying away

Obelisk Force Green: 1300 – 1400 → 0 LP

Winner: Rio Kamishiro & Yuto Kurorai

“Yuto!” Her brother turned around and Kaida relief came to his eyes. “Are you okay?”

Yuto let out a small smirk, “Fine, you?”

“...As good as I can be,” Kaida answered.

“Oh, Kaida! Thank goodness!” Rio ran over and gave her friend a quick a hug.

“I saw it, you know. We all saw it,” Yuto’s smirk quickly dropped.

“What?”

“Him,” Yuto jerked his head toward Kyoko, who was discussing something with Shun while surveying the ongoing duels.

“Yeah…” Kaida murmured, her eyebrows furrowed in anger for a brief moment. “That duelist said horrible things about Seika, and it set him off…” Yuto’s eyes widened a bit, before his attention was suddenly drawn to something else.

“K-Kaito?”

“Kaida!” The Ace of Clovers stopped a few feet away from them. He was wearing strange attire similar to what Shun was wearing. A long black coat opened near the collar showing a thin shirt underneath. He was wearing white pants with a purple deck holster by his side. His duel disk was a white body that would a release light blue blade when activated. There was a frantic expression on his face as he looked at Kaida, Kyoko, and around them. “S-Seika?” Kaito asked. Kaida pursed her lips shut and shook her head. A loud, angry summoning chant caught their attention.

A large, silver, mechanical dinosaur appeared on the field. It’s wielder was a young man around Kyoko’s age with a large build. He wore a sleeveless leather vest with fur lining around the edges exposing extremely thick, muscular arms. He wore ripped black jeans with thick brown boots. His brown hair was spiky and extended behind him. Forest-green eyes stared down hatefully at its adversary. Naoya Tsuyoshi wasn’t his usual co*cky, annoying self. Something Kaida thought was a fresh look for him, but at the same represented the dire situation they were in.

His monster quickly destroyed the opposing Double Bite Dog, wiping out the remaining Life Points of its enemy. The fallen Academia soldier disappeared in blue dust and Naoya just stood staring angrily at where it

“Kyoko,” Kaito asked. “have you-

“I don’t,” Kyoko quickly replied, knowing what he was about to ask. Shun and Kaito seemed to recognize that Kyoko was not in the mood for bullsh*t, so they didn’t push it. They likely noticed Agnimazud’s summon and the subsequent destruction.

“Kaito, where’s your family?” Kaida asked.

“At Clover, we’ve cleared out most of these Academia people in that area. Diamond and Hearts are completely overrun though,” Kaito answered somberly. “Once Spade is cleared, we’re going to go look for survivors, but we have to do it fast so we can regroup.” he narrowed his eyes toward the direction of Diamond Branch. “Those at Diamond Branch will reinforce their comrades soon.”

Kaida then noticed something. Five of the 6 strongest duelists in Heartland were here right now. Kyoko, Kaito, Naoya, Shun, and herself.

“Kyoko!” Naoya noticed the little group and immediately ran toward them. “Where have you been, dumbass? Your family-”

“My family is safe,” Kyoko answered. “Calm down, Naoya, they're not here in the city. I returned early without them.”

“What?” Kaito looked at Kyoko.

“No, you f*cking idiot! They came back!” Naoya snarled, sticking his nose into his face. “I don’t know where you’ve been, but I saw your father this morning! Why are you wasting time blasting apart these little sh*ts, when Shizuka is still out there!” Only Naoya could talk to Kyoko like that, the perks of being a childhood friend.

“Your father was at Clover Station,” Kaito added. “He was there! I saw him! We were there trying to find out what happened to Seika!”

“My- father? Shizuka?” Realization seemed to dawn on Kyoko. His face went pale and he started shaking. Kaida had never seen him lose his composure like this. The image he had been keeping up and enduring suddenly fell away very quickly. He started taking a few steps backwards.

“Kyoko?” Shun asked.

“No… No…” He mumbled, starting to act like Kaida when she initially found out Seika went missing. “NO!” His eyes were widened in horror as he suddenly broke into a sprint and started running away.

“Wait!” Shun called out, but Naoya grabbed his arm and shook his head.

“Let him go, he can take care of himself,” Naoya growled softly, he reactivated his duel disk and looked around until his gaze fell on Kaida. She had no idea what he was thinking, but she simply returned the glare. “Stop standing around and make yourselves useful. The sooner we defeat them, the sooner we can finally rest.”

Kaida gripped Yuto’s arm, afraid he might just disappear if she wasn’t looking. Shun tightened his hold on Ruri. Everyone here, Kyoko, Kaito, Naoya, Shun, and her – they had a certain thing in common. They all had younger siblings…

—oOo—

Kyoko ran, he ran like his life depended on it. Well, that may be a figure of speech, but to him, his life really did depend on it. Duelists were clashing with one another. Numerous black holes that formed Overlay Network littered the streets. Antique Gear monsters, especially the Chaos Giants, were still desecrating the city. His oh so proud city. It wasn’t helped by the fact that this Real Solid Vision thing was causing collateral damage as well. That was quite evident from Agnimazud’s attack. He winced as he thought back to her.

Seika Natsuhono, a girl who had become another light in his life.

All the past revelations and horrors of the past week were shoved to the back of his consciousness. A single thought ran through his mind as he came closer to the center walls that enclosed the main city hall as well as other important facilities. He had escaped the main thick of the battle, as he approached his family’s mansion. A large house with the curvy architecture of Heartland. There were scratches and bits of rubble littering the lawn, but he couldn’t care less at this point. This house… was nothing but despair to him anyway.

Depending on how you saw it, how you knew him. People would assume that Kyoko Ohtori had the best life that anyone could envy for, or the worst life. No one ever saw the ugly side of those they looked up. They always assumed everyone was dandy and happy. All sunshine and rainbows.

But every action always had a reaction. In order to be identified as something, you had also to identify the opposite. If everything was going right, then everything was also going wrong in order to make those things go right. People only saw what they wanted to see. They only believed what they wanted to believe.

In order for people to perceive light the way it was, they also perceive darkness. That more or less defined Kyoko. In order to rise to the top of the dueling, everything had to go wrong to push him up.

Kyoko heard distant voices coming from within the house, he felt his stomach fall, but he took cover behind a wall. He had only hoped that Shizuka was in her usual hiding place. A hiding place he always sent her to… when things got rough at home.

He gripped the hems of his jacket and peeked an eye over the corner and watched a trio of Obelisk Force stepping out, laughing to themselves, clutching a few cards. His heart stopped when he counted exactly three of them. His duel disk arm twitched as he felt the urge to crush and interrogate them. Especially to find out the whereabouts of Seika…

But he rationalized his thoughts and as soon as they were out of sight, Kyoko bolted out of his hiding spot and into the house. The lights were off, and it was nearly pitch-black. He activated his duel disk and used the blade to provide a bit of visibility. He rushed into his bedroom, it looked mostly intact, but many of his possessions and items had fallen off the shelves. Likely from the small earthquakes and rumbles caused by the invading monsters. He bent down, crawled under his bed, and knocked on the wooden planks.

Knock knock… knock knock knock… knock knock

There was no response and he felt like collapsing right there until…

Knock knock knock… knock knock… knock knock knock

“O-O-Onii-sama?” a soft, gentle voice sounded from underneath.

“Shizuka!” Kyoko ripped off the wooden plank, not caring about the damage and peeked over. Once he could confirm with his own eyes, he let out a deep sigh of relief. Sitting in a fetal position was a young girl with long, straight black hair with a gradient shade like his. She looked up with a fearful expression. Tear streaks could be seen on her face, she was most certainly crying. With silver eyes like his, they held a soft, gentle beauty that contrasted his own. Which were a striking, sharp beauty.

This girl, Shizuka Ohtori, his younger sister, was the other light in his life. If you counted a defective bulb as still a light.

“Kyoko-nii!” The girl climbed out of her little hole and jumped straight into her brother’s arms. She sobbed straight into his chest, letting out all the fear and emotions.

“Shizuka… You’re safe… you’re safe…” he muttered over and over again stroking his sister’s hair. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know… Please forgive me.” It technically wasn’t his fault for not knowing, but he would rather blame himself then put anymore pressure on her.

The sobbing girl didn’t respond and just continued to empty out all her tears for the next several minutes. The distant blasts and explosions were nothing to him right now. All he cared about was that Shizuka was safe. Safe only because she was with him. He trusted no one but himself when I came to her well-being. Well, maybe except Naoya and Seika. The former had known her for as long as she could remember and more or less acted as a second brother. With the latter, on the hand, Shizuka had quickly warmed up to Seika when Kyoko had introduced her.

Seika saw a similar sadness to what she had experienced throughout her life. Despite being busy with school and whatever private affairs she was involved with, she always made time to hang out with Shizuka whenever Kyoko and Naoya were unavailable. Soon, Shizuka had come to see Seika as an older sister. Kyoko was always worried that Seika might crack under the pressure of being idolized like the way she was. She was still quite fragile even after all this time.

However, he noticed her personality and mood start to change in recent weeks. He never questioned it, not because he didn’t suspect anything, but because he didn’t want to push it. She was acting more emotionless and serious. She was still the bright ray of sunshine she always tried to portray herself to be, but Kyoko always felt like something holding her back in that sense. Something dark was lingering behind her… but for now, he had to focus on the young girl in his arms.

“How long were you hiding?” Kyoko asked softly. Shizuka sniffled a little bit before removing her face from his chest.

“I… don’t remember. Mother and Father were having a meeting with someone, and I was in my room getting ready to go see Seika-nee,” she said quietly. “I didn’t know where you were, but I knew you wanted to be alone, so I didn’t call you. I-I was about to leave, when these-these scary robots suddenly appeared and started destroying everything,” Shizuka trembled and a tears started falling again. “It-It reminded me of the stories Seika-nee used to tell me.”

“Seika told you what?” Kyoko asked incredulously. “Why did she tell you those things?!”

“Please don’t blame her!” Shizuka exclaimed. “I-I wanted to know… I asked her. I wanted to know what Seika lived through, I wanted to understand her… When those monsters attacked, Mother, Father, and the other man… I think it was Tsuyoshi-san, Naoya-nii’s father. They quickly ran outside to try and escape-”

“They left you?!” Kyoko hissed loudly, making her wince.

“N-No… Mother came back inside to try and find me, but then one of the buildings nearby suddenly destroyed and they all came back inside,” she explained. “I went to your room and began hiding there. Mother was calling for me, but I was too scared, I stayed here… I couldn’t think! Eventually… I think they went into the basem*nt to hide there.” She was shaking, and Kyoko immediately felt guilty for asking her to relive those events, but he had to know.

“...And then?” he asked.

“I heard some voices, some scary men,” she squeaked, pushing her face into his chest again. “I think they were looking for people who were hiding. They eventually came into your room. I thought- I thought I was going to die, but they didn’t notice the loose board. I-I heard screams soon after,” she looked back up at him again, eyes glistening as her mouth quivered. “Are-are they-?”

“Forget them,” Kyoko narrowed his eyes at her, but they were still soft. “All that matters to me is that you’re not hurt. Understand?” She nodded slowly.

“W-where’s Naoya-nii?” she asked.

“He’s fine, don’t worry about him.” Then his heart sank when she asked that.

“...Seika-nee. Is she okay?” Kyoko’s expression deformed to that of a stoic one.

“I don’t know,” he simply answered.

“I-Is she-” Shizuka looked like she was about to cry.

“No,” Kyoko said fiercely. “You know her, she’s strong. She can take care of herself. I’m sure where ever she is, she’s finding a way to come back to her friends and family.” The ground rumbled again. “We need to leave, now.” He hoisted her her up, grabbed her hand, and dashed out of the room. He was about to run through the collapsed door when-

“Kyoko-nii, why do you have your duel disk on?” Shizuka asked curiously. Oh right, she didn’t know that the invading robots were duel monsters. He halted and bent down again.

“Because these people are duelists, they are using dueling to hurt us,” he explained. “They somehow have the technology to make monsters real.” He motioned outside. “Those robots you see are duel monsters.” Her eyes widened in shock. “Where’s your deck and your duel disk?”

“A-” She was interrupted by the screams of people. Shizuka gasped watching a large crowd of civilians running away from a group of blue uniform soldiers. Unfortunately, they were right in the middle of the doorway and in their line of vision. A couple of them noticed the brother and sister duo and pointed toward them.

“Hey! There were still people in that house? I thought you got everyone there!” One with a yellow jewel said.

“It was a big-ass house, how the hell was I able to check all of it? Plus I got three of them anyway, I thought it was enough,” another one with a red jewel shrugged.

“Well go and get them and rejoin us at that Duel School. The Commander is reporting that that’s where most of the Resistance has relocated,” Resistance? Are we already calling ourselves that now? But he was broken out of his thoughts when the Obelisk Force member sneered at them and began running.

“Come!” Kyoko grabbed Shizuka and quickly ran back inside. He could probably duel that fool and win, but he could not risk Shizuka’s safety. “Quickly! Where are they!”

“M-My room,” she was shaking in fear. “On my desk!” Kyoko clicked his tongue and lifted Shizuka up and slung her over his shoulder in a fireman's lift. He bolted up the stairs just as the Obelisk Force members stepped in the house. Shizuka wrapped her arms around his neck in order to prevent herself from slipping off. He shoved her room door open and saw the duel disk and deck box on her desk. He snatched them both and shoved them into his jacket pocket.

“You can run, but ya can’t hide!” they heard a cackle. Shizuka let out small whimpers. “You two check those rooms, I’ll look over here,” Kyoko’s eyes darted around the room as the footsteps got closer.

“Window!” He hissed at Shizuka. “Now!” The fierceness of his voice snapped her into action, and she went to the windows and jerked them open. Kyoko ripped off the curtains, quickly tied them to her bed frame, and threw out the other side. “Use the curtains, jump!”

“W-what?” Shizuka shook her head in denial.

“Go!” Kyoko stepped to the side of the door and opened it all the way.

“Ahah! Found you little girl!” Kyoko pointed to himself and placed his finger to lips in a shushing motion. “Where’s your brother, did he abandon you?” As soon as the Obelisk Force stepped in, slammed the door into the man, sending him crashing into the wall.

“Argh!” He grunted. “What the hell?”

“Jump!” He yelled to Shizuka. He didn’t turn around to confirm and only prayed that she obeyed. The shaken Obelisk Force tried to get up and point his duel disk at him, but Kyoko was ready for it and pulled his duel disk arm and pinned it against the wall. He then quickly lifted his leg and smashed it straight into the circular screen. The device crackled a little bit before letting out a soft hiss of smoke.

“You- You broke my duel disk!” the Obelisk Force exclaimed. “You-” Kyoko brought his elbow down on his head, causing his eyes to roll up into his head, but Kyoko wasn’t done. He lifted him up and kneed him in the chin, before finishing it off with a powerful left hook. His poor victim collapsed to the ground, groaning softly.

Sometimes, cards didn’t have to solve everything. Kyoko didn’t train professionally like Kaida Kurorai or Naoya, but he would be damned if he couldn’t at least defend himself when it came to a fist fight.

“Hey! What’s going on?” Kyoko heard distant footsteps approaching. He had to leave now. He turned his attention toward the window and breathed a sigh of relief that Shizuka had listened. He took one last look around his sister’s room. His attention was caught by a single leather book on her desk. Without thinking too much, he grabbed the book and hopped out of the window. He landed on the ground with a grunt, but at least the curtains he was hanging onto softened the landing.

“Kyoko-nii!” Shizuka was hiding behind a bush against the wall.

“F-f*cking... barbarian,” one of them growled from above. “Son of -son of a bitch broke my duel disk!” He still sounded disoriented. Kyoko gripped the curtain and pulled it off. It wasn’t much, but it would at least delay them.

“We’re leaving, now,” he grabbed her hand and they began making their way out the front yard. While running, Kyoko slipped the book into his pocket and pulled out Shizuka’s duel disk. He put her deck in its holder and made sure it was working. They blended in with a small dysfunctional group of civilians who were also trying to make an escape from an approaching squad of Obelisk Force, including the ones that were pursuing them. Kyoko cursed and tapped his duel disk’s screen to activate it and leave it on Standby Mode. He stopped Shizuka for a brief second to let her equip her duel disk. Once it was secure, they quickly kept going.

“Kyoko-nii, where are we going?” she asked, as she turned her head back every few seconds.

“To meet up with Naoya, and hopefully go to Spade Branch,” he told her. If Kaito was right about Clover being secure, he could’ve sent her there. However, Clover was too far and he was needed to help drive away the invaders. No way, would he leave her out of his sight.

Eventually, they were returning to the thick of the battle near Spade Branch’s campus, Kyoko slowed down their run and pulled her into a dark alleyway to let her rest and to tell her what to do.

“Now, listen to me,” Kyoko bent down and put his hands on Shizuka’s shoulders, her gaze glistening in fear and terror. “Stay close, very close to me, understand?” She nodded her head. “You make sure you are holding onto me, or Naoya if we meet up with him. It doesn’t matter where, understand?” She nodded again. “...If you get into a duel,” her breath halted. “You remember something,” Her eyes were wide in anticipation. “You are my sister. I am your brother. Remember, your brother is The King of Hearts, the strongest duelist in the world, understand?” She nodded, a little more fiercely this time, rejuvenated by the passion and encouragement in his words. He embraced her again, “I love you.” There was a chance, only a slim chance, but still a chance, that this might be the last time he said those words to her.

“I love you too,” she whispered back.

“Now come,” they laced their fingers together and ran back into the fray, but no sooner than they exited the alleyway did a massive tower come crashing down, just several feet away. Shizuka screamed in fear, and Kyoko lifted her up and jumped back. In the alleyway across the street from the one they were just in, a flash purple light engulfed the poor few who had to run back to escape being crushed by the rock and rubble. Several cards floated to the ground, with their horrified expressions printed on them. Kyoko shoved Shizuka behind him and slowly backed away toward the fallen tower. After briefly inspecting the wreckage, he deduced that it could be cleared, but it would take way too long to clear it in time to escape from the approaching Obelisk Force and-

“Kcchhh, hahahaha!” a loud cackling could be heard from the darkness of alley where the purple light had come from. “More! I need more!” Exiting the alleyway was a man who looked like he came out of a superhero comic. He had wild, spiky, light blue hair that stuck out in all directions. He wore dark blue combat pants coupled with a sleeveless tank top of the same color. He had a long white cloak embroidered in a square gold design tied around his neck to look like a cape. Above of all were his eyes. His irises were black, but the whites of his eyes were littered with red veins. His face had slight wrinkles, despite looking quite young.

Kyoko set himself into his mode and raised his duel disk, making sure his other arm was around Shizuka, who peeked around in fear at the crazed lunatic.

“And I get two more,” he sneered. Shizuka squeaked and disappeared behind her brother. “The more they’re scared, the greater the meal!”

“Who are you?” Kyoko hissed menacingly. He tensed himself and lifted his duel disk to show that he wouldn’t go without a fight. His anxiety perked up slightly, just slightly, as the Obelisk Force got even closer. This was quite obviously not a normal soldier. “A duel huh?” the man’s smile dropped. “How troublesome, I thought it was just civilians here. Oh, well, I could do with a little exercise.” He raised his own duel disk. It was a white body, with a light-blue blade, also with the same model as the others. As they were about to draw their five cards, there was a small boom behind them just as something destroyed part of the rubble that had initially blocked their way.

Kyoko backed away immediately from the site of the broken rubble and his would-be opponent. Out of the little hole, appeared Naoya Tsuyoshi.

“N-Naoya-nii!” Shizuka burst out from behind Kyoko and ran straight into Naoya’s big arms.

“Shizuka!” Naoya exclaimed, embracing her. “You found her?”

“What are you doing here?” Kyoko asked sharply, stepping slowly toward his friend, while still holding up his duel disk defensively. The strange soldier just looked at them with narrowed eyes, but there were still ghosts of a mad smile on his face.

“Halt,” he said suddenly to the Obelisk Force soldiers who had arrived.

“I had to come find you-”

“Why?” Kyoko repeated.

“Let me finish,” there was a soft growl in Naoya’s voice. “We’re being pushed back. You’re needed.”

“What about reinforcements from Clover?” Kyoko asked.

“They’re being bombarded again, Kaito left to assist them. His family is there, remember?” Naoya explained quickly. “Go.”

“And leave you with them?” Kyoko nodded his head toward the strange man and the Obelisk Force.

“You think these little f*cks can touch me?” Naoya snarled softly. “Go.”

“Excuse me? ‘Little f*ck?’” Kyoko’s opponent said in a mocking voice.

Kyoko’s jaw fell slightly, suddenly realizing why he acting like this, “Naoya, what hap-” Naoya pushed Shizuka back to her brother.

“N-Naoya-nii?” Shizuka asked hesitantly.

“You make sure no one else loses their brother or sister. You understand me?” Naoya briefly looked at Shizuka softly before hardening his gaze at Kyoko. “Do you know where she is?”

“Who?”

“Don’t bullsh*t me, you know exactly who I’m talking about,” Kyoko’s blood boiled at that, but he simply gritted his teeth.

“Find her,” Naoya gripped Kyoko’s jacket and pulled him closer. “Didn’t you swear to protect her? You swore everything for her.”

“How do you-”

“I know you better than you think.”

No. Not anymore. Not after what I’ve found out.

“Now go!” His sharp tone, burst Kyoko into action and he pulled Shizuka with him.

“N-Naoya-nii!” Shizuka called out, as her brother pulled her away.

“Come on!” Kyoko said to her. “Naoya is strong. He loses to no one but me.” They had reentered the thick of the battle. He recognized the silver spirits of Kaida Kurorai’s monsters fighting along side ghostly soldiers of her brother, Yuto Kurorai, and icy beasts of Rio Kamishiro. The birds of Shun Kurosaki and Ruri Kurosaki screeched from up above.

“Ohtori!” Kaida called out to him. Her gaze was suddenly locked onto Shizuka. “Your sister…”

“Kurorai! Tell me, where am I needed?” Kyoko snapped.

“You? Needed…?” Kaida muttered weirdly, but shook herself and pointed in a certain direction. “Toward Diamond, all their forces who attacked Diamond and Hearts are coming this way.” There was an anxious look on her face. “Do you know-”

“I don’t.”

“...Not Seika,” she looked like she had to swallow a large lump in her throat just to say that name. “I mean-”

“No, I’ve heard nothing. We’ve no way of communicating, but I assume Dr. Tenjo will come up with something if we can force a ceasefire.” there is another explosion nearby, making them wince. “Watch it, there’s more coming,” Kyoko nodded toward the direction he and Shizuka had come from. The Obelisk Force that had been chasing them came out of the little hole Naoya made and were running toward them.

“Don’t worry about me,” Kaida narrowed her eyes at him, as Yuto finished off the last of their opponents. “Your sister though, it’s too dangerous.”

“She stays with me,” Kyoko hissed at her. “I only trust myself to keep her safe.” The ferocity of his tone only made Kaida object even more.

“You’re taking her to the most dangerous area of the battle,” Kaida motioned around them. “And that’s saying something since everywhere here is dangerous.”

“K-Kaida?” an older woman appeared called out from behind them. She was covered in dirt and ash and shoulder-length blue hair. A man with short black hair was there next to her.

“M-Mom! Dad!” Kaida and Yuto ran over to her parents embraced them.

“You’re alive!” Kaida exclaimed.

“Hey! Pay attention-”

“Get out of my sight!” Kaida snarled, leaving her mother’s embrace and turning around. “Wereclaw, destroy him!” Her hybrid wolf-man jumped forward and sliced away her opponent’s last Life Points. Kyoko looked at Shizuka and at the Kurorai family, he didn’t have much time to think, but it was the best he could do.

“Shizuka, come,” Kyoko said quickly, looking behind. “Kurorai, if you care about her that much. Then protect her for me.”

“Y-You’re Ohtori Kyoko,” Kaida’s parents stared at him.

“K-Kyoko-nii?” Shizuka stared at him with. “N-No, you said-”

“That was before Naoya left us, I have no choice now. I can’t take you with me now, where I’m going,” he looked at Kaida. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“I promise, I’ll keep her safe,” she nodded.

“B-But-” Shizuka began.

“This is Kaida, remember? She’s Seika-nee’s best friend,” Kyoko said. “You can trust her.”

“They’re coming!” Rio called out. “Brace yourselves!”

“Get behind us!” Yuto held his arm out in front of his parents protectively. His mother looked at Shizuka kindly.

“You are Shizuka, right? I’m Kaida’s mother, I know Seika very well,” she said gently. A new army of Chaos Giants appeared, followed by screams in the distance.

“I have to go help the others, do you remember what I just told you?” Kyoko said to Shizuka. She nodded hesitantly. He looked back to Kaida.

“Keep her out of dueling if you can avoid it, but if worst comes to worst,” he narrowed his eyes at Kaida. “Let her defend herself.” Footsteps approached them as Shun and Ruri arrived, a small sense relief filled him seeing the extra support arrived.

“I will see you soon. I promise,” Kyoko hugged Shizuka briefly, before he nodded to Kaida and quickly ran off.

“Make sure you keep your promise, like what you promised Seika-nee,” Shizuka quietly murmured.

—oOo—

Naoya activated his duel disk and glared coldly at the Academia soldiers ahead of him.

“You, insomniac, you’re mine,” he pointed at the sneering man.

“Insomniac? Hmm… I guess you’re not wrong,” the so-called insomniac shrugged mockingly. He motioned to the Obelisk Force next to him. “All of you, leave.”

“B-but, Arcanus-sama!”

“Leave.”

“Y-Yes,” the squad ran past Naoya and followed after Kyoko and Shizuka.

“Very, well, let’s see what you’re made of shall we?” Arcanus smiled. “You don’t seem to be like those fools from the other duel schools.” Naoya simply narrowed his eyes dangerously.

Academia S2-02 – Arcanus Gaucho: 4000 LP

Naoya Tsuyoshi: 4000 LP

“Oh, you have a name? You must be a special one then,” Naoya snarked. “What makes you so special?

“Unlike those fools you keep beating up, I am a part of the esteemed Slifers,” Arcanus pounded his chest. “The top ranked duelists in Academia.”

“S2-02, huh? Doesn’t seem like you’re the top dog though,” Naoya scoffed.

“Oh, nowhere near the strongest of the strongest. Truth be told, I would honestly envy you people if any of the S1’s got involved,” Arcanus looked to the side shrugging. “I heard one of them is here and took out your so-called Ace of Diamonds. Complete monsters they are. Even I wouldn’t get in their way.” Naoya’s eyes widened in shock.

“...We have monsters of our own,” he growled, thinking of himself, Kaito, Shun… but especially Kyoko. Admittedly, the Ace of Diamonds was the weakest of them, but that was still a great cause for concern. It had been quite a while since any of them had to give up their positions. If you included Naoya into the mix, then the 2nd-5th ranks only lost to each other. Only Kyoko himself remained undefeated entirely. Kaida Kurorai was the first person in almost two years to come as close as she did to dethroning an Ace. “Don’t go riding that high horse, Fusion scum.”

“Well, we’ll see about that once that bridge is crossed. I will take the first move, if you don’t mind. Shall the carnage begin?”

“We’ll see who deals the carnage,” Naoya’s eyes widened in a sort of bloodlust.

[Turn 1: Arcanus] Hand: 5

“I’ll start by activating the Field Spell, Runaway Magical Circle,” Arcanus declared. An intense red light shined upon them as a magic circle suddenly appeared under Arcanus. “Upon activation, I can add Aleister the Invoker to my hand!” He grinned, picking out the card from his deck.

“No more of those stupid hunks of metal?” Naoya asked.

“If you’re bored of the Antique Gears, then I’ll gladly entertain you.”

“Good, now I can make my way up to the head of this serpent.”

“I’ll Normal Summon Aleister the Invoker,” Arcanus placed the monster down. Out appeared a young man wearing spectacles with turquoise hair in a thick white cloak with gold embroidery similar to its wielder. He held a book in his hand that seemed to give a mystical feeling along with a long staff powered by some blue square object at the top.

Aleister the Invoker: Level 4/DARK[Spellcaster/Effect] 1000 ATK/1800 DEF

“When Aleister is Normal Summoned, I can add the card, ‘Magic Art of Invocation’ to my hand,” Arcanus declared, adding a Spell Card to his hand. “Next, I will activate Spellbook of Secrets. This lets me add a ‘Spellbook’ card from my deck to my hand.”

“Spellbook? You too?” Naoya muttered, knowing that there were others who also used the Spellbook cards in Heartland.

“The Grand Spellbook Tower transcends the universe and exists in all dimensions. I yearn to discover all its secrets,” Arcanus held his fist out, his eyes burning with ambition.

“Dimensions? What are you talking about?” Naoya asked sharply, catching his words.

“Oops, probably shouldn’t have said that, but it doesn’t matter,” Arcanus shrugged. “You people won’t be around long enough to find out! Now, I will add Spellbook of Knowledge to my hand and then activate it! By sending a Spellcaster monster I control to the graveyard, I can draw two cards.” He now had more cards in his hand than he had at the beginning of his turn. “Next, I will activate the Continuous Spell Card, Trismagistus!” An old book appeared on the field. Its flipping pages showed numerous diagrams and drawings. “I can only use one of its effects per turn, but that is no problem. I use its first effect, which lets me Special Summon a Level 4 Spellcaster monster from my hand. I will summon Zoroa, the Magistus of Absolute Flame!” There was a flash of fire as a man with long red hair appeared on the field. He wore a small black vest that exposed his upper body. There was a glowing red symbol embedded across his chest that seemed to be powering up the flames around him.

Zoroa, the Magistus of Absolute Flame: Level 4/FIRE[Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect] 1500 ATK/1500 DEF

“Tuner…?” Naoya echoed, never seeing this type before. “What the hell is a ‘Tuner’ monster?”

“I activate Graceful Charity! I can draw three cards, and then discard two.” Arcanus continued, ignoring Naoya’s remarks. “I will discard Magistus Endymion and Magistus Cendrillon from my hand. Zoroa’s effect! I can target a Magistus monster I control and equip a Magistus monster from my Extra Deck to it. I will target Zoroa and equip Ninaruru, the Magistus Crystal Goddess.” There was a cold wind as the clinking of glass started to sound. A female figure appeared on the field, holding up small birds and animals, all completely made of glass. She remained there for a small moment, before shattering and attaching herself to Zoroa. Bits of blue veins could be seen extending across the fire mage’s body.

“Glass woman? Doesn’t seem to be your type.”

“Does it matter? I just take what I want,” Arcanus’ trademark grin reappeared on his face.

“Wait! This- This is an Xyz monster!” Naoya exclaimed while looking at his screen, before he glared dangerously at Arcanus. “I’ve heard so many of your people spit on Xyz Summoning while holding up this Fusion thing as if it was some sort of god! Why are you suddenly using Xyz monsters?”

“Fools will be fools when they don’t see power in front of them,” Arcanus scoffed, while also not directly answering the question. “When Zoroa becomes equipped with a ‘Magistus’ monster, I can Special Summon a Level 4 Spellcaster from my graveyard in Defense Position with its effects negated. Appear, Endymion, the Magistus of Sacred Magic!” Appearing from the a pink magic circle was a stern-looking man with medium-length spiky, dark blue hair adorned in thick navy-purple robes. He held up a staff that looked like a golden crescent moon encircling a purple orb.

Endymion, the Magistus of Sacred Magic: Level 4/WATER[Spellcaster/Effect] 1300 ATK/1700 DEF

“Next, I activate Magistus Invocation! I can Fusion Summon any monster as long as I use a Spellcaster as material.”

“Fusion…” Naoya’s expression started to scrunch up in anger.

“I fuse Zoroa and Ninaruru. When Fusion Summoning a ‘Magistus’ monster, I can use monsters in my Spell/Trap zone that are equipped to ‘Magistus’ monsters I control,” Arcanus’ eyes grew wild as a golden book with a purple orb appeared in front of him. Zoroa’s form started to become wrapped and eventually was sucked into the book. “Evoker of flames and goddess of crystals, let all unite to become the voice that sees all! Fusion Summon! Arawareyo! Level 8! Aiwass, the Magistus Lawbook Guardian!” The book burst open and blue ethereal form suddenly appeared. As it became more opaque, the monster’s appearance became more clear. It was a strange, crystalline monster with parts of it disconnected, yet together by some invisible force. It had wings that were held over the top like a headpiece. Its arms were nonexistent and instead were giant metal hands that resembled sharp claws.

Aiwass, the Magistus Lawbook Guardian: Level 8/WIND[Fiend/Fusion/Effect] 2000 ATK/2800 DEF

The monster’s wings were tucked in a little to signify it being in Defense Position.

“When I control a ‘Magistus’ monster, I can Special Summon Mephiles the Dark, the Magistus Anomaly from my hand,” an chilling feeling ran down Naoya’s spine as a thick purple shadow appeared in front of Arcanus. Then it just remained there, swirling around ominously.

Mephiles the Dark, the Magistus Anomaly: Level 3/DARK[Spellcaster/Effect] 1000 ATK/1000 DEF

“And when I summon Mephiles this way, I can equip a ‘Magistus’ monster from my graveyard to it. I will equip Ninaruru from my graveyard,” the purple shadow began to seep out of the ground and took the form of the Crystal Goddess.

“Now, this certainly fits you better. You definitely seem like the type to betray someone,” Naoya snarked, seeing Mephiles corrupting Crystal Goddess. Arcanus only grinned in response.

“Mephiles’ Attack and Defense are equal to the combined Attack and Defense of its equipped monsters.”

Mephiles the Dark, the Magistus Anomaly: 1000 → 1800 ATK; 1000 → 2400 DEF

“Next, I will activate the Magic Art of Invocation!” a large blue magic circle appeared in front of him. “When I Fusion Summon the monster from the archetype I’m summoning from, I can also banish Fusion materials from my graveyard. I banish Aleister from my graveyard, and Endymion from my field!” Aleister reappeared on the field and began powering up the magic circle. Endymion began to phase through it and take a new form. “Invoker of Grimoires, and master of magic, come together to become the ultimate embodiment of the river of sorrow! HAHAHA!” His cloak was flapping up in the air from the sheer force of the summoning. “Fusion Summon! Arawareyo! Level 6! Invoked Beast Cocytus!” Endymion took the shape of a gray, scaly dragon with large horns on its head. Thick, blue veins ran their way all across its body. The veins converged at some light blue source just under its neck.

Invoked Beast Cocytus: Level 6/WATER[Dragon/Fusion/Effect] 1800 ATK/2900 DEF

The monster was also placed in Defense Position.

“Next, I will activate the other effect of Magic Art of Invocation!” Arcanus declared.

“Other effect?”

“While this card is in my graveyard and I have a banished Aleister, I can add Aleister back to my hand and shuffle Invocation back into my deck. I invoke the Infinite Cure!” Arcanus laughed, adding Aleister back into his hand.

“So you can summon it again and add Magic Art of Invocation back to your hand and then Fusion Summon all over again. That’s how you roll. How economic of you,” Naoya said.

“To thrive, one must learn how to manage their resources… I activate Mephiles’ effect, once per turn, it can apply the effects of one of the monsters equipped to it, Ninaruru, and I don’t have to pay the cost of using an Overlay Unit. I can target one Level 4 or higher Spellcaster monster in my graveyard and add them back to my hand. Come! Cendrillon!”

“Before you do that, I activate the Trap Card, Super Quantal Supply Squad, from my hand,” Naoya finally made his first move.

“From your hand?!” Arcanus’ smirk fell a little.

“I can activate this card from my hand during my opponent’s turn if I control no cards,” A metal container, the size of a cargo package appeared on the field. “The effect: I can draw cards equal to every Attribute you control. In this case three- no four,” Naoya raised an eyebrow. “It seems your Mephiles also counts as a Light monster, interesting…” He drew four cards and now had a rarity of eight cards in his hand. Supply Squad… it was a card he had gained in response to Kyoko, whose deck relied on multiple Attributes. In fact, much of Naoya’s deck’s evolution was in response to Kyoko. Naoya was always trying to surpass him, but he kept rising at an impossibly faster rate. He wondered if Kyoko would ever fall… It would be an ugly sight it he did. Naoya wanted to rise, he didn’t want Kyoko to fall.

“Eight cards…” Arcanus scoffed, the light of lunacy had disappeared from his eyes and was now replaced by caution. “In any case, I will add Cendrillon back to my hand. I set one card facedown and end my turn.”

“Very defensive are you?” Naoya said. “Almost like you’re hiding something. Keeping those fangs tucked in before you unleashed them. Like you people did when you attacked my home!”

“Lost someone did you?” Arcanus smirked.

“...My turn! Draw!”

[Turn 2: Naoya] Hand: 9

“I activate the Field Spell, Super Quantal Mech Ship Magnacarrier,” Naoya declared. From up above, appeared a futuristic-looking ship with several docking areas for something big.

“Oooh technology! How wonderful, seems to fit right in with this beautiful city of yours,” Arcanus remarked. “Or, I should say, used to fit.”

“When no monsters are on my field, I can Special Summon Super Quantum Red Layer from my hand,” Naoya ignored his taunts, but was clearly agitated by them as evident from him flexing his muscles and holding himself back. He summoned a humanoid figure wearing dark red spandex and several pieces of some orange mineral across its body. The figure wore a shiny crystal mask on its face and wore a small gauntlet on its right hand that extended out long claws.

Super Quantum Red Layer: Level 5/FIRE[Warrior/Effect] 2000 ATK/800 DEF

“When summoned, I can add a ‘Super Quant’ card from my graveyard to my hand. I will add back Supply Squad,” Naoya said. “Next, I will activate the first effect of Magnacarrier, by discarding a card, I can target one ‘Super Quant’ monster I control and Special Summon a ‘Super Quantal Mech Beast’ monster with the same Attribute as the targeted monster.

“Centered around Attributes are you?”

“This is treated as an Xyz Summon. I overlay Red Layer to build the Overlay Network!” The masked warrior jumped into the air and into the Magnacarrier. “Red Ranger, call upon the beast of pride to destroy those who invade us! Xyz Summon! Arawareyo! Rank 5! Super Quantal Mech Beast Magnaliger!” There was a loud mechanical roar as a giant, robotic red lion appeared from one of the docking bays of Magnacarrier and leaped down.

Super Quantal Mech Beast Magnaliger: Rank 5/FIRE[Machine/Xyz/Effect] 2600 ATK/2000 DEF OU: 1

“I-”

“I activate Aiwass’ effect!” Arcanus interrupted. “I can target a monster on the field and equip it to that monster! I will equip Aiwass to your Magnaliger.” Aiwass dismantled its body and assembled the pieces onto Magnaliger. “The equipped monster gains 1000 Attack Points.”

Super Quantal Mech Beast Magnaliger: 2600 + 1000 = 3600 ATK

“What’s the catch?” Naoya gritted his teeth, furious at seeing the Fusion monster taint his.

“The catch is that when I equip Aiwass to my opponent’s monster, I can take control of that monster,” Arcanus held his hand out and curved his fingers in. “Great Indoctrination!” The infected mecha monster disappeared from Naoya’s side of the field and reappeared in front of Aiwass. The monster stared back at Naoya mockingly. “Unfortunately, I cannot use your monster’s effects, quite sad,” Arcanus sighed in fake disappointment.

“Tch,” Naoya growled. “I Normal Summon Super Quantal Fairy Alphan.” A robotic rabbit-looking creature with a sleek, white design appeared on the field.

Super Quantal Fairy Alphan: Level 1/LIGHT[Fairy/Effect] 0 ATK/0 DEF

“By using its second effect, I can tribute it to reveal three “Super Quant” monsters with different names from my deck,” the robot bunny disappeared and Naoya picked out three cards from his deck. “Blue Layer, Black Layer, and Green Layer,” he showed them to Arcanus, before flipping them around and rearranging them quickly. “You randomly pick one monster, I Special Summon that monster, and the others are sent to the graveyard.”

“Hmm… that one,” Arcanus pointed to the card on the far right after a few seconds of deliberation.

“Yes, that’s what I thought,” Naoya muttered.

“What?!” Arcanus spluttered.

“They say the evil fall to the left, while the righteous fall to the right. The strong stay in the middle,” Naoya said, making his opponent narrow his eyes. “You chose Blue Layer, which I will now summon.” A masked feminine humanoid monster appeared on the field, strangely floating in the air. Its outfit and mask were the color of its namesake.

Super Quantum Blue Layer: Level 3/WATER[Psychic/Effect] 1200 ATK/2000 DEF

“When Special Summoned, I can add a ‘Super Quant’ card to my hand,” Naoya revealed a Trap Card from his deck. “I will add Magnaslayer. Now, remember Black Layer and Green Layer? Both of them have effects if they’re sent to the graveyard.” He said. “First Green Layer, I discard a card to draw a card. I will discard a second copy of Green Layer in my hand.” In one quick gesture he had added another card to his hand. “Next, Black Layer…,” he breathed in deeply. “...when sent to the graveyard, I can target one ‘Layer’ monster in my graveyard and overlay it to Xyz Summon a ‘Super Quant’ monster with the same Attribute as the targeted monster. I target Black Layer itself and overlay it,” a black orb of shining light appearing out of the ground and into the Overlay Network. “Great Ranger who descended deep into the earth. Erupt like thunder and unleash your ancient might! Xyz Summon! Ideyo! Rank 8! Super Quantum Ranger Black Thunder!”

The ground erupted and sparks of lightning escaped the whole. A dark figure jumped out and landed on its knees with a loud thud. Steadily and confidently, the figure stood up straight. Its suit was mostly in black with a bit of gold to contrast it. It wore a piece of small, golden chest armor that seemed to fit compactly with the rest of the outfit. The eyepiece of the mask was jagged to give off the feeling of a fierce fighter.

Super Quantum Ranger Black Thunder: Rank 8/EARTH[Thunder/Xyz/Effect] 3000 ATK/2000 DEF OU: 1

“How interesting, these spandex fools looked like wannabe superheroes, yet this one fits you the most…” Arcanus sneered. “Your ace?”

Not until recently. While Kyoko had gained the True Draco Kings, Naoya had responded by obtaining the Super Quantum Rangers in order to keep up. Despite all that, Kyoko had only summoned a couple of the True Draco Kings, and Naoya got the feeling none of them were his new ace. It sure as hell wasn’t going to be Master Peace anymore. Something changed in Kyoko over the recent years.

“When Xyz Summoned with Black Layer as material, I can equip a ‘Super Quant’ Equip Spell from my deck,” Naoya picked out another and activated it. “I equip Super Quantal Master Arsenal to Black Thunder.” A golden trinket that was shaped like a bracelet appeared in the Black Thunder’s hand. It then transformed into a long black staff with a curved handle. “Since, I control at least two different Attributes on my fiend, Water and Earth, I can Special Summon Super Quantum Yellow Layer from my hand.” Out appeared another feminine figure in a yellow suit with white stripes and great wings.

Super Quantum Yellow Layer: Level 6/EARTH[Winged-Beast/Effect] 2000 ATK/1500 DEF

“When Special Summoned, I can target one monster I control, all monsters I control become that targeted monster’s level. In this case, I target Blue Layer.”

Super Quantum Yellow Layer: Level 6 → Level 3

“Black Thunder has a Rank, so he is unaffected. Now, I will overlay Yellow Layer and Blue Layer to build Overlay Network.”

“Still not done are we?” Arcanus gave a bored yawn.

“Not even close. Blue Ranger, tame the beast of seas and become our savior! Xyz Summon! Arawareyo! Rank 3! Super Quantal Mech Beast Grampulse!” There was a splash of water that and out appeared two mechanical whales holding up a co*ckpit with wings. It remained next to Black Thunder, floating in the air.

Super Quantal Mech Beast Grampulse: Rank 3/WATER[Machine/Xyz/Effect] 1800 ATK/2800 DEF OU: 2

“I activate Grampulse’s effect, by using one Overlay Unit-”

Super Quantal Mech Beast Grampulse: OU: 2 → 1

“-I can target one Spell/Trap on the field and destroy it,” He pointed at the Mephiles-corrupted Ninaruru. “I’ll destroy that equip monster. Surgical Strike!” Grampulse fired out a beam of blue energy that struck Mephiles, it deformed back into a purple swirling shadow as Ninaruru was expelled from it.

Mephiles the Dark, the Magistus Anomaly: 1800 → 1000 ATK; 2400 → 1000 DEF

“Because the Yellow Layer I detached was sent to the graveyard, I can add one ‘Super Quant’ Spell/Trap from my graveyard to my hand. I will take back the Alphan Appeal Call I discarded earlier,” Naoya’s hand was still going strong, having the clear card advantage. “I now use Master Arsenal’s effect, I can apply an effect based on the monster it is equipped to. Because it is equipped to Black Thunder, I can halve the Attack Points of all Attack Position monsters you control until the end of the turn.”

“Halve my monsters’ Attack?” Arcanus murmured.

“Thunderstrike Divide,” Electricity crackled from Black Thunder’s staff and he slammed it into the ground and thunder erupted from the sky and struck Magnaliger on Arcanus’ field.

Super Quantal Mech Beast Magnaliger: 3600 / 2 = 1800 ATK

Cocytus and Mephiles were unaffected as they were in Defense Position.

“Battle,” Naoya finally declared. “I use Grampulse to attack your Mephiles,” the blue whale shot a more concentrated beam of energy into the ground where Mephiles was. The purple shadow disappeared.

“Fool,” Arcanus scoffed, making Naoya look at him in slight confusion. “When Mephiles is sent to the graveyard, I can draw cards equal to all Attributes currently on the field. Water, Earth, and Fire, so I will draw three! Also by Mephiles’ effect, I can equip a ‘Magistus’ monster from my graveyard or hand to a monster I control. I will equip Mephiles to Cocytus.” The purple shadow reappeared under the dragon and began seeping into the beast. The monster groaned a little as its blue veins gradually became a sickly violet. “Also, that monster cannot be destroyed this turn.” Arcanus laughed, “you should’ve attacked Cocytus first, but oh well!”

“I will use Black Thunder to attack Magnaliger. Shadowstorm Strike!” In a blur Black Thunder zoomed forward and hit his staff against the red lion with extreme force. There was a creaking of metal as it disappeared into yellow dust, returning to Naoya’s graveyard. Arcanus grunted as Naoya took the first blood.

Arcanus: 4000 – 1200 → 2800 LP

“Aiwass is now destroyed, since the equip monster has left the field,” the fragments of the Fusion monster shattered.

Naoya held his hand out, “Red Layer was attached to Magnaliger, now when it is sent to the graveyard, I can use its other effect, which lets me Special Summon a ‘Super Quant’ monster from my graveyard. Return Magnaliger!” The red lion reappeared on the field, but this time in Defense Position.

Super Quantal Mech Beast Magnaliger: Rank 5/FIRE[Machine/Xyz/Effect] 2600 ATK/2000 DEF OU: 0

“Main Phase 2,” Naoya declared. “Once per turn, Grampulse will let me attach a ‘Super Quant’ monster from my hand or field to it as an Overlay Unit. I will use another copy of Black Layer in my hand.”

Super Quantal Mech Beast Grampulse: OU: 1 → 2

“I will set four cards facedown and end my turn,” Naoya had completely filled up his backrow. One of the posts was already occupied by Master Arsenal.

“Carnage shall be known here,” Arcanus cackled. “A shame you couldn’t finish me off this turn!”

“Does my backrow mean nothing to you?” Naoya raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“My turn!”

[Turn 3: Arcanus] Hand: 6

“I will Normal Summon Aleister the Invoker! Welcome back, Invoker of Grimoires!” the cloaked spellcaster returned.

Aleister the Invoker: Level 4/DARK[Spellcaster/Effect] 1000 ATK/1000 DEF

“Of course, remember his effect? I can add Magic Art of Invocation to my hand!”

“I chain Supply Squad,” Naoya interrupted. “I also chain Black Thunder’s effect, and then Grampulse’s effect. Grampulse’s effect is a Quick Effect while it has a Blue Layer as material.”

Super Quantum Ranger Black Thunder: OU: 1 → 0

Super Quantal Mech Beast Grampulse: OU: 2 → 1

“Three effects?!” Arcanus exclaimed, his veiny eyes wide with shock. “Then I will chain the Quick-Play Spell, The Holy Book of the Law, from my hand.” There was silence for a few seconds.

“Are we done?” Naoya said quietly.

“…Book of the Law shall resolve, by tributing an ‘Invoked Beast’ monster, I can Special Summon another ‘Invoked Beast’ from my Extra Deck with a different Attribute as the tributed monster. This is treated as a Fusion Summon.” Cocytus disappeared in place of a beam of light. “Arawareyo! Level 9! Invoked Beast Merkabah!” A figure in silver armor riding a chariot that was being pulled by seemed to be a bull in the same type of armor rode onto the field.

Invoked Beast Merkabah: Level 9/LIGHT[Machine/Effect] 2500 ATK/2100 DEF

“Grampulse’s effect, I will destroy that facedown of yours,” Naoya wasted no time and pointed toward a card in Arcanus’ backrow. The facedown was blasted off the field, revealing it to a card called ‘Theologia Magistus.’ “Black Thunder’s effect, for the rest of this turn, he cannot be targeted by card effects or for battle. Supply Squad, there are Fire, Light, and Earth monsters on the field, so I draw three.” The familiar container reappeared on the field and replenished Naoya’s hand. “Remember Black Layer? When sent to the graveyard, I can use-”

“I won’t let you!” Arcanus yelled, his inability to do anything to Naoya was starting to get to him. “Merkabah negates the activation of one of your cards and banishes it! Invoked Exorcism!” A beam of light struck the silhouette of the black masked figure and banished it. Naoya cursed, despite the fact that two of them were sent to the graveyard, its activation was a hard once per turn. But either way, seeing Arcanus’ reaction, that was a good thing. The mad alchemist was starting to lose it. He had made a mistake in sending Mephiles to the graveyard, while a chain was resolving, so he couldn’t use draw effect.

“I will now Normal Summon, Cendrillon, the Crystal Magistus of Verre!” There was a flash of white light, and emerging out of it, was a young woman with light blue hair dressed in blinding white robes and adorning a shining witch’s hat. She wielded a long staff with a shining blue orb at the top.

Cendrillon, the Crystal Magistus of Verre: Level 4/LIGHT[Spellcaster/Effect] 800 ATK/1800 DEF

“When summoned, I can add a ‘Magistus’ Spell/Trap from my deck to my hand. I will add another copy of Magistus Invocation, which I now activate!” The golden book reappeared. “I fuse Cendrillon and Aleister from my field! Conjurer of glass and Invoker of Grimoires, let all unite to become the voice that sees all! Fusion Summon! Arawareyo! Level 8! Aiwass, the Magistus Lawbook Guardian!” Another copy of the floating metallic beast arrived on the field.

Aiwass, the Magistus Lawbook Guardian: Level 8/WIND[Fiend/Fusion/Effect]

“Next I’ll activate the Spell Card, Vritra Magistus, I can target a level 4 or lower ‘Magistus’ in my graveyard and Special Summon it! Return, Zoroa!” the sorcerer of flames appeared out of the ground.

Zoroa, Magistus of Absolute Flame: Level 4/FIRE[Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect] 1500 ATK/1500 DEF

“His effect will let me equip another Ninaruru from the Extra Deck!” Zoroa went through another quick transformation. “When being equipped, I can Special Summon Cendrillon from my graveyard, but her effects are negated.” The crystal sorcerer appeared next to Zoroa. “Now, I will use Ninaruru’s effect! While equipped I can target one ‘Magistus’ card in my Spell/Trap zone and one card in your Spell/Trap zone and destroy them! I will destroy that facedown!”

“In that case, I will activate it, Continuous Trap Card, Super Quantal Union – Magnaformation! I can attach Magnaliger to Black Thunder as material,” the red lion deformed into a ball of light that began orbiting the black suited warrior. With the effect having been resolved, the card was destroyed by shards of glass that were shot by Zoroa.

“Next I will overlay Cendrillon and Zoroa to build the Overlay Network!”

“Finally,” Naoya remarked. “No longer using Xyz monsters as just equip tools.”

“From the land of crystals and ice, let the wondrous witch of the north descend! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Cendrillon, the Wondrous Magistus Crystal Witch!” An even thicker storm of snow appeared on the field as a new figure emerged from the black hole. It was same Cendrillon monster except that she was adorning a huge white witch’s hat while also wearing an impossibly huge blinding white dress with pink ribbons all over.

Cendrillon, the Wondrous Magistus Crystal Witch: Rank 4/LIGHT[Spellcaster/Xyz/Effect] 1000 ATK/2800 DEF OU: 2

Naoya’s face contorted in confusion.

“Is this really your monster?” He asked.

“Of course it is,” there was a dark shadow behind Arcanus’ gaze. “I use her effect, by detaching one Overlay Unit I can Special Summon a Magistus Monster from my deck! I will Special Summon Crowley, the Magistus Grimoire of Lawbooks!” A teenager boy appeared on the field, he seemed to be a younger version of Aleister the Invoker.

Crowley, the Magistus Grimoire of Lawbooks: Level 4/DARK[Spellcaster/Effect] 1800 ATK/1000 DEF

“When Special Summoned, I can change his Attribute, in this case, Earth.”

Crowley, the Magistus Grimoire of Lawbooks: DARK → EARTH

“I activate Invocation!” the familiar blue magic circle flashed onto the field with Aleister behind it. “And because I am banishing materials, I can also use materials from my opponent’s graveyard!” Naoya simply raised an eyebrow. “I will banish Aleister from my graveyard and Red Layer from yours! Red Ranger who serves my bidding and Invoker of Grimoires, come together to form the beasts that blaze through Purgatory! Fusion Summon! Level 7! Invoked Beast Purgatorio!” Blue flames shot out of the magic circle and they eventually formed into three beings. One entity that looked like a little pet, another entity that resembled a scarecrow, and another that sat down lazily behind the rest that formed a bear.

Invoked Beast Purgatorio: Level 7/FIRE[Fiend/Fusion/Effect] 2300 ATK/2000 DEF

“Purgatorio gains 200 Attack Points for every card you control, that is six!”

Invoked Beast Purgatorio: 2300 + (200 * 6) = 3500 ATK

“I will banish Cendrillon from my graveyard in order to attach Aiwass to Crystal Witch!” The pieces of the Lawbook guardian assembled themselves on the woman.

Cendrillon, the Wondrous Magistus Crystal Witch: 1000 + 1000 = 2000 ATK

“Next, I will use the effect of the other Aiwass on my field and attach it to Purgatorio!”

Invoked Beast Purgatorio: 3500 + 1000 = 4500 ATK

“I will now discard another copy of Aleister in my hand to give a Fusion monster I control, 1000 more Attack Points! AHAHA! How do you like that?” Naoya’s eyes widened slightly, not anticipating the extra Aleister.

Invoked Beast Purgatorio: 4500 + 1000 = 5500 ATK

“Now… BATTLE! Purgatorio destroy his wretched Grampulse! Inferno Pyre Purge!” All three beasts that made up Purgatorio dash forward and landed consecutive attacks on the mecha monster.

“I play the Trap Card, Super Quantal Mech Sword – Magnaslayer! I can equip it to Grampulse and it gains 100 Attack Points times its Rank!” Naoya grunted. A large broadsword appeared and equipped itself in between the whales that made up Grampulse.

Super Quantal Mech Beast Grampulse: 1800 + (100 * 3) = 2100 ATK

A massive explosion followed, sending Naoya sliding back from the force of the damage. “Unfortunate that you left it in Attack Mode, although Purgatorio can also deal piercing damage!”

Naoya: 4000 – 3400 → 600 LP

Invoked Beast Purgatorio: 5500 – 200 = 5300 ATK

“How about that little Xyz insect! You should you have monsters on your side, but I haven’t any of it here! Say goodbye to your precious home. Purgatorio can attack all monsters you control. Now finish him off-”

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Naoya interrupted.

“What?”

“Black Thunder cannot be targeted by card effects or for attacks this turn,” the masked warrior vanished as if it was invisible. “I’ll admit I didn’t expect that second Aleister in your hand, but aside from that, this duel has been in the palm of my hand this whole time…”

“W-what?” Arcanus stuttered.

“I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card, Super Quantal Alphan Appeal Call!” Naoya flipped up one of his facedowns. “When a ‘Super Quant’ monster I control is destroyed by battle, I can Special Summon a ‘Super Quantal Mech Beast’ monster from Extra Deck and a ‘Super Quant’ monster mentioned in that card’s text from my hand, graveyard, or deck! I will Special Summon Aeroboros from Extra Deck and Green Layer from my graveyard! However, their effects are negated!” The silhouette of a white warrior appeared before disappearing and forming into a green mecha monster that resembled a flying dinosaur rose up into the air, followed by a green masked warrior wearing a cape and a coat appearing underneath it.

Super Quantal Mech Beast Aeroboros: Rank 4/WIND[Machine/Xyz/Effect] 2200 ATK/2400 DEF OU: 0

Super Quantum Green Layer: Level 4/WIND[Spellcaster/Effect] 1600 ATK/1400 DEF

Invoked Beast Purgatorio: 5300 + (200 * 2) = 5700 ATK

“I’m not done yet,” Naoya growled, “Blue Layer was still attached to Grampulse, so now that it was sent to the graveyard, I can shuffle three ‘Super Quant’ cards from my graveyard into my deck! Return to base, Green Layer, Black Layer, and Yellow Layer!” He picked out three cards from his graveyard and slipped them back into his deck. “And one last thing…” Arcanus was silent. “You’re done. When an Xyz monster battles this turn, I can take one Xyz monster I control and overlay it!”

“What? With what effect?!”

“I overlay Black Thunder to build the Overlay Network,” a large, rainbow black hole appeared above them that was radiating with purple sparks. The fierce thunder warrior jumped straight into it. Electricity and winds were flapping all over the place, enough so that Arcanus had to wrap his cloak around him. Naoya simply stood there taking the brunt force of the impact. “Black Ranger, call upon the scourge of the stars to descend and serve vengeance! The one who burns the sky with thunder, shatters the stars themselves, and even slays gods! I call upon the negalogia counter to fate! Battlestar Xyz Change! ARAWAREYO! Rank 12!” The black hole exploded. “Zeus of the Divine Arsenal of Sky Thunder!!” The whirring of airplane engines could be heard as a giant, winged mecha monster descended upon them. It portrayed itself as a menacing presence with purple lightning continuously spewing out of his circular engine wings. The monster was primarily silver with a bits of gold complimenting the color. Its arms, legs, body, and wings were jets steadily shooting out blue flames as it floated in the air.

Divine Arsenal AA-Zeus Sky Thunder: Rank 12/LIGHT[Machine/Xyz/Effect] 3000 ATK/3000 DEF

“I activate Zeus’ effect! By detaching two Overlay Units, I can send every other card on the field to the graveyard! Divine Decree of the Gods!”

Divine Arsenal AA-Zeus Sky Thunder: OU: 2 → 0

Another answer to Kyoko, who thrived on his monsters’ destruction. Zeus’ effect avoided destruction.

Zeus slowly brought its body in before spreading itself and the purple lightning thickened as every other card on the field was purged.

“K...k...k…” Arcanus only mouthed. His wild blue hair seemed to be drooping down from the sheer shock and depression invoked by Zeus. “M-Main Phase 2, I activate Monster Reborn to bring back Aiwass in Defense Position. I end my turn.”

“Draw!” Naoya declared. “Now do you understand the feeling of despair?”

[Turn 4: Naoya] Hand: 6

“I’ll start by discarding Red Layer from my hand to Special Summon White Layer,” a mystical warrior in a white suit surrounded by light sparkles descended down upon them. It had a black spiky tail and a split white cape.

Super Quantum White Layer: Level 7/LIGHT[Fairy/Effect] 2400 ATK/2400 DEF

“When Special Summoned, I can send a ‘Super Quant’ monster from deck to the graveyard,” Naoya picked out a card. “I will send a Red Layer to the graveyard. As a result, White Layer’s Attribute and Level become that of Red Layer’s.” The white warrior shrunk slightly and turned a faint crimson.

Super Quantum White Layer: LIGHT → FIRE; Level 7 → Level 5

“When Red Layer is sent to the graveyard, I can Special Summon a ‘Super Quant’ monster from my graveyard with its effects negated. Come, Green Layer,” the green masked warrior returned to the field.

Super Quantum Green Layer: Level 4/WIND[Spellcaster/Effect] 1600 ATK/1400 DEF

“When I control a monster with 2000 or more Attack, I can Special Summon Overlay Booster to the field,” a red humanoid robot was summoned to the field.

Overlay Booster: Level 5/LIGHT[Warrior/Effect] 2000 ATK/0 DEF

An ominous roar sounded in the distance, making Naoya turn. He narrowed his eyes, immediately knowing what it was. “I activate the effect of Magnacarrier, by discarding a card, I can overlay Green Layer to summon a ‘Super Quantal Mech Beast’ with the same Attribute. Come forth! Green Ranger, call upon the beast of the winds to rescue those in need! Xyz Summon! Super Quantal Mech Beast Aeroboros,” a familiar green, flying robot flew from the flying ship and onto the field.

Super Quantal Mech Beast Aeroboros: Rank 4/WIND[Machine/Effect] 2200 ATK/2400 DEF OU: 1

“And then I overlay Red Layer and Overlay Booster to summon back Magnaliger.” For probably the third time, the red lion mecha leapt onto the field.

Super Quantal Mech Beast Magnaliger: Rank 5/FIRE[Machine/Xyz/Effect] 2600 ATK/2000 DEF OU: 2

“Then, through the effect of Magnaliger, I can attached Pink Layer from my hand to it as an Overlay Unit.”

Super Quantal Mech Beast Magnaliger: OU: 2 → 3

Arcanus simply stood there silently, probably waiting to see what Naoya would do avoid Aiwass’ effect. “I activate the second effect of Magnacarrier, by sending it to the graveyard I can Special Summon a ‘Super Quantal Mech God’ from my Extra Deck by using the required materials as Overlay Units.”

“Mech God?”

“I overlay Magnaliger and Aeroboros on my field, and Grampulse in my graveyard,” Grampulse appeared out of the ground and joined its comrades as the monsters rose up and their parts began to transform. “Beasts of the Rangers, transform and unite your power into one! Combine Xyz Change! Arawareyo! Rank 12! Super Quantal Mech God King Great Magnus!!” the Mech Beasts also combined into a monster you would see in a mecha anime. It had body of Magnaliger, the legs of Grampulse, and the wings of Aeroboros. It had a towering presence and was even larger than Zeus.

Super Quantal Mech God King Great Magnus: Rank 12/LIGHT[Machine/Xyz/Effect] 3600 ATK/3200 DEF OU: 7

“Aiwass’ effect! I will-” Arcanus called out.

“Magnus is unaffected by card effects, except ‘Super Quant’ cards, when it has four or more Overlay Units,” Naoya interrupted.

“Then I will steal your Zeus!” Arcanus smirked, as the Sky Thunder disappeared from Naoya’s field and appeared in front of Arcanus’ with the pieces of the Aiwass equipped to it.

Divine Arsenal AA-Zeus Sky Thunder: 3000 + 1000 = 4000 ATK

“No matter,” Naoya said calmly, making his opponent’s smirk fall. “While Magnus has 2 or more Overlay Units, I can detach one of them to shuffle one card on the field into the deck. I will have Zeus return to my Extra Deck,” the winged humanoid robot disappeared yet again and Naoya put the card away.

Super Quantal Mech God King Great Magnus : OU: 7 → 6

“Aiwass is now destroyed.” There was silence for a few moments.

“You were definitely stronger than the grunts, but not much of a challenge,” Naoya scoffed, before his expression turned fierce. “Magnus end him! Infinite Quantum Annihilation!” The great mechanical warrior jumped up into the air and smashed his great sword into the ground in front of Arcanus. An ugly sneer appeared on his face as the explosion engulfed.

Arcanus: 2800 – 3600 → 0

Winner: Naoya Tsuyoshi

The dust eventually cleared and Naoya stared cautiously toward where Arcanus stood. A loud cackling broke the silence as his opponent just laughed.

“Wonderful! How wonderful!” He laughed.

“What are you cackling at?” Naoya narrowed his eyes.

“Did you really think that I, a Slifer Rank of Academia, would that weak?” Arcanus grinned up at Naoya.

“Then, why were you holding back?”

“Because I am a mere scientist, I am always observing and experimenting. My deck has yet to reach its-” a beeping sound came from Arcanus’ duel disk interrupting his speech. The wild-haired man stood up back and his eyes widened in shock at something.

“Oi,” Naoya said suspiciously. “What’s wrong with you?” Arcanus didn’t respond and quickly disappeared in a shower of blue dust.

Naoya just stood there alone, blinking several times in bewilderment at Arcanus’ sudden exit, but another loud explosion jerked him out of his confusion and he immediately moved on to assist his comrades. The lingering thoughts of their conversation at the beginning of the duel struck him like a thorn in his side.

—oOo—

The moon shined above ominously, the thick, dark clouds of the initial invasion had long since vanished. The invading forces had temporarily, as they had apparently underestimated the ability of the Heartland duelists, especially the Aces. Everyone was gathered in Spade Branch’s stadium, likely the last safe harbor in the city. It was midnight now, almost twelve hours since Heartland City had been attacked by this “Academia.” Most of the city’s population had been sealed into cards, with a smaller, even more unfortunate few having been killed.

The defense of Clover Branch had failed with the arrival of an elite group of just two duelists, called the ‘Slifers,’ but luckily most of the civilians hiding there were able to be safely escorted over to Spade. It seems Naoya and Kaito had been taking care of clearing out the city blocks that separated Spade and Clover. Unfortunately, many of the Clover duelists had been carded.

Diamond and Hearts were also lost, with the former’s duelists being almost completely obliterated. Kaida Kurorai, Two of Diamonds, and Rio Kamishiro, Three of Diamonds, were the only known survivors, and they weren’t even there when Diamond was attacked. Something… or somebody had cleaned up Diamond with a cruel efficiency, it made Kyoko slightly worry just how many of these Slifers there were.

“How’s your father doing? Handling all the people?” Kyoko asked an approaching Kaito. Shizuka was sitting against a wall nearby, as he wanted to keep her in his line of sight at all times.

Kaito sighed, “As best as he can. We have no leaders. Anyone who held a government position is gone. My father is the closest we have to a proper leader. He’s currently trying to set up communications as well as coordinate food rations.”

Kyoko scoffed, “What good are the fools in the city council? They know nothing of fighting a war. Especially a war that involves dueling.”

“Your parents-”

“My parents are nothing to me,” he said coldly. “Those bastards are dead to me, for all I care. Shizuka is my only family.”

“Did something happen-”

“There you are, Ohtori,” a familiar female voice sounded behind him.

“Kurorai,” Kyoko said curtly, turning his striking gaze on her. “You don’t have to bother, Kaito and Dr. Tenjo told me everything.”

“I don’t- want to talk about that now,” Kaida covered her face briefly, trying to hold back tears. “It’s about Suzaku. Do you know what happened to him?”

“Naoya didn’t tell you?”

“Naoya? He’s avoiding me for some reason,” she scoffed a little. “Usually, I would be the one doing that, but we can’t be divided like this if we’re going to be fighting back. I know he lost his sister, but that doesn’t explain why he’s avoiding me specifically,” It didn’t take a genius to understand why Naoya was acting like this if you knew the circ*mstances like Kyoko did.

“...Naoya dueled someone,” Kyoko crossed his arms. “A Slifer, I’m sure you’ve heard of them by now.”

“Yes,” Kaida muttered.

“That Slifer told him one of their S1s, apparently they all are ranked by a class. That one of their S1s had defeated Suzaku and subsequently… taken him out, if you catch the drift,” Kaida winced and she scrunched her eyes close.

“So many losses. Apparently, everyone here is all that’s left,” she said. “There’s are probably a few strays out there being hunted like prey…” The words were unspoken, but they were out in the air and clear as day.

“She’s alive,” Kyoko said.

“How would you know that?!” Kaida spat out angrily. Shizuka flinched a little at her outburst. “You weren’t here for a whole week, I was there! Not you!”

“Because she’s strong,” he replied calmly.

“What? What are talking about?”

“You think she’s weak?” Kyoko raised an eyebrow.

“W-what? Don’t put words in my mouth. Of course I don’t think she’s weak,” Kaida protested. “Instead of weak, I would say she’s fragile.”

“A glass cannon then.”

“What are you talking about? She doesn’t even have a deck!”

“Are you going to keep deluding yourself?” Kyoko’s voice turned into a slight hiss, while lightly glaring at her. Kaida stepped back a little, as he moved himself closer. “It’s obvious by now that she came from the same place as those people. You’re all in denial!” Kyoko pointed at Kaida and Kaito. Kyoko was gradually raising his voice and he starting listing names off his fingers. “You, Yuto, Shun, Ruri, Rio, Kaito and his family, all of you need to get your damn heads straight before it comes back to bite us!” Several people nearby looked toward them in curiosity, wondering why Kyoko Ohtori was so worked up. Kaida had no response to that, knowing he was right. “Those summoning energies that your father detected were very clearly from a duel between her and someone else. It’s far too coincidental to not be the case. She is connected to these Academia people, and they want her for some reason. The question is what happened to her, and why she never told us.”

“What are you getting at?” Kaito asked.

“She probably has a deck, she was most certainly an experienced duelist this whole time. It’s why she didn’t want to duel, she would risk exposing herself,” Kyoko groaned in frustration, running his hand down his face not believing how Seika was able to hide it for so long. “Even if she didn’t have a deck when she came to Heartland, however she came here, I gave her one.”

“You what?! When?!” Kaida’s eyes widened. A lump formed in Kyoko’s throat, but he did his best to hide it.

“The last time I saw her.”

—oOo—

One week earlier...

“Congratulations, Natsuhono Seika,” Kyoko clapped as Seika held out her diploma to him proudly. Her smile resembled the brightest, shining star. Something he would never get tired of. She had come a long way from that shy, broken girl from several years earlier. However, there was a bit of a blemish, a sunspot on that still dim star. Like part of that smile was being forced.

“Thank you!” She replied. They stood there in awkward silence for a few minutes. The two of them were in the park, alone. Kyoko looked to the side and saw her staring at the ground shyly. A soft smile formed on his face and he gazed at her fondly. Her beautiful, red hair almost glowing in the setting sun, one of the sights he had come to love in recent months. Strangely enough, her red eyes were glowing like they should, they were dim, telling a different story.

“What will you do now?” Kyoko finally asked, slightly unnerved by it. Seika’s smile fell off a little and she put on a thoughtful expression.

“That is the question, isn’t it?” She gave a halfhearted laugh. “I don’t really know yet.”

“I think I know what you can do in the meantime then,” Kyoko reached into his pocket, “I have something for you,” and he pulled out a deck box. It was deep crimson and beautifully tied together with a thin velvet ribbon.

“W-what is this?” Her eyes widened as Kyoko took her hand and put the box in her palm, though she obviously knew what it was.

“Do I have to remind you?” Kyoko raised an eyebrow at her.

“Humor me,” Seika smirked.

“What? Do you even know who I am?” Kyoko decided to play along.

“Oh? If you’re asking me that, then does that mean you’re gifting something to a girl you don’t know?” Seika gasped mockingly and covered her mouth. “Is The King of Hearts stooping to such a lowly level to chase after her?”

“The King of Hearts never falls, he will always ascend, and bring others up with him,” Kyoko grabbed her other hand and pulled her close.

“Ascend to where?” Seika asked softly.

“Wherever you want, whatever utopia, whatever paradise…, whatever heaven you like,” He responded. She was strangely silent for a few moments after he had said those words. Instead, she simply looked at the deck box and caressed her fingers over it and the string. “You told me you would try out dueling,” Kyoko said gently, their very brief roleplay over now.

“Yes, I did,” she murmured.

“You don’t have to be scared, I’m here,” he assured her. “Kaito is Ace of Clovers, Shun is Ace of Spades, the Kurorai siblings are rising through the rankings very quickly, especially Kaida, your best friend. Even Naoya appreciates you for what you’ve been doing for Shizuka. You have people who will be there for you.”

“I… know,” Seika muttered. “That’s not really my problem.”

“...It’s just a game,” Kyoko said, starting to understand her hesitation. “Dueling is just a game. It’s just a game that people compete with each other in.”

“Not to me,” Her voice was low and cold. “Whenever I see a duel. Whenever, I see monsters battling each other. All I think of is… war! Destruction! Fighting! Fire! ...Death,” she said fiercely. Kyoko realized the color of that box symbolized things that probably brought up unpleasant memories for her.

How would she react when she saw the deck’s theme?

“Then, fight,” Kyoko said. “You’ve gone this long, you’ve been broken down and built back up so many times. It’s about time you fought back. Use this deck. Fight fire with fire.”

“Fire?” her head jerked up and she stared at him in confusion. “Are you telling me-?”

“Attack your fears directly, don’t hide,” Kyoko leveled himself to a serious gaze. Seika looked back down at the box for a few moments and put it in her pocket.

“You’re not going to open it?” He asked.

“The first time I duel with it, is the first time I’ll open it,” she said.

“And when will that be?”

“I don’t know,” her voice was more firm, a certain tone that didn’t invite further questions. “I have some loose ends to tie up, and then we’ll see.” There was another brief silence. “You’ll be my first opponent.”

“W-what?” He stared at her. “Are you sure?”

“Never been more sure.”

“Why?”

“You’re the one who pushed me to do this,” she then smirked. “So, you’ll be the first person I wipe the floor with to pay you back for all those times you kept nagging me. If you made this deck, then it should be a very strong one, right?”

Kyoko raised an eyebrow, then scoffed, “Don’t go getting on that high horse just because-”

“If I won, what would I be called?” Seika put a finger to her chin in an exaggerated thinking pose. “’Queen of Hearts?’”

Queen of Hearts…? The King and Queen of Hearts. That had a nice ring to it. She would his Queen of Hearts.

“W-what did you say?” Seika’s face had exploded into a blush. “’Your’ Queen of Hearts?”

“I said that out loud?” Kyoko facepalmed in embarrassment, trying to hide his own reddening face.

Seika burst out into small giggles, “That’s very unlike you, Kyoko! You’re usually very careful about what you say or do. I guess I have that effect on you, don’t I?” Kyoko started chuckling softly, while Seika went on with her fit. It lasted for several minutes until the mood seemed to depress again as her smile dropped almost as soon it had appeared.

Now Kyoko knew something was seriously wrong. He had noticed something was up even before he gave her the deck. He caressed her hand… that hand. The one she would do everything to hide. Their faces were only inches away from each other and he gazed at her as warmly as he could.

“Are you okay?” Kyoko whispered. Seika’s eyes darted around, trying to avoid his look. “Did something happen with Kaida? With Kaito? Did something happen at graduation?”

“Oh no,” she murmured. “Of course not, nothing happened, they’re fine. Nothing is happening with them.” She then shut her eyes.

“If it’s not them, then what?” She seemed to hesitate, and he decided he had to keep pushing. He thought they were past that stage at this point. “Please, tell me. Remember what I promised you? I need you to tell me what’s troubling you, in order for me to fulfill it.” He cupped her soft cheeks in his hands.

“...ate,” she muttered, but Kyoko didn’t understand it.

“Say that again?”

“...date,” she said again. Kyoko wondered if she was saying what he thought she was saying. He had to make sure he didn’t misunderstand.

“Are you…?”

“Do you know what today's date is?” Seika said a little louder, her voice clear this time around. Kyoko looked up thoughtfully for a few seconds.

“The 6th… of June...” his voice caught in his throat. “Oh… Oh… I didn’t realize. I’m… oh- I’m sorry.” June 6^th. That was the day Seika had first arrived in Heartland City. Three years since she had escaped hell. No… she had never escaped, her soul was left behind in that dystopia of horror and chaos. Seika’s legs wobbled and she collapsed to her knees on the grass.

Kyoko followed her down and kept his hands on her shoulders, holding her steady. Seika then pushed herself forward and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Your promise…” she said quietly.

“Yes… my promise,” Kyoko narrowed his eyes in determination, while rubbing her back. “I promised to set you free.”

“Do you even know how to do that?” There was a slight scoff in her tone. “You don’t just say you can do something without knowing how to do it.”

“I’ll figure it out,” Kyoko held onto her tighter, like he was shielding her from something. She was as precious to him as Shizuka was, if not, then more. “I wouldn’t have made the promise if I didn’t trust myself to do that.”

“Really?” Seika mumbled. “You’re not afraid of making a promise you can’t keep? Do you even understand what’s wrong with me?”

“...I understand enough to know I can do it. I will do it,” Kyoko pushed her up and saw her eyes glistening. “Trust me… Just trust me. That’s all you’ve done so far, haven’t you?” And that’s exactly what he received. Her eyes told him everything, they held so much hope, yet at the same time there was no hope. They were begging to be freed. Begging to finally be given the ability to shine bright. Brighter than the brightest star. Kyoko touched his forehead to hers. He fully wrapped his arms around her back and embraced her tightly. Her arms were tucked between their bodies.

“...Why?” she croaked. “Why do you care so much? Why go so far for me? You might… hurt yourself doing this. You might suffer… Why suffer for me?”

“Because I-” love you. “-am The King of Hearts.” Never had he spoken so passionately for something. “This is my promise, my ultimate gift to you. I will destroy your treacherous prison, the prison that confines the purity of your soul. I will purge whatever demons are holding you back. I will set you free.”

“…The door is already unlocked,” Seika’s eyes were half-closed, in a strangely alluring manner. “It’s up to you to open it… It might lock itself permanently, if you don’t find it in time.” He was taken aback by those strange words, but nonetheless…

“I will find that door, I will find that room, and crush it into nothingness. I will do whatever it takes, so it can never imprison you again.”

—oOo—

Kyoko banged his fist on the wall in frustration, making Shizuka jump and the others flinch. That was the last time he had seen her. Kyoko had to leave on personal business with his parents and sister, but he ended up coming back earlier than expected… or too late. He had missed her disappearance by less than a whole day. If he was there...

Kyoko’s eyes gritted his teeth and his body was shaking as he recalled what he had found out. Is this what you were talking about? Is this your prison? These Academia people? These Fusion users…? Were you a duelist this whole time? Just what did they do to you? Why didn’t you tell me? One last question entered his mind, but it was too painful to fully formulate because of the cruel irony of it. What a strange, laughable coincidence at the contradiction, right after he had reassured his promise. Are you back in your prison?

—oOo—

A bald man wearing purple robes of royalty sat alone in his throne room. There was a large round glass behind that shined a strange green light. He leaned on the arm of the seat and stared aimlessly ahead, lost in thoughts of a distant past.

The invasion of the Xyz Dimension had begun twelve hours ago, and he was currently awaiting the reports from Commander Phoenix.

“Professor!” a screen appeared next to the man. “Slifer designation S1-02, Hell Kaiser, has returned from the Xyz Dimension.”

“Send him in,” and screen disappeared. The doors opened and footsteps echoed throughout the halls. A man wearing a long black coat with white folds appeared before the Professor. He held a confident demeanor and was known as the fiercest duelist in the Xyz Dimension. His medium-length blue-green hair hung across the sides of his face like curtains and shadowed his face to give impression of a dark look.

“Professor,” the man knelt in front of him.

“Welcome back, Kaiser,” he greeted. “So, tell me, how has the operation been going? I trust you’ll be honest with me. Has the girl been located? Shall I prepare to deploy Yuri?”

“Professor,” Hell Kaiser stood up slowly. “The initial invasion was a success. We succeeded in carding the majority of the population in the Xyz Dimension’s main city and warded off their human weapons with little to no difficulty.”

“But?” the Professor asked.

“We have suffered setbacks,” Kaiser said.

“Explain,” the Professor narrowed his eyes.

“Well, simply put, the duelists of the Xyz Dimension are far more competent and powerful than we had anticipated. Commander Phoenix has ordered a temporary retreat for the time being,” Kaiser explained. “We have suffered far more losses than predicted.”

“Far more competent and powerful…? Dennis MacField was the one who spied for us and green lighted, correct?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Have him investigated and have Nightshroud keep an eye on him. It seems that Dennis’ clarity may have been clouded during the time he spent there,” the Professor ordered. “There is a possibility he has under reported.”

“Of course,” Kaiser bowed.

“Now, tell me. How does the invasion feel for you? Do you feel that these Xyz duelists are too much for you?”

“Of course not,” Kaiser scoffed. “All the ones I have fought fell like flies. I saw no resolve in them, only the light of fear and death. You were correct in subjugating them for our clarity.”

“I’m glad you understand,” the Professor smirked softly.

“There was one who was able to give me a bit of a challenge.”

“Oh? Do tell me.”

“They call him the Ace of Diamonds. He was easily on par with an S2 or a low S1. However, I easily struck him down, you do not need to worry,” Kaiser crossed his arms.

“Is that so?” the Professor pulled up a file. “Assuming Dennis did not lie about this, it seems that these so-called ‘Aces’ of the Xyz Dimension are the strongest duelists they have. This Ace of Diamonds was considered the weakest of them. If he was able to give you even a semblance of a challenge, then that should be a cause for concern, should it not?”

“...Yes, of course,” Kaiser admitted. “It is the strength of the other Aces and a few others that were the main cause of our retreat. Arcanus Gaucho was also defeated.”

“Arcanus?” the Professor waved it off. “That fool was likely messing around again.”

“There is another thing I should mention,” Kaiser added. “A King.”

“A King?” the Professor asked in confusion.

“When I arrived back here, I surveying at our soldiers who had been defeated. One of them was repeating a certain word. ‘A King.’ Over and over again.”

“A King huh? That may be the one they call The King of Hearts.” Hell Kaiser narrowed his eyes at that title. “...Curious.”

“If I may, Professor,” Hell Kaiser held his arm over his chest. “I would like gather the other Slifers and personally lead a squad to finish off these Aces and crush their Resistance.”

“No,” the Professor said. “We are in no hurry. The Arc Area Project has yet to commence properly. No need to be reckless.”

“Why, if may ask?”

“A rebellion has broken out on Profound Solitude,” the Professor’s eyes darkened with anger. “Our clarity has become compromised. Slifer S1-04, The Archer, has already been deployed to take care of it. S1-03, Nightshroud, has been overseeing security on hom*ogeneous Clarity. To make sure no filth has slipped through the cracks. I want you and S1-05, White Maiden, on standby.”

“And what of The Machine, Professor?” Kaiser asked, referring to S1-01.

“He and his servant are dealing with a certain issue regarding the Tree Protocol,” Kaiser’s mouth curled up in subtle anger at the mention of that.

“Do you still wish to make up your misclarity?”

“Not a single day goes by in the last three years that I not feel shame,” Kaiser knelt down again. “I still await the opportunity to see the Lense of Enlightenment.”

“You may get your chance soon,” the Professor said ominously. The man’s head jerked up in shocked.

“P-Professor?”

“Three students who were defeated and sent back have triggered the Tree Protocol,” he said. “We are currently preparing them for a memory scourge. I might as well have Arcanus work his tools if he has returned.”

“...Finally,” the Kaiser clenched his fists tightly.

“Remain here with White Maiden until further orders are received, dismissed.” The Hell Kaiser stood up straight and his arm over his chest and then stretched it out.

“To Righteous Clarity!”

“To Righteous Clarity.” With that Hell Kaiser exited the room.

The Professor sat back and sighed. Little fool, you were lucky. Oh so lucky to have escaped. I will soon have you back in my grasp. You are the ultimate vanguard that will lead our universe into my new utopia.

Duel Summary

Normal Duel: Kyoko Ohtori vs Academia Honor Student

[Turn 1: Kyoko]

Special Summons Oifey, adds Majesty Maiden to hand. Tributes Oifey to Tribute Summon Dinomight Knuckle. Oifey lets him draw a card. Activates TD Heritage, uses its effect to draw one. Tributes Heritage to Tribute Summon Ignis Heat. Sets two cards. Turn end.

[Turn 2: Academia]

Draws. Normal summons Hound Dog, activates effect to deal 600 damage.

Kyoko chains the effect of Ignis Heat and Dinomight Knuckle to activate TDK Return and to add TD Heritage from deck. Return’s first effects Special Summons Oifey from the gy. Hound Dog effect resolves.

Kyoko: 4000 – 600 → 3400 LP

Oifey’s lets Kyoko add a TD card to hand, but chains Trap Card Metaverse, and then chains the other effect of TDK Return. Tributes TDK Return to Tribute Summon Majesty Maiden. Metaverse lets him activate Field Spell, Dragonic Diagram from deck. Dragonic Diagram gives all TD monsters 300 ATK/300 DEF. Oifey’s effect resolves, letting him add Master Peace to his hand. Because TD Return was sent to the gy, he destroys Hound Dog.

Academia activates AG Fortress. Then activates AG Catapult, to destroy Fortress and Special Summon AG Golem from deck, ignoring its summoning conditions. Fortress’ effect lets him Special Summon AG Wyvern from deck. AG Wyvern lets him add an AG card to hand.

Kyoko chains the effect of Majesty Maiden to Wyvern and adds Chaos to hand.

Wyvern’s effect resolves and lets Academia add AG Box from deck to hand. AG Box lets him add AG Frame from deck to hand. Activates Fusion to fuse AG Wyvern (in field) and AG Box (in hand) to Fusion Summon AG Devil in Defense Position. Activates AG Fusion to fuse Golem (in field), AG Wyvern (in hand), and AG Frame (in hand) to Fusion Summon AG Ultimate Golem. Activates Devil’s effect.

Kyoko chains TD Apocalypse, destroys Dinomight to halve the ATK/DEF of all monsters the opponent controls.

Antique Gear Ultimate Golem: 4400 / 2 → 2200 ATK; 3400 / 2 → 1700 DEF

Devil is unaffected. Devil’s effect deals 1000 damage.

Kyoko: 3400 – 1000 → 2400 LP

[Turn 3: Kyoko]

Draws. Overlays Majesty Maiden and Ignis Heat to Xyz Summon Sigurd. Tributes Oifey and TD Apocalypse to Tribute Summon Master Peace, the True Draco Sword King. Oifey lets him draw a card. Activates Sigurd’s effect to Special Summon Ignis Heat from gy. Destroys Ignis and Chaos in hand to Special Summon True Draco King Agnimazud. Chaos can be treated as any Attribute. Agnimazud’s effect lets him banish AG Ultimate Golem. Sigurd’s other effect gives Agnimazud 1000 ATK and target protection.

True Draco King Agnimazud: 3200 + 1000 = 4200 ATK

Battle Phase. Sigurd destroys Devil.

Devil’s effect lets Academia Special Summon AG Golem – Ultimate Pound in Defense Position. Master Peace attacks and destroys AG Golem – Ultimate Pound. Agnimazud attacks directly.

Academia: 4000 – 4200 → 0 LP

Winner: Kyoko Ohtori

-

Normal Duel: Naoya Tsuyoshi vs Arcanus Gaucho

[Turn 1: Arcanus]

Activates Field Spell, Magical Runaway Circle, which lets him add Aleister on activation. Normal summons Aleister, adds (Magic Art of) Invocation to hand. Activates Spellbook of Secrets to add Spellbook of Knowledge to hand. Activates Knowledge, sends Aleister to gy to draw two cards. Activates Continuous Spell, Trismagistus, uses its effect to Special Summon Zoroa from hand. Activates Graceful Charity, draw three, discards two (Cendrillon, Endymion). Zoroa equips Ninaruru from Extra Deck to itself. Zoroa Special Summons Endymion from gy in Defense Position with effects negated. Activates Magistus Invocation. Fuses Zoroa (in field) and Ninaruru (in field) to Fusion Summon Aiwass in Defense Position. Special Summons Mephiles from hand, equips Ninaruru from graveyard to itself. Mephiles’ adapts equipped monsters’ ATK/DEF.

Mephiles the Dark, the Magistus Anomaly: 1000 → 1800 ATK; 1000 → 2400 DEF

Activates Invocation to banish Aleister (in gy) and Endymion (in field) to Fusion Summon Invoked Beast Cocytus in Defense Position. Uses Invocation’s second effect to return Aleister to hand and to shuffle itself into deck. Mephiles’ effect adapts Ninaruru’s effects.

Naoya activates Supply Squad from hand and draws for every attribute on the field (Water, Wind, Light, Dark).

Mephiles Special Summons Cendrillon from gy. Turn end.

[Turn 2: Naoya]

Draws. Activates Field Spell, Magnacarrier. Special Summons Red Layer from hand, adds Supply Squad back to hand by Red Layer’s effect. Uses Magnacarrier to discard a card and overlay Red Layer to summon Magnaliger.

Arcanus takes control of Magnaliger with Aiwass and grants 1000 ATK.

Super Quantal Mech Beast Magnaliger: 2600 + 1000 = 3600 ATK

Naoya Normal summons Fairy Alphan. Uses its effect to tribute it to reveal Blue Layer, Black Layer, and Green Layer from deck.

Arcanus picks Blue Layer to Special Summon, the others are sent to the gy.

Blue Layer’s effect lets him add Magnaslayer to hand. Green Layer lets him discard a card to draw one. Black Layer’s effect him overlay it to summon Super Quantum Ranger Black Thunder. Black Thunder’s effect lets him equip Master Arsenal from the deck to it. Special Summons Yellow Layer from hand, targets Blue Layer and all monsters become that level.

Super Quantum Yellow Layer: Level 6 → Level 3

Overlays Yellow Layer and Blue Layer to summon Grampulse. Uses effect to destroy Ninaruru in Spell/Trap Zone.

Mephiles the Dark, the Magistus Anomaly: 1800 → 1000 ATK; 2400 → 1000 DEF

Detached Yellow Layer that was sent to the gy lets him add previously discarded Alphan Appeal Call to hand. Master Arsenal’s effect halves all Attack Position monsters Arcanus controls.

Super Quantal Mech Beast Magnaliger: 3600 / 2 = 1800 ATK

Attacks Mephiles with Grampulse.

Destroy Mephiles lets Arcanus draw cards equal to all Attributes on the field (Water, Earth, Fire). Uses Mephiles’ effect to equip itself to Cocytus. Cocytus is immune to battle destruction.

Naoya attacks Magnaliger with Black Thunder.

Arcanus: 4000 – 1200 → 2800 LP

Red Layer that attached to Magnaliger and sent to the gy lets Naoya Special Summon Magnaliger to field in Defense Position. Declares Main Phase 2, attaches Black Layer from hand to Grampulse as Xyz material. Sets four cards. Turn end.

[Turn 3: Arcanus]

Draws. Summons Aleister, adds Invocation.

Naoya chains Supply Squad, Black Thunder, and Grampulse.

Arcanus chains Holy Book of the Law. Chain resolves, Book of the Law tributes Cocytus to summon Merkabah. Mephiles’ effect is missed to due prior chained effects.

Grampulse’s effect (detaches Black Layer) destroys face down Theologia Magistus. Black Thunder (detaches Black Layer) cannot be targeted by card effects or for battle until end of the turn. Supply Squad lets him draw three (Water, Fire, Light). Attempts to use Black Layer’s graveyard effect.

Arcanus responds with Merkabah’s effect and banishes Black Layer. Normal summons Cendrillon and adds Magistus Invocation to hand. Activates Magistus Invocation to fuse Cendrillon (in field) and Aleister (in field) to Fusion Summon Aiwass in Defense Position. Activates Vritra Magistus to Special Summon Zoroa from gy. Zoroa equips another Ninaruru from Extra Deck. Zoroa Special Summons Cendrillon from gy. Uses equipped Ninaruru to destroy Naoya’s face down.

Responds by activating it, Magnaformation. Attaches Magnaliger to Black Thunder as an Overlay Unit.

Overlays Zoroa and Cendrillon to summon Cendrillon Crystal Witch in Defense Position. Uses effect to Special Summon Crowley from deck. Changes Crowley to Earth.

Crowley, the Magistus Grimoire of Lawbooks: DARK → EARTH

Activates Invocation, banishes Aleister (in gy) and Red Layer (in Naoya gy) to Fusion Summon Purgatorio. Purgatorio gains 200 ATK for every card opponent controls. Banishes Cendrillon from gy to equip Aiwass to Cendrillon Crystal Witch

Cendrillon, the Wondrous Magistus Crystal Witch: 1000 + 1000 = 2000 ATK

Uses other Aiwass and equips it to Purgatorio. Discards Aleister in hand to add another 1000 ATK to Purgatorio

Invoked Beast Purgatorio: 3500 + 1000 + 1000 = 5500 ATK

Battle Phase. Attacks Grampulse with Purgatorio.

Naoya activates Magnaslayer and equips to Grampulse. Grampulse gains ATK equal to 100 times Rank.

Super Quantal Mech Beast Grampulse: 1800 + (100 * 3) = 2100 ATK

Naoya: 4000 – 3400 → 600 LP

Naoya activates Alphan Appeal Call to Special Summon Aeroboros (from ED) and Green Layer (from gy). Sent Blue Layer shuffles Green Layer, Black Layer, and Yellow Layer. Overlays Black Thunder to summon Zeus Sky Thunder. Uses Zeus’ effect (detaches Black Thunder and Magnaliger) to board wipe the entire field, except for itself.

Arcanus activates Monster Reborn to resurrect Aiwass. Turn end.

[Turn 4: Naoya]

Draws. Discards Red Layer to Special Summon White Layer. White Layer sends Red Layer to gy.

Super Quantum White Layer: LIGHT → FIRE; Level 7 → Level 5

Red Layer sent to the gy Special Summons Green Layer from gy with effects negated. Special Summons Overlay Booster from hand. Uses Magnacarrier to discard a card and overlay Green Layer to summon Aeroboros. Overlays White Layer and Overlay Booster to summon Magnaliger. Attaches Pink Layer from hand to Magnaliger. Uses other effect of Magnacarrier to overlay Magnaliger (in field), Aeroboros (in field), and Grampulse (in gy) to summon Magnus.

Arcanus attempts to use Aiwass effect but Magnus is unaffected if 4+ Overlay Units. Takes control of Zeus instead.

Divine Arsenal AA-Zeus Sky Thunder: 3000 + 1000 = 4000 ATK

Naoya uses Magnus to shuffle Zeus back into deck.

Aiwass is destroyed.

Naoya uses Magnus to attack directly

Arcanus: 2800 – 3600 → 0 LP

Winner: Naoya Tsuyoshi

Card Terminal:

True Dracos/Kings in the OCG are called “True Dragon (King).” They are one archetype, unlike the TCG where they were split into True Draco/True King. Instead of “Dragon,” I will use “Draco.” It just sounds better to me and I want some variety with so many dragons in the game.

The Super Quant “Layer” monsters will keep their TCG names. In the OCG, they include “Ranger” in their names, but I’m using Ranger for special monsters like Black Thunder.

Anime vs TCG/OCG

Antique Gear Hound Dog – later anime effect

Antique Gear Devil – TCG effect

Sylphine, the Sub-Zero Bird Beast – anime effect + TCG effect (because why not?)

Altered Effects

Super Quantal Magnacarrier – instead specifying Magnus, you can summon any “Super Quantal Mech God” using its specified requirements

Super Quantal Mech God King Great Magnus – mentions that it needs 3 “Super Quantal Mech Beast” monsters to summon with Magnacarrier or similar effect

Custom Cards

Oifey, the True Draco Tactician

LIGHT [Wyrm/Effect] 1600 ATK/800 DEF L4

Once per turn, if you control no monsters on your field: you can Special Summon this card (from your hand). If this card is Special Summoned: add one “True Draco” monster from your Deck to your hand. You can only use this effect of “Oifey, the True Draco Tactician” once per turn. If this is destroyed or tributed for the summon of a “True Draco” monster: draw one card.

Chaos, the True Draco Primordial

DARK [Wyrm/Effect] 0 ATK/0 DEF L1

If this card is in your hand or face up in the field: it can be treated as any Attribute for the summon of a “True Draco” monster. (Additional unused effect)

Sigurd, the True Draco Holy Knight

FIRE [Wyrm/Xyz/Effect] 2700 ATK/2500 DEF R5

Once per turn, you can detach one Xyz Material: Special Summon one Wyrm monster (from your hand or graveyard). When a “True Draco” monster is Special Summoned by destroying two monsters with the same Attribute: detach one Xyz material; that monster gains 1000 ATK and cannot be targeted by opponent’s card effects. If this card is destroyed: target one “True Draco” monster you control; Special Summon one “True Draco” monster (from your graveyard) with the same Attribute as the targeted monster, except “Sigurd, the True Draco Crusader.” You can only use the previous two effects of “Sigurd, the True Draco Holy Knight” once per turn.

Super Quantal Supply Squad

Normal Trap

During your opponent’s turn, if you control no cards on your field, you can activate this card from your hand: Draw one card every different Attribute on the field. When this card is sent to the graveyard, shuffle one “Super Quant” card from your graveyard, or that is banished, into the Deck.

Super Quantum Black Layer

EARTH [Beast-Warrior/Effect] 2500 ATK/2000 DEF L8

When this card is Normal or Special Summoned: destroy one card on the field. If this card is sent to the graveyard: Target one “Layer” monster in your graveyard, Xyz Summo n one “Super Quant” Xyz monster with the same attribute as the targeted monster using the targeted monster as Xyz material. You can only use each effect of “Super Quantum Black Layer” once per turn.

Super Quantum Ranger Black Thunder

Earth [Thunder/Xyz/Effect] 3000 ATK/2 000 DEF R8

2 Level 8 monsters

(This card is also always treated as “Super Quantum Black Layer.”) When this card is Xyz Summoned using “Super Quantum Black Layer” as Xyz material: Equip one “Super Quant” Equip Spell from your Deck to this card. Once per turn (Quick Effect), you can detach one Xyz material, this card cannot be targeted by your opponent’s card effects or be targeted for battle. A “Super Quantal Mech Beast” Xyz monster that has this card as Xyz material, with the same Attribute, gains this effect: (unused)

Super Quantal Master Arsenal

Equip Spell

Equip to a “Super Quant'' monster you control, that monster can attack equal to the number of Attributes you control +1. Apply these effects based on the equipped monster’s name.

• Super Quantum Ranger Green Dragon: (unused)

• Super Quantum Ranger White Tiger: (unused)

• Super Quantum Ranger Red Star: (unused)

• Super Quantum Ranger Black Thunder: Once per turn, you can halve the ATK of all Attack Position monsters your opponent controls.

(additional unused effect)

Super Quantum Yellow Layer

EARTH [Winged-Beast/Effect] 2000 ATK/1500 DEF L6

Once per turn, you control at least two different attributes of “Super Quant” monsters: you can Special Summon this card from your hand. When this card is Normal or Special Summoned: Target one monster you control, all face up monsters you control become that monster’s Level. If this card is sent to the graveyard: add one “Super Quant” Spell/Trap from your Deck or graveyard to your hand. You can only use the previous two effects of “Super Quantum Yellow Layer” once per turn.

Super Quantum Pink Layer

WATER [Aqua/Effect] 1200 ATK/600 DEF L2

(unused effects)

Mephiles the Dark, the Magistus Anomaly

LIGHT [Spellcaster/Effect] 1000 ATK/1000 DEF L3

(This monster is also always treated as DARK Attribute.) Once per turn, if you control a “Magistus” monster: You can Special Summon this card (from your hand), and if you do, equip one “Magistus” monster from the graveyard to this card, or equip this card to a “Magistus” monster you control. When this card is sent to the graveyard: Draw cards equal to the number of different Attributes currently on the field; and if you do, target one monster you control, equip a “Magistus” monster from your hand or graveyard to that monster, that monster cannot be destroyed this turn. You can only use this effect of “Mephiles, the Magistus Messenger” once per turn. While equipped with a monster, this card’s ATK/DEF become equal to the combined ATK/DEF of all equipped monsters and once per turn, you can apply the effects of one of those monsters to this card.

Wow, had to make quite a lot, but hey, I’m a big fan of Power Rangers. Wish Super Quants got more support. Yes, Oifey and Sigurd are from Fire Emblem. f*cking love that series. Engage kind of bipolar though. Loved the gameplay, hated the story.