The two duelists, Sartorius Kumar and Phillip Jenson, walked quietly through the jungle, that quiet being only interrupted by the steady booming of the mortar in the distance. Just as Phil was about to ask where exactly the location his opponent wanted for the duel was, Sartorius turned and gestured for him to go ahead.
Phil sent Sartorius a side-eye but ultimately relented. He picked up his pace and soon passed both Sartorius and the tree line.
“A cliff overlooking the sea…” Phil muttered before turning to Sartorius. “Talk about dramatic.”
Lumina walked forward and leaned to look over the edge of the cliff. Her sandals nudged a rock to spin in a clattering descent down to the water.
"Jeez. Be careful, Phil. A hard enough strike in a shadow duel might be able to send you flying back off this cliff. At this height you might break something important when you hit the water. Plus all those rocks…" Lumina let the sentence trail off into thin air, sending a meaningful look toward Phil and flinching slightly when another booming shot from the mortar sounded.
“Ugh… that sound brings back too many bad memories.”
Phil acknowledged her point with a slight nod of his head.
“So, Sartorius!” Phil shouted over to his opponent, who had walked over to face him. “Let’s get this over with already. I have shit that needs doing.”
Sartorius raised a palm in a calming gesture and sent a glance of his own toward the edge of the cliff. Both duelists were about five or so feet away from the edge, positioned so that the distant ocean below was on their left sides.
“Of course. Please, though, before we start I must beg a few more moments of patience from you. Allow me to consult the tarot, if you will. It shall only take a few seconds.”
Phil impatiently motioned with his hands for Sartorius to get on with it already, causing the seer to sheepishly smile while he pulled a stack of tarot cards out of a side pocket. For one single moment, the tarot cards were nothing but slips of paper in his hands, but the next moment they sprang to life. Three cards flitted out of the tarot deck as if they were possessed with a life of their own, pausing only to hang in the air in a small circle with their backs facing Phil. Then, with an air of practiced grace, Sartorius brought his hand up to each of the cards one by one to tap at them. Each tapped card turned over in the air to display its contents to the world.
"The Magician, upright. The Emperor, reversed. The Wheel of Fortune… still undecided." Sartorius chuckled as he read out the outcomes. His laugh was eerie as it twisted around the sounds of distant waves crashing against the bottom of the cliff below and the sound of mortar shots detonating in the distance.
Sartorius glanced away from the floating tarot cards to look Phil directly in the eyes. Phil flinched. Even from this distance he could see a gloomy haze of suppressed madness in his opponent’s eyes, along with something… more. Something unearthly, as if there was a roiling cloud of cosmic dust contained in those fleshy orbs, a celestial entity that peered down to Earth from the distance reaches of space, a formless creature that was nothing more than a manifestation of death, rage, and burning light that wished to erase the world and start anew.
“You are still full of power and resourcefulness, lacking some of the weakness you possessed during the summer, when Tragoedia challenged your right to stay alive. Well done, Phillip Jenson. I admit back then I was uncertain of what would come about your trials in New York City. Powerful forces obscured your future. Even now those same forces work to cloud the sight of my cards. If we were not both on the same island… perhaps I would not be able to see you at all.”
Sartorius then gestured to the other two cards, while Phil shared a raised eyebrow with Lumina.
“However, the reversed Emperor shows that domination shall be brought forth through this duel. By whom, I wonder? Excessive control would indicate perhaps that the Light will allow my cards to bring you to understand the truth, but the Wheel of Fortune whispers its siren call. Being neither upright nor reversed, it speaks of a duel that is as undecided as the tarot is.”
“It appears,” Sartorius smiled thinly and gestured toward the tarot cards, two of which floated back on top of the deck that he then stowed in his pocket, “that this game of ours shall prove quite interesting.”
Phil flicked his right arm, causing his duel disk to extend into a ready position. His left arm shot forward to draw five cards. Meanwhile, the Wheel of Fortune card moved to the center of the field, hanging in the air like the physical representation of an unanswered question.
“What a waste of time. Let’s just get this show on the fucking road already.”
“Hm. Such an impatient child.” Sartorius smiled, even as he too readied his duel disk and drew five cards of his own. “May the light grant me strength and victory in battle.”
“Mate, I’m going to feed you alive to D.3.S. Frog like you’re a Chicken fucking McNugget and he’s a starving child in a third-world country.”
“Heh. I admire your spirit, but we shall see about that.”
Phil: 4000 Sartorius: 4000
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bon Lectro’s eyes closed as he enjoyed the ruddy aroma of his third cigar since the bombardment began. The smoke hung in a thick cloud around his head, filling his nostrils with the combined smell of his cigar and the smoke that belched from the barrel of Garesglasser. It was an intoxicating mixture, one that pulled his mind back in time to the good ol’ days.
Garesglasser spat out another volley of screaming metal and Bon Lectro chuckled. In his mind’s eye he could remember it all clearly. The corporate wars in the spirit world had been brutal, but intoxicating. A wonderful place for young mages to cut their teeth, a series of conflicts that saw boys become men. Bon Lectro himself had walked in there a wide-eyed apprentice to an uncaring master, and walked out a true mage that could make his way in the world without fear. Not many could say the same. The wars were deadly enough for duel spirits, creatures of pure magic of which even the weakest were many times more durable and powerful than human mages. The siege of the Lightsworn offices, the electrified swamps of the Venom clan, the chemical warfare on the Dark World front, all of it was nothing but fond memories in his mind’s eye now.
It was too bad the Rebis had enforced its own twisted version of peace through ultimate power when it swept through the spirit world a good fourteen, maybe fifteen years ago. That day was the end of all the fun. Though, on second thought, the final image of the wars was something he would never forget – the sight of the mad king Brron, and the scaled forearm that stuck out of his chest in a vicious finishing blow. The sight that had enforced a lasting peace through fear from that point on.
Bon Lectro chuckled once more and used the tip of his finger to slice off the butt of his cigar, stowing the stogie away under his jacket for later use. He stood and stretched his legs, groaning with pleasure as his joints popped one by one. Around the clearing, his men shifted on their feet uncertainly, but he calmed them with a wave of his hand and a few muttered words of reassurance.
“Easy lads, I can’t leave all the fun to you boys.”
At the edges of the clearing the tall jungle trees rustled as something large and extremely heavy approached. The ground quaked and trembled, causing even some of the well-built Yakuza thugs to fall to the ground. Closer and closer the creature drew. Trees were splintered, not just young trees the size of a human, but even centuries-old growths that reached toward the heavens themselves were cast aside like they were nothing but piles of leafy toothpicks.
Then a metal giant burst through the last trees. It was a tall golem, taller than a building, one that was clad in well-worn metal shaded in a mysterious blue. A singular baleful red eye lit up the dim clearing like a spotlight focused on an actor in the center stage. Its left hand was a simple cannon, one that glowed with an ominous white and black light, while the cannon on the other hand was transformed into a spidery hand that held a distant humanoid figure safely in its clutches.
“About damn time.” Bon Lectro viciously grinned. For the first time in hours, the bombardment fell silent as he recalled his duel spirit. Every inch of the blue-jacketed man was focused on the figure clutched in the metal giant’s hand.
The metal hand was lowered to the ground, revealing the wrathful visage of the man contained within.
“Vellian Crowler. As I live and breathe.”
Indeed, it was the very same professor. As soon as the hand met the ground Professor Crowler casually stepped off it, holding up a card that the giant soon disappeared into with a flash of blinding white light.
Bon Lectro nodded his greetings. “I wasn’t quite sure who would be sent to stop me. Whether it would be the woman, child, or… you.”
Crowler brushed a few leaves off his Obelisk Blue jacket and wordlessly activated the duel disk strapped to his chest. The professor's face was set into a scowl of disgusted contempt, as if he couldn't bear even being in the vicinity of his opponent.
“Heh heh. Straight to business it is." Bon Lectro activated his duel disk. The look in Crowler's eyes was a look he was well used to.
The look of a man who fully intended to murder his opponent.
“Don’t worry!” Bon Lectro laughed uproariously. “We’re both on the same page here! Forget the Light! Forget those mewling children huddling in fear in that classroom! Just you and me baby, let’s ignore all that complicated bullshit. You and me, we’re nothing but two men trying to kill each other. That’s all we need to be. No more, no less.”
Crowler: 4000 Bon Lectro: 4000
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
“Ah, if you don’t mind, I shall take the first turn.” Bon Lectro casually announced, already drawing a card before Crowler got the chance to respond.
“I activate Terraforming! It lets me grab one field spell from my deck, that being Magikey World!” Bon Lectro spun the new card around to show Crowler, and then immediately activated it. Around the two duelists a tall tower sprung out of the ground to envelop them, blocking off both the jungle and the watching Yakuza with its stone walls. Only the night sky was still visible, and the moon stared down at them like an unblinking witness to the outcome of the duel.
“Magikey World’s gonna grab me a Magikey monster from my deck, Maginificent Magikey Maftael! Of course, I won't summon him just yet. Allow me to paint you a picture of your impending death for a moment. To start it off, I activate the spell card Unexpected Dai!"
The space in between the two duelists shimmered as a glowing blue orb swiftly appeared and disappeared into thin air to reveal a grinning blond-haired man with a rather futuristic-looking handgun in his hands.
“Unexpected Dai lets me special summon one level four or lower normal monster straight from my deck, this one being Clavkiys, the Magikey Skyblaster (1900/1900)!” Bon Lectro explained. “Then to spice things up a bit, I activate the second effect of Magikey World, an effect that allows me to add one copy of the spell card Magikey Maftea from my deck to my hand, though I must also place one card from my hand onto the bottom of my deck. Now! I activate the effect of Maginificent Magikey Mafteal in my hand. Because I control a Magikey monster, I get an additional normal summon this turn, though I can only use that for a Magikey monster.”
Crowler stoically watched with his arms folded to his chest as Bon Lectro revealed the spell card he’d just added to his hand with the effect of his field spell.
“Magikey Maftea now allows me to ritual summon Magikey Mechmusket – Batosbuster (2000/2200) from my hand in defense position. To fulfill the sacrifice required, I send the level eight The Grand Jupiter from my hand to the graveyard. Batosbuster’s effect activates on the completion of his summon!
A monster nearly identical to Clavkiys appeared on the field, though his handgun was replaced with a minigun that sparkled a glowing golden color under the light of the moon. The barrel of Batosbuster’s gun spun and a surge of energy flew through the air to collide with Bon Lectro’s deck.
“When Batosbuster is summoned, I can add one Magikey card from my deck to my hand. Come to me, Magikey Mechmortar - Garesglasser! Then I use my extra normal summon to bring forth Maginificent Magikey Mafteal (1600/1600).”
Bon Lectro gritted his teeth in a savage grin and tensed his body.
“Heh. This next part. Oh, you’ll love it. It's a pity, though. Nan found a way to get around the momentum problem, but what she does sadly ain't a solution I can use. Consider yourself lucky, Crowler! You’re strong enough that I cannot hold back, not even a single inch! I send the level four tuner Maginificent Magikey Mafteal and the level four non-tuner Clavkiys, the Magikey Skyblaster, to the graveyard to synchro summon Magikey Fiend – Transfurlmine (2800/2800) in defense position!”
Crowler’s eyes flew wide, the man unintentionally gasping in surprise at the same moment that Bon Lectro wobbled unsteadily where he stood, coughing out a thick splatter of blood onto the ground before he regained his composure.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
“Synchro… summon?” The professor left the question hanging in the air.
Bon Lectro let out a bloody grin. “A benefit of surviving New York. I admit it is not without its downsides, but the power it allows me to command is well worth its use as long as I am more careful than that reckless fool who unwillingly gave me this very same ability through his death.”
Bon Lectro then gestured to his new monster, a fiery long-haired demon with skin that glowed a pure volcanic red color. “I’ll let you in on a secret since this is a whole new power to your eyes. I can only do a summon like this safely one more time. After that, if I try again, well, then this duel will be my last. However, allow me to show you part of the power of my monster. Transfurlmine’s effect activates! Because it was synchro summoned using materials with at least two different attributes, those being light and dark, I can set one Magikey spell or trap straight from my deck to a spell and trap card zone. Here’s just the card to shore up my field, the counter trap Magikey Unlocking!”
That final card signified the end of Bon Lectro’s turn, causing Crowler to draw a card of his own with a thoughtful look at the raging demon on his opponent’s field. While it was true that Bon Lectro’s veritable onslaught of moves had depleted the man’s hand to leave only three cards behind, the fact was that he had to deal with two powerful monsters and some sort of counter trap card. Then there was the ritual monster that was among those three cards in Bon Lectro’s hand.
“I admit.” Crowler finally sneered. “The man I was last year would have crumbled before your power. But that, that was the Vellian Crowler of old. Allow me to show you the new Vellian Crowler, the man who will not let you harm even one more hair upon the head of his students! I activate the spell card Dark Hole! It destroys every monster currently on the field!”
“Trap card, activate!” Bon Lectro roared. “Magikey Unlocking can respond to that as I control a Magikey monster special summoned from my extra deck! I negate the activation of your spell card and destroy it! Furthermore, I can declare one attribute, and if I do, your monsters will become that attribute for the rest of the turn! My choice is light!”
“Predictable!” Crowler shouted back. “Now that your counter trap card is out of the equation, it’s time to let loose the dogs of war! I summon Ancient Gear Hunting Hound (1000/1000) in attack position!”
Bon Lectro inclined his head in a nod to signify that Crowler’s summon was acceptable.
“Hunting Hound, reveal your first effect.” Crowler began. “When he’s summoned, 600 points of damage will be inflicted to your life points.”
The small metallic hound raced forward and slashed its claws through Bon Lectro’s side to draw first blood. Then, the green metal that covered the majority of the hound’s body glowed a dull grey color, the color of hardened steel.
Crowler: 4000 Bon Lectro: 3400
“Hunting Hound’s second effect activates!” Crowler continued as soon as the damage was done. “I send Hunting Hound from my field and Ancient Gear Box from my hand to fusion summon Ancient Gear Howitzer (1000/1800) in defense position!”
This time Bon Lectro's eyes sharpened and he let out a snort of derision. "Transfurlmine's effect activates! Once per turn, if you summon a monster that has the same attribute as a monster in my graveyard, I can destroy your monster! And with the effect of Magikey Unlocking lingering on the field, I do believe Howitzer is a target!"
Crowler laughed in contempt.
"I don't know about any attribute swapping, but Howitzer has a special effect of his own. While he remains on the field, Howitzer is unaffected by the effects of other cards! Your 'synchro' monster's effect will do absolutely nothing!"
Just as Crowler declared, the red crackling magic emanating from the fingertips of the snarling demon was dissipated by Howitzer’s metal armor, ultimately having no effect on the comparatively weaker siege machine.
“Howitzer, show off your second effect!” Crowler plowed through the rest of his turn and ordered the activation. No matter if Bon Lectro had anything else or not, he had no choice but to push through. The frailty of his own legs, the skipped beats of his heart, the haziness in his head. Even Crowler knew it was just a matter of time before his own body failed him.
While those thoughts were spinning around Crowler’s head, the cannons attached to Howitzer’s arms blasted away at Bon Lectro’s life points for a flat 1000 points of damage.
Crowler: 4000 Bon Lectro: 2400
“Then I place one card face down and end my turn.”
Bon Lectro drew a card with a grin.
“All that and you couldn’t even destroy a single monster. Well, I suppose you did nearly half my life points and kept your own fusion monster safe and sound. That is commendable.”
Bon Lectro took one long look at Crowler’s board, noting both the defending fusion monster and the face down card the professor possessed.
“Now, if I recall Nan’s report correctly, once I destroy your Howitzer by battle, you’ll be able to summon an Ancient Gear monster from your deck. Knowing you, that’ll be something quite large. Heh. Very well, I accept the challenge! Firstly, I activate the effect Transfurlmine once more, taking a copy of the spell card Magikey Maftea straight from my deck and placing it in a spell and trap card zone. Then I activate Monster Reborn, bringing Maginificent Magikey Mafteal (1600/1600) back from the dead in attack position.”
Bon Lectro snapped his fingers and revealed the spell card he’d set through the effect of his synchro monster.
“Magikey Maftea, activate! I tribute Mafteal from my field and Clavkiys from my hand to ritual summon the instrument of your demise, Magikey Dragon – Andrabime (2800/2000)!”
A mighty green dragon swooped through the open top of the tower brought forth by Bon Lectro’s field spell to thud onto the ground with a bellowing roar. Deep gouges of earth were torn up by the monster’s claws, and a long billowing trail of fire was spat out from its mouth to the moon above as if the apex predator was announcing that its arrival signified the death of Crowler.
"I switch Batosbuster and Transfurlmine to the attack position. Let’s move on right to battle.” Bon Lectro extended one of his arms and formed a finger gun that pointed right at Crowler. “Transfurlmine, strike down that inferior artillery before my eyes! Make it rue the day it survived your effect from the previous turn!”
The horned fiend let out a horrifying scream that echoed around the stone walls, drawing its hands out to reveal a spitting bolt of pure lightning. Its hand cocked back, the lightning flew through the air, and Ancient Gear Howitzer was torn to shreds.
“Howitzer’s effect activates! You said it yourself. Howitzer’s death allows me to take one Ancient Gear monster from my deck to special summon!”
Bon Lectro smirked and began to open his mouth, but closed it with a perplexed expression as Crowler summoned an unexpected monster.
“Ancient Gear Wyvern (1700/1200), defend your master! In addition, Wyvern’s effect will allow me to add one Ancient Gear card from my deck to my hand. My choice shall be Ancient Gear Box, which will activate its own effect in turn. Because it was added from my deck to my hand, I can add one earth machine monster with 500 attack or defense points from my hand. That’ll be Ancient Gear Frame.”
“Very well.” Bon Lectro snorted. “If you do not wish to summon a Golem, then so be it. Transfurlmine, reveal your other effect! It can make up to two attacks on monsters during each of my battle phases. Destroy that false dragon!”
Crowler let loose a wicked grin. “False dragon or no, allow me to slip into teacher mode for a moment. Today I wish to reveal why some of the old strategies are still some of the good strategies! As popularized by the King of Games, Yugi Muto himself, I activate the trap card Magical Hats! I choose two spells or traps from my deck, and one monster on my field. I special summon the first two targets from my deck as normal monsters with zero attack and defense points onto the field in face down defense position, set my Wyvern in that same position, and give the field a little shuffle. Then once I’m done with that, you get to redeclare that second attack of yours.”
Bon Lectro clicked his tongue as Crowler revealed two copies of the field spell Geartown as his choices and shuffled around his field.
“Fine. Transfurlmine, your target is the face down monster on my left!”
Crowler flipped the card over. “Lesson number one! You shouldn’t have allowed me to even activate Magical Hats in the first place, because that monster you chose is Geartown! Now, Geartown will indeed be destroyed, but that’s exactly what I want. Geartown’s destruction effect will activate to allow me to special summon an Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon (3000/3000) from my deck to the field in defense position.”
Another dragon, as majestic in its own right as Bon Lectro's green dragon was, floated down to the field with a mechanical roar. Purple lightning arced in a constant pattern across its metal body, all in tune with the hum of the reactor stuck in the dragon's chest.
“Hmph. Petty tricks, the lot of it! Andrabime, destroy the monster on my right!”
The green dragon washed the card with fire, which Crowler flipped with a smirk to reveal the second copy of Geartown before summoning a second Reactor Dragon to the field.
“That leaves one last monster.” Bon Lectro concluded. “Batosbuster, destroy that Wyvern.”
Crowler flicked his head to motion toward his twin dragons as his Wyvern was blasted to pieces by Batosbuster’s minigun.
“A worthy sacrifice to get two dragons on the field.”
“Normally I would agree.” Bon Lectro nodded and ended his battle phase. “If not for this. You see, I still have one more card that can let me turn this around in an instant. I activate the spell card Foolish Burial Goods! While it may not seem important to start with, I assure you the effect is vital. This card allows me to send one spell or trap card from my deck to my graveyard. My choice is the quick-play spell card Strike of the Monarchs.”
“Monarch?” Crowler asked in confusion. “Those new monsters that gain effects when they are tribute summoned?”
“The first effect of that card is not useful in this deck in the slightest.” Bon Lectro nodded his agreement. “But the graveyard effect is. By banishing Strike of the Monarchs from my graveyard during the main phase, I can declare an attribute. Then for the duration of this turn all face-up monsters on the field become that attribute. My choice is the dark attribute!”
Crowler stared at him in confusion. “And-“
"Magikey Dragon – Andrabime, reveal your effect!" Bon Lectro shouted in jubilation. "Once per turn, I can target a normal monster or Magikey monster in my graveyard. My choice will be the dark-attribute Clavkiys. Then, every monster that you control which is of the dark attribute will be destroyed."
Crowler scowled heavily at the man.
“That means…”
“Yes.” Bon Lectro shortly answered. “All of your monsters will be destroyed.”
“Fine.” Crowler spat. He swayed slightly on his feet, but his own bubbling sense of rage kept the muscular professor standing tall. “I draw.”
His heart skipped another beat, sending a surge of pain through his chest once more. Crowler's life points hadn't even dropped a single digit, but simply being in the radius of the shadow duel was beginning to take a toll on his body. The only reason he hadn’t outright collapsed was because of the protection given to him by his duel spirit.
Crowler heaved a mighty breath into his lungs to try and forcibly clear his cloudy thoughts.
“Bon Lectro! This is your pop quiz here and now! Be careful with your answer. You’re being graded on a curve, and it doesn’t favor you one bit. How familiar are you with the duels of Battle City!”
“Hadn’t paid attention. I was busy when that event happened." Bon Lectro casually shrugged and then left a question hanging in the air. "Your point is?"
Crowler hawked up a clot of blood from the depths of his throat and spat it on the ground.
“During Battle City, there was a vicious and bloodthirsty duelist by the name of Marik Ishtar. Though his deck heavily revolved around the usage of one of the god cards, he employed various tactics to torture his opponents in the shadow games he would force them to duel in. This is one of those cards. Though I am loathe to use it… you give me little choice! I do what I must in order to make absolutely sure that you cannot prevent my next move! I sacrifice your synchro monster and your dragon to special summon Lava Golem (3000/2500) to your field in defense position!”
All of a sudden, the mild temperature of the night rose to nearly unbearable levels of heat as the fiery demon and the green dragon were grabbed by a pair of molten hands and tossed into a gaping maw of lava. A cage of thick iron bars formed around Bon Lectro as the rest of the monster rose from the ground, revealing a humanoid demon of dripping molten lava that roared its challenge toward Crowler.
“Though summoning this monster removes my ability to normal summon this turn, it matters not. Bon Lectro! You declared your dragon as the instrument of my demise, but now it is time for me to make that same declaration! I take no pride in participating in this death game. However, you have made the bed that you must now lay in. Rue the day you hurt my precious students. Rue the day you so foolishly decided to follow the whims of a seer under the control of a monster that wishes to destroy the world.”
As Bon Lectro dodged drops of sizzling magma, Crowler revealed one, single card in his hand.
“I was the man who taught Zane Truesdale this move. I activate Overload Fusion! By banishing any number of materials from my graveyard, I can fusion summon one dark machine monster from my extra deck that requires those same materials! I banish Ancient Gear Hunting Hound! Ancient Gear Box! Ancient Gear Wyvern! And Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon to fusion summon the embodiment of power and destruction, Chaos Ancient Gear Giant (4500/3000)!”
For one moment the sounds of the night fell silent. The chirping of crickets, the croaking of frogs, and the howling of beasts in the jungle fell silent.
Then the walls of the tower exploded as a massive metal giant, the same one that had carried Crowler onto the duel field, literally walked through the sturdy barrier of stone reinforced by magic.
Both of its hands were converted into cannons that swirled with white and black beams of energy. The singular eye swiveled to lock onto Bon Lectro to focus on him with an inhuman intelligence peering through the malevolent red gaze.
“Bloodthirsty declaration: let none survive.” The robotic voice of the duel spirit droned out the murderous words like it was commenting on the weather.
Crowler nodded and swept his hand out toward Bon Lectro.
“Finish this. No longer shall this wretch harm innocent children. Use your multiple attacks to destroy each one of his monsters until my opponent’s life points drop to zero.”
“Satisfied Announcement: your blood is an acceptable alternative to oil.”
Bon Lectro’s eyes darted around the field, noting the defense of Lava Golem, along with the attack of his remaining monster, Batosbuster. His eyes widened imperceptibly as he flicked his vision over to Chaos Ancient Gear Giant. It was clear that he knew exactly what Crowler's monster could do.
Chaos Ancient Gear Giant took one rumbling step forward, then two, then three. The vortex of light and dark inside the barrels of its cannon hands swirled ever faster, but Bon Lectro kept his eyes open wide to stare right into Crowler's eyes.
"Come on! Do it! You're all dead anyway! We're all dead and you just don’t realize it yet! The seer will defeat the Magician and the Fool. It doesn’t matter if the Rebis interferes. It doesn’t matter what Kaiba plans to do in his space station. It doesn’t matter if you die to me, or if that woman on the docks dies to Nan. EVERYONE IS GOING TO DIE! THE LIGHT CANNOT BE STOPPED AND YOU’RE TOO BLIND TO SEE IT!”
The first blast of light and dark punched through the defense of Lava Golem to inflict 2000 points of piercing damage. Bon Lectro caught the tail end of the blast and half of his chest was cooked like a paper-thin steak on a million-degree grill in a matter of seconds.
The second blast of light disintegrated Batosbuster before the monster could even scream. Bon Lectro fell to the ground in a limp heap like a puppet with its strings cut, the majority of his torso and his entire right arm missing.
Crowler: 4000 Bon Lectro: 0
Crowler dropped to a knee with a pained, hoarse fit of coughing as Chaos Ancient Gear Giant disappeared from the fading field. The coughing intensified to the point that Crowler began to vomit out coin-sized chunks of solidified blood. The Yakuza thugs, now able to see Crowler since Bon Lectro’s field spell faded, drew close to him to form a tight circle. Crowler ignored them. He couldn’t hear anything other than the pounding of his own heart in his ears, and he couldn’t breathe anything other than the metallic scent of his own blood.
Then, there was a blast of light. Crowler looked up in confusion to see the circle of his enemies being sent flying like a clump of rag dolls thrown away by a bored child. Before him was the fading sight of a glowing purple broadsword, and the wrathful face of a familiar woman.
“Vellian.” Ms. Hibiki smiled gently and held out her hand for Crowler to grasp. “Good work.”
Crowler nodded his greetings and gratefully accepted the help. "I see you're alive, Midori. I'm glad."
The headmaster of Slifer Red had an air of ragged exhaustion of her own, Crowler noticed as he was hoisted to his feet. His legs faltered, but Ms. Hibiki shoved her shoulder under his and wrapped an arm around his back to steady him.
“We make quite an odd pair.” Crowler observed with a pained laugh. Ms. Hibiki chuckled in agreement. Crowler himself struggled to move, and Ms. Hibiki’s long red coat was stained a much darker red color than it should have been from an unknown quantity of blood. Her face was pure white, both from exhaustion and, from what Crowler could tell from looking at her coat, likely also from blood loss.
Ms. Hibiki nodded her head toward where they both knew the main campus was.
“Come. Let’s head back and plan our next move. Plus…” She directed a stern look right at Crowler, “I have a feeling Fonda didn’t let you out of her sight of her own accord.”
Crowler sheepishly looked away.
“Yeah.” He sighed. “She didn’t. This will be one hell of an apology, huh. I’ll have to break the news that the walk I told her I was going on got a little… hectic.”