Episode 78. - RageBlast! Gigantic Explosion!

Juliet took her chance now to find the last few duelists whose impressions she had not read yet. Siddhant Sutar seemed relaxed. This young man projected very little in terms of psychic energy, and the feeling calmed Juliet somewhat. There was not much to his feeling other than a general interest in how the final round would go. He seemed to know Rusty, and was focused on the American Champion.

Harriet Torren had a similar focus, but Juliet was in no way as 'calmed' reading her emanations. Harriet radiated a slow, vast 'heat' that made Juliet's body feel flushed and gave her the feeling that she should close her eyes or squint to avoid a discomfort that was not really there. Harriet's attention was also focused on Rusty. Juliet could not quite tell if the feeling was that of a grudge, or respect, or a combination of the two, but Harriet surely had a strong feeling toward Rusty, and would also be intently focused on the upcoming duel.

The final duelist was not at all focused on the duel. That duelist sat at one of the tables near the entrance. She had tried to sense his Kaijudo before, but the power clash between Phantom and Rusty had caused too much psionic interference for that to be possible. Now, she could easily process the emotions and spiraling mental output from the young man, despite his distance. Immediately, she felt her heart swell with empathy. Unlike most of the others, who were taking this in stride, either because they did not even expect to get this far, or because they felt great confidence in themselves and their opponents, Remni Yokura's thoughts seemed to be focused inward, and unpleasant...

"Why... why couldn't I do it? I got so close... or maybe I wasn't close at all and he had control the entire time. I end up relying so much on my Shield Triggers... it feels like luck when I do win. Then when they fail me, I just don't. For once I'd like to just be in proper control, like he was, even if it is by just attacking... to make it so that they don't have a chance of stopping everything..."

She noted now that two other sources of Kaijudo were focusing their attention on Remni Yokura as well, rather than watching the final match. That match had begun now, and the energy shifts were threatening to make her unable to 'see' what was going on with Remni. One of those Kaijudo sources moved close to Remni and seemed to touch him, and in that moment Angga's Carrier deployed its first Guardian, and her link was lost...

The girl put her arm over Remni's shoulder, rubbing gently to comfort him.

"I'm just not sure what I did wrong, Hikari! I was doing so well and then everything just seemed to slowly spiral out of control..."

She seemed deeply saddened by her own helplessness regarding comforting him.
"Remni... I... I don't know what to say..."

"Why can't I do anything?! Why am I such a failure?! I'm... not good enough for you, Hikari."
His words seemed to draw greater attention from the other person nearby, who now turned a head of sandy blond hair in their direction, and observed, a smoky Kaijudo wisping through the ether around them. Remni and his beloved one did not seem to notice...

"Don't talk like that! You're not a failure! You could never be a failure to me..."
She seemed to think for a few moments, then shuffled through her deck and removed cards.
"Here, I know... Remni... take my card. As long as this card is with you, you may lose, but you will never fail. I believe in you."

Remni seemed confused, but took the two copies of the card from Hikari. His eyes opened wide in disbelief. These were the cards she had won back in their home town, with her own dueling skill. Her most powerful cards from this new set. The cards that, she herself had said, were what had helped bring her here to the World Champion tournament. Her Bombazar, Dragon of Destiny!

He was about to protest when the young man with the blond ponytail spoke up instead.
"What a foolish girl..."

Hikari turned to the stranger with an indignant, "Excuse me?"

"You're giving away your power to protect that pitiful brat from his own weakness?"

Hikari's face darkened into a scowl, and she snarled at him, "Remni is not a pitiful brat!"

He stood, and calmly walked over to them, smirking slightly, "I'm just saying, I think it will be trouble. You gave up your power and now you can't protect yourself. He certainly can't protect you, even with it."

He sat opposite Remni at the table, and let out a wild laugh. His Kaijudo swirled, its essence still that same smoky emanation, not seeming too strong or lively at all.

"Why you...! I'll show you..." Remni began, sitting forward in his chair, his own psychic energy pressing strongly back against that of the other man. Now that they were close enough to see, he seemed to be in his mid-twenties, a youth of average height and build.

"Of course you would. With your girlfriend's powerful card. I'm not that good a duelist. But... I'll bet I can beat her easily now that she's given it to her poor excuse for a mate..."
A spike of energy from the championship duel jarred the three of them, but not before Hikari made up her mind to take this particular annoying person down a peg or two.

"Alright, you! Move it, Remni, I'm going to show this jerk a thing or two. I dueled just fine before without that card, and I can do it again! Come on! Kettou da!"

Allen Juravis raised an eyebrow, and smirked.
"You're serious, aren't you... I'm sorry. I figured you knew more about the 'second layer' of dueling than you seem to. Forget it, miss. I thought you actually knew what you were getting yourself into..."

"The only thing I'm getting 'into' right now is a bad mood because of someone who pushed their nose into our business and insulted us both! Duel!"
The spike of her own Kaijudo was masked by another surge of cold energy from Rusty, sweeping across the room. It stopped much attention from being drawn to them. Remni knew better than to get in her way when she was like this. He moved to the side of the dueling table, as Hikari put two of her spare cards into her deck to make up for the removal of her Bombazar, and shuffled.

Juravis shrugged, and handed his deck nonchalantly to Remni. Remni looked at it in confusion, before realizing that the man meant for him to shuffle it. He did so, and returned it. Juravis deployed his shields as Hikari had, and they both drew their cards.

"Well, can I at least go first? I assure you my deck is slower than yours. If you had that Dragon in it, it must be at least slightly accelerated..."

Hikari nodded, still pouting. He thanked her, and charged his first mana card. Darkness. Baraga, Blade of Gloom. The Kaijudo from him did not really grow, simply spreading out in a dank mist around them. Hikari cleared this away instantly with Nature mana, and ended her turn, her own Kaijudo expressing her anger at the rudeness of her opponent.

"Galek, the Shadow Warrior, to mana. End turn."

Hikari surprised him somewhat now by placing Giriel, Ghastly Warrior, into her own mana zone, but the summon of her Essence Elf caused him to focus again on what was the larger danger.

He placed more Darkness mana. A Scream Slicer, Shadow of Fear.
"I summon Missile Soldier Ultimo. End turn."

Hikari scowled still. His Kaijudo still had not really grown, but hers already had, and was doing so again. She placed her Metalwing Skyterror into her mana zone, and summoned a Bronze-Arm Tribe. He had been right about that much, at least. She was capable of accelerating beyond him.

"As I thought..." he noted, "Megaria, Empress of Dread, to mana. Summon Pyrofighter Magnus. Magnus, ikei!"

Hikari suddenly felt something constrict around her. The mist seemed to have locked her in place, in her mindspace. Remni felt the same constricting feeling a moment later, and the two of them were immediately, and rather forcefully, dragged into the zone. The Pyrofighter's speed allowed it to shatter a shield with nearly no effort, and that shield did not trigger. This gave Ultimo the power it needed to lunge for her Essence Elf and bring it down.

"Wh-what is this...?" she muttered, drawing her card and carefully checking her hand.

"This is the feeling of a 'lock', miss. To escape it, all you need to do is somehow destroy my Missile Soldier. I'm sure you have at least one way..."
His voice was calm, and almost comforting. In a way, hypnotic. The mist swirled darkly.

"I put... Death Smoke to mana, and cast Volcano Charger... and with that mana I cast Ghost Touch also."

The explosion sent Juravis' misty Kaijudo into a violent swirl, and Hikari's own dark mist moved in to drag away his Pyrofighter Magnus, ending both aspects of his 'lock' at once, and freeing herself, and Remni, from the feeling. She took a deep breath, exhaled with relief, and ended her turn. She already had six mana now, and one card left in her hand.

On the other side of the room, Rusty had just been shut down momentarily by Angga's forces, and a Mist Rias floated calmly above the forest. Remni could feel the energy from that duel still. Therefore, it was highly unnerving to him when the next play from the man, seemed to cut off all other senses.

"Bat Doctor, Shadow of Undeath to mana... summon Galek, the Shadow Warrior."
The wisping energy now returned, sucking their energy away, and setting things again into a state much like a lock. Hikari was forced to discard her single card. A Bolzard Dragon. He took no other action, simply letting the darkness 'settle' around them.

"I hope you did not need that Dragon. Things are going to become dire for you very quickly if you did. Especially now that your true power has been given away..."

"Quiet!" she snapped at him. His demeanor, or perhaps his energy, was making her feel ill, and the frustration that she could feel creeping into her mind did not seem natural. She summoned the Rumbling Terahorn she now drew, and picked up her deck to search through it.

"Ah. That, my dear, is exactly what I am talking about. You gave your power to your little boy over there. It's not in the deck for you to even get. This cannot possibly go well now."

Hikari groaned at the strain he now caused in her. She knew that she had seen no blockers from him yet, but one or two could put a serious dent in her plans. Given the situation, it seemed best to get a card that could approximately do what she needed from Bombazar.

She retrieved her second Metalwing Skyterror, revealed it to him, and put it into her hand. He nodded, and saw fit to drop another remark.
"It's a good enough play. Not quite as good as it could have been, but you seem to have the skill. You just don't have the power anymore..."

He shot a sideways glance of what seemed like disgust, at Remni. His Kaijudo energy seemed to pity Hikari for a moment, but it sent no such sympathy in her boyfriend's direction.

"Hmf. Summon Shadow Moon, Cursed Shade. End turn."
The reason that his Kaijudo took that form was becoming more apparent. Ghosts were this one's power, and he took quite the 'pleasure' in wielding their power. Hikari drew another card, and considered.

"Death Smoke on your Shadow Moon. Terahorn, break shield! Ikei!"
The Horned Beast rumbled through the misty fog to slam into one of Juravis' shields. There was no trigger. He smiled. She had just replaced the Shadow Moon she had killed, and that meant...

"Wisp Howler, Shadow of Tears, to mana. Summon Shadow Moon, Cursed Shade..."
The power of the dark one swirled again, absorbed by Galek. It was no surprise when he ordered the attack on the Terahorn, nor was it surprising when the glowing sabers of the Ghost-Human sliced into the hide of the mammoth beast, finally bringing it down after a rather tedious battle. This left him with one card in his hand, and two creatures. It was a slow form of dueling indeed. Hikari drew her card.

"Bolshack Dragon to mana. Summon Metalwing Skyterror! End turn."

Juravis seemed to have lost his sympathy for her now, as he placed his Missile Soldier Ultimo in his mana zone and summoned Megaria, Empress of Dread.
"There you are. Now even your Skyterror's power means nothing. If he moves, he will die. I suppose the same could have been said for your Dragon of Destiny, but then he would have attacked last turn, and at least done some damage. Anyway, I end turn."

"I cast Corpse Charger, to revive my Essence Elf, and summon it. End turn."
She was waiting. To give him more cards through Bronze-Arm's attack could devastate her plan easily, and even now, it teetered precariously on the edge of ruin. Remni stood near her in their mindspace, tension making him want to cheer her on, restraint making him keep his expression in check to avoid breaking her concentration in any way.

"You do play well. I'm almost sure that if you actually had your dragon I would be defeated by now. This is why you should never give away your power! End turn."

She looked confused, wondering if he was being merciful by taking no action against her. A surge of his Kaijudo a moment later made it very clear that he was not. Whatever the card he had drawn was, he had no intention of summoning it just then, for whatever reason. The turn passed back to her, and she drew her card. Soulswap. She sighed, but then suddenly noticed what it made possible, and her energy surged again with renewed hope.

"I cast Soulswap, to offer my Bronze-Arm Tribe to bring forth my Metalwing Skyterror!"
The portal was small when the Bronze-Arm was drawn into it, but became a huge wild energy vortex that surged when the Metalwing Skyterror shot into the sky with a powerful scream, to join the other there. Yet, she still did not attack. Megaria still sat, calmly, her two Ghosts beside her, grinning slightly. Hikari wondered momentarily if this were somehow 'his creature'. He seemed to sense her thought, and responded, as he drew his next card.

"No, though I love her dearly, she is not. Don't you understand yet, foolish girl? You are dueling without yours! How can you possibly expect to win? You want to know what you are really up against? I'll show you. Megaria can become greater than even this! I evolve her into Azaghast, Tyrant of Shadows!"

It had been the only move he could seriously make anyway. He was now relying on his shields to trigger and save him from any onslaught she made, but if any of them did so, her defeat was almost assured. Azaghast now loomed menacingly alongside the Shadow Moon and Galek. Juravis' avatar had been revealed, and his Kaijudo now had gone from wisping silence to deadly darkness, seeping into Hikari's mind, and blotting out Remni's mind's eye from watching.

Remni shuddered. He could only hear her whimper in pain as something, or someone, pierced her consciousness. She struggled even to draw her next card, but no one noticed. They were all too intent on the finals, which were still going on, each move there sending a new ripple of fantastic Kaijudo through the room. Juravis smiled.

"I cast... Tornado Flame... on your..."
Her mind swam dizzily as she directed the spell to its target. It did not matter too much which she actually struck, and so, she did not even push the energy to target it. It destroyed his Galek easily despite the power from the Moon.

"Hikari! You can do it! He's finished now! Attack him and take him out!"
Remni was not sure what prompted him just then, nor how exactly he managed to speak only with his mind, but it mattered very little. To Hikari, trapped within Juravis' mist, the words were nothing more than a muffled jumble. She felt cold, and alone, and driven forward only by the knowledge that she needed to keep going. She needed to keep dueling...

"Metalwing Skyterror, ikei!"
The first shield shattered without trigger. The second, was what she had feared. A Terror Pit. The darkness came alive, leaping out to capture the second Skyterror and drag it into oblivion. She faltered. There was not much reason to throw the Elf into danger anyway, at this point, and she could hardly muster the strength to do it. She gestured the end of her turn, and Juravis' energy darkened further, the mental vicegrip on them both, tightening.

"I may not be a very good duelist, but once I am in control... nothing stops me. I suppose your mind is too far gone now to even remember that you do not have your dragon. Still, I have no mercy for the weak, nor for those who let their 'love' cloud their judgement so much. Summon Bat Doctor, Shadow of Undeath."

The Bat Doctor came into being near the head of Azaghast, and drew greater power from the great Dark Lord. So much power, that it focused a blast of it at the Essence Elf, and the Tree Folk died instantly.

"You are such a fool, truly. It is only now, through this duel, that I realize how utterly so. That Dragon would have ended me, and you gave it away. To that whelp. For what, girl?! Why give up your true power for... for... that?!"

"I... love... him..." she managed to choke out.

"Hmf. I'll show you what happens when you let love make you weak. Azaghast, attack the Skyterror! Ikei!"
The great Metalwing Skyterror, more than a match for most creatures, was as nothing against Azaghast's augmented power, nearly double its own, at this point. It fell from the sky with a shriek of pain, and Juravis amplified this into Hikari's mind, causing it to resound within her perception over and over. She held her head for a moment, and uttered a yelp of pain.

Remni was ready to jump in right then. To end the duel, and break Juravis' hold, but he found himself literally unable to move or speak. The power of the Tyrant of Shadows was truly overwhelming, enough to easily immobilize them both. Juravis was taking full advantage of the other two huge sources of Kaijudo present, to mask his own use of his power.

She drew her next card. Another Soulswap. It mattered relatively little. She took a deep breath, and made one final attempt to break free.
"I cast Soulswap on your Tyrant of Shadows!"

His Kaijudo flared in anger at the declaration, but fizzled from inflicting any further pain on her, as his avatar vanished into the portal. The creatures available to her were not many, but Hikari still had enough of her wits about her to be crafty about it. The Soulswap brought out the first card he had placed into mana. Baraga, Blade of Gloom. Another shield was lost...

Rather than seeming at all concerned, he laughed wildly.
"Well then. That shows, I think, that this is indeed... 'destiny'. You went through that trouble to get rid of Azaghast, and gave him right back by Baraga's effect. Baraga evolves into the Tyrant of Shadows once again! Shadow Moon, break shield, ikei!"

The shield shattered without trigger, as did the next two when Azaghast attacked, and even the fourth, struck by the Bat Doctor, was nothing more than another Tornado Flame, used to destroy the Shadow Moon that had been first to strike. Hikari drew one more card.

"It does not matter what you get now. You may bring death to Azaghast, to the Bat Doctor, you may draw a Speed Attacker... anything you like. In the end, you stood no true chance."

"Volcano Charger... on your Bat... Doctor..." she stammered out, her energy finally collapsing inward on the realization that the death of the Ghost simply revived Juravis' Pyrofighter.

Remni struggled against the man's restrictive Kaijudo, screaming silently into the darkness, as he summoned the Pyrofighter Magnus, and a Wisp Howler, Shadow of Tears. The Pyrofighter was in and out in a flash, shattering her final shield. This one did not trigger. It was over.

"Azaghast, Tyrant of Shadows... Todomeda..."
Hikari's mind locked inward. The overwhelming power of the Dark Lord, channeled through the Shadow of Tears. Remni felt his own rage explode within him, the power blasting against the Dark Lord's grip, until finally, he collapsed, at the moment of the final attack of the Championship...

Allen Juravis scoffed, picked up his cards, and left them both there, just like that...