Episode 83. - An Even Greater Horror Within

Today, Remni Yokura was filled with emotions of all kinds. Hikari's mother had finally decided that the best thing to do was to have her daughter see a professional psychologist, no matter what the expense. He had been unable to talk her out of it, and he was quite sure that if he had tried to give the real explanation as to what was wrong with Hikari, he might also find himself meeting with a professional psychologist.

So now, both to let off some steam, and in the hopes of solving this particular problem before it became too much of a strain on his beloved's family finances, Remni was again in search of duelists with Kaijudo. This time, his efforts coincided with a rather large regional tournament that his recent wins had helped him to qualify for. The perfect place to encounter other powerful Kaijudo. At events like this, the users of the art, or ability, whichever it truly was, did not even bother to hide it.

Remni's dueling was in top form. He sliced through the lesser competitors easily, with a single minded determination that anyone who went up against him could easily see in his eyes. The tournament was invitational, and therefore not particularly large, so with his skill, it was no surprise that the final match was between him and a golden haired young woman of very cute features. The Kaijudo she gave off was nowhere near cute.

The judges awarded first turn to her, based on their deck analyses. Remni was not bothered. He had seen what her deck consisted of, somewhat. Lots of blockers and a few weird tactics. How she managed to get into the finals was beyond him, yet, here she was, facing him across the blue tablecloth where their shields were now deployed.

"To think that I'd find myself in a duel with Allen's latest toy... he didn't even tell me you were going to be here. I'll have fun crushing you for him... hehehee..."

Immediately Remni was on guard, and his anger began to seethe inside him.
"How do you know Juravis?"

"Know him? Allen is my mentor, silly boy. He's been helping me train and improve my dueling for a long long time. He's not quite as good as me, but there's a certain something about him that makes him... special. I'm sure you've experienced that firsthand, though. Corpse Charger to mana, and end turn."

Remni could feel the dark wisping power he knew so well, now coming off his opponent. He pushed down his rage, and calmly charged Fire mana. Magmadragon Jagalzor.

"Allen is the one who taught me how to be truly influential in a duel..." she smiled wickedly, as she now charged Sanfist, the Savage Vizier, in mana. Her turn came to an end with the three energies of Darkness, Light and Nature all assailing Remni's senses.

"Mana Nexus to mana. Summon Crow Winger. End turn."

"Oh, another quick one. I think he mentioned that about you... but that isn't how you do it, dear... you have to draw it out, and savor it, so they remember you... always..."
Remni felt a shudder go through him as she placed a Hydro Hurricane into her mana zone and ended her turn. The water energy turned the mindspace into a strange shadowy glade of tall trees. It was a confusing mental image to say the least.

"Soulswap to mana. Summon Bronze-Arm Tribe. Crow Winger, ikei!"
The Beast Folk seemed oddly at home in the warped mindspace as it moved in to shatter the shield. There was no trigger, and no real response from the girl. She drew her card.

"Even if you win... if you do it too quickly, they'll just forget you... Corpse Charger to mana, Summon Gigastand... end turn. If you hurt them slowly, it's best. They don't forget."

Remni shuddered. She was not speaking to his mind. She was quite willingly saying these things for all around her to hear. Even more frighteningly, no one seemed surprised at hearing these sorts of things from the quiet, cute looking girl.

"Slow starts like yours make for easy duels. No one remembers you if you don't even put up a fight! Aqua Surfer, to mana, summon Aqua Hulcus!"
The Liquid one formed out of the mana and moved forward, as Remni now cast a Spiral Gate using the first Spiral Gate that had gone into mana before. The Gigastand sank into the water, returned to where it had come from. His speed had given him what appeared to be total advantage, whereas even with her judge-sanctioned advantage, his opponent's efforts appeared to have amounted to nothing.

"Crow Winger! Ikei!"
The shield that broke was a Dark Reversal. No use, as none of her creatures had fallen. The Bronze-Arm Tribe moved in now to break another. This one, shattered, and an odd thing happened...

The energy of the glade began to swirl, in a powerful storm, whipping up the water, increasing in speed and ferocity until it was clear what had triggered. Emergency Typhoon. With only two shields remaining, no creatures to stop Remni, and three of his own on the field, as well as his mana already at a count of five, this definitely counted as an 'emergency' for Luni Matthia. Yet she seemed calm, even in the midst of the raging storm. When it finally subsided, two more cards had been added to her hand, and somehow... her avatar was in the battle zone.

"Death Smoke, on Hulcus!" she laughed, "Dava Torey, destroy that disgusting Crow! Ikei!"

Remni felt a shock go through his mind as Luni's avatar descended on his Crow Winger with its beam saber and cleaved through its body easily. The dank black fog that had swallowed up his Hulcus had given him a similar chill. She was still not exactly doing well, but her slow start was beginning to 'wear off'.

"Phantom Dragon's Flame to mana. Summon Aqua Surfer! Bronze-Arm Tribe, ikei!"
Luni growled as the Surfer's wave sent Dava Torey back where he had come, just as water and waves had brought him to begin with. The shield shattered without trigger.

"In the end it is speed you have to use, right? But speed exhausts duelists, just as Allen said... Engbelt, the Spydroid, to mana. Summon Gray Balloon, Shadow of Greed, and Sanfist, the Savage Vizier. End turn."

Remni breathed, drawing his card. She was right, there was not that much he could play directly. He decided to increase his mana further rather than trying to outsummon the psychotic female duelist, and placed Emeral there, summoning his Gonta, the Warrior Savage.

"Speed to save you, or speed to die... and does it even matter?" she laughed now, charging her mana. A Dream Pirate, Shadow of Theft. The energy brought to her by the Ghost caused a wailing to begin in the dark glade, causing the hair on Remni's neck to stand on end.

"Yes. It matters. Because this speed will be my key to victory..." Remni replied resolutely. His Surfer and Bronze-Arm Tribe stood proud beside Gonta. Victory was only one strike away.

"Ah yes, but will I remember it?" Luni laughed, still looking at the cards in her hand, considering her options. His speed and her own sluggishness had combined into a situation where she was almost completely on the ropes, but Remni's hand had been exhausted of cards. She considered a bit.

"We'll find out," Remni said simply, his anger having subsided into a slow smoldering disgust for the duelist sitting opposite him. Clearly she was one who deeply agreed with Juravis' way of dueling and manipulating the minds of duelists.

"Holy Awe!" she finally declared. This took Remni by surprise. The power of the spell illuminated the entire glade in a mighty flash, and he could hear the sounds of battle between Sanfist and the Bronze-Arm, as well as the less pronounced sounds of the Gray Balloon engulfing the Aqua Surfer. Things were a bit more complex in her deck than he had first believed. Now, her turn ended, and he drew his card. Another Bronze-Arm Tribe.

He summoned it. Its effect caused his first Bombazar to slide into his mana zone. He winced slightly. Unless she had Engbelt ready for summoning, that would have assured him victory on the next turn. The Warrior Savage struck the Savage Vizier down, instead of going for another shield. To break shields at this point could be lethal to the few creatures he had. Predicting what would come out of Luni's deck was difficult.

"You do make this difficult with all that 'speed'..." Luni grumbled, drawing her card. She swore under her breath. A Holy Awe.
"Why can't they ever be in shields where I--"

Her voice dropped to an inaudible level, but she was clearly cursing creatively. She cast Dark Reversal and resummoned the same Savage Vizier. Remni shuddered again as he watched its corpse rise again out of the water and reanimate, until it was finally flesh and alloy again, standing in front of him, halting his advance yet again.

He drew his card. An Emeral. Putting it into play could give him another creature, but it could also simply be wasting its power. Nearly any other card he could have drawn at that exact moment could have done the same. Even destructive Comet Missile would probably only delay her, if she had as many blockers and ways of reviving them, as he thought. Gonta strode forward again, and this time, for some reason, Luni did not block the great Warrior.

"My power isn't enough today, I suppose..." she muttered as she drew her card. A Gigastand. No real help in this matter. It seemed as if she had been overrun, and none of her creatures apparently had the power to stop even Gonta.

"Speed is the true key," Remni said, eyeing her disdainfully. Defeating someone who associated with Juravis was the next best thing.

"Oh wait... maybe..."
Suddenly, Luni's eyes lit up and her Kaijudo surged with incredible power.

"Yes! Haha! I didn't even realize I could! Even if you do win now, you won't forget! Dava Torey, to mana. Summon Gigastand, and evolve it into... Phantasmal Horror Gigazabal!"
Remni felt his head spin with the energy from the colossal evolved Chimera. It seemed to loom before him, taking up nearly all of his perception, dwarfing the Ghost and Initiate Beast Folk that stood by its feet.

"Gigazabal! Devour! Hahaha!"
This, the fiend gladly did, its colossal maw descending on Gonta so powerfully that even the carbide spear that the Warrior Savage carried was easily snapped in two by the terrifying jaws. Gonta was gone in a single bite. Luni's face was now adorned with a satisfied smirk. Remni found himself wanting to retch at the idea that the Phantasmal Horror was now 'smirking' with its own 'satisfaction' as well.

He drew his card. At this point, not much was particularly likely to save him or help. The card was a Mana Nexus. He cast it anyway, placing his Aqua Surfer as shield, and ended his turn.

"One card can end me... oh how I hate that disgusting feeling..." Luni grumbled, summoning the Sanfist she now drew, and beside it, a new deadly threat. A Gigaclaws. There were no shields remaining in her glade to protect her from Bombazar, and even the Scarlet Skyterror could easily break her defense and simply let the Bronze-Arm Tribe end the battle.

"But not yet, it seems," she smirked, as Remni simply drew and summoned yet another Gonta. The situation was now slightly less than dire, but she would need a tiny bit more luck to truly set things in her favor...

"Right then! Time to turn this around, or turn it up, or whatever! Another trademark unforgettable Luni Matthia technique! I cast Hydro Hurricane!"

Remni felt his mental faculties spiral out of control as yet another powerful storm whipped through the dark glade that made up the mindspace of Luni Matthia. The spell whisked away his Soulswap and Mana Nexus from his mana zone first. She was making sure he had minimal ability to rush at her or summon Bombazar. Then, through the power of the Gray Balloon and Phantasmal Horror, Gonta and the Bronze-Arm Tribe were also swept out of the battle zone. Luni grinned devilishly at the effect she was obviously having on her opponent's mind.

"Now all I need to do is play 'find the shield'... Allen said you were fairly lucky with your Shield Triggers, but the funny part here is... that move, and this attack, are most likely going to decide this whole game..."

"What... are you talking about?"
The figure of Luni in the mindspace danced about tauntingly on the tree branch where she stood. She was apparently finding this all very funny regardless of the fact that one trigger could end her entire campaign almost immediately.

"If my technique works, you're practically crippled. If not, the duel will end next turn with your Bombazar. Quite epic, don't you think? Everything practically depending on your shield to trigger and save you?"

Remni's Kaijudo faltered then, and in that instant he became fully aware of the power itself. It was all around him, warm and glowing, a strong pulse of life. Luni's was poised to sap it, to drain it all away. If she succeeded, it was most likely going to be incredibly painful...

Sanfist moved forward now under Luni's command, and broke one shield. It shattered without incident. Her Kaijudo descended on him like a giant mouth, just as Gigazabal had to Gonta.
"Haha! Got you!"

"It's not... over yet..." Remni managed to choke out, but things were far worse than they had been even a moment ago. The broken shield... was Bombazar.

"Gigaclaws, ikei! Devour!"
The Chimera's power was amongst the greatest of all creatures, once the sound of a shield shattering reached its many 'ears'. Its single attack carried all the power of a full discard effect. Every card in Remni's hand now vanished, placed into his grave. With them, nearly all his Kaijudo was sucked away instantly. Now, there was no more Bombazar. There were no creatures. There was nearly no chance of being able to get a Soulswap out in time to get the other Dragon of Destiny out of his mana zone.

The shield broken by Gigaclaws' attack did not trigger either. Whatever it was, when his own turn came, Remni did not actually seem to use it. He simply placed his Emeral into his mana zone and ended his turn. Luni's grin grew. She drew her card, and all around her were subjected to a mental barrage of expletives. She made no effort to hide her complete and total dissatisfaction with the drawn card. Her curses even let them all know that it was her third Holy Awe, apparently coming at the least opportune possible time.

"Now I have to attack you anyways, don't I? Hesitation won't help me. The good part is, unless you get a trigger that stops my cute Gigaclaws, you're still no better off, and I think you're out of those. Haha..."

Remni quickly went over it in his mind. One Surfer was in the shield zone, but Luni knew where it was already. Another had been summoned, and lost in battle. Two Spiral Gates were out of reach... it was a long shot.

"So I'll go with the idea that you're just doomed anyways, but for safety's sake lets cut down on your little threat level as much as we can," she laughed, "Sanfist, ikei!"

The surge of response from the shields brought a reaction from Luni that, though it were not in words, was close to 'It can't be!' from Dava Torey. Yet another Aqua Surfer had now sprung out, and that Aqua Surfer had removed the Gigaclaws. Luni cringed, but soon settled herself. The single Surfer was not a direct threat. It had not even been able to remove any of her blockers or her Gigazabal. It had been more or less forced to remove Gigaclaws in order to prevent the loss of the card in his hand. She exhaled, and ended her turn. It was only a moment later that she realized what truly had to have occurred, to make him outright choose the Gigaclaws at that point...

"But that means..."

"You did good. But not good enough... Evolve Aqua Surfer into Crystal Paladin!"
Remni's power surged forward as the Crystal warrior appeared, its hooves instantly freezing the water as it stood on the surface of it. The blast of energy from its arrival sent the two Sanfist and Gray Balloon flying out of the battle zone...

"Bah!" Luni snarled, her Kaijudo flailing ineffectually against his in the moment.

"Crystal Paladin. Todomeda."
The creature reared up on its hind legs, then charged, shield and blade at the ready, dodging the ineffectual swipes of Gigazabal, then leapt into the treetops to deliver the final blow to Luni Matthia's manifested form. She seemed to take very little damage from this, and was in fact still radiating more Kaijudo energy than Remni was.

She did not shake his hand, nor congratulate him, she simply picked up her cards and muttered some expletives under her breath, followed by...
"Another empty spot on my trophy wall."

Remni found himself confused now. She was like Juravis. He had defeated her, and in truth one could say that he had kept her 'on the ropes' for nearly the whole duel. Even her most complex plays had done nothing but slow him down and delay what had apparently been inevitable. Yet Luni seemed not only not concerned, but outright unimpressed. Clearly she was vain, but not even Juravis had given him the impression that one could just outright ignore an opponent that had defeated you.

The link between their minds had not yet broken. The Crystal Paladin, and Remni's form, stood in her glade still, on an ice floe, watching Luni apparently congratulate her creatures as if she had been the one victorious.

"Hey! Why doesn't it work on you!? Why couldn't I touch you!?"
Remni's rage was finally beginning to take shape again, and the heat from him was even slightly melting the ice he stood on. His question had been posed only in the mind, but it was clear and unmistakable. Luni's mental form finally looked up at him, from apparently, of all creepy things, nuzzling Gigazabal.

"Don't be silly, you little unimportant boy. You're nowhere near me. I dueled gloriously. Every move an epic plot. Had I wished, I could have terrorized your weak mind even further and simply evolved Gigaclaws into another Gigazabal. I had mercy, since you are already unlikely to forget this duel with the great Luni Matthia!"
From here, she devolved into maniacal laughter, within her own mind, Dava Torey hovering near her, glowing with the power she gave off.

The Crystal Paladin moved closer to Remni now, to counter the rising raging heat.
"You think you're still better than me? Is that it, then?"

"We do not 'think' that. We know that," Dava Torey responded with a sneer. Luni laughed lightly and nuzzled Dava's shimmering armor as well.

Remni's arm twitched in reality. His entire form twitched with rage in their minds. He could feel Juravis' philosophy radiating from the girl in front of him. That arrogance that had taken his Hikari from him. He had won the tournament, but Luni had not been defeated. He still had not learnt how to defeat them.

"You think you played so perfectly, yet you still lost... and you're trying to tell me that you're better than me?" he growled.

"Victory and defeat are not synonyms for flawlessness and weakness, boy. The imperfect win, and the perfect lose, quite often. What matters is the glorious battle, where the perfect duelist is never truly defeated."

"And you believe that your 'mentor' is this perfect duelist? You really think Juravis is a man who can manage 'glorious battle'?"

Luni gave him the final answer her mind would give before breaking the link.
"What are you talking about? Allen Juravis is just an average duelist. He's nowhere near my level of perfection in this art. Allen is more of a ... philosopher. Perhaps you should do as we do and learn from him a bit..."

"I will never let that wretch teach me anything..." Remni fumed, but it was not something Luni was aware of. She had already wandered off, absorbed in her own thoughts, grinning as if she had truly been the absolute victor of the day. In that moment, Remni realized that the feelings she had caused him, the image of Gonta disappearing into the jaws of the Phantasmal Horror, was indeed something that he might never be able to forget...