Chapter 2: Awaken of the King of Justice part 2.

Thanks to his strategy of sneaking around in the vents, Yuya was pleasantly unaccounted for by the Clan when they set about invading the stadium. The same couldn't be said for the reverse, the entertainer effortlessly tracking their numbers and movements by connecting to the LDS security system through his duel disk. For now, it looked like his time would be best spent taking care of those bombs they were using to threaten everyone.

As soon as he dropped out from overhead, he found himself spotted. Careless. Still, it wasn't like him to pass up an opportunity to put on a show even if it would be for a weirdo in white. "Finally, an audience!" he said, grabbing a few cards from his pocket.

The Clan member came to a halt in front of Phantom, a menacing smile spreading across his lips. This kid was one of their biggest annoyances. If he took him out here and now, he was sure to gain favor with the people in charge.

"Look who we have here," he said, menacingly cracking his knuckles as he stomped up to Phantom. "Little lost lamb wandering towards the slaughter."

Phantom didn't really have time for all of this but there wasn't much choice in the matter. This guy was already activating his duel disk and preparing for a fight. "It's pretty rude to not at least introduce yourself," he said, his own duel disk springin to life as he jumped backwards to gain some distance. "Well, I guess we're both short on time. There should be plenty of time for introductions after I stop your plans."

"All you need to know is that I'll be your death," the man said, the area transforming around him as rocky terrain overtook the cramped cooridore. Despite still being located inside, the arena's halls transformed in front of both of them into a mountainside.

"I like the view," Phantom said, looking around. "But if you set the field, it's only fair that I get the first turn."

"Do whatever you want," the man scoffed, shouting out a loud, "Action Duel!" after that to begin.

"I'll start the show by bringing Entermate Turntrooper to the stage!" He slapped a card onto his duel disk, a miniature musketeer with a clock motif materializing beside him.

Entermate Turntrooper 1200 ATK / 1200 DEF

"I'll set four cards after that before ending my turn," he declared, sliding the entirety of his hand into his duel disk. "I hope you can keep up, otherwise this won't be a very entertaining show for the crowd."

This comment fell flat, the Clansman having no sense of humor. "There's no one else here," he argued, taking the claim entirely seriously. "You're acting like I've already bashed your brains in."

"I'm just used to having someone to perform for." He shrugged.

With a grunt, the man drew a card to begin his turn. "You're already familiar with the power we have, aren't you? I've made this Action Field all on my own." He raised a hand, clenching his fist. "I'll be using it to crush you, worm!"

This didn't seem to do much in the way of intimidation as he'd hoped. "No offense," Phantom said while leaning on Turntrooper's shoulder, "but I've dueled a lot of you guys already. You all kind of give me the same speech every time. Could you just duel? Or at least change it up a little with how you explain it?"

He got even angrier at this, gritting his teeth and shouting, "Silence! You should be savoring it since it'll be the last time you ever hear it! Or anything else for that matter!"

Taking a card, he activated a new Field on top of the first. "I activate Dragon Ravine! Now its effect stacks on top of the Action Field's own properties, giving Dragons an extra 500 ATK while also making it easier for me to bring them out!"

"That doesn't seem good," Phantom quipped, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "Not good at all."

"Silence!" The man shouted again. "I activate Dragon Ravine's effect, discarding a card to add a Dragunity monster from my deck to my hand." He tossed one card away, another ejecting itself from his deck for him. "My choice is Dragunity Senate which I'll now summon!"

Flying onto his field was a humanoid bird creature, robes billowing in the wind as it stomped the bottom of its staff against the rocky floor.

Dragunity Senate 1800 ATK / 1800 DEF

Dragunity Senate ATK: 1800 + 500 = 2300

"Now the true terror of my monster is revealed! Effect activate!" Senate raised its staff into the air, screeching as a glow overtook it. "Dragunity monsters can call back an ally from the Graveyard as equipment, Senate only needing me to discard another card to make it happen." Tossing another from his hand, he declared, "My choice will be the Tuner Monster, Dragunity Couse!"

"A Tuner," Phantom observed. "It looks like your deck uses Synchro Monsters."

"Don't get ahead of yourself," he scolded him. "My turn has barely even begun. Couse's own effect activates now, allowing me to summon itself if it's equipped to another monster." The purple dragon that had attached itself to the back of Senate leaped off, flying through the air before taking a spot next to it.

Dragunity Couse 1000 ATK / 200 DEF

Dragunity Couse ATK: 1000 + 500 = 1500

"Couse also has another effect," he continued. "When used as material for a Synchro Summon, I can treat it as a Level 4 monster. I'm doing that right now!"

He raised a hand to the air. "I tune my Level 4 Dragunity Senate with my Level 4 Tuner Dragunity Couse!" His monsters took flight, Couse transforming into a set of four glowing green rings that Senate centered itself inside. The other Dragunity became transparent, four orbs of light representing its Level shining inside it.

"Spread your wings and crush everything in your path without mercy! Synchro Summon!" A flash of light overtook the field. "Level 8, Dragunity Knight – Barcha!" A bladed, serpentine dragon in green and purple appeared from the light, roaring into the sky and brandishing the blades fused to its flesh.

Dragunity Knight – Barcha 2000 ATK / 1200 DEF

Dragunity Knight – Barcha ATK: 2000 + 500 = 2500

"Barcha's summoning allows me to equip as many Dragon Dragunity monsters to it from my Graveyard, increasing its ATK by 300 for each one." This meant Couse and the Dragunity Phalanx discarded earlier for Senate's effect.

Dragunity Knight – Barcha ATK: 2500 + 600 = 3100

Phantom had to admit that this was a pretty strong play, especially with the sense that it wasn't entirely finished. His smile still shone bright regardless, unfazed by the danger before him.

"Next, I activate Double Summon, giving me a second Normal Summon this turn." Taking another card, he summoned his second monster. "With that, I'll play Dragunity Militum!" Another bird creature came out, this one slashing the air with twin blades as it descended.

Dragunity Militum 1700 ATK / 1200 DEF

Dragunity Militum ATK: 1700 + 500 = 2200

"Now Couse activates, summoning itself to my field again!" The armored up dragon detached itself from Barcha, dropping to the field next to it.

Dragunity Knight – Barcha ATK: 3100 – 300 = 2800

"I tune my Level 4 Dragunity Militum with my Level 2 Tuner Dragunity Couse." The process repeated again, the man shouting, "Synchro Summon! Level 6, Dragunity Knight – Harloon!" The new dragon appeared, standing on all fours as it raised its bladed head to the sky to roar along with its larger companion.

Dragunity Knight – Harloon 1200 ATK / 1900 DEF

Dragunity Knight – Harloon ATK: 1200 + 500 = 1700

Like the others, it equipped Couse to itself upon summon, Couse then summoning itself back ot the field all over again. "Synchro Summon!" he declared again. "Level 10, Dragunity Knight – Ascalon!"

This gleaming golden beast was the largest yet, its shrill and tinny roar shaking the area around it as it flapped its wings. This appeared to be the end goal of his formation.

Dragunity Knight – Ascalon 3300 ATK / 3200 DEF

Dragunity Knight – Ascalon ATK: 3300 + 500 = 3800

"Harloon's effect!" he shouted. "When sent to the Graveyard, I can equip it to another Dragunity monster to raise its ATK by 1000!" Harloon rose from the Graveyard, latching onto Ascalon's back.

Dragunity Knight – Ascalon ATK: 3800 + 1000 = 4800

"Ascalon's effect activates!" he said, a card ejecting from his duel disk. "By banishing a Dragunity monster from my Graveyard, I can banish a monster you control!" Senate was gone as was Turntrooper, leaving Phantom exposed.

As his opponent made a run for it in search of an Action Card, the Clansman continued his strategy. "I play the card Dragon Mastery from my hand, raising the ATK of all my monsters equipped with Dragunity cards by another 500."

Dragunity knight – Barcha ATK: 2800 + 500 = 3300

Dragunity Knight Ascalon ATK: 4800 + 500 = 5300

"Struggling is useless!" he shouted, his monsters following close behind Phantom. Despite the linear nature of the hallway they occupied, any Action Cards had been well-hidden behind Solid Vision rocks and fixtures to make the search more of a challenge. Luckily, he spotted one not far off.

"Finish this, my monsters!" Barcha and Ascalon roared in unison. "Battle! Ascalon, direct attack!"

Diving to grab what he'd spotted, Phantom did a roll along the ground and prepared to play his new card. At least, he would have if it existed. It wasn't like him to miss something so basic. Where could it have gone? He was sure it was right there in front of him.

Phantom turned on his heels to face the oncoming assault, Ascalon charging a beam of golden energy in its mouth before unleashing it in a stream across the ground. It hit its mark with a massive explosion, the conjured rocks that made up the field cracking and flying in all directions from the force of the blast.

"Too easy!" The man scoffed. Just as he was about to celebrate his victory of his weak and pathetic enemy, he heard a voice.

"Sorry," it said, "but the show's not over yet." The dust cleared in an instant, Phantom standing completely unharmed as a glowing barrier protected him. "My Trap, Entermate Call, negates a direct attack against me. It also lets me take two Entermates from my deck with DEF is less than your monster's ATK." With a grin, he snapped his fingers. "Too bad you went all in with your strongest card first."

The man grit his teeth as Phantom added a pair of cards to his hand, completely making a fool of him and his hoped for perfect victory. "No matter, I still have Barcha! Direct attack!"

As a spire of flames shot towards him, Phantom pressed the screen on his duel disk once more. "Sorry, I won't let that happen!" he said. "Trap activate, Entermate Pinch Helper! This allows me to negate your direct attack and summon another of my players from the deck!"

"Time to pull a rabbit out of my hat. Or, well, a snake. Come to think of it, I don't even own a hat. Ah, but whatever. Come out, Entermate Whip Viper!" A cheery purple snake summoned itself from Phantom's deck, tipping its festive top hat to the enemy as it appeared on the field.

Entermate Whip Viper 1700 ATK / 900 DEF

"There's a lot more to duels than just having the strongest attacks, you know." The furious expression his opponent made gave him a chuckle. "It was pretty careless of you to play only offensively like that. Maybe you would have had some luck if you paid attention to my field."

Phantom returned to searching for an Action Card as he waited for his turn, his opponent beginning to laugh. "You fool," he said. "This field grants me the ability to add Action Cards to my hand without looking for them. You'll never find even one!" Just as he said, a new card appeared right in his hand.

"That's cheating!" Phantom shouted, his smile turning to a deep frown at this unforgivable display of poor sportsmanship.

"All that matters is the result!" He proclaimed. "I'll activate it now! Regroup! This allows my monsters to have a second attack this turn at the cost of slicing their ATK in half!

Dragunity Knight – Barcha ATK: 3300 / 2 = 1650

Dragunity Knight – Ascalon ATK: 5300 / 2 = 2650

"Crush him!" He commanded, his monsters charging their attacks once more.

Phantom wagged his finger. "Not this time. I activate the card Super Hippo Carnival! I summon my friend, Entermate Discover Hippo, out of my deck!" A vested pink hippopotamus materialized on the field, standing on its hind legs to tip its hat to the enemy.

Entermate Discover Hippo 800 ATK / 800 DEF

"Useless, useless, useless!" The man cried. "Destroy those pathetic clowns!" Ascalon fired at Phantom's monsters, another impact seeming to indicate that they struck true.

As always, however, nothing was ever as it appeared. "Discover Hippo didn't come here alone," he explained. "Super Hippo Carnival also lets me summon Hippo Tokens to my field, forcing your attacks towards them for the rest of the turn." A trio of lavishly dressed hippos danced in front of Whip Viper and Discover Hippo, one of them blowing a kiss towards the dragons before dissolving into a shower of light.

Hippo Token 0 ATK / 0 DEF

"That isn't all," he said to his fuming enemy. "When my monster is destroyed, I can activate Illusion Balloon. This lets me check the top five cards of my deck and summon an Entermate I find there." Dozens of colorfully decorated balloons burst forth out of the card's picture, covering Phantom's field before popping into showers of confetti.

From out of the chaos emerged another monster. "Take the stage, Entermate Lizardraw!" The brightly-colored reptile did a flip, landing on the field with a bow.

Entermate Lizardraw 1200 ATK / 600 DEF

"Barcha, attack another of those pathetic tokens!" He called, foolishly letting his anger get the better of him. While he certainly did destroy the monster for no real gain, Phantom was more than prepared to capitalize on that loss.

"Lizardraw's effect! When one of my monsters is destroyed, I can draw cards equal to the number of Entermate monsters on my field. That would be Lizardraw, Discover Hippo, and Whip Viper for a total of three." At the beginning of this turn, his hand contained exactly zero cards. Now it was back to five all over again all while four monsters populated his field.

"Turn end," the Clansman said. "Now my monsters' ATK returns to normal."

Dragunity Knight – Ascalon ATK: 5300

Dragunity Knight – Barcha ATK: 3300

Phantom smiled, completely unafraid of the hulking monsters staring him down. He already had everything he needed to finish this. "My turn, draw!"

"I activate the Field Magic, Entermate Dramatic Theater!" As he slid the card into his duel disk, the lighting around the area cut out. Moments later, a spotlight shone on Phantom. Spreading his arms wide, he announced, "Ladies and gentlemen! It's time for the final act!"

Audience or not, he was dedicated to making every duel of his a performance if for no other reason than to just maybe reach one of these people he fought against. To show them that their way of dueling through violence wasn't what they were meant to do.

"Hey, Hippo Token!" He called, his monster turning around and pointing at itself. He nodded. "Are you ready? There's a very special role for you here that only you can play."

The hippo laughed, waving a foot at him in a bashful manner. "Oh, come on! I know you can do it! Right, everyone?" Whip Viper, Lizardraw, and Discover Hippo cheered. "I said… right, everyone?" His monsters cheered again even louder, though his real attention was focused on his opponent.

"Stop with this nonsense!" The man shouted. "Just play your cards!"

With a sigh, Phantom shook his head. "You've really got no sense of humor at all." He shrugged. "Fine, then. Action Magic, Slingshot Shot!" He placed the card into his duel disk, a giant wooden slingshot forming on his field.

"What?" The Clansman exclaimed. "You shouldn't have that!"

"Oh? You mean you would have stolen this if you saw me run towards it? I guess it's a good thing you didn't see me, then." It was the balloons that did it, Phantom's entire field being covered by them for several seconds. That was plenty of time for him to snag this card from underneath a rock nearby.

"Slingshot Shot lets me destroy a monster I control in exchange for destroying one of your Magic or Trap Cards. I'm counting on you, Hippo Token!" The monster saluted him, jumping into the end of the slingshot as his other three monsters did the hard work of pulling it back. Stretching it nearly a full yard behind Phantom, they finally let go, the Token sailing through the air and crashing into Dragon Mastery.

Dragunity Knight – Ascalon ATK: 5300 – 500 = 4800

Dragunity Knight – Barcha ATK: 3300 – 500 = 2800

"That's pointless!" He shouted. "My monsters are still more powerful than anything you have!"

"You're so quick to jump to conclusions," he scolded. "The show has just begun! I Tribute Entermate Whip Viper and Entermate Discover Hippo to Tribute Summon Entermate Smile Magician!" A tall humanoid appeared to replace Phantom's former monsters, taking a bow as its white cape fluttered behind it.

Entermate Smile Magician 2500 ATK / 2000 DEF

"When Smile Magician is summoned to my field, I can add a Smile World to my hand." He took the card from his deck before continuing. "It's probably a good time to explain what my Dramatic Theatre does, too. All my monsters gain 200 ATK for every monster Type I control. Smile Magician is a Spellcaster and Lizardraw is a Reptile, making for 400 in total."

Entermate Smile Magician ATK: 2500 + 400 = 2900

Entermate Lizardraw ATK: 1200 + 400 = 1600

"Don't get used to that," he added, "since they have a lot more friends to help them." Revealing another card in his hand, he placed it down. "I think I'll take a page out of your book and use my own Double Summon, letting me bring out Entermate Longphone Bull!" The besuited beast gave a snort as it appeared on the field, the old-style phone in place of its horns ringing for a moment.

Entermate Longphone Bull 1600 ATK / 1200 DEF

"Since I summoned an Entermate, I can also summon Entermate Helpprincess from my hand." He continued. A fourth monster came out then, jumping for joy with its gigantic hand baton clutched against its side.

Entermate Helpprincess 1200 ATK / 1200 DEF

"The fun has just begun!" He declared. "Now I have four Entermate monsters on my field with different Types and the real ability of Dramatic Theatre can show itself!" The lights went out again, a drumroll signalling that something big was about to hit the field. "Today's main attraction is finally here! Entermate Dramatic Theatre has brought him out all the way from my deck!"

Two lights – one red and one green – appeared in the darkness behind Phantom. "Behold, the rare dragon with different-colored eyes! Come on out, Odd-Eyes Dragon!" With a roar, the star of Yuya's deck emerged in a shower of fireworks matching its colors. The rest of his monsters cheered as it happened.

Odd-Eyes Dragon 2500 ATK / 2000 DEF

"And don't forget," he said, "that my monsters gain 200 ATK for every different Type I control. With five monsters with five different Types, that's a whole 1000!"

Odd-Eyes Dragon ATK: 2500 + 1000 = 3500

Entermate Smile Magician ATK: 2500 + 1000 = 3500

Entermate Lizardraw ATK: 1200 + 1000 = 2200

Entermate Longphone Bull ATK: 1600 + 1000 = 2600

Entermate Helpprincess ATK: 1200 + 1000 = 2200

"Now that everyone's here," he said, "we can finally begin the climax of our show!" Jumping into the air, he landed on Odd-Eyes Dragon's back, the monster rearing back to roar into the sky.

"What good will all of that nonsense do you?" The man questioned." Ascalon is still more powerful than any of those cards! I'll wipe you out next turn without a second thought!" "Maybe, maybe," he said with a nod. "But then again...there's not going to be a next turn." This shocked his opponent, his next move only intensifying that effect. "Now, Smile Magician activates! While his ATK is higher than its original value, I can draw a card for all of my monsters with a higher ATK. Since all five of my cards are affected by Dramatic Theatre, that's five new cards for me!" He wasn't going to let up after that. "Now, I use this! The Magic Card Smile World!" The entire field was overtaken with smiling faces, good vibes and positivity showering the monsters and causing them to dance with joy. "Every monster on the field gains 100 more ATK for each of them.

Odd-Eyes Dragon ATK: 3500 + 700 = 4200

Entermate Smile Magician ATK: 3500 + 700 = 4200

Entermate Lizardraw ATK: 2200 + 700 = 2900

Entermate Longphone Bull ATK: 2600 + 700 = 3300

Entermate Helpprincess ATK: 2200 + 700 = 2900

Dragunity Knight – Ascalon ATK: 4800 + 700 = 5500

Dragunity Knight – Bracha ATK: 2800 + 700 = 3500

"A pointless card!" He shouted. "All you've done is raise their values! The result is still the same with me being stronger than you!"

"Don't get so hasty," he told him. "Yes, it's true that Ascalon still beats out my cards. It won't matter once I play this!" Another card appeared on the field. "Entertainment Band Hurricane! I can return cards you control to your hand up to the number of Entermate monsters I control."

A whirlwind of music formed, Phalanx, Harloon, Bracha, and Ascalon all being forced out of the field. "And with that, our show comes to a close," Phantom said. "Everyone, let's go!" His monsters went on the attack, all charging forward in a group led by Odd-Eyes.

"I won't let it end this way!" The man growled. Materializing an Action Card in hand, he slammed it into his duel disk. "Action Magic, Hellbent Trap! When you attack, it destroys all your Attack Position monsters and deals you damage equal to their ATK!"

This clearly wasn't a fair card. It seemed like nothing was too low for these people. "I don't think so," Phantom said, Odd-Eyes roaring before launching him forward off its back. "I activate My Body as a Shield! For 1500 Life Points, I can negate a card that would destroy my monsters!"

He did a somersault through the air, the collected blast of energy the Action Card would normally blast his monsters with striking him instead. Gliding through it effortlessly, he landed on one knee and stood back up to point forward.

Phantom LP: 4000 – 1500 = 2500

"Battle! Spiral Flame Ensemble!" Odd-Eyes Dragon charged a beam of dual-colored fire inside its mouth, launching it at the enemy. Phantom's other monsters contributed their energy to the blast, an orange, yellow, brown, and purple beam joining forces with the red and black one to create a rainbow of colors that smashed into the opponent, consuming his field.

Clansman LP: 4000 – 17500= 0

Despite the theatrics, very little of the attack actually struck the man. Beyond a bit of blowback, it was effectively just a fun lightshow to cap off Phantom's performance. "Is that all you've got?" He said in defiance despite having conclusively lost the duel.

"There's no need to hurt you," Phantom said. "I've already won. Besides, I have more important things to worry about for now, so no encores." Despite saying this, he still had his reservations about whether or not he could actually disarm the explosives as he planned to do. He wasn't exactly part of the bomb squad. "And don't do anything bad like this again." He added.

The Clansman took this as an insult, spitting onto the floor. "Pathetic. You're nothing but a coward and a trickster. Fighting like this isn't going to get you anywhere. We'll just come back stronger than before."

Phantom chuckled. "Then I'll just beat you again." It wasn't like this was the first time he'd ever heard something like this. It likely wouldn't be the last. While it may be true he didn't believe in violence, that didn't make him any less effective as a duelist. The way he saw things, all he had to do was continue to win to prove his ideals. Maybe one day they might even start to see things his way once they got tired of losing.

"What do you actually get out of all of this?" He asked, never really having the chance to talk to a member of the Clan like this for so long. They usually disappeared after losing but this guy was a glutton for punishment.

"You could never understand our goals," he said haughtily. "I need power to take back what I've lost and I'll do anything to get it. Those people out there mean nothing. If you had even an ounce of sense, you'd feel the same way."

Anything else he might have wanted to say would remain a mystery, the man falling unconscious as a spinning red object clubbed him in the back of the head.

Phantom jumped back in surprise. Was this a new enemy? He watched as the thing continued to spin through the air, eventually circling back and returning to the one who'd thrown it: Reiji Akaba.

"Empty words from a peon," he said, shaking out the scarf and wrapping it back around his neck. "Just a deluded fool taken by their promises."

"You didn't have to do that." Phantom told him, walking forward.

"That man had a knife," he explained, pushing up his glasses. "While you were busy talking, he was about to pull it out. Would you have been able to stop him?" His expression remained stoic as he said these things despite their grizzly nature. "In the end, I was only repaying you for keeping this one's attention. Nothing more."

"Don't mention it." Phantom said with a grin, completely missing that that wasn't a real expression of thanks.

"You're after this, correct?" Reiji said, producing the box and tossing it to Phantom. "More accurately, you wanted its contents."

As Phantom shook it out, he realized he'd been had. "You really shouldn't have taken this," he said. "Everyone's in danger now because of that."

"I can agree that the Clan should have no ownership of what was inside there." He paused, his icy gaze sizing up the vigilante in front of him. "But why should I believe you'd want anything different for it?"

"You already know the answer to that," he said. "Will you tell me where the flower is?"

Reiji scoffed. "At the moment, it should be on the main stage. I've entrusted it to that girl. Based on my theory, she should hold the key to unlocking its potential."

"A girl?" Phantom questioned.

Adjusting his glasses once more, a snide smile moved across Reiji's lips. "It seems you're not as well-informed as you think you are. That naivete reminds me of someone I used to know." He didn't expand on that, choosing instead to follow up on the original question. "Yuzu Hiiragi. Right now, she should be fighting a member of the Clan herself. Before you ask, there's no way for you to stop the duel."

"You're willing to put her and everyone else in danger just to test a theory?" he asked, anger beginning to brew inside of him. "None of this makes any sense."

"Things aren't always as they seem," he said. "You of all people should know that." After another pause, he added, "If you want me to trust you, I expect the same in return. If all goes according to plan, no one will be harmed and we'll have dealt a critical blow to the Clan." Despite his words and the confidence they exuded, Phantom couldn't help but feel like he might secretly regret having to take such drastic action to accomplish all this. "One step closer to my goal."

"And what is that?" Phantom asked as Reiji turned to leave.

"To show my enemies what I'm capable of." He stood there in silence before adding, "Do you still choose to be one of those enemies, Phantom?"

He didn't reply though his answer should be obvious. As much as he hated risking so many people's lives for this plan, he never intended to make an enemy of Reiji or LDS in the first place. "Maybe you should be more focused on finding friends than looking tough to your enemies," he finally said.

Rather than argue back, Reiji only said, "If you hurry, you should make it by the end of the duel. She may need your assistance after that."

(Stadium)

"The wait is over, ladies and gentlemen!" A man in a garish yellow suit called from the center of the arena. Fussing with the side of his round glasses to catch the sunlight and cause a flash across his face, Nico Smiley tossed his hand towards the sky to draw attention to the immense screen behind him. "Finally, the debut of LDS' newest and most advanced Solid Vision System is underway!"

Fireworks exploded as the crowd cheered, all sorts of technical drawings and simulations running on the aforementioned screen with the LDS logo proudly displayed in the corner. With Solid Vision being such a massive fixture of the world, it was no surprise that so many people were excited to see just what new leap forward the company had made this time.

A series of lights turned on around the arena, all of them casting a hologram into the center. Materializing up from the bottom, a massive fascimilie of Reiji Akaba towered over the crowd in attendance. Despite the impossible proportions, he still looked real enough to touch.

The shock at such a lifelike Solid Vision construct spread through the arena. Even a dedicated critic like Yuzu found herself stunned at the giant leap forward compared to what had been available just yesterday.

Then it spoke. "You already know who I am," it said, voice a perfect match to the LDS CEO's. "The tireless work of the Akaba family and Yusho Sakaki have evolved the world of Duel Monsters beyond what anyone thought possible. Many even believed it had reached its peak with the creation of Action Duels. Even so, there have always been certain limitations with even the most advanced technology."

The hologram spread its arm out across the field, both to demonstrate the upcoming point as well as to show off the fact that it created a real gust of wind with its movements. "Action Fields, for example. Confined to certain areas, only available within pre-programmed bounds." It clenched its fist. "But no more. Now, all one will need is a duel disk to take that power into their own hands. Completely solid monsters interacting with a field of play as real as any found in nature."

Various monsters appeared at the hologram's feet, the field around changing between numerous different terrains represented by cards from the game. Each and every one appeared just as real as the Reiji hologram no matter how fantastical they looked. "With our new technology, we've evolved the game once again! All this power at your fingertips with less limitations than ever before. Nothing will stand in the way of your battles. You'll see that soon enough during the demonstration."

The hologram vanished after that, the two duelists being given the signal to take the stage. Yuzu was the first out, walking to the field as people cheered (mostly for the new technology and prospect of a duel rather than her as a person).

"Our first competitor is Miss Yuzu Hiragi of You Show Duel School," Nico Smiley announced, pausing for a moment to check his notes after saying such. That name was familiar to him and many others though couldn't quite place why. "Er, yes. That You Show Duel School, everyone! The one founded by none other than Yushou Sakaki himself!"

Several people gasped at the clarification, most not even realizing that Yushou Sakaki had even started a school, let alone still had it. The specifics of his life were always somewhat vague, that vagueness growing after his disappearance six years ago. Outside of his position as a creator of Action Duels, most of his history had been forgotten over time.

Grabbing the microphone for him, Yuzu set the record straight. "Yes, that's right. Yushou Sakaki founded my school with my father. He might have disappeared but we've never gone away."

Planting her feet firmly and striking a pose befitting of her dueling uniform, she continued. "We've kept the school and the values it represents alive ever since." Her duel disk activated as she placed cards onto it, then jumped into the air. Carried upwards by a sudden blast of air, she twirl about in a flurry of flower petals.

The wind died down, causing her to plumet towards the ground. Arms outstretched, she was caught without issue by two of her fairies, gently lowering her the rest of the way unharmed. "I am Yuzu Hiragi, daughter of Shuzo Hiragi and representative of You Show Duel School," she proclaimed.

Her monsters bowed as they disappeared. "But when I take to the Action Field, there's another name I go by." Despite how hard her heart was pounding, she couldn't help but think to herself how well this performance was going. From even a short glance around the arena, she could tell the crowd was completely enraptured by her. "When I duel, I duel as Juno, the angelic hero and protector of the weak!"

She took a bow, handing the microphone back. Clapping along with the audience, Nico Smiley took back control of the scene. "Well, that was certainly an introduction, Miss Juno." He nodded a few times, snapping his fingers and pointing to the opposite end of the field. "But how will you stand up against your opponent? The one...the only...Strong Ishijima!"

Several seconds worth of nothing passed, the duelist nowhere to be found. "Strong Ishijima!" he said again with the same upbeat cadence. Still nothing. "Strong Ishijima!" he tried again, the crowd beginning to murmur among themselves about the star being a no show.

To further the confusion, a completely unrelated person emerged from the other side of the arena. Shew as dressed entirely in black, head covered in a hood and upper portion of her face by a black cloth to make her virtually unidentifiable.

"Who is that?" Nico Smiley muttered to himself before his attention was drawn to the buzzing phone in his pocket. Quickly scanning over a text, he spoke into the microphone, "Well, it seems like there's been a slight change of plans. Strong Ishijima has unfortunately fallen ill. Tragic, I know, but we've got someone almost as good to take his place!"

No one was entirely sure what to make of this situation, least of all Yuzu. She was sure this would mean less attention for the school no matter how good this replacement turned out to be. Dedicated Ishijima fans were probably leaving their seats at that very moment.

This wasn't anything she could control, though. She just had to give it her all same as always and hope for the best. After all, it was an entertainer's job to bring the crowd onto her side even if the show started off on a sour note.

"Hello," Yuzu greeted, hoping to get to know this new opponent before things kicked off. Unfortunately, she didn't get any response. Not a verble one by any measure, the wide and almost threatening smile that formed on the woman's face seeming to say something.

"Prepare yourselves, duelists! The game is about to begin!"

Looks like there wasn't any more time to get acquainted. Just as well, that seemed like a lost cause. She was more concerned with getting the duel underway and showing everyone what she could really do. "Duelists locked in battle! Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!"

Despite her earlier silence, the woman in black joined in as was customary. "Witness the greatest evolution in dueling!" Though her words should have carried an element of excitement given what they were, there was some kind of underlying sinister feeling to them that put Yuzu on edge.

"Action...duel!" As the intro came to a close, Yuzu felt something come over her. It wasn't fatigue or illness or anything as mundane as that. The best she could do to describe the sensation was to compare it to having stopped. That is to say, she and everything else froze in time in that very instant.

Her deck seemed to shine in that moment of motionlessness. It was her imagination, correct? The same with the flower she'd taken with her, now glowing in the pocket where she'd stored it. All of this had to be some kind of bizarre hallucination.

Then she saw what could only be dubbed a vision. A vision of what she had no clue, everything looking as if she'd put on a pair of dirty, fogged up goggles. She could barely make out the form of what she assumed to be another person floating in front of her.

The vision spoke. "Use my power," it told her, the voice sounding equally familiar and unfamiliar all at once. "Make the pendulum swing in your favor. Create the world anew in the light of hope."

Yuzu had no idea what this was supposed to mean. Trying to ask for clarification or make any kind of comment proved useless, her voice frozen as much as the rest of her. Either way, she wouldn't have had time to do so even if she could, the vision dissipating in shower of light a moment later.

Nothing seemed to change as she found herself thrust back into reality. While she would have loved to talk over this strange stress vision with someone – ideally, a therapist or other qualified professional – she had a duel to win and couldn't be concerning herself with trivial things like that right now. This, however, only brought more confusion and surprise as she finally took in what was happening around her.

This was the largest and most robust Action Field she'd seen in her entire life, that new Solid Vision proving its worth right from the start. It took the form of some castle made entirely of living, moving shadows. An enormous yellow moon hung low in the sky, casting an eerie light across everything.

"This is the fruits of LDS' labor!" Nico Smiley announced from somewhere off to the side. "The most realistic Action Field to date! Bigger, better, and more life-like than anything to have ever come before!"

He continued, "And that's not all! These new Action Fields take the game to an entirely different level all on their own! For this duel, both players will start with 8000 Life Points instead of the ordinary 4000. They can also hold two Action Cards in their hand at a time for double the excitement!"

He wasn't done, however. "And for the effect of Castle of Nightmares itself, a duelist can only attack their opponent's monster with the highest ATK! The others are allowed to hide in the shadows of this petrifying palace!"

Yuzu had come expecting new rules but having them all set out like this was a different matter entirely. What this all came down to was a longer and more grueling game, the extended Life Points and the limitations on attacking favoring control-based strategies. This was only compounded by the extra Action Card both were allowed to have. Overall, this seemed like a format favoring a more tactical approach to combat.

Not like she was complaining. Her deck was more than ready for something like this. That said, her opponent seemed equally pleased with the idea. "I think I'm a fan of this place," she spoke. "It's bleak, gothic. I feel right at home."

"Don't think that gives you the advantage," Yuzu replied, hoping to start some kind of raport now that the other duelist seemed to be opening up a bit.

With a small chuckle, she threw off the outer layer of clothing to reveal herself. This wasn't some ordinary duelist from LDS or another school but the criminal Dark Diva all along. While hindsight would probably tell people that wasn't much of a surprise, it was still more than a shock for those in attendance.

"Home or not, I'll gladly finish you here," she said, drawing a hand of five cards to take the first turn. With a mocking smile, she added, "Try to give me some sort of challenge. I'm not supposed to win too quickly."

"Someone like you could never beat me," she said in defiance. "Self-serving evil always loses against justice." As much as she was playing her role, she also meant these words with sincerity. For whatever reason, this duel hadn't stopped yet. That seemed to mean it was up to her to take this woman down.

There was just one problem – everything. The first thing she noticed was her duel disk, specifically the blade portion. Instead of the normal pink, it had changed to a vibrant crimson. Odd enough on its own, but a strand of hair falling in front of her face showed her the second thing; her hair was now that same color. Did this have something to do with the new Solid Vision? That vision from earlier?

Third and by far most importantly, however, were the cards she'd drawn for her hand. "Wait, what is..." Somehow and without her realizing, all of the cards in her deck had been changed out. She'd never seen any of these before in her life. Just what was going on here?

Oc card:

Regroup: Allows monsters in your field to have a second attack this turn at the cost of slicing their ATK in half!, but you cannot attack next turn.'

Yuya: "Oh no Yuzu is in trouble."

Yuzu: "What did this flower do with my hair and now my deck is different, I have never dyed my hair in my life."

Masumi: "Yuzu stops wasting time, concentrating on the duel. Besides, I do think it's temporary."

Dark Diva: "It doesn't look so bad, you also look divine, dear Juno."

Reiji: "The chapter ends and all of you are wasting your time, Yuya presents the title of the next chapter."

Yuya: "Ughhh, okay, Next time on Yugioh Arc-V: Lost pendulum-" The rebirth of the King of the Pendulum. "

Yuzu: "Wait, is that a giant robot? !"

Special thanks to Anti-Mattering to write Yuya duel and And The Sky for grammar.