Episode 14. - Survivor of the Ocean of Death

"That's weird... what's he doing here?" Yodaz wondered aloud. He was currently watching Libra sort her deck. She had dropped the whole deck in order to catch one of the fainting duelists during Taimi and Shu's clash, and was currently trying to make sure all her cards were there.

"Flood Valve... here's the other one... and... Who are you talking about, anyway?"

"Another person I met on the day I met Taimi. He was the winner of the tournament that day. He doesn't understand Kaijudo, though, so I wonder what he's doing here?"

Libra gave a small relieved sigh, reassured now that her cards were all there, and looked over in the direction Yodaz's gaze was inclined. A duelist with dark red hair, taller than both herself and Yodaz by a bit. He seemed to have just won a duel. Libra gave the youth a quick mental 'scan', and turned to Yodaz with a puzzled look.

"What do you mean, 'doesn't understand Kaijudo'. He seems at least as capable as most of the others we've seen today. Perhaps he's learnt some things since the last time you met him?"
She furrowed her brow and studied the other duelist more closely. Yodaz was not usually known for being incorrect about people, but he had also been acting very strangely since his minor disappearance.

"He's a Survivor duelist. Nothing much to write home about. I was just mentioning it, so don't worry about it. I have more dangerous opponents to concern myself with..."
He now focused his gaze across the room, where Shu and Ieri Lon were discussing strategy for Shu's duels ahead. This was the one opponent that Yodaz was not completely confident about. The changes he had made to his deck since that time were indeed helping, and he would probably need little more than one helpful trigger, to deal with the Phantasmal Horror, yet he was still slightly uneasy.

"I'm going to go warm up and eliminate a few more of these stragglers. We're getting close to the final eight now and I want to speed this up a bit," he told her. She nodded, no longer thrown off by the champion's nigh-unshakable confidence. She was having similar thoughts, though she knew that in Yodaz's mind, she was actually one of those 'stragglers'.

"I guess I'll go duel that same guy. I don't think I have any serious problems against Survivor decks," she said. Yodaz was no longer listening. He was already selecting his next target. Libra sighed, wondering if she would be able to face Yodaz again when the time came. He had told her about the change to his deck, but she had no way of deciding whether that would save him from her efforts or not. She decided to forget about it, and concentrate on the duel ahead instead. It was risky to be challenging people when she already had one loss, especially since being the challenger usually meant she would be going second, but this seemed better than waiting to be challenged by someone using discard, and losing all advantage.

"Hello!" she greeted him, "Kettou da?"

Ryoma Echizen looked up, slightly confused.
"Is that a question or a challenge? I can refuse?"

Libra laughed nervously. She had not meant for her words to come out sounding quite that inquisitive.
"Um... no, but you can choose when to accept. I thought you might be looking over your deck or something."

He shook his head, getting up.
"I'm ready. That table over there."

She nodded, moving ahead of him to get the side that faced the window. The rain was still falling. Heavier now. The sight of it would help her stay focused. Ryoma said little as he deployed his shields. He seemed deep in concentration. Libra saw nothing strange about this, since she was not much one for talk either. By now, most of the other duelists had been eliminated, and the ones that had not gone home, were finding duels to watch, so it was not surprising when, soon after they drew their cards, quite a few spectators arrived.

Ryoma began by charging water mana. Libra noted the card. Divine Riptide. She could not recall ever seeing anyone use it before. He ended his turn, and she drew her sixth card. She charged water mana also. Her sole Recon Operation card. Ryoma continued with fire mana now, and Libra equalized her water mana with a darkness card.

"I summon Emeral, and activate its effect. End turn."

Ryoma nodded, noting which shield she had swapped, and drew his card. He charged darkness mana now, and summoned Promephius Q. The first and simplest. Libra felt no noticeable Kaijudo from him as yet. It was a simple creature with no innate effect, however. There was no reason why it would multiply his Kaijudo on its own.

"I hear you've met Yodaz," she remarked to him as she drew and charged more water mana, "That must have been quite an experience. Miracle Quest. Emeral, ikei."

Her Cyber Lord broke the shield, but it did not trigger in the way she had expected. She had actually been hoping that it would destroy her Emeral, but instead it was a Crystal Memory. She drew her two cards regardless, and ended her turn. She knew better than to let her Kaijudo rise. That attack would most certainly cost her the Emeral, and whatever he got from his deck would cause her trouble. Ryoma drew his card, and answered her as he charged his own nature mana.
"It was quite an eye opener, you could say. Skullsweeper Q to field. Promephius Q, destroy Emeral, ikei."

Libra steeled herself for what was about to unfold before her. It was quite likely that the Skullsweeper was there now because of her very first attack. She had quite possibly given him much more of an advantage than she could ever have meant to. She watched mentally as the Promephius seemed to absorb a dark power from the Skullsweeper, and its attack destroyed both the Emeral, and seemed to tug on the hazier images that represented the cards in her hand. She knew she would have to lose one, so she made the decision quickly so as not to affect herself greatly. Discarding the Spiral Gate, she nodded to him. He ended his turn.

"What do you mean, an eye opener?" she asked now, drawing her card and charging more darkness mana, "Emeral summon... Junkatz, Rabid Doll, summon. End turn."

"Before I dueled him, I never understood any of this. The one person I had seen ever duel, that even had this ability, refused to duel or use it against the people around her..."
He charged more nature mana now, and cast Death Smoke on her Rabid Doll. Libra groaned in frustration, wondering what jinx it was that seemed to stalk her darkness creatures so. She doubled her efforts at projecting her Kaijudo against his when he declared the Promephius' attack, and discarded her Faerie Child, allowing the broken shield to replace it. At this rate, he could defeat her without needing any actual advantage, and she was already slowed down. She gulped nervously. Something about this one felt like it was going to be tough. Ryoma ended his turn. Libra focused again on the rain falling onto the outside of the glass, and controlled her breathing.

"Revolver Fish, summon," was all she could offer. She was quite used to controlling her mana zone in order to conserve resources, but in this case, there would be no conservation. She was merely trying to hold onto her hand worth of cards to prevent topdecking. It did not seem to occur to her how futile such a tactic was. She ended her turn, and looked up at him. He did not seem the slightest bit unnerved by her Kaijudo pressure, and was holding her at an even level even now. He drew his card and charged fire mana.

"Factory Shell Q..." Ryoma smirked triumphantly. Libra's consciousness was nearly swept away in the accompanying wave of Kaijudo. She could not tell whether or not this was Ryoma's avatar, but it seemed to have an enormous effect on him regardless. He showed her the Survivor that he used the Factory Shell's effect to retrieve. A second Factory Shell. Her heart rate quickened instantly. A surge of those would be nearly impossible to hold off. Her blocker was standing calmly in the way of Ryoma's possible onslaught, but for how long? He ended his turn here, his Kaijudo pressing into her mind like a vice.

"I can't make it, can I?" she thought to herself, as she drew her card, "I'm just going to have to topdeck after all."
She charged her Crystal Lancer to mana, and summoned an Aqua Jolter, casting Spiral Gate to return the Factory Shell to Ryoma's hand. He chuckled lightly, and she breathed a sigh of relief as the influence of the card left the battle zone. Eyeing him warily, she decided to go for it, as she often did.
"Emeral, break his shield. Ikei."

There was no trigger. She had no way of knowing whether or not that was a good or bad thing. His concentration did not seem to waver. She again focused her physical perception on the water on the glass, in order to divert her mind from what was going on in her psychic perception, as Ryoma drew his card and charged one of his Factory Shells to mana, summoning the other. This time, there was a marked increase in his Kaijudo when he selected the card from his deck. Forbos, Sanctum Guardian Q.

Their spectators were abuzz now. Her enemy removal was temporary and not anywhere near as effective as the Corile they were used to seeing, yet Libra had a spirit conducive to getting through quickly. How quickly she could manage it, however, remained to be seen. The young woman moved now as if there was a weight on her, drawing a card and yet again choosing to summon it rather than attempt to build her mana.
"Revolver Fish summon. Emeral, ikei--" no trigger, "Aqua Jolter, ikei." Again, there was no trigger waiting. She was closer, but not necessarily close enough. Ryoma's advantage in options and numbers easily outweighed her advantage in speed, and she knew it. Her body felt like lead now, but her Kaijudo pushed on, attempting to hold off the growing force that was Ryoma Echizen. One more shield to go.

Ryoma drew his card, and smirked again. He charged his Forbos, Sanctum Guardian to mana. Libra noted now, with some relief, that there had been no light mana in his mana pool up until this point. Her face fell, however, when she realized that he had only done so in order to facilitate his summon.
"Forbos, Sanctum Guardian Q. I will search my deck via the Factory Shell's effect to retrieve Gallia Zohl, Iron Guardian Q, and use Forbos' effect to search also for a Crimson Hammer, which I will use on your Aqua Jolter. Promephius Q, attack Emeral, ikei."

"Revolver Fish intercept..." Libra murmured. The crowd was already abuzz with the undercurrents of discussion regarding Ryoma's strategies, completely dismissing any effort she could have made. She did her best to tune them out, as Ryoma continued his assault.

"Skullsweeper Q, attack Emeral. Ikei."

Libra did not block this time. The two creatures clashed in her mind, the Brainjacker grabbing onto the Cyber Lord, whilst Emeral attempted to overload it with information. They struggled against each other until finally, neither of them convulsed any more, and they faded.

Libra drew her card, wishing desperately for an Aqua Soldier. Something she was sure would eventually get through. The defenses that her two Emeral had already set would be enough, but only if she could keep Ryoma slowed down slightly and on the defensive. His growing Survivor forces would be far more threat than anything she had faced before, and Ryoma was nowhere near as inept with his Kaijudo as Yodaz had made him sound.

"You've lost already, didn't you notice?" he finally said to her, quite calmly, as he ended his turn, "You are disadvantaged in every way. No deck is fast enough to kill from four mana and an empty hand."

Libra narrowed her eyes and glared at him.
"I can. Faerie Child. End turn."

At this point, Ryoma did look very slightly irritated. His Kaijudo did not fall, which instantly alerted Libra, and everyone around, to the fact that he would be able to counter, but he seemed a bit annoyed at his plans being somewhat disrupted. He drew his card and charged more nature mana. Libra had expected him to summon the Iron Guardian, but now, with the Faerie Child present, he seemed to find no need for that.

"I summon Smash Horn Q."
In their minds, the Horned Beast absorbed the effects of both the Factory Shell and Forbos. Ryoma searched his deck again, this time showing her the second Smash Horn, and the Spastic Missile, he had retrieved. He played both now, using the second Smash Horn to get a Divine Riptide and yet another Smash Horn. The missile crashed into the water where the Cyber Viruses swarmed, and they were gone.

"I can keep this up for as long as it takes, and I will only grow stronger as I do so..." he stated, "Best to give up now. You do not seem to be holding up well."

Libra steeled herself, determined not to seem as weak as she felt. Her efforts to conceal such a thing were futile in the face of such overwhelming opposition. She no longer had any card that would stop this particular onslaught, though an Aqua Soldier would probably at least help. She drew her card, and hoped for one. Instead, she received another Junkatz, Rabid Doll. She summoned it anyway, knowing that it could at least force certain reactions from him, and ended her turn.

"You're not very good at this, are you?" he remarked sympathetically, "I summon Smash Horn Q, and retrieve Promephius Q and Death Smoke. Death Smoke on your Rabid Doll, and summon Promephius. I do not need its effect this time. End turn."

Libra trembled both with frustration and the strain of holding off Ryoma's psychic energy. The blue shape shimmered in her mind now, but did not appear. The strain was too much. She drew her card and played it directly, as usual.

"Teleportation. Forbos and your Factory Shell."

Ryoma's Kaijudo did not falter, but most of it swirled away from her back into himself. As if she had caused him to do a massive recalculation at once. She knew they would be back, but now she had at least two turns to scramble for a solution. For a way through those last two shields.
"Come on, deck. I know there are all sorts of ways of dealing with this, in there, just give me one..."

"You can't rely so much on things to happen on their own. Nor can you make things happen. But you can help them along," Ryoma advised as he drew. He charged more darkness mana. She knew what that was most likely to cause. For some reason, however, he summoned Gallia Zohl, Iron Guardian Q, instead of resummoning either of the other two. Libra's Kaijudo surged against his for a moment, throwing Ryoma mentally off balance. He wondered for a moment what he could possibly have done that would make her feel safer. He had just created a lot of blockers, something which she had shown only moderate capacity to deal with.

"I think you're a bit confused. I haven't made a mistake," he pointed out to her, "I evolve Promephius Q into the Q-Tronic Gargantua! Gargantua! Quater Break her shields! Ikei!"

The crowd instantly went into a huge buzz, enough to get the attention of those who were not yet interested. Libra trembled as she reached out to tap her blocker.
"R-Revolver Fish... int-tercept."

Ryoma ended his turn. Libra's mind began to plot, and quickly. Her victory, if even possible, would depend almost completely on if he still had any removal spells left. She drew her card, and played it. Dark Reversal. Retrieving the Aqua Jolter, she summoned it, and ended her turn. Like a puppy acknowledging its bigger counterpart, her Kaijudo acquiesced to him. Ryoma felt it, and again asked her his question.
"Are you going to surrender?"

"No... let it play out. I want to see... the ending."
Inwardly, she and her blue avatar were plotting. This was their specialty. Sneak attack. One slip, even one missing removal card, and she could pull even this back to a victory. There was no way he could be fast enough to do everything on this turn, and with a little luck, her next turn would grant her something, anything, dangerous enough to break through.

Ryoma drew his card and charged water mana. Another Divine Riptide. He had never used the card, though Libra had been hoping he would. Even in her disadvantaged state, it would have helped her sneak attack more if he had done so. She crossed her fingers.
"No removal, please, don't let him have..."

"Terror Pit," Ryoma declared, "Aqua Jolter."

The words dashed her hopes almost instantly, leaving her numb, and Shtra's head drooped. Their only chance now was three Shield Triggers rather than two. The last one would have to be another Aqua Jolter. Ryoma was depending on no such 'luck', however. In fact, he was about to take this opponent completely apart.

"I evolve Smash Horn Q into--"

Libra's eyes shot open, wide with fear. She did not even have time to calculate, mentally, if there was the slightest chance of surviving this one.

"Q-Tronic Gargantua! Quater break! Ikei!"

"Revolver Fish... intercept..."

Ryoma looked at her, puzzled.
"I don't understand you. I've given you every chance I could to spare yourself this. You still refuse to surrender even when your defeat is totally clear? There is nothing you could possibly have that would win now."

Libra adamantly shook her head. The chances were slim, but he was wrong.
"I... still... can...!"

He regarded her with confusion. The total defiance in her eyes was clear. She seriously believed so.
"Either you are very delusional, or you have a very very interesting deck. I cannot see what you could possibly have to stop me at this point. Every single shield would have to trigger."

She smirked, pushing back his encroaching psychic power with her own, and said, with her last dregs of confidence...
"And that is exactly what I'm counting on."

"W-what? That's insane. The chances of that happening are--"

"A lot better than you think, believe me!" she retorted with a mischievous grin.
Ryoma simply disregarded her. Trying to be intimidating in the face of defeat was pathetic.

"Q-Tronic Gargantua. Quater Break. Ikei!"

Libra's trembling hand first flipped over the card she had set. Spiral Gate. The audience let out a simultaneous gasp. One Smash Horn gone. She then flipped the second. Aqua Surfer. Her imagery for this was quite vivid. Riding a powerful wave, that she backed up with a wave of her own Kaijudo, she swept away Ryoma's second Smash Horn. His mind was the one rushing to calculate now. Libra winced, closed her eyes, and flipped over the last two shields. Her only chance would be a Critical Blade and Aqua Jolter there. She knew it was nearly impossible, yet...

"Gallia Zohl! TODOMEDA!"

Her response was a choked tearful sob, as her mind was overwhelmed by the power of the Survivors. There had been no defence from the last one. It was awhile before she opened her eyes again. She had squeezed them shut to hold back the liquid pain that she struggled to understand. Why would it hurt so much to lose this? She had lost so many times before.

When she did reopen them, the crowd had dispersed. Ryoma had moved on. The only person standing there now was Yodaz. He looked at her with slight disdain.

"You lost to him," he said simply, "Not even the one deck you are strong against, can you beat. Go home, Libra. There was no point to you coming."

"I was invited," she said, "That means someone thought there was a point to me coming."
Their minds linked now, and their avatars squared off.

"You pathetic thing. Why can't you stay out of these places? You waste the time of true duelists when you can't even pick off the weakest of the pack. Or perhaps... you just did..."
Corile's words were not met with any answer from the disappointed Shtra. The other Cyber Lord simply remained silent through the rest of the purple one's blistering lecture, and then they returned to 'reality' again.

"Why do I even play this game?" she wondered aloud. Yodaz shot a pointed glance at her. He had never been able to affect her, but the Survivor player could? What nonsense. If her resolve was this easy to hurt, why had he never been able to do it?

"She does not respect me!" Corile seethed, "No matter how many times I defeat her she will not concede defeat to me... Shtra... you fool..."

Yodaz watched the depressed blue haired girl slowly gather up her cards and put them lovingly into the pocket of her bag, which she then slung over her shoulder, and began to head for where she had left her jacket.

"You're going out in that? I wasn't serious, you know..." he said. Corile disagreed, but he meant to make a better impression than his avatar did. Libra did not answer him. She simply waved good-bye rather mechanically, and headed for the door...