Episode 23. - Devastation At The End Of Time

Yodaz approached Ryoma now, in the final few minutes before the duel. Something was seriously bothering him now. Something that would explain so many things... perhaps solve all the mysteries of Duel Masters for him, that had been plaguing him since he had seriously got to know people like Maze and Libra. Something that had bothered him the absolute most after his duel with Black Fire. Something that felt wrong.

"Excuse me. There was mention of something about the cards being different upon their Japanese release. Can you tell me a little bit more about that? I'd really like to understand something that's been bothering me..." Yodaz said, calmly and politely. Something inside him railed against this line of questioning, but his resolve was decidedly strong now. The incessant squeaking disapproval of the purple one in his mind did not deter him.

Ryoma turned to him, regarded him with a bit of puzzlement, but said: "Of course. What would you like to know, Grand Champion?"

It was a bit disturbing to Yodaz to hear this title used with respect to himself, especially from Ryoma. Still, despite the initial unease, and the louder chatter in his mind, he continued.

"What cards... did they change? Were there many? I know we get sets after they are playtested in Japan, and I also know that the changes they get are the ones applied to our cards, but I don't think I'm too versed in what exactly those changes are? How many of them have there been? How does it affect play?"

Ryoma looked around furtively, wondering if the officials were waiting on him yet. They were not. Still bustling around finalizing something as the television crews moved their equipment back into position. He scratched his head before answering.

"Yes, er... let's see. Keep in mind that these cards were restricted to one... Originally Brain Serum card was called Cyber Brain and used to draw three cards. Thought Probe was once Deep Operation, and drew cards according to the number of opponent creatures... it had no lower limit... Emeral was also restricted to one to prevent the overuse of the Merfolk, but the fact that it is not, here, is better rather than worse... then there was the Astral Reef, which was a cost two four thousand power Cyber Virus evolution that allowed one to draw three cards..."

Yodaz nodded. He could see how those might have caused some exceedingly strange effects on the game, but none that would give him the feeling he now had, especially since, with them all reduced to one, the drawing power would have been effectively the same. He listened intently as Ryoma continued.

"Marinomancer was once called Aquan, had a cost of four, and its effect used to give five cards rather than three..."

This one shocked Yodaz so strongly, that he nearly recoiled. The voice inside him insisted that he discuss this no further, but his curiosity was now piqued beyond belief.

"Light... had a turn four... five card draw? You're... not serious...?"

Ryoma nodded, "Oh, no, I am quite serious. I admit it could be rather annoying. In fact, exceedingly annoying. You can see why it would be restricted there and changed here. It was quite broken."

"But, you can't wipe a person's hand clean until turn six or seven. How was one supposed to defeat Light with that much draw power so early?"

Ryoma laughed, "Well, you see, that was the problem. One could not reliably do it, so Aquan was of course exceedingly popular. Usually it was done with Darkness, since Aquan would let you draw their cards as well. A Hydro Hurricane with enough Darkness creatures could handle a Light army such as that, but all in all, it was quite unfair."

Yodaz's mind was beginning to see something here. Something that would have made his Eastern counterparts grow to love and respect the Light civilization. They had been able to do it. It would have taken a lucky fourth or fifth turn, but they could have built those terrible walls that could hold off so many onslaughts. Then, a Holy Awe, and... he shuddered to think of the devastation that could be achieved if Light often had a hand of six or seven on their fifth turn. That was far too fast. To beat that, you would have needed an extremely fast deck, and more powerful creatures, or something like Shu's, that could eat the Light alive...

"That does seem quite unbalanced. It's definitely a good thing they changed it. Although, I'm surprised they increased the cost as well as lowering the draw. It makes the Merfolk still the preferred choice."

Ryoma nodded, "Yes, drawing more than three cards at once is always too abusable, but I am surprised that they slowed it down as well, given the fact that it only supports civilizations with no inherent acceleration bonuses. Let me think... there was at least one more card. Ah, I remember now. Fire has the Armored Valborg."

"Valborg? Is that anything like our Groblav? Oh, wait... it's just spelled backwards?" Yodaz immediately noted. Realizing that he had interrupted, he was now silent again.

"Yes," Ryoma replied, "Now that card is an interesting challenge. It is a human evolution that had a cost of three, five thousand power, and Double Breaker. That is a promotional card, though. Just like your Groblav is. I suppose that was the change."

Yodaz's mind immediately began the rapid calculation of how he would deal with a third turn Double Breaker evolution. Block it? No, that would just lose the blocker. He could not cast any spell that would rid him of it, nor summon any creature that would deal with it. In fact, even if he still had Death Smoke, it would attack, leaving it tapped and invulnerable to the spell. He would rely almost totally on a Terror Pit trigger, since Natural Snare, though effective, would still mean two broken shields and a Fire deck with five mana on their fourth turn. Proclamation of Death would be possible if there were no small blocker or Braid Claw with it. When all was said and done, however, he realized that the voice in his head had gone silent. The Corile no longer chattered. He had found it.

"Thank you..." Yodaz smirked. Ryoma looked confused, but he nodded and walked off to get ready for his duel. Yodaz closed his eyes and sought out the creature that had been his avatar for so very long...

"You lied to me..." he finally said, upon finding the purple one floating calmly near a mental visualization of a lake.

"I did not. Those cards he mentioned were all unbalanced and needed to be adjusted. The last one especially. There is very little that stops Valborg's level of power. He is too fast and too strong."

Yodaz scowled. Strength. Something he had usually seen as pointless in Duel Masters. Now they were all beginning to make more sense. The Bone Spider, the Dia Nork, Barkwhip... They had all been ways of getting power that had actually been helpful, perhaps even necessary, at the time. Fire could not destroy things with more than four thousand power very easily. There had, in fact, been a reason for that. So many things were quickly becoming most painfully clear.

"Why would you doubt me now!? Why would you betray me now!? I have the power to stop them all now that Valborg is gone. The deck we have built staves off all aggression! All of it! There is not a single force or form left that can be both faster and stronger than us. They must now choose one or the other! Be happy! I am now the supreme being! It is no longer Valborg they fear! It is me!"

Yodaz clenched his fist as his mind wrapped around the meaning of all this. He had become contaminated by something? Or perhaps it was Corile itself that had become contaminated. Corile was not unbalanced when the game had begun. It was not the evil creature that so many others had made it out to be. It was simply too blinded by its own power now, to take its true form. He had never been wrong in playing or supporting the creature. He had, however, let the Cyber Lord build a deck around itself that was nigh unbeatable because most, if not all, of its competition, had been eliminated.

"You couldn't stop Aquan either... could you? We would have had to attack before they put a wall of Dia Nork in front of us. Their power would have worked, without needing to rely on that little Mist Rias or do what Pikaye did and put you and Emeral in..."

"No. It is not true. I am not the only card that can stop these things. We have the Searing Wave, remember? We--"

"But Searing Wave does not stop Valborg, does it... You've never let me seriously use the Hopeless Vortex either. You were always 'enough' for just after that fourth turn where people like Maze play Gigamantis or people like Libra play Vile Mulder. In fact... all those cards that have power but disadvantages early... Triceps, Bone Spider, Stinger Worm... Explosive Fighter Ucarn, you stop them all when Searing can't. I don't need Bronze-Arms because of you. I don't need discard because of you, and I don't need Death Smoke because of you. You're right. You stop all aggression, but that is because there isn't enough of it any more... You became powerful through the fall of others."

"They were too powerful! They all deserved to fall!" came the vehement response, this time garbled with mingled thought shapes.

"But you do not... why is that? Everyone that was a match for you is gone. You would not have been anywhere near as reliable in that situation, would you...? I have always removed the cards that did not do their job, but would you have been able to do yours any better if Valborg still lived?

"I am the supreme being! Why doubt me now?!" the purple one raged. It was now clear to Yodaz, the consistent obsession with showing others its 'power'. So many of them had seemed to consider Corile 'just another card' that had got too much attention. The outcomes of their matches would have been no different, but he would have had a vulnerability, just like everyone else. The aggressive ones had not been totally wrong to build their decks in that way. The playing field had been more even. Corile against Valborg was far less likely to end in his favor than most things. The power cards had all had their purpose and meaning, because aggression still worked. Perhaps, just perhaps, it could be made to work again. Maybe he could actually feel a duel, again.

"I need to find Libra..." he instantly thought to himself. His gaze wandered over to the window. The rain was letting up. He had a fairly good idea where she and the other defeated duelists would have gone upon leaving the building. The final duel could be viewed from where they were. He hurried to the door, and disappeared into the drizzling precipitation.

The final duel... now began. Gene was not present to hype this one, but the crowd was there now, and in the shop, everyone was quiet and intently watching the screen. Ryoma and Pikaye had already deployed their shields and drew their cards. The two had agreed for Pikaye to go first. The tension in the room was not of the normal kind, but a result of the effects of the Kaijudo of the two duelists and their slight apprehension at facing each other. Pikaye charged water mana, and with this first action, the strange phenomena began. With Yodaz gone, there was no Kaijudo strong enough to stabilize the room. Ryoma charged Darkness mana, and slowly, the spectators found themselves staring blankly at the battle zone. Their minds could now see the strange shimmering astral battlefield where the two duelists stood, preparing to battle.

"So this is what it has come to?" Pikaye smiled, charging mana, "Sarius, Vizier of Suppression."

Ryoma drew his card and charged Light mana of his own, and ended his turn. The power began to grow, flickering between them, as Pikaye's Initiate floated between Ryoma and himself. Pikaye charged more light mana, and ended his turn. Ryoma's choice was fire, but he took no action either. He was slowly building his power up. Pikaye charged more mana, and summoned Magris, Vizier of Magnetism. The sparkle of the Initiate's effect increased Pikaye's power still more, but Ryoma did not respond. When Pikaye ended his turn, he simply drew, charged water mana, and again did nothing.

"What's he doing?" Pikaye wondered, slightly unnerved now, "And how can he have such pure Kaijudo? This seems so strange..."
He drew his card, charged more mana and summoned Aeris, Flight Elemental. The Angel Command illuminated the battlefield powerfully. Those around shielded their eyes instinctively, but their bodies did not move. Only as floating spectators on the mindscape, did this reaction occur. They all stood around slack jawed, not really seeing the cards on the table at all anymore. Pikaye and Ryoma, though physically playing their cards, were quite removed from the whole concept, just like everyone else. Deep in their minds, this battle would be won or lost. Ryoma drew his card, and charged more Darkness mana.

"Death Smoke, on your Flight Elemental..."
The dark fog engulfed the shining Angel, cutting off the light it shone, and consuming it. Ryoma calmly ended his turn. Pikaye understood now.

"Of course... I can't respond to what is not there. He's hiding his strategy until I make myself open to it. That is a slow way to deal with an opponent, however, and I am not a slow opponent..." He drew his card, and charged more Light mana.
"Magris, break his shield. Ikei!"

The electron cannons powered up, and the particle stream blast shattered the defenses that stood between Ryoma and the power of Pikaye's influence. There was no trigger effect. Pikaye ended his turn.

"I am glad I've been here..." came the voice into Pikaye's mind, and the minds of everyone around, even though Ryoma's lips did not move, "I have learnt much about this 'Kaijudo Power', and it can be used even when your cards do not seem to be helping as one wishes... I place Terror Pit into mana, and summon Forbos, Sanctum Guardian Q!"

Pikaye shuddered at the force with which the sonic boom from the arrival of Ryoma's avatar split the sky. The creature now floated before him, and he watched as its glow seemed to imbue Ryoma with even more power. In this case, in the form of a Death Smoke spell from his deck. Ryoma ended his turn.

"Fine..." Pikaye growled, "You don't want to make this simple at all, do you? You just want to go straight to full power, even considering that we don't know what will happen?"

"What better time to learn?" Ryoma smiled, "Can you match me as easily as you imply?"

Pikaye smirked as he drew his card. "Of course. Sarius, evolve into Craze Valkyrie, the Drastic!"
The light was blinding, serving only to further illuminate the look of utter astonishment on Ryoma's face as the energy engulfed the blocker, transforming it into Pikaye's avatar. The two faced off on the field now.

"So we meet at last... Survivor..." came the harmonious mechanical hum.

"Indeed. But it seems you have me at a disadvantage. Do your best."

"Craze Valkyrie, destroy Forbos! Ikei!" Pikaye announced.
The Valkyrie's sword energy clashed against the energy shield Forbos erected as it attempted to spin out of the way. Craze weaved between the fire of the beam cannon, somersaulted, and struck with a sky-cleaving slash. The mental shockwaves actually caused the entire crowd to take a simultaneous step back as their ethereal forms were jolted away from the point of impact. The shimmering light of Forbos died away, as did a large portion of Ryoma's power. Pikaye was not finished yet, though.
"Magris, break his shield. Ikei!"

The electron cannon did its work again, with the Craze Valkyrie looking on. Ryoma picked up the shield. There was no trigger. Ryoma was breathing a little erratically now. Pikaye ended his turn, and Ryoma drew.

"You know what I am going to do now, don't you..." Ryoma murmured to Pikaye.
Pikaye nodded, and indeed, there was no surprise when the Terror Pit was cast. The power of the Valkyrie faded just as that of Forbos had. Pikaye drew his card, and charged more light mana.

"Magris, break another shield. Ikei!"
The third electron cannon blast shook Ryoma yet again, but this time, it activated his Dimension Gate. The power added to his mind this time, was that of the Factory Shell Q. Pikaye ended his turn. Ryoma drew, and charged nature mana.

"You have done all you will do, for now. I cast Lost Soul."
The spell had its desired amnesiac effect. Pikaye felt his mind begin to swim, and he dropped his two cards into his graveyard. Miele and a Corile. In their mindspace, it seemed as though the thoughts shimmering around his head faded away, leaving him with nothing. Ryoma smiled. He had got rid of one Corile. He ended his turn.

Pikaye drew his card, and summoned it instantly. Mist Rias, Sonic Guardian.
"Magris. Another blast. Ikei!"
Magris' fourth attack triggered nothing from Ryoma's defenses. Pikaye ended turn. Ryoma drew.

"Hmm... this is a quandary indeed..." he noted, checking his memory of his lost creatures, and finding only Forbos had fallen. He charged his mana.

"Oh? Are there two ways of dealing with this? Though... you probably know what that shield is by now, don't you..."

"I cast Spastic Missile on your Mist Rias, and summon the Factory Shell Q." The power added to him now was that of his Smash Horn Q. He shuffled his deck and ended his turn. Pikaye knew he could not afford to let his opponent get too started on the stacking effects of his survivors, but he was now depending on the top card of his own deck. He drew, and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"Miele, Vizier of Lightning. Magris, attack the Factory Shell! Ikei!"
The electron cannon had a true target this time. Trapped in Miele's rings of Light, the Colony Beetle could not escape the blast, and crashed to the ground, defeated, a moment later. Ryoma drew his card, charged yet more mana, and summoned his Skullsweeper Q, as well as casting Searing Wave. Pikaye instinctively shielded himself from the heat that consumed his two creatures, shocked that Ryoma had given up the last shield after all. On the other hand, he was still topdecking.

He drew his card, and summoned it. Dia Nork, Moonlight Guardian. The guardian swooped in, returning some light to Pikaye's side of the battle zone as he ended his turn. Ryoma drew his card, charged more mana from what seemed to be his endless supply, and cast Dimension Gate to get his Factory Shell again.
"Factory Shell Q, to grant to me my Forbos, Sanctum Guardian Q. End turn."

Pikaye drew his card, adjusting his glasses and smiling. He had got the creature he needed.
"Miele, Vizier of Lightning. Dia Nork, destroy the Factory Shell. Ikei!"
The guardian's phase cannons were even more effective than Magris' electron stream on Ryoma's beetle. The Factory Shell toppled. The energy between the two was immense now, constantly shifting in magnitude and direction. Pikaye ended his turn.

Ryoma drew his card and breathed softly. "I summon Forbos, Sanctum Guardian, and through his power, cast Searing Wave. End turn." The spell consumed Miele, and the two were even again.

Pikaye drew his card. Looking at it, he seemed a bit distressed, but he had no choice now.
"Corile, on your Skullsweeper. End turn... this is bad... you can now summon a creature and cast any spell you want."

"Indeed," Ryoma agreed, drawing the Skullsweeper, "But you still have advantage at this point."

Pikaye shook his head. He knew that Ryoma's Survivors could thrive now. It was part of why their name was so fitting. Ryoma had far too much mana now. There was too little Pikaye could do to stop him outright, and he knew it. However, there were still five shields, any of which could still be a Holy Awe. He would just need a good turn, with more than one creature reaching the field. He could do that. Even from topdeck, he could still do that.

"I summon Smash Horn Q, and retrieve a Crystal Memory. Then I summon Skullsweeper Q, and through Forbos' effect, I draw forth a Death Smoke to engulf your Corile. End turn."
The Skullsweeper glowed, imbued with the power of Forbos, and the Death Smoke proceeded into the space between them, to consume the Cyber Lord. Two gone.

Pikaye knew it would happen, and had not been worried. Now, however, Ryoma had the power to break his shields and still take his advantage away. He had just made hitting a Holy Awe a bad thing for Pikaye, in one play. Pikaye could feel the clear potent psychic energy of his opponent closing in, but he knew also that he could still do it. He drew his card, and sighed.
"Aeris, Flight Elemental. End turn."

"You just don't quit, do you... how troublesome," Ryoma remarked, drawing his card.

"I have already run through a few scenarios in my head where I can manage to win this," Pikaye smiled as his response.

"Yes, I am well aware you can win. Exactly what makes my decisions difficult. Smash Horn Q, to retrieve a Terror Pit. Death Smoke, on your Aeris, and Crystal Memory, to retrieve another card. End turn."

"That's what I'm feeling, isn't it... your Forbos, gaining more power and abilities. That's what is making me feel this way..." Pikaye realized. The Guardian's power had risen to six thousand.
Ryoma merely smiled. Not even Dia Nork could outright stop him now. Pikaye drew his card and summoned an Illusionary Merfolk, ending his turn.

Ryoma's power grew still more now, as he played a Dark Reversal to bring back his Factory Shell, and cast Terror Pit on the Merfolk. Pikaye was still depending on the top card of his deck. Pikaye drew, and for once, cursed the fact that the card was what it was.
"Corile, on your Skullsweeper... End turn."

Ryoma's eyes were glowing now, with the power of Forbos. "I summon Factory Shell Q, and use Forbos' power to cast Searing Wave. I will also use its own power to retrieve a Smash Horn. End turn."

Pikaye took a deep breath. He drew his card, and ended his turn. There was little he could do now but hope that he could hold out if he could get Ryoma to attack him. Ryoma drew his card, and played more mana...

"I summon Smash Horn Q. Through Forbos' power, I now cast the ultimate spell. The time magic that returns us to the beginning of the world... Divine Riptide, I call forth now!"

The mental space began to rumble, and each duelist shuddered as all the power of the mana, of the world they had constructed, streamed back into their forms. Now, no matter what happened. Ryoma had sealed Pikaye's fate. Only the Survivors and Dia Nork could make the journey back through time. Now, Pikaye breathed a sigh of odd relief.
"Finally..."

Ryoma smirked. "My apologies for the delay. Forbos, break his shield. Ikei!" --the beam cannon shattered the first shield-- "Smash Horn, ikei!" --Pikaye allowed the Horned Beast to rumble right past his Moonlight Guardian, to break another-- "Factory Shell, ikei!"

"Dia Nork, intercept the attack!"
The phase cannons showered the beetle, the third to suffer such a fate, but this one glowed with the power of the creatures around it, reflecting some of those same blasts back at Dia, and both were destroyed.

"Smash Horn, ikei!" Even without Pikaye's actual reaction, the Holy Awe blasted down, illuminating the battlefield, blinding the rest of Ryoma's forces. Pikaye drew his card, placed one Merfolk into his mana zone, and ended his turn. His power was now completely gone. He had no defenses left either as cards or as Kaijudo. Ryoma drew his card.

"Smash Horn, ikei!" When the shield broke, Ryoma repeated this, for the final one. Neither one triggered...
"Forbos, Sanctum Guardian Q... Todomeda!"

The beam cannon blast struck the duelist now, Pikaye's eyes turning blank as he stood there, mentally stunned by the impact, until the duel faded away in the minds of all around them, and they were all able to slowly make their way back to reality. Pikaye stumbled over to the lounge area and flopped down in the chair. That had been one of his most exhausting duels ever...

"The World Champion of Duel Masters! Ryoma Echizen!" announced Gene Kirricort. This was how he would be introduced to the duelists of the world, for another year of his life. Ryoma exhaled slowly and smiled. The Kaijudo still flowed through and around him. He felt refreshed, and oddly calm. He had emerged victorious after only a few months of studying his own Kaijudo. Now, he would be able to practice it against the best challengers in the world. His smile grew. This was it. The 'truth' that Forbos had been showing him all along. That he too, was a Survivor.