Episode 75. - Now Displaying Incredible Power

The young man spoke a few short words into the cellular phone, then made an affirmative sound and clicked it off. Across the room, Duel Masters Grand Champion Ryoma Echizen gathered up his cards and put the deck into its case.

"They're ready now," the other youth noted. Ryoma nodded, picking up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. They would be leaving now. The Grand Champion had been asked to stay away from the Grand Tournament until around the time when he would be needed. The decision had somehow been related to the number of variations in decks. There were no longer enough decks similar to the champion's, or some such.

"Did they give you any idea of what the field is like? I know they were trying to lessen problems at the tournament, but I'm going in blind now. I don't know anything about the competition as it stands currently," Ryoma asked his aide in their native tongue.

"Yes, sir, apparently Ms. Charlston has thought of that, actually. She informed me that the current field of players consists of four Assault type decks, some Rock Beast thing, your friend Nykahrii, a Guardian defense build, a spellslinger, champion Koiuzo, a Shield Trigger build and a shield manipulation deck."

Ryoma nodded as they descended the stairs to the lobby of the hotel, his mind slowly assimilating the information. At least another four of those eleven players would be eliminated from the tournament by the time he arrived. He thought about it a bit. This was the sort of thing he was used to, and there did not seem to be any high level Disruption or discarding builds. He wondered momentarily what had happened to Yodaz and Shu Lon...

By the time he and his aide arrived at the convention hall, Leo Motane had already defeated Mughees Drynn, and Siddhant Sutar's match with Porto Andrew was just ending. Juliet nodded, noting his arrival as he came in, but the other duelists were all so intent on the match that was starting, that most of them did not seem to notice.

They crossed the room to the table where Juliet was, and Ryoma was just about to speak when the words of another Light civilization avatar floated into his mind, startling him.

"It is good that you made it here so quickly, but there are still two more clashes before yours. I suggest you try to observe them from here to avoid drawing too much attention."

Forbos shimmered in answer, a bit surprised that the tournament director was capable of using her own Kaijudo. Still, the words of the Rainbow Phantom had definitely not been his imagination. Whoever Juliet was, she was quite capable of using the ability.

The next duel was that of Angga Rahadyan and Sniper Randnum. The tension in the room had grown to an almost tangible level. For those with the ability to feel the psychic emanations of the duelists, it was, in fact, tangible. Angga would be going first.

Water mana began the duel, spreading out the feeling of Angga's ocean as the first aspect the other duelists could perceive. Sniper added to it with a Thrash Crawler. Light mana joined Angga's power, as it did Sniper's a moment later. His force was the first to appear. A Sol Galla, Halo Guardian. Angga sent a second Diamond Cutter to his mana zone, and summoned the first of his own aircraft. Pala Olesis, Morning Guardian. The Aircraft Carrier now materialized out of the fog as the light cut through the morning mist.

Sniper balanced his mana zone with darkness, and sent forth his own Morning Guardian. Angga's eyes narrowed slightly, and Petrova's energy could be felt speaking to him about the difficult involved in facing an opponent who also used the power of Guardians.

"This is going to be rough..." Angga noted, as another light mana card entered his zone, and from his carrier, another Morning Guardian was deployed. With two, his chance at holding the line was far better, even if his opponent also used Guardian forces.

Sniper placed a Crystal Memory into his mana zone, and cast Crystal Memory, leaving Angga wondering what exactly would have prompted such a tactic at this point. He charged an Aqua Surfer to mana and summoned his Sonic Guardian. Sniper drew his card...

"Hmm. Good. One for mana--" as he placed down a Rumble Gate, "And one for the assault."
The spell's power destabilized the water, the systems, everything. Sol Galla absorbed more from it than Pala Olesis did, by far. Enough to make it able to engage one of Angga's Pala Olesis in aerial combat. Even with the parashield energy provided by the other, this Pala could not stand against Sol Galla's power.

With the first parashield now disabled, it was possible for Sniper's Pala Olesis to overpower the remaining one on Angga's side, leaving the aircraft carrier defended only by the Mist Rias.

"That was... brutal..." Angga noted, "You're going to make us switch to attack mode immediately. Very well. Attack it is. Mist Rias, evolve into Ladia Bale, the Inspirational! Attack Pala Olesis. Ikei!"

The Sonic Guardian shone with light, and the transformation begun immediately. It completed its evolution whilst on its attack vector, and its particle stream cannons easily destroyed the opposing Guardian.

"The pressure is definitely on me now..." Angga noted, as Sniper's mana increased yet again, this time with the Crimson Hammer he had drawn. The darkness now surged out of the ocean, black tendrils of energy latching onto the Inspirational one, and despite the extreme thrust the Guardian could output as it went into a powerful vertical climb, there seemed to be no limit to just how long those dark tendrils could be stretched. Finally, after soaring high into the stratosphere, the true nature of Terror Pit was revealed. Few creatures were powerful enough to cause this, but Ladia was one of those. Rather than pulling the Guardian all the way down, the tendrils revealed their source, a spherical writhing mass that shot into the air as if propelled by the elastic rebound of the tendrils. The blackness engulfed Ladia Bale, and imploded into nothingness.

Few other than Sniper had ever seen such a thing before, and the room was instantly abuzz again, though the duel continued, with nothing more than a change in Angga's breathing. He summoned an Aqua Hulcus and ended his turn.

"Summon Otherwordly Warrior Naglu. End turn."

"Dia Nork, Moonlight Guardian. End turn... You... your spells... how does one do this?"

Sniper smiled slightly, his Kaijudo seeming to shift again. It had cycled through the power of icy teleportation, fiery surge, dark implosion, and now...
"Holy Awe!"

The blasts of light stunned the Hulcus and Moonlight Guardian, causing Sniper's energy to spike powerfully also, as Naglu brought down Dia Nork, and Sol Galla, with its power again augmented, struck down the Aqua Hulcus.

Angga panted, gulped, and drew his next card, summoning it. Another Mist Rias was deployed from the carrier deck. It would be necessary to rebuild quickly before Sniper could yet again begin to bring dangerous spell power to bear.

The darkness swirled around Randnum again. He cast yet another spell. Cranium Clamp. The Halo Guardian interfaced with the device, and swept in, breaking a shield and simultaneously defeating an unprepared Aqua Surfer and Petrova that had been on the deck, getting ready for deployment. Naglu made no movement forward. It seemed that Sniper did not view it as time yet.

"I summon Pala Olesis--"
The power of the Sonic Guardian was, as usual, helpful to Angga. He was able to accelerate the arrival, and subsequent deployment, of a La Ura Giga, as well, and in doing so, draw yet another card. Mist Rias finally moved forward, to defeat Sol Galla, causing Sniper to frown.

"Can you feel this?" Forbos asked Cyclolink, as Juliet seemed rather intent on focusing her own Kaijudo in the direction of the clash occurring, "Such an incredible amount of power on both sides..."

"I hear that this is what happens when you are involved..." came the response. Then, silence. The energy of the Ghost Touch and Thrash Crawler combination that Sniper now played, caught their attention again, as the Ghost Touch dragged away Angga's Holy Awe. La Ura Giga blocked the attack that Naglu made on Mist Rias. The Sonic Guardian was vital to Angga's plan. That plan now finally came together.

"Summon La Ura Giga... draw... summon... Petrova, Channeler of Suns! Guardians!"
He drew again for this, his avatar finally having made it into play. His Kaijudo finally relaxed. Petrova was there. Things would be all right now.

Sniper cast the Crystal Memory that his Thrash Crawler had returned to him, but he did not attack. The combined power of Pala Olesis and Petrova were just enough to make even the tiny Sky Guardian a force to be reckoned with, even to something as powerful as Naglu. Angga did not let up on the pressure. He placed a Crystal Memory into his own mana zone and summoned his greatest weapon.

"I summon Solar Flare Guardian Bluum Erkis! And, I think I will take a shot... Mist Rias, break shield! Ikei!"
The shield broke, and Sniper's energy rose, but there was no trigger. He drew a card. Energy Stream. It went to mana, and his power again cycled back to Light.

"Holy Awe. Naglu, attack Petrova. Ikei."
Sniper watched as Angga's avatar slashed at the armor of his great Armorloid, but Naglu was simply too heavily armed for even the parashield to save Petrova. None of Angga's forces would be able to launch a counterattack either. Angga placed his next card, Dia Nork, into his mana zone.

"Cast Eureka Charger... and evolve La Ura Giga into Glena Vuele, the Hypnotic!"
The transformation caused the Sky Guardian's power to surpass even that which it had possessed a moment before. Bluum's electron disruptors fired now upon Sniper's shields, but the Thrash Crawler absorbed the blasts before sinking into the water, defeated.

"Glena, double break also! Ikei!"
Neither shield triggered. Sniper sighed.

"Alas, I am undone. Phal Eega to mana. Summon Sol Galla, and Phal Eega."
Angga's forces responded to both appearances, allowing him to draw two cards. Phal returned a Terror Pit to Sniper's hand.

"Eureka Charger to mana. Summon Mist Rias, Sonic Guardian... and evolve this one also into Glena Vuele, the Hypnotic!"
Now, Sniper faced three of the most powerful aircraft available to the Light Civilization's forces, and hence, to Angga Rahadyan.

"Coordinated attack! Bluum, double break! Ikei!"
Sol Galla was nowhere near strong enough to defeat Bluum, but it was enough to protect the shields for a moment. That protection would be no help against Glena's scattering particle beams, which instantly obliterated them. The triggered Terror Pit captured the second Glena Vuele, and the darkness imploded around the Guardian, but not before its power was transmitted back to the carrier to generate a new shield there. In fact, two, as the second shield that it hit was a Dark Reversal.

It did not matter, since the Mist Rias which had led Angga's forces through the conflict was now the one to deliver the final attack.
"Todomeda!"

"That..." Sniper panted, "Is one scary deck you have there. You make my poor Apocalypse Vise so useless."

"As I analyzed which cards you might use, I found myself thinking the same!" Angga noted, breathing heavily also, "Petrova is down though... normally she has the honor of making the final attack. But I suppose she... we... have been getting rather complacent lately, so thank you for reminding me that she can still fall. Luckily you did not bring down Mist Rias."

"Good luck with the rest of the tournament," Sniper said, picking up his cards.

"Thank you for an interesting battle," Petrova 'smiled' at Phal, "We are friends now, yes?"

A smirk, an affirmative psychic response, and they parted, moving away from the dueling table to make room for Harriet Torren and Shinji Nykahrii. Shinji would be going first. Ryoma smiled slightly. This was something he would definitely want to see. Nykahrii's deck at full.

Shinji began with Light mana. Holy Awe. Harriet did the same. He added more, but she placed her Bombersaur into mana. Most of those who knew Harriet knew her deck to be quite aggressive, and many more were quickly learning that 'aggressive' did not mean that she would be starting to break shields very quickly. Nykahrii summoned Snork La, Shrine Guardian, to protect his mana from what little he knew she could do, and passed the turn back to her.

Harriet shrugged, charged her Mana Crisis to mana and summoned Kanesill, the Explorer.

"Flood Valve to mana. Summon Senatine Jade Tree," Shinji announced, then ended his turn.

Harriet charged the Lunar Charger she now drew, and summoned her Flametropus. Shinji placed one Petrova into his mana zone, and summoned the other, declaring Guardians, and again ending his turn. Harriet summoned Kulus, and the Soulshine Enforcer added her Mana Crisis to her mana zone. She ended turn again.

"Elf-X to mana. Cast Holy Awe! Petrova, attack Flametropus! Senatine, destroy Kulus, and Snork La, bring down Kanesill! Go! Ikei!"

Shinji's turn ended with Harriet's forces all defeated. He had managed to reach the point of attacking before she had. Now, she summoned her avatar, and waited...

Shinji's turn was uneventful, merely an addition of a Spiral Gate to his mana zone. Harriet placed the Burst Shot she drew into mana and summoned a Cragsaur. This course of action risked another powerful Awe blast, but one was already in Shinji's mana zone, and the other had been used. She ended her turn. Shinji simply summoned a Hulcus, drew a card, and ended his also. The crowd of onlookers watched in confusion. Neither duelist seemed to be moving yet, their forces merely building.

"Our turn!" Bombersaur declared. The Lightning Charger blast stunned the Shrine Guardian, and provided enough power to shake the earth when Harriet cast the Rumble Gate as well. Bombersaur destroyed the Jade Tree with hardly any effort, and the Cragsaur was able to catch Petrova and bring her down also. Harriet's turn ended.

"You beat me to it..." Shinji noted, smirking. He then placed the Holy Awe from his hand into his mana zone, and had Snork La attack the Cragsaur, both creatures falling to the power of the other. He ended his turn. Harriet drew her card, and began to laugh.

"Bombersaur, evolve into Valkrowzer, Ultra Rock Beast! Double Break! Ikei!"

"Okay then. Well on track, and expected, fair lady," Shinji laughed also, as the shields shattered under Valkrowzer's immense power. Harriet's turn ended there. Shinji added one Senatine Jade Tree to his mana zone.

"Now, my power turns things back around..."
The waterspout that now raged forward was of such ferocity that even Valkrowzer was driven back, yet when it was over, there was no sign of what had caused it. Few of the duelists that were unable to see the table could easily understand what had just happened, but Ryoma knew. Aqua Sniper.

Harriet summoned the Cragsaur she now drew, and alongside it, her slightly damp Bombersaur, steam from the water from before, still rising off the superheated rock that made up his exterior.

"And so, the Aqua Sniper is forced to fight back the army..." she noted.

Shinji did not seem to see it the same way. He summoned Snork La and the Senatine Jade Tree instead, and ended his turn. Harriet instantly became cautious, but still did not hesitate to evolve Cragsaur into the Ultra Rock Beast and again send it charging at Shinji's shields. Bombersaur immediately followed, but was blocked by the Jade Tree.

Shinji sent his Diamond Cutter to his mana zone now. Harriet smiled. That had been one possible reason. Now, the other possibility dawned on her.
"Hm... interesting. Could it be that you aimed to surpass Bombersaur's power?"

"Here we go..." Nykahrii now said, making his decision, "Summon Aqua Sniper, to return your Valkrowzer... and Spiral Gate on your Bombersaur."
Again, the waterspout swept away the Ultra Rock Beast, but this particular method of stopping Harriet would not help Shinji for long. Even with the Sniper now again in his hand, it was all just a delay. Valkrowzer would keep coming, and he could not be blocked...

"You're planning something I can't see. Magmarex to mana. Summon Valkrowzer, Ultra Rock Beast one more time! Break shields! Ikei!"

One of the shields triggered this time. Crystal Memory...

"Uh oh..." Harriet realized, "It's... actually possible..."
Shinji's deck had always been capable of bringing forth great power using his Light creatures and the unity between them. Now, looking at the amount of mana that he had, Harriet had come to the startling realization that any combination of moves that gave Shinji both Petrova and the Sword of Benevolent Life, would allow Snork La to defeat Valkrowzer...

"Ack... tough choices..."

"They are? You have but one move, not so? You must absolutely defeat Valkrowzer. The only question is with what, and if you can do it within eleven mana..."

"Exactly... and within this one turn..."

"Am I too much for you? You can always surrender and save yourself the final attack."

He laughed, saying, "No way. This is way too much fun..."

"Well, I hope you find your card, though of course I would rather not lose..."

He shook his head, shuffling his deck again.
"Nope, that's all she wrote. Cast Spiral Gate, summon Mist Rias, Sonic Guardian, and Stained Glass. I will shine brightly and await my defeat. End turn."

"Very well then. I'm impressed. Valkrowzer! Come on! Todomeda!!"

When Shinji seemed to have recovered, Harriet politely requested to see what had been in his hand. It contained one Elf-X, an Essence Elf, Phal Eega, an Enchanted Soil and his Aqua Sniper. Had either the Sword or Petrova been among those cards, Valkrowzer would have been defeated, and she would likely have been locked into a perpetual state of stasis by his Aqua Sniper. She sighed with relief...

"You deserved that one, I think..." she noted, shaking his hand, "Good game."

Shinji bowed, and the final duel of that round officially ended. The quarterfinals would now begin. Juliet turned to Ryoma.

"You are up first. Your opponent is duelist seventy three. Good luck."

Ryoma nodded, and approached the table, the onlookers finally realizing that the champion was, indeed, already present. Ryoma looked surprised at the young boy that now emerged to take the place at the other side of the table. Leo Motane. Ryoma would be allowed to go first, in order to keep up with the speed and power that young Motane's deck evidently had.

The first card that the Grand Champion placed into mana was Fire. His Q-Tronic Gargantua itself. Leo responded with Sanfist, the Savage Vizier, in his own mana zone. Now the crowd buzzed as Ryoma played a second Fire mana card. Apocalypse Vise. Was Fire all he had?

Leo placed an Aqua Surfer into his mana zone and summoned the Quixotic Hero Swine Snout.

"Soulswap to mana. End turn..." Ryoma continued. His hand was clearly at least difficult to use effectively, if not outright bad. Leo sent a Torcon to mana and summoned an Aqua Hulcus, sending the Swine Snout in to break the first shield. It shattered, then the triggering energy activated a Faerie Life, charging Darkness mana for Ryoma. A Terror Pit.

That extra mana came just in time as well. Ryoma placed his avatar into the mana zone, and cast Volcano Charger on the Quixotic Hero...

The explosion blasted Swine Snout into the sky in flames, causing Leo to wince at the imagery. A Blazosaur now crawled out of the crater, and rumbled calmly back to Ryoma's part of the battle zone. His turn ended.

"Energy Stream to mana. Miele, Vizier of Lightning, to tap your Blazosaur. Hulcus, ikei!"
The Liquid one approached the Rock Beast with caution, and immediately launched an attack when the Blazosaur responded, somersaulting out of the way and cleaving into the fierce creature with a blade of water. The battle ended quickly.

Ryoma drew a Mystic Treasure Chest, immediately sent it to mana, and summoned his Factory Shell. The power of the Colony Beetle brought his avatar to him, and he ended his turn. If he could not turn this around very quickly, the young duelist would clearly sweep over him in a simple attack.

Leo Motane knew this as well. He placed Holy Awe into his mana zone and summoned another Swine Snout, as well as a Sanfist. His Aqua Hulcus and Vizier of Lightning shattered two more of Ryoma's shields. Neither held a trigger to stop him. This was it. The crowd was already buzzing in disbelief and confusion as Leo ended his turn.

Ryoma calmly sent one of those broken shields, a Grave Worm, to his mana zone, and cast the card he had been holding onto since the beginning of the duel. Apocalypse Vise. The cheer that went up from his supporters matched the sound of tragic disbelief from those who had been rooting for Motane. The powerful Fire spell obliterated Leo's four creatures. He would have to work hard to get through the Sanctum's defenses now.

"You have not stopped my flow yet..."
Leo now placed Nature mana and cast his spell...

"Energy Stream... draw two cards."
He then summoned a Torcon, and ended his turn. Ryoma summoned Forbos at last, and the power of it, and the Factory Shell, combined, bringing him a new Crimson Hammer and Blazosaur. The Crimson Hammer, of course, took care of the Torcon. Leo simply summoned Sanfist now, and ended his turn. Crimson Hammers were not enough to stop that.

Ryoma calmly sent a Faerie Life card to his mana zone, and began a defensive chain, summoning Blazosaur to search out a Holy Awe and a Smash Horn, then summoning the Smash Horn to get another Blazosaur, and a Mana Nexus. The second Blazosaur was summoned also, and Ryoma took yet another Holy Awe from his deck. Unless Leo could get through immediately, nothing would stop the erecting of the powerful Shield wall for which Ryoma's deck, even in this incarnation, was known.

"Sanfist, evolve into Fighter Dual Fang! Break his last two shields! Ikei!"
The first was a Lost Soul, the second, a Mana Nexus that placed Ryoma's Terror Pit into his shield zone. It was over now. The wall had held. Ryoma now breathed a sigh, seemingly of relief, and placed one of his Holy Awe into his mana zone, casting Mana Nexus to convert it into a shield. Then, the attack sequence began...

Ryoma's five creatures made their assault this time without any of them transforming into the mighty Gargantua, but the conclusion was predetermined. None of Leo's shields triggered, and so, despite the appearance of a second Fighter Dual Fang one turn later, the duel ended with a final blast from Forbos, Sanctum Guardian...

"Todomeda."