Judai: 8000 Kuromu: 8000 Asuka: 8000
Tragoedia: 24000
"The first turn shall go to you, Yuki Judai."
"Alright. O-re no ta-n! Draw!" Judai declared before drawing his sixth card and looking at his hand. He then nodded, "I'll start by using Fusion to merge Elemental HERO Featherman, Elemental HERO Sparkman, and Elemental HERO Bubbleman!"
Suddenly, the three heroes quickly flew up into the sky, with the latter two becoming nodes of yellow and blue energy that flew into the avian hero.
"Through the waves and voltage, spread your wings to unleash a great storm!"
Featherman soon gained a set of blue and gold armor akin to Sparkman, complete with his visor, alongside a large arm cannon akin to Bubbleman's blaster.
"Fusion Summon! Elemental HERO Tempester (8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2800)!"
"Not holding back on making another Fusion, is he?" Koji observed.
"I'll set one card facedown. Ta-n endo."
"Now it's my go! O-re no ta-n! Draw!" Kuromu declared, drawing his sixth card. "I activate Dual Summon allowing me to summon twice this turn! I summon Kamen Rider Kuuga and Kamen Rider Wizard in ATK mode!"
A sound akin to a turbine running echoed as slowly, a man began appearing on the field from the holographic card before forming into the stag-beetle red armored warrior (4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1200).
SHABADOOBIE, TOUCH TO HENSHIN! SHABADOOBIE, TOUCH TO HENSHIN!
FLAME! PLEASE! HII! HII! HII, HII, HII!
The magic rune soon appeared as the ring Wizard appeared (4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1100).
"Now I activate Kamen Rider Wizard's effect! Since he was Normal Summoned, I get to add 1 Level 8 or lower "Kamen Rider" monster or 1 "Henshin" Spell/Trap from my Deck to my hand. And I choose to add Final Henshin from my Deck!" He said, as he searched the card, adding it, and shuffling after.
"Alright! He can upgrade them!" Sho cheered.
"Now I activate Final Henshin! This lets me choose a Kamen Rider on my field and have them upgrade to their final form! Haruto-san!"
"Right!" Wizard said as he then flipped the Hand Author and immediately placed the new ring in front of the WizarDriver.
INFINITY!
As the Driver kept repeating the word 'INFINITY' a giant silver-white column of light with a magic circle appeared, the clear-diamond shaped European dragon came out as it flew around before going back inside Wizard The magic circle then rose up through him as the magic-themed Rider was encased in diamond.
PLEASE!
HII SUI FUU DO! BOU JABA BYUU DOGON!
Once the magic seal disappeared, the diamond that encased Wizard shattered into glitter and sparkles as it revealed his brilliant new form.
"Henshin Shōkan! Kamen Rider Wizard - Infinity Form (8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2000)!"
"O-retachi ga saigo no kibou da…" Wizard quoted.
"So, this is the hidden power of Transformation Summoning?" the possessed chairman asked.
"I'm still not done! Kamen Rider Wizard - Infinity Form's effect activates! When he's summoned via Final Henshin, I get to activate another one directly from my Deck, but I have to banish it after! Yusuke-san!"
"On it!" the first Heisei Rider affirmed.
Placing his hands over the belt, the Arcle crackled with yellow and black electricity as the center of the belt now had a golden brace materializing, surrounding the core of the belt. Afterwards, he did the motions of posing hand movements.
"Chō Henshin!"
With that declaration, Kuuga's form began to change, his armor changed to a complete black with large spikes on his forearms and legs. The only color that was there were his red eyes.
"Henshin Shōkan! Kamen Rider Kuuga - Ultimate Form (8/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000)!"
"That's the last of the final forms." Misawa mused.
"No, there's one more." Woz said. "And unfortunately, that card isn't made."
"That's Zi-O's form, right?" Rex asked, recalling all the final forms everyone has seen.
"Yes."
"I'll place one card face-down. Ta-n endo." Kuromu concluded as a reverse card appeared on the field. He turned towards the Obelisk Queen. "Asuka."
She nodded as she prepared her next turn. "Watashi no ta-n! Draw!" Asuka drew her sixth card. "I activate my Machine Angel Ritual! I offer my Level 4 Etoilé Cyber and my Level 6 Cyber Angel - Benten!"
Quickly, the two monsters went into the altar and were engulfed in flames.
"Angel of light hiding eternal power! Show your form to this vast world and illuminate all creation!"
From the pillar of flames, Asuka's strongest monster made her arrival.
"Ritual Summon! Descend, Cyber Angel - Vishnu (10/ATK: 3000/DEF:2000)!"
"Everyone's going all out." Annette murmured.
"I mean with the fate of the world at stake, wouldn't you?" Rika said.
"I'll place one card face-down. Ta-n shuuryou." Asuka declared, as a reverse card appeared on the field.
"Tsk, so this is the power you three wield?" Tragoedia scoffed. "This will be easier than I thought. Draw!" He drew his sixth card. "I will start by placing three Trap cards face-down." He said, as three reverse cards appeared on the field.
"Strange, why would he announce that those three face-downs are traps?" Misawa frowned.
"Nothing good, I'm guessing!" Rex yelped.
"There's no need to intentionally declare Trap or Spell when you set a face-down card." Fubuki frowned, also disturbed by the way he was playing.
"There is a reason for it." Tragoedia said. "This in itself is a condition that is needed to call out a Phantom Demon. So I will sacrifice my three Traps cards to summon the first one!"
Suddenly, the sky began to darken as the three trap cards that were face-down revealed them and burned into ashes, and a pillar of fire erupted from the ground.
"Sky dragon of the heavens, unleash on my foes the flames hotter than the depths of the Underworld!"
The three Trap Cards flew into the air and ignited into three columns of fire, shooting into the sky before merging together into a big vortex of flames. Then, in a massive explosion, Judai, Kuromu, and Asuka avert their eyes, covering their faces with their arms as the spectators ducked. A monstrous, ear-splitting roar echoed as the flames dispersed to reveal a monstrous beast that looked like Celestial Dragon of Osiris, but a more corrupted and evil version of it .
Come, Uria, Lord of Divine Flames (10/ATK: 0/DEF: 0)!"
"KYAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! WHAT IS THAT?!" Junko and Momoe cried out, holding each other in fright.
"Sacrébleu…" Annette murmured in shock. "That's… a Phantom Demon?"
"Ho… ly… shit…" Rex muttered in horror.
"Uria's effect activates! It gains 1000 ATK for every Trap Card in my Graveyard." Tragoedia declared.
Uria - Lord of Divine Flames (ATK: 0-3000)
"Furthermore, once per turn, I can destroy one Spell or Trap card you control that is face-down. And once it's activated, none of you can respond to it." The possessed chairman then eyed Judai. "And I'll destroy yours, Yuki Judai. Trap Destruction!"
With a deafening roar, Judai's face-down was shattered.
"Oh no, Aniki…" Sho said worriedly.
"Gh…" Judai gritted his teeth in frustration.
"Now, who amongst you three shall suffer the wrath of Uria's flames?" Tragoedia glanced between the trio while the red Phantom Beast growled with an unnatural hunger. It then chose its target. That being Judai. "Ah, but of course. With no face-down to protect you, you're just a sitting duck. Battle! Uria, Lord of Divine Flames will attack Elemental HERO Tempest! Hyper Blaze!"
The corrupt version of Osiris opened its large maw and unleashed a hellish flame that washed over Elemental HERO Tempest, destroying him. As a result, the flames have also licked Judai.
"ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!"
"Judai/Aniki!" Everyone shouted.
Judai: 7800 Kuromu: 8000 Asuka: 8000
Tragoedia: 24000
"Painful, isn't it? Those flames are tinged by the very fires of Hell." Tragoedia taunted with dark joy at the sight of Judai in pain. "And soon, you will spend eternity in those flames. I'll end my turn there."
"Judai, you alright?!" Kuromu called out, as the Elemental HERO Duelist tried to catch his breath.
"Never better…" Judai managed to say. "We're just getting started. O-re no ta-n! Draw!" He drew his next card to increase his hand to two. "I activate Hero's Legacy! Since I have two or more Elemental HEROes in my Graveyard, I get to draw three cards!" He drew until he now had four. He smiled at what he got. "Alright, this is looking good! Now I activate Fusion Recovery! I bring Fusion and Elemental HERO Bubbleman back to my Hand!" He retrieved the card, and his hand was now at five. "Now I'll summon Elemental HERO Bubbleman!"
The water-themed HERO appeared, with his blaster at the ready. (4/ATK: 800/DEF: 1200)
"And when he's summoned and being the only monster on my field, I get to draw two more cards!" He then drew them, increasing his hand to six.
"He's going for Absolute Zero." Rex realized, "Since its destruction effect could take any of his Special Summoned Monsters."
"Now I'll activate Fusion! By Fusing Elemental HERO Bubbleman on my Field and Elemental HERO Liquidman in my hand!" Judai said. The two WATER-themed HEROes then jumped into the vortex.
"Break the ice and freeze those who plan harm on the innocent!"
When the ice ball shattered, the ice knight-like superhero appeared.
"Fusion Summon! Elemental HERO Absolute Zero (8/AK: 2500/DEF: 2000)!"
"So far so good." Jun muttered.
"Now I activate Elemental HERO Liquidman's second ability! Since he was used as Fusion Material for a "HERO" monster, I get to draw two cards, then discard one!" He drew his two cards to increase his hand to six, then discarded one, now having five. "Finally, I activate my Field Spell! Skyscraper - Skyscraper!"
The arena soon became the familiar cityscape that boosted all HEROes.
"With this on the field, if an Elemental HERO attacks a monster who has higher ATK points than them, then that HERO gains 1000 ATK!"
"Alright! Get' em Judai!" Rika cheered.
"Battle! Elemental HERO Absolute Zero attacks Uria, Lord of Divine Flames! Blizzard Break!"
After conjuring a large blade of ice from his hand, Absolute Zero leaped up as it powered up. (ATK: 2500-3500) He then jumped down and sliced the corrupted sky dragon in two, the halves freezing in place before being destroyed.
Judai: 7800 Kuromu: 8000 Asuka: 8000
Tragoedia: 23500
"Booyah! One Phantom Demon down!" Koji cheered, but Tragoedia chuckled.
"Don't be so sure…" Ryo frowned.
"Foolish boy. Uria can't be defeated so easily. Thanks to you destroying him, I can now activate this Continuous Trap card from my hand! Phantasm Reborn!" He revealed the trap card depicting the three Phantom Demons' emerging from the ground. "Every time you destroy one of my Phantom Demons, regardless of who's turn it is, I can revive them by banishing one Monster, Spell, or Trap card from my hand, Deck, or Graveyard, depending on who gets destroyed."
"Oh c'mon, that can't be legal!" Rex cried out.
"All fair in war." Tragoedia retorted, "Now I banish a Trap card from my Deck. Revive, Uria!"
Soon, the corrupted sky dragon reappeared from the pillar of fire, completely fine. (ATK: 3000-4000/DEF: 3000-4000)
"We need to get that card off the field!" Kuromu snapped.
"Unfortunately for you three, as long as one Phantom Demon is on the Field, it can't be destroyed by card effects."
"Yare yare…" Jun groaned.
"That is so broken!" Sho cried out.
"So that means… in order to get rid of it, all three Phantom Demons need to be destroyed." Instructor Chronos mused. "But even then…"
"They'll just be revived." Samejima frowned.
"This is like the KC Grand Championship Incident a few years back." Kuromu grunted. "Yugi-san couldn't get rid of that Golden Castle of Stromberg so easily, and now here we are with that same situation via a different type of card."
"All we need to do is to draw a card that can take down two cards at once." Judai hoped. "For now I'll place this card face-down. Ta-n endo." He then turned to Kuromu, "Here's hoping, right?"
"Yeah. Let's hope. O-re no ta-n! Draw!" Kuromu declared, drawing his next card. "I hate to do this, but we need a chance. I activate Treasure Cards from the Heavens! All of us draw until we have six cards!" All players drew until they had six.
"That's a huge risk he's taking." Misawa said. "While Ichiban-kun and Tenjoin-san can draw cards for themselves, it gives Tragoedia a replenished hand as well."
"And worse, could give him the next Phantom Demon." Koji added.
"Next I activate Final Henshin's second effect in my Graveyard! By shuffling it back into my Deck, I can draw an additional card!" He said, doing the card instructed and his hand increased to seven. "Yosh! Get ready Tragoedia, you're in for a world of hurt! First, I summon Kamen Rider Ghost in ATK mode!"
EY~E!
A ghost-like entity with a black hoodie jacket with orange highlights and orange ghostly eyes came out flying around.
BACCHIRI MINA! BACCHIRI MINA! BACCHIRI MINA! BACCHIRI MINA!
KAIGAN: O-RE!
Orange motes of light gathered on the Monster Zone while lines formed before forming the armor. The Parka Ghost then hunched over the armored person letting the latter wear the hoodie before the orange mask flipped upwards. (4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1400)
LET'S GO! KAKUGO! G-G-G-GHOST! GO! GO! GO! GO!
"Inochi… moyasu ze!" Ghost quoted.
"And it's going to burn brighter! Because I activate Final Henshin! Ghost goes into his final form! Takeru-san!"
"Right!" Ghost pulled out his Mugen Eyecon and pressed the button on the side. A brief choir noise sang, before he opened up the GhostDriver, taking out his Eyecon before inserting the new one and closing it.
MUGEN SHINKA!
EY~E!
The large, bright white trench coat park appeared, large shoulder pads protruding from its shoulder.
BACCHIRIMINNA~ BACCHIRIMINNA~! BACCHIRIMINNA~ BACCHIRIMINNA~!
Ghost then pulled and pushed the lever revealing Ghost Mugen's faceplate.
CHOU KAIGAN! MUGEN!
KEEP GOING! GO-GO-GO! GO-GO-GO! GO-GO-GO! GOT TO GHOST!
The Mugen Parka flew around, motes of light encased his previous armor. The Parka then enveloped Ghost, enveloping him in a bright, rainbow colored light. Feathers exploded from the light, revealing the legendary form as his faceplate lifted upward.
"Henshin Shōkan! Kamen Rider Ghost - Mugen Form (8/ATK: 2900/DEF: 2200)!"
"Another transformation?" Tragoedia scoffed.
"Don't be so dismissive of my Riders just yet! I'm activating Kamen Rider Ghost - Mugen Form's effect! When he's special summoned to the field, the ATK points of one of your monster's become 0! In this case, Uria, Lord of Divine Flames!"
Uria, Lord of Divine Flames (ATK: 4000-0)
"And here's where this is gonna hurt! I'm activating the Spell Card, Triple Rider Kick! Since I have three Kamen Rider on my side of the Field, all their ATK points get added up! And right now, the total ATK is 8200! But more importantly, if Kamen Rider Kuuga - Ultimate Form attacks while I control another Fusion Monster, any Battle Damage you take is DOUBLED!"
"Doubled?!"
"Wait, so how much is that?" Sho asked, as he tried to add.
"He's dealing 16,400 Damage to him!" Rika gawked.
"16,400?!" The group cried out in shock.
"Do it guys!" Kuromu shouted.
"Ah… it's time for the finale." Wizard said, putting on his Kick Strike Ring and switching the Hand Author on his belt before scanning it.
CHO II NE! KICK STRIKE! SAIKO~!
"Human potential is infinite!" Ghost shouted as he pulled and pushed the lever, making the eye of the GhostDriver 'blink' and the iris now showed a kicking foot in a rainbow color.
CHOU DAI KAIGAN! MUGEN: GOD OMEGA DRIVE!
Ghost then performed a few hand signs and an energy sigil of Ghost Mugen appeared behind him.
Kuuga merely took a deep breath as he prepared to land his attack. Yellow electricity crackled around his belt before it traveled towards his kicking foot.
As the three Riders leaped into the air, they quickly landed a powerful Triple Rider Kick onto Uria, once more shattering him. Not only that, the three Riders continued diving downwards, striking the possessed chairman square on the chest, who roared in pain, before being sent flying towards the ground, tumbling on its dirt surface after.
Judai: 7800 Kuromu: 8000 Asuka: 8000
Tragoedia: 7100
"Mama mia!" Instructor Chronos exclaimed.
"That's 2/3 of his Life Points already taken out!" Rex shouted in surprise.
"Kamen Rider Ghost - Mugen Form's second effect activates. Since I attacked with him, while using Triple Rider Kick, I'll add a "Kamen Rider" to my hand from my Graveyard. And I choose Kamen Rider Wizard." He said, retrieving the card from his Graveyard, increasing his hand back to five. "Ta-n endo. And now my three Kamen Riders are destroyed." He said, as Kuuga, Wizard, and Ghost disappeared.
"Grrrrrrrrrrrrk, how dare you…" Tragoedia snarled, slowly getting up. His yellow eyes now had blood vessels around the edges. "HOW DARE YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"
As he roared, a burst of dark energy moved through the area. Not only that, he quickly discarded a Trap from his Deck thanks to Phantasm Reborn. (10/ATK: 4000-5000/DEF: 4000-5000)
"Uh-oh…" Kuromu muttered.
"He's mad now…" Sho whimpered.
"HOW DARE YOU PUT ME ON EQUAL FOOTING WITH YOU MORTALS!" The possessed chairman roared. "YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR INSOLENCE!"
"You're going to have to wait, because I'm up next." Asuka said. "Watashi no ta-n! Draw!" Asuka declared, drawing her seventh card. "I play the Forbidden Holy Grail! While your dragon gains 400 ATK, its effects are negated, ergo, it will only have 400!"
Uria - Lord of Divine Flames (ATK: 5000-400/DEF: 5000-0)
"Insolent vermin!" Tragoedia snapped.
"Battle! Cyber Angel - Vishnu attacks Uria, Lord of Divine Flames! Ascension Burst!"
Soon, the corrupted sky dragon faced destruction a third time as it was demolished by the lead Cyber Angel's barrage of light blasts.
Judai: 7800 Kuromu: 8000 Asuka: 8000
Tragoedia: 4500
"You mortals are starting to anger me!" Tragoedia said, as he abruptly discarded yet another Trap to revive Uria. (10/ATK: 5000-6000/DEF: 5000-6000)
"Crap, any more Traps and he'll be able to one shot any of them." Rex realized.
"I'll place one more card face-down. Ta-n shuuryou." Asuka said, as she now had two face-downs.
"It is time I tear you down next, boy!" He pointed right at Kuromu. "It's my turn! Draw!" He said, drawing his seventh card. "First, I shall be rid of these buildings to activate this Field Spell! Paradise Lost!" The area then began to change as the buildings went away. Now it was replaced with a desolate wasteland. "With this card on the field, you can't target the Phantom Demons with card effects, let alone destroy them with card effects."
"But that means they're untouchable at this point!" Momoe pointed out.
"Not really, the only way they can overcome them is by attacking." Junko said. "But even then…"
"Whatever new abilities they have, it certainly won't make it easy for them." Annette added.
"In addition, this Field Spell allows me to draw an additional two cards every turn." Tragoedia said, using its effect, to draw two more cards, his hand now at eight. "Now I set down these three Spell cards!" He said, placing them face-down, reducing his hand five and eventually four.
"Oh great, which of them is it this time?" Rex immediately sensed a pattern.
"I will sacrifice them to unleash the second Phantom Demon!" Tragoedia said as he revealed the three Continuous Spell cards which then froze before shattering into pieces, converging to another part of the field.
"Winged skeleton dragon, call on the heavens to bring divine judgment onto the land!"
Lightning bolts struck down on the cluster of ice crystals, which spiked upwards, before the huge creature emerged from the ground, breaking out of the crystal cluster. Like Uria, it had a great pair of wings. This new beast had a golden body, lengthy limbs that ended up in slightly curved feet and hands, and his huge claws glinted in the light as his bony tail swayed from side to side which then let out a horrid screech.
"Strike hard, Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder (10/ATK: 4000/DEF: 4000)!"
"Boss… help us… please…"
"Huh?" Jun took out his Deck and Ojama Yellow looked very thin and pale. "Ojama Yellow? What's going on?"
"Those thing… it's absorbing our energy… it's… killing us…"
"Everyone! Check your cards!" Jun shouted.
Quickly, the group soon began checking their decks.
"No way!" Rika gasped as she saw her Foodon rotting. "Fried Ricer, Omelet!"
"Fried… Ricer…"
"Omelet…"
"What's going on?!" Sho cried out.
"My Gem-Knights!" Annette gasped.
"Our cards too!" Junko and Momoe cried out.
"All of our monsters are disappearing!" Misawa gasped.
"Guys! Are you okay?! Talk to me!" Rex said to the Gladial Quartet, who were barely holding on while Alexander and Vespasius, likely due to being Tragoedia's former servants, were just fine as they helped the four gladiators up.
"Grk, w-we're fine… I think…" Besturouli growled.
"Have you all realized by now?" Tragoedia asked them. "Ever since the Phantom Demons appeared on the field, they have been sucking up the life energy of your monsters. All except the three of your friends that are Dueling me in this Game of Darkness."
"Of course, they're absorbing their spirits to manifest their power…" Ryo gasped in horror.
"Mama mia…" Instructor Chronos got out.
"Tsk, always ruthless are you?" The leviathan gladiator snarled.
"However, my power to control the Three Phantom Demons is not yet complete. It's impossible to control them unless it's within this barrier. To control I need the power to control spirits that dwell within Yuki Judai. When I win this Game of Darkness and absorb your power… no… when I absorb your soul, I will take the three Phantom Demons out of this barrier, and they will start to take the spirits dwelling within Duel Monsters all around the world! And with this, I will be granted eternal life and become a God of this world!"
"But if that's the case, what does all of this have to do with Kuro and Asuka?!" Judai demanded.
"While you hold the power of pure darkness, I also need a source of pure light and one in between." Tragoedia chuckled.
"Gh…" Kuromu gritted his teeth.
"Kuromu is not beholden to the darkness!" Takeshi suddenly shouted, getting their attention.
"Hongo-san…"
"But he's at that perfect crossroads, one that is ripe for the taking." Tragoedia observed, "Will he ascend to the light like her, or perhaps fall to the darkness like him?" He gestured to Asuka and then Judai.
"That is not for you to decide, demon." Hongo stated firmly, his eyes glaring being met by the possessed chairman's smug grin.
"Indeed, which is why I am curious to see which path he may choose." Tragoedia said. "But alas, he will need to hasten that decision. I activate Uria's effect! I will destroy his face-down card and none of you can do anything to stop it! Trap Destruction!"
With a deafening roar, the card Kuromu had face-down was Kamen Riders' Dramatic Entry, and it was shattered into pixels.
"Gh…" Kuromu gritted his teeth.
"Now it is time for me to exact my revenge! Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder will attack you directly! Thunder of Lost Paradise!"
The Ra impostor demon roared, pointing its head up in the sky and unleashed a bright blue bolt of lightning into the darkened sky. There was a brief flash, before the same lightning bolt came crashing down on Kuromu, shocking him.
"GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"KUROMU!" Everyone shouted.
Judai: 7800 Kuromu: 4000 Asuka: 8000
Tragoedia: 4500
Kuromu fell to his knees, his body feeling numb while crackling with electricity, trying to catch his breath.
"Errrrrrgh… Ahhhhhh…" Kuromu panted heavily.
"You're next, Yuki Judai! Uria, Lord of Divine Flames will attack Elemental HERO Absolute Zero! Hyper Blaze!"
Wanting revenge, Uria let out a stronger version of its typical attack to outright incinerate Absolute Zero. Judai was also left getting hit by the resulting blast but he held strong.
"I activate my face-down! Hero Barrier!" He called out through the pain. "This negates your attack if I have an Elemental HERO on the field!"
At that moment, a turbine-like metallic fan appeared, spinning rapidly to block the hellish flames from destroying Absolute Zero, dispersing to other parts of the field, thankfully away from his friends. That didn't mean he got out unscathed as he fell to his knees in pain from the blast.
"I end my turn." Tragoedia snarled.
"O-re no ta-n! Draw!" Judai then drew his next card to increase his hand to seven and examined it. At the moment, he had another copy of Fusion, Elemental HERO Ocean, Elemental HERO Forestman, E-Emergency Call, as well as a couple of spare cards. But the card he drew was probably something that could turn the tide. He'll have to take that chance.
"I activate Fusion to fuse Elemental HERO Ocean and Elemental HERO Forestman in my Hand!" Judai declared.
As the two heroes flew into the Fusion portal, Judai once more began to chant.
"Arise, champion of Mother Nature!"
Soon, the lone Legendary Planet Monster appeared on the battlefield, ready to battle against its creator.
"Fusion Summon! Elemental HERO Terra Firma (8/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000)!"
"Oh yeah, he's in trouble now!" Rex cheered.
"Ah, so you plan on using one of my own against me?" Tragoedia snarled.
"It's the only one against you, and he chose to fight for what's right!" Judai said. "He may have been born from your evil desires, but he decided to do something good with the life you've given him!"
"Then he shall suffer my wrath and burn with the rest of you." Tragoedia snapped.
"Now while we're around! I activate Elemental HERO Terra Firma's effect! By Tributing Elemental HERO Absolute Zero, he gains his ATK until the End Phase! And when the latter leaves, your Phantom Demons are gone!"
"Except that it doesn't matter since Paradise Lost prevents your card effects from destroying them." Tragoedia pointed out, as the cold-themed HERO disappeared and his energy was transferred to Terra Firma's core (ATK: 2500-5000).
"That doesn't say anything about smashing them in Battle though!" Judai pointed out. "Battle! Elemental HERO Terra Firma attacks Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder! Earth Magma Slash!"
Leaping into the air, the Earth-based hero quickly slashed through the corrupted Ra, sending more damage the possessed chairman's way.
Judai: 7800 Kuromu: 4000 Asuka: 8000
Tragoedia: 3500
Tragoedia activated Phantasm Reborn, discarding a Continuous Spell to revive Hamon (10/ATK: 4000/DEF: 4000)
"We just need to take down his Phantasms a couple more times and he's through." Kuromu said.
"Well you guys better hurry up, our cards are starting to turn blank!" Rex called out as he saw that his deck was starting to deteriorate save for Alexander and Vespasius, which was true of the others' decks as well.
"Alright… let's do this- ergh…!" Kuromu gritted, as he shakingly stood up, only to fall on one knee.
"Kuro, are you alright?" Asuka asked, worriedly.
"I'll be fine… it just looks worse than it really is…" Kuromu tried to reassure, before standing back up again. "O-re no ta-n… Draw!" He declared, drawing his next card, increasing his hand to six. "Awesome! Just what I need to solve the Uria problem for the moment! I activate Soul Release! This lets me banish up to five cards! And I choose to banish the five Trap cards in your Graveyard, Tragoedia!"
Suddenly, Uria felt its power begin to weaken.
Uria, Lord of Divine Flames (ATK: 6000-1000/DEF: 6000-1000)
"Brilliant! Now Uria is vulnerable enough to be attacked!" Misawa gasped.
"Now I summon Kamen Rider Wizard back to the field!" Kuromu declared, as the ring-themed Rider returned (4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1000). "And with his effect, I'll add the last Final Henshin to my hand from my Deck!" He said, adding the card. "But he's not sticking around for long, because now I'll sacrifice Kamen Rider Wizard, for someone stronger! Haruto-san, make way for her!"
"You got it!" Wizard called out as Kuromu, realizing his chance, decided to do his own summoning chant.
"Mage of unspoken magic, unleash the power of the arcane arts and render your foes speechless with awe and splendor!"
Wizard then changed into of motes of blue light, which then formed a magic circle, and stepping out of it was the mature silver-haired female mage, staff at the ready
"Mystify, Magician of Silence - Silent Magician (4/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000)!"
Despite the situation the group was in, Kuromu couldn't help but smirk as Judai gave a thumbs up.
"Finally got to do one, eh?" the Elemental HERO Duelist commented.
"Better late than never." Kuromu chuckled, before turning towards the mage. "I hope you're ready, Shizuka-sensei. The fate of our world is at stake and we need to do everything in our power to avert this crisis."
"I will do my utmost best." She said as the mage prepared for battle.
"That's all we can do." Kuromu said. "Now then, since my mage is on field, she gains 500 ATK for each card in my hand! I hold three, so her ATK has increased by 1500!"
Magician of Silence - Silent Magician (ATK: 1000-2500)
"And it's more than enough to destroy Uria!" Kuromu declared. "Battle! Magician of Silence - Silent Magician attacks Uria, Lord of Divine Flames! Silent Burning!"
Once more, the corrupted sky dragon was decimated, this time by the silent mage's magic. After recovering from the attack, Tragoedia quickly revived Uria using Phantasm Reborn, and it was clear that the corrupted sky dragon was growing more and more agitated of being destroyed. (10/ATK: 1000-2000/DEF: 1000-2000)
Judai: 7800 Kuromu: 4000 Asuka: 8000
Tragoedia: 2000
"I'll place one card face-down. And Silent Magician's ATK is reduced to 2000. Ta-n endo." Kuromu declared as the silent mage's ATK lowered (ATK: 2500-2000).
"I don't like the look Uria is giving us." Judai pointed out.
"Well we have been constantly attacking it." Kuromu pointed out.
"We should be careful in case it decides to attack out of turn." Asuka observed. "Speaking of… Watashi no ta-n!"
The moment the Obelisk Queen drew her next card to increase her hand to six, the card she drew glowed briefly, before looking at it, seeing that it was a blank Ritual Monster card. She was left confused, as was Kuromu and Judai. It was then that the three quickly remembered something.
"Hey, I remember finding three blank cards in Daitokuji-sensei's office when we were preparing for his funeral." Judai recalled.
"Huh?" Kuromu said, confused. "Really?"
"Yeah, a Ritual Monster, a Fusion Monster, and a… mmmmm…" Judai frowned, as he tapped his head, trying to think of it. "Actually, I don't know what the third one was. I was in a hurry when the funeral was about to start."
"Well, I guess better late than never. Right?" Asuka observed as she soon saw the blank card gain its name, artwork, and effect. Her eyes widened as she showed the now evolved card to the Elemental HERO and Rider Duelists.
"That's-" Judai got out.
"Do it, Asuka!" Kuromu said.
She nodded, "I use Machine Angel Ritual to sacrifice my second copy of Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater to perform a Ritual Summon!"
Rika quickly caught on, "Wait, that's the components for Cyber Blader." She realized.
"There's a Ritual Monster version of Cyber Blader?" Momoe asked, surprised.
"First I've heard of it." Junko answered.
Soon, the two components flew into the altar as the pillar of flames erupted.
"Skater of the digital realm, be reborn as an angel flying under the stars!"
What emerged from the flames was what looked to be Cyber Blader, but now she was much more armored with a red chest plate, red and silver armguards, a silver battle tutu, shin guards that had wings at the anklets, and a new headset that showcased the blue eyes underneath the red visor.
"Ritual Summon! Cyber Angel Blader - Konohana (8/ATK: 2100/DEF: 800)!"
The group was surprised to see this newly evolved version of Asuka's original Fusion monster.
"Whoa! Since when did she have that?" Sho said in awe.
"Judai? Kuromu? Sometimes I forget you two have some pretty good connections." Rex said.
"Hah, what a weak monster." Tragoedia scoffed, unimpressed.
"That may be the case, but you're about to learn a little trick I have. But for now, let's battle!" she declared. "Cyber Angel - Vishnu attacks Uria, Lord of Divine Flames! Ascension Burst!"
The corrupted sky dragon soon roared as it was destroyed once again.
Judai: 7800 Kuromu: 4000 Asuka: 8000
Tragoedia: 1000
And once again, the same process of Tragoedia of reviving Uria with Phantasm Reborn occurred and this time, the corrupt Osiris has finally lost its patience. (10/ATK: 2000-3000/DEF: 2000-3000)
It soon let out a powerful burst of energy straight at Asuka, forcing Kuromu to jump in and take the blast dead-on.
"GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"Kuromu!" Everyone gasped as the Rider Duelist writhed in pain, forcing to bend a knee while Tragoedia chuckled.
"Excellent. It seems Uria's temper has not been quelled even eons after his sealing…" the possessed chairman observed as Uria let out an angered roar at the group's monsters.
"Kuro!" Asuka said worriedly, holding his face.
"Are you okay, Asuka…?" Kuromu panted heavily.
"Idiot, why did you do that?" Asuka asked.
"Haha… What kind of a man would I be if I can't protect the ones I love?" He smiled weakly, despite being in pain.
"Come on, dude. You can't die on us today!" Judai said as he helped the Rider Duelist back on his feet.
"None of you will survive after I'm through with you!" Tragoedia said, drawing his next three cards due to Lost Paradise increasing his hand from four to seven. He then chuckled as he looked at his hand.
"Uh-oh…" Kuromu muttered, already seeing the pattern.
"So what? The last one needs three monsters to be Tributed?" Judai asked the Rider Duelist, after he also caught on to what was about to happen.
"To begin I shall activate this card! Phantasmal Life Drain!" he declared as it depicted the Three Phantom Demons glowing, due to sucking the energy off of various Duel Monsters gathered. "If my Life Points are lower, I can swap Life Points with my opponent! But since there are three of you… I'll take all of them!" Suddenly, Kuromu, Asuka, and Judai yelled in pain, feeling their life force drained, forcing them to their knees, while Tragoedia felt himself getting stronger.
Judai: 1000 Kuromu: 1000 Asuka: 1000
Tragoedia: 15800
"What the?! That's not fair!" Rika gasped.
"Now, it's time I summon the last of the Phantom Demons!" Tragoedia declared. "I activate this Spell Card: Phantasmal Demon Martyrs! When Uria and Hamon are on the field, I can discard two cards to special summon three Phantasmal Demon Martyr Tokens!"
Suddenly three dark purple skeletal monsters with bat-like wings emerged on the battlefield (1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0) x3
"And now, I shall release them to perform a Tribute Summon!"
The dark clouds above them swirled before a large beam of blue light shot towards the ground, shaking the very ground they're standing on, prompting everyone but the possessed chairman to hold their ground as the three tokens disappeared.
"Tormenting divine soldier, spread your wings and bring for demons the likes of which man has never seen!"
From that ground, the last of the Phantasms escaped, and like its fellow Phantasms, Racial looked like a corrupted version of Obelisk.
Instead of the blue rock body, this one looked as if Obelisk shattered most of it to reveal its flesh underneath. The framework was left behind to make it appear more skeletal. Even the wings were organic with the rock framework. And its face was similar but the flesh was exposed to reveal the vicious true form underneath and its head crest was oversized to emphasize that.
"Descend, Raviel, Lord of Phantasmal Demons (10/ATK: 4000/DEF: 4000)!"
"Now he has all Three Phantom Demons out at once," Ryo grunted.
"And with Uria currently pissed, there's a chance he'll attack out of turn too." Rex added.
"Now, it is time to take care of these three meddling brats once and for all!" Tragoedia declared, "But before I enter my Battle Phase, I shall play my last trick! The Spell Card, Black Core! By discarding my last card, I can choose one face-up Monster on the battlefield and banish it! So I shall get rid of that traitorous Elemental HERO Terra Firma!"
A dark portal suddenly appeared in the middle of the field, and it sucked up the Elemental HERO.
"Terra Firma! NO!" Judai cried out.
"Now that that's taken care of, it's time I end you three once and for all!" Tragoedia declared, "Battle! Uria, Lord of Divine Flames attacks you, Yuki Judai, directly! Hyper Blaze!"
"JUDAI!" Sho, Rex, and Jun all screamed in fear as Uria reared its head and fired a stream of flames.
"Sorry, but I activate my face-down! The Instant Magic: The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh! I either add a Kuriboh or Winged Kuriboh to my hand or Special Summon it! And I choose to Special Summon my Winged Kuriboh in DEF mode!"
The winged critter quickly flew in and blocked the incoming stream of flames for his friend, before being destroyed.
"Grr, that blasted furball! Ruining my plans just like all those centuries ago!" Tragoedia snarled.
"Thanks, aibou." Judai said.
"Kuri, Kuri!" Winged Kuriboh said, before a card popped out from Judai's Deck.
"Huh?" Judai got out, before taking it out. His eyes widened significantly. "Daitokuji-sensei's card…"
"What's up, Judai?" Kuromu asked.
*MEOW~!*
"Huh?" They got out, before looking to see Pharaoh coming into view. He seemed to be chasing… a ball of golden light?
"Pharaoh?" Kuromu got out.
"Wait… what's…" Asuka got out. They soon saw the golden light fly towards the Elemental HERO Duelist.
"Judai-kun… Judai-kun…"
"Masaka… Daitokuji-sensei?!" Judai gasped, as did the others.
"Sensei?!" the other students gasped.
"Judai-kun, you must use the card that you found in the Emerald Tablet-nya." Daitokuji said. "That card is a card that only the ultimate alchemist will be able to use-nya. You must call to your mind a card that lies in your Deck-nya. Do so, and the card will resonate with your imagination, creating a miracle by granting your wish three times-nya."
"I…" Judai looked down before turning to Konoha, the result of Asuka's power evolving.
"I'm sure you'll be able to-" Whatever Daitokuji was about to say was cut off, when Pharaoh jumped up and ate the golden ball of light.
"O-Oi! Pharaoh!" Kuromu cried out, before the tabby cat ran off.
"Are you finished?" Tragoedia snarled. "Because it's now time to destroy your other friends! Battle! Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder attacks Magician of Silence - Silent Magician! Thunder of Lost Paradise!"
"KUROMU!" Rika and Koji cried out, as the Ra counterfeit roared and a thunderbolt came crashing down.
"I also activate my face-down!" Kuromu declared, revealing that it was an Instant Magic! "Silent Burning! During your Battle Phase, if Magician of Silent - Silent Magician is on my field, and I have more cards in my hand than you, we draw until we have six cards! That means my Silent Magician's ATK shoots up to 4000! And this effect can't be negated!" He then drew four which was now at six, while Tragoedia also drew until he had six.
Magician of Silence - Silent Magician (ATK: 2000-4000)
The silent mage then raised her staff, and unleashed her arcane magic to block the thunderbolt, pushing it back towards the middle, struggling to overpower each other.
"Shizuka-sensei…!" Kuromu called out, as the silent mage looked over her shoulder.
"D-Do not worry about me!" Shizuka gritted while she held her ground against the Phantom Demon. "You must… end this madness! For all of our sakes! I believe in you, my apprentice!"
The overwhelming power between thunder and magic grew larger causing a bright light to overshadow them, blinding them briefly. Neither Hamon nor Shizuka remained from the clash.
"Tsk, a pitiful attempt." the possessed chairman clicked his tongue as he used Phantasm Reborn's effect, removing a Spell card from his Deck to revive him (10/ATK: 4000/DEF: 4000). "That magician's efforts were in vain."
"WRONG!" Kuromu snapped. "Her efforts made sure that we get another chance to finish this fight!"
"We'll see about that! Battle! Raviel, Lord of Phantasmal Demons will attack Cyber Angel - Vishnu! Celestial Ravaging Fist!"
"ASUKA-CHAN/ASUKA-SAMA!" Rika, Junko, and Momoe called out as the corrupt Obelisk counterfeit, reared back his arm and his claws glowed before moving towards the strongest Ritual Monster.
"Not so fast! I activate my two face-downs!" Asuka declared, activating her two cards. "Doblé Passe and Strength Enhancement Drug - Super Z! With Doblé Passe's effect, it changes to a direct attack, but thanks to Strength Enhancement Drug - Super Z, I get 4000 Life Points since I'm about to take 2000 points or more Damage!"
Judai: 1000 Kuromu: 1000 Asuka: 5000
Tragoedia: 15800
"But you'll still take damage!" Tragoedia reminded her as the monster quickly swung his claw at the Cyber Angel queen. However, Vishnu was able to block the attack, resulting in a sudden gust of wind that nearly sent Asuka off-balance as she slid back from the force.
Judai: 1000 Kuromu: 1000 Asuka: 1000
Tragoedia: 15800
"Now Cyber Angel - Vishnu can attack you directly! Furthermore, my Cyber Angel Blader - Konohana's effect activates! Her effect is akin to Doblé Passe but you take 500 points of Damage equal to the number of "Cyber Angel" and/or "Cyber Girl" monsters in my Graveyard. There are four in total. That's 2000 Points. Meaning, you take 5000 Damage altogether! Glissade Ascension Burst!"
As Vishnu prepared her attack, Konoha quickly dashed in and delivered a double slashing kick against the possessed chairman. Then she leaped out of the way of the incoming blasts that came from her queen.
Judai: 1000 Kuromu: 1000 Asuka: 1000
Tragoedia: 10800
"You curs!" Tragoedia snarled. "WHY WON'T YOU DIE?! "
Kuromu merely scoffed, "Heart of the Cards, old fart."
"Grrrrrrrrrr! I'll place this card face-down and end my turn!" Tragoedia said, placing said card face-down, his hand reduced to five due to having drawn cards until he had six, with Silent Burning's effect.
Kuromu then turned to the Elemental HERO Duelist, "Judai, you're up. Don't let Daitokuji-sensei's last wish be for naught."
"Got it!" he declared as he placed his hand on his deck, "O-re no ta-n! Draw!" He declared, drawing his next card, increasing his hand to five, due to adding Daitokuji's card previously which was four at the time. He then eyed said card, "The card that I want… and what I want is…" He closed his eyes, before the card glowed, changing its artwork. "This is it… I can turn this around!"
Judai: 500 Kuromu: 1000 Asuka: 1000
Tragoedia: 10800
"Alright, here goes!" Judai declared, "I activate Fusion Recovery! This lets me add Fusion and a Fusion Material Monster from my Graveyard to my hand! So I bring it and Elemental HERO Featherman!" He said, bringing the cards back to his hand. "Now for my second wish…" He said, closing his eyes thinking of it. And then… "It's here!"
Judai: 250 Kuromu: 1000 Asuka: 1000
Tragoedia: 10800
"First, before I activate this card of my second wish, I play Fusion to fuse Elemental HERO Featherman and Elemental HERO Burst Lady in my hand!"
Soon, the familiar Fusion vortex appeared as two of Judai's key monsters flew into it.
"Rise up, my favorite HERO!"
From there, the familiar Fusion HERO emerged, ready for battle against the Phantasms.
"Fusion Summon! Elemental HERO Flame Wingman (6/ATK: 2100/DEF: 1200)!"
"Tsk. What's that supposed to do to me?" Tragoedia scoffed. "Not that it matters. You activated Raviel's effect, allowing me to summon a Phantasmal Token on my Field!" A smaller copy of Raviel appeared crouched down in DEF mode. (1/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000)
"It's all going according to plan. Now I activate the second card of my wish, Resurrection of the Dead! To bring back… Elemental HERO Terra Firma!"
Suddenly, the Legendary Planet HERO emerged, back for more (8/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000)
Another Phantasmal Token appeared. (1/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000)
"And now my last wish…" Judai said, as he thought of the card.
Judai: 125 Kuromu: 1000 Asuka: 1000
Tragoedia: 10800
"I activate the card of my third wish, Miracle Fusion! Fusing Elemental HERO Flame Wingman and Elemental HERO Terra Firma together!"
"WHAT?!" Kuromu and Asuka gasped.
Suddenly, both Flame Wingman and Terra Firma flew into the vortex to merge into one being.
"Arise and take on the power of Mother Nature, my favorite HERO!"
It was then that Judai saw the blank Fusion Monster fly to his hand. With a smile, the Elemental HERO Duelist slapped the card onto his Duel Disk as it transformed like Konohana's card.
What flew out of the vortex was Flame Wingman, but now adorned with a large white chest plate that housed the central red gem of Terra Firma, two spiked shoulder blades, a set of armor around Flame Wingman's dragon head, and to everyone's surprise there was an arm-mounted version of the Legendary Planet HERO's Magma Blade on his other arm.
"Fusion Summon! Come forth, Elemental HERO Terra Wingman (9/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2000)!"
"Whoa… aniki…" Sho said, amazed.
"Holy shit dude! You've been holding out on us?!" Rex gawked.
"I aim to impress!" Judai cheerfully laughed. "Alright, now for Daitokuji-sensei's card to reveal its true power." He said, as the card glowed a rainbow light briefly. "Now I activate The Philosopher's Stone - Sabatiel! When this is equipped to Elemental HERO Terra Wingman, its ATK is multiplied by the number of monsters on your side of the field! And I count five!" He said, as Terra Wingman's sword and dragon head popped out and merged into a double-bladed weapon, the dragon head, creating a fire-shaped second blade, for the burning Planet HERO to wield.
Elemental HERO Terra Wingman (ATK: 2800-14000)
"14000 ATK?!"
"Also, when he attacks, any monster he destroys gets banished face-down! Meaning even if you had a card to target banished Monsters, you won't be able to revive them!" Judai added.
"Alright! That means they can't come back!" Sho cheered.
"Battle! Elemental HERO Terra Wingman attacks Uria, Lord of Divine Flames! Plasma Slash!"
The new Elemental HERO brandished his weapon and jumped towards the corrupted sky dragon.
"I will not be denied my victory! I'll activate my first face-down! Reduction Barrier! For this battle, the Damage I take in battle becomes 1/10th of the total!"
"But you'll still take damage!" Judai declared as the new hero swung his sword and sliced the dragon in half destroying it.
Judai: 125 Kuromu: 1000 Asuka: 1000
Tragoedia: 9800
"And now for his other effect! When he successfully attacks a monster and banishes them, it can make a second attack!"
"IT WHAT?!"
"You heard me! Battle one more time! Elemental HERO Terra Wingman attacks Raviel, Lord of Phantasmal Demons! Plasma Smash!"
"I activate my other facedown! Damage Diet!" Tragoedia declared, revealing the other face-down, "With this, any and all Battle Damage I take will be halved!"
As the corrupted tormenter went to avenge it's fallen comrade, Terra Wingman effortlessly sliced through the monster like it was paper.
Judai: 125 Kuromu: 1000 Asuka: 1000
Tragoedia: 4800
"Yeah, two down, one to go!" Rika cheered.
"We're in the final stretch! Bring it home!" Koji added.
"Ta-n endo." Judai said, before looking at Kuromu and gave him a thumbs-up, "It's all up to you, buddy!"
"Right!" Kuromu nodded, before looking at his hand. He knew that one of his cards would be Final Henshin, but the rest of his hand wasn't what he needed. What he needs is that one card that can turn it around… but even with that card, that specific card's upgrade wasn't made.
"Daitokuji-sensei… if that third you were trying to make is what I think it is, then…" Kuromu muttered.
He then placed his hand on his Deck. When he did, everything went black.
He found himself in the darkness, a lone light shining down on him, and in front of him, another light shone down on what he could have sworn was Zi-O, his back turned away from the Rider Duelist. Yet at the same time, he couldn't tell that it was Zi-O outside of the back of the two tell-tale clock hands on the helmet.
"Who… are you…?" Kuromu trailed off.
"Do you seek power?"
"Huh?"
"Do you wish to carve your own path to strength?"
Kuromu stood there in silence, before looking at this Zi-O. "Power… strength… no, that is not what I seek. What I seek is a path towards a bright future. A future where, with everyone's hand supports one another, through good times and bad. A future… where everyone can smile. And that our bonds cannot be shaken so easily."
"…I see. If you wish to reach that future, then march forward and claim what is rightfully yours. But know this. Once you obtain it, the trials that await you will attempt to rip it from you and those you hold dear."
"I'm not afraid of what comes next." Kuromu declared. "After all… there's no point in living in a world without my friends. The hands of a clock can only move toward the future. They spin… They may look like they're returning to where they began… but they're headed towards the future."
…
…
…
"Hmhmhmhmhmhmhmhm… Hahahahahahahahahahaha…! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Omoshiroi!" The unknown clock Rider laughed heartily, "That seems to be a good answer. Now step forward, claim what is hidden within your soul, Kururugi Kuromu!"
The Rider Duelist silently reached out for this Zi-O as he slowly turned, the light the new Zi-O was in front of began to shine brighter and brighter as if to obscure the unknown clock Rider's form.
Kuromu's eyes opened. "O-re no ta-n! Draw!" Kuromu shouted, drawing his next card, increasing his hand to seven. His eyes widened at what he drew, leaving everyone in suspense. He then looked back at the possessed chairman, "Tragoedia, you have lost this Duel!"
"What?!" He gasped while Judai and Asuka felt a sense of determination wash over them.
"Hehe!" Judai smirked, "Let's see what we got."
"I summon the card that will win us this Duel! Kamen Rider Zi-O!"
ZI-O!
There was a mechanical-like sound before a low humming note played out alongside a ticking sound, before a chime sounded out after a resounding boom of a clock.
RIDER TIME!
A transparent clock revealed purple katakana lettering. Metal bands begin to shroud the Monster; purple light enveloping it. When the bands burst along with the light, It showed the clock-themed Rider. The katakana lettering then burst before solidifying towards the helmet, completing the transformation. (4/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1000)
KAMEN RIDER~ ZI-O!
"And now, I activate Final Henshin! Meaning, I'm evolving Kamen Rider Zi-O to his final form!"
"You lie! I've seen the card database! There is no Final Form card for Zi-O!" Tragoedia snarled in anger.
That's when the third blank card came flying in from out of nowhere and revealed that this particular card sported a new gold gem-like border rather than the typical Fusion purple.
That's when his Extra Deck reacted to this blank card, glowing like before, but stronger than ever. When Kuromu quickly took out his Extra Deck, each and every one of his Fusion Monsters all shed their borders to take on the same gold gem-like border as the blank card.
"This is…!" Kuromu gasped. The next thing he knew, holographic emblems of the respective Riders came out of the Extra Deck and flew into the blank one, revealing the hidden art as the white faded away.
"Huh, normally activating Final Henshin doesn't result in a new card popping up." Asuka observed.
"Forget new card, how about a new Extra Deck type!" Rex called out.
Kuromu then looked at the card with amazement, seeing the word Transformation replace the Fusion part of its effect text. Judai, wanting to check something himself, briefly took out his Masked HERO cards from his Extra Deck and side deck to find them also sporting the new gold border indicating they were now Transformation Monsters.
"Well then, I guess that makes Zi-O's final form, a Kuromu creation." Judai cheerfully noted.
"Sougo!"
The clock Rider went back to civilian form to reveal his civilian form, then looked over his shoulder and nodded at Kuromu, he shouted "Right!" before he took out a large golden Ridewatch that, once the button was pressed, had two sides flare out to reveal the faces of the 19 Ridewatches; the 19 Final Form Ride cards quickly flew out and shed their purple borders for the new gold ones. Their symbols appeared briefly before being absorbed both into the watch and into the card, Zi-O's symbol appearing a second later before disappearing as the cards returned to Kuromu's Extra Deck.
GRAND ZI-O!
"Grand Zi-O?" Ryo muttered.
Rex held his head, seeing an image of himself with a different hairstyle and outfit wearing Sougo's belt as he took out the same watch.
"Rex, what's wrong?" Misawa asked.
"I… I don't know…" the mutt admitted as Sougo inserted the two watches in.
GONG! VROOM! ADVENT! COMPLETE! TURN UP! BING! CHANGE: BEETLE! SWORD FORM! WAKE UP! KAMEN RIDE! CYCLONE-JOKER! TAKA, TORA, BATTA! 3 2 1! SHABADOOBIE TOUCH TO HENSHIN! SOIYA! DRIVE! KAIGAN! LEVEL UP! BEST MATCH! RIDER TIME!
As soon as Sougo tilted the belt, a large golden clock tower rose from the ground with a loud rumble, rising up from below the three Duelists' feet and golden confetti started raining down everywhere.
Four golden columns also accompanied the tower. And as this happens, twenty statues also rose up from the ground, ten on each side in a v formation with Sougo at the front. From the viewer's left, were the statues of Kuuga through Decade. On the viewer's right, were the statues of W through Zi-O. All of these statues were rusty but the rust simply broke apart and fell to the ground, revealing the statues in their clean form.
With determination, Sougo shouted "Henshin!" and quickly spun the belt in time with Kuromu slapping the card down on the tray.
GRAND TIME!
The clock hands quickly spun around before landing on the familiar 2 o'clock and 10 o'clock positions.
KUUGA, AGITO, RYUKI, FAIZ, BLA~DE!
Suddenly, open golden doors appeared in front of the statues of the Heisei Riders and closed as they floated all around. Sougo transformed into Zi-O and the golden closed doors attached themselves to him, immediately changing the silver of his regular form into pure gold. He had obtained a set of two large shoulder pads as well as a collar on his chest plate.
HI~BIKI, KABUTO, DEN-O, KIVA, DECA~DE!
Then, one by one, each of the closed doors opened to reveal the Riders performing their signature poses before turning to gold and becoming part of the armor, starting with the legs as Hibiki, Blade, Faiz, Drive, Gaim, and Wizard revealed themselves.
W~, OOO~, FOUR~ZE! WIZA~RD, GAIM, DRI~VE!
On his left arm and side, OOO, Fourze, and Ghost emerged from the doors whilst on the right, Agito, Ryuki, and Kabuto appeared.
GHOST~, EX-AID, BUI~LD! IWAE!
Finally, on his new chest plate and shoulder pads, Kuuga, Kiva, Den-O, Decade, Build, Ex-Aid, and W all appeared in rapid succession while the clock tower vanished, right as the katakana letters flew out.
KAMEN RIDER~ GRAND~ ZI-O~!
The gold-lined katakana letters soon returned and attached themselves to his helmet, opening up the final door where Zi-O's base form appeared as if it was the crown jewel in his new crown-like helmet. With the transformation was complete, Grand Zi-O stood tall with a golden version of Zi-O's regular bodysuit, as well as golden armor that had different Riders depicted on his shins, his side skirts, his arms and his chest armor, with his helmet displaying his base form alongside it's new crown-like design.
"Henshin Shōkan! Arise, Kamen Rider Zi-O - Grand Form (12/ATK: 4000/DEF: 4000)!"
"Shonen… omae…" Takeshi muttered with wide eyes.
Woz meanwhile smiled with wide eyes, almost crazed and fanatical at the sight. He then spread his arms out to proclaim.
"REJOICE! The Rider who rules the past and future, the one that has inherited all Rider powers as the King of Time! His name is Kamen Rider Grand Zi-O! For this momentous occasion, his majesty and glory shall bring victory!"
"Wow, uhh, thanks for that." Grand Zi-O chuckled while scratching the back of his head.
"Impossible! You cannot invent a new Summoning Technique from out of nowhere!" Tragoedia gasped.
Kuromu couldn't help but smile however as he stared down at him. "Given the situation, we're in, anything's possible! Kamen Rider Zi-O - Grand Form's effect activates! Since he was Special Summoned, I can Special Summon as many "Kamen Rider" Monsters from my Hand, Deck, Graveyard, or Extra Deck as possible, ignoring their summoning conditions!" Kuromu declared.
"WHAT?!"
"He can do that?!" Rika gawked.
"So I choose to summon Kamen Rider Den-O - Liner Form, Kamen Rider Decade - Complete Form, Kamen Rider W - Xtreme Form, , and Kamen Rider Ex-Aid - Muteki Form!"
Grand Zi-O, hearing this, quickly tapped the four Riders on each part of his armor.
DEN-O!
DECADE!
W!
EX-AID!
Suddenly, four doors showcasing the years 2007, 2009, and 2016 appeared before opening up to reveal the four summoned Riders.
"What just happened?" Asuka gasped.
"I just pulled them in from a different point in time." Grand Zi-O said casually.
"I'm sorry, what?" Misawa said, "But, that should be impossible, you cannot just pull someone in from a point in time into the present!"
"Trust me, it's fine." the golden clock Rider shook off, "Besides, they go back right at the same moment I pulled them in from."
"You say that like it's a common fact." Rex pointed out, "Something doesn't feel right about this."
"When these four Riders fill up the monster Zones on my field, Kamen Rider Zi-O - Grand Form gains half of their ATK points for the turn!"
"WHAT?!" Tragoedia gasped.
Kamen Rider Zi-O - Grand Form (ATK: 4000-5400-6900-8350-10100)
"And to finish it off I activate Kamen Rider Zi-O - Grand Form's other ability! Once per turn, I choose a monster and negate that monster's effect, but in turn, Zi-O gains that effect! So I choose Kamen Rider W - Xtreme Form, and activate the effect of taking half of Hamon's ATK and adding onto him!"
Hamon roared as it felt its strength leaving him, a golden aura being transferred over to Zi-O.
Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder (ATK: 4000-2000)
Kamen Rider Zi-O - Grand Form (ATK: 10100-12100)
Rex gasped, "OHHHHHHH MYYYYYYY GOOOOOOD!" he gasped while clasping his hands to his face.
"NOOOOO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" Tragoedia yelled.
"Battle! Kamen Rider Zi-O - Grand Form attacks Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder! ALL TWENTY TIME BREAK!"
Zi-O pressed the two buttons on his Ridewatches, his ZikuDriver at a slant.
FINISH TIME! GRAND ZI-O!
As the golden clock Rider leaped into the air, the gates of all 19 Heisei Riders opened to reveal them leaping through to deliver his own Rider Kick. He then spun the belt.
ALL TWENTY TIME BREAK!
Soon, the corrupted winged dragon was assaulted with Rider Kicks before Zi-O kicked straight through Hamon and straight for Tragoedia. When the kicked connected, Tragoedia roared in pain from the intense power, feeling the impact of all twenty Kamen Riders kicking in, before-
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*
Judai: 125 Kuromu: 1000 Asuka: 1000
Tragoedia: 0
The Solid Vision disappeared as the three Duelists fell to their knees, exhausted from the fight. Tsukasa and Ryotaro came out of the Deck afterwards in their corporeal forms. Not only that, multiple beams of light shot out from the possessed chairman's body, likely returning all of the Duel Spirits' energy.
"Ojama Yellow!" Jun gasped, as he saw the Duel Spirit back to his normal self, as he appeared.
"Awww, I knew you missed me, boss!" Ojama Yellow said happily while Light and Darkness Dragon roared happily.
"Omelet!"
"Fried Ricer!"
"You're back! I'm so happy!" Rika said, relieved, hugging her Fried Ricer and rubbing her cheek on Omelet's face. Meanwhile Alexander and Vespasius saw the Gladial Quartet were back to normal.
"Glad to still have you on board." the lion emperor gladiator chuckled.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Bestrouli said with a thumbs up.
"I'd be real shit to lose you guys after all we've been through." Rex said, arms crossed.
"How dare you…"
Everyone looked to see the possessed chairman slowly getting back up on his feet, but it was clear that whatever was keeping the fusion stable was now rapidly melting them.
"I'LL KILL YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! I'LL KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!" He said, as he was about to spring towards the Duelist who handed him his defeat, but once he leaped at him, he had already developed into a pile of goo.
Understandably, the three Duelists quickly got out of the immediate splash zone as what was left of both Kagemaru and Tragoedia splattered onto the ground.
"Chairman…" Samejima muttered.
"Mama mia…" Instructor Chronos said shocked.
"He's…" Sho got out. "He melted like…"
"The Wicked Witch of the West? Yeah, that sounds about right…" Rex muttered.
"Is he… dead…?" Rika got out.
"Seems like it." Koji observed as he looked at the goo pile, "I don't know about you; but if he was still kicking, he would still be moving around in that goop."
"So… does this mean…" Junko began.
"We won?" Momoe added.
"Oui. I think it's safe to say so." Annette nodded.
The Spirit Key Holders soon let out a sigh of relief as they finally had a chance to breathe.
"Finally…" Fubuki sighed.
"After all our struggles." Ryo said.
"It's over." Jun said.
"Indeed." Misawa agreed.
Kuromu managed to stand up and walk over to Asuka, helping her up. The moment he did, he suddenly embraced the Obelisk Queen, much to her surprise. "K-Kuro…"
"It's all over… It's all over…" Kuromu repeated, trying not to break down.
With a smile, Asuka hugged him back.
Meanwhile, Judai looked at the cards that Daitokuji left behind, Sabatiel, Terra Wingman, Konohana, and Grand Zi-O. The Sabatiel card then faded away into motes of golden light, floating up in the air as the Elemental HERO Duelist looked up. "Daitokuji-sensei…" He smiled softly. "Thank you…"
*CLAP… CLAP… CLAP… CLAP… CLAP… CLAP… CLAP… CLAP…*
"Ugh, what now?" Rex groaned.
They turned towards the sound and sure enough there stood Oogumo. The group soon got back up and stared at the eyeless cyclops. The battle… isn't over just yet.