Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Clubit Academia ❯ A God Deck? ( Chapter 6 )

Part six

 

A God deck?

 

 

His last two duels had been a bit… forced. One was out of being baited and the other he was thrown into. But regardless of the fact that this duel meant so much more, it felt more relaxed. There weren't many staring at him, and he wasn't dueling to teach someone a lesson. Even though he did perform best before an audience, the relaxed nature of the upcoming duel appealed to him.

 

Honestly, there was no way he would have considered the nurse a duelist. It did make sense now, but before he had barely given her a second thought, save for cuteness that thrived despite height. Her looking a little too focused told him that the girl was probably skilled. Her previous shock was quickly overcome, and she stared him down with clear anticipation. Becoming famous within his first day was a disadvantage; he had no idea if this girl knew his deck or not, while he definitely knew nothing about hers. What type would she be using? Would it be a Soul Deck? Hopefully, the question will be answered quickly. Figuring that he should wait for the moment, he let her go first.

 

“Duel!”

 

The door slammed, distracting his attention like a rude latecomer to the theatre. Shariku had left, apparently not wishing to actually see the fight. Now the only audience they had was the boy still hiding behind the curtain. He wasn't really hiding, Paine knew, but it was beginning to feel like it. He seemed to have no intention of showing himself or even sticking his head out to watch.

 

Priestess didn't seemed to have noticed though, and was instead bowing her head, her eyes closed and muttering something under her breath. Recognizing the possibility of some ritual, Paine waited, his fingers shifting over the cards.

 

“Thank you for waiting,” she said after another minute. “I'm ready now.”

 

“It's your turn first,” Paine replied simplistically, giving her the cue to draw her first card. She looked over them for a moment, before grabbing one. Raising it in front of her, showing Paine the back, her head bowed again, and her voice became a murmur.

 

[i][b]`And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the

earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under

heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.'[/i][/b]

 

Paine's eyes bugged out, not expecting such verses, nor catching the name of the card as she placed it down into her field card slot. What was this? For a second, he swore the whole office lurched to its side like a boat in a storm. Then came water, first a trinkle, then a stream. It came up to the soles of his shoes before stopping, the whole room now waterlogged..

 

“The Great Flood means we have to remove a card of our choice at the end of each turn for four turns,” Priestess said helpfully, easing his confusion. “Then, after four turns, something else would happen.”

 

“What?” Paine asked curiously, wondering if the sensation of sloppiness in his feet was real or not.

 

“Sorry, but may I ask you wait. You will see soon enough,” she said politely. “Although you probably should try and stop it. I'll place two cards face down, and then…” Grabbing another card, she summoned her first monster with another undertoned verse.

 

[i][b]“But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come

into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives

with thee.” [/i][/b]

 

With that, a boat appeared (ATK1500). No, Paine knew it to be The Ark. He wasn't religious himself, but he recognized the precepts for what was going on here: verses, a great flood and now a boat. This was definitely a soul deck, one based around religion. It made sense now, the girl's conservative nature, and the little cross around her neck. Things he wouldn't really see as anything too striking, but it all suggested Christianity…or Catholic thingy. He was never actually sure of the distinction. She ended her turn.

 

An invisible sky cracked, and rain poured from indiscernible clouds, pelting the office and soaking everything. After about five seconds, it simply stopped, but now the room had filled up, the water was up to his shins, as his hand removed a card from the game, his opponent doing the same. What would happen after four turns? Would he actually drown, as God intended?

 

That didn't matter for now. It was his turn, and he would have to act fast to stop whatever was going to happen. Looking straight to the first monster, he grabbed it and put it face down. This was a new one, its flip effect waiting to be sprung, and the other new card he had would do it as well.

 

“I'll play the spell card: Places People!” Slapping it down onto his disk, he heard a trumpet call, the invisible orchestra playing the salute that would lead the beginning of the show. “This causes all cards in defense mode to move into attack, and flip face up if they have to, therefore activating the effect of The Misunderstood Monster! (ATK1400)!”

 

From beneath the encroaching flood, a figure loomed, slowly pulling itself out of the water like the liquid were a weight upon its soul. Little by little, it came up, groaning with feral-like sounds. It viewed the young girl and the Ark, as the girl saw its grotesque appearance, and didn't budge an inch.

 

“The Misunderstood Monster sends an opponent's monster on the field back to their hand, but it may return stronger later. I choose your Ark…”

 

“And I choose Imperial Order,” the girl interrupted, as the hand of the sovereign denied the activation of the effect with a wave of his hand that struck the monster on the cheek. The Monster appeared unhurt, except in dumb pride. Actually, Paine found it kind of hard to tell. “And then I'll activate Plague of Hail!”

 

The sky clapped again, and Paine only saw the card for a second, before a dirty great Hailstone socked him in the eye. Reeling in Paine, he only just heard the girl speaking over his own agony, his black eye feeling much the worse now it had extra impact to it.

 

[i][b]“Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause

it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since

the foundation thereof even until now.”[/i][/b]

 

Paine's life points went down to 7000. He figured he could tell why, either due to his attempt at activating a flip effect or her activating her own trap. But wasn't the plague meant to be a punishment from god? It had to be the flip effect, and he'd have to be careful of using it in the future.

 

[i][b]”And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters

increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.”[/i][/b]

 

 

His turn ending, the sky that was the ceiling snapped with life again, the rain taking over the hailstone in fluid motion and bringing the flood to his waist. He felt like he would have to wade if he moved now, but dared not. Instead, he tried to keep his Duel Disk above the water, less digital water affected the digital itself. Another card disappeared from his hand. It was concerning him that he wasn't actually choosing them.

 

“My turn,” Priestess said calmly, drawing her next card(Shariku note: I really hate writing that). “But this time I shall pass.

 

[i][b]“And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the

earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.”[/i][/b]

 

 

If there was any cause for relief in Paine, especially with a weaker monster, it was muted by the oncoming rain. For a third time, the rain filled the sky, and drew up to his neck. Now kicking back, he moved up onto the bed he woke up on, the nurse merely waiting, the water still only reaching her breasts.

 

“Your turn.”

 

“You are aware that I am in fact drowning here,” LeBlanc said from behind the curtain, the vibrations of his words failing to reach anyone.

 

Paine drew, finally getting a nice card. “I'll discard Ragged Maiden from my deck,” he announced, pulling the mystery card out and discarding it without a second thought, “to summon the Wicked Stepmother, as well as three token sisters.” As she appeared, the Wicked Stepmother grew above the flood, now appearing as some kind of giant monster. Immediately, the three sisters started panicking, thrashing about in the water as if they never learnt to swim.

 

“And I'll have her attack your Ark,” he declared with a point of his finger, which sprung the woman into action. Wading through the water, the gigantic female monster approached the small boat, lifting up her well tailored skirt in a futile attempt to keep it clean. The room black out, and there was a large explosion. When the lights came back on, the Ark was still there, the old hag still looking pleased with herself however.

 

“What?” Paine replied, wondering what there was that would stop the attack. It was only until he heard the countdown that he realized something had happened. Priestess's life points went down to 5500.

 

“The Ark cannot be attacked while the Great Flood is on the field. Please forgive me, I should have warned you.” With a grin, Paine saw his next move with blinding obviousness.

 

“I won't have too much of a problem with ignorance after this,” he shouted. “Misunderstood Monster. Attack Priestess directly.”

 

With a small, grinding groan, the monster lurched forwards. Slowly, it moved, then with greater speed, the water's resistance proving less and less a problem as it got closer to its vulnerable target. The creature reached the religious girl, but merely stared, as if confused, expecting fear and finding sympathy. Priestess merely stood there, looking at the creature.

 

“You can't attack me, can you?” she whispered solemnly, her hand going to cup its jaw lightly. “When the Ark is on the field, no light monsters are able to attack. Who would believe you to be a light monster?”

 

Paine stood back, visibly shaken. Not even he knew that this creature was a Light monster, but it didn't matter in the long run. “I'll end my turn.”

 

[i][b]“And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the

high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.[/i][/b]

 

This time, the sky just seemed to explode. Violently tossing rocked Paine's ears and he looked up to meet a flash directly in his eye, the rain now pelting harder than before and filling the room completely. Not even his bed was providing him protection now, and for some reason the water seemed to be making him sink. Before his vision was blanked out, he saw Priestess let go of the monster and step back.

 

“Sorry.”

 

 

Part six continued.

 

 

How long had passed? He thought he had choked, his brain filled with memories that felt blurred and disjointed. Did he drown? Was that even possible? It [i]was[/i] just a game.

 

The nurse's office was dry, save for a small stream of water near Priestess. From the once flooded floor to the soaked beds, not a thing appeared to have been touched. It made sense, but didn't at the same time. And his hair was still quite waterlogged for some reason, hair dripping down into his wounded eyes, making him hiss as he tried to brush it away. The nurse's office was also empty of the creatures that had once stood there; the Monster, the giant Stepmother, the three girls panicking, and the Sovereign that prevented flip effects. All were gone, and in their place, sat a white dove.

 

Another one of his cards were missing as well.

 

“Looks like you survived,” Priestess said calmly, still looking a little drip herself. “At the end of the forth turn, Great Flood clears the field of monsters. Looks like you failed to stop it.” As she finished talking, she reached into the part of her disk where the removed cards lay, pulling out three of them. “When White Dove (400/1500) is summoned by the effect of the Great Flood, I can retrieve three cards that had been removed from the game,” she informed him calmly, “giving me the advantage for the win.”

 

This was annoyingly true, he only had one card left. The girl was also strong, using a strategy he had never seen before that pretty much allowed her to control both player's hands throughout the game/ From now on, he decided he would call it…Hand Control.

 

“Because White Dove was special summoned, I can still call a monster,” she stated informatively, removing the Dove and switching it with a new monster. Fading into view, a small basket appeared to Paine's eyes, floating along what was left of the stream. There was a baby in it.

 

“And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.”

 

A Moses card? Did that actually work? Not wanting to offend, Paine gripped his mouth shut, as the baby seemed to jump a level or two.

 

“When Baby Moses (100/500) is summoned, you may immediately search your hand and deck for Adult Moses to replace him in attack mode(400/700),” she announced, thinning her deck as the baby grew to the full height of a Hebrew man. “And then I'll attach him with Cherished Innocence and set a card face down. Your turn.”

 

Wasn't she attacking? He was completely open. That seemed to be the whole point of her strategy, but obviously not, and what did this Cherished Innocence do? He wanted to ask, but he also wanted to find out. He drew, immediately groaning as he saw the card. Stage Set; why couldn't he have gotten that last turn?

 

“I'll play the field card, stage set,” he said, playing the card and looking around eagerly, not sure what he was about to see happen, expecting a stage, expecting a backdrop. What would happen in a nurse's office? Nothing happened at all in fact, until he realized there was a small podium with white and red vertical stripes on it on both sides of the room. It looked like a hired magician's stage or something.

 

[i]I guess, in a ward, this is what they would use,[/i] he thought to himself, feeling slightly disappointed as he attempted to rationalize the situation. “Then I'll activate Archer Extras.” In front of him, two tokens appeared in defense mode, with five men sprouting out of each of them, dressed in medieval garb and all holding bows. They stood ready (0/500 per token), their ability to attack in defense mode giving Paine his advantage back. “Archers attack!”

 

In unison, all ten archers pulled their bowstrings back, letting loose a series of twangs that filled the arena and shot arrows towards Moses. He merely stood there, looking quite chuffed with himself in Paine's opinion, every arrow missing him as if the whole set of extra's were bad shots.

 

“What's going on? Paine asked confused.

 

“To punish those without sin is not god's way,” Priestess muttered. “Therefore those without sin will not be hit, even if a thousand arrows fly at them.”*

 

He didn't want to ruin the mood by asking for clarification; he got the general idea. No attacks will hit Moses while he was equipped with that card. He needed to find out how quickly, since it didn't appear she could get hit either. “I'll end…” he started, a shining light surprising him before he could finish, causing him to cover his eyes quickly. It shone brightly and clearer than anything he had ever seen before, and then it was gone, as had a thousand of his life points.

 

“I shall place two cards face down, and end my turn.”

 

“Wait, wait. What was that?” Paine said, sounding exasperated. It felt a shame to break the illusion, but he had to.

 

“When Moses is attacked, the opponent shall lose five hundred life points each time,” she explained quickly. Paine shut up after that. He was enjoying this too much to think about it, and he was beginning to suspect she was too.

 

“I'll play Pot of Greed,” he announced.

 

[i][b]“And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth

lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast.”[/i][/b]

 

The quote froze him, the silence letting him hear something underneath him. Squelching? Looking down, he saw them, burrowing out of the ground. Lice. Hundreds and thousands of them, so small he only recognized them because she had named them. They quickly overwhelmed him, and he found himself scratching his head hard to get them out. As he did, he lost another thousand life points, the two face down cards that she had just set disappearing.

 

Catching his breath at the sudden interruption, he continued to draw the two cards, assuming he was allowed to do so. The second he played instantly, in face down defense mode. That was all he needed to do for now. “End turn!”

 

The nurse drew her next card, her face scorching crimson as soon as she saw it, alarming Paine with her actions, her eyes dipping away from view as in shame. Seemingly hesitant for a moment, the girl slowly put the card on her disk. “I'll summon Soldier of God (1600),” she mumbled weakly, a tall muscular man appearing in front of her, his armour undoubtedly Roman. Staring admiringly at him for a moment, Paine quickly realized the girl was doing the same, and that she panicked when he realized.

 

[i][b]“Thencamethesoldiers,andbrakethelegsofthefirst,andoft heotherwhichwascrucifiedwithhim.But whentheycametoJesus,andsawthathewasdeadalready,theybrakenothislegs:Butoneof thesoldiers withaspearpiercedhisside,andforthwithcamethereoutbloodandwater.”[/i][ /b]

 

The soldier took up a spear as it materialized from the air, and without hesitation threw it at Paine's face down card. It stuck, and from it, a high pitch warbling appeared, a large, rotund woman appearing from underneath the card, singing what could only be opera. Her painful climatic melody pierced the room, as the spear exploded within the confines of her chest, having seemingly little effect.

 

Priestess lost four hundred life points (5100), much to her surprise.

 

“When the Fat Lady (400/2000) sings, the battle phase is ended,” Paine explained with a grin he couldn't help. The woman in front of him sat down, apparently looking exhausted at her actions.

 

However, instead of looking annoyed or upset that her attack didn't work, Priestess looked relieved, sighing heavily as her own monster exploded, its effect somehow taking it out of the game. With Paine not wishing to bring the Soldier up to the girl again, he left it at that, feeling it might be a little rude now that she had no cards left.

 

His turn, and he drew it: the Star of the Show! It was about time he got his strong monsters out. He had yet to see either Made made or Deus Ex Machina, but he was sure they would come out in their own time near the end. The duel hadn't been all that bad to be honest, the girl and him were neck and neck. Just a little more and he'd have past Shariku's conditions and enter the Rankings.

 

“I'll sacrifice The Fat Lady,” -the woman garbled expertly as she faded away one last time, “to summon The Star of the Show.” Burgles blared, curtains swayed. Then with a shine, the Star of the Show arrived. Almost immediately, he became the center of attention, more any card from before. Raising his sword up high, he seemed to show respect to something, before turning to face his opponent.

 

“Foul villain,” he announced, his usual charming, heroic accent protruding from every one of his pores. “You seek to protect this evil temp…woman of the cloth,” he quickly changed, catching her appearance. “I will not allow such…erm….villan…hhhmmm.” Fading out on himself, the knight seemed to ponder a dilemma of his own making for a moment. “This is quite a problem.”

 

“Oh, be quiet,” Paine deadpanned, attaching his latest equip card to the Star. Dramatic silence: For each turn the equipped monster didn't attack, he would gain a counter worth 500ATK. Already at 2700, the knight shot up to 3200 as Paine ended his turn, the guardian of justice looking more and more pained at his forced silence, the urge to talk battling with his urges of charisma. With the stronger monster, Paine only had to worry about that blinding flash of light that would strip him of more life points.

 

But it never came, and Priestess began her turn without problem. He analyzed it quickly and found the answer to be obvious. (Shariku note: Have YOU figured out what Moses effect is? Send PMs to nobody at all. Solution is on non-existent answer page)

 

Priestess also ended her turn almost straight away, her luck slowly changing for the worst as she appeared to have no cards there. Hoping that she wouldn't think he was going easy on her, he placed one card face down and ended his turn too. Even though The Star of The Show was now at 3700, he still didn't want to risk attacking Moses when it wouldn't work. He needed a way past.

 

She passed again, two cards now in her hand. If she didn't do something soon… Was she being cocky? Her way of stating that there was no way past Moses? Or was he getting paranoid with the silent beasts now staring each other down, waiting for the other to move, each only resting on their master's commands. Moses was weak, but appeared to have something hidden under his sleeve. She looked to be feeling the same, eyeing the Prince like he was about to do anything. Could Moses's secret match the Star's Power? Would it overwhelm him? Paine thought to himself, drawing the next card.

 

“Discard the Crafty Thief,” he announced, putting the card to the graveyard before even adding it to his card hand, to activate the mysterious Sandbag!”

 

A shuffling curtain, a cut of a rope, and a loud slam was heard as the room temporarily fell to darkness. When it came back on, Moses was exploding into digital rain, a large bag of sand over where his corpse used to be.

 

“Oi,” Priestess cried out instinctively, as LeBlanc just mildly laughed behind his green sheets. “You can't…” but she didn't get time to finish, the knight charging her with all his silent fury. His blade stuck through her, the nurse's eyes blank with surprise, her life dropping quickly to 1400

 

`Ah, my ego,” the Star wheezed, wiping the sweat off the head that looked like it had deflated. “It was almost more than I could have bared. If I waited any longer, my head shall have exploded.” Quickly cleaning himself up, he ascended to his full height. “But I am quite alright now, my lord. Thank you!”

 

Despite his words, the Star's face was still blood red as he dropped back down to 2700 and, for the first time, Paine felt himself discovering the full effects of the Star of the Show. With his ability to become more powerful with each monster, he risked the chance of becoming too egotistical, and if he did that, he would fall to his dark desire. As a result, the Star seemed to have a fail safe. If he went past 3700ATK, he would be destroyed.

 

It was her turn now. Two more turns, he guessed, and it would be over. One more, if she skipped her turn again.

 

“I'll play Monster Reborn,” she announced. “To bring back the White Dove.”

 

The dove reappeared, perched calmly on the floor of the nurse's office. Behind the curtain, LeBlanc coughed slightly, reminding Paine that he was there. He was a good audience, the type that would do his best not to disturb the actors, despite having plenty of opportunities to do so.

 

 

[i][b]“And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out

of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned

with fire, and the bush was not consumed.”[/i][/b]

 

In flame and in light, he appeared, descending from on high, and down to where the lowly ones stood. The figure was as bright as he was marvelous, his gigantic wings flowing majestically behind him. He remained hovering just a few feet above them, waiting.

 

“The Archangel Gabriel,” she whispered.

 

“And then I'll play Inquisition, which will remove an opponent's monster for one turn,” she called out, as three red hooded figures popped out of nowhere and charged at the Star. He reeled back, not expecting this sudden intrusion. Still weak at his last attack, he could only swing wildly at the invaders, who dodged with ease and quickly wrapped themselves round the Star.

 

“Unhand me you fiends,” the Star panted as he was restrained. “I'll not be taken by the likes of you!”

 

“Likes of us,” the Inquisition relied unexpectedly. “We are the servants of the Lord. You are ours to take in his name, for we are the Inquisition, and we do what we must to service Him.”

 

“Scarlet fiends!”

 

“Potty mouth!”

 

“Potty mouth?”

 

“Sorry, it's what I say to the wife,” the leader said bashfully. “I thought it would apply to the current context, but obviously not…”

 

“Please attack him directly,” Priestess said, as if ignoring the show in front of her. Paine wasn't however, and he only turned just in time to see the Archangel strike him down to 2600.”

 

Now it was his turn to be unable to do anything. The card he drew was useless, another Stage Set, and with the Inquisition still holding Star back, he could do nothing but end his turn. This was bad; the girl had risked waiting and it had paid off. Pulling free, the Inquisition simply faded away from his monster, and the Knight stood ready to fight again. “Hmph, a few minor minions would never quite be enough to handle me. I'm ready to fight again, my lord. And I'll be able to take anything she throws at me.” In his own way, Paine respected his Knight's loyalty alongside its power. Even if it was annoying, it did seem quite sentient from the other cards. Could it be he actually had a soul? It mattered not for now. He knew he could put his faith in this one monster. The Angel's ATK was only 2400, and so it wouldn't technically be able to defeat Star this turn. But all she had to do was draw one good card.

 

[i][b]“Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live? Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation?”[/i][/b]

 

“Dammit,” he muttered to himself, seeing the girl place the spell card. Whatever it was, if it had another verse connected to it, it had to be strong, especially if it mentioned God himself.

 

“The Voice of Him. Roll a dice,” she told him quickly tossing one to him, now looking a bit sterner, clearly having heard his swearing. Catching it, he simply dropped it to the ground as she did hers. What would this mean in the eyes of a god?

 

“Whatever the number, you may then draw that many cards your opponent must discard that many cards from their hand save one.”

 

That was a powerful card! Talk about control; it practically changed the whole duel on the spot. No wonder it was directly connected to God... What would he get? If he got lower than her, he would be put at the disadvantage. But if he got higher… The dice seemed to be taking forever, they fell to the ground.

 

“Six, yes!” he replied with glee, not waiting another second to take out all his cards. It was only when he was holding all seven that he saw her eyes. She had only rolled a two. Watching her for a moment, he wasn't entirely sure what she was thinking, but she was looking to the roof when the angel hovered. Her eyes looked like she was seeing through him though.

 

“At that moment…had my faith been an absence of dependence?”

 

“Huh?” Paine muttered, feeling he had missed something. She waited, almost like she was waiting for an answer. The Archangel didn't give any, and it looked like she wasn't even expecting any from him.

 

“Excuse me,” she replied quietly.

 

[i][b]“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”[/i][/b]

 

It was the only card she had chosen to keep, and it appeared as an equip card that flew to the Knight in the form of an apple. Grabbing it, he quickly partook of the fruit, munching down upon it like he was on a limited time frame. As he finished, he tossed to core to the side and, as it faded out, his eyes flung open with revelation.

 

“By my word! I'm nothing more than a corny stereotype,” he announced, as if truly taken aback by this fact. “I have no actual character, or any decently developed plot. All I exist for is to rescue maidens and fight dragons. I don't believe it!”

 

Watching in minor disbelief mixed with two tablespoons of disturbing, Paine saw the Star's ATK go down by 300 points, leaving him at the exact same amount as Gabriel. That wasn't too bad, he figured. A clear stalling tactic of some kind, but getting around it wouldn't be that hard.

 

“Please attack the Knight,” Priestess asked, widening Paine's eyes with shock at the request. The angel only disappeared for a second, but the knight was knocked down in a second, Paine's life points dropping all the way down to 200.

 

“What?” he cried out, not understanding in the slightest.

 

“Excuse me,” Priestess started. “But if He attacks a monster of the same strength then no monster is destroyed, but the opponent loses life points equal to His original ATK. Please also be aware that your Knight may not attack as long of The Snake's Apple is attached to him.” She waited for him to take this in. “You may have your turn.”

 

Paine intended to. He had five cards in his hand, such spells as Curtain Call, Encore! and Places People waiting to be played. And with the sixth one added, he was more than ready to end this in one turn. “First I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon,” he announced, “to destroy your apple!” As if on cue, the Knight lurched forward, and Priestess turned crimson at the sight of him regurgitating the fruit onto the floor, his ATK quickly returning to its enhanced level of 2700.

 

“And then I'll play Deus EX Machina!” he shouted, reveling in the glory of his greatest card. The ground rumbled, and for once, even the angel appeared concern at the appearance of a monster. The Star of The Show quickly bolted to the side as a bright array of lights filled the office. From the open window, a flock of birds swarmed in without apparent reason, but soon they were all Paine could see, and they were forming the Godhand, slowly turning into metal, their feathers coating its armour, as it stood ready to attack.

 

“Star of the Show, attack that Angel.” Still not actually knowing its name, Paine watched as the Knight just went for it without speaking this time. As he thought, the Angel could still be destroyed by a stronger monster despite its effect, and it vanished into digitized air.

 

“And now, Deus Ex Machina! Attack with Plot Intervention Strike.” The colossal hand rumbled, its giant hand flexing twice, bracing itself as it took to the air, reaching as high as the ceiling would let it before crashing upon its opponent, Priestess screaming as the palm fell upon him, overwhelming her and taking her life points to zero in one strike.

 

The match was over. It felt empty for some reason. As his monsters disappeared one after the other, the girl just sat there, the thought of a giant hand crushing her having actually knocked her over.

 

“Well, that felt familiar,” LeBlanc stated from behind the curtain. “But still, a splendid performance. Well done.”

 

“Thank you,” Paine replied jovially. “It was a tough duel, but I bested her in the end.” His words coming out a little too harsh, his eyes darted over to his opponent, who was slowly getting up and looking dismayed. Was the look of a defeated opponent something he was going to have to get used to? He thought to himself. But before he could think over it much longer, she approached him, that large sweet grin on her face.

 

“Thank you Paine,” she replied bowing lightly. “I enjoyed it… save for the end.”

 

“Well, I enjoyed it,” he replied, grinning lightly as she did the same, even if hers did look a bit forced.

 

“That was the first time anyone has ever actually rolled higher than me with Voice of Him. It was quite a shock.”

 

“I guess luck was on my side,” he replied with a short laugh, quickly thinking of a good moment to bring up so that this could all continue.

 

“No, that wasn't it,” she said lightly.

 

“Huh?”

 

“Your soul, and your passion,” she said, her voice now a mere whisper. “It's stronger than anything else I ever saw. My faith was nothing to it.”

 

“You…erm... I” He was speechless. What kind of comment was that?

 

“But be careful not to drown in your passion,” she said again, now turning away and heading for the door. “On the road you're on, you are sure to be heading that way.”

 

“What are you talking about?” he asked perplexed. And what kind of comment was that?!

 

“When you see Shariku, hopefully you will understand. If you don't, it may well be too late for you. I sincerely hope that is not the case.”

 

Too late for him? And what did that mean? He thought he had already passed the two points where he had to be careful, first learning to speak properly in this strange school and then earning his Duel Disk. Was he a potential victim of something? That teacher had warned him that others would become interested with him. Were they all afraid he might fall into the wrong crowd? Power leading to corruption and all that?

 

“Please come back whenever you feel like it,” she said as she headed for the door. “I wouldn't mind having a conversation with you outside a duel or painful injury.” He winced, quickly reminding himself of what she meant, as LeBlanc shouted his farewells through the still, green curtain.

 

“That was a weird deck,” he said, turning back to the curtain. “And all those verses she was saying. Is she Christian or Catholic.”

 

“A little of both I believe,” LeBlanc stated instantly. “She is not the type to need to choose.”

 

“Hhmmm.”

 

“And as for those verses…what makes you think she was saying them?”

 

End Act 1