A Kingdom Lost (2/10)

 This was all wrong.

 

There was Martin, too far away from her, and he was attacking Judai-sama. Why did Martin want to duel him? What had Judai-sama ever done to Martin? They barely even knew each other!

 

The duel zombies had invaded the gym less than half an hour ago and sent them running. Rei had succeeded in hiding in an empty classroom on the first floor. From the window, she could just see Marucchi and Judai-sama. Judai-sama had activated his duel disk. Were they really going to duel? Rei glanced at her Dis-belt. Hers had been deactivated, thankfully, but Martin had forced them out before Misawa-senpai had managed to deactivate every single one. As far as she knew, only thirteen people remained, and even without the belts they were rapidly nearing the point of total exhaustion.

 

She had to— She had to get to Martin. Maybe she could talk to him and end this madness.

 

Commotion in the hallway had her move away from the window. She cautiously opened the door and peered outside.

 

“Asuka-senpai!” she shouted.

 

Asuka-senpai finished another duel with a vicious attack of Cyber Angel Datini. She panted and stepped backwards as her opponent got right back up, unfazed.

 

“Over here!” Rei shouted. Asuka-senpai looked at her, glanced back at the zombies and then wisely decided to run for it. She entered the classroom and Rei locked the door before the zombies could follow. ASuka-senpai sank down on the first chair she found.

 

“We can’t keep this up,” she said, breathing heavily. “Where’s Judai?”

 

“Out there.” Rei pressed her hands against the window. In the distance, Martin had summoned a huge monster, one she didn’t recognize and definitely hadn’t been in Martin’s deck before. She had to get over there.

 

“We have to help him,” Asuka-senpai said. She joined Rei at the window. “We’re on the first floor. We could easily jump.

 

Rei swallowed. A ten-foot jump didn’t sound particularly appealing to her. But the zombies were still crowding the classroom door. No way they’d escape that way, but the few zombies underneath the window wouldn’t be a match for them.

 

“Let’s do it.”

 

Asuka-senpai carefully opened the window. With Rei’s help, she climbed out and dropped down. She winced when she hit the ground, but immediately got up and activated her duel disk.

 

“All clear!” she shouted. Rei lowered herself out of the window until she was hanging on by the tips of her fingers. Then she let go.

 

Asuka-senpai caught her with a soft ‘oof’. There were a few zombies slowly heading their way, but the majority had gathered around Judai-sama, blocking any escape routes. Now Martin had three of the massive monsters out. Judai seemed to have one of his many Fusion monsters on the field.

 

“Let’s go,” said Asuka-senpai. She grabbed Rei’s hand and pulled her along, activating her PDA at the same time.

 

“Manjoume-kun, where are you?”

 

Silence for a moment, then Manjoume-senpai said: “Fighting them off.”

 

“We’re coming. Judai’s in trouble,” said Asuka-senpai, and ended the call while Manjoume-senpai’s protests were still coming through.

 

She ran faster. Rei struggled to keep up. Her health still wasn’t what it should have been after that creature’s attack, and lack of sleep hadn’t done her any favors. It was only when they’d almost reached Judai and Martin that they stopped. Rei got her first good look at the monsters. They were massive, like nothing she’d ever seen before in her life.

 

“The Sacred Beasts,” Asuka-senpai muttered. “Oh please no.”

 

Whatever those monsters were, Asuka-senpai was terrified of them and Judai-sama was clearly struggling. He had Neos out in defense mode, but how would it stand up against three of those creatures? If they didn’t do something, Judai-sama would lose. The thought gave Rei all the energy she needed. She would get up there, no matter what.

 

She ran past Asuka-senpai, who still stood petrified, and right at the stairs, into the mass of zombie students that had only now noticed them. She dodged the first few and slammed her duel disk in the face of a fellow first year.

 

“Sorry, Yoko-san,” she muttered. She dearly hoped the crack she’d heard was just her imagination.

 

But Yoko-san wasn’t deterred. She grabbed the back of Rei’s jacket. Rei felt it tear with some regret, but the zombies kept following.

 

“Here!” Asuka-senpai shouted. The distraction was enough for Rei to reach the stairs. She took them, two by two, all the way to the top.

 

“Marucchi!”

 

Martin glanced at her, and no, that wasn’t Martin. Martin would never look so cold, so hateful.

 

“Rei-chan!” Judai-sama shouted. “You can’t stay here! I’ll handle it!”

 

“That’s right,” Martin—no, the creature that was using him—said. “Just you and me, my beloved, until the very end. Send the girl away. She has no place with us.”

 

“What have you done to Marucchi?” Rei asked. The creature smiled a smile that looked horribly wrong on Martin’s face.

 

“You want this child, girl?” it said. “Oh, I do suppose your futile struggles have provided me with enough energy now. Yes, I believe it will make our reunion so much more special, my Judai.”

 

Judai cast Rei an uncertain look and raised his duel disk. His face hardened.

 

“Let everyone go,” he said. The creature laughed as Martin’s body started glowing.

 

“My Judai,” it said, in both Martin’s voice and another, more feminine one. “So considerate of others. You’d never hurt them like you hurt me, would you? Ah, they will never know your love.”

 

It was as if Rei’s vision had split. Martin seemed to grow wings, and only a second later a monster appeared, humanoid, massive, with grey skin and strange, dual-colored hair and eyes. Judai-sama stepped back.

 

“Yubel?” he whispered. “You’re— You’re Yubel!”

 

“I am flattered,” said the monster. It grabbed Martin by his collar and tossed him at Rei. Rei stumbled and fell under the sudden weight. Her head hit the ground hard.

 

Judai-sama,” she gasped, eyes watering. “Who’s that?”

 

“Yubel is— Yubel is—” Judai-sama shut his eyes tightly. “I don’t remember, I—”

 

“My beloved Judai sent me away, so many years ago,” Yubel said. “And he hurt me, oh how he hurt me. All to show me his love. And now,I shall repay him. I activate a spell card: Dimension Fusion Murder! This allows me to remove Uria, Hamon and Raviel from play to summon Chaos Phantasm Armityle!”

 

This new monster was even larger than the three Sacred Beasts that had been on the field before. Even Judai-sama looked disconcerted now.

 

“Armityle, attack Elemental Hero Neos!”

 

To Rei’s horror, the monster’s attack points suddenly shot up to 10 000. Neos was destroyed in a massive blast of power. Judai-sama shielded himself.

 

“I activate a trap card: Neo-Spacia Road! When Neos is destroyed, this lets me end the battle phase and draw a card.”

 

Judai-sama drew and added the card to the one he had in his hand. Yubel smiled.

 

“Very well. I end my turn.”

 

Judai-sama drew wordlessly. Then he smiled.

 

“I’ll start off by activating O-Oversoul from my hand and bringing back Neos!” he told Yubel. Elemental Hero Neos rematerialized and Rei breathed a sigh of relief. “Then, I summon Neospacian Grand Mole!”

 

“Your monsters must love you,” Yubel said. The monster’s face twisted into something ugly. “They’ll soon learn otherwise.”

 

Judai-sama paid her no heed. “Next, Neos and Grand Mole will contact fuse into Elemental Hero Grand Neos!”

 

Grand Neos. If Rei remembered its effect right, it could be the solution to all of their problems.

 

Judai-sama relaxed slightly. “And I’ll equip it with Instant Neospace.” He played the last card in his hand. “Now it’s time to do away with Armityle! I activate Grand Neos’ effect to send Armityle back to your hand!”

 

Grand Neos charged the monster, but Yubel slowly, almost lazily, smiled.

 

“You have much improved since you were a child, my Judai. But I’m afraid I can’t let you. I activate a quick-spell: Effect Shut.”

 

Rei gasped as Grand Neos halted in its tracks. It glanced back at Judai for the briefest of seconds, and then, just like that, exploded.

 

“Effect Shut negates your monster’s effect and destroys it. Now Judai, what will you do?”

 

Judai-sama stared at his empty hand and empty field. “I—” he whispered. “I end my turn.”

 

“I thought so. Now, Armityle, attack!”

 

Rei screamed. The attack couldn’t hit. If it hit, Judai-sama would lose and—

 

Armityle’s attack obscured Judai-sama from sight. When it cleared, Judai-sama was still standing. Rei cheered. And then Judai-sama collapsed as his life points hit zero.

 

“Judai-sama!” Rei yelled. Down below, Asuka-senpai shouted something. Rei ran forward, but Yubel got there first. The monster lifted Judai-sama with more care than Rei would’ve thought possible.

 

“My poor, beloved Judai,” it whispered. “You will not need to worry anymore.”

 

Rei activated her duel disk. “I’m challenging you to a duel! Let Judai-sama go!”

 

But the monster paid her no attention.

 

“I have no interest in you or your school, girl,” it said. It spread its wings and took off.

 

“Mystic Dragon!” Rei cried. Her dragon shot after Yubel. And Yubel turned around and stretched out the hand not holding Judai-sama. Fire obliterated her monster, and she could only just see Yubel clutch Judai-sama tighter, until there was heat and pain and she screamed as the fire burnt her eyes out.