Cardfight!! Vanguard SC: Defenders of the Gate

Chapter 30: All that Glitters

Yudai, Rei and Kiniro raced after Yza at top speed, hoping to find him before anything potentially bad could happen. Once again, to their annoyance, they didn't find Yza but another door. Yudai groaned.

"This is really ticking me off. Seriously, where is that son of a Flogal?" Yudai said, impatience evident in his voice.

"We'll find him, I'm sure of that. But I don't know what his deal is dragging us around the place. Besides, this is the underground. There's no telling how big this place is. For all we know, it could be as big as the freakin' city!" Kiniro added, which made Yudai even more annoyed. Deciding the best course of action wasn't to complain about it, the trio headed into the next room. Again, there was a boy standing there waiting for them, like a beast ready to pounce on its prey. Hanafi Kagurai the Royal Paladin user. He wanted to fight them and at all costs, defeat them. The marks underneath his said it all. Yudai walked up to Kiniro and put his hand on his shoulder.

"You wanna take this guy, Kin?" Kiniro nodded and took out his deck.

"Yeah. Beating a Яeversed fighter will help us out and clear my anxiety. So I'm pretty much killing two birds with one stone. You guys go ahead and I'll catch up later." Yudai and Rei nodded and they continued to track Yza down. That left Hanafi and Kiniro alone. Hanafi took his deck out and the outer space field appeared. 

"Look, Defender. I don't have the time for idle chitchat, so let's dive right into this, okay?" He said while setting up the field on the levitating  cardfight field. Kiniro repeated his actions.

"You know, I was just thinking the same thing. Let's do this."

"Stand up, Vanguard," The both said, flipping their starting vanguards face-up. Meanwhile, Yudai and Rei were still pursuing Yza. Luckily, the had just seen him disappear behind a corner just ahead of them. The pair shared a look and nodded at each other as if the one had read the other's mind and vice versa. The managed to locate another door that led into another room. This time, they raced into the room without hesitation since they believed this was their ticket to locating and rescuing Chiho. As they expected, they found Yza waiting for them. He had a sickening grin on his fact that depicted amusement. 

"Well, looks like the lab rats found their way around the maze. If I cared enough, I'd be impressed." Rei stepped up and grabbed Yza's collar though Yza's smirk didn't waver in the slightest.

"We've had enough of you're screwing around! Tell me where Chiho is!" Rei demanded. Yza burst out is a sinister laugh and leapt back, out of Rei's grip.

"Of course! She's right around the corner." Yza said, ushering them with a hand gesture. "Feel free to take her.....or at least what's left of her." Rei pupils shrunk to the size of poppy seeds. They were too late.

"W-What do you mean "what's left of her"?" 

"Exactly what I said. The Яeverse has destroyed every part of her that it deemed imperfect and recreated her into a stronger fighter, who is a lot more subservient to the master, might I add. You should have seen here scream as she neared the final moments of freedom." He released another deathly laugh. There was something inhuman about it. "It was pure bliss." Rei had heard enough from the "creature" before him. He balled up his fists in anger but then felt a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Rei. You take care of Chiho; she needs you right now. I'll take on this Яeversed creep." Rei thought for a second. He then nodded and then ran off past Yza. Then Yudai turned his attention to Yza and he scowled at him.

"You know.......I don't take kindly to people who treat my friends like dirt."

"What a coincidence. I don't take kindly to people who defy my master." Yza replied. They both began to emit a visible aura from their bodies; crimson and dark purple respectively. Yza smiled. It wasn't the happy smile you see when it's your friend's birthday, or you had just received an item you've wanted for quite some time. It was a smile worn by a hunter that was going in for the kill. The levitating field appeared in front of each of them. The spatial field swallowed the space around them and it seemed as though they were both floating in space. The both put their starting vanguards face-down on the vanguard circle.