Cardfight!! Vanguard SC: Defenders of the Gate

Chapter 42: Dance With The Devil

Yudai stood by as Chiho's god-given healing abilities tried to restore Roka's body, who was much worse for wear after her recent fight with Izo. He looked across the flame-stained battlefield, the same embers igniting in his eyes as they laid upon Kaiko. He smiled at him, as if he were in the greatest of cheer. Smug bastard. Yudai's fist balled. He didn't think. Before his mind caught up with him, he lunged at Kaiko with his fight outstretched.

Kaiko's smile dropped. "How can a pawn attack the chess master?" A blood red Vanguard Circle flashed in front of Kaiko, repelling Yudai several feet when he made contact with it. He landed with a thud on his back, wincing from the blunt pain. Kaiko had an empty, subjugating look in his eyes. Link Joker's aura plagued his body, taking the shape of something sinister. "Don't you start acting up now. This is my game you're playing in." He commanded. Yudai even backed up a little. This feeling was too intense. Kaiko was even more different than before. Could this be Link Joker's influence?

Yudai took out his cards. He looked around. Kiniro was unconscious. Izo was catatonic. Roka was dying. The Clan Guardians were fighting a losing battle with the Reverse. And worst of all, Yui was his enemy. All around him was the carnage of this battle, in form of the people he cared for. And its progenitor was the man who stood before him, Kaiko Rimen. He wanted him to suffer. He wanted him to feel pain tenfold of what he'd caused. He would defeat him. He was going to destroy him.

A black, murky shadow blazed around Yudai's deck. Kaiko began to smirk like a dancing devil. "The show's main act has begun! It's time for the clown to make his appearance!"

"Take out your deck and cardfight me, you bastard." Yudai said, his eyes hollow.

"Cardfight? We won't be cardfighting. I have something much more grand in mind." He raised his finger upwards, where a giant black ring had formed in the fractures in the sky. "The Gate is almost completely open. Cray and Earth are almost completely connected. But no enough that our entire forces can enter the world, but just enough that you can experience a true Vanguard Fight."

"True Vanguard Fight?"

"Yes. And once the last of you Defenders have fallen, it will be the end of your pathetic race."

"What? 'Your' pathetic race? You're a human too! You lose just as much as we do if the world is destroyed!" Yudai protested. Kaiko gave a bored sigh.

"You really haven't figured it out, have you? Then, allow me to show you what your mind cannot process. It really is a shame, though. This body fit much better than the last one." Black lightning struck from beyond The Gate, doing even more damage to the colosseum. "Perfect Diffride." The black bolts struck Kaiko's body in unison, causing an explosion of black light. When Yudai reopened his eyes, Kaiko Rimen was no longer before him. Or any where. In his stead, was a large white dragon with black rings behind him and a red scythe in his hands. Its size was enormous. Its cackle was terrifying. Even Yudai knew the name of this beast. For its name had been sung in the laments of cardfighters around the globe.

Cray's Conniving Clown; Star-vader, Chaos Breaker Dragon.

Less Rei, Chiho and a newly awakened Kiniro, the stragglers in the arena quickly fled in frenzied panic. But Chaos Breaker paid them no mind. Its attention was on Yudai, as it had always been. "You." Its voiced bellowed. "You were always meant to be my final opponent, from the very beginning. Everything you've done, from the moment you stepped into Card Capital to the moment you walked through these halls, has been part of my game."

"What are you talking about?"

"Who do you think left you that deck you're so proud of? Are you so naive that you would believe it just appeared there? I left it there, because I knew you would be the one to find it. The encounters you've made throughout your journey, were purposed by me. The strength you have attained, you have attained by my efforts." It explained plainly.