Chapter 44 Moonlit Cinders.

[Joey's LP:4000]

[Drogan's LP:4000]

The duel starts between the pair, but Joey goes first due to his sphere appearing first in the draw, he draws to his hand, and from it, he Summons a monster face down before setting a backline card face down, he quickly indicates to end his turn with this allowing me to draw for my turn.

I look at my hand and notice a pair of cards that just cause me to smile, I saw a pair of similar cards before in the other decks, but I never could play them since I never drew them, but here the pair of them are just here to be played.

"Oh, this will be fun, from my hand I play a pair of spell cards, I play the Great Rune of Magic then the Great Rune of Mass."

At my declaration, the air around the arena takes on an increased density as behind me floating as if a tapestry appears a pair of Glowing interlocking rings one Blue and one dark Bronze with a Dark bronze line attached at a point.

[Great rune of Magic][Spell/Continuous]

[Great Rune of Mass][Spell/Continuous]

"When these are played nothing really happens but due to the order they're played in the Great Rune of magic gains one Elden counter, but I will continue my turn, from my hand I play a Monster in face-down defence, this action causes the Great rune of Mass to gain an Elden counter as well but with this I end my turn for you to play."

The pair of glowing rings give off an intimidating presence, but Joey starts his turn with a draw.

He musters his courage and starts, "From my hand, I Summon to the field Goblin Attack Force in attack position and flip my monster to Atk position before having Goblin Attack force attack your face down."

In a flash of light, a mob of goblins in yellow hardhats appear on the field carrying clubs and the monster card on the field flips over onto the field to reveal an impish, blue-robed warrior with a wing motif carrying a sword and shield.

[Goblin Attack Force ★★★★ Earth][Warrior/Effect][ATK:2300/DEF:0]

[Little-Winguard ★★★★ Wind][Warrior/Effect][ATK:1400/DEF:1800]

The goblins whip up a rabble of danger before going to attack my face-down monster, as they approach, I simply say, "2 more Elden Counters for the great rune of Mass."

Joey expecting me to react with some sort of defensive play is confused as my words and demeanour, but my lack of reaction makes sense when the goblins reach my face down.

Well, it's not like a band of ruffians or the Link wannabe can break this champion of the festival.

The card faces down on the field flips up like a trapdoor and launched like a top is a Giant figure of stone and ore, his appearance launches him right into the mob and sends them all flying with his sheer momentum, one of the Goblins clubs even gets sent flying back to hit Joey.

[Iron Fist Alexander ★★★★ Earth][Warrior/Effect][ATK:1400>1800/DEF:3000>2600]

[Joey's LP: 4000 >3700]

The Hulking Jar on the field brings a smile to my face for getting to fight side by side with a Friend again, Joey for his turn realizes he can't continue the attack so ends his battle phase which has his mob go have a nap in defence position, when he does this I speak up, "The effect of Iron fist Alexander activates increasing his level by two which changes his Card Values."

[Iron Fist Alexander ★★★★★★][ATK:1800>2000/DEF:2600>2400]

The idea of Alexander becoming stronger doesn't please him but he can do little to stop it so he plays it safe so In his main phase two he uses his little Winguard's effect to return it to the defence position. He does end his turn there allowing me to go.

I draw and look at the card which causes my grin to extend, it's a reunion of comrades it seems.

"From my Hand, I discard a card to Special Summon from my hand Shadow Wolf Blaidd in Attack position."

As my words are said and I discard a card, an ear-piercing Howl is heard from the night sky before a Tall cloaked figure with a Greatsword strapped to his back appears within view on the field.

[Shadow Wolf Blaidd ★★★★★★ Dark][Beast-Warrior/Effect][ATK:2000/DEF:1000]

"With his appearance two things happen, first of all, the great rune of mass gains 1 Elden counter, then Blaidd's Effect activates which allows me to add 1 of two cards to my hand and I'll pick this one," I speak as I make my choice between a pair of cards depicting iconic locations.

"From my hand, I play the Field card Redmane Castle, this adds an Elden counter due to the great rune of magic."

The clouds around us start to take on a maroon hue before visibly starting to thin to reveal the background of the arena has turned to that of a Castle perched upon a stone outcropping in the distance behind me, its appearance draws everyone's attention away from the arena itself becoming a red sandy dune littered with the weapons of warriors from the Shattering.

[Redmane Castle][Spell/Field]

"Welcome to Redmane Castle the Domain of the General Radahn, When I play this card, it allows me to add a card to my hand for later but it also has other effects, some of which you might enjoy."

My words cause Joey to be confused, as he usually is, but I continue to explain I even raise my fingers as I explain so he can follow along.

"The first effect of Redmane castle is that we both no longer have a hand size limit, you can have as many cards in your hand as you want. Secondly, monsters are no longer sent to the grave, they are sent to the hand instead. Lastly, once per turn You can Special Summon a Warrior or Beast-Warrior Monster from your hand, this does increase the level of the monster by 2 but that most likely doesn't matter to you." 

I went slow when I was explaining, and I could hear the two gears in Joey's head turning trying to keep up but outside the arena, Yugi makes a comment about how this makes it so monsters will be battling constantly without restraint. 

Joey seems to get it, so I continue my turn. "Now I'll activate Redmane Castle to Special Summon the last monster in my hand Adherent Redmane Freya." at my words the great rune of mass gains one counter. 

[Adherent Redmane Freya ★★★★★★ Fire][Warrior/Effect][ATK:1800/DEF1500]

Upon the maroon dunes, a Summon sign appears and from it manifests a golden-armoured Valkyrie of the battlefield, she glances around at the surroundings and pauses at the familiar sight.

She turns to me, and I nod at her, she nods back before stabbing her sword into the dunes.

"Now to Show you your first Challenge Joey I Build the Overlay Network, I'll Use the level 6 Blaidd and Freya to XYZ Summon the Lord of Redmane Castle." At my words, the pair of warriors Look at each other and can tell of each other's strength, A vortex of Starlight appears above the arena beckoning them to Beckon a demi-god.

In the background behind me the Great Rune of Mass starts to Burn bright as if on fire, the pair of warriors jump into the Vortex and disappear. The Vortex seems to stop spinning and sparkling for a moment before a hand is seen grasping at the edge of it and seemingly moving it to the ground where it forms an archway into an unknowable realm made of still stars.

The sound of hoofs stepping upon sand is heard as a creature crest over one of the many Maroon Dunes, the being in question is a Skinny and emancipated horse. It approaches the vortex and lets out a quiet and weak neigh to the vortex.

From the vortex the sound of shifting armour is heard before a titan-sized figure seems to step out of it onto the dunes, the sheer size of the man causes everyone present to pause but everyone watches as he takes a few steps forward before raising his leg and mounting over the weak horse.

The Titan and his trusty companion turn to face Joey who is now facing the direct stare of a Demi-god for the first time.

[Radahn The Starscourge ☆☆☆☆☆☆ Dark][Warrior/XYZ/Effect][ATK:3000/DEF:3000]

The reveal of Radahn's strength values being equal to that of Blue-eyes causes Joey and his friends to go quiet, I also get the feeling Seto, Mokuba, Pegasus, Yami Bakura, Odion and Marik have just realized I'm way more of a threat than they realized.

"Now for the battle phase, I'll have Alexander take out your Little-Winguard." at my command Alexander flexes his arm and goes to attack the little blue knight, he waddles into melee range before delivering his signature iron Fist, which destroys the blue knight, but Joey remembers that it just added back to his hand.

"And with that, I'll end my turn, but before that, Alexander gains 2 levels for winning a battle this turn" As I say this only, I see this, but upon the back of Alexander a large crack in his stony exterior starts to form.

[Iron Fist Alexander ★★★★★★★★][ATK:2000<2200 DEF:2400>2200]

My declaration catches people off guard since the big scary giant on the field didn't attack, but being the smart one, Yugi realizes, that if I send the Goblin attack force back to the hand Joey would just summon it again to then defeat Alexander, but currently they are still napping harmlessly.

Since I just ended my turn it's now Joey's again, he looks at the card he draws and quickly reveals it to be a Pot of Greed.

[Pot of Greed][Spell][common like Candy]

He draws more cards with my great rune of magic gaining a counter before he looks at the new additions with interest before speaking. "I'll play two cards face down and a monster face down before ending my turn."

I'm curious about his face-downs but I can easily guess that the face-down monster is little Winguard again, regardless I draw a card That I'll need later but currently it is actively harmful if I play it so I just continue on with my turn. Knowing there is little point in keeping the goblins on the field I make a decision.

"I'll have Radahn attack the goblin attack force and Alexander attack the face down." at my words the bulky pair of warriors go to squish their foes, I can see Joey realizes due to Redmane castle and that I'm not dealing damage so its fine to lose some fights for the surprise uppercut later.

Too bad I know I'll be throwing that punch, but my internal ramblings are cut short as the effects of the battle phase happen, first of all, the Mass rune gains 1 Elden counter due to the flip summon and then at the end of the battle phase Alexander gains 2 levels for defeating a monster.

[Iron Fist Alexander ★★★★★★★★★★][ATK:2200<2400 DEF:2200>2000]

Yugi, Tea, Tristan and Bakura comment on how Alexander's just as strong as Red-eyes now, but I tune them out and simply end my turn.

Joey Draws again but this time when he looks at the card he gains a smirk on his face. "I'll use your Redmane Castle to Special Summon from my hand Gilford the Lightning and also from my hand I'll Equip him with a Lightning Blade to Empower his ATK to 3600 Attack points!"

[Gilford the Lightning ★★★★★★★★ Light][Warrior/Effect][ATK:2800<3600 DEF:1400]< strong>

The sky above the dunes starts to roll with clouds before a small rain of lightning strikes hits against the dunes, they get more intense as time passes but at a climax, a large bolt strikes Joey's field revealing an Armoured Knight in a red cloak coated in Electric energy.

"I'll have Gilford take down Raadahn." Hearing his declaration for battle Radahn Raises his pair of great swords which are glowing with purple energy housing his XYZ materials, the General Charges towards the lightning warrior astride on Leonard's back, Gilford sensing the strength of Radahn charges forth to take down the Titan.

The great warriors Start an epic duel upon the dunes, A battle between a warrior as quick as lightning and a warrior with blows equal to the weight of mountains, with each swing of his blades Radahn would rend the dunes sending ancient weapons scattering in his wake.

His opponent embodies his title, his movements are quick and powerful entering and exiting the guard of the General in between the Demi-god's strikes.

In a dazzling move, in response to one of Radahn's great swings Gilford becomes like live wire and jumps into the air landing on one of the dislodged and flung weapon remains to jump from one to the other before striking a plunging strike into the chest of the Demi-god.

Gilford jumps back at the blow leaving his sword in Radahn's chest and Radahn in question Strikes his swords into the ground as if in support against falling to the ground from the mortal blow, but his pride demands he rides Leonard till his last breath.

"Good fight, but It's time I show you why Radahn is so Powerful to be known as the lord of Redmane castle, I activate his Effect, for the cost of his XYZ Materials he can stave off deaths grasp before destroying all monsters in front of him"

As my words sink in the expression of Joey, his friends and Gilford pale as the pair of Radahn's swords start to glow with purple energy before the energy is pumped into the ground, in a Loud Roar from his voice the gravity around him visibly intensify massively with a purple tinted energy. 

In a move similar to his hero Godfrey using his Demi-god strength causes purple cracks of energy to form in the earth which spread like the cracks in a glass pane towards Joey's field, Gilford being the agility-based warrior he is, he tries to jump away but as he attempts to jump, he finds the intensified gravity locks him to the ground making it so he can't escape.

The Purple cracks alight with energy and power is run through them destroying the Agility-based warrior, returning to Joey's hand due to Redmane castle.

Radahn picks up his blades, but they no longer glow with energy as before, also since there are no monsters left to battle on Joey's field Alexander gains a level due to their effect reaching level 11 with 2500 attack and 1900 defence.

Joey has a look of contemplation before frowning and re-summoning his little Winguard in defence position to at least mitigate some damage and possibly not die to Radahn's next turn, with that he ends his turn, the summon adding an Elden counter to the field.

I draw with a smile on my face before counting the amount of Elden counters on the great runes, I come to thirteen.

"From my hand, I'll play Flask of Cerulean Tears, it allows me to draw 2 then discard 1 card." I draw 2 more cards before smiling, "I'll be discarding a Monster card but due to the effect of Redmane castle it instead sent to my hand, so I don't need to discard also next I'll use the effect of The Great Rune of Magic which just gained an Elden counter due to the spell card played." 

The Ring like rune changes from its golden natural colour to a pale blue hue, "By Spending 3 Elden counters from the field It allows me to retrieve a spell card from the grave, I'll regain the Flask of Cerulean tears before playing it and drawing 2 more cards then discarding a monster which will stay in my hand."

Having a Broken Draw engine like this while having no hand size limit is borderline cheating but I know I'll have to prepare since I know Joey still has the Dark Souls cards, I do combo 2 more times so my Elden counter is at 6 and my hand is at 12 cards, but it won't stay like that, since I just drew 2 monsters allowing me to work towards someone special, the only problem, its I have a better path to progress than that.

For now, I'll play the long game since I can tell Joey won't go down easy.

"I'll have Alexander take down your Face down again." Again, Alexander goes forth and this time he ground Pound's card into pixels to reveal a flattened, blue-robed knight, which just returns to Joey's hand.

"And with that, I'll end my turn." my declaration catches Joey and his friends for a loop, joey even exclaims, "What are you doing? Why aren't you hitting with the big guy, I'm wide open."

I Roll my eyes and sigh, "Radahn has a demerit for using his extremely powerful board wipe effect, the cost is that he loses the capability to attack directly, Also I attacked with Alexander so he could reach level 12, to activate his second effect." at my words the Crest upon the top of Alexander's Lid glows gold.

Alexander lets out a hearty chuckle on the field before walking to stand behind me and crossing his arms acting akin to a bodyguard.

"Now he acts as an indestructible Continuous Spell card which allows me to draw twice per draw phase, to be honest, while you had the powered-up Gilford, Alexander was the bigger threat of the two, you could have taken Radahn the next turn, but Alexander only needed to survive that round to activate the second effect."

My explanation causes Joey to visibly grimace at the mistake, but I don't blame him for focusing on the boss instead of the NPC, but he recovers and draws a card which he looks at with some contemplation before continuing.

"I'll use Redmane castle to Resummon Gilford the lightning and for my Normal Summon I'll Summon the Fire Keeper."

With his words, the sky again rolls in anger but unlike before that isn't the only phenomenon to appear as on the maroon dunes a swirl of wind is seen coalescing picking up the discarded remnants of the ancient warriors of the battle into a pile or remains.

Gilford appears in a flash of light like before, but he appears with his distinct lightning-clad sword attached to his back, the reason becomes apparent as he reaches for his waist to take out a twisted and ash-covered sword, he takes some heavy steps towards the mound of warrior remains before grabbing the Coiled Sword with both hands and plunging it into the piles.

In a burst of light and Sparks, its reaction creates a form of Life from the remains of the wasteland and appearing from it like a Spector made of amber fireflies manifests a dark-robed woman wearing a silver crown which also acts as a blindfold.

Once on the field, she smiles and Bows to everyone politely as introduces herself to the world.

[The Firekeeper ★ Fire][Saint/Tuner/Effect][ATK:0/DEF:0]

"With her, on the field, I'll have her use her effect, it requires a dice roll to allow her to reveal cards equal to the roll and give me one of them before sending the rest to the grave."

The referee takes out a Die which has glowing edges and markings to make it visible in the arena, he throws it to the centre point of the field, and everyone watches the result.

It rolls and bounces a few times before landing on a 5, the referee goes to collect the die and as he walks away the Firekeeper starts to do her magic.

The Bonfire which is lit on the field starts to glow brightly and from it, 5 orbs of fire appear from the pyre to hover over the bonfire under her control, the flames then change in form into card shapes before depicting the 5 revealed cards.

[Insect Queen ★★★★★★★ Earth][Insect/Effect][ATK:2200/DEF:2200]

[Jinzo ★★★★★★ Dark][Machine/Effect][ATK:2400/DEF:1500]

[The Legendary Fisherman ★★★★★ Water][Warrior/Effect][ATK:1850/DEF:1600]

[Time Wizard ★★ Light][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK:500/DEF:400]

[Red-eyes Black Dragon ★★★★★★★ Dark][Dragon/Normal][ATK:2400/DEF:2000]

Seeing the 5 cards, my brain short circuits for a second, I then start to have a mental laugh at the chances, each of those cards were those given to him from other duellists, and the funny thing is due to Redmane castle all of them are added to his hand.

"I'll take Time Wizard," he speaks with a hint of sadness at having to discard his red-eyes, he goes to discard the other four cards, but as he's about to do that I cough and speak up. "They all go to your hand due to Redmane castle."

My words cause him to pause as the two brain cells in his head rub together to realise his hand has just been bolstered greatly.

Honestly handing Joey the Dark Souls cards is like handing a Neanderthal a lit torch, I'm honestly curious how he got into the finals, but maybe because this is actually the first time, he's using one of them and Redmane Castle's effect created a unique combo unexpectantly.

Joey's hand grows with all of his beast monsters, but he doesn't go to summon them, "From my hand, I play Time Wizard to activate his effect."

The red circular wizard appears on the field in a flash of light, the wizard waves his wand, and a large roulette wheel is formed in the air before starting to Spin.

Like a grandfather clock the sound of its ticking reverberates everywhere, the roulette wheel slows down more and more alternating between the Skull marks and the stopwatch symbols. Everyone watches as the roulette stops at a Skull mark on the wheel, joey seems to grimace before the pointer takes one last step landing on a stopwatch and glowing to confirm the result.

"All Right, Time wizard will now accelerate the age of everyone on the field . . ." as he says this, he realizes this might harm the firekeeper, but I know she'll be fine.

The Time wizard on the field becomes animated as he casts his spell, the clock in its chest starts to spin maddingly, the forms of Radahn and Gilford on the field start to change due to the time, Gilford takes on a more grounded and grand appearance while Radahn's form starts to weaken due to a red miasma that courses through his veins.

The firekeeper remains untouched by the passage of time but as the time wizard finishes his spell the three monsters are now different each with different names and/or stats.

[Scarlet Maddened Radahn][ATK:2600/DEF:2600]

[Gilford the Legend][ATK:2600/DEF:2000]

[The Last Firekeeper][ATK:0/DEF:100]

Radahn now looks identical to his in-game counterpart but I'm more interested in the firekeeper, I look at her and find the only real difference is that her Blindfold has been raised to become a full-on crown, this also has revealed her eyes which are a pair of blue eyes with black sclera, I recognise the eyes as those the ones found in the darkened Firelink shrine which are said to belong to the first fire keeper.

"Now that our warriors are equal in strength, I'll have Gilford take down Radahn." his words catch my attention and make me have to respond quickly as Gilford charges forth to take on his past foe. 

"I'll have to stop that for now, from my hand I reveal and activate the effect of Maiden Therolina, she'll take the hit for Radahn."

In a flash of light between the greatly aged Warriors appears a white-robed Woman with her arms spread out baring Gilford from attacking Radahn.

[Maiden Therolina ★★ Light][Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect][ATK:0/DEF:1000]

"Her effect makes it so instead of Radahn being destroyed she's removed from play instead."

The maiden has a look of solace on her face as Gilford takes his great blade and swings down bisecting her in half, but with her death, a golden barrier forms around Radahn to protect him.

Seeing Radahn still alive on the field Joey isn't happy but he can't do anything else this turn so he ends his turn allowing me to start my turn.

I draw twice due to Alexander who I glance at, as it turns out the time wizard affected him as well making his form calcify and age but he's still standing proud.

I look at the new cards and I smile since I found the card I was looking for.

"First of all, let it be known a Grand festival Shall begin. From my hand, I play the Radahn Festival!"

I play a spell card I gained when I played Redmane castle and from the castle in the background, a chorus of trumpets is heard. Welcoming the celebration.

[Radahn Festival][Spell/Continuous]

I raise my fist forward before extending a finger to count the effects of the festival, "The first effect of this card is that it allows me to add a monster to my hand from my deck, Then the second effect is the more fun of the two. From our hands were allowed to summon as many monsters as we wanted to the field as a real Monster mash, lastly While it and Radahn are on the field no one takes any battle damage, if you would have dealt damage you're allowed to draw instead."

Hearing the effects of the card Joey and his friends are stunned at such an overwhelming card when paired with Redmane castle, but Joey quickly comes to and looks at his cards as I retrieve the monster card.

I nod to him to signal the monster mash and as expected of him Joey Summons to his field Jinzo, Insect Queen and his Red-eyes black dragon.

For my field I get to summon up to 4, but from the choices in my hand I Summon 3 monsters, Blaidd reappears but his companions are unknown to everyone present but myself.

[Shadow wolf Blaidd ★★★★★★ Dark][Beast-Warrior/Effect][ATK:2000/DEF:1000]

[Grand Smith IJI ★★★★★★ Earth][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK:500/DEF:3000]

[Preceptor Selivus ★★★★★★ Water][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK:2500/DEF:1300]

In a single move, I just summon 3 Level 6 monsters each with a value equal to or above 2000 also with all the summoning the Elden counters on the rune of mass gest bolstered again, with the counter count at 16 this time.

It's time to summon her.

"Now I know I just started the festival but it's time to Welcome the Second challenge for you to overcome Joey, using my three new monsters I Build the Overlay Network."

My words cause a new Starry Vortex to appear in the sky over the red dunes, unlike Radahn's vortex it stays in the sky and from it glows a Pale blue light which bathes everything in gentle blue hues.

The three Followers of their dear lady proceed to travel to the vortex in different methods.

Blaidd the juggernaut simply leaps to the vortex before disappearing, Selivus seems to fade in a mote of blue light before appearing and disappearing like a phantom through the air towards the vortex, Iji acts the simplest, he walks under the vortex and raises his large hammer into the vortex and uses it as an anchor to lift himself and his hefty frame into the vortex.

"Using these three monsters I XYZ summon the sister of General Radahn, Lunar Princess Ranni!"

The vortex starts to shrink in form before a single entity seems to float down from the vortex as weightless as a snowflake in the breeze. The vortex behind her starts to collapse before producing an airwave with makes all clouds in the night sky scatter to reveal the image of the glowing full moon behind her form on the field.

She floats towards the ground and with a wave of her hand a Throne of Crystal grows from the ground on which she sits upon, a pair of her arms are crossed while her second pair of hands are forming an arch, she peers at the world from beneath her large white hat to reveal her doll-like face and ghostly twin face.

[Lunar Princess Ranni ☆☆☆☆☆☆ Water][Spellcaster/XYZ/Effect][ATK:3000/DEF:4500]

the reaction to Ranni is akin to a stun bomb on the field, just her sheer presence is like the moon, untouchable and unknowable also the fact her Defence is high enough to outright block Obelisk the tormenter with room to spare.

"With her here I shall continue from my hand I play Nokron the Eternal City."

Ranni closes her eyes and waves her arm, from the edge of everyone's eyes a gigantic meteor appears in the night sky and streaks across the sky to strike down on the Redmane castle in the background. This impact causes a monumental dust cloud to form obscuring the whole arena, when it fades away it reveals that the world around us has changed to a mirage-like image of a silver city under twinkling lights.

[Nokron, the Eternal City][Spell/Ritual]

"For the cost of sending my field card to the grave it allows me to Ritual Summon to the field The Mimic Tear!" my words herald the appearance of a Pool of silver liquid from the dust of the maroon dunes around us, it doesn't look intimidating in comparison to everything else on the field.

"You destroyed your overpowered field card to summon a silver puddle right after summoning that witch lady, let me guess it's really powerful. . ." his words are cut off as the stats of the mimic tear become apparent.

[Mimic Tear? Dark][???/Ritual/Effect][ATK:?/DEF?]

The Little Puddle has no stats, and it confuses Joey, but I explain, "Well yes Its values aren't amazing right now, but its main effect makes up for that, When it's summoned it allows me to Essentially copy any monster on the field, so I'll have it copy Radahn's visage."

The mention that this card could just copy anything makes everyone pause but people become amazed as the pool starts to animate and form into a silver-like copy of Radahn's form and all before changing colour to become an identical copy of the Starscourge.

[Scarlet Maddened Radahn(Mimic tear)][Warrior/XYZ/Effect][ATK:?<2600 DEF:?<2600]< strong>

The strength of my field is daunting, but everyone is curious, why didn't I copy the Moon demi-god but instead the weakened Radahn But to me my actions always have reasons.

"Now for the battle phase, I'll have the mimic tear take out Gilford, Radahn to take out your Jinzo and Ranni to obliterate the insect queen."

My pair of Radahn's go on a rampage upon the field riding Leonards to victory while in the back line, Ranni gives a smirk before pointing her hand towards the insect queen, the reaction is instant as she casts a Comet Azur death laser which just zaps the bug from existence.

The battle of the Radahn's is more emotive as they go to swing at their opponent like mirrors of each other, the monsters in question try to stop the rampage in different ways, Gilford blocks by using his Greatsword to block the strike while Jinzo projects a psychic barrier to block the attack.

As expected, trying to use willpower against a man who held the stars at bay while under the effects of scarlet rot is pointless as the Titan's swing breaks through the barrier breaking the form of the monster, on Gilford's side though he uses his experience and the weakness that he knows he's fighting something akin to a copy of Radahn to take it down.

Gilford pivots from the defence of the strike to leap onto the blade of the mimic tear before running along it towards the body, with great agility even in his older age he's able to use his Greatsword to strike again into the chest of the Radahn, but something he didn't account for is that Radahn is actually extremely smart even in his maddened state so he uses the mirroring action of the Mirror tear to puppet it to keep fighting which allows it to strike at Gilford when he wasn't expecting it.

The Mirror Tear takes the critical injury, but it raises its other blade and strikes at Gilford, the swordsman goes to dodge the attack, but the Mirror Tear loses density from the wound making his escape hampered enough for the mimicked Greatsword of Radahn to strike him turning him to pixels.

Due to the Radahn Festival, Joey doesn't lose any life points, but I get to draw 2 cards.

"I'll go to main phase 2, I'll play 3 cards face down and end my turn, but due to Redmane castle being gone, I'll discard some cards until I have 7 left."

It's now Joey's turn and his field now only has the firekeeper his prized Red-eyes. He Draws up to exactly 7 cards meaning our hands are equal.

"I'll activate the Fire keepers' effect" his words are heard by the referee who goes to roll the die again, the dice are thrown onto the field again and bounce a few times before revealing a 2.

The Firekeeper on the field attends to the bonfire which produces two orbs for the revealed cards which take form to become visible to everyone watching.

[Monster Reborn][Spell]

[The Ashen one ★★★★★★ Fire][Warrior/Effect][ATK:2400/DEF:2000]

Seeing the pair of cards he just drew I have to blink a few times since out of the many cards in his deck and in a 2-card reveal he gets the Ashen one and powerful card. . . 

Note to self, find out if Joey has a Great rune of Luck/Probability or something of equivalent value in this universe, if yes Steal it and rule the world.

Side note, to self, if such an item exists, use it to flex on Seto just for the fun of it.

Not acting like an idiot Joey picks the Monster reborn to add to hand allowing him to Special Summon the Ashen one to the field.

From the Firekeepers Bonfire a billowing of ash forms around the Coiled Sword, the ash starts to form into a silhouette which steps out of the flames, the figure's appearance is that of a Knight in fluted armour draped in brown cloth adornments which seems both brand new but rough and frayed on closer inspection. 

The figure takes a few steps onto the field before kneeling in genuflection to the form of the Firekeeper, she in response extends her hand allowing the knight to offer their own to her offering.

After that, the knight stands before Drawing their Sword ready for a fight against a pair of bosses like all those that stood in their path before.

"From my hand, I'll Equip the Ashen one with Legendary sword to increase his ATK and Defence by 300."

[Legendary Sword][Spell/Equip]

The Ashen one sheaths his sword in its scabbard before approaching the fire keepers Bonfire, he reaches into the flames before grasping onto something. 

He slowly extracts his hand from the blaze and from it in their hand is a Rusty and bronze large handle, the more he pulls the more the sword becomes apparent, its whole body being a rusty and dirty blade full of scars but the most distinct feature being that its tip is Broken and jagged creating a brutal looking sword.

I recognise the sword, it belonged to an old man who made a promise, very fitting that the oldest sword of that world would be known as legendary even if not the most powerful.

The ashen one retakes their place on the field before doing the Legion Etiquette Gesture using the Jagged Greatsword.

[The Ashen one][ATK:2400<2700 DEF:2000<2300]< strong>

Seeing that the Ashen one has gained enough strength I have a feeling what he's gonna do next.

"I'll have the ashen one Take out Raadahn for good this time!" I sigh at this since Joey's luck got him this, I can't protect Radahn, so I just watch the duel, another note to self, Find the special effects department and give them raises even if Kaiba Disapproves.

The Ashen one steps forward with determined and experienced steps; this isn't the first giant they defeated but the main difference between Yhorm and Radahn is that Radahn's magic power is way denser.

They charge towards the fight regardless, Radahn and Leonard charge towards the newest challenger, the sheer mass behind the charge causes the very arena to shake, his swings are powerful and precise, but the Ashen one uses their experience to deftly dodge the swings and strike when they can, they even mainly focus on causing large gashes which make Radahn to bleed.

It turns into a situation where in the process of the fight, Radahn progressively slows down due to the energy loss being only mobile in the fight due to Leonard carrying him upon his back forward.

The critical moment occurs when at one point one of the swings of the Ashen one finally cuts one of his wrists making him lose his grasp on his great sword, the loss of his sword makes his whole form become unbalanced making him open himself up with the next swing which the Ashen one exploits.

The Ashen one uses the Skill of Gael's Greatsword to leap into the air before plunging directly into the skill of the Giant, in a final act of defiance Radahn swings his limp arm towards the Ashen one.

The large limb meets their helmet and sends it flying tearing the cloth hood around it.

Radahn's form fades into pixels with a Prideful smile on his face which fades with his body, The Ashen one is placed on the field unharmed, and they turn towards Joey's field before walking back carrying their blade.

Everyone is mostly silent since unexpectedly the Face of the Ashen one is revealed to be an exact copy of Serenity, their hair is cut to fit into the helmet but everything else is a match for Serenity who's standing just outside the arena with Joey's other friends all surprised. 

"Why the Hell does she look like my sister?" Joey exclaims to the world at its coincidences, but I have two ideas, one ok and the other which is way, way worse.

I just shrug and send Radahn's card to the grave, as well as Radahn Festival which has a clause which removes it when Radahn is defeated.

"Argh, I'll sort that out later, for now, I have to duel, I'll activate the Ashen one's effect, I'll remove Insect Queen from my graveyard from play to roll a die to increase their strength."

The Ashen one on the field simply reaches into her pouch on her waist to take out what seems to be a golden Flame, she holds it aloft in front of her before crushing it and scattering motes of light which float in the air before seeming towards her.

The referee takes out the dice again before rolling it, it lands on a 6. 

[The Ashen one][ATK:2700<3000]< strong>

I'm annoyed at this point, but I can't rewind time and change it . . . Yet. anyway, Joey knows he can't continue his battle phase, at this point I make a decision.

Joey ends his turn, and I draw 2 cards for my draw phase. "I Activate Ranni's effect, by Expending an XYZ material it allows her to remove everything in an entire column from the field!"

Ranni on the field just shows off a smug grin while everyone is processing the damage she can do. 

"I expend 2 of them to Remove both Columns with your Red-eyes and Ashen one."

At my command Ranni starts to rise from her throne into the air weightless like a feather, as she rises she raises a pair of her 4 hands towards her face, she seems to pinch the air with both hands and pulls away, From her actions it's revealed that her XYZ materials are the Life in the eyes of her puppet body as the ones in the puppet become grey and lifeless while her spectral face is still vibrant.

The Puppet pulled out glowing energy orbs before compacting them like snowballs into a bigger snowball before tossing the mass into the air.

The orb travels in the air before stopping at a point, everything is silent before a flurry of energy is heard from the orb as a pair of Stars of Ruin shoot forth from the orb Peppering everything in two rows of the field.

The Dragon and Knight are no match for the Witch's spell and are gunned down by the magic spam. The stars of ruin also destroy Joey's backline to reveal a pair of trap cards, Sakuretsu's Armor and Fairy Box.

Joey watching the Knight version of his sister getting gunned down makes him grimace, he now knows he's defenceless since the firekeeper can't be targeted for attacks, so he Responds to protect himself, "From my hand, I play Scapegoat to fill my field."

[Scapegoat][Spell/Quick-play]

With his good timing, he creates 4 tokens that will take some time for Ranni to butcher, but I have a plan, but it requires a sacrifice.

"From my hand, I Summon Adherent Redmane Freya again to the field before I play from my hand The Fingerslayer Blade."

Freya's card appears on the field like a tablet before an archway of light appears where she steps through, her steps are heavy, and she slowly approaches Ranni's side while carrying a Black and intimidating Dagger which gives off the feeling of being in the presence of ill omen. 

The Redmane presents the Dagger to the princess who takes it with a delicate touch as if touching something which could break if handled too hard.

She raises it to her eye level and a smile that could cause wars to be seen again appears on her face, with no words she moves, she starts to float from her throne, while still wielding the Fingerslayer blade she grips the hem of her robe before taking a bow to the field before Disappearing into motes of Light.

[Fingerslayer Blade][Spell/Ritual]

At her disappearance, the Crystal throne beneath her starts to quake shaking with the surrounding air. The throne starts to crack and break down as from the sky behind me what seems to be a shooting star seems to be falling towards the field at great speed.

This meteor's size scares everyone as it's roughly equal in size to the Blimp the arena is on, but I am not deterred.

"I use the Fingerslayer blade's second effect, For the sacrifice of a Rank 6 or higher XYZ Monster it allows me to Summon to the field ASTEL, VOIDBORN STAR!"

The Meteor strikes down onto the field and from it a Blast of a deep blue light blinds everyone present, when everyone's sight is returned, they find that the Arena now has a Roof of Glowing blue segments which seem to contain nebulas, Hovering behind me is a Gigantic Face that can only be described as insectoid but with a Giant Blue eye which seems to pierce through everything.

[Astel, Voidborn Star ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ Light][Insect/Ritual/Effect][ATK:3500/DEF:0]

Seeing a monster with more than 3000 attack is less surprising when compared to Ranni's 4500 defence but most are still getting over the shock of it being so big.

"Now With Astel on the field We both have to play a bit more openly Joey." my words make him look confused, but the meaning becomes apparent as the segments above me and him lower to be right above us and the Nebula's within the segments start to take a card like forms.

We can now both see each other's hands, seeing the cards he has tells me it is not the worst situation, but I see a few possible problems, for the other effect of Astel I see his hand has two spell cards, while mine has 3.

"Not for the Battle phase I'll explain Astel's effect, When he attacks I'm allowed to roll 2 6-sided dice and if it's higher than your monster level, they are destroyed outright." this makes Joey have to think before Yugi of the side of the field speaks out it means whenever Astel battles he could destroy any monster even if he would normally lose the fight, I don't think He would lose most fights with an ATK of 3.5k but meh.

"Due to this effect, it means if Astel would fight your level 1 scapegoat token it would destroy it due to the effect without the need for a roll, but when Astel destroys a monster via its effect, it allows him to attack again at the cost of being able to attack directly for the turn, There isn't a limit on the number of attacks he could do, so all of your goats are going to the Butcher in a single turn."

My words make him realize the problem as Astel on the field raises one of its skeletal hands before slamming it onto Joey's field before a cascade of energy comes in waves generating shockwaves which just decimate the cute goats.

"Now with your field free I'll have Freya attack you directly." the Warrior Readies her Greatsword before jumping towards Joey and swinging down at him.

[joey's LP:3700>1900]

After the strike, the warrior returns to my field and keeps her blade ready for the fight to continue.

"After the battle phase, I'll place 3 cards face down, but you know one is a spell and the others are traps so meh, once they're down I'll end my turn."

Joey Draws before speaking, "Just gonna say this reveal deal is more annoying when I don't know what most of your cards do." I retort with a smirk, "Do you even know what your own cards do. . ." 

He's silent at that and decides to examine the card he just drew at it he nods before adding it to his hand. When he does that, I see the card in question and I'm just gonna say at this point his Luck is HACKS.

"From my hand, I summon My Little Winguard in attack position before playing Shield and Sword to Swap the ATK and DEF of all monsters on the field."

[Shield and Sword][Spell]

The Little Winguard arrives on the field again and its eyes bulge out like a cartoon character when it sees Astel's form essentially wrap the arena, then the effects of Shield and Sword activate, and multiple visual effects happen all at once.

For the little Winguard its Blue tunic/armour takes on a red colour, For Freya she sheaths her Greatsword before dual handing her shield, For the Firekeeper she simply Raises her Blindfold more until it becomes a full crown upon her head to reveal her eyes.

The biggest visual change is that the gigantic form of Astel seems to enter a moulting phase as its many, many segments seem to dry up and begin to pale then flake before expanding into what seems to be Fur covering its whole body.

[Little Winguard][ATK:1400<1800 DEF:1800>1400]

[The Last Firekeeper][ATK:0<100 DEF:100>0]

[Adherent Redmane Freya][ATK:1800>1500/DEF:1500>1800]

[Astel, Voidborn Star][ATK:3500>0/DEF:0<3500]< strong>

"I'll have my little Winguard take out your warrior while the firekeeper can take out your big bug."

Honestly, I wanted to see how the little knight would fight the Astel but I can't control Joey's cards, so the little guard charges to do battle with the female warrior.

The fight is less of a duel and more of a situation where Freya has to constantly shield bash towards an opponent who's light enough that it won't cause damage but instead just send them back a bit, even using the shields ash of war to deal damage she can't hold off the Winguard for too long before its able to slip under her guard and get its blade though her Armor for the death blow.

Freya sighs before letting go of her shield before she becomes pixels, weirdly her shield remains but the little Winguard approaches it and picks it up before brandishing it up to the sky.

Its own shield seems to disappear and it's now just carrying her shield now which has magically resized to fit the little Winguard.

My eyes then turn to the Last Firekeeper who all this time has just knelt next to the bonfire staring into the flames.

She cups her hands before reaching into it and grabbing a portion of the flame before raising it to the sky. The portion of the flame floats out from her hands towards a portion of Astel, it hits and Astel's fur catches fire spreading rapidly from strand to strand, segment to segment, limb to limb, until the entire form of Astel is aflame.

The giant insect seems to just float there and do nothing while its form burns, this lasts for a while before the sound of cracking is heard, and at that point, the flames start to die down over Astel's whole form.

The flames subside to reveal that Astel's whole form is now akin to Calcified bones and chitin, its form is intimidating but another crack is heard a few seconds later.

The source becomes obvious when a mandible of Astel breaks from its form and falls to the arena floor, its movement forms a trend as more and more cracks are heard before Astel's form seems to crumble and fall.

Once the whole form is on the arena floor it becomes pixels and disappears.

After this Joey ends his battle phase and then realises something. "Oh, I Forgot to activate the fire keeper, I'll activate her effect." the referee rolls in silence.

It flies and jumps before landing on a 1, From his face I can tell Joey isn't happy about that. The firekeeper starts her process before revealing a single card that will go into Joey's hand, When I see it, I just sigh at his Luck.

[Choice of the First flame][Trap]

At the sight of the card, all of those on Joey's side erupt in smiles since with this even if I make a comeback, He can summon his god card next turn and beat me. Too bad I'll have to snuff that ember of hope out.

I haven't been Summoning my monsters and using them Imperfectly for a reason, I had to run through these cards for one reason, my god card has some Bullshit requirements to be summoned and when the firekeeper came out I knew it was a race against time until she would pull the ashen one and the trap so I knew I needed my own god card to overcome him.

I see as Joey places the trap down with a smile, but I speak up "Since you're about to Summon them, I'll have to summon an opponent to meet their mettle, for this, I activate My trap card Cutting Fate."

[Cutting Fate][Trap] 

"This card allows me to Re-summon Lunar princess Ranni with this trap and the Fingerslayer blade as XYZ materials" At the end of my words the air around the arena starts to thicken and a haze starts to form on the field.

The Haze on the field starts to dissipate but from it reveals a scene that is very 18+ content. Sitting in the middle of the field is Ranni but without her flowing and majestic robes, her form is naked revealing her Doll joints and ligaments made of leather and ceramic, her whole form is drenched in red blood and behind her and me is a monument to a great sin she committed, their stands a pair of the Two fingers butchered and dead by her hand.

[Lunar Princess Ranni ☆☆☆☆☆☆ Water][Spellcaster/XYZ/Effect][ATK:3000/DEF:4500]

Her visage isn't the nicest, but everyone notices how she looks listless and unanimated in her seat which just makes the whole scene more disturbing.

Joey seeing the threat, isn't happy, but He uses his little Winguard's effect to change it to defence position before coming up with a cunning plan, he Speaks. "I was saving this but now is the time, I'll use Monster Reborn to Summon the Ashen one to the field."

The Ashen one walks back out of the Bonfire before standing on the field again ready to battle seeing the appearance of the knight he nods before ending his turn where little Winguard and firekeeper's stats return to normal.

I draw two cards since I made sure that Alexander wasn't hit by Ranni's past blast.

I look at the pair of cards and smirk, took some time for the pair of them to appear. "From my hand, I'll play my flask of Cerulean tears to draw 2 then discard 1 card."

Now I draw two more and see my deck is getting very thin, but it does not matter since this turn will change everything, I discard a certain monster to the grave before continuing.

"I'll use Ranni's effect to Destroy the columns with your Little Winguard and The Ashen one." at my words Joey nods before speaking, "In response I activate Choice of the first flame"

[Choice of the First Flame][Trap]

Due to the chain order, Joey's effect goes first so I just watch as the last Firekeeper on the field walks towards her bonfire before reaching into its base to cup something in-between her hands. Her posture is corrected but now held within her aged but gentle hands is a bright spark like light which seems to promise everything but at a cost.

"I'll use the second effect of the Trap to tribute the firekeeper and the Ashen one to Summon the Lord of Cinders."

The Firekeeper nods solemnly at Joey's words before The Ashen one starts walking towards the Extinguished bonfire before gripping onto the coiled Sword, in a quick motion She takes the sword and takes staggering steps as if the sword is weighed down by all of the world's sins.

Its form physically causes a scar to appear on the arena's surface, each step becoming harder and harder for the ashen one as she steps towards her firekeeper who holds the first flame in her hands.

The firekeeper turns to her knight and gives the most beautiful of smiles to her champion, the scene becomes silent as in a single moment the Ashen one takes a stance before running the firekeeper and the First Flame through with the coiled sword.

The firekeeper is run through with the coiled sword still with a loving smile never leaving her face, with her hands now free of the First flame which is slowly lighting up the coiled sword she raises her hand and caresses it against the Ashen one's face before her form starts to become like Ash flaking away before disappearing, leaving only a silver crown on the arena floor.

 The Ashen one Reaches down before picking up the firekeeper's crown and placing it upon her helm, her form is starting to alight in flames burning away her Brown cloth armour and slowly warping her armour in form.

It only takes a few seconds for the Ashen one to be consumed and for the Lord of Cinders to take her place on the field, to signal his arrival in the Background of the arena in the night sky appears the Bleeding Eclipse symbol.

[Lord of Cinders ★★★★★★★★★★ Fire][God/Fusion/Effect][ATK:?/DEF:2500]

The brutal ritual to summon the God was silence-inducing, honestly, I wish it wasn't as brutal, but I knew once she held the flame her fate would be sealed to two outcomes either she blankets the world in darkness or is killed by the ashen one, I realized it when the card's art has her holding the flame.

I'm looking over to Yugi's gang, especially to Bakura who's face is one of shock at the appearance of a new God card, well he and the Egyptian siblings will have to pick their jaws from the floor since it's not just gonna be one.

After the appearance of the lord of cinder the sound of snapping is heard behind me, I turn my head to find out that the corpse of the Two fingers has started to collapse onto the field, and both of the limbs are starting to fall over, especially onto the columns with the little Winguard and where the Ashen one was.

The pair of fingers dissolve into pixels revealing everything in those columns to have been crushed and destroyed by Ranni's effect, also due to Ranni's affect her ATK and Defence are lowered to 2000 also The lord of Cinder's ATK is calculated.

[Lunar Princess Ranni][ATK:3000>2000/DEF:4500>2000]

[Lord of Cinders][ATK:?<3200]< strong>

"Congrats on Summoning the God card Joey, I honestly didn't know if you had it in you to summon one, maybe that's why people call you the 3rd best duellist in the world." my words come out and both flatter and annoy Joey.

"Now it's time. It's time to Experience the meeting of two gods Joey, do you feel the anticipation in the air? From my hand, I play Dark Moon Ring"

[Dark Moon Ring][Spell]

I play the card, and it appears on the field in card form. "This card requires Astel in the grave and Ranni on the field, but it allows me to Special Summon my Own god card!"

From the card on the field a Knight in the Raging Wolf Armor set appears carrying a Bastard sword infused with magic. Their steps are heavy as they approach Ranni's form, once they reach her form, they kneel to her and cusp one of her hands before placing the Dark Moon ring upon her finger.

When it's upon her finger the Doll's form reawakens as if awakened from a deep sleep and Ranni's original outfit forms from magic around her rejuvenating her, she smiles to the Tarnished before producing using magic a Great Teal Greatsword which hums with Raw magical power.

The Tarnished discards his old weapon before picking up the Dark Moon Greatsword and turning towards the lord of cinder, Ranni for her part starts to float before hovering behind the Tarnished and landing on his back acting like a cloak for her consort just like Miquella does for Radahn.

In the Sky behind the pair of Consorts is the depiction of a Full Dark moon giving off a gentle glow encompassing all in a gentle but indifferent blue hue, The appearance of the pair of Contrasting Celestial Phenomena in the sky clash at the centre point of the field causing a battle of Blue and Red to form in the sky.

[Moonlit Tarnished Lord ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ Dark][God/XYZ/Effect][ATK:?/DEF:?]

[Lunar Princess Ranni][ATK:2000<3000 DEF:2000<4500]< strong>

most jaws are on the floor from the appearance, but I need to continue speaking. "When this god card is summoned, it is allowed to take 4 monsters from my graveyard before adding them to itself as XYZ Materials, another note is that This god card's ATK and Defence are equal to the combined ATK and Defence of all its Materials!"

I collect 4 monsters from the grave before revealing them.

[Astel, Voidborn Star][ATK:3500/DEF:0]

[Starscourge Radahn][ATK:3000/DEF:3000]

[Shadow Wolf Blaidd][ATK:2000/DEF:1000]

[Trusty Patches][ATK:1200<2400 DEF:1800<3600]< strong>

the 4 cards are revealed before being placed under My God card changing its stats.

[Moonlit Tarnished Lord][ATK:10900/DEF:7600]

I Laugh maniacally at my 10k attack god card, I'll be honest I really wanted to see how high this god card could go but my laughing stops when I notice something both interesting and intimidating.

You would think a god card with over 10k attack would have the largest field presence between two God cards, but I notice how the Dark Moon and the Eclipsed Sun haven't changed in dynamics at all and when I look towards the Lord of Cinders it becomes apparent why.

[Lord of Cinder][ATK:3200<10600]< strong>

the sight causes me to pause since it should be reacting like that, that is until I remember the specific wording of the god card, It gains 200 Atk per all monsters on the field, not just those in a position to attack meaning it also counts Monsters used for XYZ materials as well, when I count the levels of those monsters used for the XYZ materials with the boost from the Moonlit tarnished lord it equals 10600. 

What are the chances the God card with the hidden effect to just dunk on XYZ monsters fights an XYZ God card. . . I blame Joey's luck, but too bad it is not enough.

"I'll end this duel, Joey; I'll have my god card take down yours."

my words herald the battle of gods, the Tarnished lord brandishes his Dark Moon Greatsword towards the Lord of Cinder who readies his Coiled sword for the clash.

The Battle starts with the pair of combatants starting by swinging their blades causing magical slashing of moonlight and fire to be sent towards their opponent, each slash clashing against each other diffusing each other's powerful slashes.

The Duel of Magical slashes continue for a moment as the pair are very equal in overall power but sadly it's not a 1v1 it's a 1v2, from her position Ranni raises her hand towards the lord of cinder before Firing a Comet Azur beam towards the Lord of cinder which forces the burning lord to block using his sword to deflect the beam to the side.

It distracts them for a moment causing the Moonlit tarnished to take a few steps forward while still swinging magical slashes applying pressure on the Lord of Cinders, this dynamic continues with Ranni interfering in the swing of blade to allow her Consort to advance.

With each step, the Dark Moon phenomena behind the Tarnished lord starts to overwhelm the barrier line between the pair of gods phenomena, as the Tarnished lord reaches Joey's field their pair of gods finally enter a bout of melee.

The Lord of Cinder is the accumulation of uncountable warriors who linked the flame battles in a style that can only be described as Chaotic Adaptability, each swing of its coiled sword is different from the last aiming to deal the most damage and after such a swing the Lord would change its style on a dime to fit its new position be it offensive or defensive.

The Tarnished Lord wields his Greatsword with graceful and fluid moments for a weapon of that size, each swing flows into the next one applying constant pressure like a cascading waterfall of blows, Whenever the Lord of Cinder tries to make a difference the Dark Moon Greatsword glows and from it an arc of grand magical might acts to close the gap between the pair, keeping the pressure making it too hard for the lord of cinder to make any major change.

All the while Ranni on the back of her consort uses her magic to funnel away the tremendous heat which the Lord of Cinder is producing, for each swing of the coiled sword causes the Lord of Cinder to burn brighter to overcome the other god but Ranni is making it, so the heat doesn't become crippling.

The duel lasts for only a minute but for those watching it feels like an hour has passed as the pair clash swords and magic in an intense display.

After a great blow from the Tarnished Lord the Lord of Cinder staggers back and crouches in a stunned state, taking the opportunity the Tarnished lord and Ranni channels their collective powers into the Greatsword before thrusting into the chest of the Lord of Cinder.

The thrust causes a bright flash of blue light to appear blinding everyone but once everyone's vision is returned it is revealed that a large portion of the lord of the Cinder's torso is just gone. The Ancient being is silent but even it knows that this is the end of battle so in a final act it lets go of the coiled sword before reaching the sky as if in longing before its form starts to decay and collapse.

With the fall of the lord of cinder Joey's wide open and I speak "Now I'll have Ranni attack directly for the win." Joey raises his head forgetting Ranni is her entity on the field still able to attack so he realises he's lost as a blue sniper-like beam hits him in the head dealing the last blow.

[Joey's LP: 1900>0]

[Drogan Wins]