Chapter 154: Earthbound God vs. The Ultimate D
Thud.
The bottle of electrolyte water Rin Seiya had just cracked open slipped from her hand and hit the floor. Transparent liquid spread across the tiles.
She had been feeling an odd, restless irritability and had decided to crack the window for some air. What she found on the other side of the window was not something she had been prepared for.
A colossal blue-black giant had set the entire city on fire.
An ordinary person opening a window to that sight would probably assume they were hallucinating. Or that they had somehow opened the window wrong and would try closing and reopening it.
Rin Seiya recognized it immediately.
"Earthbound God Ccapac Apu. Isn't that the Earthbound God summoned by Dark Signer Kiryu?"
Her knowledge of the 5D's storyline ran deep enough to identify this particular giant without hesitation. Ccapac Apu was the most recognizable of the Earthbound Gods, and for good reason: it was the only monster in the entire anime to have defeated Yusei Fudo in a duel. Granted, Yusei had ultimately forced a no-contest by removing a bolt from his D-Wheel mid-ride and crashing it intentionally, interrupting the duel before the final blow could land. But if the duel had run to its conclusion, Yusei would have lost without question.
That was the Earthbound God that had beaten the King of Duelists.
Why was it appearing in the mid-district? And why was it burning the city?
Was this a Dark Game?
If someone was fighting a Dark Game right now, the person responsible would have to be...
The name surfaced in her mind. She shook her head and pushed it away.
Nobody could have that kind of luck.
DESTINY HERO - DRAWHAND: Destroyed
"AAAAAAAAHHH!!"
FINESSE (AMANO REI) LP: 4000 > 2600
Ccapac Apu's palm came down and crushed the HERO monster on the field. The battle damage landed alongside the physical concussive force of the giant's strike, sending the D-Wheel swaying violently across the burning course.
Finesse: "Are you all right, Amano?"
Truthfully, if this had been Amano's own body absorbing the hit, the D-Wheel would not have rocked anywhere near as badly.
Amano: "My lady, you are too light. Eat more going forward."
Finesse: "Is now really the time to be commenting on my weight?"
The Moonlight Butterfly, according to what Fiona had mentioned, had once belonged to a legendary female duelist. Nothing about its exterior gave that away aside from the butterfly paintwork on the tail section. But the entire frame was built from unusually light materials, which produced its high-speed character while also making it significantly less stable than other machines under impact. If the rider's technique wasn't up to the task, it would flip more easily than even Jack Atlas's wheel.
The Soul Binder, still ahead on the burning course, raised his arm and activated Ccapac Apu's secondary effect.
"When Ccapac Apu destroys an opponent's monster in battle, it deals damage to the opponent equal to that monster's original ATK!"
The same burn-on-destroy effect as Flame Wingman. And this was the precise reason the Soul Binder had chosen to destroy the monster on the field rather than attack directly, despite Ccapac Apu having direct attack access. The total damage output was identical either way.
"One thousand six hundred points of burning earth damage from the Earthbound God! Receive it all!"
The Nazca flame walls lining both sides of the course surged higher. Blue fire rolled directly toward the D-Wheel.
FINESSE LP: 2600 > 1000
Riding Duels were supposed to have a slow early pace. Speed Counters only at two, and her LP was already near the edge.
As the Nazca fire course burned wider and hotter, Amano began to notice the situation beyond the flame walls. Multiple vehicles that hadn't cleared the roads in time had already collided with each other in the chaos. The mid-district's order, barely restored less than an hour ago after the Wicked God incident, was breaking down again.
First the Wicked Gods paralyzed the network and killed the sky. Now, barely sixty minutes later, an Earthbound God had shut down the roads and set the city on fire.
The scale of disruption was too large to keep attributing to Eva mainframe bugs. If this Riding Duel didn't end quickly, the burning course was only going to spread further.
Amano reached out from the D-Wheel and flipped one of his face-down cards.
"Trap Card: Destiny Signal!"
DESTINY SIGNAL
Trap Card: Activate when your monster is destroyed in battle and sent to the graveyard. Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Destiny HERO" monster from your hand or deck.
The Destiny HERO version of Hero Signal. Nearly identical in function, simply scoped to Destiny HEROes at Level 4 or lower.
Through the blue fire burning across the dark course, the D-shaped beam of Destiny Signal cut into the sky above the mid-district. Against the backdrop of the enormous Earthbound God, it was a sliver of light. But against the burning disaster panorama filling the city, that thin beam shooting up from the flame course stood out in a way the Earthbound God's magnitude somehow did not.
Even the Soul Binder paused to look at it.
"You want to be the hero who brings hope to people in the face of disaster? What a shame. This disaster is entirely your own doing, Finesse Wein."
Finesse: "My doing?"
"Don't listen to that! Textbook villain dialogue, Soul Binder!"
Amano was speaking for Finesse now, and he wasn't hesitating.
"A hero who freezes up out of fear of retaliation, who won't change anything because the darkness might strike back, is a hero who can never carry the weight of what people need from justice!"
Under the glow of Destiny Signal, Amano reached into the deck and retrieved the card that defined Finesse's dueling identity.
"I Special Summon from the deck: Destiny HERO - Diamond Dude!"
DESTINY HERO - DIAMOND DUDE
DARK / Level 4
Warrior / Effect
ATK: 1400 / DEF: 1600
The brilliant shine of diamonds caught the heroic light in the sky above. The cloaked figure swept into the burning course with practiced composure, its black cape trailing behind it.
The Soul Binder ended his Battle Phase and continued.
"I activate Speed Spell - Rapid Accelerator! While I have 2 or more Speed Counters, I can discard any number of cards from my hand. For each card discarded, I gain 2 Speed Counters."
SPEED SPELL - RAPID ACCELERATOR: Discard 1 card to gain 2 Speed Counters.
"I discard one card and raise my Speed Counters by 2!"
SOUL BINDER Speed Counters: 2 > 4
The Soul Binder, already ahead, pushed even further. The black D-Wheel accelerated to a new level.
"I set one card face-down. Turn end!"
"My turn! Draw!"
Both players' Speed Counters advanced as the turn changed.
AMANO Speed Counters: 2 > 3
SOUL BINDER Speed Counters: 4 > 5
"During my Standby Phase, Destiny HERO - Drawhand's effect activates from the graveyard!"
DESTINY HERO - DRAWHAND, Graveyard Effect: During the Standby Phase of the turn after this card was sent to the graveyard, Special Summon this card from the graveyard. If this card leaves the field after being Special Summoned this way, banish it.
Amano extended pale fingers into the graveyard zone and pulled Drawhand's card back, sending it to the D-Wheel field.
DESTINY HERO - DRAWHAND: ATK 1600, Special Summoned
"And when Drawhand is Special Summoned by a HERO monster's effect, both players draw one card from their deck!"
Since Drawhand itself was a HERO, its own self-revival triggered the draw clause.
"Next, I activate Speed Spell - Angel Baton. With 2 or more Speed Counters, I draw two cards from my deck and discard one to the graveyard."
The Riding Duel's answer to Graceful Charity. Amano swapped through three cards efficiently, filtering toward what he needed.
After the draw and discard, he looked at the two HERO monsters riding the burning course in front of him and found the approach he had been searching for. The path to breaking through an Earthbound God with HEROes in a Riding Duel environment.
Earthbound Gods were immune to Spell and Trap effects. They couldn't be targeted for attacks.
To break through, he needed a monster effect.
And Finesse's deck happened to have exactly the right tool.
"First, I activate Destiny HERO - Diamond Dude's effect! I reveal the top card of my deck. If it's a Normal Spell Card, it's sent to the graveyard, and I can activate it from there during my next turn."
He flipped the top card.
SPEED SPELL - SPEED FUSION
Speed Spells carried the Speed Spell prefix but were classified as Normal Spell Cards by the game's rules. Diamond Dude's condition was satisfied.
Speed Spell - Speed Fusion required 4 Speed Counters to activate. His current count was not there yet.
Amano sent it to the graveyard and waited for the fusion window to open next turn.
But before the HERO fusion could arrive, there was a more immediate problem to address. One more direct hit from the Earthbound God and the duel was over.
"For my Normal Summon this turn, I summon Destiny HERO - Decider!"
DESTINY HERO - DECIDER
DARK / Level 4
Warrior / Effect
ATK: 1600 / DEF: 1000
Three Destiny HEROes now running the burning course together, converging against the giant Earthbound God looming overhead.
The Soul Binder laughed from the front.
"Pointless. No matter how many weak HEROes you assemble in a Riding Duel, they can't stand against an Earthbound God!"
He had clearly done his research on HERO decks. He had built this entire Dark Game around the structural reality that in a Riding Duel environment, where Fusion Summoning was severely restricted, HEROes could not threaten an Earthbound God with Spell and Trap immunity. He had selected Finesse specifically because of this disadvantage.
Amano, wearing Finesse's face, let the corner of her mouth curve into something simultaneously smug and charming.
"Even without Fusion Summoning, Destiny HEROes have their own way of fighting! And with this card, I'm going to take your god!"
"Take my god?"
The slender arm swept across the D-Wheel field and all three HERO cards lit up simultaneously.
"I release all three HERO monsters on my field as Tributes!"
"Three Tributes?!" The Soul Binder's voice shifted to genuine shock. "You're summoning a three-Tribute monster?!"
A monster that required three Tributes to summon. That was the calling card of true god-tier cards. Not Earthbound Gods, which shared the name but not the Divine attribute and still only needed two Tributes. Actual god-level monsters demanded three.
Which was also why Earthbound God Ccapac Apu, despite its Level 10 and its overwhelming in-format power, required the same two Tributes as Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
"With the ultimate force of destiny, end all fate!"
"The Ultimate D! Special Summon! DESTINY HERO - BLOO-D!!"
DESTINY HERO - BLOO-D
DARK / Level 8
Warrior / Special Summon / Effect
ATK: 1900 / DEF: 600
Cannot be Normal Summoned. Must be Special Summoned by releasing 3 monsters you control.
Effect: Once per turn, target 1 monster the opponent controls. Equip that monster to this card. This card gains ATK equal to half the equipped monster's original ATK, and gains the equipped monster's effects. If "D - Force" is face-up in the top of your deck, negate the effects of all face-up Effect Monsters the opponent controls, and the opponent cannot target this card's controller's cards with Spell and Trap effects.
In the instant of the Special Summon, a crimson blood-pool detonated in the sky above the burning course. From that pool of red, vast wings spread wider than the sky itself, more vivid and violent than anything a demon should have carried. The ultimate Destiny HERO rose from the blood-crimson light and took flight across the dark, burning Riding Duel course.
This was the ceiling of Finesse's current deck outside of Fusion Summoning: her highest combat piece achievable in a Riding Duel without a Fusion.
"So even summoned with three Tributes, it's still just a HERO."
The Soul Binder had let out a quiet breath of relief. He had briefly feared Finesse had found a way to summon an actual god card.
"No matter how powerful a HERO you summon, you still can't attack the Earthbound God in a Riding Duel!"
"I don't need to attack the Earthbound God. The opposite, actually. I'll be taking it."
"What?"
"I said I'm taking your god."
Amano on the D-Wheel extended an arm toward Bloo-D trailing its blood-red wake overhead.
"Targeting Earthbound God Ccapac Apu: Destiny HERO - Bloo-D's effect activates!"
DESTINY HERO - BLOO-D, Effect: Once per turn, target 1 monster the opponent controls. Equip that monster to this card (max 1). This card gains ATK equal to half the equipped monster's original ATK, and gains the equipped monster's effects.
"Bloo-D absorbs every ounce of the Earthbound God's power and rises above it!"
"Take it!"
"BLOOD OF THE CONDEMNED: DESTINY PLUNDER!!"
The blood-red wings spread wide across the sky and the demon-headed right arm of Bloo-D opened its jaws in a thunderous roar, blasting destiny-force directly into the massive Earthbound God in front of it.
In the next instant, the giant Earthbound God that had dominated the mid-district skyline was absorbed completely, vanishing from public view in the middle of a city-wide audience.
DESTINY HERO - BLOO-D: ATK 1900 > 3400
Finesse: "Yes! We have the god's power!"
With the Earthbound God absorbed, Bloo-D had acquired all of Ccapac Apu's effects, and its attack points had risen beyond the god's own.