"Now, I superior ride my true avatar. Seven Seas' Bloody Red Cutlass, Nightsnow "Яeverse"!"

Payic:
Hand: 6
Damage: 3
Soul: 5
XXO
XXO

Max:
Hand: 7
Damage: 3
OXO
OXO

(Insert opening here)

"No way... A Я-Яeverse unit..." She stammered, moving back. Max smiled quietly, red marks under his eyes.
"Generation, Stride. Loved by the Seven Seas, Nightmist. Stride skill of Nightsnow "Яeverse", I counterblast one and lock one of my rear-guards, so Dancing Cutlass will be locked." Max turned the card upside down. "Superior call from the drop zone as Hollowed, Grenache, and add 5000 power. (5000 > 10000) Then I'll use the skill of Nightmist. Counterblast one and superior call from the drop zone, Sea Strolling and Rough Seas. Skill of Sea Strolling, soulblast and draw. Skill or Rough Seas, into soul and draw." Max sighed. "It's a bit of a simple deck really. Draw a bit, stall, guard, rinse and repeat. It's a bit boring, but it works very effectively. Much more since your running a deck with a higher chance of decking out bar Dreaming Dragon, but, I'm not letting you get that far. With a boost from Grenache, Sea Strolling. (10000 > 16000)"
"N-no guard... D-damage check..." Payic hesitantly put the card into the damage zone. (Boulder Fetter, Gjoll) Cries of her friends being slashed once more by the katana was heard, as she bit the bottom of her lip, feeling guilt.
"Vanguard, attack! (26000)"
"Generation Guard! Goddess of Seven Colors, Iris! (11000 > 26000) And I add Kukurihime aswell! (26000 > 36000)"
"Two triggers... Triple drive!! (Knight Spirit, Deadly Nightmare, Three Star Chef, Pietro) Shit, only one trigger? Oh man..." He giggled. "Turn end. Sea Strolling and Grenache retire, and Grenache's skill, I countercharge two and Dancing Cutlass unlocks."

Payic:
Hand: 4
Damage: 4
Soul: 5
XXO
XXO

Max:
Hand: 10
Damage: 3
OXO
OXO

"Stand and draw. I'll make sure you'll regret every cut you made on my friends, you hear?!" Payic declared as she slammed a card into the drop zone. "Stride, Beast-Slayer Military Deity, Tyr! Stride skill, I soulcharge three and require a new skill! (Stake Fetter, Thviti, Battle Maiden, Kotonoha, Mythic Beast, Skoll) Skill of Kotonoha, add 3000 power! (9000 > 12000) Next, I call from hand, Gjoll! His skill, Revelation! Checking the top card and into soul! (Claimer Harry) I rest Van and his skill! (26000 > 28000) Skill of Kotonoha! (12000 > 14000) Then, Gjoll's other skill! Counterblast one and add a new skill plus 4000 power! (9000 > 13000) Next up, Tyr's skill! Soulblast three! (Stake Fetter, Thviti, Claimer Harry, Battle Maiden, Kotonoha) Check the top card of deck. It can stay. Then, Fenrir's skill! Counterblast and superior call Thviti! Next up, with a boost from Thviti, Gjoll! (13000 > 17000)"
"What a long winded useless turn... Knight Spirit, guard! (11000 > 21000)" Max sighed.
"Now, Tyr attacks! Skill of Thviti, into soul, draw a card and add 5000 power! (26000 > 33000 > 38000)"
"Perfect guard." He yawned.
"Alright, triple drive!! (Goddess of Decline, Hel) Skill of Tyr. Soulcharge three! (Unappeasable Eater, Gleipnir, Goddess of Sound Sleep, Tahro, Mythic Beast, Fenrir) Skill of Kotonoha! (14000 > 17000) Second check. (Goddess of Youth, Hebe) Heal trigger! Healing a damage and power to Kotonoha! (17000 > 22000) Last check! (Ice Crest Goddess, Svava) Skill of Tyr once more! (Shackle Fetter, Gelgja, Goddess of Decline, Hel, Dreaming Dragon) Kotonoha's skill once more! (22000 > 25000) Now, Kotonoha attacks! (25000)" Payic shouted.
"No guard. (Commodore Blueblood)"
"Alright! Turn end." She smirked.

Payic:
Hand: 7
Damage: 3
Soul: 13
XXX
XXO

Max:
Hand: 7
Damage: 4
OXO
OXO

"Your deck already looks skinny... Oh well. Stand and draw. Red trickles down on the clear blue ice. A wave of calm and hatred wash over me... Generation Stride. Seven Seas' Cold Shoulder Bloodsman, Nightsnow "Яeverse"!" The vanguard circle expanded dark blue. "Stride skill, counterblast and lock a rear-guard, superior call from the drop zone, Grenache with 5000 added power! (5000 > 10000) Now, I use Cold Shoulder's skill! Counterblast two, soulblast one and G-Blast. I search my deck for two cards, put them into drop zone and shuffle my deck, (Rough Seas Banshee, Sea Strolling Banshee) and for every face up card in the G-Zone, I superior call a card from drop zone to rear-guard as Hollow. I superior call, Sea Strolling and Rough Seas! Skill of Sea Strolling, soulblast and draw. Rough Sea's skill, into soul and draw. Then, for each face up copy of Cold Shoulder Nightsnow, all my units get [Power]+2000! (26000 > 28000) (10000 > 12000) (6000 > 8000) Now, I call Pietro and Dandy Guy Romario to rear-guard. With a boost from Romario, Pietro! (9000 > 17000)"
"Guard with Gleipnir, and intercept with Gjoll! (11000 > 21000)"
"Vanguard attacks! (28000)"
"Hel perfect guards!"
"Triple drive... (Captain Nightmist, Ice Floe Swordsman, Nightsnow, Waterspout Djinn) Damn. Now, Grenache! (12000 > 20000)"
"No guard... (Mythic Beast, Skoll)" Payic tched as she closed her eyes as her friends were slashed once more.
"Hah. Turn end. Hollowed units retire and countercharge two."

Payic:
Hand: 4
Damage: 4
Soul: 13
XXO
XXO

Max:
Hand: 10
Damage: 4
OXX
OXX

"Alright, it's finally my turn. Stand and draw... Liberating the Generation Zone!! Heavenly Beast Deity from the depths of Hell, I stride my true avatar! Hellsky Mythical Beast, Fenrir!" She exclaimed, vanguard circle expanding lavender. "Stride skill, soulcharge three! (Battle Maiden, Kukurihime, Boulder Fetter, Gjoll, Goddess of Sound Sleep, Tahro) And add a new skill! Next up, Kotohona's skill is active! Add 3000 power! (9000 > 12000) Now I call from hand Harry and another Gjoll. Skill activates! Counterblast and add 4000 power and a new skill. (9000 > 13000) Oh, and Revelation! But Hellsky Fenrir distorts it into check the top two cards of deck, put one into soul and put the other back on top... Check. (Mythic Beast, Fenrir) Kotonoha's skill, (12000 > 14000) Then, I use Fenrir's skill! Counterblast one and soulblast three! (Battle Maiden, Kukurihime, Goddess of Sound Sleep, Tahro, Stake Fetter, Thviti) Draw a card. Skill of Harry, Thviti to bottom of deck and countercharge one. Now I use the skill again! (Boulder Fetter, Gjoll, Shackle Fetter, Gelgja, Goddess of Decline, Hel) Draw another card. Call Gelgja from hand and Revelation! Check the top two cards of deck. (Dreaming Dragon) Then, Kotonoha's skill! (14000 > 16000) Skill of Gelgja in soul, put to bottom of deck, and I choose one of my rear-guards and they get 3k. I choose Gjoll! (13000 > 16000) Then I soulcharge two! (Ice Crest Goddess, Svava, Dreaming Dragon) Kotonoha goes off again! (16000 > 18000) Now, with a boost from Gelgja, Gjoll! (16000 > 23000) Skill, I soulblast three (Ice Crest Goddess, Svava, Dreaming Dragon, Dreaming Dragon) And draw another card."
"You're plussing better than me..." Max mumbled. "I Generation Guard. Eclipse Hulk. (11000 > 26000)"
"Well, three cards in hand only costed me two Counterblasts, and nine soul... Do I regret it? Kind of... Vanguard attacks! (26000 > 33000)"
"Waterspout perfect guards. Skill, countercharge!"
"Triple drive!! (Stake Fetter, Thviti, Mythic Beast, Fenrir, Dreaming Dragon) Alright, two triggers! The critical effect and power to Kotonoha, and I stand Gjoll with 5k! (18000 > 23000/1★ > 2★) ([< ] > [^]/16000 > 21000) Now, Gjoll attacks again! (21000)"
"Stand triggers are a nuisance in decks like yours. Guard with Carignan and Sea Strolling! (11000 > 26000)"
"Haha. Kotonoha! (23000 > 28000, 2★)"
"Guarded with another G Guard, and a Deadly Spirit. It sucks I drew into two of my heals, but hey, atleast they were useful. (11000 > 26000 > 31000)"
"Damn... Turn end."

Payic:
Hand: 8
Damage: 4
Soul: 8
XXX
XXX

Max:
Hand: 3
Damage: 4
OXX
OXX

"Alright! She got his hand down to three!!" Maverick cheered.
"But at what cost? All of her counterblast?!" Ryuzaki shouted. "Be prepared for another slash guys... She needs the cb."
"Max'll recover his hand. I'm scared for Payic's deck." Kinjuzo muttered.
"Dreaming Dragon is a thing..." Serena replied.

"Stand and draw." Max drew a card. "Final turn!" He declared, shoving a card into drop zone.

"Cocky bastard, calling final turn..." Ryuzaki muttered. Zeon heard this and grabbed Ryuzaki's right arm. "Hey?!" Zeon tugged it hard, dislocating his arm. He then proceeded to smash it to the floor, breaking the arm. "Oww!!" Ryuzaki moaned in pain as his arm was destroyed.
"Listen up, you're against the Яeverse now. We aren't nice."

"The blood continues to run on this ice, melding it into red. The coldest end is here! I generation stride, Seven Sea's Cold Shoulder Bloodsman, Nightsnow "Яeverse"! Skill of Nightsnow "Яeverse"... Counterblast two, soulblast one, and G Blast one. Two cards from deck into drop zone, (Samurai Spirit, Captain Nightmist) and for every face up G-Zone card, I superior call one card from the drop zone. I have five face up cards, so I can superior call up to five cards as Hollow! Call, two Sea Strolling Banshee, two Rough Seas Banshee and one Romario! Then, for every face up copy of Cold Shoulder, add 2k to every unit! (26000 > 32000) (6000 > 12000) (6000 > 12000) (4000 > 10000) (4000 > 10000) (8000 > 14000) Then, skills of Sea Strolling, soulblast two each and draw two cards. Then skills of Rough Seas, both into soul and draw two cards. With a boost from Sea Strolling, Sea Strolling attacks! (12000 > 24000)"
"Final turn? More like set-up turn... You've drawn four cards and have two attacks. Unless Nightsnow has some extra skill I wasn't aware of, I'll have the final turn." Payic smirked. "Guard with Thviti and Tahro! (11000 > 31000)"
"Nightsnow "Яeverse", finish this game. (32000 > 46000)" Max said monotone.
"Hel will decline you." Payic said as she put down the card. "Skill, countercharge."
"Okay. Triple drive! (Deadly Spirit, Dancing Cutlass, Rough Seas Banshee) A critical... Useless. Turn end. My whole field retires because of Hollow."

Payic:
Hand: 4
Damage: 4
Soul: 8
XXX
XXX

Max:
Hand: 10
Damage: 4
OXO
OOO

"Ten cards in hand, to my four. We both have the same amount of damage. We're pretty much equals, you know." She smiled with hatred. Zeon poked Max and whispered something into his ear.
"Oh..." Max sighed as he looked at Payic. "Sorry but we'll cut this fight short. We have more important matters to tend too. Finish it another time~?" He smiled, as he packed up his cards. "Have fun, everyone." Max finished packing up as him and Zeon ran away, Payic pissed off that the fight ended so abruptly, but pleased to know no one else would get hurt. She turned to face the others, dropping to her knees.
"I'm so sorry, everyone..." She said, trying not to cry. "I hurt all of you so much..." She put her hands over her mouth, cusping it.
"It's okay..." Ryuzaki reassured her.
"Uh, since they left, can we please get out of this rope?" Maverick asked. Payic nodded as she immediately started to free everyone by untying the rope. Kinjuzo turned to face Rino and Wyvon, Rino completely at a drowsy, almost confused state, and Wyvon had a frowning, dark face on.
"Hey, someone check on those two." He spoke up. "They look like they had it hardest."
"Alright, I'll do it." Ryu spoke up in a quiet voice as he was now free, walking up to the two. "Hey Rino, Wyvon." His voice was there just barely.
"Hi, Ryu." Wyvon mumbled. Ryu looked at Wyvon and remembered when he punched him in the face.
"Hey, was the reason why you were angry back at the tourney was..."
"Yes... It was because of him, okay..." Wyvon said in a whisper, his voice shaky and about to break.
"..." Ryu gritted his teeth and tightened his fists.
"Rino isn't responsive, by the way... I think Max drugged him..." Maverick picked up Rino and carried him.
"Don't worry. I'll carry him back." Maverick grinned at Wyvon.
"Thank you..."
"Wyvon are you sure you're okay?" Serena asked in a gentle voice.
"I think I'm fine... Let's go back home."
Kinjuzo looked at Wyvon and then Rino. Wyvon stood up shakily and wasn't very stable on his two feet, so Serena offered to try and carry him.
"Hey, Yza." Ryu walked to Kinjuzo.
"What's up?"
"This may seem selfish of me but..."
"But what?"
"But I'm going back to Kyoto for good this time. I'm not dealing with this Яeverse bullshit, okay? I don't want what happened to Rino, Wyvon and everyone here to happen to me... Understand that I value my life."
"...if you say so." Kinjuzo walked past Ryu with an expressionless face. Ryu looked at Kinjuzo and sighed as he followed everyone else. Maverick carried Rino out of the room, Serena and Ayaza carried Wyvon as best they could, Payic assisted Ryuzaki with his broken arm, and Kinjuzo and Ryu lagged behind.

================================

A/N

Guys, check the cast. XD

Okay, so that arcs out of the way...
Moving onto the next arc, the Kyoto-Magician Arc, but first I'll have to put a chapter between this one and the arc. (So the arc starts at Turn 63.)

Well, that's all. Fox out!