Dancing around the dark red dragon in front of Yozora were hot, crimson flames that danced fiendishly and separated him and the behemoth before him.

"Who summoned this...?" Yozora muttered as the dragon creaked his head towards him.

"I did."

Eerie whispers blew into Yozora's ear, seemingly replying to the question he asked. Slowly turning his head to the right, Yozora saw a tall figure with a sand coloured cloak covering their body. Their face was covered in darkness, and they wore gloves and boots. You couldn't see any part of their skin, and it was obvious that they were using a voice changer. Twisting the rest of his body, Yozora walked towards the person with a serious face. Slowly picking up the pace, Yozora charged into the man stood before him and knocked him to the ground. Chiharu watched from far away, her expression with shock.

"Who are you?!" Yozora pinned the man down and removed the hood. What was there instead was a black balaclava, with brown eyes exposed through the holes.

"We don't need to know each other on a first name basis, Yozora." The man replied. Yozora flinched and thoughts ran through his head. Letting go of his guard, Yozora was pushed off and the cloaked man stood before him. "Feel free to call me Inferno, however." Yozora crawled back and stood up, putting a hand to his throbbing head.

"Have I met him before? This feels all too familiar..." Yozora thought with an irrational mindset. "Why does my head hurt now...?!"

"Say... you were looking for this?" Snapping Yozora out of his thoughts, Inferno showed him the Zeroth Dragon. "This bad boy is called Drachma. Pretty sweet, right?"

"Yeah... I need that." He replied in a low-tone. Looking behind him, Drachma was gone. "So he went back into card form, huh..."

"If you want it... beat me in a cardfight." Inferno replied. "No one will disturb us here, so how about it?"

"You're on then!" Yozora exclaimed, before the Stardust Knight clan symbol started to glow light blue on his left palm. White cards started coming out of it, circling around Yozora, before eventually coming together to make up a deck.

"What an interesting way to store cards..." Inferno chuckled as he chucked a small, white box on the floor. It opened up into a fight table.

"Let's beat this guy... Myo-kurenai." Yozora looked at the top card of his deck with a smirk.

(Opening here)

"Yozora!" Chiharu called out as she stood next to him.

"Oh? An onlooker?" Inferno raised a brow. Yozora shifted his arm in front of her.

"Don't hurt her... she won't mean any harm. I promise." Yozora replied, narrowing his brows. Inferno shook his head and sighed.

"Fine then. I'll allow her to stay, but you have to start first."

"That's fine by me."

"Stand up, Vanguard!" Yozora and Inferno shouted together simultaneously.

"Guard of Star Demon Series, Mezu!" Yozora exclaimed.

"Lizard Soldier, Conroe!" Inferno shouted.

"Stand and draw. I ride, Daidarabotchi and move Mezu back. End."

Yozora:
Hand: 5
Damage: 0
OXO
OXO

Inferno:
Hand: 5
Damage: 0
OXO
OOO

"Stand and draw, I ride High Flame and attack. (12000)"

"No guard."

"Drive check. (Glow Heater Dragon)"

"Damage check. (Possessed Star Demon Series, Kameosa) Stand trigger, all to vanguard. (12000)"

"Turn end."

Yozora:
Hand: 5
Damage: 1
OXO
OXO

Inferno:
Hand: 6
Damage: 0
OXO
OXO

"Stand and draw, I ride Genbu and call Te-no-me to rear-guard. I use Wanyudo's skill from hand. I discard him and mill the top two cards of my deck (Fiery Soul Star Demon Series, Janjanbi, Blind Star Demon Series, Te-no-me) then draw a card. Call Daidarabotchi, and use his skill to reveal Myo-kurenai from hand. Searching my deck for another one and then I discard it. Shuffle deck." Yozora explained. "Boosted by Daidarabotchi, Te-no-me attacks! (16000)"

"Going on the offensive so early? It'll cost you... damage check. (Gattling Claw Dragon) Draw trigger, all to vanguard (12000) and draw one."

"I'm not afraid of my rear-guards being retired by you." Yozora replied calmly, without breaking a sweat. "Vanguard! (14000)"

"How bold. No guard."

"Drive check. (Large Star Demon Series, Nozuchi)"

"Damage check. (Burning Horn Evolute)"

"End."

Yozora:
Hand: 4
Damage: 1
XXO
XXO

Inferno:
Hand: 7
Damage: 2
OXO
OXO

"What is Yozora thinking giving him so much damage so early... now he can use Conroe and Gattling Claw on the same turn now!" Chiharu thought anxiously while looking at Yozora, who had a stoic face on.

"Ride, Glow Heater. Revealing Destiny. Call Gattling and using his skill. Counterblast and to soul, retire Mezu!"

"See you soon, Mezu." Yozora put the card to the drop zone. "All he's doing is feeding my drop zone..."

"Call Inspire Yell, Nehalem and another Heater. Revealing Destiny. Boosted by Conroe, the vanguard attacks. (10000 > 15000)"

"No guard."

"Drive check. (Dragonic Overlord "The X")"

"Damage check. (Protector Star Demon Series, Zashiki-warashi)"

"Glow Heater. (10000)"

"Enenra. (14000)"

"Nehalem. (13000)"

"Te-no-me intercepts. (14000)"

"End."

Yozora:
Hand: 3
Damage: 2
OXO
XOO

Inferno:
Hand: 3
Damage: 2
XXX
XXO

"Stand and draw." Yozora looked at the cards in his hand and smirked. "Star that illuminates the night sky, burn up and become the "me" I want to be! I ride, Ignite Star Demon Series, Myo-kurenai!"

"So that's your ace card...how interesting."

"Daidarabotchi slides up. Vanguard, attacks. (11000)"

"No guard."

"Twin drive. (Flame Wheel Star Demon Series, Wanyudo) Critical. Power to Daidarabotchi, critical to vanguard. (7000 > 12000) (1★ > 2★) (Black Turtle Star Demon Series, Genbu)"

"Damage checks. (Dragonic Overlord "The Destiny", Dragon Dancer, Tara) Heal trigger, all effects to vanguard and heal one. (10000 > 16000)"

"Turn end." Yozora sighed. "That damn fucker..."

Yozora:
Hand: 5
Damage: 2
XXO
OOO

Inferno:
Hand: 3
Damage: 3
XXX
XXO

"Stand and draw. Eternal flames on the vowed sword, burn brighter than before as you show my opponent your resolution." Slamming a card on the vanguard circle, red light engulfed the card. "Dragonic Overlord "The Destiny", ride. Generation zone, release. Cry and beg for your salvation as I provide you the end. Supreme Heavenly Emperor Dragon, Dragonic Overlord "The Purge", Stride! Stride skill, counterblast and retiring Daidarabotchi. I look at the top seven cards of my deck for an Overlord." Inferno took seven cards and picked one card from them. "I'll add The End to my hand. I shuffle the rest back and then use The Purge's skill! I G Blast and put The End into my soul. Take a damage, all trigger effects nullified."

"Sure. (Shape-shifting Star Demon Series, Bakeneko)"

"Glow Heater's CONT, he gets 2000 power for each card in your damage zone. (10000 > 16000) Nehalem's CONT, he gets 2000 power. (9000 > 11000) I use Conroe, counterblast and retire himself to get me Tara from my deck to hand. Now, I'll start my battle phase! Inspire Yell's Blaze, he gets put to the bottom of the deck, I draw a card and give Nehalem 5000 power. (11000 > 16000) Then I shuffle the deck. The Purge attacks! (26000) Skill of Nehalem, when my vanguard attacks, he gets another 5000 power. (16000 > 21000)"

"Zashiki-warashi, perfect guard!"

"Triple drive. (Dragonic Overlord the End, Inspire Yell Dragon) Stand, all effects to Glow Heater. (16000 > 21000) (Burning Horn Evolute) Glow Heater attacks. (21000)"

"No guard. (Hungry Star Demon Series, Futakuchi-onna)"

"Nehalem. (21000)"

"No guard. (Stardust Nurse) Heal trigger, power to vanguard (11000 > 16000) and heal one damage."

"Turn end."

Yozora:
Hand: 3
Damage: 3
OXO
OOO

Inferno:
Hand: 7
Damage: 3
XXX
OOO

"Stand and draw. Generation zone, unleash. Regal Dragon of Star Demon Series, Yamata no Orochi stride! Myo-kurenai's stride skill, counterblast and revealing the top four cards of my deck. (Landscaping Star Demon Series, Daidarabotchi, Large Star Demon Series, Nozuchi, Possessed Star Demon Series, Kameosa, Blind Star Demon Series, Te-no-me) I call Kameosa, and he gets 5k. (4000 > 9000) The rest go to the drop zone. Orochi's skill, counterblast and G Persona Blast, I mill three. (Black Turtle Star Demon Series, Genbu, Stardust Nurse, Ignite Star Demon Series, Myo-kurenai) I choose six cards from my drop zone (Stardust Nurse, Protector Star Demon Series, Zashiki-warashi, Fiery Soul Star Demon Series, Janjanbi, Flame Wheel Star Demon Series, Wanyudo, Blind Star Demon Series, Te-no-me, Guard of Star Demon Series, Mezu) and shuffle them back into my deck. Then I reveal two cards from the top of my deck, (Black Turtle Star Demon Series, Genbu, Large Star Demon Series, Nozuchi) and call both. Nozuchi and Kameosa switch places. Kameosa's ability, soulblast and putting two cards from my drop zone to the bottom of the deck (Blind Star Demon Series, Te-no-me, Large Star Demon Series, Nozuchi) Kameosa gets 5k, and at the end of the turn he returns to deck. (9000 > 14000) Genbu's Stellar 1 skill!"

"Stellar?"

"My deck's main keyword. Assuming I put back enough cards into the deck this turn, the effect of the card can activate. Genbu's is one card needed to go back to deck. I counterblast and reveal the top three cards of deck. (Hungry Star Demon Series, Futakuchi-onna, Hollow Star Demon Series, Enenra, Ignite Star Demon Series, Myo-kurenai) I call Enenra to the same column as him and it gets Resist until my next draw phase. The rest goes to drop zone. Boosted by Kameosa, Nozuchi attacks! (25000) Skill of Nozuchi, I put Myo-kurenai to the bottom of the deck and countercharging one."

"Inspire Yell and Evolute. (26000)"

"Orochi! (26000)"

"No guard."

"Triple drive. (Fiery Soul Star Demon Series, Janjanbi) Crit to vanguard, power to Genbu. (1★ > 2★) (9000 > 14000) (Blind Star Demon Series, Te-no-me, Shape-shifting Star Demon Series, Bakeneko)"

"Damage checks. (Lizard General, Conroe, Emperor Dragon Knight, Nehalem)"

"Boosted by Enenra, Genbu. (14000 > 21000)"

"Generation guard, Flame Wing Steel Beast, Denial Griffin. Counterblast and retire Genbu."

"Turn end. Kameosa returns to deck." Yozora shuffled his deck. "Damn chicken..."

Yozora:
Hand: 6
Damage: 3
OXX
XOO

Inferno:
Hand: 4
Damage: 5
XXX
OOO

"I must applaud you for getting this far. However, this will be ending soon." Inferno drew a card. "Overlord's skill at the beginning of the turn. Soulblast and I can choose a rear-guard circle and move all cards on it to the drop zone. I choose Enenra's circle!"

"I half expected that to happen..." Yozora sighed, moving the card. "More like fully expected... I'm not an idiot who can't read what's in front of me."

"Now... here comes the best part of the match." Inferno looked at the card in his hand. "Do you know what Ultimate Stride is, Yozora?"

"I do." Yozora replied. "Do I get to see his Zeroth Dragon in action now?"

"Good... because now the final turn shall commence."

(Ending here)

Next time on Z World:

#5: Drachma

"With the cost being a card with the same name as my vanguard, I'll put my future on the line to end you now. If I lose the fight, all of the cards in my Generation Zone will never return... So devour my future and manifest! Dragon Empire's Zeroth Dragon, Ultimate Stride! Zeroth Dragon of Inferno, Drachma!" The vanguard circle exploded with a black-red colour. Once more on the beach, Drachma appeared, spewing flames everywhere.

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

A/N

Welp, there's Yozora's deck. Yeah, it's Stardust Knight boyo!

This chapter is kind of short cuz I wanted to keep the cliffhanger... #5 might even be shorter, but, who knows.

I'm pretty excited for things that will happen from now on.

#6 is looking to be a great chapter for various reasons...

I'll try to update weekly/bi-weekly. I'm now working on a manga, so that will probably slow down time.

That's it really...

Until #5,

Fox out!