The man who had noticed the ring on Yonaka’s finger removed the phone from his pocket and took her picture; took several pictures, employing the news photographer’s tactic of using quantity to minimize error. She was one of the ones he had been searching for. The ring proved it.
The man’s name was Greg Callahan. In another life, it had been his job to uncover people like her. Uncover and eliminate. Greg Callahan had been what you might call (there had never been an official title) a witch hunter.
While it varied by country and culture, the Witch Hunts had in large part not been carried out by state organizations. It was the usual problem of democracy: there had been the will to begin, but not to follow through. ‘In the 21st century, the State no longer has the stomach for direct action’, as one of Callahan’s more literary friends had put it. Most of the real work had fallen to private citizens, good men associating, ready to do what needed to be done, fighting to safeguard tomorrow and defeat the subtle designs and magical cabals that lurked in the shadows of mundane society. Being American, he had thought of it as a new Revolution — and in no way had it ever reminded him of any other part of American history.
The Witch Hunts were over, and the group to which Callahan had belonged had gone silent, but his war was not over. It would not end until every last witch had been detected and destroyed. Even if he had do it all himself.
After discussing something for a moment — Callahan was too far away to hear — Yonaka and Rui split up, with the former taking the inbound bus for the city center, and the latter taking the outbound line.
His quarry was getting away, but this didn’t concern him. He wasn’t some thug, looking to drag a young woman down the nearest alley. He was professional, methodical. He was a hunter.
And the hunt was on.
He climbed aboard his motorcycle and drove twenty minutes to NH City Police Precinct 6. This wasn’t the closest police station, but it was the one where he had the most contacts. Soon he had bypassed the front desk and was in the Records Department.
“I need an ID on this individual,” he said to his contact there, laying his phone on the desk.
His contact looked up from his computer. “She’s cute,” the other man commented.
“It’s for work.”
In seconds, the photo had been scanned into the computer and sent to the “identity database” which was maintained, on behalf of the state, by Pann Microsystems. Among many other aims, New Himuka had been founded on the belief that modern society was the information society. While in the 19th and 20th centuries nations had needed to layer observation and surveillance technologies on top of their existing infrastructures, New Himuka had been built from the ground up with the expectation that the public would be surveilled and recorded at all times, and this information could then be retrieved and analyzed at a moment’s notice. The photo Callahan had taken was being algorithmically compared to billions of other photographs, and in turn to a complete list of NH permanent and temporary residents. In less than a minute, the machine beeped.
“Yonaka Crane, age seventeen,” Callahan’s contact said, turning the display around. Full name, date of birth, family and educational history... and most importantly, home address. Callahan had everything. He read through it all, memorized the key details, thanked his friend, and left.
The surveillance state was good for something after all.
* * *
If you were wondering why Rui and Yonaka split up at the start of the chapter, it’s because their outing had taken longer than Rui had expected, and she still had homework to finish.
By the time she got home, Sarah had already left for America. Sarah had always been driven to succeed, but from their brief time together this weekend, it seemed like that drive had only strengthened in the past year. Losing to Yonaka must have been a cruel blow.
Abraham was taking a break from grading papers, and was reading in the parlor. He had heard something moving around outside about an hour ago, but when he’d gone to the window to check, there had been nothing there. It had probably been a stray cat.
The doorbell rang.
Rui scurried to answer it, probably expecting Yonaka to be at the door. Abraham rose more slowly, heard the door open and a deep, masculine voice speaking. But what the voice said froze his blood.
“I have something of grave concern to discuss with you. Would it be a problem if you stepped outside?”
In a few rapid strides, Abraham had crossed to the entrance.
“Get away from the door,” he commanded, and Rui complied, responding to an urgency in his voice she had never heard before. He looked through the open doorway and saw standing on the front steps a very ordinary man. On the tall side, but otherwise perfectly average, he could have been a banker or a construction worker. The only notable things about him were a certain coldness about the eyes, and the fact that he wore a jacket despite the heat. A jacket that gave the impression it might have something concealed within it.
“I know who you are,” Abraham said to the man. “You’re not wanted here.”
The man’s brow furrowed in confusion. “I don’t understand. My name is Greg Callahan and—”
“You’re a ‘witch hunter’!” Abraham supplied. “The wars are over. Whatever you think you’ve come here for, you’ll have to find it by yourself.”
The various witch hunting societies had relied upon a number of carefully scripted phrases that they employed in conversation, believing them to be optimal for earning trust, winnowing out information, and getting what they wanted out of people. While useful for psychological manipulation, once you knew the key phrases, a witch hunter on the prowl was easy to detect.
The man, Callahan, continued to speak in calm and agreeable tones, but something about his bearing changed, as if he’d shed an invisible disguise.
“I have reason to believe there is a witch being harbored at this location,” he said. “I have no quarrel with you or, hm, your child here,” he inclined his head in Rui’s direction. “My only concern is my target.”
“Your ‘target’ is my daughter! Now leave before I call the police,” Abraham retorted, realizing as he spoke that he should have done that to begin with.
Callahan was silent for a moment.
“Do you know what separates us from beasts?” he said at length. “Reason. Man can see not only with the eye of emotion, but also the eye of reason. We can hold firm against sentiment in times of need. To do what must be done. Even in such cases as—”
“Enough blustering,” said Abraham, turning away from the door.
“Just one more thing,” Callahan said calmly. “A firebomb has been installed on your property. If the signal is given, all that is yours will be lost in flames.”
Abraham froze and turned back.
“All I ask,” Callahan continued, in his most reasonable tones, “is that we all wait. Until Yonaka returns.”
He and Abraham locked eyes, engaged in a contest of wills. A contest that Abraham could not win.
“Then let’s duel.”
The voice was quiet, quieter than its speaker had intended, but Callahan marked it well. It was Rui. She stepped past her dad, a Duel Disk on her arm.
“Whether you’re a witch hunter, a witch, or a regular person,” she said, “we all settle things with a duel, right?”
Callahan regarded her with penetrating eyes. Then he reached into his jacket and withdrew a sleek, highly portable Duel Disk of his own, which he attached to his wrist.
“I accept,” he said with a feral smirk. The hunt continued.
Abraham put a hand on Rui’s shoulder. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t have a choice,” she replied, while Sarah’s admonishing You always have a choice rang in her mind.
Abraham backed away, giving the two adversaries enough space. Rui took a deep breath, summoning up all the bravery and wit she possessed, and spoke.
“Speed...”
DUEL!
Callahan LP 4000
—VS—
Rui LP 4000
Music To Duel By: Heroic Battle (DDS2)
“I’ll start off this game,” said Callahan, “by summoning the Ancient Gear Hunting Hound.”
A mechanical dog bounded onto the field. As its name suggested, it was made of machinery assembled by a civilization long past, but its worn parts spoke not of decay, but of a fortitude that had weathered millennia. Its glowing eyes flickered with a mysterious intelligence. (DEF 1000)
The hound howled a command, and another member of the pack charged in, leaping at Rui and pushing her back before fading away.
Rui LP 4000 - 400 = 3600
“What was that?” she gasped.
“When Hunting Hound is normal summoned, it inflicts 400 damage to the opponent,” Callahan replied.
He can do damage on the very first turn, Rui thought, that’s scary. She had no idea how scary things were about to get.
“I use Hunting Hound’s second effect,” Callahan continued. The canine automaton howled again, and this time a more humanoid robot joined it on the field. “It can fuse itself with other Ancient Gears, without needing to use Polymerization. I will fuse it with the Ancient Gear Soldier in my hand.”
Fusion Summon! One of the three means of bringing out powerful monsters, along with Ritual and Tribute Summons. It was — as Rui had been taught in school — potentially the fastest method, but was limited by the need to have both Polymerization and monsters that could be fused at the same time. But his deck didn’t have that limitation.
The hound and soldier swirled together. What emerged was another of the same class of machine, but this one was patterned on a gargoyle. It was equipped with cannons for claws and the skeletal outline of bat wings. While it looked quite intimidating, it was hunched in a defense posture. (DEF 1800)
“I fusion summon Ancient Gear Howitzer,” Callahan said. “Once a turn, Howitzer can inflict 800 damage to the opponent.”
“Huh?”
Energy charged at the tips of each of the gargoyle’s cannons and fired. The beams slammed into Rui, knocking her over.
Rui LP 3600 - 800 = 2800
“Ow,” she groaned, standing back up.
“I place two cards face-down,” Callahan finished, “and end my turn.”
Rui knew a little about the Ancient Gears. Ancient Gear Golem was practically synonymous with Duel Academy. But she had never seen this animalistic side of them before. One thing was for sure. That Howitzer needed to go, and fast. Luckily, she had a pretty good hand.
“I summon Harpie Queen!” she started. A whirlwind whipped into being on her field, and from it arrived a young woman with feathered arms and hawk’s talons for hands and feet. (ATK 1900)
The Harpie Ladies were a well-known sisterhood of Duel Monsters cards. They were strong and beautiful, just like Rui wanted to be.
“Harpie Queen, attack that Ancient Gear Howitzer!” she ordered. The harpie soared into the air and swooped down on the fiendish contraption. Suddenly, another piece of machinery interposed itself between the two monsters.
“I activate Scrap-Iron Scarecrow,” Callahan said, as one of his face-down cards flipped up. “This negates your attack, and is then re-set for next round.”
The Harpie Queen retreated back to her side. The good news was that a Trap Card couldn’t activate the turn it was set, meaning his Scrap-Iron Scarecrow could only block one attack each turn. The bad news was that meant she would still have to field two strong monsters to get rid of his Howitzer. And he had a second face-down card to worry about, too.
“I set one card face-down,” she said. That was Michizure. If he destroyed Harpie Queen, she wouldn’t go down alone. “I end my turn.”
Callahan drew.
“Ancient Gear Howitzer, open fire.”
Rui braced herself as the barrage of cannon fire struck her again.
Rui LP 2800 - 800 = 2000
“I end my turn.”
It was with dawning horror that Rui recognized he was on track to win without making a single attack. At the same time, she realized she had made a mistake last turn, focusing only on Harpie Queen’s high ATK. There was something else she could have done with it instead. But now...
Wait. One of the cards in her hand was Harpie Dancer. There was still a way.
“I summon Harpie Dancer,” Rui said, and a second bird-woman joined the one already on her field, this one with blond hair and clad in black, rather than emerald and blue. (DEF 1000)
“Now I use her effect,” the Harpie Dancer swirled her wings, creating an updraft that the Queen rode up into the sky. “She lets me swap a WIND monster on my field with one in my hand. So I’ll switch out Harpie Queen for Harpie Lady 3.”
Yet another harpie arrived on the scene. This one — one of the original trio of sisters — had spiky blue hair. She crossed her wings in front of her in a defensive pose. (DEF 1400)
There. She had done what she could for now.
“I end my turn.”
Abraham stood on the sidelines, feeling helpless. He wanted more than anything to give Rui some piece of sage advice, some magic bullet that would lead her to victory, but he could think of nothing. He was no duelist, and his knowledge lay not in the game itself but in its history and significance, and in the minds of those who played it.
He could tell her that this Callahan was a professional who dueled not for fun nor even as a show of dominance, but as a means to an end. That he was equally concerned with offense and defense and would leave nothing to chance. But what could he say that wasn’t already plain to see?
There were only two people with the power to decide the outcome of this duel. He was just a bystander.
Meanwhile, Callahan didn’t know what to make of Rui’s move, switching a strong monster for a weaker one. But he wasn’t going to complain about it. Howitzer’s cannons charged up again. Rui was almost used to the sensation of the impact by this point.
Rui LP 2000 - 800 = 1200
“Now I play a Field Spell,” Callahan said. “The shining city of the Dark Ages, Geartown!”
Their surroundings faded away, replaced by great towers and squat foundries of stone and iron. Everywhere turned the mighty wheels of industry, teeth gnashing against teeth, all in service of the transcendent machine.
At the apex of one tower lurked the shadow of a bestial figure. It descended in a series of calculated leaps, claws clinging to and pushing off stone, until it landed next to the Ancient Gear Howitzer.
“Thanks to Geartown, I can summon the Ancient Gear Beast without a sacrifice,” said Callahan. The Beast resembled neither a dog nor a jungle cat, but rather it seemed like some engineer had studied all the great mammalian predators and selected their most deadly traits to bestow upon one clockwork creation. (ATK 2000)
“Ancient Gear Beast, attack Harpie Lady 3,” he commanded.
It snarled, exposing the long fangs of a saber-toothed tiger. Then it bounded forward and, faster than the eye could follow, had crushed the harpie in its jaws. She shattered into polygons.
“When my monster goes to the graveyard, I can—!” Rui started, but stopped when she saw that a dark energy had surrounded her face-down Michizure. It was as though there was a mystic weight pressing down on it, preventing it from being moved.
“When an Ancient Gear attacks, your Spell and Trap Cards are sealed,” Callahan said.
“Fine,” Rui said, her heart sinking, “but when Harpie Lady 3 battles, the other monster can’t attack for the next two rounds.”
The body of Ancient Gear Beast rippled with the same sinister energy. It snarled again.
“Ancient Gear Beast’s precious fangs negate the abilities of the monster it destroys, so Harpie Lady 3’s effect doesn’t apply.”
Rui felt like she was caught in a vise. The stats on these Ancient Gears weren’t high, but they were protected from Spells, Traps, monster effects, attacks... It was like being cornered a pack of wolves, patiently wearing down their prey and blocking every escape route until the alpha could go for the throat.
Things felt so hopeless that Rui forgot for a moment that she already had a plan. There was already something she could do.
Yonaka always had some scheme or strategy, but more than that, she played in such a way that she always had a line of retreat. If this man played to ensure his adversary’s path was closed, then she played make sure her own path was always open.
Rui drew to start her turn, stared at the card she had drawn. Elegant Egotist. This was it. Her path was open after all.
“First, I discard Harpie Queen from my hand,” she said. “This lets me add my Field Spell to my hand: Harpie’s Hunting Ground!”
She slid the card into the field slot of her Duel Disk. Callahan scowled. Playing a new Field Spell would destroy the old one. Geartown was ejected from his own field slot, and he moved it to the graveyard.
Meanwhile, around them the world was undergoing a seismic shift. The seemingly eternal edifices of Geartown shuddered and were thrown down as if by the hand of God. The land rippled and became abundant with grasses. However, the machines would not be so easily conquered.
“When Geartown is destroyed, I can play any Ancient Gear from my deck,” said Callahan. “I summon a myth made manifest, Ancient Gear Hydra!”
A serpentine head burst from the earth, followed by another, and another. Then the whole leviathan emerged, spreading its wings, all three heads writhing and screeching. (ATK 2700)
Now he had three Ancient Gears, each stronger than the last. Rui almost despaired again. Everything kept going wrong. She had lost almost three-quarters of her Life Points, while he hadn’t lost any. But no. She had no choice but to keep going.
“I play the magnificent kaleidoscope, Elegant Egotist!”
Harpie Dance struck a balletic pose. A mirror swung into place next to her, her reflection naturally in the same pose. The mirror vanished, but the reflection remained. And it wasn’t a reflection at all, but a different harpie, with green wings and fiery pink hair. She took to the air, riding the thermals of the Hunting Ground and dodging between the Ancient Gears with acrobatic swiftness, and sliced through the face-down Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, destroying it.
“Let me explain,” Rui said. “Elegant Egotist summons a Harpie Lady from my deck. And when a Harpie Lady arrives on the Hunting Ground, she destroys a Spell or Trap. And that’s not all. Harpie’s Hunting Ground gives all Winged Beasts 200 ATK, and Harpie Lady 1 gives all WIND monsters 300 ATK.”
Harpie Lady 1 ATK 1300 + 200 + 300 = 1800
Harpie Dancer ATK 1200 + 200 + 300 = 1700
“And it’s not over,” she continued. “I use Dancer to bounce and re-summon Harpie Lady 1.”
The pink-haired harpie rode the wind again, slicing through his one remaining face-down card. From out of the card emerged a bright red security drone.
“That’s Security Orb,” said Callahan. “When it’s attacked, it counterattacks by self-destructing.”
The drone began to flash and let out a blaring alarm. Its motor went into overdrive, and it rushed across the field, slamming into Harpie Dancer and exploding.
Rui took Harpie Dancer’s card off her Duel Disk and slid it into the graveyard. Wait... the graveyard!
“I activate Michizure!” she declared, finally able to play her Trap. “When one of my monsters goes to the graveyard, one of your monsters goes down with it!”
Harpie Dancer emerged from the explosion and tackled the gigantic Ancient Gear Hydra. They both burst into flames and vanished. It might have felt like the Ancient Gears were immune to Traps, but that wasn’t true. There were cracks in their armor.
“Next, I equip my Harpie Lady with Demon’s Kiss, so her ATK rises even higher,” a ghostly aura surrounded the harpie, and she licked her lips.
Harpie Lady 1 ATK 1300 + 200 + 300 + 700 = 2500
“Harpie Lady, get rid of that Ancient Gear Howitzer!” she cried. The empowered harpie swooped forward, slicing through the mechanical gargoyle in two swift strikes, creating a fiery X across its body. The four pieces slid apart and crashed to the ground.
“When Howitzer is destroyed, it leaves an ally behind,” Callahan said, as another Hunting Hound emerged from the heap of scrap parts.
Rui considered the situation. Callahan had Hunting Hound and Beast, but neither of them could match her Harpie Lady’s 2500 ATK. Both players had two cards in hand. One way or another, this duel was going to end soon.
“I set one card face-down and end my turn,” she finished.
“I draw,” said Callahan. He was clearly displeased; he had expected to maintain control of the duel the whole way through. She realized there was one particular card in his hand he was staring at, one that she was pretty sure had been there from the first turn. He selected a different card and placed it on his Duel Disk. “I play Pot of Duality.”
Images of the top three cards of his deck appeared above his head: Ancient Gear Workshop, Mist Body, Crime and Punishment. The latter two were an Equip Spell and a Trap, which could easily be destroyed by Harpie’s Hunting Ground, so unsurprisingly he took the first one.
“I play Ancient Gear Workshop, retrieving Ancient Gear Hydra from the graveyard,” he said, “and I’ll sacrifice Hunting Hound and Beast to summon it.”
The two Ancient Gears glowed, the light blending together and becoming a portal which the hideous Hydra crawled through. At Callahan’s command, it spat three fireballs, obliterating Harpie Lady 1.
Rui LP 1200 - 200 = 1000
“I set one card face-down,” he concluded.
“My turn!” Rui declared. It was time to show what her deck could really do. “I summon Harpie’s Pet Baby Dragon!”
A diminutive red dragon sprang onto the field. It squeaked and burped up a fireball. (ATK 1200)
“He gets stronger the more Harpies I have out. Of course, right now I don’t have any. So I play —” she revealed her face-down card, “— Hysteric Party! Every Harpie Lady in my graveyard returns to the field!”
A wild windstorm kicked up, feathers and sparks dancing on the breeze. In the midst of the gust could be glimpsed four silhouettes, which gained form and substance and became...
“Harpie Lady 1! Harpie Lady 3! Harpie Dancer! Harpie Queen!”
With two harpies out, Pet Baby Dragon would mature into a juvenile and his ATK would double. With three, he would become an adult and be able to destroy a card on the field every turn. What was more, since a bunch of Harpie Ladies had just been summoned, Hunting Ground would destroy Callahan’s face-down card. He would be left wide open, and the whole flock could wipe out all his Life Points at once.
Harpie Lady 1 ATK 1300 + 200 + 300 = 1800
Harpie Lady 3 ATK 1300 + 200 + 300 = 1800
Harpie Dancer ATK 1200 + 200 + 300 = 1700
Harpie Queen ATK 1900 + 200 + 300 = 2400
Harpie’s Pet Baby Dragon ATK 1200 x 2 + 300 = 2700
“I’ve got you,” said Rui.
“I have a response,” Callahan said calmly. “Blind Obliteration.”
His Trap flipped up. From the card emerged two long barrels. Two huge gatling guns.
“This super-weapon selects a Level at random. Anything below that Level will not survive the onslaught.”
A display on the side of each of the long guns began to flicker, rapidly switching between different numbers.
“You’re relying on chance?” Rui asked. If the result was 4 or less, the blast would be too weak to destroy anything. And if it was 8 or above, her Harpies be destroyed, but his Hydra would as well.
“Circumstances dictate a change in strategy,” Callahan said, in the same tone a general would use to order a carpet-bombing.
The scrolling displays on the guns slowed and, with a terminal beep, came to a stop.
The result was — 11.
The barrels spun up with dreadful slowness and opened fire, their giant rounds falling like rain, breaking the bodies of the harpies and piercing their delicate wings, and punching great holes through the Ancient Gear Hydra as well. It let out a mechanical bellow that almost sounded like pain, before collapsing to the earth. When the dust and smoke cleared, the whole field had become a tomb.
Rui had nothing left, not on the field, and not in her hand. All she could do was pray that Callahan couldn’t summon anything. Those prayers went unanswered as he drew and called Ancient Gear Soldier to the field.
The mechanical soldier raised its rifle, sighted down the barrel, and fired.
Rui LP 1000 - 1300 = 0
The impact struck her in the heart like a hammer, and she fell on her back.
“Our little game is over,” said Callahan. He withdrew a stun gun from inside his jacket and fired on both his targets, immobilizing them. They would be useful hostages for the next stage of his plan.
The game was over, but the hunt was still on.
* * *
Closing Thoughts
I thought this would finally be a short chapter, and uh...it wasn’t. From now on, I’m going to be splitting most chapters in two for improved readability.
Harpies weren’t my first pick for Rui’s deck. I was looking for something cute and girly, which Yu-Gi-Oh has plenty of...in modern. The Trickstar infinite resource loop is a far cry from the “Set Mystic Tomato pass” vibes of The Magician’s Journey. I would like to give a character Melodious at some point, though.
* * *
Card of the Day
Today’s card is Blind Obliteration, which has the distinction of being the first Card of the Day that hasn’t been customized or modified in any way. Also, this chapter’s duel was the first duel where: Yonaka didn’t participate; the hero lost; and no one played Magical Mallet. So many firsts! Remember to put all of those on the wiki.
Blind Obliteration (TRAP)
[Normal Trap Card]
Roll two die and destroy all monsters with Levels lower than the total roll.
* * *
Master of the Cards
Ancient Gear Beast (TLM, ‘05)
Ancient Gear Hunting Hound (RATE, ‘16)
Ancient Gear Hydra (SR03, ‘16)
Ancient Gear Soldier (TLM, ‘05)
Harpie Dancer (LCJW, ‘13)
Harpie Lady 1 (RDS, ‘04)
Harpie Lady 3 (RDS, ‘04)
Harpie Queen (FOTB, ‘07)
Harpie’s Pet Baby Dragon (EOJ, ‘06)
Ancient Gear Workshop (SD10, ‘06)
Demon’s Kiss [as “Malevolent Nuzzler”] (MRL, ‘00)
Elegant Egotist (MRD, ‘99)
Geartown (TDGS, ‘08)
Harpie’s Hunting Ground (RDS, ‘04)
Mist Body (MDP2, ‘05)
Pot of Duality (DREV, ‘10)
Blind Obliteration (COTD, ‘17)
Crime and Punishment (5D’s, ‘08)
Hysteric Party (SD8, ‘06)
Michizure (PSV, ‘00)
Scrap-Iron Scarecrow (5DS1, ‘08)
Security Orb (GLAS, ‘07)
Ancient Gear Howitzer (RATE, ‘16)
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