“Congratulations, Aurin,” said Alfred, the genuine enthusiasm oozing from his voice. “While I had expected you to claim a minimum of two cards, completing the set is a pleasant surprise. Well done, young man. Well done.”

  Aurin stared at the joker on the screen. “Thanks, I suppose. What do I do now? Scan those cards and go on my merry way?”

  Alfred chortled. “No, it is not that simple, as you no doubt know. You are correct in that you must scan the cards to finish the stage, but the round would have been over whether you had defeated The Blackjacks or they had defeated you. Defeating them, however, has earned you a significant advantage.”

  “An advantage in what?” asked Aurin, dreading the answer.

  “The third stage of the game, of course. The third and final stage. Make your way to the door of your choosing and step onto the battlefield. I look forward to meeting you in person.”

  Aurin sighed and looked at Breminia, who floated slowly up and down while staring back at him. She made no noise whatsoever, not that Aurin had expected her to. He desperately wanted to speak to Luna and Kyle right now and ask for their advice. Not that they would have been able to offer much besides encouragement, for nobody aside from Alfred himself likely knew what the third stage was.

  Tired and fed up with Alfred and having to deal with the Ashmore family, Aurin trundled through the hallway and headed for the waiting room. He could not wait to put his head down on his pillow and sleep a dreamless sleep, but he suspected the worst part of the night would soon follow.

  He entered the waiting room and approached the screen where the wireframes of the four aces were displayed. Aurin first chose the Ace of Hearts and held it up to the screen. It filled with white and red as a smiley face appeared above it.

  “Congratulations,” came an upbeat digitised voice from a small speaker underneath the screen. “You have defeated Heart. You have earned the right to use two Minakai in the final stage.”

  “Two Minakai?” asked Aurin, looking at Breminia, who gave her master no response, for she knew even less about the situation than he did.

  With his curiosity piqued, Aurin held the Ace of Diamonds to the screen. It too filled with white and red, displaying a smiley face.

  The voice sounded again. “Congratulations. You have defeated Diamond. You have earned the right to use four Minakai in the final stage.”

  Aurin scanned the Ace of Clubs.

  “Congratulations. You have defeated Club. You have earned the right to use six Minakai in the final stage.”

  Taking the final card in hand, Aurin held it to the last remaining wireframe.

  “Congratulations. You have defeated Spade. You have earned the right to use eight Minakai in the final stage. As a bonus, for completing the set, you have earned the right to use a ninth Minakai. You are a true gamesman. Any Minakai used during this stage are ineligible for participation in the final stage. Please banish them at once and proceed through the door.”

  Breminia waved her arms in a frenzy, hoping to remain by her master’s side, but Aurin shook his head.

  “I’m sorry, Breminia,” he said, “but I’m going to play by the rules. I want Alfred to see that he can be defeated at his own game. Thank you for your help tonight.”

  With an airy sigh, Breminia’s head sunk low. She vanished in a flash of blue right, returning to Kyle’s ranch where she would join Gorunze and Quetzalia. The second she vanished, the door clicked, letting Aurin know that he could enter the battlefield.

  It was a bittersweet moment, but he suspected that having a full team of nine uninjured monsters at the height of their strength would be for the best. Breminia had plenty of fight left in her, but she had used some of her power in finishing the stage.

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  Aurin opened the door and was met by a swirling vortex of purple. His eyes were fixed on it, wondering if it would carry him elsewhere or if it was simply another layer to what had become of Hazelton Stadium. Casting aside his fears and doubts, he walked through it, and felt the familiar jolt of passing through rift magic. Looking around, he could see that he was still in the tunnel, but the way back was now a barrier rather than a portal. If there was no going back before, it was a dead certainty now.

  The tunnel was dark and the battlefield itself was difficult to make out with only small beams of warbling moonlight twisting their way through the overhead dome. As Aurin took his first few steps, he heard the sound of cheering. Had Alfred assembled an audience for the final stage? No, something was amiss, and it soon became apparent what it was.

  Stepping onto the battlefield, Aurin could see that the stands were empty and the cheers were being played over the stadium speakers. However, he was not alone. The stadium lights flashed on, revealing a lone figure standing in the centre of the battlefield.

  The man before Aurin was a near duplicate of Sir Arthur Ashmore. He was tall and broad with brown hair and bright blue eyes. There was something different about Alfred Ashmore’s face, however, beyond lacking most of his father’s wrinkles. While the man was smiling, he did not appear to be happy. Behind his eyes, was a void. Aurin felt a chill run down his spine as he observed the man, who stretched his arms out wide.

  “Welcome, Aurin,” said Alfred, grinning from ear to ear. “I have been looking forward to this moment for some time, so trust me when I say that I am truly glad you have made it this far. You played the game well when you could have simply turned tail and run.”

  “I would never do that,” said Aurin coldly.

  “Nor would I expect you to. It is not in your nature to run from a fight, is it?” Alfred drew in a deep breath. “Ah, it is an exciting time to be alive. Exciting indeed, Aurin. If I wasn’t looking at the man responsible for my father’s disappearance, I would be weeping with joy.”

  “Your father was behind his own disappearance. He used an Orb of Dimension, hoping to escape justice, and wound up trapping himself in another world. It was not my doing.”

  “Oh, I know,” said Alfred, flipping a dismissive hand. “It did not take me long to find out the true story, Aurin. It was an orb taken from the Castle Dojo by one of the students there. Nevertheless, I hold you responsible as you did not willing relinquish your Breminia for the sake of our collection.”

  Aurin was stunned. He mouthed a few silent words before pulling himself together. “You knew?” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “You knew this whole time and you still put me through all of… all of this?”

  “You will be pleased to know that it is almost over, Aurin,” said Alfred, flexing his fingers and then shoving them into his trouser pockets. “You have reached the third stage. The boss battle. It is a rather straightforward task. You must defeat me. Straightforward, but not simple, I assure you.”

  Aurin was seething with rage. Alfred Ashmore knew that he wasn’t the one who banished The Collector to another dimension. What was this twisted lunatic playing at? Everything he had done so far was the machinations of a madman, but now Alfred seemed downright cruel. There was no sense his justice behind his warped games. It was all because he wanted to complete his father’s collection.

  “What are the rules?” asked Aurin. “Nine of my Minakai against nine of yours?”

  Alfred laughed. “Don’t be silly, Aurin. If it was a nine versus nine battle, why would you have been collecting the cards? No, my number was fixed from the beginning. You were fighting for an advantage and that’s all.”

  “And how many Minakai will you be using in this boss battle?”

  “I only need a single Minakai.”

  “One?”

  “That’s right.”

  Aurin did not understand what Alfred was up to. Everything had been building up to him using a lone Minakai against whatever team Aurin had earned the right to use? Something wasn’t adding up. How did all of this tie into Project Virtugil? Analysing all of Aurin’s Minakai and collecting battle data had to have been for something beyond simple strategy. There was no possible way a single Minakai could stand against nine of Aurin’s. Steambot alone had defeated a tower guardian half a year ago.

  Alfred started laughing. “You think I am crazy, don’t you?” he asked, sweeping his hair back. “I assure you, Aurin. I am not crazy. I am anything but.”

  Aurin watched as Alfred’s laughed once more. He laughed and laughed again, his tone growing more maniacal with each passing second. It was almost a full minute before the man had calmed down. He wiped tears of mirth from his eyes and when he gazed at Aurin, there was finally a spark of something within him shining through. It was a spark of something truly sinister and Aurin felt another chill run through him.

  “It is not time for you to bear witness to the debut of the greatest Minakai of all time, Aurin,” said Alfred. He pointed to the stadium screen, which flashed on. “While everyone else will be watching from home, you will get to see it in person. You have met your match, Aurin. Deploying Project Virtugil.”

  Alfred brought his arm forward and pulled back his sleeve, revealing a bracelet containing a single summoning stone. It was not the familiar colours Aurin had seen so many times. It was not even the turquoise hue of the cosmic elementals. This summoning stone was as black as the abyss.

  right here.

  Aurin's Team:

  Luna's Team: