Devil Ash Disarray (Devil Ash Saga Book 3)

by Mitchell Olson

  In fact there was.

  The girl grinned to herself and she stepped down the stairs toward where Ash and Aura were seated. She hesitated a moment as the boys stood up. A group of men had approached them about being in their seats, and after showing the boys their tickets Ash and Aura gave up the seats. They moved back down into the competitor’s area, and Aralia followed.

  She found them in the private area below the stands. They were holed up in a corner with a table and a candle, seated on a leather couch. The handsome one had his legs up on the table, relaxing, as the average one flipped through his deck of cards.

  Aralia felt the lump of cards she had tucked into her skirt. She had at least a couple minutes before the tournament started. She should probably look over the cards to familiarize herself with the game. She knew that would be the smart thing to do.

  But then she thought: what would be the easiest way to knock these boys out of the tournament? She felt another lump in her skirt, this one the pocket knife she carried at all times. Good ol’ fashioned intimidation, huh? It was worth a shot, she thought. Who knows. She could get lucky and scare the guys away, and then she wouldn’t even have to play the game at all.

  So instead of doing the smart thing, Aralia set forward to do it the easy way. With fear and intimidation, the styles she was most accustomed to on the streets.

  She snuck up behind the boys. Peering over the average one’s shoulder, she could see his cards as he looked them over. He had some pretty powerful looking combatants in his deck. At least, they all looked impressive. Aralia still wasn’t sure what most of the numbers on the cards meant.

  An idea popped into her head. Maybe she could rob the boys. If she managed to pilfer a few of their most powerful cards before the beginning of the tournament, it would be a tremendous blow to their arsenal. She, or some other player, would take them out for sure.

  It was now or never. Aralia edged closer to the boys, her fingers wrapped around the butterfly knife in her pocket. Creeping up behind the average-looking boy with brown hair, she flipped her knife open.

  “Nice cards. Why don’t you hand over your rarest ones, nice and easy, and I won’t have to use this.”

  Neither of the boys looked at her. The handsome one even had his eyes closed. The brown haired boy just continued cycling through his deck. “Use what?” he said, only partially interested.

  “You have to look at me first to know what I’m talking about.”

  “Oh, sorry,” the boy replied. He still hadn’t looked at her. “So, what are you talking about now?”

  “You’d know if you just looked at me!”

  “I think she’s threatening you, dude,” the black haired boy said, having finally cracked an eyeball. He could see Aralia’s blade held low, so only the boys would see it.

  “Why? What’d I do?” the average one asked the other.

  “Just give me your rarest cards!” Aralia lost her temper as the clock ticked. “Let’s move it now! I don’t have all day!”

  “Ahh, you take care of this one buddy,” the handsome guy said, closing his eyes tight. “I’m going over the rules in my head and don’t want to be disturbed.”

  “Aww, come on!” the brown haired boy protested.

  “I’m mugging you! Both of you! Now give me your rare cards!”

  Finally, the boy looked up from his cards. He recognized her, she could tell. She saw it in his eyes. Then he said, “Hey, aren’t you that girl I saw talking to Marni?”

  Not good. She couldn’t let him trace this back to Marni. Not yet anyway. Instead she focused on the situation at hand. Scare the boys. Get some cards. Keep it simple.

  She waved the knife. “Give me the cards or I’ll cut you.” Nice and straight forward. That outta do the trick.

  The boy made a face. “Seriously? What are you, a thug?”

  “She’s a street punk,” the other guy said without opening an eye. “Just give her a crappy card and make her feel like she accomplished something so she’ll leave us alone.”

  “Listen up, boys!” Aralia said, sliding onto the leather bench opposite them. “I want cards. Rare ones. Strong ones. Your best ones. Give’em to me, now!”

  To illustrate her point, Aralia decided to show off her knife handling skills. She tossed the butterfly knife from hand to hand in a showy manner, flipping it open and closed repeatedly, her hands a blur. For the grand finale she tossed the knife up in the air, the gleaming sharp blade spinning erratically.

  It came down and landed clenched in her hand, an expert grab. Except that she was once again gripping the blade. Her already-bandaged hand slowly dripped blood from a fresh new cut, the girl cried out in pain. She quickly pocketed the knife and took out her extra bandages, wrapping over the old ones. She tied the bandage off and acted like nothing happened.

  “So, have I made my point? Are you ready to cough up the cards yet?”

  “Um, no.” Ash removed his cards from the table. “I don’t really have any cards to spare at the moment. Why don’t you move along and try your intimidation routine on someone else. I’m not in the habit of giving out hand-outs.”

  “Hand-outs?” Aralia repeated, offended. Like she was some common beggar on the street. Her pride damaged, she lost her cool and slammed her hands down on the table. “I don’t want any hand-outs from some loser kid!”

  A low clearing of someone’s throat signaled the group to turn their heads. Behind Aralia, an official looking girl in a striped dress appeared, glaring at them.

  “Problems?” she asked, cocking her head suspiciously.

  “N-no ma’am,” Aralia replied.

  Ash turned to the ref and forced a smile. “There’s no problem here.”

  “Good,” the lady ref replied, replacing her icy glare with a bright smile. “I’m Hakusho, the referee. We’ve got the bracket all set up and we’re ready to begin, so-”

  Hakusho cast a curious glance at Aralia, eyeing her up and down. “Are you a competitor? If so, where’s your number?”

  Aralia’s heart skipped a beat, thinking she’d done something wrong and wouldn’t be allowed to compete. But then she remembered the small sticker Marni’s goon had given her and pulled it from her bra. She held it up for the ref to see.

  “See? I’m legit.” She beamed, placing the sticker on her shirt.

  “Excellent.” Hakusho beamed with positive energy. “Let’s get this tournament started then, shall we?”

  Without waiting for a reply from either of them, Hakusho walked through the competitor’s area and up into the main gaming arena. Aralia flashed the boys one last look, a glare of malice to signal that their beef was not over yet. She’d fight tooth and nail to take them both out. She would do it, and become one of Marni’s hired thugs. Only then would she start making some real skorch.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! Thank you all for joining us today for the first ever Devil’s Duel tournament! I’m your adorable referee Hakusho! Let’s all have a great time watching some Devil’s Duel!” The referee girl warmed up the crowd as Ash and Aura sat on one of the competitor’s benches.

  “Without further ado, here’s the genius creator that gave us such a wonderful game, Miss Marni Narnya!”

  The crowd roared and in walked Marni, the beautiful game creator, surrounded by her goon squad of bodyguards. Loyal Lorin was in the lead, looking tough as ever. Hakusho handed the megaphone to a smiling Marni, who turned to address the crowd.

  “It’s great to see such a wonderful turnout! Thank you all for coming today to witness history in the making. Without all of you, Devil’s Duel wouldn’t exist. I’m so happy I could share my vision with you all. We’ve got a lot of tough competition here today. I hope you’re all prepared to see history in the making! Now without further delay, let’s see some Devil’s Duel!” Marni shouted, getting the crowd fired up. She handed the megaphone back to Hakusho and strolled over to her own private, comfortable seat of honor.

  The upbeat ref took the reigns and calle
d out for the two first competitors. “First up, #18 vs. #04! #18, #04, please come forward! It’s time to duel!”

  Two men stood up from the bench, smiled and shook hands, then proceeded to the game table. They took their seats and revealed their decks, then started shuffling their cards.

  “While we wait for the competitors to shuffle their decks and set up their playing areas, this is a perfect opportunity to brief everyone on the official rules of the game,” Hakusho said with extra perk in her voice, so as not to lose the crowd.

  “A player’s deck consists of sixty Devil’s Duel game cards. There are three different types of card available: “Crush” cards, which help you crush your enemies; “Kingdom” cards, which are used for building a Kingdom worth fighting for; and last but not least, “combatant” cards, the real crux of the game!

  “Players take turns laying down various cards, building their kingdoms and armies. There are many different types of Kingdom and Crush cards that do various things, but Combatant cards are split into three specific categories: Devil combatants, Angel combatants, and Demon combatants. Each class has a strategic advantage and weakness to another: demons harm devils, devils harm angels, and angels harm demons.”

  “The goal of the game is to build a stronger, better kingdom than your opponent and then wipe them out using your army of combatants! With over a thousand cards to choose from, we’re going to see some of the most creative deck combinations and clever strategies here today!”

  By the time Hakusho finished up her explanation the first round was close to over. In just a few turns, one of the players had laid down four strong combatant cards while the other guy had only one. Things weren’t looking good as the guy added a new kingdom card, “Hot Hot Springs”, which powered up his combatants even more.

  “This game is as good as over!” the man said. “I’ll attack your Lone Wolf Guard with all five of my combatants!”

  “I’ve been waiting for that,” the other player said with a sly smile. “I’m using my crush card, “Call for Wolf Pack”. This card can only be played when Lone Wolf Guard is on the battlefield. It allows me to search my deck for as many “Wolf Pack Warriors” as the number of combatants you attacked with.”

  After pulling the cards from his deck and re-shuffling, the guy laid down five Wolf Pack Warriors, bringing his army up to six combatants.

  “Hah! So what? Your combatants are still weaker than mine. My guys win!”

  “Not so fast,” the other player said. “I still have one more card to play: the crush card “Full Moon”.”

  “Uh oh…”

  “This card transforms all Wolf Pack Warriors in my army into the more powerful Warwolf Warriors!”

  “Crap, my combatants already attacked…”

  “That’s right, and now my Warwolf Warriors rip them apart!”

  “Crap,” the man said. The next turn he ran out of combatants to play and his opponent destroyed all his kingdom cards. He quickly lost the match, his opponent advanced to the next bracket in the tournament roster.

  Ash watched the first few games in awe. He loved seeing all the different imaginative strategies that everyone employed. Each game was full of twists and turns, comebacks and defeats, cheers and cries of frustration. Five more games went by and Ash realized it was finally his turn to play.

  “Next up, Ash versus Aralia,” Hakusho said, drawing everyone’s attention to the more famous competitor. Ash saw his first opponent and cringed as they stepped up the stairs to the raised platform. They stood eye to eye before taking their seats at the game table.

  “Hello again,” Ash said.

  “So you’re Ash Kaplan,” the punk girl said. “The human.”

  “’Fraid so.”

  “And that must mean that the handsome guy over there is…”

  “Uh, yeah, Aura’s over there somewhere…” Ash said, becoming agitated. “Now you know my name. What should I call you?”

  “Raley.”

  “Just Raley? No last name?”

  Aralia’s eyes strayed. “No.”

  “Okay Raley,” Ash said, taking his seat at the table. “Let’s duel already, huh?”

  The players shuffled their decks and started their game. Ash dealt himself a lucky hand. He had almost every card he needed to get his strategy started. Across the table Aralia looked pretty confident behind her cards.

  “I’ll go first if you don’t mind,” said Aralia, anxious to lay her first card. “I’ll play the combatant card “Electric Weasel” to start my army off.”

  A demon type combatant, Ash thought. She must be using a demon themed deck. It’s a good thing I’ve got a few angel types to take care of them.

  The rules state that the player who goes first can’t attack, so Aralia laid a few kingdom cards and ended her turn. It was Ash’s turn, and he laid a few of his own kingdom cards down before drawing a new card. He pulled “Ancient Angel”, one of his most powerful combatant cards.

  Perfect! he thought, starting his army with Ancient Angel. “I’ll combine my Ancient Angel with this crush card, “Holy Light Blade”, and deal quadruple damage when I have it attack your Electric Weasel,” said Ash.

  “Oh man!” Aralia said, her eyes searching her cards for support. “I know I got something in here that can stop that! Hang on! Give me a minute!”

  Ash, and everyone else in the arena, waited far past the ends of their patience for her, but in the end she could play nothing that would save her combatant. Ash won that round of combat, Aralia took the damage to her overall Kingdom Points, or KP for short.

  “Beginners luck!” said Aralia. “I’m going to launch my comeback right now!”

  “Who’s the beginner here?” said Ash.

  Aralia ignored Ash as she drew another card. With a content grin, she laid two cards on the table. The combatant card “Wooden Doll Warrior” and the kingdom card “Towering Inferno Walls”.

  “Now, I’ll use this crush card, “Blade of Grass”, which powers up my Wooden Doll Warrior. Get ready to cry, cuz here comes the attack!”

  “Uhh…” Ash stammered, looking disturbed. “You sure about that?”

  “Absolutely! I attack!”

  Hakusho blew her ref’s whistle, making Aralia jump in place. “And Raley fails to realize the crucial mistake she’s just made! Allow me to explain. By surrounding her army with the Towering Inferno Walls card, Raley has foolishly forced the plant type demon combatant to pass through her own wall of flames. As every good Devil’s Duel player knows, plant types are weak against fire! The wall of flames is too much for the Wooden Doll Warrior to handle, even with the help of that fancy Blade of Grass! Sorry Raley, but you’ve just sent your own combatant to its death!”

  Aralia lowered her head before scowling in rage. She grinded her teeth a few seconds before replying. “Yes, well, I’ve still got that fire wall protecting me. Let’s see you get around that!”

  Why put up a fire wall and roast your own combatant? Ash wondered to himself. What strategy is she using?

  “Okay,” Ash said. He was beginning to feel a little sorry for the girl. He drew a card. It was an excellent crush card and he couldn’t help but smile at how well this was going for him.

  “I’m going to use my combatant’s ability,” he said.

  “What ability?” asked Aralia. “What are you talking about?”

  “My Ancient Angel’s ability, flight. It allows me to fly over walls and barriers and attack your kingdom directly.”

  After another attack from such a powerful combatant, Aralia’s KP was significantly reduced. She couldn’t stand another attack like that. She put all her faith in her deck and drew another card. After looking at it she smiled.

  “I just drew something good!” she said. “I play “Devil Flame Master” and attack again!”

  “A wonderfully executed attack by Raley!” Hakusho shouted. “Her Towering Inferno Walls finally played to her advantage, because as we all know her devil type combatant gets a power boost from fir
e! Ash’s Ancient Angel is toast!”

  Crap, Ash thought. He set the Ancient Angel card in the cemetery pile. I didn’t expect her to have a devil type. So is she playing a demon deck or a devil deck? As it stands I don’t have a single card that can fight a devil card.

  “It’s your turn,” said Aralia. “Tell me you’re not quaking in your little peacoat now!”

  Like I’m going to lose to someone like her. Ash drew his card. “Alright! I play “Archangel Lancelot” and combine him with “Holy Dragon of Light”. Together, their strength can match your Devil Flame Master’s.”

  “Match, but not beat,” Hakusho said. “Ash goes on the defensive!”

  “I got ya right where I want ya!” said Aralia. “You better say your prayers!” She drew a card. “And speaking of prayers, I’ll start my turn by playing “Prayer Circle”.”

  What? thought Ash. Why? That’s so….random!

  “Another bold choice in strategy by Raley,” the announcer said. “But at this point, we’re not quite sure what she’s going for here. Let’s watch and see what the next phase of her plan is.”

  “Why would you play that card?” Ash asked. He was utterly baffled at her lack of strategy.

  “Prayer Circle powers up my army, why wouldn’t I play it?” Aralia smiled and raised her eyebrow. “You’re just stalling now cuz you know I’m about to crush you. I’ll attack with my Devil Flame Master and destroy you!”

  “Okay, but…” Ash tried to warn her.

  “And Raley makes another baffling choice to attack!” the announcer said. “Doesn’t she know that her Prayer Circle card only boosts the attack strength of angel type cards?”

  “What gives?” Aralia asked, confused. “My guy just got stronger, right?”

  “No, your card made my combatant stronger,” Ash told her. “Strong enough that he destroyed your combatant just now when you attacked. Sorry. But that’s what you get for putting cards that don’t make any sense together in your deck.”

  Aralia took another hit to her KP. It was significantly less than it could have been if Ash had attacked her directly, and for that reason she remained in the game. Her kingdom points would be depleted no matter what though unless she could pull off some sort of strategy.