Jugdement!

#Llyod: Camael: 10 HP; 50 ATK#
#Rhea: Abel 1: 60 HP; 60 ATK, Abel 2: 60 HP; 60 ATK, Abel 3: 30 HP; 20 ATK#

This wasn’t how I imagined everything would go when I decided I would chase after Joey and Lydia. Saying I’m in a bad spot would be an understatement, and I need to get out of it quickly! I can’t afford to make the same mistake. His Servants are looming close, and with their higher stats, it becomes difficult to defeat them. On top of that, every Servant that moves increases their strength. He made the odd decision to move closer. With his Summoner nearby I can maybe exploit that. It is my turn. I move closer to his Summoner with now only one tile separating us. I shatter the crystal beside me, Summoning Azreal upon the space between us. Time to take the first life! Azreal is adjacent to the Summoner. “Azreal, strike him down!” Azreal brandishes his sickle swords and slices the man taking away his first life. That’s good. Two more! The man shrugs off the attack as if it saying it was nothing, but I can’t let it distract me. “Next up I move Camael to defend!” Camael moves to the tile between me and one of the Abels to cut off one potential attack. After that, I end my turn.

#Lloyd: Camael: 10 HP; 50 ATK, Azreal: 40 HP; 30 ATK#
#Rhea: Abel 1: 60 HP; 70 ATK, Abel 2: 60 HP; 70 ATK, Abel 3: 30 HP; 30 ATK#

Great! Even after Ranking Up, they still increase in power when I move my Servants. The man grins and pulls a new crystal, opening his turn. Without giving him too much room to do anything, I immediately use another Trigger Spell Crystal, called ‘First Trumpet’.
“With this effect, I can summon another Servant from my hand to the field. It then returns to my Pool at the end of the turn. So show yourself, Muriel!” A new young-looking angel descends from the heavens. His wings span wide, cloaked in a blue aura, with his bow ready and drawn. I made sure to summon it between myself and another Abel. That’s 2 attacks covered. The man still seems unfazed, continuing the turn he just started. As if reading my mind, he makes his move after speaking up. 

“Your little strategy is futile. I’ll activate a spell crystal ‘Levitating’! With that, I can choose one of the Abels that gains ‘Sprint’ and ‘Illusive’. With Sprint it can now move 2 tiles and with Illusive it won’t be obstructed by other units. Now, it is time to set the stage for the end game!”

He moves one of the Abel behind me. With illusive, my Servant couldn’t stop their movement. The other Abel moves in front of me. Is this a pincer attack?!

“First, it’s time for a little payback. Abel, attack the summoner!” The Abel in front of me swipes at me. A shockwave overloads my brain temporarily freezing me in place because of the sudden pain. It’s quite stunning how he managed to ignore the pain just a moment ago.

“It’s not over yet! A unit with Levitating can’t attack the Summoner, but I have something more potent in mind. I activate another spell crystal, ‘Supreme Restriction’! When two Servants are adjacent to the opponent’s Summoner, and on opposing sides, that Summoner is stunned until your End Phase. Also, as long as both of my Servants are adjacent to you, you cannot summon new Servants. On top of that, you can’t use any of your Units on the field to move, attack, or use any of their abilities.”

The spell activates and I feel something strange flowing through my body giving a numbing sensation. “Last but not least, I attack Camael with my final Abel. This time, it won’t escape its fate to the Higher Plane!” Camael takes another attack from the upgraded Abel. Camael didn’t have much HP left, and with it now being reduced to zero it turned to yellow dust before disappearing. “And with that, your final moments are counted. With no options left, you too will meet the same fate as your friend. I end my turn. And then the third Abel Ranks Up”
He didn’t bother attacking Muriel. Because of the effect of First Trumpet, during the End Phase, it is returned to my Pool.

#Lloyd: Azreal: 40 HP; 30 ATK#
#Rhea: Abel 1: 90 HP; 70 ATK, Abel 2: 90 HP; 70 ATK, Abel 3: 60 HP; 30 ATK#

At this point, I just can’t help but laugh. A situation so bad I can’t help but agree with his logic. If I can’t use any of the units on the field, I’m pretty much stuck, and with three powered-up Abels looming over me, I will definitely lose my remaining lives next turn. He didn’t even bother to move himself to safety. Is this really it? I’ve come all the way here to save Joey and Lydia, only to end up losing. Nobody is going to save me. Who will even inform about Joey and Lydia? No! I can’t let it end like this. I look over to where Joey and Lydia are. Although I can’t see them, just knowing they are there, counting on me, fills me with determination. I can’t afford to lose! This is the moment! I push my hand forward into the void. A sense of calm washes over me, almost as if my entire body went into the void alongside it. I discard all troubles and worries as I reach a new level of focus. Though it is far from it, I experience a serene silence, and I can feel the remaining crystals of my pool swirling around. A crystal nears my hand. Though I can’t see it, with nothing more than my instinct, I close my hand, grabbing the crystal. I pull my crystal and it almost feels like I re-emerge into the world as my turn starts. The game world that is Crystale. As if the heavens were answering my plea, I take a glance at the crystal in my hand and immediately know what to do. The man taunts me some more, edging me to give up, but I have now far past that point. I take the crystal to my chest as I speak up:

“Now! Take thy sins and place them on the scales of the heavens and let their weight reveal thy verdict. Judgement!”

I raise the gray-colored crystal high before it shatters. My entire body starts to glow fiercely, followed by a beam of light shooting from my body up to the sky. Like a drop of water, it touches the skies breaking them open and revealing the heavens. Light far brighter than the sun can ever provide, rain down from above. A ray of light crashes slightly behind me, soon followed by many more in various places. Its light is so blinding we both can’t help but close our eyes to shield ourselves from it. A few moments pass, and in the aftermath, we both carefully and slowly open our eyes to see the effects of what just took place. It seems the Abel behind me has survived the onslaught unscathed. The Abel that took down Camael, seems weakened, while the one blocking my path forward has been eliminated. My path is free and with one of the Abel adjacent to me gone, his restrictions no longer apply. With his spell’s effect now broken, the man starts to panic, as his confidence is what led him to leave himself wide open. He now, however, has nowhere to hide. It’s time to turn this around! Now that the shackles are gone, I can end this. After using those Spell Crystals, he has little MP left, and with the Servant in front of me gone, nothing can block my way forward. I move to a tile to the side and summon my final Servant. “Come to my side, Gabriel!” A new angel descents, with a brown ribbon fluttering around him and a harp in his hands. I just need another attack, so Gabriel should suffice.

“It is time to meet the moment! Gabriel, attack the Summoner!” Gabriel strums his harp and a shockwave reaches the man, taking another life away, leaving him with just one left. “Now, Azreal, it’s time for the final strike!” Azreal moves to the tile adjacent to the Summoner and raises his weapons. In a swift motion, he brings them down, taking the man’s final life away and putting an end to our match.