Chapter 1: Pendulum of Destiny
Chapter Text
Formerly Known of Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V: The Mirrored Pendulum.
(I changed the name because my vision for the story changed from what it was originally, so I felt like the title doesn't it anymore. It's better for me to change it now rather than later, since by then it would already be too late in my opinion).
Minor Spelling, Grammar, and other mistakes may be present.
Here's the Character Profile for my OC/MC:
Name: Haruki Yuuji
Age: 16
Hair Color/s: Grey and green
Eye Color: Grey
Likes: Dueling, People who strive for their childish dreams like himself, Good food
Dislikes: Those to take away other's freedom, Losing a duel, Feeling helpless, Sweets
Personality: A bit rough on the exterior, blunt in his speaking patterns. However, under that rough exterior is that of a regular 16-year-old boy who cares deeply for the people who resonate with him.
Goal/s: To become the strongest duelist in the world & to fulfill a promise to an old friend.
Scale 01: Pendulum of Destiny
A grey-haired youth sat on the ground in the middle of a volcanic arena. Blood dripped out of his mouth and other wounds that were found on his body. His vision blurred as he felt his remaining life slowly slip away from him.
To win.
That was his goal in coming here to Maiami City.
To become the strongest duelist in the world, he challenges the best.
However, in the end, he bit off more than he could. In this underground arena, he would die as nothing more than a forgotten weakling.
A failure destined to die here.
Earlier…
A tall grey-haired teen wearing a white long-sleeve shirt with a blue-collar, dark blue pants, and brown colored boots, gloves, and belt stepped out of the bus—making sure to thank the bus driver before it drove away.
Wrapped around the young man's neck was a necklace, which had a shiny silver pendant attached to it.
He took a deep breath, taking in the bustling city around him.
"Looks like I'm finally here. Maiami City," Yuuji said with a smile.
The dueling capital of the world, renowned for hosting countless tournaments and thrilling dueling events, is a paradise for duelists. With its vibrant scene and a plethora of prestigious dueling schools scattered throughout the city, it stands as the ultimate haven for aspiring duelists. Yuuji, being one of these aspiring duelists, had come here to prove himself and become the greatest duelist the world had ever seen as a promise to his late father, who had passed a few years back.
What to do first? Yuuji wondered. Maybe I should look around to see if I can find some local tournaments.
Or maybe he should try out some of the delicacies around here. He had enough money to indulge in something nice at least once.
"Well, I can't do either of these things if I don't look around," Yuuji said. "I'll just keep going straight in one direction until I find something interesting."
Was it practical? No. But he was going to do it anyway.
A while later, Yuuji passed by many interesting shops and restaurants, visiting each and every one that he found (even if he didn't end up spending any money at the places). However, nothing really caught his eye as something he just needed to have.
Unknown to Yuuji, he had caught the eye of a shady man, who caught sight of his duel disk which was kept in extremely good condition. Not only that, but the pendulum necklace on his neck looked very valuable as well.
The perfect person to trick…no, convince to take part in the underground arena.
The shady man followed Yuuji from a distance for a few blocks, eventually finding an opportunity to approach the youth when he had decided to take a break by sitting down on a bench.
"Excuse me, young man. Do you have a moment?" The man asked.
"Huh? What's up?" Yuuji replied a bit confused at why a man would just suddenly approach him.
"You seem like a daring young man. Would you be interested in taking a risk?"
"No." Yuuji flat-out said, making the man sweat a bit.
"Ahem," The man cleared his throat. "What I meant was that you look like a talented young duelist. I was curious if you wanted to compete in a little match. You'll be compensated heavily of course."
"Sounds suspicious. What's the catch?"
"There is no catch. We…no, I've just been feeling a little generous today, and—"
"—I pass," Yuuji interrupted. "Sounds like a pain."
"You didn't let me finish," The man said in a slightly annoyed tone. "I've been feeling a little generous today, so I wanted to allow someone to compete for a prize."
"..." Yuuji remained silent, a bit intrigued at the proposal.
"If you happen to win this match against our champion, you would be rewarded with ¥150,000 ($1000 in USD). Along with the cash prize, you would also be given free entry into the Maiami Championships even if you haven't fulfilled the requirements."
Now he was interested.
"When and where?" Yuuji immediately asked.
"Just follow me," The man said. "The match will take place in a secluded area, away from the public eye. We don't want the police to butt in on our fun, right?"
Major Red Flag, though Yuuji just didn't care. The prospect of dueling against strong opponents was the reason he came here in the first place. The stronger the opponent, the more the duel would help him grow as a duelist
If this guy even tries to pull something funny, I'll just knock his lights out. Yuuji thought as he followed the man.
The man brought Yuuji into an alleyway towards a door that a tall security officer guarded. After saying some sort of a secret password, the security officer let them through the door, which led into a massive underground room, with a stadium at its center surrounded by large cage walls.
Above it all was a massive high-tech machine—a Real Solid Vision Projector.
"Just make your way into the arena. Your opponent will be here shortly." The shady man instructed, pointing towards an area that led to one side of the arena.
"Got it," Yuuji nodded.
Following the man's instructions, Yuuji made his way to the arena. As he walked onto the arena, he noticed the countless people streaming into the spectator area just beyond the caged arena.
So many people. Yuuji was surprised. And all of them are here to watch this match.
He couldn't deny that it made him a little hype to have this many people watching him duel, even if they all looked like shady no-lives.
—KRRCH!
Yuuji covered his ears as he heard the static of a microphone.
"Welcome to the Underground Duel Circuit, dudes and dudettes!" An announcer, wearing punk-like clothing greeted the crowd. "I'm your host, MC VampVamp, here to commentate an absolute doozy of a match!"
The ground began to shake around Yuuji.
What the hell?
A massive cloud of smoke soon filled the opposite end of the arena.
"In the right corner, standing at 198 cm (6 feet 6 inches), the Champion of the Underworld who had never lost any of his fifty duels. The one, the only, Black Death!"
The roars of the crowd were deafening as a tall, muscular, tan-skinned man with countless tattoos covering his arms and neck appeared from the smoke.
He looks strong. Yuuji thought as he examined his opponent.
"In the left corner is today's challenger, Haruki Yuuji!" MC VampVamp announced. "Will he be able to finally dethrone the reigning champion, or will he end up falling short just like all of the other challengers before him!?"
"A soft-looking little man like you has some nerve coming into the Underground Arena," Black Death said as he looked down on Yuuji. "You'll end up the same as everyone else who has challenged me."
"Soft looking? I think you need to get your eyes checked, old man," Yuuji confidently smirked. "I'm not just any run of the mill challenger. Don't be surprised when I destroy that streak of yours with this duel."
"Many have said such arrogant lines before," Black Death states. "I'm sure a kid like you has had many duels in the past but…"
Black Death pressed some buttons on his duel disk, which sent out a glowing red wire that wrapped around Yuuji's left arm.
"...this isn't going to be like any duel you've ever had before."
"Huh? What's this?" Yuuji wondered out loud as he tried to rip the red wire off of his arm. "Why can't I take it off?"
"That's a duel anchor, a staple here in the underground," Black Death explained. "It's to make sure naive challengers like you can't flee until the duel concludes."
"It's not like I was planning on running anyway," Yuuji scoffed. "I have no reason to run away from somebody like you."
"That's not the only feature," Black Death replied. "Whenever either of us lose Life Points during this duel, we'll receive an electric shock. The more Life Points lost, the stronger the shock."
"So, it's a way to up the stakes of this duel," Yuuji assessed.
"Correct, you caught on quick," Black Death commented.
"Neat," Yuuji simply replied, seemingly unphased by the supposedly concerning news. "When are we starting? A champion like you should obviously know that you shouldn't keep your crowd waiting too long now."
"We'll begin now," Black Death stated as he snapped his finger.
The Real Solid Vision Machine above them began whirring as the area around them transformed into a volcanic wasteland. Chunks of rocky islands floated right above a giant pit of lava. Countless Action Cards were generated above them before being dispersed all throughout the arena.
"It looks like today's duel will be taking place on the Action Field, Volcanic Hell!" MC VampVamp announced. "Black Death's favorite Action Field!"
Yuuji could feel his body beginning to sweat due to the sudden increase in temperature around him.
That's weird. Is it normal for the temperature to change in an Action Field? Yuuji wondered.
He couldn't think much about it as Black Death spoke.
"You better be prepared, Haruki Yuuji. Or else this duel may be your last."
"That won't be enough to scare me off," Yuuji replied as he activated his duel disk. "I've come too far to back off because of a threat like that."
"Your funeral," Black Death responded as he too activated his own duel disk.
"It looks like the two of them are ready to begin!" MC VampVamp announced. "The duel will begin in three…two…one!"
The two drew their first five cards as the duel began.
[DUEL!] The two shout in unison.
Yuuji — LP: 4000
Black Death — LP: 4000
[Turn 1: Yuuji] [H: 5]
"I'll take the first turn!" Yuuji declared. "I summon Antique Light Bulb (Light/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 3)!"
A floating lightbulb appeared on Yuuji's field.
"I set two cards, and end my turn," Yuuji concluded with two face-downs.
"Summoning a weak monster with 0 ATK and DEF Points against me?" Black Death frowned. "How arrogant."
"If you have that much of a problem with it, why don't you deal with it then, champion?" Yuuji retorted with a sly smirk.
"I'll cut your tongue, worm," Black Death threatened before beginning his turn. "My turn! Draw!"
[Turn 2: Black Death] [H: 6]
"From my hand, I summon Ally of Justice - Core Destroyer (Dark/Machine/Effect/ATK: 1200/DEF: 200/LV: 3)!"
A four-legged yellow machine with a red eye on the center of its head appeared on his field.
"Battle!" Black Death immediately moved into his Battle Phase. "Core Destroyer attacks Antique Light Bulb!"
The red eye of the machine begins to glow as it shoots an energy beam towards Yuuji's monster.
"Core Destroyer's effect activates!" Black Death continued. "When this monster attacks a Light Monster, during the damage step that monster is destroyed!"
The energy beam destroys Yuuji's monster, causing him to wince from the sheer force of the shockwave produced by the attack.
That shouldn't be normal either. Yuuji thought. It's like the Real Solid Vision Machine was cranked up to the max.
To make things worse, Black Death's deck seems to be a direct counter to his own, due to him having only Light Monsters incorporated into his deck.
"Now go Core Destroyer, attack him directly!" Black Death shouted.
Core Destroyer shoots another energy beam, its target this time being Yuuji.
I need to find an Action Card. Yuuji thought as he looked around to see if there were any Action Cards nearby. He notices one out in the open on a platform close by, deciding to make a break for it. However, he fails to get close as Black Death suddenly tugs on the duel anchor, pulling Yuuji back and almost making him fall in the lava.
Damn, that was close.
However, he wasn't out of the clear yet as Core Destroyer's attack landed nearby, blowing up the ground and sending Yuuji flying away.
—Z-Zap!
Electricity began flowing through the duel anchor before shocking Yuuji, making him scream out in pain as his Life Points dropped.
Yuuji — LP: 4000 → 2800
"And would you look at that! Black Death has drawn the first blood!" Mc VampVamp announced. "As expected from the champion, he sure doesn't pack his punches!"
After what seemed like forever, the shocking ceased.
"Hah…hah…hah…" Yuuji began panting, still slightly shell-shocked by the pain he had just endured.
"That was just a little taste of what you had gotten yourself into. Main Phase 2," Black Death concluded his Battle Phase. "I set three cards and end my turn!"
Three face down cards appeared on Black Death's field.
"You better step up your game, Haruki," Black Death stated. "Otherwise, you'll just end up hurting yourself."
"R-Right," Yuuji replied as he moved his trembling hand to the top of his deck. "My turn! Draw!"
Yuuji drew a card as he began his turn.
[Turn 3: Yuuji] [H: 3]
When Yuuji saw the card that he drew, he smiled. His body stopped trembling as he regained his composure.
"I summon the Tuner Monster, Antique Resonance Mirror (Light/Fairy/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 2)!"
A pristine-looking floating mirror appears on Yuuji's field.
"You just don't learn," Black Death frowned. "You'll never stand a chance against me by summoning weak monsters like that."
"That's what you think," Yuuji replied. "Antique Resonance Mirror's effect activates! When this monster is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon another 'Antique' Monster directly from my deck! Appear, Antique Forgotten Mask (Light/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5)!"
A floating spirit wearing an old, black mask appeared.
"Now let's battle!" Yuuji declared as he moved into his Battle Phase. "Antique Forgotten Mask attacks Ally of Justice - Core Destroyer!"
The floating spirit begins flying towards Core Destroyer.
"Have you gone mad!?" Black Death shouted. "Your monster has no ATK points!"
"Antique Forgotten Mask's effect activates," Yuuji stated. "When it battles, the ATK points of itself and the monster that it's battling are swapped during the damage step!"
"What?" Black Death's eyes widened.
(Core Destroyer — ATK: 1200 → 0)
(Forgotten Mask — ATK: 0 → 1200)
"Core Destroyer's effect activates, destroying your attacking monster due to its attribute also being Light!" Black Death countered.
"Not this time!" Yuuji declared as he took out a card from his graveyard. "I activate Antique Light Bulb's graveyard effect! By banishing it from my graveyard, I can negate the activation of an effect that targets an 'Antique' Monster I control!"
Yuuji sent the card to his banish zone as Core Destroyer tried to shoot an energy beam at the floating spirit. A golden barrier then appears around the spirit, shielding it from Core Destroyer's attack. The spirit then surrounds Core Destroyer, enveloping it with its ghastly body which begins crushing down on the machine monster—destroying it.
Black Death winced from the shockwaves of the attack.
—Z-Zap!
The burly man then braced himself as he was electrocuted by the duel anchor.
Black Death — LP: 4000 → 2800
(Forgotten Mask — ATK: 1200 → 0)
"Incredible! The challenger has actually managed to damage the champion!" MC VampVamp shouted. "It looks like this kid has some bite in him after all."
"Tch…" Black Death clicked his tongue as he wiped the tiny bit of blood that dripped down from his mouth.
"How was that, champion?" Yuuji wondered with a sly smile. "You still think I'm messing around?"
"You only got a little hit in and you're acting all happy," Black Death replied as he cracked his neck. "This duel of ours has only just begun."
"You're right about that," Yuuji agreed. "I end my turn."
Black Death placed his hand on the top of his deck.
"It looks like I'll have to take you a little more seriously now," Black Death stated in a cold tone. "My turn! Draw!"
[Turn 4: Black Death] [H: 3]
"From my hand, I activate the effect of Ally of Justice - Crimson Eye!" Black Death announced. "When my opponent controls a Light Monster, I can Special Summon this monster to my field!"
A quadrupedal machine with a red coating and blue wings outstretched on its back appeared.
[Ally of Justice - Crimson Eye (Dark/Machine/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 600/DEF: 400/LV: 2)]
"Crimson Eye's effect activates!" Black Death continued. "When this card is Special Summoned by its effect, I can target a Machine-Type Monster in my graveyard and Special Summon it onto my field. Arise once again, Ally of Justice - Core Destroyer (ATK: 1200/DEF: 200/LV: 3)!"
The yellow-coated quadrupedal machine with a red eye appeared once again.
He managed to bring that monster back so easily. Yuuji frowned. No wonder they call him champion.
"Now, the Level 2 Ally of Justice - Crimson Eye tunes the Level 3 Ally of Justice - Core Destroyer!" Black Death declared.
"A Synchro Summon!?" Yuuji cried out in shock.
The aforementioned monsters turned into green rings and orbs respectively, lining up as a massive green pillar of light shot through its center.
"Machines flock together, and give birth to a new power!" Black Death chanted. "I Synchro Summon! Come forth, Level 5! Ally of Justice - Catastor (Dark/Machine/Synchro/Effect/ATK: 2200/DEF: 1200/LV: 5)!"
A four-legged spider-like machine with a white body and golden head with a red dot at the center appeared.
"Would you look at that!" MC VampVamp exclaimed. "Black Death has performed a fantastic Synchro Summon, summoning the very monster he used to annihilate most of his opponents in the past!"
It must have a strong effect. One that's similar to Core Destroyer's. Yuuji assessed. Looking closer, this new monster just looks like a bigger, stronger version of it.
"Battle!" Black Death moved into his Battle Phase. "Catastor attacks Antique Forgotten Mask!"
The red dot at the center of Catastor's head began to glow.
"At the same time, its effect now activates! Whenever it battles a non-Dark Monster, that monster is automatically destroyed! Static Vaporization!"
A red beam of energy is shot from the dot on Catastor's head, vaporizing the Antique Forgotten Mask completely.
Damn, I was right. Yuuji thought as he winced from the shockwaves of the attack. It does have an effect similar to Core Destroyer.
"Catastor now targets Antique Resonance Mirror for an attack!" Black Death announced. "And once again, its effect activates, destroying your monster!"
Catastor shoots another energy beam, vaporising the pristine mirror and causing Yuuji to wince once again from the shockwaves of the attack.
"Now for you!" Black Death moved his attention to Yuuji himself. "Ally of Justice - Catastor now attacks you directly!"
The machine monster shoots another energy beam, this time targeting it at Yuuji. Yuuji begins running, hopping across multiple floating islands to an Action Card he spotted. At the same time, noticing Yuuji attempting to find an Action Card, Black Death tugs on the duel anchor once again, trying to knock the young man off balance once again.
"Not this time, bastard…" Yuuji muttered with gritted teeth.
Yuuji shifts his own body weight sideways, rolling onto the ground. This made him heavy enough to not get pulled away by Black Death, allowing him to pick up the Action Card he had landed near.
"I activate the Action Spell, Evasion!" Yuuji announced. "With it, when my opponent's monster declares an attack, I can negate that attack instead!"
"Tough luck, kid!" Black Death revealed an Action Card in his hand that he had picked up earlier. "I activate the Action Spell, No Action! Negating the activation of your Action Spell!"
Yuuji's duel disk rejected his Action Spell, forcing him to send it to the graveyard.
"Damn…" Yuuji cursed as he sent Evasion to his graveyard. "Then what about this!"
One of Yuuji's two set Trap Cards is activated.
"I activate my set trap, Emergency Barrier!" Yuuji declared. "When my Life Points are less than or equal to that of my opponents, I can reduce the battle damage I receive for the rest of this turn to zero!"
A barrier formed around Yuuji, shielding him from the energy beam.
"You've managed to avoid harm this turn," Black Death stated. "I end my turn."
That was way too close for comfort. Yuuji grimaced. I need to change up my gameplan.
Yuuji placed his hand over the top of his deck.
"Let's formulate a plan after this draw…" Yuuji muttered. "My turn! Draw!"
He drew a card as his turn began.
[Turn 5: Yuuji] [H: 3]
He took a moment to look at the cards in his hand before continuing.
"I activate the Spell Card, Antique Repair!" Yuuji announced. "With it, I can Special Summon back all of my 'Antique' Monsters that were destroyed last turn! Return to my field, Antique Resonance Mirror (ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 0) and Antique Forgotten Mask (ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5)!"
The pristine mirror and masked spirit appeared on Yuuji's field once again.
"Bringing those weak monsters back?" Black Death frowned. "Don't tell me you plan on making the same plays you've made before."
"Of course not," Yuuji smiled. "I actually plan on taking a page from your book."
Black Death raised an eyebrow from the statement as Yuuji continued his turn.
"I now tune my Level 2 Antique Resonance Mirror together with my Level 5 Antique Forgotten Mask!" Yuuji declared.
"What!?" Black Death cried out, being genuinely shocked for the first time in this duel.
Yuuji's aforementioned monsters transform into green rings and orbs respectively, lining up as a giant pillar of light shot through the center.
"Item of old lost through time. Bring about your legacy!" Yuuji chanted. "I Synchro Summon! Come forth, Level 7! The statue that stood guard in front of the emperor's tomb, Antique Guardian Statue (Light/Fairy/Synchro/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 7) in defense mode!"
A giant stone statue depicting a man with a shield appeared on Yuuji's field. A faint blue aura could be seen surrounding the statue.
"Incredible!" MC VampVamp exclaimed. "Haruki Yuuji has managed to respond to Black Death's Synchro Summon with his own!? Just what other tricks does this lad have planned!?"
"I set one card and end my turn," Yuuji concluded his turn, much to the surprise of Black Death and everyone observing the duel.
"That's it? No counterattack?" Black Death frowned. "I expected more from an Extra Deck monster."
"I may be a little arrogant, but I'm not stupid," Yuuji stated. "I know that with what I have right now, I can't win with only brute force."
"It seems like you're not as immature as I made you out to be," Black Death commented as he put his hand over the top of his deck. "However, we'll see if that Synchro Monster of yours will be enough to counteract my assault. My turn! Draw!"
Black Death drew a card as he began his turn.
[Turn 6: Black Death] [H: 3]
"I summon the Tuner Monster, Ally of Justice - Cycle Reader (Dark/Machine/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000/LV: 3)!" A machine spider appeared on his field. "Then, I activate my set Continuous Spell, Swords of Concealing Light! When this card is activated, all monsters on my opponent's field are flipped face-down. Furthermore, monsters you control cannot change their battle positions, nor can they be flipped face-up."
Antique Guardian Statue disappears, being turned into a face down card. A dark-chained spirit appeared above the face down card soon after.
This is bad! Yuuji grimaced. Antique Guardian Statue's effect only remains active while it is face-up on my field. Now that it's face down, it's just a regular 0 ATK and DEF monster.
"That expression of yours tells me that I messed up your plan," Black Death smirked. "A shame, since mine is only just beginning! Battle!"
Black Death moved into his Battle Phase.
"Ally of Justice - Cycle Reader attacks your face down monster!"
The machine spider crawls forward, extending its legs to slash through the face down card, destroying it and causing Yuuji to wince.
"Ally of Justice - Catastor now attacks you directly!" Black Death continues as his monster shoots a red energy beam towards Yuuji.
"I activate the Continuous Trap, Halve Attack!" Yuuji shouted as the card he had set last turn was activated. "As long as this card remains on my field—woah!"
Yuuji trips as he feels a tug on the duel anchor. When he regains his footing, he notices Black Death grab an Action Card that was on top of a small rock hill.
"I activate the Action Spell, Magma Cremation!" Black Death countered. "When my opponent activates a Spell/Trap Card during the Battle Phase, I can negate the activation of the effect and destroy that card!"
Yuuji's Trap Card was suddenly destroyed.
"Dammit!" Yuuji cursed.
With nothing shielding him, Yuuji is hit by Ally of Justice - Catastor's attack. The attack explodes on impact, sending him flying into a rock. The force of him slamming into the rock caused him to cough up blood.
—Thud!
—Z-Zap!
Shortly after the young man fell to his knees, the duel anchor began to send electricity into his body, electrocuting him. Yuuji let out a blood-curdling scream as he could feel his consciousness wane in and out—his Life Points dropping greatly.
Yuuji — LP: 2800 → 600
The shock went on for well over a minute, before eventually subsiding.
"Blerg!" Yuuji covered his mouth as he coughed up even more blood, most of it spilling onto the ground.
I-I bit off more than I can chew. Yuuji finally realized the gravity of the situation he was in.
He thought he could handle it, and he was handling it. So what happened? How did things go so wrong so quickly?
"You're suffering isn't over yet, kid," Black Death said in a cold tone. "The Level 3 Ally of Justice - Cycle Reader tunes the Level 5 Ally of Justice - Catastor!"
The two aforementioned monsters transform into green rings and orbs respectively, lining up as a pillar of green light shot through the center.
"Machines flock together once again. Bring about the titan that marks the end of justice as we know it!" Black Death chanted. "I Synchro Summon! Come forth, Level 8! Destroyer of Justice - Violent Cannon (Dark/Machine/Synchro/Effect/ATK: 2800/DEF: 0/LV: 8)!"
A massive machine tank coated in black and yellow paint appeared. In front of its giant cannon was a red scope that aimed directly at Yuuji.
"There it is! Black Death ace monster that has never been defeated!" MC VampVamp announced. "It looks like this duel is finally coming to an end!"
"It's about time!"
"Kill him!"
The crowd of rough spectators began cheering.
"While Violent Cannon is on the field, during the End Phase of each turn, you take 1000 points of damage!" Black Death declared as a beam of energy was being charged within his monster's cannon. "Prepare to be annihilated. Eradication Ray!"
The machine tank shoots an energy beam at Yuuji, packing enough power to eradicate anything in its path.
"I…activate my set trap…Mirror's Embrace." Yuuji said as he struggled back onto his feet. "When I…When I would take damage by an effect…I can…reduce the damage I receive to zero instead."
A barrier appeared around Yuuji, protecting him from the surely fatal attack.
"You can squirm all you want, your demise is imminent," Black Death stated. "It's your turn now."
"..." Yuuji had an unsure expression as he stared at his opponent's field. He was screwed. The sole card in his hand was an Equip Spell that couldn't help him in this situation.
Am I…going to die here? Yuuji thought he clutched his beating head.
His vision blurred as he began to reminisce on his reason for coming here in the first place. It was to become the strongest right? He planned on throwing himself at the strongest opponents in the room until he eventually won.
A naive mindset that had gotten him in this situation in the first place.
Thanks to that naive idea, this underground arena would be his grave.
Instead of becoming the strongest, he would end up as a forgotten nobody, a statistic on this man's record.
Nobody would care if I just gave up right? A dark thought went through Yuuji's mind. My only living relative has died already, my mentor had disappeared to God knows where, and I have no actual friends.
His vision blurred, his hearing dulling as he began falling forward—he stopped struggling, accepting his fate.
' When times are rough, just smile. '
A phrase echoed through his mind.
' You can't control what happens to you, but you can control how you react to it. '
A quote that his father said to motivate him when he was five.
' Break free from your doubts, and fight. Just like a Pendulum, if you're pushed into a corner, fight back just as hard. '
One that he didn't understand at first.
' All for the sake of… '
"…Winning." Yuuji finished the sentence with a mutter, stomping his feet on the ground to stop himself from falling. "To win, let go of any doubts weighing on your mind, and fight…and fight…and fight and fight and fight."
It was all making sense now. The final piece of a puzzle he was missing to complete himself.
Doubt. That was what was holding him back.
While he always tried to act confident, even to the point of sounding arrogant, it wasn't true confidence.
It was an act.
True confidence isn't like that at all.
"Having faith in yourself even in the face of adversity. That's what you were trying to teach me, right Father?" Yuuji began laughing, the pendant on his necklace beginning to glow. "How was I dumb enough to not realize this sooner?"
He may not be able to get rid of his old habit completely, but that didn't matter.
All that mattered now was the present moment.
"Sounds like you have some loose screws in your head," Black Death frowned. "Did you lose so much blood that you began hallucinating?"
"None of that matters right now," Yuuji stated, ignoring Black Death's comment as he placed his hand on top of his deck. "This turn, I'll scale that wall put up in front of me!"
Elsewhere, on the surface, a young man with a similar face, with tomato-colored hair, had reached a similar epiphany. The blue pendant on his necklace begins to glow brightly.
"Swing, Pendulum. More and more…" The youth muttered.
[Current Theme Playing: Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Sound Duel 1 - Swing! Pendulum of Souls]
"...Become the guiding light that ignites the path to victory!" Yuuji finished the phrase. "My turn! DRAW!"
Yuuji drew with all of his might, the top of his deck glowing brightly.
[Turn 7: Yuuji] [H: 2]
Yuuji looked at the card he drew and smiled.
"I activate the Spell Card, Final Stand!" Yuuji announced. "In order to activate the Spell, I must first discard all other cards from my hand, and forfeit my next two draw phases."
"Forfeiting your next two draw phases!?" Black Death was shocked. "Have you gone mad!?"
"It's a price I have to pay to win this duel," Yuuji stated. "When Final Stand is activated, I can draw cards from my deck until I have five cards in my hand! I draw!"
Yuuji drew five cards. However, he paused for a moment when he noticed that the five cards that he drew were all blank.
"Blank cards?" Yuuji was confused. "But why?"
Soon, his pendulum necklace began to glow, transforming the blank cards in his hand to monster cards. However, unlike regular Monster Cards, half of the cards had the regular Monster Card color, while the other half had the green color of a Spell Card.
"..." Yuuji was shocked for a moment, but eventually just smiled. "I don't know what the hell is happening, but let's go with it."
The people of the arena, no…the whole world would be shocked about the event that transpired that day.
"I set the Pendulum Scale with Scale 1 Antique Maker - Swinging Soul (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 2000/LV: 3/SC: 1) and Scale 8 Antique Maker - Mira (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5/SC: 8)!" Yuuji declared as he placed two cards on opposite ends of his duel disk.
The words [PENDULUM] appear between them in rainbow font. Two transparent blue pillars appeared beside Yuuji, with a magician in a white robe holding a pendulum and a woman in a black cloak holding a mirror rising into each zone. At the center of it all, a giant, silver pendulum swung above him.
"What the hell is happening?" Black Death jaw dropped.
"Now I can summon monsters Levels 2 through 7 all at the same time!" Yuuji announced. "Shine, Pendulum of Destiny! Draw an arc across the ether, and reflect onto me a path to victory! I Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my faithful companions!"
The giant silver pendulum drew a portal in the sky, as three beams of energy shoot out from it.
"The item used to store the tales of old, Antique Journal (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 4/SC: 3)!"
An old journal with pages written in an unidentified language appeared.
"The blazing sword that shines in the face of adversity, Antique Dawning Blaze (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5/SC: 7)!"
A fiery blade with a golden hilt appeared.
"And finally, amber-eyed dragon born from the deep embrace of phantoms, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7/SC: 4)!"
A giant, yellow-eyed dragon with purple scales and bone-like armor plated around it appeared. Multiple colorful gemstones could be found scattered around its body.
At LDS Tower…
Akaba Reiji, a man with grey hair, wearing red glasses and a similarly colored scarf moved with quick strides—a serious expression present on his face. He had just gotten an urgent report about something that had just occurred a few moments ago. After pressing a few buttons on a keypad, the door in front of him opened. He walked into the control room, gazing at the panicking security personnel who were frantically searching for something.
"What's the report?" Reiji asked as he approached a tall man with dark hair and glasses with dark blue lenses.
"We've managed to detect two sources of high-level summoning energies," Nakajima stated. "From our findings, the source of the energies is a summoning method called Pendulum—one that we have never seen before."
"Pendulum Summoning?" Reiji's eyes widened. A small smile formed on his normally stoic face. "How interesting…"
Back in the arena…
"He summoned three monsters simultaneously. Not only that, but he also summoned Level 5 and 7 monsters without using tributes!?" Black Death's shoutef. "This can't be legal!"
"My duel disk says it's just fine, so deal with it," Yuuji stated. "Since the duel didn't automatically end, it means that this summoning method is just as legal as any other summoning method."
"Tch," Black Death clicked his tongue.
"Antique Journal's effect activates!" Yuuji shouts. "Once per turn, I can target a monster in my Pendulum Zone, and Special Summon it! However, its effects are negated! Descend to the field, Antique Maker - Mira (ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5)!"
The old journal suddenly swelled, its size increasing rapidly. At the same moment, a portal opened beneath Antique Maker - Mira, pulling her inside. She reappeared seconds later from another portal that formed on one of the journal's pages.
"Antique Dawning Blaze's effect activates!" Yuuji announced. "It can equip itself to a monster on my field. Furthermore, when a monster is equipped with Dawning Blaze, it gains 500 ATK for each monster currently on the field. Since there are two monsters on my field and one on yours, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon gains 1500 ATK!"
Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon caught the hilt of Dawning Blaze in its mouth.
(Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon — ATK: 2500 → 4000)
"Antique Maker - Swinging Soul's Pendulum Effect activates!" Yuuji continued. "When a Pendulum Monster on my field has its ATK increased, I can increase its ATK by an extra 800!"
(Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon — ATK: 4000 → 4800)
"4800 ATK!?" Black Death cried out in shock.
"Now all of my preparations are complete. Here comes the climax!" Yuuji announced as he pumped his fist forward. "Battle! Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon, attack Destroyer of Justice - Violent Cannon! Blazing Phantom Rush!"
Phantom Dragon charges forward, blade in its mouth which ignites into a massive, fiery blade.
"I won't falter!" Black Death shouts as one of his face-down traps is activated. "I activate my Trap Card, Supreme Justice! When a Dark Monster I control would be destroyed by battle, I can negate its destruction! With this, your fate is sealed!"
"Naive!" Yuuji shouts, surprising Black Death. The orbs scattered across Phantom Dragon's body begin to glow. "Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon's effect now activates! When it deals battle damage, it deals additional damage equal to the number of Pendulum Monsters on my field other than itself times 600. Meaning on top of the original damage you take already; you take an additional 1200!"
"What!?" Black Death exclaimed. He quickly turned to search for an Action Spell, finding one on a nearby island. However, before he could reach it, he was stopped by Yuuji who pulled on the anchor to keep the man still.
"Sucks to be on the receiving end of this, huh?" Yuuji smirked.
"Dammit, let go!" Black Death cursed as he tried to move. He was so close to reaching an Action Card, but he couldn't get that tiny bit closer thanks to Yuuji's interference.
"Now finish him, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon!"
Phantom Dragon slams the massive flame sword down on Violent Cannon, slicing cleanly through it and creating an explosion that tears the duel anchor, and sends Black Death flying into a rock hill.
Black Death — LP: 2800 → 0
Winner: Yuuji
[BGM (Background Music) Ends Here.]
The Action Field disappeared, returning them to the arena. The crowd was left completely stunned by what had just happened. Yuuji just let out a sigh as he turned the other way, walking out of the arena without a word. However, before he could leave the underground, he was stopped by that same shady man, who greeted him with a smile while clapping.
"What a fantastic duel," The man complimented. "You put on quite the show for us all. Defeating the Champion is not easy…hey! Where are you going!?"
"I'm leaving," Yuuji stated as he kept walking towards the exit.
"Leaving, eh? We can't have that, now can we?" The shady man said with a sinister smirk as five tall men in uniform surrounded him. "I've taken a liking to those cards of yours, so I'll be taking them. I'm sure they'll sell for a good buck in the underground market."
"Revealing your true colors now, huh?" Yuuji frowned. "How scummy of you."
"It's just business," The shady man said as he took off his sunglasses. "It's nothing personal, kid. We can't have you go around freely after thrashing our champion like that."
"Makes sense," Yuuji replied with an uninterested expression as he sized up the five guards surrounding him. "However, you've made one fatal error…"
"Huh?"
"If you think I'm about to just come with you quietly…" Yuuji said as he cracked his knuckles. "...I hope you're ready to bite the curb."
A guard swings his fist at Yuuji, but he ducks under it, slamming his elbow directly into the guard's side, making him drop almost instantly.
"One down…" Yuuji turned to the rest. "Five to go."
After beating six grown men into a pulp, Yuuji dusts his hands off.
That was surprisingly easy. Even the police back home would give me more trouble than them. Yuuji thought as he looked at the six unconscious men around him. I should probably leave now; I doubt that I'd have the stamina to fight off another group of grown men.
Yuuji made his way through the exit, finally returning back to the surface. As he walked down the alleyway, he made himself a subconscious promise not to follow a suspicious man anywhere ever again—something that should've been obvious now that he was thinking about it, but he thought he could handle it.
"Never again…" Yuuji sighed. "I'm exhausted."
For now, he would just find a place to stay tonight and call it a day.
A while later, he found a decent hotel to stay in. It wasn't too fancy, but it's not like he was complaining. He lived in way worse anyway. After taking a quick shower, he threw himself onto the bed, instantly sinking into it.
"Those new cards, where did they come from?"
His mind drifted off to his new cards. He had never seen cards like those in his life. Not to mention, that entirely new summoning method that he had just done on the blue. He didn't even remember how he did it, as if he had just acted on instinct there.
Ah, well whatever. Yuuji casually dismissed these thoughts. I'm too tired to think about weird shit. I'll worry about it tomorrow
He felt his vision fade as he began dozing off to sleep.
Elsewhere, at LDS Tower…
Nakajima walked into the office, with a clipboard in his hand. Akaba Reiji sensed his presence, greeting the man without even needing to turn to him.
"Nakajima, what's the report?"
"Reiji-dono, we've managed to identify the two users of this new summoning method," Nakajima informed his employer. "One of the sources came from Sakaki Yuya, a 16-year-old student at Maiami City High School. His duel class is Junior Youth. Here is his tournament record."
Nakajima pressed a few buttons, changing the monitor screen in front of them. Reiji analyzed the result with a neutral expression.
"A win rate of 50%. Where does he study dueling?"
"He studies at the You Show Duel School."
"You Show Duel School?" Reiji seemed to recognize the name of the school. "And his name is Sakaki Yuya, right?"
"That's right," Nakajima nodded. "As you can tell, he is Sakaki Yusho's son."
"Sakaki Yusho, the man who disappeared three years ago, has a son who has used an unknown summoning method…" Reiji muttered. "What about the other user?"
Nakajima presses a few buttons, changing the screen to show Yuuji and his win rate.
"Haruki Yuuji, 16-years-old. A duelist born in the Outpost." Nakajima stated.
"The Outpost? The area with the highest amount of crime in Japan?" Reiji wondered with a surprised expression. "A place that even the police have trouble keeping under control."
"Yes. As for his win rate…" Nakajima pressed a few buttons, showing Yuuji's record. "An overall unimpressive record. Out of the sixty duels he had this year, he has only won twenty."
"A 33% winrate…" Reiji muttered. "Is there anything else we know about him?"
"Nothing," Nakajima stated. "All we know is that he had just arrived in Maiami City today and is currently residing at the Black Lotus Hotel near LDS Tower."
"Do a background check on both of them," Reiji ordered. "Especially Haruki Yuuji. I want to know everything about him, from his past, to even the food he likes. Everything."
"Right away, Reiji-dono," Nakajima bowed. "I'll get to it now."
Nakajima swiftly left the office, leaving Reiji alone with his thoughts.
"Sakaki Yuya, and Haruki Yuuji…just how are you two connected…"
He didn't mention it to Nakajima, but he was sure that he noticed this as well. The two youths have nearly identical faces. If it wasn't for their other features like hair color or choice of clothing, they'd look nearly identical, like brothers.
This can't be a coincidence… Reiji thought as he pulled up another file, a secret file that his father had left before disappearing. On it depicted two purple-haired children, a boy and a girl. The purple-haired boy had a face similar to that of both Yuuji and Yuya.
Custom/Altered Cards:
Monster Cards -
Antique Light Bulb
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 3
Light/Fairy/Effect
Monster Effect: If an Antique Monster you control is targeted by an effect that would destroy it: You can banish this card from your Graveyard; negate that effect.
Antique Resonance Mirror
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 2
Light/Fairy/Tuner/Effect
Monster Effect: When this card is Normal Summoned onto the field: Target 1 Level 5 or lower 'Antique' Monster from your deck, and Special Summon it onto the field.
Antique Forgotten Mask
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5
Light/Fairy/Effect
Monster Effect: During the damage step, swap the ATK of this monster and the monster it is battling until the End Phase.
Ally of Justice - Crimson Eye
ATK: 600, DEF: 400, LV: 2
Dark/Machine/Tuner/Effect
Monster Effect: When your opponent controls a LIGHT Monster; you can Special Summon this card.
Antique Guardian Statue
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 7
Light/Fairy/Synchro/Effect
Monster Effect: While face-up on the field, if this card would be destroyed; banish one "Antique" Monster from your graveyard instead. Your opponent can only target this monster for attacks while it is on the field.
Destroyer of Justice - Violent Cannon
ATK: 2800, DEF: 0, LV: 8
Dark/Machine/Synchro/Effect
Monster Effect: This card cannot be in Defense Position. If this card battles a Light Monster, during the Damage Step (Quick Effect): Destroy that monster, and if you do, inflict damage to your opponent equal to its original ATK. You can only use this effect of Destroyer of Justice once per turn. During the End Phase of either player's turn: Inflict 1000 damage to your opponent.
Antique Maker - Swinging Soul
ATK: 100, DEF: 2000, LV: 3, SC: 1
Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn: If a Pendulum Monster's ATK is increased, you can increase its ATK by an additional 800.
Monster Effect: If you control an Antique Monster in your Main Monster Zone, you can Special Summon this card from your hand. Once per turn: You can target 1 monster on the field; switch its ATK and DEF until the End Phase.
Antique Maker - Mira
ATK: 2000, DEF: 100, LV: 5, SC: 8
Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per Battle Phase: If you would take battle damage, you can negate that damage, and if you do, inflict damage to your opponent equal to half the damage you would have taken.
Monster Effect: Once per turn: If this card is Summoned, you can add 1 Antique Card from your Deck to your hand.
Antique Journal
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 4, SC: 3
Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn: You can Special Summon this card from your Pendulum Zone.
Monster Effect: Once per turn: You can target 1 monster in either Pendulum Zone; Special Summon it to your field. Monsters Special Summoned by this effect have their effects negated.
Antique Dawning Blaze
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5, SC: 7
Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Pendulum Monsters you control cannot be destroyed by battle.
Monster Effect: Once per turn: You can target 1 monster you control; equip this card to that target. It gains 500 ATK for each monster on the field at the time this effect is activated.
Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon
ATK: 2500, DEF: 2000, LV: 7, SC: 4
Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn: when an attack is declared involving a face-up monster while you control only Pendulum Monsters on your field: You can make that monster you control gain 1200 ATK until the end of the Battle Phase (even if this card leaves the field).
Monster Effect: When this Pendulum Summoned card inflicts battle damage: deal damage to your opponent equal to the number of Pendulum Monsters on your field (excluding this card) x 600. If this card is destroyed by battle or card effect, set it into an empty Pendulum Zone.
Spell/Trap Cards -
Emergency Barrier
Normal Trap
When your Life Points are lower than your opponent's: For the rest of this turn, reduce all battle damage you would take to 0.
Antique Repair
Normal Spell
When this card resolves: Special Summon all Antique Monsters that were destroyed during your previous turn.
Swords of Concealing Light
Continuous Spell
Destroy this card during your 2nd Standby Phase after activation. When this card resolves: Change all monsters your opponent controls to face-down Defense Position. While this card is on the field, monsters your opponent controls cannot change their battle positions or be flipped face-up.
Halve Attack
Continuous Trap
Halves the battle damage you receive as long as this card remains face-up on the field
Magma Cremation
Action Spell
When your opponent activates a Spell/Trap Card during the Battle Phase, negate the activation of the effect and destroy that card.
Mirror's Embrace
Normal Trap
When you would take effect damage; reduce the damage you receive to zero.
Final Stand
Normal Spell
You must forfeit your next two Draw Phases and discard all other cards in your hand to activate this card's effect. Draw card until you have five in your hand.
Supreme Justice
Counter Trap
When a Dark Monster you control would be destroyed by battle, negate its destruction.
And that's the first chapter. The story starts off a little slow, since there are a bunch of pieces that need to be set up for later on. The story starts ramping up around the 4th chapter and will really ramp up when you get to Chapter 8 and onwards.
I wrote this chapter and the next chapter when I wasn't too sure about what to do with Yuuji's character, so sorry if he seems a bit off. Chapter 3 and onwards is when I finally decided to find a footing when to it came to how I wrote him, and I'm hoping that you the reader will come to like him a lot.
As for the development of his deck throughout the story, he will be receiving all of the Manga Dragons (plus 1 more due to there being a Ritual Dimension now), but he won't be getting them all at once. Thanks to a suggestion from Supreme King winter Yuki, I decided to make him gradually gain the dragons whenever he resonates with one of his counterparts. Makes things easier for me when writing the duels since he won't be overbearingly powerful at the start (he'll still be really strong though).
There will also be many evolved forms and fusions between them later on, so stayed tuned for that.
That's all I wanted to say. Drop some comments, I like seeing that number go up 👍. The next chapter will come out at random, so look out for it.
Chapter 2: Blazing Revolution
Chapter Text
Edit #1: 2/17 Chapters Revamped.
Be sure to drop some reviews. I see all of them so feel free to speak out your mind and drop some suggestions or comments about the story. Criticism is also welcome (as long as it isn't brainless flaming of the story).
Disclaimer: Minor spelling, grammar, and other mistakes may be present.
Scale 02: Blazing Revolution
The next day…
Yuuji sat on a couch, staring at a TV intently. Scattered across the table in front of him were a bunch of Pendulum Cards that had just spawned in his deck after his duel against Black Death. On the TV was a video of a youth around his age with tomato-colored hair, performing a Pendulum Summon in front of thousands of onlooking spectators.
"Swing, pendulum! More and more!" Yuya shouted as he drew with all his might, his deck glowing in response as he does so. His pendulum necklace begins to glow as well as it swung around.
The tomato-haired youth paused for a bit, staring at his cards for a few moments in shock. However, this shock doesn't last long as his expression turns serious. The young man reveals two cards in his hand.
"I set the Pendulum Scale with the Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and Scale 8 Timegazer Magician!" Yuya declared as he placed the cards on opposite ends on his duel blade. Two bright, transparent blue pillars appeared behind him, as a magician in white holding a white staff with a circular hilt and a magician in black with gear ornaments scattered across its clothing rose into each of the zones. The numbers 1 and 8 appeared on the zones in a strange, golden font as a giant pendulum materialized in the sky above him.
"Now I can summon monsters between the Levels 2 through 7 all at the same time!" Yuya announced.
"What's happening?" Strong Ishijima wondered aloud.
"Swing, Pendulum of Souls!" Yuya chanted. "Draw an arc across the ether! I Pendulum Summon!" The pendulum necklaces draws a portal in the sky, with three beams of energy shooting out from it. "Come out, my monsters!"
Performapal Whip Snake, Performapal Sword Fish, and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon appear from the beams of energy, swarming onto Yuya's field.
"He summoned three monsters simultaneously?" Strong Ishijima's mouth was agape. "And that Dragon, it's a Level 7 monster! You shouldn't be able to summon high Level monsters like that without tributes!"
But the duel hasn't ended yet, which only meant one thing. This summoning method was completely legal.
The rest of the recording went as follows. Using a combination of his monster's field effects and Pendulum Effects, Yuya manages to break through Strong Ishijima's defenses, dealing the finishing blow with Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's effect which deals double damage to the opponent when it battles a Level 5 or higher monster.
Everytime he watched the clip, only one thought arose in his mind.
This is so cool!
At first, Yuuji was a little surprised and disappointed that he wasn't the only one with this weird summoning method. But that feeling was quickly overshadowed by the bubbling excitement brought by seeing it in action.
"Moments like these are the reason I love dueling so much," Yuuji smiled.
He now had a whole new summoning method to learn about. To make things better, unlike with Fusion, Xyz, or Ritual Summoning, he actually had the cards required to do it.
Yuuji began looking through the cards on his table, taking the time to study his new cards thoroughly.
"There are so many new cards in here," The young man commented. "It's a little hard to keep track of all of them."
He took out a card from the pile. Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon, the monster he used to defeat Black Death.
"Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon...a DARK Pendulum Dragon monster. So, Pendulum is an attribute, just like Synchro, Xyz, Ritual, and Fusion. Due to it having the Pendulum attribute, it gets an additional effect called a Pendulum Effect, which is active when it is placed in my Pendulum Scale."
Yuuji began rubbing his chin, deep in thought. He picked up the Spell Card, Antique Repair, comparing it with Phantom Dragon.
"That green part of the card...it looks just like that of a Spell Card," The young man noticed. "It must have some sort of significance."
An idea then popped up in Yuuji's mind.
Wait, I remember something. When I set my Pendulum Scale for the first time, on the monitor the cards were placed in the Spell/Trap Zone. Yuuji recalled. Only Spell/Trap Cards can be played in those zones, so if I am able to place my Pendulum Cards in them...
That would mean that Pendulum Cards are treated as Spell Cards, at least when they are placed into a Pendulum Scale.
...
Yuuji shrugged, "Not really sure why I would need that information, but I guess its a cool fact to learn."
He shuffled his deck back together, placing it back in the deck holder of his duel disk. He then glanced at the TV Screen, with was paused on the frame where Yuya was standing with all of the monsters he summoned using the power of Pendulum.
Now that I get a better look at him, doesn't he look just like me?
Minus the different styled hair, eyes, or clothing choice, the two of them looked eerily similar. Way to similar for it to be a coincidence.
"I don't remember my father ever mentioning that I had a twin," Yuuji frowned. "Did he hide it from me all this time?" Yuuji wondered before shaking his head. "No...it can't be. It's probably just a coincidence."
"Though..."
This did give him an idea.
Sakaki Yuya, huh? Maybe I should try and find him? I might be able to get us to duel each other.
What better way was there to truly put these cards to the test than by dueling another Pendulum user?
"They said he was from You Show, right? Guess it's time to go pay it a visit."
An hour later, after struggling to navigate through the city, he finally arrived in front of You Show. He was surprised to see that many other people had a similar idea as his own, a large line forming outside of the school with odd architecture.
"Tch," Yuuji clicked his tongue before muttering, "I didn't think there would be a huge ass line like this. What the hell are they here for? Don't tell me they're here to see Yuya too..."
"Do you think they'd let me join?" A youth asked another. "Sakaki Yuya's Pendulum Summoning was the greatest."
"I hope so. Otherwise, I would've come here for nothing." Another youth replied. "Maybe they'll even lend us some Pendulum Cards of our own."
Yuuji silently eavesdropped on the conversations from the excited people around him.
Great. They are here to see Sakaki Yuya.
Most of the conversations he heard told a similar tale. Nothing really piqued his interest until he heard one certain conversation.
"Hey, I heard a rumor." A female youth said to her friend.
"A rumor?" Her friend raised an eyebrow. "What kind?"
"I heard that there was another Pendulum User somewhere in this city."
"Another one? That can't be true."
"A lot of people were talking about it, with some even saying that they saw it with their own eyes. At least, that's what I've heard."
Her friend sighed, "You really need to stop blindly believing these rumors. Most of them are fake anyway."
Yuuji's eyes widened at this conversation, but he quickly turned away before the girls noticed his gaze.
Rumors from the underground sure spread fast. Yuuji thought. It's expected though. There were a lot of spectators for my duel against that champion. But to think it spread that fast…
Luckily for him, the rumor didn't say anything other than the fact that there might be another Pendulum User. Saves him the hassle of people swarming him for info about his cards.
They can just go bother that Yuya guy for them.
After waiting for a good half an hour (there were way too many people), Yuuji finally managed to get inside You Show. What annoyed him was the fact that he had to fill out an application to join You Show, or else he wouldn't even be allowed inside. It made sense, but he didn't want to join a school specializing in entertainment dueling.
Not that there was anything wrong with it. He likes to have fun while dueling too. He just wasn't the type of guy who would like to entertain a crowd.
He dozed off when Shuzo, the principal of You Show, began his speech about the history of You Show and its purpose. Things he wasn't interested in hearing.
Others in the crowd seemed to share this same sentiment.
"How long is he going to talk?" A youth asked another.
"I want to see a Pendulum Summon now. I can't handle this old man's yapping any longer."
Me too. Me too.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" A voice announced behind the ground, drawing their attention. Under a spotlight in a dark room was a youth with tomato-colored hair. "Welcome to my one-man show today—!"
—Smack!
A pink-haired girl smacks the youth in the back of the head with a paper fan.
"What do you mean by one-man show? I'm here too, you know!"
"R-Right. Sorry, Yuzu." The youth apologized.
"Whatever," Yuzu shook her head. "Let's just get this duel started already. The crowd is already growing impatient."
Soon after that, they begin their exhibition duel.
[DUEL!] The two shout in unison.
Yuya — LP: 4000
Yuzu — LP: 4000
The duel proceeds as normal, with nothing out of the ordinary occuring. That is until Turn 3 rolls around, with Yuya building up hype with the crowd as he is about to Pendulum Summon.
Yuya reveals two cards in his hand.
"I set the Pendulum Scale with the Scale 4 Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and the Scale 8 Timegazer Magician!" Yuya declared as he placed the cards on both ends of his duel blade. A familiar magician in black with gear ornaments scattered across its body and a massive red-scaled dragon with massive horns which had countless colorful orbs indented into it rose into each of his Pendulum Zones. The numbers 4 and 8 appear on the zones in a strange, golden font.
"Alright! Come, Pendulum!" Shuzo exclaimed with excitement.
[Pendulum! Pendulum! Pendulum!] The crowd of eager spectator's began to chant.
"Here it comes! I Pendulum Summon!" Yuya announced. "Come forth, Performapal Whip Snake and Performapal Sword Fish!"
However, when he tried to play the two monsters, an error message popped up.
...
There was a long pause as they waited for something to happen. But...nothing did.
"Hey, what's going on?" Yuya had a worried look on his face. "Sword Fish! Whip Snake! Why aren't you guys being summoned?"
That confirms it. He didn't take the time to figure out how Pendulum Summoning worked. Yuuji frowned. He just tried to summon Level 2 and 4 monsters when he current Pendulum Scale only allows for him to summons Level 5 through 7 monsters.
Unfortunately, just like Yuuji thought, Yuya had no idea of how to Pendulum Summon. The tomato-haired youth tried to mimic the conditions of his duel against Strong Ishijima, asking Yuzu to attack him to create a scenario of him being in a pinch.
Obviously, this backfired greatly.
—BAM!
"GWAH!" Yuya cried out as he is sent flying into the sky by Mozarto the Melodious Maestra's attack, slamming into the wall of the Real Solid Vision hologram much to everyone's shock—his Life Points dropping to zero.
Yuya — LP: 2400 → 0
Winner: Yuzu
Yuuji had an exasperated look on his face at what he had just witness, shaking his head as he braced himself for what came next.
The crowd's excitement quickly turned to disappointment as they watched the embarrassing display unfold. They had spent the entire morning eagerly anticipating this moment, only to be let down. Their frustration deepened when they discovered that Pendulum Summoning required specific cards—cards that only Yuya possessed. Outraged, the group accused Yuya of cheating in his duel against Strong Ishijima before storming out of the school in a flurry of anger. Once the chaos died down, only two people remained of the original dozens of spectators. Yuuji, and a young boy with short, dark blue hair.
The young blue-haired boy, named Tatsuya, expressed interest in joining the You Show School, believing that Yuya hadn't cheated during his duel against Strong Ishijima. The boy declared that he wanted to learn how to duel just like Yuya, making everyone smile at this heartfelt speech. The rest of Yuya's friends chimed in, giving him motivation and reassurance.
After this moment, Yuzu then noticed the tall silver-haired teen who was still present—who was tapping his feet impatiently—her eyes widened when she saw the boy's face.
"Yuya?" She asked aloud before turning to the actual Yuya. "Wait no, that's Yuya."
"I'm Yuuji. Though I can see why you would be confused," Yuuji spoke up, alerting everyone. "I was surprised when I found out that there was another person who looked like me too."
Shuzo perked up immediately, quickly moving towards Yuuji with fire in his eyes.
"Since you stayed here as well, that means you must be interested in joining our school, right?" Shuzo excitedly asked.
"No." Yuuji immediately shut him down, causing the man to fall flat on his face. "I don't resonate with the ideas of this school much."
"Then why did you come here?" Yuzu asked.
"I thought that would be obvious," Yuuji said before pointing at Yuya. "I came here to duel him. One on one."
Yuya pointed at himself, "Duel…me?"
"Yes, you. I want to see what you've got, Mr. Pendulum," Yuuji stated. "Surely you aren't chicken enough to decline my challenge, right?"
"Now wait just a moment," A tall burly man stepped forward. He wore a white school uniform with red and yellow highlights. Wrapped around his forehead was a red bandana. "You can't just walk in here and rudely challenge someone to a duel."
"I was speaking to Yuya, not you, Ogre," Yuuji frowned. "I had to wait for a good hour listening to a bunch of nonsense from you idiots, I'm not leaving here without a duel. If you're so eager to speak for him, you might as well duel for him too."
"Gongenzaka, wait…" Yuya tried to speak out to his friend, but Gongenzaka didn't listen.
"I, the man Gongenzaka, cannot tolerate such disrespect," he said as he activated his duel disk. "I need to discipline this guy."
"I'm so scared~." Yuuji mocked as he too activated his duel disk. "Let's see what you've got, big guy."
"Principal," Gongenzaka turned to Shuzo. "We'll be using your arena, I hope you don't mind."
"Oh…uh, I don't mind," Shuzo said as he stood back up.
"Good," Gongenzaka then turned to Yuuji. "Let's go."
"..." Yuuji silently followed the burly man into the arena.
The two stand on opposite ends of the arena, prepping their decks. The rest of the You Show Students watched the events in the spectator booth.
"That Yuuji guy is so mean." Ayu, a red-haired youth frowned.
"Yeah," Futoshi, a plump-looking boy with yellow hair chimed in. "Super mean!"
"I can see where he's coming from though," Yuya solemnly said. "I'd be a little pissed too if I was him. Waiting all that time just to see a pathetic performance."
"Don't be like that," Yuzu tried to reassure her friend. "Like we said before, none of this is your fault."
"...Right," Yuya didn't seem to agree, putting on his goggles.
In the section above, Shuzo began operating on the new Real Solid Vision machine he had just gotten.
"Alright, here we go!" Shuzo announced as he pressed a button. "Action Field On! Warrior's Wasteland!"
The Real Solid Vision machine began to work its magic, transforming the area around Yuuji and Gongenzaka into a barren wasteland. Scattered throughout the arena were swords that were all stabbed into the ground—each representing a soldier who had passed on during battle.
"A pretty cool arena," Yuuji commented as he tapped on one of the swords lodged into the ground. "This'll be fun."
"Are you ready?" Gongenzaka asked his opponent. "I'll defeat you with my Steadfast Dueling, and make you pay for your earlier comments."
"Still upset about me calling you an ogre?" Yuuji smirked. "I hope your anger won't blind you during our duel."
"I, the man Gongenzaka, have been taught at a very young age at the Gongenzaka Dojo to be in tune with my emotions at all times during battle," Gongenzaka replied. "Your sly comments won't be effective here."
Referring to himself in the third person? That's odd… Yuuji thought.
"Duelists locked in battle!" Gongenzaka suddenly chanted.
What is he saying…oh right, the Action Duel chant. How did it go again?
"Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!" Yuuji chanted.
Nailed it!
"They storm through this field!" Yuzu continued from the sidelines.
"Behold!" Shuzo said. "This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling!"
[Action—!] The three younger You Show youths shouted together.
[Duel!] They all shout in unison as Action Cards are dispersed throughout the field.
Yuuji — LP: 4000
Gongenzaka — LP: 4000
[Turn 1: Yuuji] [H: 5]
Yuuji looked at the five cards in his hand and smiled.
A solid hand. Let's see if what I've been theorizing is correct.
"I'll start!" Yuuji announced, revealing two cards in his hand. The words he says next shocking everyone present. "Using the Scale 2 Antique Maker - Edison and the Scale 8 Antique Maker - Mira, I set the Pendulum Scale!"
Yuuji placed the two monsters on opposite ends of his duel blade, the word [PENDULUM] appearing between them in rainbow font. A well-dressed man with a light bulb in his hand and a woman in black holding a mirror in her hand rose into each of Yuuji's empty Pendulum Zone. The numbers 2 and 8 materialize on each of the Pendulum Zone in a strange golden font. A giant silver pendulum swung above him.
"Those cards…" Gongenzaka's jaw dropped.
"Pendulum cards!?" Yuzu cried out.
[No way!?] The three You Show youths exclaimed.
"But how?" Shuzo's jaw dropped as well. "I thought Yuya was that only one!"
"How does he...?" A stunned Yuya muttered as watched the events unfold with widened eyes.
"With my currently set scale, I can summon monsters Levels 3 through 7 all at the same time!" Yuuji announced. "Shine, Pendulum of Destiny! Draw an arc across the ether, and reflect onto me a path to victory! I Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my monster!"
The giant silver pendulum draws a portal, with a beam of energy appearing from its center.
"Appear now, the dragon born within the heart of dark phantoms, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7/SC: 4)!"
A giant purple dragon with bone-like armor, countless colorful orbs being scattered around it, and sharp amber eyes appeared.
"Odd-Eyes…" Yuya muttered as he pulled out his own Odd-Eyes Monster, which was glowing brightly—as if it was resonating with Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon.
"I set a card and end my turn," Yuuji concluded with a face-down.
"..."
Everyone was frozen, completely stunned from what they had just witnessed. Gongenzaka was the first one to regain focus, realizing that it was his turn now.
"My turn! Draw!" Gongenzaka drew a card and began his turn.
[Turn 2: Gongenzaka] [H: 6]
"I don't know where you got those Pendulum Cards, but I won't let that distract me!" Gongenzaka declared. "I activate the effect of Superheavy Samurai Fighter from my hand! When only my opponent controls a monster, I can Special Summon it from my hand!"
A machine warrior with blue armor and giant gloves on its hands appeared.
[Superheavy Samurai Fighter (Earth/Machine/Effect/ATK: 300/DEF: 1700/LV: 5)]
"Then, I activate the effect of Superheavy Samurai Hexagon! When I control a Superheavy Samurai Monster, I can Special Summon it from my hand in Attack Position!"
A giant machine with red armor, holding a giant pole in its hand appeared.
[Superheavy Samurai Hexagon (Earth/Machine/Effect/ATK: 600/DEF: ?/LV: 6)]
"Special Summoning two monsters almost immediately…" Yuuji smirked. "He's good."
"Now I release my two monsters to Advance Summon!" Gongenzaka announced as his two monsters turned into particles. "Come out, Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei (Earth/Machine/Effect/ATK: 1000/DEF: 3500/LV: 8)!"
A giant machine warrior with blue and orange armor, holding a two-headed lance appeared.
"When Big Benkei is Advance Summoned, I can change its battle position to defense mode."
"He changed it to defense position?" Yuuji raised an eyebrow. "But why?"
A blue aura surrounded the machine monster as he took a closed-off position.
"Battle!" Gongenzaka moved into his battle phase, shocking Yuuji. "Big Benkei attacks Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon!"
"What!?" Yuuji cried out. "But it's in defense mode?"
"Big Benkai can attack while in defense mode." Gongenzaka declared. "Furthermore, when it deals battle damage, it uses its defense points for the damage calculation!"
Big Benkei's lance begins to glow, as it shoots out golden electricity that is then sent towards Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon.
"I activate Antique Maker - Mira's Pendulum Effect!" Yuuji countered. "When I would take battle damage from an attack, I can negate that damage; then deal damage to my opponent equal to half the damage I would've taken."
"But your dragon is still destroyed!" Gongenzaka shouted as Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon was destroyed by his monster's attack. He shields his face as the shockwaves of the attack are sent towards him thanks to Antique Maker - Mira's effect.
Gongenzaka — LP: 4000 → 3500
"Alright!" Ayu cheered. "He managed to destroy that jerk's dragon."
"But at the cost of some of his Life Points," Tatsuya said.
Surprisingly, Yuuji noticed that his Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon didn't go straight to the graveyard like normal monsters, but instead went into his Extra Deck face-up.
Wait, if what I'm thinking is true. This summoning method might be the most overpowered bullshit I've ever seen. Yuuji thought before smiling. Not that I'm complaining. If it helps me become a stronger duelist, I'll welcome these changes with open arms!
"I end my turn with that," Gongenzaka concluded. "It's your move."
"Right," Yuuji nodded as he placed his hand over the top of his deck. "My turn! Draw!" Yuuji drew a card and began his turn.
[Turn 3: Yuuji] [H: 2]
"Okay let's try it."
Yuuji pulls out Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon from his Extra Deck.
"With my currently set Pendulum Scale, I Pendulum Summon!" Yuuji announced as the giant pendant drew another portal, with two beams of energy shooting out from it. "Return from my Extra Deck, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon (ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)! And from my hand, Antique Dawning Blaze (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5/SC: 7)!"
A floating, fiery blade and a purple dragon with bone armor appeared on Yuuji's field once again.
"Huh? Why is that dragon back?" Yuzu wondered. "Didn't Gongenzaka destroy it last turn?"
"Yeah, how is it back?" Ayu asked.
Gongenzaka was just as shocked.
"How?" Gongenzaka asked aloud.
"I'm not sure myself," Yuuji shrugged. "But from what I can tell, when Pendulum Monsters are destroyed, they return to the Extra Deck. And I'm allowed to summon them back onto the field whenever I Pendulum Summon as long as their levels are within my two Pendulum Scales."
"Wait, so that means that he can just continuously bring back monsters that were destroyed," Tatsuya's eyes widened. "And with Antique Mira's Pendulum Effect, he can bounce an instance of damage he would receive back to his opponent."
"Meaning that if this duel drags on, he will eventually widdle Gongenzaka's Life Points to zero." Yuzu completed the thought.
"That's…" Gogenzaka's jaw dropped.
"Overpowered, I know," Yuuji said. "But now isn't the time to be in shock, big guy. I activate my set Continuous Trap, Pendulum Trade! Once during my Main Phase, I can either place a monster from my field in an empty Pendulum Zone or Special Summon a monster from my Pendulum Zone onto my field. Descend to the field, Antique Maker - Edison (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 1300/DEF: 1200/LV: 5/SC: 2)!"
The well-dressed man in a suit disappeared from his Pendulum Zone, suddenly appearing from a portal onto Yuuji's field.
"Edison's effect now activates," Yuuji stated. "When he is Special Summoned onto my field, I can target a monster on your field, and destroy it! Say goodbye to your Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei!"
"I activate the effect of Superheavy Samurai Zen from my hand!" Gongenzaka announced. "When my opponent activates an effect that would destroy a Superheavy Samurai Monster I control, I can Special Summon this card, and negate that effect! Appear now, Superheavy Samurai Zen (Earth/Machine/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 2200/LV: 5) in defense mode!"
A machine with white armor, making a meditative pose, appeared on Gongenzaka's field.
"Tch." Yuuji clicked his tongue. "So you had a response to that. No matter. I now activate Antique Dawning Blaze's effect! With it, I can equip this card to a monster on my field. While a monster has this card equipped to it, it gains 500 ATK for each monster currently on the field. With there being two on your field and one on mine, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon gains 1500 ATK!"
Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon catches the blazing sword in its mouth, the flames of the sword burning hotter as its power increases.
(Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon — ATK: 2500 → 4000)
"4000 ATK just like that?" Tatsuya's jaw dropped.
"No way..." Futoshi muttered in awe.
"Battle!" Yuuji moved into his Battle Phase. "Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon attacks Big Benkei! Blazing Phantom Rush!"
Phantom Dragon runs forward, leaping into the air as it slices through Big Benkei with its flaming sword, causing the monster bursts into particles. Gongenzaka winces, being sent sliding back a few meters from the shockwaves of the attack.
"I end my turn with that," Yuuji concluded.
"My turn! Draw!" Gongenzaka drew a card and began his turn.
[Turn 4: Gongenzaka] [H: 4]
"I activate the effect of Superheavy Samurai Big Waraji!" Gongenzaka shouts. "When my opponent controls 2 or more monsters, I can Special Summon it from my hand!"
A golden machine appeared on his field.
[Superheavy Samurai Big Waraji (Earth/Machine/Effect/ATK: 800/DEF: 1800/LV: 5)]
"Big Waraji's other effect now activates!" Gongenzaka announced. "When it is used for an Advance Summon, Big Waraji is treated as two tributes!"
The golden machine is destroyed as a portal then appears beneath it.
"Burn bright, warrior with a soul of flames. Stand strong and strike down your enemies with your manly blows!" Gongenzaka chanted. "I Advance Summon! Come forth, Superheavy Samurai Enjinmaru (Earth/Machine/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 4000/LV: 10)!"
A giant red machine warrior holding a blazing katana appeared on Gongenzaka's field.
"Impressive," Yuuji smirked as he saw the giant monster.
"I'm not done yet!" Gongenzaka shouted. "Just like Big Benkei, when Superheavy Samurai Enjinmaru is summoned, I can immediately change its battle position to defense mode. Then, I'll equip Superheavy Samurai Soulshield Wall to my Enjimaru, increasing its defense by 1200!"
A green metal shield appeared in the empty hand of Gongenzaka's monster.
(Enjinmaru — DEF: 4000 → 5200)
"Now Gongenzaka's monster is stronger than Yuuji's dragon." Yuzu smiled with relief. "He can win this."
"Ooh, this duel is giving me the shivers!" Futoshi did a little dance of excitement.
"Battle!" Gongenzaka moved into his Battle Phase. "Superheavy Samurai Zen attacks Antique Maker - Edison!"
The meditating machine stopped its practice for a moment, quickly leaping towards Yuuji's monster. In one swift motion, it slashes through Yuuji's monster with its hand, destroying it and causing him to wince from the shockwaves.
Yuuji — LP: 4000 → 3100
"Now, Superheavy Samurai Enjinmaru attacks Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon. Blazing Katana Slash!"
The massive machine warrior moves forward, clashing blades with Phantom Dragon. This exchange lasted a few moments before Enjinmaru eventually comes out on top—overpowering the dragon and causing it to burst into particles.
"Before the damage calculation, Antique Maker - Mira's Pendulum Effect activates, shielding me from the damage and bouncing half that damage back to you!"
Gongenzaka winces from the returned shockwaves as his Life Points drop again.
Gongenzaka — LP: 3500 → 2900
"I end my turn." Gongenzaka concluded.
While he was able to get out of that turn relatively unheard, Yuuji looked a bit unhappy about something.
Damn, I didn't think that Dawning Blaze would end up going to the graveyard instead of the Extra Deck. Yuuji frowned. Could it be because it was treated as an equip card?
That had to be the case since Antique Maker - Edison and Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon were both sent to his Extra Deck when they were destroyed.
Well, that sucks. He was planning on summoning it to easily increase Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon's ATK until it was high enough to defeat Enjinmaru, but now that wasn't much of an option.
Well, let's develop a plan after this next draw.
"My turn! Draw!" Yuuji drew a card.
[Turn 5: Yuuji] [H: 2]
He cringed when he saw what he drew.
"Antique Light Bulb? That is like the last card I needed in this situation."
...
Well, not all hope is lost. There was still one thing he could do.
"I activate the effect of Pendulum Trade once again!" Yuuji announced. "With it, I'll Special Summon Antique Maker - Mira (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5/SC: 8)!"
The woman in all black holding a mirror in her hand disappeared from her Pendulum Zone, appearing in front of Yuuji.
"Mira's effect activates. Once per turn, when she is summoned onto my field, I can add an Antique Monster from my deck to my hand!"
Yuuji thought about it for a moment before adding something to his hand.
"This'll work…" Yuuji smiled as he looked at the card he added. "I summon Antique Maker - Swinging Soul (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 2000/LV: 3/SC: 1)!"
A magician in a white cloak, holding a swinger pendulum in his hand, appeared.
"Swinging Soul's effect activates. Once per turn, I can switch the ATK and DEF of one monster on the field until the End Phase of this turn. I choose to swap your Superheavy Samurai Enjinmaru's ATK and DEF stats!"
Gongenzaka was surprised as his massive monster was pacified with a single effect.
(Enjinmaru — ATK: 100 → 5200, DEF: 5200 → 100)
"Now that Enjinmaru's defense stats are lowered, Gongenzaka's field is now completely bare…" Shuzo muttered as he observed the duel from his post. "And with no cards in his hand, the odds of Gongenzaka making any sort of comeback after his monster is destroyed is slim."
"Now let's do this! Battle!" Yuuji pumped his fist forward. "Antique Maker - Mira attacks Superheavy Samurai Enjinmaru! Crystal Beam!"
The mirror in the female monster's hand began to glow as it shot a beam of energy directly at the machine warrior.
"I, the man Gongenzaka, won't go down that easily!" Gongenzaka shouted. "I activate Superheavy Samurai Soulshield Wall's effect! By sending it to the graveyard, I can negate your attack. However, in exchange, the equipped monster's DEF is reduced to zero."
Enjinmaru blocks the beam with its shield, however, due to the power of the attack, its shield is mostly vaporized.
(Enjinmaru — DEF: 100 → 0)
"However, at this time, Superheavy Samurai Zen's effect activates!" Gongenzaka continued. "When a Machine-type Monster I control has its defense reduced, I can increase its DEF by an amount equal to half of its original defense until the End Phase!"
"Its original defense was 4000, right?" Yuuji calculated before he frowned. "That means…"
"Enjinmaru's DEF increases by 2000!" Gongenzaka declared.
(Enjinmaru — DEF: 0 → 2000)
"Dammit..." Yuuji cursed. "Now I can't destroy it with Swinging Soul."
With nothing left that he could do, he ended his Battle Phase.
"I activate the Equip Spell, Antique Maker's Will!" Yuuji announced. "By discarding a card from my hand, I can equip it to an 'Antique Maker' Monster I control. I choose to equip it to Antique Maker - Swinging Soul!"
A silver aura surrounded the magician.
"While a monster is equipped with this spell, it can't be destroyed by battle, and its ATK increases by 500 for each Antique Monster in my graveyard. Since there are currently two in my graveyard currently, Swinging Soul gains 1000 ATK!"
(Swinging Soul — ATK: 100 → 1100)
"I end my turn," Yuuji concluded his turn. "And with the end of my turn, Enjinmaru's defense returns to normal."
(Enjinmaru — DEF: 2000 → 4000)
"Nice Gongenzaka!" Ayu cheered. "He managed to keep his monster safe!"
"Now Yuuji's vulnerable," Tatsuya stated. "It's the perfect chance to go for an all-out attack."
"My turn! Draw!" Gongenzaka drew a card with all his might as he began his turn.
[Turn 6: Gongenzaka] [H: 2]
"Before you do anything, I activate Pendulum Trade's effect!" Yuuji cut in. "With it, I'll move Antique Maker - Mira back into my Pendulum Zone!"
A Pendulum Zone forms behind Yuuji, with his monster slowly rising into it.
"I release my Superheavy Samurai Zen to Advance Summon!" Gongenzaka declared as his monster is destroyed. "Appear now, Superheavy Samurai Tetsukiba (Earth/Machine/Effect/ATK: 1200/DEF: 2500/LV: 6)!"
A wolf-like machine warrior appeared, with sharp metallic claws and blue armor plating.
"Superheavy Samurai Tetsukiba effect activates! When it is summoned, I can target 1 card on your field and destroy it!"
"What!?" Yuuji's eyes widened.
" Say goodbye to your Antique Maker - Mira! Go Tetsukiba!"
The wolf-like machine warrior leaped in the air, slashing through Yuuji's monster and destroying it.
Dammit, now most of my defenses are gone. Yuuji frowned. This could get dicey.
"Battle!" Gongenzaka moved into his Battle Phase. "Superheavy Samurai Tetsukiba attacks Antique Maker - Swinging Soul! Fangbreaker Claw!"
The iron wolf leaped forward, attempting to slash through Yuuji's monster.
"Antique Maker's Will prevents the destruction of my monster!" Yuuji declared.
A barrier formed around the white-cloaked magician, protecting it from harm's way.
"But you still take damage!" Gongenzaka shouted.
Yuuji braces himself as a shockwave hits him.
Yuuji — LP: 3100 → 3000
"I'm not done yet!" Gongenzaka announced. "Superheavy Samurai Enjinmaru attacks Swinging Soul! Blazing Katana Slash!"
The machine warrior's fiery blade glowed brightly as it jumped forward, swinging it down on Yuuji's monster once again—yet not reaching it as the magician is protected by a barrier once again.
"Ngrh!" Yuuji grunts as he is sent flying away due to the shockwaves of the attack, rolling across the ground a few times before coming to a stop.
Yuuji — LP: 3000 → 100
"I end my turn." Gongenzaka concluded. "And with the end of my turn, Tetsukiba's effect activates. During the End Phase of the turn it was summoned, Tetsukiba's battle position switches to defense mode!"
The iron wolf takes a closed-off position, as a blue, transparent aura surrounds it.
"Aw man, so close!" Ayu frowned.
"Why didn't Gongenzaka use his effect to destroy Yuuji's monster instead of his Pendulum Scale?" Futoshi asked. "That would've left Yuuji completely wide open."
"Did you forget about Antique Maker - Mira's Pendulum Effect?" Tatsuya replied. "If he did that, he would've only had his attack reflected back to him."
"Ow…" Yuuji rubbed his head as he got back on his feet. "That hurt like hell."
This guy is a lot smarter than he looks, targeting my Pendulum Scale like that. If his monster had done even 100 more points of damage, I would've lost by now.
Well, it's not like this position is any better either. He only had Swinging Soul on his field, which while it would be able to destroy Gongenzaka's monster using its effect, Gongenzaka would be able to just finish him off on his next turn.
"I need to set my Pendulum Scale somehow." Yuuji frowned. "It all comes down to this last draw."
Yuuji put his hand over his deck and took a deep breath.
My deck, don't let me down now.
"My turn! Draw!" Yuuji deck began to glow as he drew a card with all his might.
[Turn 7: Yuuji] [H: 2]
When he looked at what he drew, he smiled. A Pendulum Monster, just what he needed! "The Scale Number is kind of low, but it'll work."
Gongenzaka noticed the look on the youth's face, "I can tell from that look that you drew something good."
"That's right." Yuuji nodded. "But first, I activate Antique Maker - Swinging Soul's effect, using it to swap Superheavy Samurai Enjinmaru's ATK and DEF stats!"
The pendulum in the magician's hand began to swing back and forth, as it used its power to alter the properties of Gongenzaka's monster.
(Enjinmaru — ATK: 100 → 4000, DEF: 4000 → 100)
"Next, I activate Pendulum Trade's effect, using it to place Swinging Soul into my Pendulum Scale!"
A white-robed magician rose into one of Yuuji's empty Pendulum Scales.
"Alright, guide me to victory, my monsters!" Yuuji shouted as his silver pendant began to glow. "Using the Scale 1 Antique Maker - Swinging Soul and the Scale 6 Antique Compass, I set the Pendulum Scale!"
Yuuji placed his cards on opposite ends of his duel disk, the word [PENDULUM] appearing between them in rainbow font as a floating compass rose into Yuuji's other empty Pendulum Zone. The numbers 1 and 6 appearing on the zones in a golden font as a giant silver pendulum swung above it all.
"Now I can summon monsters Levels 3 through 5 all at the same time!" Yuuji announced as his pendulum necklaces began to glow. "Shine, Pendulum of Destiny! Draw an arc across the ether, and reflect onto me a path to victory! Pendulum Summon! Return from my Extra Deck, Antique Maker - Mira (ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5) and Antique Maker - Edison (ATK: 1300/DEF: 1200/LV: 5)!"
A well-dressed man holding a light bulb and a woman in all black holding a mirror in her hands appeared.
"Antique Maker - Mira's effect activates! When she is summoned onto my field, I can add 1 Antique Monster from my deck to my hand!" Yuuji added a card to his hand. "Then, I activate Antique Maker - Edison's effect! When he is Special Summoned, I can target a monster on your field and destroy it! Say goodbye to your Superheavy Samurai Tetsukiba!"
"I won't let you!" Gongenzaka counter. "Tetsukiba's effect now activates! When a Superheavy Samurai Monster on my field would be destroyed by battle or card effect, I can banish a Machine-type Monster in my graveyard instead!"
"Damn…" Yuuji cursed. "Now what?"
He was hoping to completely wipe out Gongenzaka's field, but with this effect, now even if he attacks, Gongenzaka will still have a monster strong enough to wipe out his few Life Points.
Dammit… Yuuji clenched his fist. What do I do now?
His former self would typically just give up in this situation, but that wasn't him anymore. Doubt is the killer of potential. He needs to do away with it right here, right now, like he did in his match against Black Death. The strongest duelist wouldn't give up even if he was backed into a corner.
There still has to be a way for me to win right? As long as I have monsters to play, the path to victory was still within my reach!
[Current Theme Playing: Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Sound Duel 1 OST: 9 - Swing! Pendulum of Souls]
—Badump!
Yuuji felt his heart skip a beat as the image of a monster appeared in his mind.
So, this is your answer, my deck. Yuuji smiled. Since you haven't given up, I won't either!
"I activate Antique Compass' Pendulum Effect!" Yuuji declared. "Using it, I can Special Summon an Antique Monster from my hand or graveyard! Return from my graveyard, Antique Dawning Blaze (ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5)!"
The fiery blade with a golden hilt appeared on the field once again.
"When an Antique Monster is Special Summoned onto my field, I can Special Summon Antique Tabletop (Light/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5) from my hand!"
A floating, wooden table appeared on Yuuji's field.
"What will summoning a bunch of monsters do for you in this situation?" Gongenzaka raised an eyebrow. "Even if you managed to raise one of your monster's ATK, it won't help you defeat my manly monsters!"
"You think?" Yuuji smirked. "Let's put that to the test, shall we?"
Yuuji extended his hand outward as a galaxy vortex appeared in front of him.
"I overlay my Level 5 Antique Maker - Mira, Antique Maker - Edison, and Antique Tabletop!" Yuuji declared as his three monsters are turned into energy and absorbed into the galaxy vortex. A pillar of light shot out from the vortex's center as he began chanting.
"The will of the oppressed who die on the battlefield burns bright," Yuuji chanted. "They wait for the one who guides the will of the fallen to victory! I Xyz Summon! Come forth, Rank 5! Rise up, courageous leader who fans the flames of rebellion, Antique Maker - Revolution Commander (Fire/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/R: 5/SC: 5/OU: 3)!"
A tall, red-haired man with eagle eyes in a black cloak with a black mask over his mouth appeared.
"An Xyz Summon?" Gongenzaka's jaw dropped.
"No way," Yuzu gasped.
I don't know how I did it either. Yuuji thought, but didn't voice it out loud.
"Antique Dawning Blaze's effect activates!" Yuuji announced. "By equipping it to Revolution Commander, it gains 1000 ATK since there are two other monsters currently on the field!"
Revolution Commander catches the blade in its hand, pulling his mask down to reveal the bottom half of his face. The blade burns bright as the flames wrap around both it and Revolution Commander.
(Revolution Commander — ATK: 2500 → 3500)
"Now here comes the climax!" Yuuji pumped his fist forward. "Antique Maker - Revolution Commander attacks Superheavy Samurai Enjinmaru! Blazing Revolution!"
"Tetsukiba's effect activates!" Gongenzaka shouts. "By banishing another Machine-type Monster in my graveyard, I can negate the destruction of my Enjinmaru—!"
"Naive!" Yuuji's interrupted, surprising Gongenzaka. "Revolution Commander's effect now activates! By detaching one Overlay Unit, when it battles a monster in defense position, it inflicts piercing damage!"
One of Revolution Commander's three surrounding overlay units is absorbed into it's body. The flames surrounding him began to turn into a deep blue color.
(Revolution Commander — OU: 3 → 2)
"I'm not done yet!" Gongenzaka shouted. "I activate Enjinmaru's effect! Once per turn, when I would take damage in a battle involving a Superheavy Samurai Monster, I can pay half my Life Points to negate that damage!"
Enjinmaru's blocks Revolution Commander's attack with its own blade. Gongenzaka's duel disk begins shocking him as he payed the cost for his effect.
—Zzap!
Gongenzaka — LP: 2900 → 1450
"Alright, now that Gongenzaka's Life Points are safe, he'll win!" Ayu cheered.
"No, your fate has already been sealed!" Yuuji declared. "When Revolution Commander has Antique Dawning Blaze equipped to it, it can make a second attack during the Battle Phase!"
"What!?" Gongenzaka cried out.
"I now detach another Overlay Unit from Revolution Commander, allowing it to inflict piercing damage for this attack as well!" Yuuji shouted as another Overlay Unit was absorbed.
(Revolution Commander — OU: 2 → 1)
"Finish this, Revolution Commander! Blazing Revolution!"
Enjinmaru and Revolution Commander engage in a clash for a few moments longer, before Revolution Commander eventually overpowers it, destroying it and sending Gongenzaka flying from the shockwaves.
Gongenzaka — LP: 1450 → 0
Winner: Yuuji
[BGM (Background Music) Ends Here.]
The Action Field and monsters dematerialized, returning the two duelists back into the arena. Yuuji walked up to the fallen Gongenzaka and extended his hand.
"That was a fun duel," Yuuji smiled at his opponent. "Need help?"
"Yeah," Gongenzaka accepted the hand as Yuuji helped him back onto his feet. "That was some impressive dueling there."
"I can say the same thing about you." Yuuji said. "You really backed me into a corner there."
Yuuji then remembered something.
"Oh, and sorry about my rude comments earlier," Yuuji awkwardly scratched the back of his head as he apologized. "Being angry wasn't an excuse for me speaking out of turn like that."
"I should be apologizing as well," Gongenzaka said. "I, the man Gongenzaka, should've maintained a more level head, instead of getting worked up over a few targeted comments."
"Well, it's all water under the bridge. Hopefully we can start off on a better foot now." Yuuji replied. "Now what I'm really curious about is your deck. That whole duel, you never used a single Spell or Trap Card. You didn't try to search for Action Cards either. What's up with that?"
"I, the man Gongenzeka, believe in Steadfast Dueling."
"Steadfast…Dueling?" Yuuji tilted his head. "I remember you mentioned it earlier right before the start of our duel."
"It's a dueling style that involves fighting my opponent head on with only the monsters in my deck." Gongenzaka explained as he flexed his massive arm. "I also believe in dueling using only the cards in my deck, without receiving outside help from cards not a part of my deck like Action Cards."
"Amazing," Yuuji said in awe. "That's an awesome dueling philosophy."
"What about you?" Gongenzaka asked. "I noticed you also didn't go for Action Cards throughout the duel."
"Oh, that? I thought that since you didn't seem to plan on using them, it would be unfair if I used them against you." Yuuji answered. "Also, I'm trying to become the strongest duelist in the world. How can I make my way to the top if I don't know how to fight with just my own cards?"
Gongenzaka smiled at this, "That's a very manly way of dueling. I, the man Gongenzaka, am starting to like your way of thinking."
Yuuji smiled back, "Me too, big guy. We have to duel again sometime."
The two fist bump each other.
At the same time, the door to the spectator booth opened, with the rest of the You Show group entering the arena. Yuuji was then immediately surrounded by the three younger You Show students, who began bombarding him with questions.
"How are you so good at dueling?" Futoshi asked before doing a silly dance. "That last move of yours gave me the shivers."
The shivers? What even is that? Yuuji wondered.
"Where did you get those Pendulum Cards?" Ayu asked. "I thought only Yuya-oniichan had them?"
"Uhh…I'm not sure." Yuuji shrugged. "They just sort of appeared in my deck yesterday while I was in the middle of a duel."
"That's the same way Yuya describes what had happened to him when he got his Pendulum Cards." Yuzu said in surprise.
"What a coincidence that the two people with such similar faces both have access to a never-before-seen summoning method," Tatsuya commented.
"Not to mention similar dragons as well," Gongenzaka pointed out. "It can't be a coincidence that they both have an Odd-Eyes Pendulum Monster."
"I actually never thought about that," Yuuji said. "I thought it just had something to do with both of our pendants and our similar facial features."
All of this can't be a coincidence. Yuuji thought. But what kind of connection could the two of us have?
Maybe they were secretly long-lost brothers who were separated after a horrible incident?
Nah, there's no way that's possible. He already went through that thought process earlier. Other than their faces, they both have distinctly different features otherwise. Like how Yuuji was a bit taller than Yuya, or the fact that they had different colored hair and eyes.
"What do you think about this Yuya?" Yuzu turned to her friend, who had been silent the whole time—his goggles still over his eyes.
"Oh, uhh…I don't know…" Yuya seemed to be struggling to find the right words to say.
Yuzu frowned at her friend's indecisiveness, "Why are you acting so off? Don't tell me you still feel bad about what happened earlier. I thought we already established that it wasn't your fault."
"But it is," Yuya insisted. "Yuuji was able to immediately understand how to use Pendulum Summoning way quicker than me and even used it to help perform an Xyz Summon. Compared to that, I—"
"Okay, I'm going to have to stop you right there," Yuuji interrupted. "I didn't immediately know how to do it. I only learned the basics of it by rewatching your duel against Strong Ishijima over and over. Hell, I didn't even know that Pendulum Monsters were sent to the Extra Deck when they were destroyed before this recent duel."
Yuya was surprised by this.
"It has nothing to do with talent," Yuuji continued. "I was just smart enough to actually try and understand how the summoning method worked instead of just assuming that it would come naturally since it's something special that only I have."
"Couldn't you have phrased that a bit nicer," Yuzu frowned at Yuuji, only receiving a shrug in response.
"I can't help it. I'm a blunt speaker," Yuuji stated. "Sometimes, you just need to hear the cold hard truth, without unnecessary words to tone down the message. I can't have the only other person who can Pendulum Summon screw himself over due to self-fulfilling doubts."
"..." Everyone present was silent at his words.
Yuuji yawned, "Well, I'm tired. I already had my fill of dueling for today. I'll see you guys around, I guess."
He turned around, beginning to walk away. Just as he was about to leave the arena, someone called out to him.
"Wait!" A voice called out. Turning around, he realized the voice came from Yuya.
"Hmm? What's up?" Yuuji paused, raising an eyebrow at Yuya.
Yuya paused for a moment before continuing, "Teach me."
"Teach you?" Yuuji's eyes widened at the request.
"You have Pendulum Summoning practically figured out right now, while I'm struggling to even use it," Yuya said.
"Yuya…" Yuzu solemnly looked at her friend.
"That duel I had against Strong Ishijima," Yuya explained. "The cheers of the crowds after I managed to make a comeback using Pendulum Summoning, the smiles on everyone's faces. I want to be able to recreate that and use it to duel in a way that brings smiles to everyone's face, just like my dad did."
"..." Yuuji thought about it for a moment, weighing the pros and cons in his head.
Sounds like a hassle. But, if I can get him up to par, I might get myself a potential rival that can really push me to my limits.
"Hmm… Okay, I'll help you," Yuuji decided. "But, you have to promise me that duel I've been waiting for after everything is said and done."
"Deal," Yuya agreed to his demands.
"However, that'll have to wait 'till tomorrow," Yuuji said with a tired yawn, rubbing his eyes. "Right now, I need some sleep."
After saying his last goodbyes to the You Show Students (plus Gongenzaka), Yuuji left the school, making his way back to his hotel. Once he arrived, he placed his deck and duel disk away before he launched himself onto his bed. Dozing off as he thought back on his duel against Gongenzaka.
I wonder how Revolution Commander ended up in my deck. I don't remember having that card originally when my deck randomly transformed.
It was as if that card had been willed to existence. It didn't help that it had almost the exact effects that he needed for his current situation.
"Having its effect allow it to deal piercing damage to monsters in defense mode, that can't be a coincidence…" Yuuji assessed.
…
"Dammit!" Yuuji began furiously rubbing his hair. "None of this shit is making sense!"
Like how was I able to Xyz Summon so well in the first place? The only summoning method that I knew how to use aside from Pendulum was Synchro.
While he knew the theory behind the other summoning methods, he had never put them into practice before. The fact that he was able to Xyz Summon such a powerful monster so effortlessly was extremely puzzling.
...
Too much thinking for my tired brain to handle.
Eventually, he just gave up on thinking about it, shutting his brain off as he began dozing off to sleep. It was already weird enough that he had gotten these Pendulum Cards, this was tamer in comparison.
At LDS Tower…
Nakajima walked into Reiji's office once again, clipboard in hand.
"Reiji-dono, we've detected high amounts of multiple different summoning energies earlier today," Nakajima said.
"Multiple?" Reiji raised an eyebrow.
"We've detected high amounts of Pendulum and Xyz energies from Haruki Yuuji's duel disk," Nakajima informed. "However, we've also detected sources of Xyz and Ritual Energies coming from other areas."
"Xyz and Ritual?" Reiji's eyes widened. "Has the dimensional war already begun spreading over here now?"
"We're not sure, but we're looking into it," Nakajima replied. "As for what you've wanted me to find on Haruki Yuuji, here is all we've managed to find out so far."
Nakajima handed Reiji a clipboard with the data.
"...He's an orphan child who had lost his father in a riot incident at the Outpost five years ago…His father, Haruki Gin was a former pro duelist who was a rising star in the dueling world before suddenly disappearing ten years ago after he was caught in a cheating scandal during an official duel…Has been arrested multiple times for violence against authority and being caught dueling in illegal circuits…"
From what Reiji could tell, Haruki Yuuji always acted in a certain way to find a way to duel powerful opponents. Most likely the main reason why his win rate was so low.
Reiji handed the clipboard back to Nakajima.
"Keep an eye on him," Reiji commanded. "Also, I'd like you to keep your eyes on the sources of the high amount of Xyz and Ritual Energies."
"Yes Reiji-dono," Nakajima bowed. "I'll get right to that now."
Nakajima soon left Reiji office, leaving Reiji alone with his thoughts.
Things are already progressing at a rapid pace. Reiji thought. It might be time for me to make my move now.
A bit earlier…
"Argh!" A rough-looking man in sent flying into a wall, falling on top of a pile of other, unconscious men. The perpetrator who created the pile of men looked on with a disappointed expression.
"That wasn't even worthy warm-up," A youth with pink haired frowned as he deactivated his duel disk. He wore a black cloak the covered the bottom most of his body.
"Well, I did tell you that Standard was the weakest of the five dimensions by far, Yuga," A girl with scarlet red hair spoke as she was typing away on her laptop. She wore a similarly styled cloak, however unlike Yuga, her hair was cover by her hood.
"I know that Shizuka. But to be this weak? Come on," Yuga said with an exasperated expression. "Even the weakest from our dimension, who are completely powerless against Academia, can clobber these fools."
"Uhuh…" Shizuka half-heartedly replied as she had her complete attention on her laptop. "Just a bit longer…and…done. I've just figured out our target."
"About time," Yuga said as he approached her. "Spill it out, who do we have to find?"
"Akaba Leo's son." Shizuka bluntly stated, surprising Yuga.
"Akaba Leo's son!?" Yuga cried out. "Don't tell me we're going to…"
"Yeah, we're going to kidnap him obviously," Shizuka stated. "Then, we can potentially use him as a bargaining chip to get back the people Academia took from us."
"Are you sure that's going to work? I doubt some war hungry bastard like him would stop his conquest just because we kidnapped his son."
"Well, I don't see you giving me any other good suggestions," Shizuka said as she shut off her laptop. "And no, we are not going to charge into Academia and try to fight them head on, we'll only end up dying like the rest of our people."
"I mean, I don't mind either way," Yuga said. "If your confident in this plan, I'll follow along with it."
Shizuka smiled, "That's good. Let's start discussing the first phase of the plan."
Elsewhere at a similar time…
—Thud!
"Wait, we can talk about this," A man wearing an LDS Staff Uniform pleaded. "What do you want, info? I have a lot of info, see." He pointed at his badge. "I'm a staff member at LDS, if you want to know all sorts of secrets, I'm your man!"
"I don't need your shitty info, LDS," A tall man with dark teal hair, wearing a red mask and sunglasses along with a long, dark blue trenchcoat stated. "I won't believe a single lie from the enemy."
"E-Eh?" The LDS Staff member began sweating. "Well, I guess there's nothing I do can do for you then. Now, can you please let me go?"
"There's one thing you can do for me."
"Oh really, what is it?"
"Sit there and pay for your sins, scum." The tall man coldly said as he pointed his duel disk towards the LDS Staff.
A bright purple light was emitted from his duel disk that enveloped the LDS Staff. When the light died down, the only thing left of the LDS Staff was a card which had his horrified expression printed onto it.
"Hmph," The tall man picked up the card, looking at it for a moment before pocketing it.
"Shun! What are you doing!" A voice suddenly called out for him. Turning around, he found a slightly younger teen with lavender colored hair, wearing punk-styled clothing, glaring at him.
"Yuto?" Shun removed his sunglasses and pulled down his mask. "What are you doing here?"
"I can ask you the same thing," Yuto said before pulling Shun by the collar. "What do you think your doing? Killing random civilians like that."
"He's not a random civilian, he's just another lackey of Academia," Shun stated as he pushed Yuto off of him. "I'm just doing what has to be done."
"Are you serious!?" Yuto asked with an exasperated expression. "We never even 100% confirmed that LDS is associated with Academia. And besides, I thought we agreed on only using force when necessary!?"
"This is necessary, don't you get it?" Shun clenched his fists. "That guy used Fusion Summoning. That just proves that the two places are connected."
"You seriously can't be this dumb, Shun!" Yuto shouted. "The people in this dimension are able to perform every summoning method, just because he used Fusion doesn't mean that he's affiliated with Academia!"
"Listen, Yuto." Shun said with a dark expression as he walked past Yuto. "I don't care if they're innocent or not. If anybody stands in the way of me and my goal to rescue Ruri, I'll annihilate them. Even you…"
Shun walked away after than, leaving Yuto behind.
Yuto clenched his fists and grit his teeth, "That guy, can't he tell that this path isn't the one the Ruri would want either of us to go down."
Meanwhile, in the Fusion Dimension…
A cyan-haired youth with his haired tied into a ponytail, wearing a blue school/military uniform nonchalantly entered the massive room. Sitting on the throne at the room's center is a tan-skinned man with a commanding presence.
"I'm here, Professor," The cyan-haired youth said as he put a lollipop in his mouth.
"Good, I have a very important mission for you, Shuinin Sora." The Professor stood up. "I need you to go undercover in the Standard Dimension as a spy. I've gotten report that there were some Xyz and Ritual remnants who have found their way there. I need you to go take care of them."
Sora smirked, biting down on his lollipop, "You want me to clean up some trash lowlifes, huh? I can do that."
"I'm sure you can," The Professor said. "However, you won't be going on this mission alone. I want you to take Ryouga with you."
"That bastard!?" Sora replied with a tense expression. "But why? I can handle things all on my own."
"Think of it as insurance, Sora," The Professor answered. "Ryouga has been proven useful in missions like this."
"Ugh, fine," Sora accepted this decision. "Don't expect me to work together with him though."
"You won't need to. He'll have a different mission from you." The Professor stated. "Now, if you understand your mission, you are dismissed."
"Yes, Professor," Sora bowed before taking his leave.
The Professor turned around to the massive reactor behind him, which had hundreds of cards spilling into it that fueled the machine.
Just a few more pieces, Ray. The Professor thought. Soon, you'll be back, my precious daughter.
Custom/Altered Cards:
Monster Cards -
Antique Maker - Edison
ATK: 1300, DEF: 1200, LV: 5, SC: 2
Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: If a Pendulum Monster you control would be destroyed by a card effect, you can destroy this card instead.
Monster Effect: When this card is Summoned: You can target 1 monster your opponent controls; destroy it.
Superheavy Samurai Fighter
ATK: 300, DEF: 1700, LV: 5
Earth/Machine/Effect
Monster Effect: This card can attack while in face-up Defense Position. If it does, use its DEF for damage calculation. If your opponent controls a monster and you control no monsters, you can Special Summon this card from your hand.
Superheavy Samurai Zen
ATK: 100, DEF: 2200, LV: 5
Earth/Machine/Effect
This card can attack while in face-up Defense Position. If it does, use its DEF for damage calculation. If your opponent activates an effect that would destroy a "Superheavy Samurai" monster you control, you can negate that effect and Special Summon this card from your hand.
You can only use the following effect of "Superheavy Samurai Zen" once per turn:
—If the DEF of a Machine-Type monster you control is reduced, you can increase its DEF by an amount equal to half its original DEF until the End Phase.
Superheavy Samurai Enjinmaru
ATK: 100, DEF: 4000, LV: 10
Earth/Machine/Effect
Monster Effect: This card can attack while in face-up Defense Position. If it does, use its DEF for damage calculation. When this card is Summoned, change its battle position to face-up Defense Position. If you would take damage from a battle involving a "Superheavy Samurai" monster, you can pay half your Life Points to negate that damage.
Superheavy Samurai Tetsukiba
ATK: 1200, DEF: 2500, LV: 6
Earth/Machine/Effect
Monster Effect: When this card is Summoned: You can target 1 card your opponent controls; destroy it. If a "Superheavy Samurai" monster you control would be destroyed by battle or card effect, you can banish 1 Machine-Type monster from your Graveyard instead. During the End Phase of the turn this card is Summoned, change its battle position to face-up Defense Position.
Antique Compass
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 3, SC: 6
Light/Fairy/Tuner/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn, you can Special Summon 1 "Antique" Monster from your hand or Graveyard.
Monster Effect: You can equip this card to 1 monster your opponent controls. While this card is equipped to a monster, that monster cannot attack.
Antique Tabletop
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5
Light/Fairy/Effect
Monster Effect: If an Antique Monster is Special Summoned, Special Summon this monster from your hand.
Antique Maker - Revolution Commander
ATK: 2500, DEF: 2000, R: 5, SC: 5
Fire/Spellcaster/Xyz/Pendulum/Effect
3 Level 5 Monsters
Pendulum Effect: You can Special Summon 1 "Antique Dawning Blaze" from your hand or Graveyard.
Monster Effect: If you can Pendulum Summon Level 5 monsters, you can Pendulum Summon this face-up card in your Extra Deck. If this card has "Antique Dawning Blaze" equipped to it, it can attack twice during each Battle Phase. You can detach 1 material from this card to activate one of the following effects:
—Special Summon 1 "Antique Dawning Blaze" from your Deck.
—This card inflicts piercing battle damage during its next attack this turn.
Spell/Trap Cards:
Pendulum Trade
Continuous Trap
You can target 1 card in your Pendulum Zone; Special Summon it. You can target 1 Pendulum Monster in your Monster Zone; place that Pendulum Monster in your Pendulum Zone. You can only use 1 "Pendulum Trade" effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Antique Maker's Will
Equip Spell
Can only be equipped to an "Antique Maker" Monster. The card this is equipped to gains 500 ATK for each "Antique" Monster in the graveyard and cannot be destroyed by battle.
And that's the updated chapter 2. Not too much was changed. Just polished a few things and added some new scenes and dialogue to the chapter.
As for the next chapter. It'll feature a duel between our two lookalike protagonists, Yuuji and Yuya. Not going to spoil much else.
If you enjoyed what you read so far, you might as well read the next chapter. Thanks for reading!
Chapter 3: Battle of Pendulums
Chapter Text
Edit #1: 3/17 Chapters Revamped.
Be sure to drop some comments. I see all of them so feel free to speak out your mind and drop some suggestions or comments about the story. Criticism is also welcome (as long as it isn't brainless flaming of the story).
Without any further ado, enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: Minor spelling, grammar, and other mistakes may be present.
(A/N: Since I'm Bored, here's the anime opening for the Standard Dimension Arc. Minor Spoilers ahead, though a lot of it is more faint hints at what is to come, and may or may not be true.)
(A/N II: Characters you the reader would already know from the series or mentioned prior to this chapter will be referred to by their name.)
Standard Arc Opening Theme (Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Opening 1: BELIEVE X BELIEVE):
Birību × Birību biri-biri-biri Badīzu!
(A screen is split into two sides, one half red and one-half green. Yuuji is shown on the green side with a serious expression, while Yuya is shown on the red side with a smile. The screen then splits into six, with four other pictures of Yuya appearing. The colors for each extra Yuya are yellow, pink, blue, and purple. The logo for the series then appears on top of them during the instrumental.)
Yū! Kachi make janai saikyō no Kādo
(Yuuji is seen with a confident smirk on his face, spinning around as he activates his duel disk.)
Yū! Supīdo zenkai harahara On za gēmu
(He then places two cards on his duel blade, with spawn the word [PENDULUM] in rainbow font between them as two Pendulum Zone appear behind him.)
Dan-Dan-Dan-Dan Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan-Dan-Dan-Dan Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan!
(The scene shifts rapidly. One screen showing Shizuka and Yuga, who are sitting together at a cafe. Another shows Yuzu, who slams her paper fan into Shuzo's head. The next screen that shows up is Gongenzaka carrying the younger You Show Students on his back as they try to reach a cat that was stuck under a tree. Then the screen shifts to Yuto walking in one direction before splitting to show Shun walking the opposite way.)
Yureru ma ma ma Maindo Tamashī no pendyuramu kyūkyoku no konfyūjon
(The next scene splits into two, as Yuuji and Yuya both simultaneously Pendulum Summoning.)
Shōdō ga Gotto itto gotto itto
(A tall man with long, dark green hair is seen smirking, revealing his teeth which were all sharp and pointy.)
Shōbu wa gachi gachi honki reboryūshon
(Sora is seen smiling for a moment. Then seen shifts to an abandoned harbor, with Yuuji standing in front of the tall, dark green-haired man mention earlier.)
(Jasuto burēkin' za wōru... x2)
(Yuuji and the man both activate their duel disk, as they look at each other with serious expressions on their faces.)
Raido on nau!
(The two draw their cards as their duel begins.)
Birību × Birību Eburibadi gōin' kabe wo tsukiyabure!
(Yuuji summons Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon and Revolution Commander, who clash with a massive machine Gundam. The clash creates a giant explosion that obscures the screen.)
Yua gona bīto itto bīto! Mugendai no fyūchā mayoi wa buttobase!
(The scene shifts to a duel between Yuya and Yuuji. With Yuya having a spotlight over him as he speaks which causes Yuuji to sweat drop.)
Meiku itto Meiku itto yūki dashite (Bureiku itto nau)
(The scene shifts to an alleyway at night, with Reiji and Shun standing face to face. Shun having a serious, hateful expression while Reiji's was more of a calculated calm.)
Steppu aheddo! Fumidase yo (Du itto nau)
(The scene shifts to another part of the city, where a girl with spikey dark blue hair with lighter bangs is seen walking through the dazzling streets of a city, a resolved expression on her face.)
Otanoshimi wa kore kara da!
(The scene shifts to Yuuji and Yuya, who happily eat food on a bench. In the background, Yuto could be seen leaning on a tree, while Yuga sat on the ground eating cotton candy.)
So daremo ga Birībā!
(The screen filters to grey as an image of a younger Yuuji sitting on a Duel Runner, with a taller woman with grey hair smiling behind him.)
Birību × Birību biri-biri-biri Badīzu!
(In a dark void, the camera zooms in on Yuuji, who has a serious expression on his face. But when he noticed the camera looking at him, he smiles, as the screen cuts to black.)
Scale 03: Battle of Pendulums
The next day…
Yuuji could be seen standing outside of the You Show Duel School once again.
I can't believe I decided to do this.
He's never taught someone else before, so he wasn't really sure about how to go about this.
"I'll just try to teach him in a similar manner to my mentor," Yuuji decided. "It worked for me, so maybe it'll work for him too."
Yuuji approached the entrance of the school, ringing the doorbell. A few moments later, the pink-haired girl from yesterday opened it.
"It's you," Yuzu's eyes widened. "You actually came back?"
"Um, yeah," Yuuji looked a little hurt about her surprise. "I made a promise to Yuya, and I'm not the type of man who would go against my word."
"I guess that's a good point," Yuzu responded. She stepped aside, opening the door, "Come in," She ushered him inside.
The young woman lead him towards the living area, where Yuya, along with Gongenzaka and the younger You Show were staying. Yuya perked up upon seeing him, standing up and rushing over to him.
"You actually came!" Yuya exclaimed with a happy look.
"Not you too," Yuuji sighed. "I told you that I would come tomorrow, remember?"
"Yeah, I know that," Yuya replied. "But I couldn't help but be little worried."
"He's still a little traumatized from the time when a few kids pulled a prank on him," Yuzu explained. "They acted like they felt bad for Yuya after his father disappeared and said that they would be willing to listen to his story without judgement. After Yuya vented to them about his struggles, they just laughed in his face and told him to grow up."
"That's...incredibly cruel," Yuuji looked saddened at what he had just heard.
"I know," Yuzu frowned and shook her head.
"Yuzu, you don't have to tell him that!" Yuya's face flushed red with embarrassment.
"Well, since I'm here now, let's get started," Yuuji decided to change the subject. "It's not too complicated, but it'll take a bit to explain everything I know to you. Also, quick question. Do you guys have a chalkboard around here?"
"We do," Yuzu nodded. "I'll go get it now."
Yuzu leaves the room. A few moments later, she returns with a green chalkboard on wheels, handing it over to Yuuji who brings it to the back of the room. He grabs a piece of chalk, drawing a surprisingly good sketch of a duel blade.
"Alright. As I'm sure you already know, to Pendulum Summon, you must first place two Pendulum Cards on opposite ends of your duel blade," Yuuji drew two cards on each end of the duel blade sketch. "This is a process I dub as, 'setting the Pendulum Scale', which is a term both you and I said when we first Pendulum Summoned," Yuuji then wrote the numbers 1 and 8 respectively on both of the cards. "What you didn't know during that exhibition duel you had with Yuzu yesterday was this. When performing a Pendulum Summoning, you must take into account your Scale Numbers."
"Scale Number?" Yuya raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Each Pendulum Card has a set Scale Number," Yuuji elaborated. "For example, your Stargazer Magician has a Scale Number of 1, while your Timegazer Magician has a Scale Number of 8, as shown in the sketch here," Yuuji tapped the chalk on the chalkboard. "When Pendulum Summoning, you can only Pendulum Summon monsters whose Levels are between the two Scale Numbers of your Pendulum Scale."
"I think I get it," Tatsuya put a hand on his chin as he began elaborating his thoughts. "So, if your two Scale Numbers were 4 and 8 like what Yuya had in his duel against Yuzu, he is only allowed to Pendulum Summon Level 5, 6, and 7 monsters."
Yuuji snapped his fingers at Tatsuya and smiled.
"That's correct! You caught on quickly," Yuuji praised the blue-haired youth before turning over to Yuya. "Performapal Sword Fish and Performapal Whip Snake were Level 2 and 4 monsters respectively, so they couldn't have been Pendulum Summoned."
"So that's why it didn't work," Yuya's eyes widened in surprised.
"That's the most important fact that you need to know about Pendulum Summoning. If you can't master making use of your Scale Numbers correctly, you won't be able to use Pendulum Summoning to its full potential," Yuuji stated. "Aside from that fact, there are a few other traits of Pendulum Cards. Each Pendulum Monster has a regular Monster Effect and a Pendulum Effect that only applies while they are placed in your Pendulum Scale, Pendulum Monsters are sent to the Extra Deck face-up when they're are destroyed, not the graveyard, and you can Pendulum Summon face-up Pendulum Monsters in your Extra Deck every turn as long as their Levels are within your two Scale Numbers—"
Yuuji paused as he noticed Yuya's face turn read, steam flowing out of his ear as the young man's brain struggled to process all of this information.
"This...is way more complicated that I thought," Yuya commented.
"Yeah, but you have to know all of it," Yuuji with a frown.
However, an idea sudden popped up in Yuuji's mind.
"I got it, the best way to ingrain this into your mind is with a duel."
"A duel?" Yuya was surprised by the suggestion.
"Yeah, it's the more fun option," Yuuji smiled. "Don't worry too much about the smaller details. As long as you know the basics, everything else will follow."
"Alright," Yuya stood up. He had a determined look on his face as he nodded at Yuuji. "You're on!"
A few minutes later, Yuuji and Yuya could be seen in the arena, each of them prepping for their upcoming match. Yuuji could be seen moving his body around, getting himself loose. Yuya on the other hand was more focused on fixing up his deck before eventually finishing up and placing the deck into his duel disk.
"Okay, I'm ready," Yuya smiled before turning over to his opponent. "What about you, Yuuji?"
"I'm ready when you are," Yuya responded as he finished stretching. He then turned up to Shuzo, who was managing the Real Solid Vision, "Yo, Principal! We're ready down here when you are!"
"Right!" Shuzo nodded as he began fiddling with the machine. "Action Field On! Crystal Mirrorland!"
The Real Solid Vision Machine began whirring as the arena around the boys was transformed into a void world, with multiple floating islands of various sizes made of mirrors. Giant crystals protruded from the ground throughout the main island, where the two were standing.
What a nice place… Yuuji thought as he admired his surroundings. I feel right at home here.
"Good luck, Yuya!" Yuzu cheered for her friend from the spectator booth.
"Don't get nervous, Yuya! You'll get it this time!" Gongenzaka cheered.
"Yeah, you got this Yuya-oniichan!" Ayu cheered.
"Show him what you're made of!" Tatsuya cheered.
"Pendulum, Pendulum, Pendulum!" Futoshi began chanting as he did his little dance.
"Thank you, guys!" Yuya smiled as he waved back at his friends.
"Everything's set up, so let's do this!" Yuuji declared before he began chanting. "Duelist locked in battle!"
"Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!" Yuya chanted.
"They storm through this field!" Yuuji chanted.
"Behold!" Yuya chanted. "This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling!"
[Action—!] The three You Show youths shouted.
[Duel!] Everyone present shouted as the duel began.
Yuuji — LP: 4000
Yuya — LP: 4000
"You can have the first turn," Yuuji offered as he drew his first five cards. "I want to see what you can do."
"Right. And I don't plan to disappoint!" Yuya announced as he drew his five cards.
[Turn 1: Yuya] [H: 5]
Yuya smiled when he saw the cards he drew.
"Let's do this, partners," Yuya said before turning serious as he revealed two cards in his hand. "I set the Pendulum Scale with Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and Scale 8 Timegazer Magician!"
Yuya placed the two cards on opposite ends of his duel blade, the word [PENDULUM] appearing in rainbow font as two magicians, one in black and one in white, rose into each of his Pendulum Zones. The numbers 1 and 8 appear on their respective Pendulum Zones as a giant swinging Pendulum swung right above him.
"Now I can summon monsters Levels 2 through 7 all at the same time!" Yuya announced. "Swing, Pendulum of Souls! Draw an arc of light across the ether, and give way to a path full of fun and smiles! I Pendulum Summon! Come out, my monsters!"
The giant Pendulum in the sky draws a portal, with two beams of energy shooting out of it.
"Whip to it, Performapal Whip Snake (Earth/Reptile/Effect/ATK: 1700/DEF: 900/LV: 4)!" A purple cobra with a top hat appeared.
"Come out, the star of the show! Wondrous and beautiful dichromatic eyes! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7/SC: 4)!"
A giant, bipedal red dragon with dual-colored eyes, with many pretty orbs scattered around its giant, pale colored horns appeared.
"He did it, Yuya Pendulum Summoned!" Tatsuya exclaimed.
"What a shiver-tastic duel!" Futoshi did a little dance.
"Good job, Yuya!" Yuzu cheered for her friend.
"Looks like you managed to get it down, good job," Yuuji praised him.
"Thanks," Yuya smiled from the praise. "I set a card and end my turn."
Yuya then hopped on Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon.
"Let's go partner," Yuya ushered his dragon to start moving.
Yuuji silently watched them before smiling.
"Now the time has come, the first battle between Pendulum Users! My turn! Draw!" Yuuji announced as he drew a card.
[Turn 2: Yuuji] [H: 6]
Yuuji revealed a card in his hand.
"I summon the Tuner Monster, Antique Resonance Mirror (Light/Fairy/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 2)!"
A pristine-looking mirror appeared on Yuuji's field.
"Antique Resonance Mirror's effect activates! When it is Normal Summoned onto my field, I can Special Summon an Antique Monster from my deck to my field. Appear now, Antique Maker - Mira (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5/SC: 8)!"
A maiden dressed in all black, holding a mirror in her hands appeared.
"Now Antique Maker - Mira's effect activates!" Yuuji declared. "It allows me to add an Antique Monster from my deck to my hand!" Yuuji added a card to his hand. He then took out two cards from his hand and revealed them. "Now, I set the Pendulum Scale with Scale 3 Antique Journal and Scale 6 Antique Compass!"
Yuuji placed the two cards on opposite ends of his duel blade. The word [PENDULUM] appears in between in rainbow font as his two monsters rise into each of his Pendulum Zones. The numbers 3 and 6 appear in a strange, golden font as a giant silver Pendulum swung above it all.
"Now I can summon monsters Levels 4 and 5 all at the same time!" Yuuji announced. "Shine, Pendulum of Destiny! Draw an arc across the ether, and reflect onto a path to victory! Pendulum Summon!"
The giant pendulum draws a portal in the sky, with two pillars of energy falling out of it.
"From my hand, Antique Maker - Edison (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 1300/DEF: 1200/LV: 5/SC: 2) and Antique Forgotten Mask (Light/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5)!"
A well-dressed man holding a light bulb in his hand and a floating spirit wearing a weeping mask appeared on Yuuji's field.
"Edison's effect activates, when he is summoned, I can target 1 monster on your field and destroy it! Say goodbye to your Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
"I won't let you!" Yuya shouted as he leaped off Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. He then proceeds to hop from crystal to crystal to an Action Card that he had spotted earlier, picking it up and immediately activating it.
"I activate the Action Spell Rapid Reflection!" Yuya announced. "When this spell is activated, I can negate an effect that targets a monster I control and bounce that effect back to you!"
"What!?" Yuuji exclaimed.
"Using your monster's effect, I choose to destroy your Antique Maker - Mira!" Yuya announced as he jumped off the floating platform that he was on, free falling for a few moments before landing on his feet as Yuuji's monster was destroyed by the effect.
"Damn," Yuuji cursed. "I should've known that it wouldn't be that easy."
Oh well, I have other ways to destroy it anyway. Yuuji thought.
"Battle!" Yuuji moved into his Battle Phase. "Forgotten Mask attacks Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
"What? But it has zero ATK?" Ayu tilted her head confused. "Why would he do that?"
"He must have a plan," Gongezaka stated. "From what I, the man Gongenzaka, can tell about him from our duel yesterday, Yuuji isn't the type of guy to make reckless moves without one."
"At this time, Forgotten Mask's effect activates!" Yuuji declared. "When it battles, the ATK of both of our monsters are swapped temporarily until the End Phase!"
"Huh!?" Yuya cried out.
(Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon — ATK: 2500 → 0)
(Antique Forgotten Mask — ATK: 0 → 2500)
"I can't let that go through…" Yuya muttered. "I activate my set Trap Card, Wall of Disruption! For the rest of this turn, if a monster my opponent controls battles, it loses 800 ATK for each monster they currently control!"
"I control three, so that means my monsters lose 2400 ATK…" Yuuji frowned.
(Antique Forgotten Mask — ATK: 2500 → 100)
(Antique Maker - Edison — ATK: 1300 → 0)
"It still doesn't protect your Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Yuuji declared. "Go and destroy him, Forgotten Mask!"
The spirit wraps its body around Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon, creating an explosion that destroys it. Yuya winces from the shockwaves as his Life Points are hit.
Yuya — LP: 4000 → 3900
"I set two cards and end my turn," Yuuji concluded with two face-downs.
(Antique Forgotten Mask — ATK: 100 → 0)
(Antique Maker - Edison — ATK: 0 → 1300)
"Then it's my turn! Draw!" Yuya drew a card as his turn began.
[Turn 3: Yuya] [H: 1]
Yuya's pendulum necklace begins to glow as he then extended his hand into the air. At the same time, a portal appeared above him, with a beam of energy shooting out of it.
"With my currently set Pendulum Scale, I Pendulum Summon!" Yuya took out a card from his Extra Deck. "Return from my Extra Deck and dazzle the crowd, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon (ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)!"
The red dragon with dual-colored eyes appeared once again.
Yuya then hopped on Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon once again, the two of them running off, hopping from island to island to search for an Action Card. Yuuji catches onto this, running off as he does the same. A few moments later, the two find Action Cards at the same time, with Yuya smiling as he then continues his turn.
"Just what I needed! Battle!" Yuya shouted. "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon attacks Antique Forgotten Mask!"
Huh? Why is he attacking that instead of Antique Resonance Mirror? Yuuji wondered.
"Did you forget about Forgotten Mask's effect?" Yuuji frowned. "It swaps ATK points with your attacking monster!"
(Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon — ATK: 2500 → 0)
(Antique Forgotten Mask — ATK: 0 → 2500)
"I didn't," Yuya smiled. "I activate Action Spell, Reversion! During the Damage Step, I can swap the ATK points of two monsters on the field until the End Phase. I choose to swap Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Antique Forgotten Mask's ATK back!"
"Naive! I picked up my own Action Spell too!" Yuuji shouted as he played his Action Spell. "I activate the Action Spell, No Action! With it, I can negate the activation of your Action Spell!"
"You're the one that's naive! You said you watched over my duel with Strong Ishijima, yet you forgot about Stargazer Magician's Pendulum Effect!" Yuya announced. "Once per turn, when my opponent activates a Spell Card when a Pendulum Monster battles, I can negate the activation and set that card face-down on your field!"
"Tch, I forgot about that," Yuuji clicked his tongue as he's forced to set his Action Spell.
His and Yuya's monster's ATK points are then swapped.
(Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon — ATK: 0 → 2500)
(Antique Forgotten Mask — ATK: 2500 → 0)
"Now go, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, attack Forgotten Mask! Spiral Flame Strike!"
Yuya dragon shoots a breath of spiral flame at the spirit.
"And now for the finale!" Yuya pointed towards his dragon with a smile. "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's effect activates! When it battles a Level 5 or higher monster, it deals double the damage! Reaction Force!"
"Double!?" Yuuji's jaw dropped. "That'll wipe out all of my Life Points."
"Doesn't that mean Yuya just wins?" Yuzu wondered. "From what I remember from his duel against Ishijima, Timegazer Magician can negate the activation of a Trap Card."
"We'll have to wait and see," Gongenzaka replied.
"Like hell I'll lose when the duel has only just begun…" Yuuji muttered. "I activate my Counter Trap, Emergency Antique Reinforcements! With it, I can prevent the destruction of Antique Monsters I can control, as well as reduce all damage I receive in battles involving Antique Monsters to zero!"
"Timegazer Magician's Pendulum Effect activates! Once per turn, when my opponent activates a Trap Card when a Pendulum Monster battles, I can negate the activation of that Trap Card, and set it back down face-down!"
The trap card is flipped back face-down again. However, at the same time, Yuuji's other Trap Card is flipped face-up.
"I activate my Continuous Trap, Halve Attack!" Yuuji announced. "While this card remains on my field, all battle damage I receive is halved!"
Forgotten Mask is engulfed by the dragon's attack, which created an explosion that sends Yuuji flying. Before he could fall into the void, Yuuji catches himself on a crystal island, pulling himself onto it to save himself.
Yuuji — LP: 4000 → 1500
That was close. Yuuji let out a breath of relief.
"Performapal Whip Snake attacks Antique Resonance Mirror!" Yuya shouts as his snake wraps around the floating mirror, squeezing down and shattering it.
Yuuji — LP: 1500 → 650
"I end my turn," Yuya concluded his turn.
"Yeesh, you didn't hold back," Yuuji commented as he stretched his arms. "I almost got one-turn killed there."
"But I fell short before I could finish the job…" Yuya bitterly smiled. "I really thought I had you there."
"This duel has been just as fun as I had thought it would be," Yuuji smiled. "But I think it's time to ramp things up a bit."
Yuuji then put his hand over the top of his deck as he resolutely looked at Yuya
"I'm pulling out all the stops this turn!" Yuuji declared. "My turn! Draw!"
Yuuji's deck glowed as he drew a card.
[Turn 4: Yuuji] [H: 1]
"So, you want to fight him too, huh?" Yuuji smiled when he saw what he drew. "Let's do this then, partner," Yuuji nodded to the card as he continued his turn. "I activate Antique Compass' Pendulum Effect. Once per turn, I can Special Summon an Antique Monster from my hand or graveyard! Return to my field, Antique Forgotten Mask (ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5)!"
The spirit with the weeping mask appeared on the field once again.
"With my currently set Pendulum Scale, I Pendulum Summon!" Yuuji announced as a portal appeared above him, with a beam of energy shooting out from it. "Return from my Extra Deck, Antique Maker - Mira (ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5)!"
A maiden in all black holding a mirror in her hands appeared.
"Antique Maker - Mira's effect activates upon her summon, allowing me to add an Antique Monster to my hand!" Yuuji added a card to his hand. "Now, I overlay my Level 5 Antique Maker - Edison, Antique Maker - Mira, and Antique Forgotten Mask!"
A galaxy vortex appeared in front of Yuuji, with his three declared monsters turning into energies that were then absorbed into the vortex. A large pillar of light shot out from the vortex's center as he began chanting.
"The will of the oppressed who die on the battlefield burns bright," Yuuji chanted. "They wait for the one who guides the will of the fallen to victory! I Xyz Summon! Come forth, Rank 5! Rise up, courageous leader who fans the flames of rebellion, Antique Maker - Revolution Commander (Fire/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/R: 5/SC: 5/OU: 3)!"
A tall, red-haired man with eagle eyes, wearing a black cloak with a black mask which covered his mouth appeared.
"There it is, the Xyz Monster he used to defeat Gongenzaka…" Yuya muttered.
"Antique Journal's Pendulum Effect activates, allowing me to Special Summon it onto my field in defense mode (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 4/SC: 3)!" An old floating journal appeared. "Then, I set the Scale 4 Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon into my Pendulum Scale!"
A purple dragon with bone armor rose into the empty Pendulum Zone.
"Antique Journal's other effect activates, allowing me to Special Summon a monster from one of my Pendulum Zone with its effects negated!" Yuuji announced as the old book begins to grow in size, a portal forming on its pages and under Phantom Dragon. "Come forth, the dragon born in the heart of phantoms, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7/SC: 4)!"
The purple dragon emerges from the portal onto Yuuji's field.
[Gah!] The two lookalike youths clutch their chest for a moment upon the arrival of Yuuji's dragon. Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon begin roaring at each other.
What the hell…is this feeling? Yuuji wondered. It's as if the two dragons are calling out for each other.
It didn't feel that bad though, only feeling a little off. He just chalked it up to some weird shenanigans with these new cards that he has.
"Revolution Commander's effect activates!" Yuuji announced. "By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can Special Summon Antique Dawning Blaze (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5/SC: 7)!"
(Revolution Commander — OU: 3 → 2)
A fiery blade with a golden hilt appeared.
"I equip Dawning Blaze to Revolution Commander, increasing its ATK by 500 for each Monster on both of our fields!" Yuuji shouts. "Since there are 4 monsters total, Revolution Commander gains 2000 ATK!"
Revolution Commander grabs the fiery sword, whose flames begins increasing in size as it powered up Revolution Commander.
(Revolution Commander — ATK: 2500 → 4500)
"Here we come, Yuya!" Yuuji shouted as he pumped his fist forward. "Battle! Revolution Commander attacks Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! Blazing Revolution!"
The warrior leaps forward, threatening to slash through Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon.
"Not so fast!" Yuya shouted as he revealed a card in his hand. "Performapal Hyper Emu effect activates! When a Pendulum Monster is targeted by an attack, I can Special Summon this monster from my hand in defense mode!"
Yuya placed the card onto his duel disk as a colorful emu with stars all throughout its body, wearing a colorful suit and tie appeared.
[Performapal Hyper Emu (Wind/Winged-Beast/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 300/DEF: 2200/LV: 6/SC: 3)]
"How does that help?" Tatsuya wondered. "Revolution Commander can attack twice thanks to its effect, and Yuuji can just choose to attack Yuya's other monsters."
"A great question," Yuya smiled at Tatsuya. "However, Performapal Hyper Emu has a very special effect!" Yuya announced. "I can tribute it in order to take control of one of my opponent's monsters! I'll be taking your Revolution Commander if you don't mind, Yuuji."
"Say what!?" Yuuji's jaw dropped as Revolution Commander stops its attack right before slicing through Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. A bright pink aura then surrounded the Xyz Monster as it began moving towards Yuya's field.
"Nice going, Yuya!" Gongenzaka pumped his fist.
That's bad. Yuuji frowned. But I can't let that stop me.
"My Battle Phase still continues!" Yuuji declared. "Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon attacks Performapal Whip Snake! Phantom Spiral Breath!"
Phantom Dragon shoots a breath of purple flames at Yuya's monster, which shrieks in surprise before being destroyed. Yuya winces a bit from the shockwaves of the attack.
Yuya — LP: 3900 → 3100
There's not really much I can do. Yuuji frowned. I'm going to need to find an Action Card.
Yuuji hopped onto Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon.
"I end my turn," Yuuji concluded before turning to his dragon. "Let's go, Phantom Dragon."
Phantom Dragon roars as it begins running forward. At the same time, Yuya hops onto Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon.
"Two can play that game!" Yuya shouted. "My turn! Draw!"
Yuya and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon began searching for Action Cards as well as his turn began.
[Turn 5: Yuya] [H: 1]
"With my currently set Pendulum Scale, I Pendulum Summon!" Yuya announced as a portal appeared in the sky, with two beams of energy shooting out from it. "Welcome back to the stage, Performapal Hyper Emu (ATK: 300/DEF: 2200/LV: 6)! And from my hand, Performapal Silver Claw (Dark/Beast/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 1800/DEF: 700/LV: 4/SC: 5)!"
The colorful emu and a grey wolf with a blue collar appeared on Yuya's field.
"I activate Hyper Emu's effect! By tributing it, I can take control of a monster on your field. Welcome to my field, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon!"
"Damn…" Yuuji cursed as he leaps off Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon, which had a pink aura surround it as it was dragged to Yuya's field. The silver-haired young man quickly hops across a few platforms, landing on a larger island to snag an Action Spell that was on the ground. He then immediately played it.
"I activate the Action Spell Punishing Grip!" Yuuji shouts. "With it, I can negate the effects of a card on my opponent's field! I choose to negate the effects of Timegazer Magician!"
"Timegazer Magician?" Yuzu was confused. "Why wouldn't he negate the effects of Revolution Commander instead? Doesn't it inflict piercing damage? He'll lose."
"He definitely has a plan," Gongenzaka stated. "We'll have to wait and see."
The area suddenly turned dark, as a spotlight suddenly appeared around Yuya.
How the hell is he doing that? Yuuji wondered with a dumbfounded look on his face.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Yuya outstretched his arms. "The climax of this duel is finally upon us, brought to you by me, Sakaki Yuya! With my opponent's monster taking the center stage!" Yuya announced. "Battle! Antique Maker - Revolution Commander attacks Antique Journal! And at this time, Revolution Commander's effect activates! By detaching an overlay unit from it, it can inflict piercing damage! Blazing Revolution!"
(Revolution Commander — OU: 2 → 1)
The warrior leaps forward, the flames on its blade burning brighter as it swung its sword down on Antique Journal. However, much to Yuya's surprise, Yuuji smiled.
"Don't count me out just yet, Yuya! I'm the one who'll decide when this duel ends!" Yuuji declared. "I activate my Counter Trap, Emergency Antique Reinforcements! With it, I can prevent the destruction of 'Antique' Monsters I control, as well as reduce all damage I receive in battles involving 'Antique' Monsters to zero!"
"What!?" Yuya cried out.
"I forgot about that," Tatsuya's eyes widened. "Timegazer and Stargazer Magician's effects set the Spell/Trap cards they negated back onto the field, meaning that they can be activated again later on. And since Timegazer Magician has its effects negated, Yuya can't stop Yuuji from activating his Trap Card this time!"
A barrier formed around Yuuji's monster, protecting both it and Yuuji from harm's way.
"So, you had an out to that too," Yuya smiled. "I end my turn."
As he ended his turn, Yuya then noticed an Action Card nearby, hopping and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon towards the island it was on, picking up the Action Card.
"My turn! Draw!" At the same time, Yuuji drew a card as his turn began.
[Turn 6: Yuuji] [H: 1]
I may have been able to survive this turn, but that still doesn't change the fact that Yuya is currently in the driver's seat. Yuuji thought. Now I have to deal with Yuya without my most powerful monsters.
Yuuji took a look at the card that he drew. It was a Quick-Play Spell.
I have Antique Maker - Mira and Antique Forgotten Mask in my graveyard. Though, I doubt that Forgotten Mask will be able to do anything, since Yuya can still use Stargazer Magician's Pendulum Effect in tandem with an Action Card to lock me out of doing anything.
Quite the foolproof plan, taking his strongest monsters and locking him from using his Spell/Trap Cards. Yuya took his advice and went the extra mile with it.
Just like I wanted. Yuuji smirked. Now I can really push through my limits here.
Right here, without any weird power bailing him out. He'll win this!
[Current Theme Playing: Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Sound Duel 1 OST 14 - A Battle That Cannot be Lost]
"I activate Antique Compass' effect!" Yuuji announced. "With it, I can Special Summon an Antique Monster from my hand or graveyard. Return to my field, Antique Maker - Mira (ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5)!"
A maiden in all black holding a mirror in her hand appeared.
"Mira's effect activates, upon its summon I can add an Antique Monster from my deck to my hand!" Yuuji added a card to his hand. "Now, I activate Antique Maker - Swinging Soul's effect, allowing me to Special Summon it when I control an 'Antique' Monster!"
A white magician holding a swinging pendulum in its hands appeared. A faint blue aura could be seen surrounding the monster.
[Antique Maker - Swinging Soul (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 2000/LV: 3/SC: 1)]
"Swinging Soul's effect activates!" Yuuji announced as the magician began swinging the pendulum necklace in its hand back and forth. "Once per turn, I can swap the ATK and DEF of a monster on my opponent's field. I choose to target Performapal Silver Claw with this effect!"
(Performapal Silver Claw — ATK: 1800 → 700, DEF: 700 → 1800)
"Next, I activate Antique Journal's effect, allowing me to Special Summon Antique Compass (Light/Fairy/Tuner/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 3/SC: 6) to my field!"
The pristine compass emerges from a portal that formed on the pages of Antique Journal.
"Now, I tune the Level 3 Antique Compass to the Level 4 Antique Journal!" Yuuji announced as his monsters transformed into green rings and orbs respectively, lining up in a line as he began chanting. "Item of old lost through time. Bring about your legacy! I Synchro Summon! Appear, Level 7! The forbidden wand of calamity! Antique Burdened Staff (Light/Fairy/Synchro/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 7)!"
An old, floating, used up wand appeared on Yuuji's field.
"A Synchro Summon!?" Yuzu exclaimed.
"But why is it so weak? It has no ATK." Ayu wondered.
"It must have an effect that can help him here," Tatsuya guessed.
"Burdened Staff's effect activates!" Yuuji declared. "I can equip it to a monster my opponent controls and take control of it. However, during the End Phase, this card is destroyed, and that monster returns to my opponent's field. I choose to take back control of Antique Maker - Revolution Commander!"
"No way!" Yuya was shocked as the withered staff began to glow purple, shooting an energy beam at Revolution Commander which eventuallys wraps around it and drags it back to Yuuji's field.
"Now for the climax! Battle!" Yuuji immediately moved into his Battle Phase as he pumped his fist forward. "Revolution Commander attacks Silver Claw! Blazing Revolution!"
"Not so fast! I activate the Action Spell, Evasion!" Yuya activates an Action Spell he had picked up earlier. "With it, I can negate the attack of your monster!"
"I activate my set Action Spell, No Action to negate that effect!" Yuuji counters.
"Stargazer Magician Pendulum Effect negates that effect!" Yuya countered back.
Stargazer Magician uses its power to set Yuuji's Action Card down on his field once again, allowing Silver Claw to dodge Revolution Commander's attack.
"I hope you didn't forget that Revolution Commander can attack twice, right?" Yuuji smiled. "Revolution Commander attacks Silver Claw once again!
"Of course not," Yuya smiled back as he used Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon as a lift to reach an Action Card he spotted above him on an island. "I activate the Action Spell, Mirror Match! When my opponent declares an attack on my monster, I can make our monster's ATK points match temporarily!"
(Revolution Commander — ATK: 4500)
(Performapal Silver Claw — ATK: 700 → 4500)
"This is it, once Revolution Commander is destroyed, Yuya will be able to win on his next turn!" Ayu cheered.
"Sorry, but this is where this duel ends!" Yuuji declared as he revealed a card in his hand. "I activate my Quick-Play-Spell, Damage Launch! By tributing a monster I can control, I can deal damage to my opponent equal to the total ATK points of that monster! I choose to tribute Revolution Commander!"
"Revolution Commander has 4500 ATK…" Yuya's eyes widened. "That means…"
"That's right, you take 4500 points of damage!" Yuuji announced as a mystery box appeared in front of him, with Revolution Commander hopping inside of it. The box begins to shake for a moment before a blast of energy is shot out from an opening towards Yuya, which hits him directly and reduces his Life Points to zero.
Yuya — LP: 3100 → 0
Winner: Yuuji
[BGM (Background Music) Ends Here.]
The Action Field disperses, the crystal islands turning into glowing particles which faded into nothing, returning the two boys back into the arena.
"Dammit, I lost," Yuya sighed while sitting on the ground. "I really thought I had it in the bag."
"You almost did," Yuuji replied. "You surpassed my expectations and then some."
"But I still fell short in the end…" Yuya melancholically said.
"..." Yuuji frowned for a moment before realizing something. "You may be more like me than I thought before."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You hate losing, right?" Yuuji asked. "Me too. It's the thing I hate the most, yet it happens to me more often than winning does."
Yuya was in disbelief, "I couldn't even imagine you losing. You're way too good at dueling to be losing that much."
"Thanks for the compliment, but I'm pretty sure my win rate is even worse than yours," Yuuji replied. "Before I received these Pendulum Cards, it was typical for me to lose at least three duels in a row before I could even get a single win."
Yuya was shocked by this.
"I've always received comments from people, telling me to give up and that with a deck like mine, I would never be able to achieve my naive goal of becoming the strongest," Yuuji continued. "But I never gave up. I kept throwing myself at my opponents, learning everything I can about dueling, from different summoning methods to other smaller intricacies."
Yuuji then sighed.
"But, even with a good understanding of dueling, when you don't have a good deck, you will lose. A lot."
"Then why didn't you use a stronger deck?" Yuzu asked as the rest of the group entered the room.
"My father gave me this deck," Yuuji answered. "A bit before he passed away. I promised him that I would become the greatest duelist there is with it. That's why I push through even when I keep getting knocked back down."
"I, the man Gongenzaka, whole-heartedly agree," Gongenzaka smiled as pumped his fist. "A real man pushes through adversity, even when the going gets tough."
Yuuji smiled at that before turning back to Yuya, extending his hand out to him, "Anyway, what I was trying to say is that you shouldn't let a loss get you down. It's only a steppingstone towards your goal of becoming someone who can entertain the crowd just like your father."
"You're right," Yuya nodded with a smile as he accepted Yuuji's hand, standing back up. "Next time, I'll show you a dazzling duel that you'll never forget. And I'll actually come out on top this time."
"Looking forward to it," Yuuji nodded
"Yuya! Yuuji! That was an amazingly hot-blooded duel!" Shuzo shouted as he jumped to hug the two of them, however fell face first onto the ground as the two of them stepped out of the way. Shuzo just got right back up, turning his attention to Yuuji. "You should really join our school as a student…no, as a teacher!"
"No thanks," Yuuji declined. "While I do support Yuya in his goal, I don't really vibe with the whole entertaining crowd business. I just duel for my own enjoyment."
"Aw, come on! You would fit right in here!" Shuzo pleaded. "Everyone would be happy to have you here."
"Mhm," Yuzu nodded. "I thought you were just some mean jerk in the beginning, but I can see that you're just a big softy at heart."
"A-A softy?" Yuuji blushed with embarrassment. "I'm not soft at all!"
"Oh really~." Yuzu teased. "Why did you help Yuya then?"
"That was just because I wanted a rival who could use Pendulum Summoning," Yuuji crossed his arms and looked away. "I would've done that with anyone if they had the cards instead of Yuya."
"Liar," Yuzu bluntly said, surprising Yuuji. "You can't just say that after lore dropping about your past like that to cheer Yuya up. Some selfish jerk wouldn't do that."
"..." Yuuji was silent for a moment before replying. "Okay, sure. I may be a little nice. But that still doesn't mean that I'll join your school."
"Please," Ayu pleaded. "You're really cool, mister."
"Yeah, I want to learn how to duel just like you!" Futoshi said. "Just thinking about it gives me the shivers."
"You could really help us out a lot if you're here," Tatsuya added.
"Yeah," Yuzu agreed. "You could teach us a lot more than this clingy father of mine," Yuzu said as she pointed at Shuzo.
"Hey!" Shuzo shouted.
"U-Um…" Yuuji struggled to say something.
[Please!] The four moved closer with pleading looks.
This isn't fair, it's like four against one! Yuuji thought.
"...F-Fine, but give me some personal space first," Yuuji finally agreed.
"Wahoo! Thank you, Yuuji!" Futoshi cheered.
"Alright!" Shuzo exclaimed as his eyes lit on fire. "Now that we have two Pendulum Users at our school. The You Show Duel School will be unstoppable!"
A few days later…
That was how it started. Somehow, his trip to Maiami City resulted in him becoming a Student/Teacher on his third day there. Though he had to admit that it wasn't that bad.
"It's a nice change of pace," Yuuji said as he walked at a moderate pace. "How long has it been since I last joined a school? Five years, right?"
There wasn't much a low-funded school like You Show could teach him, but that was fine with him. He wasn't there to learn, he was there to help out his new acquaintances, no, he could probably call them friends at this point. It's been a few days. While he wasn't really a fan of entertainment dueling, it wouldn't hurt to at least try it right? It's not like it was much different from how he was dueling, the only difference being that the focus was also on entertaining the crowd, not just himself.
Yuuji walked past an alleyway, stopping in his tracks when he felt a threatening presence watching him. When he checked the source, he noticed a tall youth around his age, with long dark green, rough-looking hair. The young man was wearing a worn-out cloak which covered the the bottom half of his body completely.
The two of them make eye contact.
"What are you looking at?" The youth scoffed. "I got no time for a lowlife like you."
"Lowlife?" A tick mark formed on Yuuji's head. "Says the shady bastard spending his day staring at people from the darkness of an alleyway."
"Oh? So you got a mouth on you, huh?" The youth sneered, revealing his sharp teeth. "You must be looking for a fight?"
"What a baseless assumption," Yuuji rolled his eyes before noticing a duel disk on the left arm of the duelist. He was surprised when he noticed that it was a different shade from the norm. "Are you a duelist?" Yuuji suddenly asked.
The tall youth seemed to come to a similar conclusion looking at Yuuji's left arm.
"Yeah," The youth nodded before smirking. "Don't tell me you plan on dueling me? You stand a better chance fighting me with your fists than your deck."
"I probably do," Yuuji replied. "But I'd rather duel you. I wouldn't want to put somebody in the hospital during my first week here."
"Confident, are we? Fine with me," The youth agreed to duel. "Where do you want to take this?"
"There's an abandoned harbor nearby. We can take it there," Yuuji suggested.
"Nice and quiet, just the way I like it," The youth stuck his tongue out. "The perfect place to hide a body."
Don't like the sound of that. Yuuji frowned. He decided to ignore the red flag for now though since they were already on their way.
The two arrive at the harbor, with each of them taking post on opposite sides of an open area.
"May I know the name of my opponent?" Yuuji inquired.
"You can call me Ryouga," Ryouga introduced himself. "You better remember it, since it's the last thing you'll be hearing."
"A threat, I'm so scared~." Yuuji mocked before pointing at Ryouga. "I'm Haruki Yuuji. You're going to remember it, since I'm going to give you a beating that you'll never forget."
The two activate their duel disks simultaneously. Nearby, a lavender-haired youth wearing punk-styled clothes and a mask sat on top of a warehouse building, observing the current events unfolding.
[Duel!] The two shout in unison.
Custom/Altered Cards:
Monster Cards -
Timegazer Magician
ATK: 1200, DEF: 600, LV: 3, SC: 8
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn, during either player's Battle Step in which a Pendulum Monster you control battles, when a Trap Card is activated: You can negate the activation, then Set that card face-down instead of sending it to the Graveyard, and if you do, it cannot be activated for the rest of this turn.
Monster Effect: Once per turn, during either player's turn, when a Spell/Trap effect that targets a card(s) in the Pendulum Zone is activated: You can negate that effect.
Performapal Hyper Emu
ATK: 300, DEF: 2200, LV: 6, SC: 3
Wind/Winged-Beast/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: (Quick Effect): You can tribute both monsters in your Pendulum Zones, then target 1 monster your opponent controls; take control of it.
Monster Effect: (Quick Effect): If a Pendulum Monster you control is targeted for an attack, you can Special Summon this card from your hand. (Quick Effect): You can tribute this card, then target 1 monster your opponent controls; take control of it. You can only activate each effect of "Performapal Hyper Emu" once per turn.
Antique Burdened Staff
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 7
Light/Fairy/Synchro/Effect
1 Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner Monsters
Monster Effect: You can equip this card to a monster on your opponent's field; take control of it. During the End Phase, destroy this card, then; return the monster this card was equipped to back to their field.
Spell/Trap Cards -
Rapid Reflection
Action Spell
When an effect that targets a monster you control is activated: Negate that effect, then apply the same effect, targeting 1 card your opponent controls instead.
Reversion
Action Spell
During the Damage Step: Swap the ATK of both battling monsters until the End Phase.
Punishing Grip
Action Spell
Target 1 card on your opponent's field; negate its effects.
Emergency Antique Reinforcements
Counter Trap
Can be activated when a "Antique" Monster would be destroyed by battle or card effect. For the rest of this turn, "Antique" Monsters cannot be destroyed, and all damage you take in battles involving "Antique" Monsters is reduced to zero.
Mirror Match
Action Spell
When your opponent declares an attack on a monster you control: During the Damage Step, make your monster's ATK equal to the attacking monster's ATK.
Damage Launch
Quick-Play-Spell
Tribute 1 monster you control; inflict damage to your opponent equal to the Tributed monster's current ATK.
And that's all for this chapter. A nice little cliffhanger for the folks at home.
This chapter was definitely a more Yuuji centric chapter, like the other two chapters (don't worry, that won't last too long). A bit more of Yuuji's personality has been unveiled. Also, we finally have an anime opening!
...
I was super bored.
As always, be sure to drop some reviews , I like seeing that number go up.
If you've already read this far, you might as well read another chapter. Thanks for reading!
Chapter 4: The Phantom Calling For Rebellion
Chapter Text
Edit #1: 4/17 Chapters Revamped.
Be sure to drop some comments. I see all of them so feel free to speak out your mind and drop some suggestions or comments about the story. Criticism is also welcome (as long as it isn't brainless flaming of the story).
Without any further ado, enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: Minor spelling, grammar, and other mistakes may be present.
[ Standard Arc Opening Theme (Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Opening 1: BELIEVE X BELIEVE) ]
Scale 04: The Phantom Calling for Rebellion
Elsewhere, a few minutes earlier…
Yuya could be seen walking near the You Show Duel School. Behind him, a short light blue-haired youth wearing a slightly darker blue uniform could be seen trailing him. This continued for a few moments longer before Yuya eventually came to a stop, turning around and crossing his arms at them.
"Are you seriously going to keep following me?" Yuya asked.
"Yup!" Sora replied with energetic tone. "You promised that you'd teach me, remember?"
"But I didn't," Yuya sighed. "You're the one who suddenly went and proclaimed that I was your teacher yesterday."
"Yeah, but that Pendulum Summoning of yours was so cool!" Sora happily said. "You sent that Sawatari guy packing! You're the best!"
"I can't really be the best if I'm not the best Pendulum User," Yuya said with a bitter smile.
"What? You're not?" Sora was a bit surprised. "From what I heard from others, you're the only Pendulum User, right?"
"Nah, there's someone else with cards just like mine," Yuya corrected. "He's actually the one who taught me everything I know about Pendulum Summoning."
"Really?" Sora was intrigued. "I want to meet him! Maybe he will be more willing to teach me!"
"..." Yuya was a bit surprised at Sora switching up so easily. But if it meant that he would leave him alone, Yuya was fine with it.
He's your problem now, Yuuji. Yuya sweatdropped.
With Yuuji...
[Duel!] Yuuji and Ryouga shout in unison as their duel began.
Yuuji — LP: 4000
Ryouga — LP: 4000
[Turn 1: Ryouga] [H: 5]
"Achoo…" Yuuji suddenly sneezed. Rubbing his nose, he frowned. "Who the hell is cursing me in their mind right now?"
Maybe it was one of those security guards that tried to attack him after his duel against Black Death?
"I'll start since you're taking too long!" Ryouga declared as he drew his first five cards, with Yuuji doing the same. "I summon X-Head Cannon (Light/Machine/Normal/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1500/LV: 4)!"
A blue machine with metallic fists, with two small cannons pointing out from its shoulders appeared.
"I set a card and end my turn," Ryouga concluded. "Your move."
"Kind of weird for a guy whose name means 'Enduring Fang' to use a machine monster like that." Yuuji commented.
"Don't judge me," Ryouga sneered. "I go for the strongest deck there is, I don't care for something as dumb as using a deck that's on point with my theme."
"You do you I guess?" Yuuji shrugged.
It's not my place to judge a guy's deck choices. Yuuji thought. Let's just start my turn.
"My turn! Draw!" Yuuji drew a card as he began his turn.
[Turn 2: Yuuji] [H: 6]
Yuuji then revealed two cards in his hand.
"I set the Pendulum Scale with the Scale 1 Antique Maker - Swinging Soul and the Scale 8 Antique Maker - Mira!"
Yuuji places the two cards on opposite ends of his duel blade, the word [PENDULUM] appearing in between in rainbow font as a magician in white holding a swinging pendulum in his hand and a maiden in black holding a mirror in her hand rose into each of his Pendulum Zone. The numbers 1 and 8 appear on each of the zones in rainbow font as a giant, silver pendulum swung above it all.
"Pendulum?" Ryouga was confused. "What the hell is that?"
From his spot on the roof of an abandoned warehouse, Yuto's eyes widened in surprise.
"I'll show you!" Yuuji shouted. "Thanks to my Pendulum Scale, I can summon monsters Levels 2 through 7 all at the same time!" Yuuji announced. "Shine, Pendulum of Destiny! Draw an arc across the ether, and reflect onto me a path to victory! I Pendulum Summon!"
The silver pendulum draws a portal in the sky, with two beams of energy shooting out from it.
"From my hand, welcome to the field Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7/SC: 4) along with Antique Wondrous Globe (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5/SC: 4) in defense mode!"
A bipedal purple dragon with bone-like armor and a floating globe with a faint blue aura surrounding it appeared on Yuuji's field.
"A Level 5 and 7 monster, all at the same time?" Ryouga said in awe before smiling widely, fully showing his sharp teeth. "How interesting…"
"Wondrous Globe's effect activates!" Yuuji announced. "Once per turn, I can banish this monster along with a monster on your field until the End Phase! I choose to banish your X-Head Cannon!"
The globe begins to spin, glowing brightly as it caused Ryouga's monster to glow. The two glowing monsters are then sucked into a dark portal that appeared beneath them.
"Now that your field is empty... Battle!" Yuuji moved into his Battle Phase. "Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon attacks you directly! Phantom Spiral Breath!"
Phantom Dragon shoots a breath of purple fire towards Ryouga, who smirks as his set Trap Card is activated.
"I activate my Trap Card, Union Online!" Ryouga shouted. "I can Special Summon up to two Union Monsters directly from my deck! Come forth, Z-Metal Tank (Light/Machine/Union/Effect/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1300/LV: 4) and Y-Dragon Head (Light/Machine/Union/Effect/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1600/LV: 4) both in defense mode!"
A yellow crab-like machine and a red wyvern-like machine monster appeared with a faint blue aura surrounding them.
"Union Monsters summoned by this effect cannot be destroyed by battle the turn they are summoned," Ryouga declared. "Meaning, my Life Points are completely out of your reach."
"Tch." Yuuji clicked his tongue.
This guy is a lot smarter than he looks, for sure. Yuuji thought.
"I set a card and end my turn." A face-down appeared on his field. "And since it's the End Phase, Antique Wondrous Globe and your X-Head Cannon return to our field."
Two dark portals appeared, one on each duelist's field, with their respective monsters rising from each.
"My turn! Draw!" Ryouga drew a card.
[Turn 3: Ryouga] [H: 4]
Ryouga then smirked. "How convenient, all three of my monsters are here. With this, all of the pieces for your demise are now in place!"
What does he mean by that? Yuuji wondered.
"I banish my X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head, and Z-Metal Tank in order to perform a Contact Fusion!" Ryouga announced.
"..." Yuto's eyes narrowed upon hearing that.
"A contact what now?" Yuuji wondered aloud as Ryouga's three monsters rose into the air, fusing together as he began chanting.
"Weapons of mass destruction, come together to create the ultimate monster!" Ryouga chanted as he clasped his hands together. "I Fusion Summon! Appear now, Level 8! XYZ-Dragon Cannon (Light/Machine/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2600/LV: 8)!"
A massive machine, being a combination of the different features of the monsters used to Fusion Summon it, appeared. A yellow bottom with cannons that stick out from its side, a red wyvern cannon at its center, and a machine head that had two large cannons protruding from it.
"I now activate XYZ-Dragon Cannon's effect," Ryouga shouts as he sends two cards from his hand to the graveyard. "For each card I discard, I can target a card on your field and destroy it. I plan to destroy that Pendulum Scale of yours!"
Dragon Cannon shoots two beams of energy at each of Yuuji's Pendulum Scale, annihilating them and creating shockwaves that cause Yuuji to wince.
Wait, that felt like the damage I'd feel from an Action Duel. Yuuji realized. Does that mean that there's some sort of Real Solid Vision Machine around here?
Wait, no…that wouldn't make any sense. Why would you place a Real Solid Vision Machine all the way out here? This had to be something else.
"Now's not the time to zone out, Haruki!" Ryouga shouted. "Battle! XYZ-Dragon Cannon attacks Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon! Draconic Railgun!"
Dragon Cannon points all of its cannons at Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon, shooting multiple energy beams that pierce through and destroy Yuuji's dragon. Yuuji is sent flying from the shockwaves into a crate behind him.
Yuuji — LP: 4000 → 3700
"I set a card and end my turn," Ryouga concluded. "You're going to have to try harder than that if you want to beat me."
"Is that so," Yuuji wiped the blood from his mouth before smiling. "I hope you won't eat those words, bastard."
Yuuji then began his turn.
[Turn 4: Yuuji] [H: 2]
"My turn! Draw!" Yuuji drew a card. "I activate the Spell Card Pendulum Call! Thanks to it, I can summon a monster directly from my deck and place it into one of my Pendulum Zones!" Yuuji adds a card to his hand, revealing it before placing it on one end of his duel blade. "I place the Scale 8 Antique Golden Carol into my Pendulum Scale!"
A golden bell rose into one of Yuuji's empty Pendulum Zones. A faint festive carol could be heard from the bell's ringing.
"Antique Golden Carol's Pendulum Effect activates! If my other Pendulum Zone is empty, I can place an Antique Pendulum Monster from my deck into one of those zones!" Yuuji adds a card to his hand and reveals it. "With the Scale 2 Antique Maker - Edison and the Scale 8 Antique Golden Carol, I set the Pendulum Scale!"
Yuuji placed the card on the opposite end of his duel blade, the word [PENDULUM] appeared in between once again as a well-dressed man rose into his other Pendulum Zone. The numbers 2 and 8 appear on each of the zones in a strange golden font.
"With my currently set Pendulum Scale, I can summon monsters Levels 3 through 7 all at the same time!" Yuuji announced. "Shine, Pendulum of Destiny! Draw an arc across the ether, and reflect onto me a path to victory! I Pendulum Summon!"
A portal appears above the field as three beams of energy are shot out from it.
"Return from my Extra Deck, Antique Maker - Mira (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5/SC: 8) and Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon (ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)! And from my hand, Antique Journal (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 4/SC: 3) in defense mode!"
Yuuji's monsters swarm his field. Among them is an old, worn-out journal which floated in the air with a faint blue aura surrounding it.
"Antique Maker - Mira's summoning effects allows me to add 1 'Antique' Card from my deck to my hand! I'll add the Trap Card, Emergency Antique Reinforcements to my hand!" Yuuji declared as he added a card to his hand. "Next, Antique Journal's effect activates, allowing me to Special Summon a monster from my Pendulum Scale with its effects negated!" Yuuji announced as the floating journal grows in size, a portal forming on its pages. "Appear, Antique Golden Carol (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5/SC: 8) in defense mode!"
The golden bell emerges from the portal with a faint blue aura surrounding it.
"Woah, a full field of monsters. Impressive," Ryouga complimented.
"I'm not done yet!" Yuuji declared. "I overlay my Level 5 Antique Maker - Mira, Antique Wondrous Globe, and Antique Golden Carol!"
"Hoh?" Ryouga smirked upon hearing that declaration.
Yuuji's three aforementioned monsters transform into energy as they are then absorbed into a galaxy vortex that appeared in front of him. A pillar of light shot out from the vortex's center as he began chanting.
"The will of the oppressed who die on the battlefield burns bright. They wait for the one who guides the will of the fallen to victory! Xyz Summon! Come forth, Rank 5! Rise up, courageous leader who fans the flames of rebellion, Antique Maker - Revolution Commander (Fire/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/R: 5/SC: 5/OU: 3)!"
A tall man with striking red hair and sharp, eagle-like eyes appeared, cloaked in black with a matching mask covering his mouth.
"Revolution Commander's effect activates! By detaching an Overlay Unit, I can Special Summon Antique Dawning Blaze (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5/SC: 7) to my field!"
A fire sword with a golden hilt appeared.
(Revolution Commander — OU: 3 → 2)
"Revolution Commander is then equipped with Dawning Blaze," Yuuji said as Revolution Commander grabs onto the sword, being encased in the sword's fire which soon turns blue. "Increasing its ATK by 500 for each monster currently on the field. Since there are three in total, Revolution Commander gains 1500 ATK!"
(Revolution Commander — ATK: 2500 → 4000)
"Battle!" Yuuji moved into his Battle Phase. "Revolution Commander attacks XYZ-Dragon Cannon! Blazing Revolution!"
The warrior leaps forward, preparing to swing its sword down on the massive machine.
"I activate the effect of the Trap Card A-to-Z Armory from my graveyard!" Ryouga countered. "I can Special Summon it to my field as a monster card in defense mode, and force you to only target it for attacks!"
A solid-looking machine appeared. Revolution Commander switches its target, aiming for the newly summoned machine instead.
[A-to-Z Armory (Light/Machine/Effect/ATK: 1200/DEF: 1700/LV: 4)]
"Revolution Commander's effect activates! By detaching one Overlay Unit, its next attack inflicts piercing damage!"
(Revolution Commander — OU: 2 → 1)
"I activate the Trap Card Damage Negation from my graveyard. By banishing it and one other card from my graveyard, all damage I receive on this turn is reduced to zero!"
"But your monster is still destroyed!" Yuuji shouts.
"Is it now?" Ryouga smirked. "A-to-Z Armory can't be destroyed by battle, meaning your attempts to harm me have been foiled again!"
Revolution Commander swings its blade down on the armored machine, but fails to pierce through its armor with his sword.
"Damn…" Yuuji cursed. "I set one card and end my turn."
A face-down appeared on Yuuji's field.
"My turn! Draw!" Ryouga drew a card as he began his turn.
[Turn 5: Ryouga] [H: 2]
"I activate Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two cards." Ryouga drew two more cards. He smirked when he saw what he drew. "It looks like the gods yearn for your demise."
"That's ominous," Yuuji frowned. "What? Did you draw the exact card you needed to win."
"Not yet, but it's close," Ryouga replied as he sent three cards into the graveyard. "I send my entire hand to the graveyard to activate XYZ-Dragon Cannon's effect once again! Hmm…"
Ryouga looked over Yuuji's field for a moment, trying to decide on what to destroy.
"I think…" Ryouga smiled. "I'll destroy that Revolution Commander, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon, and that remaining Pendulum Zone of yours! Annihilate, XYZ-Dragon Cannon!"
Three lasers are shot from the massive machine, engulfing the aforementioned monsters and destroying them. Yuuji braces himself this time, but is still sent flying from the shockwaves. However, before he could hit a crate, he repositions himself in the air, allowing him to hop off the crate and land safely on the ground.
"Dammit…" Yuuji cursed.
"Neat acrobatics…" Ryouga complimented. "I wonder if you can keep that up."
What now? Yuuji frowned.
"I activate the Spell Card Unionization from my graveyard!" Ryouga announced. "By banishing it and tributing one monster from my field, I can summon a Normal Monster along with its respective Union Monster. I release my A-to-Z Armory to Special Summon V-Tiger Jet (Light/Machine/Normal/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1800) and W-Wing Catapult (Light/Machine/Union/Effect/ATK: 1300/DEF: 1500) to my field!"
An orange and green jet with the head of a tiger and blue aircraft appeared on the field.
"Now, I banish the two of them in order to perform another Contact Fusion!" Ryouga declared.
"Another one!?" Yuuji cried out.
"..." Yuto furrowed his eyebrows.
Ryouga's two monsters rise into the air, fusing together as he begins chanting.
"Wing jets that soar through the skies, rain down bombardment onto your enemies!" Ryouga chanted. "I Fusion Summon! Appear now, Level 6! VW-Tiger Catapult (Light/Machine/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 2100/LV: 6)!"
A hovercraft-like aircraft, with a machine tiger attached directly on top of the base appeared.
"The Trap Card Union Pot activates from my graveyard," Ryouga stated. "When an A-to-Z monster is Fusion Summon onto my field, I can banish it from my graveyard to draw 2 cards."
Ryouga drew two more cards.
"I then discard the cards I had just drawn to activate XYZ-Dragon Cannon's effect again!" Ryouga smiled. "I'll target your last monster along with the Trap Card that you had just set with this effect!"
Dragon Cannon shoots another lazer, annihilating Antique Journal and one of Yuuji's set Trap Cards. Yuuji is sent flying away from the shockwaves once again. However, this time he doesn't manage to catch himself, with his back slamming into a crate hard.
"Blerg!" Yuuji coughs up blood from the impact as he drops to the ground.
"Now that's a fitting look," Ryouga smiled with his tongue out. "However, it's missing a bit of despair in it. I know just the solution to that."
Yuuji grit his teeth as he stood back up.
"Battle!" Ryouga shouts with a crazed expression. "VW-Tiger Catapult attacks you directly!"
The hovercraft shoots through the air at sonic speeds directly towards Yuuji. Thinking quickly, Yuuji falls to the ground, narrowly avoiding the hovercraft that flies into a crate, ripping through it completely. Yuuji winces from the shockwaves.
Yuuji — LP: 3700 → 1700
Holy shit! This guy is really trying to fucking kill me!? Yuuji thought with a horrified expression.
"Now to finish you off!" Ryouga shouts as Dragon Cannon begins charging its attack. "XYZ-Dragon Cannon attacks you directly! Annihilate him! Draconic Railgun!"
The massive machine shoots multiple beams of energy at Yuuji, who stares at them with determination.
"Not so fast!" Yuuji shouts as his final set trap is flipped face-up. "I activate my Trap Card, Mirror Barrier! With it, I can negate 1 instance of an attack! Meaning my Life Points are still safe!"
A barrier formed around Yuuji, shielding him from energy beams.
"Tch," Ryouga clicked his tongue. "I end my turn."
"Finally…" Yuuji said as he wiped the blood from his mouth, only to find more seeping out from it. "Dammit, that hurts like hell."
Once again, backed into a corner. Yuuji thought. Just another day at this point.
No cards on his field or Pendulum Zones, and no cards in his hand. It was looking completely hopeless.
Yuuji put his hand over his deck and took a deep breath.
My deck, don't let me down now… Yuuji thought. It all comes down to this!
"My turn! Draw!" Yuuji drew with all his might as he began his turn.
[Turn 6: Yuuji] [H: 1]
However, when he saw the card he drew, he froze. "This…"
…wasn't what he needed at all. Not even close. Antique Tabletop was a monster he couldn't summon right now, nor would it be helpful in this situation.
With bated breath, Yuuji spoke, "I…end my turn."
Ryouga began laughing, "It seems the lords above aren't on your side after all. How sad."
"..." Yuuji clenched his fists. He hated this feeling of powerlessness. It always brought his mind back to the day his father died, a day that he kept locked away in his head to retain his sanity.
This was his strongest strategy, and this guy was able to deal with it so easily.
I have a long way to go before I become the strongest, even with these cheat cards, huh? Yuuji bitterly smiled.
[Turn 7: Ryouga] [H: 1]
"Well, this has been interesting and all, but I think it's time I end this. Draw!" Ryouga began his turn as the massive machine behind him began charging its energy beams. "Battle! XYZ-Dragon Cannon attacks you directly! Draconic Railgun!"
Dragon Cannon shoots its energy blasts at Yuuji, who looks at the oncoming attack with a shaken expression before he is hit directly by it. An explosion could be seen as Yuuji was sent flying back, hitting the ground a few times before coming to a stop. A puddle of blood could be seen growing beneath him as he bled from his head and mouth, his consciousness hung in limbo.
Yuuji — LP: 1700 → 0
Winner: Ryouga
At You Show…
Yuya entered the You Show Duel School with Yuzu. However, his jaw drops when he sees Sora there just mingling with the other students. Sora lights up when he sees him.
"Yo, Sensei!" Sora waved happily. "I'm here for my first lesson!"
"You've got to be kidding me…" Yuya covered his face.
"Aw, Sensei. Don't be like that," Sora pouted. "You should be happy to have a lovable, cute student who is excited to learn under you."
"I thought you were going to go ask Yuuji instead," Yuya frowned.
"I was going to, that's why I came here," Sora replied. "But he wasn't here when I got here."
"He wasn't…here?" Yuya was confused. "That's odd. Usually, he gets here before us."
"Do you think something happened to him?" Yuzu asked with a little concern.
"Maybe…" Yuya was deep in thought. Shuzo then suddenly barged into the room.
"Say what!?" Shuzo yelled. "Yuuji's missing!?"
"Yeah, but did you have to be so loud dad?" Yuzu covered her ears.
"Oh right, ahem," Shuzo cleared his throat.
"What should we do?" Ayu asked. "Should we go look for Yuuji-senpai?"
"That's a good idea, Ayu-chan!" Shuzo yelled with a fire in his eyes. "Don't worry, Yuuji! We'll come save you—!"
—BAM!
Yuzu slams her paper fan into his head, which knocks him to the ground.
"I told you to not be so loud!" Yuzu angrily shouted.
"S-Sorry…" Shuzo apologized. His body was twitching from the pain.
Yuzu sighed, "Well, I guess it's decided. We'll go look for Yuuji."
Sora didn't seem to like this idea, visibly frowning at the idea.
"That sounds boring though," Sora pouted. "I want to duel right now!" Sora began kicking his feet and whining.
"Duel? Duel who?" Yuya asked.
Sora pointed at him, "You of course! Since that other guy is off doing god knows what, I have my sights set on you now."
"But…"
"Please!" Sora asked with puppy dog eyes that charmed everyone in the room.
"But, what about Yuuji?" Yuya asked.
"One duel wouldn't hurt, Yuya," Yuzu said. "We can go look for Yuuji after."
"Yeah, let him duel you." Futoshi agreed.
"..." Yuya felt the pressure of all their gazes. After a few moments, he eventually gave in.
"Fine, but only one duel," Yuya stated. "If I win, you forget about all of this teacher nonsense and come help us find Yuuji."
"And if I win, both you and this Yuuji guy will be my teacher," Sora smirked.
Back at the abandoned harbor…
Ryouga's monsters dematerialize as he began walking towards the down Yuuji, who couldn't even move a muscle. Bruises could be found all over the youth's body, with a small stream of blood streaming down from his mouth and head which created a puddle of it beneath him.
"Oh, how the mighty have fallen," Ryouga commented. "You were talking so highly of yourself before the duel, and yet you end up in this condition."
"..."
"What did you say before?" Ryouga took a moment to think before something came to mind. "Oh right. You said that I should remember your name, since you would give me a beating that I would never forget."
"..."
"I'm perfectly fine as you could see, you couldn't even reach my Life Points," Ryouga sneered. "I thought you would give me a good challenge with your confident declarations and that weird Pendulum Summoning thing you did, but you weren't even a good warmup."
"Just shut up…" Yuuji grit his teeth and clenched his fists as he looked up at Ryouga. "I don't want to hear it from a bastard like you."
"You know why you're so weak?" Ryouga asked, confusing Yuuji. "It's because you use that weak ass summoning method. Not Pendulum, that was kind of cool, though since you just suck at dueling, it couldn't do much. I mean Xyz Summoning. I've only ever seen Xyz Summoning be used by weakling bugs that I could squash in an instant."
He made a gesture to symbolize the squashing, making Yuto flare up from his spot. He jumped down from the rooftop onto the ground, glaring at Ryouga with hatred.
"You…" Yuto addressed him.
"Huh?" Ryouga turned to him and frowned. "What do you want? Can't you see that I'm busy here."
"You're with Academia, right?" Yuto then activated his duel disk. "Duel me."
"Academia…oh!" Ryouga smiled. "Looks like today really is my lucky day. One of my targets has come straight to me."
Who is this new guy? Yuuji wondered. It's like they know each other. And what does he mean by target?
"So I was right," Yuto said.
"Congrats," Ryouga clapped. "You want a cookie, Masked Hero?"
"I'll defeat you Academia and force you to spill the details on where you're keeping Ruri!" Yuto declared.
"Ruri? Is that your girlfriend or something?" Ryouga inquired. "If so, how would I know where she is? If she's a friend that you lost to us, she's definitely long dead by now."
Oh yeah, this is some actual deep shit. Yuuji frowned. He began slowly crawling away while Ryouga was distracted by the newcomer.
Yuto clenched his fists, "Maybe so, but I don't plan on giving up, for the sliver of a chance where she is still alive."
"Well, I don't really care," Ryouga replied while picking his ear. "But I do need to kill you, since that's what I've been sent here to do. So I'll humor you with a duel."
He then activated his duel disk as he took his post a dozen meters away.
"Hopefully you'll be more of a challenge than that Pendulum guy." Ryouga smirked. "Otherwise, this'll be boring."
I swear, the next time I get to duel this bastard, I'll wipe that smug smirk from his face. Yuuji thought as he got on his feet, leaning against a crate as he spectated from the sidelines.
For now, he would just watch. Analyze everything about these two's duel and find ways to take those techniques for himself. He was also a little interested in whatever the hell they were talking about before.
"I'm not here to entertain you, Academia," Yuto frowned.
"Sure, sure," Ryouga waved him off.
A few moments later, their duel began.
[Duel!] The two shout in unison.
Yuto — LP: 4000
Ryouga — LP: 4000
[Turn 1: Yuto] [H: 5]
"I'll start," Yuto declared as he drew his first five cards. Ryouga does the same. "I set five cards and end my turn."
Five face-down cards appear on Yuto's field.
He set five cards. Yuuji was surprised. Not even a single monster was summoned. How can you win with such a tactic, especially against someone as strong as this bastard, as much as I hate to admit it.
"Setting five, not a strong start," Ryouga smiled. "Did you have a bad hand?"
"No comment," Yuto replied. "Just start your turn, Academia."
"Fine with me. I draw!" Ryouga drew a card as he started his turn.
[Turn 2: Ryouga] [H: 6]
"I activate Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two cards" He drew two more cards. "Then I summon Y-Dragon Head (Light/Machine/Union/Effect/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1600/LV: 4)!"
A red machine wyvern appeared.
"Next, I equip Z-Metal Tank (Light/Machine/Union/Effect/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1300/LV: 4) to my monster, which increases its ATK and DEF by 600!"
A yellow tank-like machine appeared, detaching into parts that wrapped around the machine wyvern like armor.
(Y-Dragon Head — ATK: 1500 → 2100, DEF: 1600 → 2200)
"Battle!" Ryouga moves into his Battle Phase. "Y-Dragon Head attacks you directly!"
A machine wyvern's mouth opens, revealing a cannon that shoots an energy blast directly at Yuto. Yuto doesn't react to this as two of his set cards are flipped face up.
"I activate two copies of my Trap Card, The Phantom Knights of Lost Vambrace!" Yuto declared. "For each, I can reduce the ATK of one monster on my opponent's field by 600. Furthermore, the two Trap Cards are summoned as Monster Cards onto my field!"
(Y-Dragon Head — ATK: 2100 → 900)
[The Phantom Knights of Lost Vambrace (Dark/Warrior/Normal/ATK: 600/DEF: 0/LV: 2)]
[The Phantom Knights of Lost Vambrace (Dark/Warrior/Normal/ATK: 600/DEF: 0/LV: 2)]
Two floating chest plates with blue flames spilling out from the holes in the armor appeared.
"Tch, so what?" Ryouga clicked his tongue. "I'll still destroy one of those weird monsters that you summoned."
"Lost Vambrace has a third effect!" Yuto announced. "For the rest of this turn, The Phantom Knights Monsters that I control cannot be destroyed by battle!"
"You're no fun," Ryouga scowled. "But you still take damage."
A barrier forms around Yuto's monsters, protecting them from Ryouga's attack. The shockwaves cause him to wince, but he stands his ground, not being knocked back at all.
Yuto — LP: 4000 → 3700
"I set two cards, and end my turn," Ryouga concluded with two face-downs. "Looks like you aren't as bad as I thought."
"My turn! Draw!" Yuto began his turn, ignoring Ryouga's comments.
[Turn 3: Yuto] [H: 1]
Yuto extended his hand outwards, "Using my two The Phantom Knights of Lost Vambrace, I construct the Overlay Network!"
"An Xyz Summon?" Yuuji gasped.
"Ohoh?" Ryouga smiled as he watched the events unfold.
A galaxy vortex appears in front of Yuto, with his two monsters transforming into energies that are then absorbed into the vortex. A giant pillar of light shoots out from it as Yuto begins chanting.
"Piercing through ten thousand warriors, the cursed spear of rebellion entombed in darkness, descend now!" Yuto chanted. "I Xyz Summon! Come forth, Rank 2! The Phantom Knights of Cursed Javelin (Dark/Warrior/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 1600/DEF: 0/R: 2/OU: 2)!"
A skeleton warrior with a skull shield and spear appeared on Yuto's field.
"Cursed Javelin's effect activates!" Yuto declared. "By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can reduce the ATK of a monster on your field to 0!"
Cursed Javelin's staff begins to glow with electricity, before it sends the electricity towards Y-Dragon Head, enveloping it and reducing its ATK.
(Y-Dragon Head — ATK: 900 → 0)
(Cursed Javelin — OU: 2 → 1)
"Battle!" Yuto moved into his Battle Phase. "Cursed Javelin attacks Y-Dragon Head!"
The skeleton warrior spins its spear around as it leaps towards Ryouga's monster.
"I activate my Trap Card, Defensive Retreat!" Ryouga counters. "It switches my monster to defense mode!"
The red machine wyvern takes a defensive stance.
"That masked guy's effects didn't lower Y-Dragon Head defense stats at all…" Yuuji muttered. "So, if he lets that attack go through, he'll only be taking unnecessary damage…"
(Cursed Javelin — ATK: 1600)
(Y-Dragon Head — DEF: 2200)
That bastard… Yuuji frowned. He has so many defensive measures to keep his monsters safe, it's crazy.
Yuto doesn't do anything, as Cursed Javelin tries to pierce through Ryouga's monster with its spear. However, the attack easily bounces off of it, making Yuto lose Life Points.
Yuto — LP: 3700 → 3100
"I end my turn," Yuto concluded.
"I would say I'm impressed, but I'm not," Ryouga sneered. "As expected of an Xyz bug, you can't even break through the simplest of our defenses. No wonder your people were annihilated so easily by mine."
Yuto clenched his fists, "Just start your turn, Academia. I don't plan on letting you get away with speaking ill of my comrades like that."
"How arrogant of you," Ryouga frowned. "I'll cut that tongue of yours off before I seal you into a card, Xyz bug."
What the hell are they talking about? Yuuji wondered. Are these guys in the middle of a gang war or something? They definitely look the part.
"I draw!" Ryouga started his turn.
[Turn 4: Ryouga] [H: 4]
When he saw what he drew, he smiled widely. "Ohoh, it's my lucky day."
"Here it comes…" Yuto muttered.
"I summon X-Head Cannon (Light/Machine/Normal/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1500/LV: 4)!"
A silver machine with large arms and cannons sticking out of its shoulders appeared.
"Now, I banish X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head, and Z-Metal Tank in order to perform a Contact Fusion!"
Yuto furrowed his eyebrows as the three aforementioned monsters rose into the air, fusing together as Ryouga began chanting.
"Weapons of mass destruction, come together to create the ultimate monster!" Ryouga chanted as he clasped his hands together. "I Fusion Summon! Appear now, Level 8! XYZ-Dragon Cannon (Light/Machine/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2600/LV: 8)!"
A massive machine, being a combination of the different features of the monsters used to Fusion Summon it, appeared on the field.
"I discard three cards from my hand to activate XYZ-Dragon Cannon's effect!" Ryouga announced. "Now I can destroy three cards from your field! And I choose to destroy all of your set trap cards!"
Dragon Cannon shoots three energy beams from its cannons, destroying all of Yuto's set cards and causing him to wince from the heavy shockwaves.
"I'm not done yet! Battle!" Ryouga moved into his Battle Phase. "XYZ-Dragon Cannon attacks Cursed Javelin! Draconic Railgun!"
Dragon Cannon shoots energy beams from all of its cannons, indiscriminately aiming for Yuto's Monster.
"I activate Cursed Javelin's effect!" Yuto announced. "By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can reduce your monster's ATK to 0!"
(Cursed Javelin — OU: 1 → 0)
"Hell no you won't!" Ryouga countered. "I activate the effect of Damage Breaker from my graveyard! By banishing it from my graveyard, during the damage step, if my monster's ATK would be altered by an effect, I can negate that effect, then increase my monster's ATK by an extra 500 during damage calculation!"
(XYZ-Dragon Cannon — ATK: 2800 → 3300)
"Now vaporize Cursed Javelin, Dragon Cannon!" Ryouga shouts with a crazed expression.
The attacks hit the skeleton warrior, vaporizing it and creating an explosion that sends Yuto flying.
Yuto — LP: 3100 → 1400
(XYZ-Dragon Cannon — ATK: 3300 → 2800)
"I think that's enough suffering for now, I'll end my turn." Ryouga concluded. "Now your field is completely bare, Xyz bug. I don't see a way you can come back from this with just a single card in your hand."
He's right about that. Yuuji thought. But, there's always a chance for a comeback when you still have Life Points.
"Don't worry about me, I'm doing just fine," Yuto replied. "Draw!"
[Turn 5: Yuto] [H: 2]
"I summon The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves (Dark/Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1000/DEF: 500/LV: 3)!" A floating armored spirit with giant gloves appeared. "Then, I activate the effect of The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots, which allows me to Special Summon it from my hand when I control a The Phantom Knights Monster!"
A spirit wearing a leather cloak and boots appeared on the field.
[The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots (Dark/Warrior/Effect/ATK: 200/DEF: 1200/LV: 3)]
That's two more monsters of the same Level. Yuuji's eyes widened. That means, he's going to…
"I overlay my Level 3 The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves and Silent Boots!" Yuto declared as his two monsters are transformed into balls of energy which are then absorbed into the galaxy vortex that appeared in front of him. A massive pillar of energy shooting out from the vortex's center as he began chanting.
"The souls of the fallen knights on the battlefield, resurrect and become the light that cuts through the darkness!" Yuto chanted. "I Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 3! The Phantom Knights of Break Sword (Dark/Warrior/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1000/R: 3/OU: 2)!"
A headless, humanoid armored monster on top of a metallic mount, with a giant greatsword in its hand and blue flames erupting from the open sections of its body, appeared on Yuto's field.
"What will a weak monster like that do to me?" Ryouga frowned.
"The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves effect activates!" Yuto announced. "When a Dark Xyz Monster is summoned using it as one of its materials, its ATK increases by 1000 until the end of this turn!"
Break Sword's greatsword begins to glow purple as it powers up.
(Break Sword — ATK: 2000 → 3000)
Nice! Now it has more ATK than XYZ-Dragon Cannon! Yuuji smiled.
"Battle!" Yuto shouts as his monster gallops forward. "The Phantom Knights of Break Sword attacks XYZ-Dragon Cannon!"
"Not so fast!" Ryouga shouts as his set Trap Card is flipped face-up. "I activate my Trap Card, Fusion Safeguard! When this card is activated, for the rest of this turn, Fusion Monsters I control cannot be destroyed—!"
"I activate the Trap Card, The Phantom Knights of Tomb Shield from my graveyard!" Yuto interrupted. "This card can only be activated during my turn, and not on the turn when it was sent to the graveyard. By banishing it from my graveyard, I can negate the effects of a face-up Trap Card until the end of the turn. Meaning your Fusion Safeguard is useless!"
Ryouga's Trap Card is destroyed.
"Dammit!" Ryouga cursed.
"Now destroy it, Break Sword!" Yuto shouts as his monster slashes through the massive machine with its giant blade, destroying it and creating an explosion that causes Ryouga to wince from the shockwaves.
Ryouga — LP: 4000 → 3800
He managed to destroy that bastard's monster, even through all of his defenses. Yuuji was in awe.
"I end my turn," Yuto concluded. "And with the end of my turn, Break Sword's ATK returns to normal."
(Break Sword — ATK: 3000 → 2000)
"How does it feel to be exposed, Academia? I'm sure you've never felt this vulnerable before, right?" Yuto inquired.
"You shut your mouth, you damn Xyz bug!" Ryouga lashes out, a crazy smile forming on his face which reveals his sharp, fang-like teeth. "I swear, before I seal you into a card, I will make you suffer greatly!"
Ryouga then places his hand over the top of his deck.
"My turn! Draw!" Ryouga drew with all his might, his deck glowing in response as he does.
[Turn 6: Ryouga] [H: 1]
"I activate Graceful Charity, allowing me to draw three more cards!" Ryouga shouted. "However, in exchange, I must discard two cards from my hand!"
Ryouga draws three cards and sends two of them to his graveyard.
"I activate the effect of Banish Warden from my graveyard!" Ryouga declared. "With its effect, I can banish it along with one other card in my graveyard! I choose to banish my XYZ-Dragon Cannon!"
Ryouga takes out two cards from his graveyard, placing them into his banish zone.
Why would he banish that? Yuuji wondered. This can't be good.
Yuto seemed to come to the same conclusion, a serious expression on his face.
"XYZ-Dragon Cannon can't be Special Summoned from my graveyard." Ryouga stated. "But now that it's not in my graveyard..."
"Wait…" Yuto realized what Ryouga was implying, his eyes widening. "That means…"
"That's right, Xyz scum! I activate the Spell Card, Rise of the Banished from my hand!" Ryouga continued. "By paying half of my Life Points, I can Special Summon up to two Monsters directly from my banish zone onto my field! Return to my field, XYZ-Dragon Cannon (ATK: 2800/DEF: 2600/LV: 8)! Arise, Banish Warden (Light/Machine/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 100/LV: 1)!"
The massive machine that was destroyed on the previous turn returns to Ryouga's field once again. Next to it was a humanoid machine, holding a police baton in its hand.
Ryuga — LP: 3800 → 1900
"It's back?" Yuto was surprised.
"I'm not done yet, Xyz!" Ryouga sneered. "I activate the effect of the Spell Card Unionization from my graveyard! By banishing it and tributing one monster from my field, I can summon a Normal Monster along with its respective Union Monster. I release my Banish Warden to Special Summon V-Tiger Jet (Light/Machine/Normal/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1800) and W-Wing Catapult (Light/Machine/Union/Effect/ATK: 1300/DEF: 1500) to my field!"
An orange and green jet with the head of a tiger and blue aircraft appeared on the field.
"Now, I banish my V-Tiger Jet and W-Wing Catapult in order to perform another Contact Fusion!" Ryouga announced as the two aforementioned monsters rose into the air, fusing together as he began chanting. "Wing jets that soar through the skies, rain down bombardment onto your enemies! I Fusion Summon! Appear now, Level 6! VW-Tiger Catapult (Light/Machine/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 2100/LV: 6)!"
A hovercraft-like aircraft, with a machine tiger attached directly on top of the base appeared.
"You have no card in your hand, meaning you can't activate either of your monster's effects," Yuto stated. "Don't tell me you're banking on an all out assault to try and finish me off."
"I could, but I can tell that's what you would want me to do, right?" Ryouga smiled. "I'll show you something that I've never shown any of the Xyz or Ritual scum that I've come to face! My ultimate monster!"
Ultimate monster? Yuuji's eyes widened in shock. Does that mean that Dragon Cannon isn't his strongest monster? He was holding back against me!?
"I banish my XYZ-Dragon Cannon and my VW-Tiger Catapult in order to perform a Contact Fusion!" Ryouga declared with a crazed smile as his two aforementioned monsters rose into the air, fusing together as he began chanting.
"The machine hearts combine into one," Ryouga chanted. "From it arises the ultimate weapon that annihilates all in its path! I Fusion Summon! Come forth, Level 8! VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon (Light/Machine/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2800/LV: 8)!"
A giant Mecha Gundam with giant yellow claw-like arms, massive red wings, and a giant blaster attached to its chest appeared on Ryouga's field.
This guy is insane! Yuuji's jaw dropped. Getting his destroyed Fusion Monster back onto his field while avoiding its summoning limitations, summoning materials to summon another Fusion Monster, then using those Fusion Monsters to perform a Contact Fusion all in the same turn.
Only a skilled duelist with immense dueling knowledge could pull off a combo like that.
"Dammit…" Yuuji clenched his fists. "He wasn't just holding back, he was barely breaking a sweat against me…"
That was something that was already quite obvious, but the reality of it all was finally registering in his mind.
"Dragon Catapult Cannon's effect activates!" Ryouga declared. "Once per turn, I can target a card on your field and banish it! Say goodbye to that detestable Xyz Monster of yours, Xyz scum! Catapult Launch!"
The massive Gundam shoots a missile of Break Sword, which explodes into a net that wraps around it. Then, the monster is suddenly shocked by massive volts of electricity, which cause the horseman to explode.
"Break Sword's effect activates!" Yuto shouts. "When it is destroyed, I can Special Summon the materials used to Xyz Summon it back onto my field as Level 4 Monsters. Return, The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves (ATK: 1000/DEF: 500/LV: 3 → 4) and The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots (ATK: 200/DEF: 1200/LV: 3 → 4), both in defense mode!"
Yuto's two monsters appear on his field, with faint blue aura surrounding them.
"I just destroy one bug, and two more come crawling out from the depth of hell," Ryouga frowned.
"That's how the duelists of the Resistance fight," Yuto declared. "Academia may knock us down, reduce our numbers. But we'll always push through and bounce back, no matter how many times we fall!"
"Save me your melodramatic speech for after you win, as slim as that chance is," Ryouga scoffed. "Battle! VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon attacks The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves! Obliteration Beam!"
The massive Gundam soars into the air, charging a massive energy beam with its cannons. It fires the energy directly at Yuto's monster, which gets vaporized in an instant. The explosion of the attack sends Yuto sliding back, but he stands his ground.
"I end my turn with that," Ryouga concluded. "That Xyz Monster of yours bought you one turn, but on my next turn, I'll surely wipe out the rest of your Life Points!"
"That's definitely true, however…you've made one fatal mistake, Academia," Yuto stated.
"Huh?" Ryouga frowned. "Oh please enlighten me Xyz, what mistake did I make?"
"You won't be getting another turn," Yuto said with a serious expression. "Because this turn, I'll be reducing your Life Points to zero."
[Turn 7: Yuto] [H: 1]
[Current Theme Playing: Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Sound Duel 1 OST 23 - A Cornered Duelist]
"My turn! Draw!" Yuto drew a card. "I summon The Phantom Knights of Cloven Helm (Dark/Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1500/DEF: 500/LV: 4)!"
A spirit wearing a broken knight's helmet appeared.
"So what if you summon another monster? It won't make a difference!" Ryouga shouted.
"It won't make a difference?" Yuto asked with a dark tone, unnerving Ryouga. "Why don't we put that statement to the test, Academia?"
Yuto then extended his hand outwards.
"Using my Level 4 The Phantom Knights of Cloven Helm and Silent Boots, I construct the Overlay Network!" Yuto declared as his two aforementioned monsters were turned into energies that are then sucked in the galaxy vortex in front of him. The ground began to shake violently.
What the hell is happening? Yuuji almost fell from the sudden shaking, catching himself on the crate behind him.
A massive pillar of light shot out from the center of the vortex as Yuto began chanting.
"Formed from pitch-black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose it with its treacherous fangs!" Yuto chanted. "Xyz Summon! Now descend, Rank 4! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/R: 4/OU: 2)!"
A massive dark purple dragon with jagged wings, and horns—with a similarly jagged tusk on its chin—appeared on Yuto's field. Yuuji clutched his chest as he set his sights on the terrifying dragon.
This…is the same sensation I felt during my duel against Yuya. Yuuji realized. And that dragon, its name contains a summoning method in it, just like Yuya's Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon.
Ryouga had a nervous expression on his face when he looked at Yuto's new dragon. However, he then smirked upon seeing its ATK points.
"Only 2500 ATK? That dragon of yours isn't threatening at all!" Ryouga sneered.
"It may not be right now, but that's about to change," Yuto stated, surprising Ryouga. "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's effect activates! By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can half the ATK of a Level 5 or higher monster on the field! Treason Discharge!"
The sections on Dark Rebellion's wings expand, as a wave of purple lighting is emitted from it that wraps around Ryouga's Dragon Catapult Cannon—sapping away the monster's strength while bolstering its own.
(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon — ATK: 2500 → 4000)
(VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon — ATK: 3000 → 1500)
"N-No way!?" Ryouga took a step back. "This can't be. I can't lose! To Xyz scum of all people?! My pride as an Academia Elite won't allow it!"
"The flames of rebellion burn bright in our hearts. This is justice for my people who you've slaughtered!" Yuto declared, pumping his fist towards the sky as Dark Rebellion soars into the air. "Battle! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon attacks Dragon Catapult Cannon! Lightning Disobey of Rebellion!"
The tusk on Dark Rebellion's chin begins to glow as it flies down towards Ryouga's Gundam, who flies into the sky to confront it. The two monsters clash in the air, trading blows as they move closer to the ground. Dragon Catapult Cannon shoots an energy beam at Dark Rebellion who narrowly avoid it, using this chance to fly in closer and pierce through the Gundam with its tusk, creating a massive explosion which produced devastating shockwaves that sent Ryouga flying, concluding the duel.
Ryouga — LP: 1900 → 0
Winner: Yuto
Yuto's dragon roars in triumph, before it turns into golden particles and disappears
[BGM (Background Music) Ends Here.]
Yuto walks towards the down Ryouga, grabbing the young man by his collar.
"Tell me! Where the hell is Ruri!?" Yuto demanded.
"I already told you before, Xyz. I don't know where the hell that girlfriend of yours is," Ryouga growled. "Like I said before, she's probably dead."
"Tch," Yuto clicked his tongue. "Fine, then tell me about Academia's plan."
"Our plan?" Ryouga was confused for a moment before smiling, sticking his tongue out at Yuto. "I'm not telling you nothing, Xyz."
A tick mark formed on Yuto's forehead.
"Even if I did want to tell you our plans, I'm being sent back to Academia anyways, since I just lost a duel," Ryouga stated as his duel disk began to glow. He smiled. "Right on que. You've surprised me, Xyz, but don't think you've won just because you've defeated me. Next time I see you, I'll definitely turn you into a card!"
Yuto let go of Ryouga's collar, making the young man drop to the ground, "And I'll be sure to defeat you again, Academia."
Ryouga is then enveloped in a blue light as he disappeared from the area.
What the hell, he just up and vanished? Yuuji was surprised. Oh shit, that masked guy is leaving!
"Wait!" Yuuji called out to Yuto who had already begun walking away.
"Hmm?" Yuto turned to him. "What is it?"
"Who are you, and what is your affiliation with that bastard?" Yuuji asked.
"That bastard? Oh…" Yuto realized who Yuuji was talking about. "He's an enemy of mine, that's all you need to know."
Yuto began walking. Yuuji followed him
"You can't just leave me with no info here, I literally watched the whole duel."
"It's for your safety," Yuto responded, not even turning back to Yuuji.
"My safety?"
"These are conflicts beyond your comprehension. Being aware of it will make you a target for the enemy, who won't hesitate to kill you."
Okay, so some massive gang war, huh? Yuuji guessed. I definitely wouldn't want to be a part of it.
"May I at least know your name? That shouldn't be classified info, right?" Yuuji asked. "You helped me out a lot by stepping in earlier."
Yuto stopped in his tracks, removing his mask and turning around. Yuuji was shocked when he caught sight of the guy's face.
"Yuya!?" Yuuji cried out.
"It's Yuto," he corrected. "If that's all you wanted to know, I'll be on my way now."
"Oh, bye, I guess?" Yuuji said as Yuto walked off.
He's definitely the loner-type. Yuuji thought. Though he doesn't seem to be much of a bad person.
"Gah!" Yuuji clutched his head. He then noticed the blood spilling from his head as his palm was stained in his own blood.
Damn, that hurts like hell. Yuuji thought. Should I even make my way to You Show at this point? I think I need the go to the hospital.
…
"I don't have the kind of money to pay for the hospital bill. I'll just go to You Show." Yuuji decided.
A while later, at You Show…
Yuya and Sora's duel had just concluded, with Yuya managing to emerge victorious. The Action Field dispersed, returning the two back into the arena. Yuya notices Sora on the ground, with a downcast expression on his face. He approaches.
"Do you remember your promise?" Yuya said with a smile. "Since I won, you're no longer my apprentice, and you have to come help find—!"
Yuya was interrupted by Sora's sudden laughing.
"That was fun!" Sora happily said. "Dueling you was really fun, Yuya!"
"Huh?" Yuya was surprised. "You didn't call me Sensei this time?"
"You said you won't let me become your apprentice," Sora replied. "Then I've decided that I'll become your friend instead, Yuya!"
"That's not your choice to—"
"I see. I see. You two have become friends," Shuzo suddenly arrived. "A student's friend is also a student to me."
Shuzo then put his hands on Sora's shoulders.
"So, why don't you enroll here at the You Show School?" Shuzo asked with a cheery smile.
"Sure!" Sora said with an excited expression. "This place seems much more fun than LDS!"
"Yosh!" Shuzo said with fire in his eyes. "I'll go get you an enrollment form right now!"
Shuzo darted out of the room, causing Yuya to sigh before turning to Sora.
"Wait, but if you're not an LDS student, where did you learn Fusion Summoning?" Yuya asked.
"Oh, where I used to live, it was normal for everyone to do Fusion Summoning—" Sora began to delve into a bit of his past when…
"WHAT THE HELL!?" Shuzo could be heard screaming in the other room, alerting everyone. They all quickly run to the scene, horrified expressions on their faces when they see Yuuji, who didn't look to be in the best condition at all, walking in.
"Yo!" Yuuji casually greeted them. "Sorry for being late. I ran into some trouble."
"Trouble is an understatement," Yuzu frowned. "You look like you've just been through a war."
His clothes were in tatters; his hair was a mess. Smears of blood could still be seen on the bottom parts of his lips, along with his forehead.
"I guess you could say that, but it's nothing you guys should be worried about," Yuuji lied. "I'll be fine."
"Are you sure, Yuuji?" Shuzo asked, concerned. "You should really go see a doctor."
"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm used to getting wounds like these," Yuuji replied, which wasn't a lie this time. He does get hurt pretty often, though usually not this bad. He was pretty sure that he was bruised in a few parts of his body. "More importantly, who's this new guy? Did you guys manage to peer pressure another person into joining?"
"So, you're the Yuuji that everyone was talking about," Sora excitedly said. "I'm Sora, your new apprentice, it's nice to meet you!"
"Oh, uhh…it's nice to meet you too," Yuuji smiled back before pausing. "...Wait, new apprentice? I never agreed to this?"
"He said the same thing to me. I had to beat him in a duel to get him to leave me alone about that," Yuya sighed.
That's annoying. Yuuji thought.
"Speaking of dueling, I want to duel you now, Sensei!" Sora excitedly proposed.
"No," Yuuji instantly declined.
"Please," Sora tried to plead with puppy dog eyes.
"I'm not in the mood for dueling right now," Yuuji stated. "Maybe another time."
"Aw, you're no fun!" Sora pouted.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to rest my head somewhere," Yuuji said before walking away towards the common room. Everyone looks at him with a concerned expression but doesn't say a word.
He throws himself onto the couch and begins to think back to his conversation with Yuto.
"That guy, he mentioned this, Academia. Is that a school?" Yuuji wondered. "And that school kidnapped his girlfriend, and now they're fighting in a something similar to a gang war? What part of that fits the 'conflicts beyond my comprehension' criteria. I've seen a lot of crazy shit back at the Outpost."
Oh well, it wasn't his business. If he saw that guy again, he would definitely ask some more questions, but it's not like he's going to go out of his way to look for them.
"That loss still stings though…" Yuuji muttered before closing his eyes. "I'm going to have to sleep it off."
A few hours later, at the base of LDS Tower…
Yuga and Shizuka stood at the base of LDS Tower, wearing LDS Uniforms as disguises.
"Are you sure this plan of yours is going to work?" Yuga asked. "If they catch us, we'll surely be arrested."
"I'm confident," Shizuka reassured, or at least that's what Yuga assumed she was doing. "If it doesn't work, prison will be the least of your worries."
"How reassuring of you…" Yuga frowned and shook his head. "Whatever, let's just get this done."
"Right," Shizuka nodded. "Operation LDS Infiltration begins now."
Custom/Altered Cards:
Monster Cards:
Antique Wondrous Globe
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5, SC: 4
Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn, target 1 card on your field; destroy it.
Monster Effect: Once per turn, you can banish both this card and 1 monster on your opponent's field until the End Phase.
Antique Golden Carol
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5, SC: 8
Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: When this monster is in one of your Pendulum Zones while you control none in the other, you can place 1 Antique Monster from your deck into the empty Pendulum Zone.
Monster Effect: If this monster is Special Summoned from the deck, add 1 Ritual Spell from your deck to your hand.
Banish Warden
ATK: 100, DEF: 100, LV: 1
Light/Machine/Effect
Monster Effect: During your turn: You can banish this card and 1 other card from your Graveyard.
Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon
ATK: 2500, DEF: 2000, R: 4
Dark/Dragon/Xyz/Effect
2 Level 4 Monsters
Monster Effect: (Quick Effect): You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card, then target 1 Level 5 or higher monster your opponent controls; its ATK becomes half its current ATK, and if it does, this card gains that lost ATK. These changes last until the End Phase.
Spell/Trap Cards:
Union Online
Normal Trap
Special Summon 2 Union Monsters from your Deck. Monsters Special Summoned by this effect cannot be destroyed by battle during the turn they are Summoned.
Pendulum Call
Spell Card
Place 1 Pendulum Monster from your Deck into your Pendulum Zone. You can only activate 1 Pendulum Call per turn.
A-to-Z Armory
Normal Trap
During either player's turn: You can Special Summon this card as an Effect Monster (LIGHT/Machine/Effect/ATK 1200/DEF 1700/Level 4) (this card is NOT treated as a trap). While this card is in your Monster Zone, it must be the target of all attacks, and you take no damage for the rest of this turn. This card cannot be destroyed by battle.
Damage Negation
Counter Trap
For the rest of this turn, you take no battle damage. You can banish this card and 1 other card from your Graveyard; for the rest of this turn, you take no damage.
Unionization
Normal Spell
Special Summon 1 Union Monster from your deck. You can banish this card from your graveyard along with tributing one monster on your field, you can Special Summon a Normal Monster and Union Monster from your deck.
Union Pot
Normal Trap
When an A-to-Z Monster is Fusion Summoned while this card is in your graveyard, you can draw 1 card.
Mirror Barrier
Normal Trap
When an opponent's monster declares an attack: Negate that attack.
Damage Breaker
Normal Trap
If your monster's ATK would be altered by an effect during the Damage Step: Negate that effect. You can banish this card from your Graveyard; if your monster's ATK would be altered by an effect during the Damage Step, negate that effect, then increase that monster's ATK by 500 during damage calculation.
Fusion Safeguard
Normal Trap
For the rest of this turn, Fusion Monsters on the field cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects.
Rise of the Banished
Normal Spell
Pay half your Life Points; Special Summon up to 2 monsters from your Banished Zone.
Ands that's the end of chapter 4. Yuuji's winning streak has already come to end, which is fine since an MC who wins every duel under the sun is boring in my opinion. This is also the first of many chapters that'll feature two duels in it. Not sure how often I'll do chapters like these, but I'll probably do a lot more of them as we get to the juicier bits of the story.
As for the next chapter, you can probably already tell that it won't be a Yuuji centric chapter. It'll mainly focusing on Yuga and Shizuka, two other OCs who will have a relevant role moving forward.
As always, be sure to drop some comments, I like seeing that number go up 👍.
If you've read this far, you might as well read another chapter. Thanks for reading!
Chapter 5: Operation LDS Invasion
Chapter Text
Edit #1: 5/17 Chapters Revamped.
Chapter 5 is here! And man, this was difficult for me to make. I didn't really feel moved by this chapter, especially the duel in it (even though it's probably one of the better duels in this fic in terms of actual dueling). It was a huge struggle to actually learn what I wanted to do with the decks shown in this chapter (there's like 4 people dueling in this chapter).
Only one duel though, since I was sort of speeding through this chapter and also brings a change in my dueling format which you'll see.
If you guys like it, I'll continue to format duels in this way, it's not much of a change, but it's a change that lowkey helps me when writing duels as well.
Now time to reply to some questions and reviews.
Truong18 - Yeah, that was sort of the idea I was thinking of when making them. They're not supposed to be strong cards on their own, but strong when you use them all in certain combos like Yami Yugi or other Yu-Gi-Oh! Protagonists did in the past. It's also a major reason why his win rate is so low before the start of the story, since his deck was literally just bad before they became Pendulum Monsters.
Be sure to drop some reviews. I see all of them so feel free to speak out your mind and drop some suggestions or comments about the story. Criticism is also welcome (as long as it isn't brainless flaming of the story).
Without any further ado, enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: Minor spelling, grammar, and other mistakes may be present.
[ Standard Arc Opening Theme (Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Opening 1: BELIEVE X BELIEVE) ]
Scale 05: Operation LDS Infiltration
A few days ago…
Shizuka and Yuga walked down the streets of Maiami City, the bustling sounds of the city filling the air. Shizuka had a serious expression on her face, while Yuga appeared to be much more relaxed. As they walked, Yuga began to lag behind, spotting a cotton candy stand up ahead. Just as he was about to wander off...
"Oh no, you don't!" Shizuka pinched Yuga's ear, making him yelp in pain.
"Ow, ow, ow! Fine, no sweets!" Yuga cried out, trying to free himself.
Shizuka sighed and released his ear, putting one hand on her hip. "You need to focus. We were in the middle of planning something important."
"Isn't planning your job?" Yuga asked. "You know I'm terrible at this kind of thing."
"Yeah, but I still value your input," Shizuka replied. "Kind of..."
Yuga nodded, "Alright then, what have you come up with so far?"
Shizuka's expression shifted to one of concern.
"Well, I've been trying to figure out a way to get into LDS Tower without drawing attention, but I've hit a roadblock. This place is a multi-billion dollar corporation that controls nearly everything in the city. How do we even begin to break into something like that?"
Yuga frowned, "You're the one who thought kidnapping Akaba Leo's son was a good idea."
Shizuka shrugged, "Yeah, but it's safer to try and kidnap the president of a massive corporation than face off against those warmongers directly. This is the less dangerous option."
"True…" Yuga muttered as he thought it over for a moment. "Okay, I think I have an idea."
Shizuka raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"
"Why don't we just put on disguises and walk right through the front entrance?" Yuga suggested.
"That's a stupid idea," Shizuka quickly dismissed. "LDS's security would instantly figure out we're not part of the organization. They have a system that checks all their members against their databases."
Yuga smiled slyly, "Well, what if we hacked their database and made it look like we're part of LDS?"
Shizuka blinked at him for a moment, "That's... actually a solid idea," Shizuka admitted. "Not all of it, though. If we just appear in their database as members out of nowhere, they'd notice right away. But if I tamper with the IDs and add in some fake ones to cover our tracks, it could work."
Shizuka then spotted a nearby cafe and pointed toward it.
"Let's stop there for a bit. You can buy whatever you want while I get to work on the plan."
Yuga's face lit up at the suggestion, "Nice!"
Without another word, he darted into the cafe, ordering two caramel lattes at the counter—one with extra sugar for himself. Shizuka sighed before a soft smile formed on her face as she followed after him.
Shizuka took a seat at one of the empty tables, and Yuga joined her shortly after. A few minutes later, the waiter appeared with their ordered lattes, placing them down at the table.
"Thank you," Yuga said, giving a small nod of gratitude to the waiter before taking a sip of his latte. His face lit up from the sweetness. Shizuka chuckled softly at her best friend's antics before enjoying her own latte. She then set her cup down and began getting to work.
The first task was creating fake IDs, so Shizuka started looking for references, which she found easily by infiltrating LDS's database using one of their stationed computers as a proxy from afar. Once she had a reference, she made a copy and began creating the fake IDs. The process was tedious, but after about 30 minutes of trial and error, she managed to create twenty-five IDs.
She shut her laptop, stretching her arms. "Finally done. That took a lot longer than I thought it would."
"Done?" Yuga looked surprised. "That was fast."
"I only made the fake IDs," Shizuka yawned. "That's the easy part. Now I need to make our IDs and add them to their database without getting caught. Then, I need to make sure our fingerprints are in there as well in case they check security. But…" Shizuka leaned back into her chair lazily. "I'm too tired to do all of that right now."
"We can do other stuff in the meantime, like get those LDS uniforms," Yuga suggested.
"How do you suggest we do that?" Shizuka asked with groggy eyes.
"We could just beat up two LDS members and steal their clothes," Yuga proposed casually.
"No, we are not doing that," Shizuka dismissed the idea quickly. "That'll just alert Leo Corporation about our plans. You already messed up by dueling those thugs earlier."
"You can't blame me for that," Yuga defended himself. "They were hitting on you, so I had to teach them a lesson."
"And I'm grateful for that," Shizuka replied. "But my point still stands. We need to keep a low profile before our plan kicks off."
"I got nothing then," Yuga sighed and leaned back in his seat. "I doubt there are any fake LDS uniforms lying around the city."
Shizuka frowned, "If you can think of a better way, I'm all ears."
Yuga went silent for a moment, deep in thought. "I'm… not sure. Maybe we can buy them? Like, maybe Leo Corporation has a merch shop where we can just buy uniforms?"
Shizuka quickly opened her laptop, typing away for a few moments before finding something. "They do have a shop, and they sell uniforms there. But…"
"But what?" Yuga asked.
"They're ¥24,000 (about $150 USD) each," Shizuka replied, her voice flat.
"¥24,000!?" Yuga's jaw dropped. "We don't have that kind of funding, do we?"
"We do," Shizuka said. "But it'll definitely put a dent in our budget."
"Damn… maybe we should just steal them after all," Yuga grumbled.
"We're not stealing them," Shizuka said, her tone firm. "I already placed an order for them."
Yuga froze, "M-My candy money…"
He should've just kept his mouth shut after all.
2 days before the operation…
Yuga and Shizuka sat in an alleyway, a cardboard box beneath their feet. Shizuka opened it, revealing two fresh LDS uniforms. She handed one to Yuga.
"This looks a bit big, don't you think?" Yuga asked, holding up the uniform. It was a whole size larger than what he usually wore.
"Beggars can't be choosers," Shizuka replied, comparing the uniform to her own. "I got one a size too big too. There weren't any other options."
Yuga slipped the uniform on, surprised by its high quality.
"Isn't it weird they're selling near-identical replicas of their uniforms?" Yuga wondered. "It's almost like they're asking for someone to use them for shady purposes."
"Probably why they're so expensive," Shizuka said, adjusting her own uniform. "They probably figured no one would be dumb enough to waste money like that."
Once she got a feel for the uniform, she took it off and pulled out her laptop.
"Now, we just need to make our IDs and upload them to the database," Shizuka said, starting to type.
A while later…
Yuga and Shizuka were at a clothing shop. Yuga held a bag, stuffed with products and items.
"Do you really need all of this?" Yuga asked, looking exhausted. "You said our budget was tight."
"It's all necessary," Shizuka replied. "For the disguises."
She picked out a hair tie, using it to tie her long scarlet hair back.
"This one's good," Shizuka said with a smile. "Let's pay."
They went to the counter, paid, and then Shizuka handed Yuga some items, telling him to go change while she did the same. Afterward, they came out wearing LDS uniforms.
Shizuka had more makeup on than usual, with red lipstick, eyeliner, and light powder. Yuga wore a pair of fake square glasses.
"You actually look smart with those glasses," Shizuka teased. "Kind of cute."
Yuga blinked, awkwardly blushing. After a moment, he just accepted the compliment. "Thanks?"
"You're welcome." Shizuka grinned and pulled out a camera. "Let's take a photo for our IDs."
"Right."
They left the shop and found an empty spot in the city to take photos.
"Make sure you get my good side," Shizuka said, striking a pose.
"Does it really matter?" Yuga asked.
"Of course it does," Shizuka said. "I need to look at least decent in every photo I take."
Yuga sighed and snapped a few photos of her.
They swapped places, and Shizuka took the camera.
"Okay, smile," she said, snapping a photo. She frowned when she saw it. "You look too serious. I said smile, didn't I?"
"I don't like taking photos," Yuga muttered. "You know this. If I smile, it'll look awkward."
Shizuka sighed. "Fine, this one works. Let's upload these and get to a cafe."
1 day before the operation…
The two of them had already planned out most of what needed to be done. Shizuka yawned as she typed away at her laptop, finishing the final details for their preparations. Meanwhile, Yuga went over both his deck and Shizuka's, running different strategies through his mind.
Once Shizuka finished, she shut off her laptop and leaned back in her seat, stretching her arms.
"With that, everything is set in place," Shizuka said, a satisfied smile on her face. "We'll be ready to carry out the plan tomorrow."
"I've gone over some dueling strategies as well," Yuga replied, handing Shizuka her deck.
"Good," Shizuka said, tucking her deck into her holder. "Preparations for 'Operation Kidnapping Akaba Leo's President Son by Infiltrating LDS' are now complete."
Yuga stared at her, blinking in disbelief.
"What?" Shizuka raised an eyebrow.
"That name is way too long. Operation names are supposed to be short and sweet."
"So what? It covers everything we need to do tomorrow."
"That can be shortened to something like 'Operation LDS Infiltration.' It rolls off the tongue way better."
Shizuka paused, considering it. "That does sound better," she admitted. After thinking a moment more, she nodded. "Okay, we'll go with your name then. From now on, this'll be called 'Operation LDS Infiltration.'"
Disguised as regular employees, Yuga and Shizuka confidently made their way to the entrance of LDS. They approached the security checkpoint, where a guard stood ready, holding a tablet with a hand sensor on the screen.
Shizuka stepped forward without hesitation. She placed her hand on the sensor, and within seconds, her ID appeared as a hologram. The guard studied it for a moment before nodding, granting her access.
Yuga, on the other hand, felt a slight knot in his stomach but managed to keep his composure. He stepped forward and placed his hand on the sensor. The guard glanced at the hologram, his eyes lingering a moment longer before he waved Yuga through as well. Yuga followed Shizuka inside, his nerves simmering beneath his calm exterior.
Once inside, Shizuka subtly gestured for Yuga to follow her. She led him toward the stairwell, and they attached their duel disks to their arms. As they ascended the stairs, they typed on their interfaces to communicate, careful not to attract attention as people descended past them.
{So what's the plan now? We've managed to avoid detection so far.} - Yuga
{We keep going up. According to the map, Akaba Reiji's office should be on the top floor.} - Shizuka
{Couldn't we have taken the elevator? It's much faster.} - Yuga
{We could, but I doubt there's a way to go directly to his office from there without authorization. Plus, there are fewer people going up the stairs. It's a super tall building after all.} - Shizuka
{Yeah. But what if they catch on to what we're doing and send people after us?} - Yuga
{If they send one or two people, we duel them. Otherwise, we just run.} - Shizuka
They reached the halfway point of the stairwell and decided to take a short breather.
Elsewhere…
Akaba Reiji sat in his office, his gaze fixed on the cityscape outside the windows as he pondered over his next moves. The soft hum of the air conditioning was the only sound in the room until the doors to his office swung open.
Nakajima stepped inside, his footsteps sharp and precise, "Reiji-dono, we've let the intruders in just like you asked," he reported.
Reiji turned his head slightly, his expression unreadable, "Good. Keep an eye on them," he replied. "While I don't mind them snooping around, I don't want them breaking anything here."
Nakajima nodded. "Understood. I'll also call for two of our duelists to be positioned outside your office."
"Good," Reiji's lips curled into a faint smile, his curiosity piqued, "I'm interested to see how those two fare against our duelists."
"Yes, President," Nakajima responded with a bow. He pulled out his duel disk, making a quick call as he left the office.
Reiji silently watched his subordinate leave before returning to his silent thinking.
"Finally…" Yuga collapsed to the ground as they reached the top floor of LDS Tower, panting heavily. "Why *pant* the hell *pant* did I agree to do this?"
"Maybe *pant* the elevator wasn't such a bad idea after all," Shizuka commented, her legs trembling from all the walking. "But we made it. Just a little longer before we reach Akaba Reiji."
Yuga shot her a glance, "What about when we reach Akaba Reiji? How are we…you know…going to kidnap him? You never actually told me the plan for that."
Shizuka shrugged nonchalantly, "I don't know."
Yuga's jaw dropped, but Shizuka ignored him, already walking down the dark hallway. With a sigh, he quickly got his act together and followed. They walked for a minute before Shizuka came to a sudden stop, raising her hand to signal Yuga.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Yuga asked.
"Someone's coming," Shizuka said, her expression turning serious.
Footsteps echoed through the hall, growing louder as they approached. Before long, two young men in LDS uniforms stepped out of the shadows.
"I was surprised to hear a report from the supervisor about intruders. Looks like the reports have some truth to them after all," one of the youths smirked.
"And a cute one at that," the other youth added, whistling. Shizuka felt a chill run down her spine. "What's a pretty lady like you doing snooping around the Leo Corporation?"
"Who are you guys?" Yuga immediately stepped in front of Shizuka.
"I'm Friedo, a top student from LDS's Fusion Course," the youth who'd flirted with Shizuka introduced himself.
"And I'm Baron, a student who takes both the Fusion and Synchro Courses," the other youth added. "We were ordered by our supervisor to deal with certain intruders snooping around in places that they shouldn't."
"Judging by the fact that you both are duelists, I'm assuming we settle this with a duel, right?" Yuga inquired.
"That's right," Friedo replied, strapping a duel disk to his left arm. Baron did the same, but with his right arm.
"Since there are two of us, I suggest we have a tag duel," Baron proposed. "Both players share a field, graveyard, and Life Points. We can't attack each other or draw for the first two turns of the duel. We can also activate the Spell/Trap Cards our partner places as if they were our own. The only thing we don't share is our hands."
"That's fine with us," Shizuka said, activating her duel blade.
"Yeah," Yuga agreed as he did the same, his eyes narrowing at Friedo. "I'll pay you back for those flirtatious comments you made toward Shizuka!"
"Right down to business," Friedo grinned. "That's just the way I like it."
Friedo and Baron both activated their duel blades in unison.
[Duel!] All four of them shouted together as the duel began.
Yuga & Shizuka — LP: 4000
Friedo & Baron — LP: 4000
[Turn 1: Yuga] [H:5]
"I'll start!" Yuga announced. "I summon Gravekeepers - Skeleton Guard (Dark/Fiend/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 3)!"
A skeleton with a rusty helmet and a sword appeared.
"When Skeleton Guard is Normal Summoned, I have to discard a card from my hand."
Yuga sends a card from his hand to the graveyard.
"Next, I tribute Skeleton Guard from my field to activate its second effect!" Yuga declared. "I can add a 'Gravekeepers' card from my deck to my hand!"
Yuga added a card to his hand.
"I now set two cards and end my turn," Yuga concluded.
"That's it?" Friedo couldn't contain his laughter. "So much for fighting for that girlfriend of yours."
"Worry about yourself," Yuga rolled his eyes.
Baron stepped forward, glancing back at his partner.
"I'll take the next turn if you don't mind," Baron said to Friedo.
"I don't mind," Friedo shrugged.
[Turn 2: Baron] [H:5]
"I summon Naturia Marron (Earth/Plant/Effect/ATK: 1200/DEF: 700/LV: 3)!" A brown, puffy pollen puff monster with cute eyes appeared on his field. "When this monster is summoned onto my field, I can send 1 'Naturia' Monster from my deck to my graveyard!"
Baron sends a card from his deck to the graveyard.
"Naturia Bumblebee's effect activates! If a card is sent from my hand or deck to the graveyard, I can Special Summon this monster from my hand!"
A large, cute bumblebee appeared on his field.
[Naturia Bumblebee (Earth/Insect/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 700/DEF: 1100/LV: 2)]
"When Naturia Bumblebee is summoned onto my field, I can place a Trap Card from my deck directly onto my field!"
Baron added a card to his hand and placed it face down on his duel blade.
"Now the Level 2 Naturia Bumblebee tunes Level 3 Naturia Marron!" Baron announced as his monsters transform into green rings and orbs respectively, lining up as a green pillar of light shot through the center. "I Synchro Summon! Come forth, Level 5! Naturia Beast (Earth/Beast/Synchro/Effect/ATK: 2200/DEF: 1700/LV: 5)!"
A green lion monster with legs made of tree wood appeared.
"I set a card and end my turn," Baron concluded with a face down.
"Then it's my turn now! Draw!" Shizuka declared as she drew a card and began her turn.
[Turn 3: Shizuka] [H:6]
She then revealed a monster in her hand.
"I activate Cyber Star Cherry's effect!" Shizuka declared. "By discarding it from my hand, I can add a 'Cyber Star' Monster from my deck to my hand! I add Cyber Star Nova Princess!"
Shizuka discarded the revealed card before adding a new card to her hand.
"Next, I summon Cyber Star Jade (Light/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 1300/DEF: 700/LV: 4)!"
A girl with long green hair, wearing a pair of black glasses appeared. In front of her was a floating block which had a computer resting on top.
"When I only control Light Monsters, I can summon Cyber Star Saturn (Light/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 400/DEF: 600/LV: 4) from my hand!"
A girl with short yellow pigtails, wearing a dazzling yellow dress and a cybernetic purse appeared.
"Next, I activate the Ritual Spell, Cyber Star Ritual! Which allows me to Ritual Summon a 'Cyber Star' Monster from my hand as long as I pay the appropriate tributes!"
"Ritual!?" Friedo was surprised at the use of such an outdated summoning mechanic.
On a tablet, Akaba Reiji watches the ongoing duel with interest.
"Naturia Beast's effect activates!" Baron announced. "When a Spell Card is activated, I can send the top 2 cards from my deck to my graveyard to negate that effect and destroy that card!"
"Not so fast!" Yuga counters as his set Trap Card is flipped face-up. "I activate my Trap Card, Wandering the Border! When a monster activates an effect that negates the activation of a card, I can negate that monster's effects for the rest of this turn instead!"
"Nice going, Yuga!" Shizuka smiled at her friend before continuing her turn. "I sacrifice Cyber Star Saturn in order to summon a Level 8 Monster!"
"What!? But that monster is only Level 4?" Baron was surprised.
"When Cyber Star Saturn is used to Ritual Summon a LIGHT Ritual Monster, it can be used as the entire requirement!" Shizuka announced.
A cybernetic portal appeared in front of her. Her monster is turned into energy as it is then absorbed into the portal as she begins chanting.
"Radiant princess whose grace shines as bright as a supernova," Shizuka chanted. "Arise from the cybernetic world! I Ritual Summon! Come forth, Level 8! Cyber Star Nova Princess (Light/Fairy/Ritual/Effect/ATK: 2300/DEF: 2100/LV: 8)!"
A beautiful woman with long, blonde hair wearing high-tech armor that has circuits built into it appeared. Surrounding the female monster is a brilliant light that illuminates the dark hallway completely.
"Nova Princess' effect activates! When she is Ritual Summoned onto my field, I can add a 'Cyber Star' Monster from my graveyard to my hand. I add Cyber Star Saturn," She takes a card out of her graveyard. "Once again, I activate Cyber Star Saturn's effect, allowing me to Special Summon it onto my field!"
[Cyber Star Saturn (ATK: 400/DEF: 600/LV: 4)]
The pigtail girl with yellow hair appeared once again.
"Battle!" Shizuka moved into her Battle Phase. "Nova Princess attacks Naturia Beast! Brilliant Supernova!"
The female monster charges a giant ball of energy, sending it towards Baron's monster and destroying it. The two of them wince at the shockwaves.
Friedo & Baron — LP: 4000 → 3900
"Cyber Star Saturn's effect activates!" Shizuka announced. "When a 'Cyber Star' Monster I control destroys one of your monsters via battle, you take 200 points of damage!"
The pigtail monster digs into her purse, pulling out weird balls that it then throws at the two duelists, hitting them in the face.
Friedo & Baron — LP: 3900 → 3700
"Whenever my opponent takes effect damage, Nova Princess' ATK increases!"
(Nova Princess — ATK: 2300 → 2500)
"Next, Cyber Star Saturn attacks you both directly!"
Friedo & Baron — LP: 3700 → 3300
"And I'm not done yet! Now Cyber Star Jade attacks you both directly!"
Friedo & Baron — LP: 3300 → 2000
"I set a card and end my turn!" Shizuka concluded.
"Damn she's relentless…" Friedo rubbed his head. "I'll pay you back for that! I draw!"
[Turn 4: Friedo] [H:6]
"I summon Ojama Red (Light/Beast/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 1000/LV: 2)!" A red, small gremlin-like monster appeared.
"Ew, it looks almost as hideous as that guy," Shizuka's face was green with disgust.
"Shut it, you wench!" Friedo sneered. "Ojama Red's effect activates, allowing me to Special Summon up to four 'Ojamas' from my hand! Appear, Ojama Green (Light/Beast/Normal/ATK: 0/DEF: 1000/LV: 2), Ojama Yellow (Light/Beast/Normal/ATK: 0/DEF: 1000/LV: 2), Ojama Black (Light/Beast/Normal/ATK: 0/DEF: 1000/LV: 2), and Ojama Blue (Light/Beast/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 1000/LV: 2)!"
Four more gremlin-like monsters appeared on his field.
"I'll be using your Trap Card, Baron!" Friedo declared as the set trap is flipped face-up. "Emergency Fusion! With this card, I can Fusion Summon a monster from my Extra Deck, using monsters from my field as materials! From my field, I fuse Ojama Green, Ojama Yellow, and Ojama Black!"
The aforementioned monsters rise into the air, fusing together.
"I Fusion Summon! Appear, Level 6! Ojama King (Light/Beast/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 3000/LV: 6) in defense mode!"
A large egg-like monster, smiling widely with its teeth appeared.
Shizuka covered her mouth, "I feel like I'm going to throw up."
"Me too…" Yuga agreed.
"Ojama King has a very special effect!" Friedo announced with a confident smirk. "While it's on the field, I can select three Monster Zones. From now on, you cannot use those selected Monster Zones!"
Ojama King begins to glow as three zones light up.
"Locking Monster Zones?" Shizuka was surprised. "What a nasty effect…"
"I'm not done yet!" Friedo announced. "I activate the Fusion Spell, Polymerization! I fuse the Ojama Blue on my field with Ojama Red!"
The two monsters rise into the air and fuse.
"I Fusion Summon! Appear, Ojama Knight (Light/Beast/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 2500/LV: 5) in defense mode!"
An armored monster with a yellow body and long loose eyes sticking out appeared.
"Ojama Knight has a similar effect to Ojama King, allowing me to lock two more of your Monster Zones!"
Ojama Knight raises its sword that soon begins to glow, as two more of their monster zones light up.
"I end my turn with that," Friedo concluded with a smirk. "Too bad for you two, now you won't be able to do anything!"
"He's right…" Shizuka muttered as she glanced at Yuga. "Now neither of us can play any more monsters until we deal with that guy's monsters."
"We still need to try, otherwise, all of this preparation will be for nothing," Yuga responded. "My turn! Draw!"
[Turn 5: Yuga] [H:3]
Yuga looked at the card he drew briefly.
"I set a card and pass," Yuga ended his turn.
"Hah! How tragic…" Friedo laughed as he wiped a tear from his eye. "You can't even do anything anymore. It's only a matter of time before you lose!"
"Impressive as always, Friedo," Baron complimented. "Allow me to join in the fun too! I draw!"
[Turn 6: Baron] [H:3]
"I activate the Spell Card, Double Summon!" Baron announced. "Instead of one Normal Summon, I can conduct two Normal Summons during this turn!"
Baron then plays a card.
"I summon Naturia Sunflower (Earth/Plant/Effect/ATK: 500/DEF: 0/LV: 2)!"
A happy-looking sunflower appeared on his field.
"Next, I tribute Naturia Sunflower to Advance Summon!" Baron shouts. "Appear, Naturia Bamboo Shoot (Earth/Plant/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 2000/LV: 5)!"
Two brown, chibi bamboo shoot monsters appeared.
"While this monster remains on the field, neither of you can activate Spell or Trap Cards!" Baron declared.
"What?" Yuga was stunned.
"Tch," Shizuka clicked her tongue.
"Battle!" Baron moved into his Battle Phase as his chibi bamboo monster ran forward. "Naturia Bamboo Shoot attacks Cyber Star Saturn!"
One of the chibi bamboo launches the other into the Shizuka's monster, causing both her and Yuga to wince at the shockwaves.
Yuga & Shizuka — LP: 4000 → 2400
"As long as Cyber Star Jade remains on the field, 'Cyber Star' Monsters we control cannot be destroyed by battle!"
"I end my turn with that," Baron concluded.
[Turn 7: Shizuka] [H:2]
"My turn! Draw!" Shizuka drew a card. There wasn't much else she could do so she decided to move into her Battle Phase. "Battle! Cyber Star Nova Princess attacks Naturia Bamboo Shoot! Brilliant Supernova!"
Her monster sends a bright ball of energy towards the bamboo shoot monster. The monster is annihilated by the attack which caused Baron and Friedo to wince from the shockwaves.
Friedo & Baron — LP: 2000 → 1500
"Cyber Star Saturn's effect deals an extra 200 points of damage thanks to it destroying one of your monsters!"
Saturn's digs into her purse, pulling out colorful balls that it then hurls towards her opponents. However, this time they manage to step away before the attacks could hit them.
Friedo & Baron — LP: 1500 → 1300
"Thanks to Nova Princess' effect, her ATK increases by the amount of effect damage you took!"
(Nova Princess — ATK: 2500 → 2700)
"Not so fast!" Baron interrupted. "I activate the effect of Nature's Calling from my graveyard! When a 'Naturia' Monster I control is destroyed, I can draw one card and Special Summon the destroyed monster to my field! Return, Naturia Bamboo Shoot in defense mode!"
[Naturia Bamboo Shoot (ATK: 2000/DEF: 2000/LV: 5)]
"Tch," Shizuka clicked her tongue. "I switch both Cyber Star Jade and Cyber Star Saturn to defense mode and end my turn!"
[Turn 8: Friedo] [H:1]
"Draw!" Friedo began his turn, a smug grin spreading across his face. "I set a card and pass."
He then let out a loud, mocking laugh. "You guys might as well give up. There's no way you're winning this!"
"This guy is really annoying..." Shizuka frowned, her patience wearing thin. "Their combination has completely locked us out of playing. At this rate, we'll just fizzle out. We need to do something, and fast."
Yuga glanced down at his hand, his expression darkening. "I've got nothing in my hand that can do anything. If we could make use of our Trap Cards, we'd be able to carve a path to victory. But this..."
"Then you'll just need to draw the out, Yuga," Shizuka said, her voice steady with resolve. "Otherwise, we'll never be able to save our loved ones."
Yuga remained silent for a moment, the weight of her words sinking in. He then nodded, a determined look crossing his face. "Right. I'll try my best. Right here and now! Draw!"
[Turn 9: Yuga] [H:3]
Yuga's deck glowed for a moment as he drew a card. When he saw what he drew, he smiled.
[Current Theme Playing: Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Sound Duel 1 OST 23 - A Cornered Duelist]
Yuga revealed a monster card in his hand.
"I activate the effect of Gravekeepers - Sinister Curse! By tributing a monster on your side of the field, I can Special Summon it to your field in defense mode! I tribute Naturia Bamboo Shoot!"
"What?" Baron was shocked as his monster was replaced by a dark skeleton wearing an even darker cloak.
[Gravekeepers - Sinister Curse (Dark/Fiend/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 100/LV: 5)]
"Since that monster of yours is out of the way, we can finally activate Spell and Trap Cards!" Yuga announced.
"So what?" Friedo scoffed. "As long as my Ojamas stay on the field, you can't summon any more monsters!"
"That's if they stay on the field," Yuga stated. "I still have monsters on my field that can battle!"
"Huh!?" Friedo cried out.
"I switch Cyber Star Jade to attack position! Then I will battle!" Yuga declared as Shizuka's Nova Princess rises into the air. "Cyber Star Nova Princess attacks Ojama Knight! Brilliant Supernova!"
Friedo's monster is vaporized by the attack. Two of Yuga and Shizuka's monster zones stopped glowing.
"Cyber Star Saturn's effect activates once again," Shizuka jumped in. "Since your monster was destroyed by Nova Princess, you take 200 more points of damage!"
Friedo is hit in the face by a colorful ball, while Baron narrowly avoids being hit.
Friedo & Baron — LP: 1300 → 1100
(Nova Princess — ATK: 2700 → 2900)
"Tch," Friedo clicked his tongue. "I won't go out like this!" His set trap is flipped face up. "I activate my Trap Card, Ojama Reborn! During the End Phase, Ojama Monsters I control that were destroyed this turn will be revived once again! This pointless last ditch struggle will be meaningless!"
"Meaningless, huh?" Yuga said with a dark expression. "Nothing we do is meaningless!"
"Eh?" Friedo was surprised.
"Cyber Star Jade attacks Gravekeepers - Sinister Curse!"
The green-haired female monster begins typing at her keyboard, digitising a giant block of text that says "BOOM!", which is then sent shooting towards the cloaked skeleton on the opponent's field, destroying it.
Shizuka smiled as she snapped her fingers, "Once again, you take 200 points of damage since a 'Cyber Star' destroyed your monster."
Friedo & Baron — LP: 1100 → 900
"Next, I activate my set Trap Card, Ritual Trade!" Yuga announced. "By tributing 1 Ritual Monster currently on the field, I can add a Ritual Spell or Ritual Monster directly from my deck to my hand! Sorry, Shizuka, but I need to sacrifice your ace monster."
"That's fine with me," Shizuka nodded resolutely. "Just make sure you defeat them this turn."
Yuga smiled as a card slipped out of his deck. He grabbed it and placed it onto his duel blade with a swift motion.
"I activate the Quick-Play Ritual Spell Gravekeeper's Ritual from my hand!" Yuga declared. "By tributing monsters from my field, I can Ritual Summon a DARK Monster during the Battle Phase!"
"A Ritual Summon during the Battle Phase!?" Baron gasped, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"N-No way!?" Friedo stammered, taken aback.
"I sacrifice the Level 4 Cyber Star Saturn and Jade in order to Ritual Summon a Level 8 Dark Monster!" Yuga shouted.
An altar materialized behind Yuga, its surface glowing with an eerie light as Cyber Star Saturn and Jade transformed into blue flames, which spiraled around the altar, lighting the candles placed around it.
"The forgotten records, buried deep within the eternal stream of memories, shall now awaken!" Yuga chanted, a dark aura rising from him as his voice grew louder. "Ritual Summon! Be reborn, the teller of these ancient texts, Gravekeeper's - Solemn Tales (Dark/Fiend/Ritual/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 100/LV: 7)!"
A massive, skeletal figure in a black coat appeared behind Yuga, holding an ancient, dusty book. The figure was so large it filled nearly the entire hallway, casting a menacing shadow.
"H-Holy Shit—!?" Friedo's jaw dropped as he stared at the enormous monster.
"Solemn Tales gains 500 ATK for each Dark Monster in my graveyard," Yuga said in a monotone voice. "Since there are two in my graveyard, Solemn Tales gains 1000 ATK."
[Gravekeepers - Solemn Tales — ATK: 100 → 1100]
"That was surprising and all, but that pathetic attack stat won't make a difference," Friedo said, regaining his composure with a smug grin. "Even after all of that, you still failed to keep your promise. You even destroyed your only possible win condition. What a failure of a partner you are—"
"Shut it, imbecile!" Yuga snapped. The sudden outburst made Friedo freeze, his words catching in his throat. Even Shizuka flinched, startled by her friend's abrupt shift in demeanor.
"You're so dumb it makes me sick!" Yuga continued, his piercing gaze locking onto Friedo. "Your fate has already been sealed!"
"Eh?" Friedo tilted his head in confusion.
"Battle! Gravekeepers - Solemn Tales attacks you directly!" Yuga shouted.
The giant skeleton opened its book as a dark ball of energy slowly emerged.
"What!? But we still have a monster on our field! You can't do that—!?"
"Solemn Tales' effect allows it to deal damage to you directly!" Yuga declared. "Now finish this, Solemn Tales! Knowledge of the Forsaken!"
A dark orb of energy shot out from the monster's book, hurtling straight toward Friedo and Baron. Their eyes widened in shock, but they couldn't react in time. The attack struck them head-on, triggering a massive explosion that shook the entire area. The force sent both duelists flying, their bodies ricocheting violently between the roof and ground in rapid succession.
Friedo & Baron — LP: 900 → 0
Winner: Yuga & Shizuka
[BGM (Background Music) Ends Here.]
Yuga panted heavily as his monster dematerialized. He clutched his head briefly, the faint dark aura surrounding him dissipating shortly after.
"Yuga, are you okay?" Shizuka asked, concern evident in her voice.
"Y-Yeah, I just need to catch my breath. Nothing to be worried about," Yuga replied, waving her off.
Shizuka wasn't buying it.
"You did it again."
"Huh?—OW!" Yuga yelped as Shizuka pinched his ear sharply.
"You lost control of yourself for a second," Shizuka said, frowning. "This is the third time it's happened now."
"I'm fine though—OW!" Yuga protested as her grip tightened.
"You're not," Shizuka insisted firmly. "The first time, I chalked it up to the built-up trauma from Academia's invasion. The second time, I thought it was just a fluke." She let out a frustrated sigh. "But three times? This isn't a coincidence anymore, Yuga."
Shizuka then let go of Yuga's ear.
"We can discuss this later; we're still in the middle of our operation," Shizuka said, her fingers tapping a few buttons on her duel disk. "Akaba Reiji's office is at the far end of this hallway. We need to move before those guys we defeated wake up—or worse, reinforcements show up."
"Right," Yuga nodded, though Shizuka could notice that his mind was drifting off somewhere.
"..." Shizuka suddenly grabs Yuga's arm.
"W-What?" Yuga blinked, taken aback by Shizuka's unexpected gesture. His cheeks flushed slightly.
Shizuka didn't respond, instead pulling Yuga with her toward the entrance of Reiji's office. She let go of his hand as she pushed the door open. Inside, Akaba Reiji sat behind his desk, a calm smile on his face as he stood to greet them.
"I've been expecting you," Reiji said smoothly. "You've done well to make it this far."
"You've been expecting us?" Yuga asked, surprised.
"We were literally stopped by two LDS members just before getting here," Shizuka replied, exasperated. "Of course, we were expected."
"Well, since we were expected…" Yuga said, activating his duel disk. "...guess we'll just have to kidnap you with force. Maybe that'll give us a chance to one-up Akaba Leo."
Reiji smiled faintly, unphased, "I doubt my father would halt his plans just because you threaten my life."
Shizuka frowned. "What kind of father wouldn't care about his own son's life?"
"A horrible one, which my father certainly is," Reiji replied. "That's why I plan on stopping him."
"You plan on stopping him?" Yuga's eyes widened in surprise. "Aren't you two in cahoots?"
Reiji's expression darkened slightly, "Aside from blood, I have no affiliation with that man," he said, his voice tinged with bitterness. "He selfishly abandoned me and my mother to fend for ourselves while he chased after his own dimensional ambitions."
"Neat sob story, but don't think that'll stop us from kidnapping you, Akaba Reiji," Shizuka regained her composure, her voice firm. "You're our only leverage against Akaba Leo."
Reiji's expression remained calm, "I have a better idea. Why don't you join me?"
"Join you?" Shizuka raised an eyebrow, confused.
"I plan on gathering a group of powerful duelists," Reiji explained, his tone steady. "Together, we'll fight against my father's elite forces. I call them the Lancers."
Odd naming choice. Yuga thought to himself
"So, you plan on directly confronting your father?" Shizuka asked, skepticism laced in her voice. "That's literal suicide."
"It may be," Reiji responded, his gaze sharpening with determination. "But for the safety of Maiami City's people—and for my own personal grudge—I will follow through. Even if it means making sacrifices to achieve this goal."
"He's taken from you too, right?" Reiji extended his hand towards them with a slight smile. "Join me, and together we can stop my father's plans."
Yuga and Shizuka exchanged uncertain glances.
Reiji's smile remained, and he added, "I'll also give you a lifetime supply of sweets." Mainly aiming this at Yuga.
Yuga's eyes lit up at the mention of sweets, his expression turning eager. "Sweets!? Deal!" he immediately agreed.
—BAM!
Shizuka slammed her fist onto Yuga's head, sending him tumbling to the ground in pain. She shot him a glare before turning her attention back to Reiji.
"As much as I dislike your offer, seeing how a direct confrontation could end badly, I'll agree to join your plan," Shizuka said. "But don't get any ideas. I don't trust you. You still have his blood in your veins."
Reiji's smile remained calm, but the intensity in his eyes remained, "Fair enough," he said, acknowledging her words. "Trust is earned, not given. But I assure you, I'm not my father."
"I hope you're right about that." Shizuka shot him a glance before picking up Yuga from the ground.
"Glad you've agreed without much of a fuss," Reiji smiled as he returned to his seat, crossing his fingers as he spoke. "Let's have a chat."
In the Fusion Dimension…
Akaba Leo looked down from his throne coldly. Kneeling beneath him was Ryouga, who was slightly sweating at the Professor's intense glare.
"May I ask why you've come so early? And with no refugees captured at that?" Leo asked.
"I had him! I swear I did!" Ryouga shouted. "He just surprised me, that's all. The next time I see him, I'll—!"
"Silence!" Akaba Leo shouted, shutting Ryouga up. "You've made a mockery to Academia's honor by losing to a mere Xyz Refugee." He then facepalmed. "Honestly, I should demote you just for this, but I'm willing to give you another chance."
"R-Really—?" Ryouga smiled before Akaba Leo spoke again.
"However, you will not be deployed right now," Leo explained. "For now, you'll be stationed here at Academia until the next major operation." Akaba Leo than narrowed his eyes at Ryouga. "Am I clear?"
"Crystal," Ryouga replied.
"Good," Akaba Leo released his glare. "You may leave now."
"Y-Yes, Professor." Ryouga said before scurrying off.
Once Ryouga left the Professor's throne room, he slammed his fists into the wall, making a dent in it as he gritted his teeth in anger.
"That damn, Xyz scum!" Ryouga sneered. "I swear, the next time I get my hands on him, I'll make him pay!"
In the Standard Dimension…
A scene unfolded in a large, empty alleyway at night which was suddenly illuminated by a bright blue light. From within the light emerged a young woman with long, spiky dark blue hair, her lighter bangs falling just in front of her face.
Most of her attire was concealed beneath a rough cloak, leaving little visible.
"Sorry, Yuto, Shun," she said, her voice firm. "I don't plan on sitting idly by while you two go off and fight for our comrades."
With that, she turned and walked away.
Custom/Altered Cards:
Monster Cards:
Gravekeepers - Skeleton Guard
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 3
Dark/Fiend/Tuner/Effect
Monster Effect: When this card is Normal Summoned; discard 1 card from your hand. You can tribute this card from your field, add a "Gravekeepers" Card from your deck to your hand.
Naturia Bumblebee
ATK: 700, DEF: 1100, LV: 2
Earth/Insect/Tuner/Effect
If a card is sent from your hand or Deck to the Graveyard: You can Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card is Summoned: You can Set 1 Normal Trap Card directly from your Deck to your field. You can only use each effect of "Naturia Bumblebee" once per turn.
Cyber Star Cherry
ATK: 700, DEF: 900, LV: 4
Light/Fairy/Effect
Monster Effect: If you Ritual Summon exactly 1 LIGHT Ritual Monster with a card effect that requires use of monsters, this card can be used as the entire requirement. (Quick Effect): You can discard this card from your hand, add 1 "Cyber Star" Monster from your deck to my hand.
Cyber Star Jade
ATK: 1300, DEF: 700, LV: 4
Light/Fairy/Effect
Monster Effect: If you Ritual Summon exactly 1 LIGHT Ritual Monster with a card effect that requires use of monsters, this card can be used as the entire requirement. "Cyber Star" Monsters you control cannot be destroyed by battle.
Cyber Star Saturn
ATK: 400, DEF: 600, LV: 4
Light/Fairy/Effect
Monster Effect: If you Ritual Summon exactly 1 LIGHT Ritual Monster with a card effect that requires use of monsters, this card can be used as the entire requirement. If you control only Light Monsters, you can Special Summon this card from your hand. When a monster your opponent controls is destroyed by battle, deal 200 damage to your opponent.
Cyber Star Nova Princess
ATK: 2300, DEF: 2100, LV: 8
Light/Fairy/Ritual/Effect
Monster Effect: You can Ritual Summon this card using "Cyber Star Ritual." If this card is Ritual Summoned: You can add 1 Light Monster from your GY to your hand. Once per turn, when your opponent targets a "Cyber Star" monster you control with an effect (Quick Effect): You can negate that effect, and if you do, inflict 200 damage to your opponent. Each time your opponent takes effect damage, increase this card's ATK by the same amount.
Gravekeepers - Sinister Curse
ATK: 100, DEF: 100, LV: 5
Dark/Fiend/Effect
Monster Effect: You can Tribute 1 monster your opponent controls; Special Summon this card to your opponent's field in Defense Position.
Gravekeepers - Solemn Tales
ATK: 100, DEF: 100, LV: 7
Dark/Fiend/Ritual/Effect
Monster Effect: You can Ritual Summon this card with any Ritual Spell. This card can attack your opponent directly. This card gains 500 ATK for each DARK monster in your GY. (Quick Effect): Once per turn, when your opponent activates a card or effect, you can banish 1 DARK monster from your GY; negate that activation, and if you do, destroy that card.
Spell/Trap Cards:
Cyber Star Ritual
Ritual Spell
This card can be used to Ritual Summon any "Cyber Star" Ritual Monster. You must Tribute monsters from your hand or field whose total Levels equal or exceed the Level of the Ritual Monster you Ritual Summon. You can tribute one monster on your field, and return this card to your hand.
Wandering the Border
Counter Trap
When a monster activated an effect that negates the activation of a card; negate that monster's effects for the rest of this turn instead.
Emergency Fusion
Normal Trap
Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using monsters you control as Fusion Materials.
Ojama Reborn
Normal Trap
During the End Phase: Special Summon all "Ojama" monsters destroyed by battle or card effect this turn.
Ritual Trade
Normal Trap
Tribute 1 Ritual Monster on the field; add 1 Ritual Spell or 1 Ritual Monster from your Deck to your hand.
Gravekeerper's Ritual
Quick-Play Ritual Spell
This card can be used to Ritual Summon any DARK Ritual Monster. During the Main Phase or Battle Phase, Tribute monsters from your hand or field whose total Levels equal or exceed the Level of the Ritual Monster you wish to Ritual Summon, then Ritual Summon that monster.
Finally, I'm free from the hell that was writing this chapter. I thought about doing much more in this chapter, and make the duel shown quite a bit longer, but decided to save myself the hell of writing that.
(What the hell was I on when I thought about making a duel with 8000 Life Points like that? Thank goodness I just stuck with 4000.)
On the topic of the duel, I didn't really like writing it at all, but I hope you guys thought it was bearable. It was more to showcase Yuga and Shizuka's capabilities a bit before they take a sideline for another few chapters (don't worry, they'll participate in the main story soon enough).
Baron and Friedo might make one more appearance, though it won't be much of a major one at all. (If you like Naturia or Ojamas, I'm sorry, this is the only time they'll have a little spotlight).
Yuga and Shizuka's decks are both custom archetypes. Yuga keeps the same Gravekeepers Archetype that he had in the original, while Shizuka uses Cyber Stars (basically just Ritual Trickstars but slightly less broken so it doesn't invalidate the 4000 Life Point format of this fanfic).
…wait I didn't even realize how similar the two archetypes actually are. Oops…
(And no, Yuga's Gravekeepers Archetype isn't the same one as the one used by the Ishtar Family. I haven't watched OG Yu-Gi-Oh!, so I wasn't aware until much later that there was already an Archetype like it.)
As for Yuga's character, he's like a Yuya (minus the entertainment dueling) who had experienced Academia's ruthlessness firsthand. They both are crash outs when affected by Zarc's influence, however unlike the other Yu-boys, Yuga is more likely to go berserk just because why not (a real reason will come…in like 50 chapters or something, so don't think too much about it).
Anyway, next chapter will shift back to Yuuji's POV, as we cover the events of the first relevant Arc-V Arc, the LDS Invasion Arc (not sure if it's actually called that, but that's what I'm going to call it).
Thanks for reading!
Chapter 6: The Path to Surpassing One's Limits (I)
Chapter Text
Edit #1: 6/17 Chapters Revamped.
Disclaimer: Minor spelling, grammar, and other mistakes may be present.
[Standard Arc Opening Theme (Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Opening 1: BELIEVE X BELIEVE)]
Scale 06: The Path to Surpassing One's Limits (I)
A day later.
You Show Duel School.
Yuuji sat on a couch in the common area, his eyes closed as he rested. Bandages were wrapped tightly around his arm and torso, a constant reminder of his recent duel. Nearby, Sora knelt with both hands clasped together in a pleading gesture.
"Please, Yuuji! You said before that we could duel later!" Sora begged.
"No," Yuuji replied flatly, not even bothering to open his eyes. "Like I said, I don't feel like dueling right now."
Sora frowned, crossing his arms. "You're acting completely different from what everyone told me. They said you're always up for a duel."
"They've only known me for a few days," Yuuji muttered. "It's not like they know me enough to understand how I act."
"..." Sora was silent for a moment before turning around, pouting. "Fine then, be that way. I'll go duel with somebody else instead!"
"Have fun."
"Hmph." Sora stomped out of the room, leaving Yuuji alone once more.
The silence lingered as Yuuji finally opened his eyes, his expression darkening.
Okay… what happened yesterday is messing with me more than I thought.
(A/N: The last chapter took place on the same day as Chapter 4 for those confused about the timeline.)
He had been in a bad mood ever since he woke up today. Every time he thought about dueling, it reminded him of what happened yesterday.
More specifically, Ryouga's smug expression.
"I thought you would give me a good challenge with your confident declarations and that weird Pendulum Summoning thing you did, but you weren't even a good warmup."
Yuuji covered his face with his hands. The secondhand embarrassment from making all of those boasts just to fall short in the end. It was pathetic.
It's so pathetic. Not just that duel, but me sitting here sulking about it as well.
Sitting around sulking over the past, doing nothing to improve himself. He knew better than to act like this.
"..."
"Okay, I got it."
Yuuji got up from his seat and grabbed his duel disk that he had placed on a nearby desk. Instead of sulking around all day, he might as well try and grow stronger so he wouldn't have to face an embarrassing loss like that again.
"Maybe Sora will still be up for a duel? It was kind of rude of me to put him off like that." Yuuji muttered before leaving the commonplace room.
Sure enough, just as Yuuji predicted, Sora was there. The younger duelist sat alone, a deep frown on his face as he stared at a card in his hand, his expression unusually serious.
Yuuji approached, raising a hand in greeting.
"Yo, Sora! You still up for that duel—"
"No."
Sora turned away with a huff, arms crossed. "You made me wait too long."
Seriously? Yuuji blinked. It's been, like… three minutes. How did he switch up so fast?
In situations like this, apologizing and backing off would probably be the smarter choice.
"..." Yuuji scratched the back of his head before speaking once again. "Look, I'm sorry about putting you off like that. I've just been feeling…off since yesterday. I'm feeling better now though, so if you're up for a duel later, I'm up for it."
Just as Yuuji was about to leave…
"You know what? I've changed my mind," Sora said with a smirk. "Since you've finally decided to be nice, I'll indulge you in a duel, Sensei~."
A vein bulged on Yuuji's forehead.
"If I win, you're never calling me that again," Yuuji snapped.
"And if I win, you'll have to teach me everything you know," Sora replied, crossing his arms confidently.
"Fine by me," Yuuji said, turning and walking toward the opposite end of the arena.
Suddenly, Sora called out, glancing toward the control room above. "Hey, Principal! Can you give us an Action Field like the one you used yesterday!?"
"Principal?" Yuuji echoed, confused as he followed Sora's gaze. In the control room, Shuzo nodded as he pressed a series of buttons on a machine.
"You got it, Sora! Action Field, on! Field Magic – Candy World!"
With the press of a button, the Real Solid Vision Machine began to whirr as the arena transformed around them. The floor rippled and shifted as a whimsical candy landscape unfolded. Lollipop trees sprouted from the ground, and hills of colorful gumdrops rolled across the terrain.
"Good luck to both of you!" Ayu cheered from the spectator booth.
"Huh?" Yuuji blinked in surprise, noticing the rest of You Show gathered in the spectator area. "Why is everyone here?"
"I invited them," Sora said, flashing a grin. "It'd be boring without an audience."
Yuuji narrowed his eyes. That still doesn't answer my question. When did he even invite them? Did he somehow know I'd end up dueling him?
It didn't make sense, not after how hard he'd been trying to avoid this duel.
But it seemed like no answers were coming his way. He sighed, shaking his head.
Guess I'll just roll with it.
"Let's start then. Duelists locked in battle!" Yuuji began chanting.
"Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!" Sora chanted.
"They storm through this field!" Yuuji continued.
"Behold!" Sora chanted. "This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling!"
[Action—!] The two activate their duel disks as they draw their first five cards.
[Duel!] The two shout in unison as the duel begins. Action cards are soon dispersed around the candy arena.
Yuuji — LP: 4000
Sora — LP: 4000
[Turn 1: Sora] [H: 5]
"I'll start!" Sora announced. "I summon Edge Imp Saw (Dark/Fiend/Effect/ATK: 500/DEF: 1000/LV: 3)!"
A floating saw monster with blood-red eyes appeared.
"When Edge Imp Saw is Normal Summoned, I can send 1 'Fluffal' Monster from my hand to my graveyard and draw 2 cards."
Sora discards a card from his hand and draws two cards from his deck.
"Nice!" Sora smiled when he saw what he drew. "I activate the Continuous Spell, Toy Vendor!"
When he played the card, the ground around them began to shake as a giant gumball machine appeared behind him.
"What the hell?" Yuuji's looked surprised.
"I must first discard a card to activate this Continuous Spell," Sora explained as he discarded a card from his hand. "Once per turn, I can draw 1 card. If the card I draw is a Level 4 or lower monster I can Special Summon it to my field. However, if the card I draw isn't a monster, I have to discard it from my hand. Draw!"
Sora drew a card and revealed it.
"I drew the Level 3 Fluffal Bear, which means that I can Special Summon it! Come out, Fluffal Bear in defense mode."
A large, pink teddy bear with white wings appeared on his field. Surrounding the monster was a faint, blue aura.
[Fluffal Bear (Earth/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 1200/DEF: 800/LV: 3)]
"Next, I activate the effect of Fluffal Wings in my graveyard!" Sora announced. "Since I currently have two of them in my graveyard, I can banish them both from there to draw two more cards!"
Sora drew two more cards.
"I set two cards and end my turn," Sora concluded.
He managed to draw like five extra cards in only a few moves. He's good. Yuuji thought. I can't underestimate him.
"My turn! Draw!" Yuuji began his turn.
[Turn 2: Yuuji] [H: 6]
"I activate the Spell Card, Pendulum Call!" Yuuji announced. "I can use its effect to place a Pendulum Monster from my deck directly into my Pendulum Zone! I set the Scale 4 Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon into my empty Pendulum Scale!"
Yuuji adds a card to his hand and places it on one end of his duel blade. A Pendulum Zone appears behind him, as a massive purple dragon with bone-like armor rises within the zone.
"Next, I'll complete my Pendulum Scale by setting the Scale 3 Antique Journal into my other Pendulum Zone!"
Yuuji places another card on the other end of his duel blade, the word [PENDULUM] appearing between the two cards in rainbow font as an old, worn-out journal rises into his other Pendulum Zone.
"Why would he do that?" Yuzu was confused. "He can't summon anybody with that Pendulum Scale."
"I then activate Antique Journal's Pendulum Effect, allowing me to Special Summon it directly from my Pendulum Scale in defense mode!" A portal appeared behind the old journal, and it soon appeared on Yuuji's field with a faint blue aura surrounding it.
[Antique Journal (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 4/SC: 3)]
"Then I activate Antique Journal's Monster Effect, allowing me to Special Summon a Pendulum Monster in one of my Pendulum Zones with its effects negated! Descend, dragon born within the heart of phantoms, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7/SC: 4)!"
The old journal begins to grow in size, as a portal appears on its pages as well as underneath Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon. The purple dragon soon emerges from the portal and onto Yuuji's field.
"Battle!" Yuuji moved into his Battle Phase. "Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon attacks Edge Imp Saw! Phantom Spiral Breath!"
Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon shoots a breath of purple fire from its mouth towards Sora's monster. Just before the attack connects, one of his set Trap Cards is activated.
"I activate my Trap Card, Punch-in-the-Box!" Sora countered. "When my opponent declares an attack while they control two or more monsters, I can negate that attack, then send another monster on your field that isn't being targeted by this effect to the graveyard."
Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon stops its attack as a purple chest appears in front of the Antique Journal, which then opens to reveal a fist that rockets out of it, punching the floating journal and destroying it.
"He managed to stop Yuuji-senpai's attack so easily." Ayu was surprised.
"Just like when he dueled against me," Yuya said. "Sora isn't pulling any punches."
"Damn…" Yuuji cursed. "That's all I can do. I set three cards and end my turn."
"Then it's my turn! Draw!" Sora drew a card.
[Turn 3: Sora] [H: 4]
Sora looked at the card he drew and smiled.
"Right on cue," Sora said. "But first, I activate Toy Vendor's effect once again, allowing me to draw another card!"
Sora drew a card and revealed it to be a monster card.
"I now Special Summon Edge Imp Sabres (Dark/Fiend/Effect/ATK: 1200/DEF: 800/LV: 3)!"
A floating monster with a body made up of scissors and blood-red eyes appeared.
"When Edge Imp Sabres is summoned, I can return 1 'Fluffal' Monster I control to my hand, and then Special Summon a different 'Fluffal' Monster instead!" Sora stated. "Come out, Fluffal Leo (Earth/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1200/LV: 4)!"
Edge Imp Sabres begins snipping away at the fur of Fluffal Bear. After it was done, a fluffy yellow lion with small white wings appeared.
"Now here comes something special!" Sora announced. "I activate the Fusion Spell, Polymerization!"
He can Fusion Summon!? Yuuji was surprised.
"From my field, I fuse my lovable Fluffal Leo with my Edge Imp Saw!" Sora declared as the aforementioned monsters rose into the air and fuse as he began chanting. "Steel blades possessed by demons. Become one with the fanged beast, and show us a new form and power! I Fusion Summon! Show yourself, Level 7! King of the hundred beasts that tears everything to pieces! Frightfur Leo (Dark/Fiend/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)!"
A menacing bipedal lion with razor-sharp metallic claws appeared. Its face was split apart by a multitude of blood-red saws that enhanced its dangerous appearance.
How do you go from a cute lion to this? Yuuji thought as a bead of sweat flowed down his face.
"So scary!" Ayu yelped as she hit behind Yuzu.
"That monster gives me the shivers," Futoshi said with a terrified expression.
"I now activate Frightfur Leo's effect!" Sora announced. "Once per turn, I can target 1 monster my opponent controls and destroy it! Tear it apart, Frightfur Leo!"
The saws on Frightfur Leo's head shot off from it, soaring through the air at sonic speeds towards Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon, who couldn't even react to it. The saws tear through the dragon completely.
"When a monster is destroyed by Frightfur Leo's effect, you take damage equal to its ATK!" Sora declared.
"Not so fast!" Yuuji shouts as one of his set traps flips face-up. "I activate my Trap Card, Mirror's Embrace! When I am about to take damage from an effect, I can reduce the damage I receive from that effect to zero!"
A barrier appears around Yuuji, protecting him from the shockwaves of the attack.
Sora shrugged, pulling out a lollipop from his pocket and placing it in his mouth, "Whatever. I summon Fluffal Bear (ATK: 1200/DEF: 800/LV: 3)!"
The pink teddy bear appeared on his field once again.
"Next, I activate Fluffal Sheep's effect!" Sora shouts. "When I control a 'Fluffal Monster' I can Special Summon it from my hand in defense mode!"
A cute yellow sheep with small white wings appeared with a faint blue aura.
[Fluffal Sheep (Earth/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 400/DEF: 800/LV: 2)]
"I now activate the Spell Card Springboard!" Sora continued. "When this card is activated, I can target 1 card on my field and return it to my hand. I choose to return Fluffal Sheep!"
A mystery trap door appeared beneath the yellow sheep. A spring shoots out from it, blasting the monster into the sky. The monster then returns to its card form and slowly floats down towards Sora, who catches it in his hand.
"Huh? Why would you summon it and return it to your hand?" Yuuji asked.
"Fluffal Sheep's effect!" Sora answered. "When Fluffal Sheep is returned to my hand from the field or graveyard, I can add another Polymerization from my deck to my hand!"
"Another one!?" Yuuji's jaw dropped as Sora added another Fusion Spell to his hand.
"I now activate Polymerization once again!" Sora announced. "Fusing my Fluffal Bear with my Edge Imp Sabres!"
The two aforementioned monsters rise into the air as they begin fusing.
"Claws of the demon! Fangs of the beast! Become one and reveal a new form and power!" Sora then clasped his hands together. "I Fusion Summon! Appear, Level 6! Horrifying beast that shreds everything in its path! Frightfur Bear (Dark/Fiend/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 2200/DEF: 1800/LV: 6)!"
A giant pink bear with its body ripped apart and attached by a multitude of scissors appeared.
Two Fusion Summons in one turn? Yuuji frowned. He definitely isn't an amateur.
"This is only the beginning!" Sora announced. "Battle! Frightfur Leo attacks you directly!"
The lion monster roars as it begins frantically running towards Yuuji. Yuuji began running up a gumdrop hill as he looked for an Action Card. Sora began moving just as fast for his own Action Card.
There!
Yuuji finds an Action Card at the base of a lollipop tree, picking it up from the ground. At the same time, Sora finds an Action Card sticking out from a different lollipop tree's branch.
"I activate the Action Spell Evasion to negate your monster's attack!" Yuuji shouts as he swiftly evades a direct slash from Frightfur Leo which ends up destroying the lollipop tree behind him.
"Don't think you're safe yet! I activate the Action Spell Sugar Rush!" Sora shouts. "When one of my monsters has had its attack negated this turn, it can attack a second time during the Battle Phase, and gains an extra 500 ATK!"
"What!?" Yuuji cried out.
A giant gumdrop appears in the sky, falling down towards Frightfur Leo, who grabs and quickly eats it. Its body contorts for a moment before a red aura appears around it.
(Frightfur Leo — ATK: 2400 → 2900)
Frightfur Leo roars as it begins charging towards Yuuji. Yuuji leaps away from his spot, barely saving himself from being slashed. However, the shockwaves from the attempted attack send him flying back a few meters.
Yuuji — LP: 4000 → 1100
"This is bad. If Sora's other Fusion Monster attacks Yuuji directly, he'll lose before he is able to do anything." Tatsuya grimaced.
"Now to finish this!" Sora declared. "Frightfur Bear attacks you directly!"
The large pink bear leaps into the air, extending its arm towards Yuuji.
"I activate my Trap Card, Emergency Barrier!" Yuuji counters. "When my Life Points are lower than my opponents, all battle damage dealt to me is reduced to zero for the rest of this turn!"
A transparent barrier forms around Yuuji, protecting him from the attack.
"He managed to survive that," Yuzu said with some relief. "That was close."
"Aw, no fair!" Sora whined as he continuously stomped his foot on the ground. "I was supposed to win there!"
That was a little too close for comfort. Yuuji thought.
Sora eventually stops his mini tantrum and sighs.
"I end my turn." Sora reluctantly concluded.
"Then it's my turn! Draw!" Yuuji drew a card.
[Turn 4: Yuuji] [H: 2]
Yuuji looked at the card he drew and smiled.
Okay, I can work with this.
"I'll start by summoning Antique Resonance Mirror (Light/Fairy/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 2)!" A pristine floating mirror appeared on Yuuji's field. "Resonance Mirror's effect activates, allowing me to Special Summon an 'Antique' Monster directly from my deck! Appear, Antique Maker - Mira (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5/SC: 8)!"
A woman in all black holding a mirror in both of her hands appeared.
"When Antique Maker - Mira is summoned, I can add one 'Antique' Card from my deck to my hand!" Yuuji continued as he added a card to his hand, revealing it. "I added an Antique Golden Carol to my hand!"
Yuuji then paused for a moment, thinking about his next play. Once he thought of something, he continued.
"I now tune the Level 2 Antique Resonance Mirror to the Level 5 Antique Maker - Mira!" Yuuji announced as the aforementioned monsters transformed into green rings and orbs respectively, lining up together as a green pillar of light shoots through it.
"Item of old lost through time. Bring about your legacy!" Yuuji chanted. "Synchro Summon! Appear, Level 7! The forbidden wand of calamity! Antique Burdened Staff (Light/Fairy/Synchro/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 7) in defense mode!"
An old, floating, used up wand appeared on Yuuji's field. A faint blue aura surrounded it.
"A Synchro Summon?" Sora was surprised.
"Before I use Burdened Staff's effect, I set the Scale 8 Antique Golden Carol into my Pendulum Zone!"
A Pendulum Zone appeared behind him, as a golden bell slowly rose within it.
"Antique Golden Carol's Pendulum Effect activates!" Yuuji shouts. "When I only control a card in my Pendulum Scale, I can place another 'Antique' Monster in my remaining Pendulum Zone!"
Yuuji adds a card to his hand, revealing it.
"Using the Scale 1 Antique Mimic Chest and the Scale 8 Antique Golden Carol already set in my Pendulum Zone, I set the Pendulum Scale!"
Yuuji declared as he placed the card on the opposite end of his duel blade, the word [PENDULUM] appeared between them in rainbow font as a wooden chest with razor sharp teeth rose into the Pendulum Zone. The numbers 1 and 8 appear in a strange golden font as a giant silver pendulum swung above.
Sora smiled widely when he saw it, "Here it comes!"
"With my current Pendulum Scale, I can summon monsters between the Levels 2 through 7 all at the same time!" Yuuji announced. "Shine, Pendulum of Destiny! Draw an arc across the ether, and reflect onto me a path to victory! I Pendulum Summon! Return from the Extra Deck, my monsters!"
A portal appeared, with three beams of energy shooting out from it.
"Item used to store the tales of old, Antique Journal (ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 4)!"
"Fair maiden who lives in the reflected palace, Antique Maker - Mira (ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5)!"
"And finally, the amber-eyed dragon born from the deep embrace of phantoms, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon (ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7/SC: 4)!"
Yuuji's monsters swarm his field. Sora's eyes widened in excitement.
"Finally!" Sora cheered. "This is exactly what I've been waiting for!"
"Huh?" Yuuji was confused as Sora's remaining Trap Card was flipped face-up.
"I activate the Counter Trap, Frightfur Stampede!" Sora declared. "When my opponent Special Summons more than three times, I can destroy cards on their field equal to the number of Frightfur Monsters on my field! I choose to destroy Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon and Antique Burdened Staff!"
Sora's two monsters frantically run forward, attacking the two aforementioned monsters and destroying them.
"Damn…" Yuuji winced from the shockwaves. "I should've used Antique Burdened Staff's effect earlier…"
He didn't expect Sora to have a counter to his combo.
I should've accounted for that. Yuuji clenched his fists. But…
His mind felt cluttered. He wasn't sure if it was because he was facing a Fusion User, or something else.
Focus, idiot! Yuuji slapped his cheeks. Sora isn't the same as that bastard. Just forget about that loss already and duel! Not all hope is lost just because I lost those two.
"I activate Antique Journal's Effect!" Yuuji continued his turn. "From my Pendulum Zone, I'll Special Summon Antique Golden Carol (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5/SC: 8)!"
A portal appeared under Golden Carol and on the pages of Antique Journal, as the former was brought out and onto Yuuji's field.
"Next, I activate Antique Mimic Chest's Pendulum Effect!" Yuuji announced. "Once per turn, I can target a monster on my field and make its Level equal to that of another monster! I choose to make Antique Journal's Level the same as Antique Maker - Mira's!"
(Antique Journal — LV: 4 → 5)
"Changing the level of your monster?" Sora raised an eyebrow before realizing something. His eyes widened. "Wait, you're going to…"
"Using my Level 5 Antique Journal, Antique Golden Carol, and Antique Maker - Mira, I construct the Overlay Network!" Yuuji announced.
The three aforementioned monsters transform into energy and are absorbed into a galaxy vortex. A giant pillar of light shot out from the center of the vortex as Yuuji began chanting.
"The will of the oppressed who die on the battlefield burns bright. They wait for the one who guides the will of the fallen to victory!" Yuuji chanted. "I Xyz Summon! Rise up, Rank 5! The courageous leader who fans the flames of rebellion, Antique Maker - Revolution Commander (Fire/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/R: 5/SC: 5/OU: 3)!"
A tall man with striking red hair and sharp, eagle-like eyes, cloaked in black with a matching mask covering his mouth appeared.
"Revolution Commander's effect activates!" Yuuji announced. "By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can Special Summon Antique Dawning Blaze (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5/SC: 7) from my deck!"
(Revolution Commander — OU: 3 → 2)
A fiery sword with a golden hilt appeared.
"Next, Dawning Blaze is equipped to Revolution Commander, increasing its ATK by 500 for each monster on the field excluding itself."
"Since there are two monsters on the field other than Revolution Commander, it gains 1000 ATK!"
Revolution Commander grabs onto the fiery blade. The flames spread around its body, surrounding it like an aura.
(Revolution Commander – ATK: 2500 → 3500)
"Battle!" Yuuji pumped his fist forward. "Revolution Commander attacks Frightfur Leo! Blazing Revolution!"
Revolution Commander leaps towards Frightfur Leo, who tries to slash away at the warrior with its claws. Revolution Commander parries these attacks, before landing a clean clash on Frightfur Leo which slices it in two. Sora is sent flying back from the shockwaves.
Sora — LP: 4000 → 3400
"I'm not done yet!" Yuuji announced. "When Revolution Commander has 'Antique Dawning Blaze' equipped to it, it can make a second attack during the Battle Phase!"
"What!?" Sora cried out. He quickly turned around and began looking for an Action Card.
Yuuji also began running for an Action Card as he commanded his monster, "Revolution Commander attacks Frightfur Bear! Blazing Revolution!"
Sora uses his athleticism to hop off from a gumdrop onto the branch of a lollipop tree. In a swift motion, the hops from branch to branch towards the top, where he managed to find an Action Card.
"Nice!" Sora smiled at what he found. "I activate the Action Spell, Candy Crumble! When your monster declares an attack, I can temporarily decrease its ATK by the difference between our Life Points during the Damage Step! Since I have 3400 and you have 1100, Revolution Commander loses 2300 ATK!"
"Not so fast!" Yuuji cuts in. "I activate my own Action Spell, Extreme Sword! Targeting 1 monster on the field, I can increase its ATK by 1000 for the rest of the Battle Phase! I choose to increase Revolution Commander's ATK!"
(Revolution Commander — ATK: 3500 → 1200 → 2200)
(Frightfur Bear — ATK: 2200)
The two monsters clash, with Frightfur Bear using its extendable arm to try and bludgeon Revolution Commander into the ground. However, the warrior swiftly avoids these attacks and goes in for a deadly slice. Revolution Commander succeeds in slicing through Frightfur Bear with its fiery blade, but ends up being hit hard during the process, resulting in both monsters being destroyed. Both duelists wince from the ensuing shockwaves.
Revolution Commander ended up being destroyed, but at least I managed to clear Sora's field.
Yuuji then looked at his remaining set card and the monster in his hand.
These two cards should be able to protect me until the next turn.
"I end my turn," Yuuji concluded.
"The two of them managed to completely clear each other's fields." Yuzu said in awe. "They're completely even right now.
"Not for long. My turn! Draw!" Sora drew a card.
[Turn 5: Sora] [H: 2]
"Once again, I activate Toy Vendor's effect!" Sora announced as he drew a card, revealing the card to be another monster card. "Today's my lucky day, cause I drew Edge Imp Chain!"
Sora places a card on his duel blade, as a machine monster made up of chains with blood-red eyes appears.
[Edge Imp Chain (Dark/Fiend/Effect/ATK: 1200/DEF: 1800/LV: 4)]
"Next, I activate Frightfur Fusion!" Sora declared. "By banishing materials from my field or graveyard, I can Fusion Summon a 'Frightfur' Fusion Monster directly from my Extra Deck! I banish Edge Imp Sabres along with Fluffal Bear and Fluffal Leo in order to Fusion Summon!"
"A Fusion Summon by banishing materials?" Yuuji frowned. "The similarities are uncanny."
Edge Imp Sabres, Fluffal Bear, and Fluffal Leo appear on Sora's field for a moment before rising into the air and fusing as he begins chanting.
"Demonic claws, sharp fangs! Become one in the mystic vortex and show us a new form and power!" Sora chanted as he clasped his hands together, an intense expression forming on his face. "I Fusion Summon! Show yourself, Level 6! Mystical jungle beast that rips everything to shreds! Frightfur Tiger (Dark/Fiend/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1200/LV: 6)!"
A blue bipedal tiger monster with its limbs being connected by scissors appeared.
"I hope you're ready, Sensei!" Sora smiled. "When Frightfur Tiger is summoned, I can destroy cards on your field equal to the number of monsters used to Fusion Summon it. With it, I'll destroy your set card along with your remaining Pendulum Zone!"
Frightfur Tiger begins laughing as it leaps forward, slashing through Yuuji's Mimic Chest and his set Trap Card.
"That's not all. While Frightfur Tiger is on my field, 'Fluffal' and 'Frightfur' Monsters gain 300 ATK for each 'Fluffal/Frightfur' Monster on the field!"
A red aura surrounded Frightfur Tiger as it powered up.
(Frightfur Tiger — ATK: 1900 → 2200)
"Now Yuuji has nothing to defend himself," Yuya was shocked. "He'll lose!"
Sora bit down hard on his lollipop, biting off a chunk from it as he smiled, "This has been fun, but I think it's time I end this! Battle! Frightfur Tiger attacks you directly!"
Frightfur Tiger leaps towards Yuuji, its claws enlarging in size as it attempts to wipe out the rest of his Life Points.
"Not yet!" Yuuji shouts, a determined look present on his face. "I activate Antique Twilight Shield's effect! When my opponent declares a direct attack while I control no monsters, I can Special Summon this card from my hand in defense mode!"
A large purple shield appeared on Yuuji's field.
[Antique Twilight Shield (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5/SC: 4)]
"That won't save you. I'll just destroy it and finish you off with my other monster."
"Is that what you think?" Yuuji smiled.
"Huh?"
"Twilight Shield's effect activates." Yuuji stated. "On the turn that this card is summoned via its effect, it gains DEF equal to the monster with the highest ATK's attack stat!"
(Antique Twilight Shield — DEF: 0 → 2200)
Twilight Shield blocks Frightfur Tiger's attack, shielding Yuuji from harm.
"Tch," Sora clicked his tongue. "I end my turn."
(Antique Twilight Shield — DEF: 2200 → 0)
"Phew," Yuya sighed a breath of relief. "He survived."
A vein on Sora's face twitched at the comment.
"Hey, Yuya! Don't be relieved!" Sora whined. "I invited you guys here to cheer for me, not him!"
"R-Right. Sorry." Yuya said with an uneasy smile.
It all comes down to this draw. Yuuji thought as he put his hand over the top of his deck. If I don't draw what I need right here, it's all over.
Yuuji took a deep breath. This was just like his duel against Ryouga, having to rely on deck to pull him out of this situation. He started having doubts.
What if he didn't draw the card that he needed?
Nothing bad right? He would just lose, laugh it off with his friends, and move on with his day.
But...
Why would I want that?
He wanted to win. No...he needed to win. Not for the sake of his honor or his life, but just for the fact that he hated losing.
"Okay, let's do this!"
After Yuuji psyched himself up, he drew a card.
"My turn! Draw!" Yuuji drew with all his might.
[Turn 6: Yuuji] [H: 1]
When he saw what he drew, he smiled. He could work with this.
Yuuji revealed a card in his hand.
"I set the Scale 6 Antique Compass into my Pendulum Scale!"
A pristine compass rose into an empty Pendulum Zone behind Yuuji.
"Antique Compass' effect activates, allowing me to Special Summon an Antique Monster directly from my graveyard!" Yuuji announced. "Return to my field, Antique Maker - Mira (ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5)!"
The woman in all black with a pristine mirror in her hand appeared.
"Mira's effect activates!" Yuuji continued. "When she is summoned, I can add another 'Antique' Card from my deck to my hand!"
Yuuji added a card to his hand.
"I now activate the Equip Spell, Antique Maker's Will!" Yuuji announced. "When an 'Antique Maker' Monster is equipped with this card, it gains 500 ATK for each 'Antique' Monster currently in my graveyard! I currently have 4 'Antique' Monsters in my graveyard, which means Mira gains 2000 ATK!"
A purple aura erupted around Yuuji's monster as her ATK doubled.
(Antique Maker - Mira — ATK: 2000 → 4000)
"4000 ATK!?" Sora was shocked.
"I'm not done yet!" Yuuji declared. "I activate the effect of my Trap Card, Antique Restock from my graveyard! By banishing it and paying half my Life Points, I can Special Summon an 'Antique' Monster directly from my graveyard. Return to my field, Antique Burdened Staff (ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 7)!"
The old, battered and bruised wooden staff appeared on Yuuji's field.
Yuuji — LP: 1100 → 550
(Antique Maker - Mira — ATK: 4000 → 3500)
"Burdened Staff's effect activates!" Yuuji announced. "I can equip this card to a monster you control and take control of it until the End Phase! I choose to equip Burdened Staff onto Frightfur Tiger!"
The staff shoots a beam of purple energy that surrounds Frightfur Tiger, dragging it from Sora's side of the field all the way to Yuuji's side of the field.
"Hey no fair! You can't just take my monster like that!" Sora cried out.
"You should've protected it better then," Yuuji smiled. "Now it's about time I end this. Battle!"
Frightfur Tiger roars as it runs forward.
"Frightfur Tiger attacks Edge Imp Chain!"
Frightfur Tiger slashes cleanly through Sora's monster, creating a shockwave that sends him flying back.
Sora — LP: 3400 → 2400
"Now here comes the climax!" Yuuji pumped his fist forward. "Antique Maker - Mira attacks you directly! Crystal Beam!"
Yuuji's monster shoots a beam of light from its mirror towards Sora.
"Not yet!" Sora quickly began looking for an Action Card. Yuuji does the same, quickly running in the opposite direction.
—Rumble!
The ground shakes as a geyser of candy water shoots out from the ground in front of each of them, an Action Card being found on top of it. Sora swiftly hops up a lollipop tree and propels himself off of it, snagging the Action Card easily.
"I activate the Action Spell, Candy Cushioning, which reduces the battle damage I receive from an attack to zero!"
A large amount of cotton candy forms around Sora, which protects him from the energy beam for a moment. At the same time, Yuuji uses Frightfur Tiger as a ramp, jumping off the monster and snagging his own Action Card from the geyser.
"I activate the Action Spell No-Action!" Yuuji countered. "Your Action Card is destroyed thanks to it, and all of its effects are negated."
The cotton candy surrounding Sora suddenly disappears, leaving him wide open. Yuuji's monster's attack hits him directly, creating an explosion that sends him flying away—concluding the duel.
Sora — LP: 2400 → 0
Winner: Yuuji
Yuuji hits the ground, yelping in pain for a moment from how far he fell. The Action Field then disperses, returning the two of them back to the arena.
"Ow, ow, ow…" Yuuji rubbed his bottom as he stood up on his feet.
That hurt like hell, but at least he won in the end. Though…
I didn't find any hint that'll help me evolve further. Yuuji frowned.
He was able to make use of graveyard effects a bit in that duel, but that alone wouldn't help him defeat someone like Ryouga.
He needed to go against someone stronger than him.
Not that Sora was weak or anything, but Yuuji could tell from that duel that Sora himself was holding back. He didn't think about it much during the duel since his mind was solely focused on winning, but after the fact, it was obvious.
Yuuji turned to his opponent, who was sulking on the ground after his loss.
You're hiding something, aren't you? Yuuji thought. Not just any random duelist can perform that many Fusion Summons in quick succession like that.
"Yuuji, Sora! That was amazing!" Shuzo interrupted Yuuji's thoughts as he barged into the arena. "That hot-blooded duel of yours really got my heart pumping!"
"Dad, you're being too loud." Yuzu frowned as she walked in with the rest of the You Show Students.
"He's right though, the two of them were neck and neck," Tatsuya said.
"Mhm," Ayu nodded. "I couldn't tell who was going to win."
Sora eventually stood up and congratulated Yuuji for winning the duel, saying that he would definitely get stronger and defeat Yuuji the next time they duel. Yuuji just responded by saying that Sora should hold up his end of the bargain and stop calling him Sensei. Sora reluctantly agreed to the terms. Afterwards, he went off to talk to the rest of the You Show Students and Shuzo, who were all discussing the recent duel with happy expressions.
The only people left in the arena were Yuuji and Yuya. Yuuji noticed that Yuya had a solemn expression on his face and spoke up first.
"You okay?" Yuuji asked.
"Huh?" Yuya was surprised by the question. "Uh…yeah, I am."
"Then why are you clenching your fists so hard like that?"
"I am?" Yuya looked down at his hands, which were balled up into fists. "Oh…"
"Are you mad about something?" Yuuji asked.
"No."
"Don't lie."
"Yes…" Yuya reluctantly admitted.
"What's wrong?"
"It's about Sora," Yuya said.
Sora? What problem would Yuya have with Sora? Yuuji wondered. Wait…I remember hearing that he and Sora had a duel yesterday.
"You dueled him, right?" Yuuji asked. "Did you lose?"
"No, I won. But…" Yuya bit his lip. "...I didn't at the same time."
That sounds so backwards.
"During our duel, he only made use of Frightfur Bear." Yuya continued. "While in your duel, he used two other Fusion Monsters."
"Oh…" Yuuji finally got what Yuya meant. "You're mad that he held back against you, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I'm also mad."
"Huh?" Yuya was surprised. "Why?"
"Because he held back against me too," Yuuji said.
"..." Yuya was stunned.
"It may not have looked that way from how close our duel was, but I can tell for sure that Sora was just messing around."
"Oh…" Yuya sort of deflated. If Sora was messing around during his duel against Yuuji, what was he doing during their duel?
"But, don't let that discourage you Yuya." Yuuji reassured him. "It just means that we have new heights to surpass."
"New heights?"
"We just need to find our own way to surpass our current limits," Yuuji stated. "We need to evolve."
"And how do we do that?" Yuya
"We can't just rely on Pendulum Summoning to win our duels," Yuuji said. "We need to learn other summoning methods as well. I already knew how to use Synchro Summoning before getting these Pendulum Cards, and somehow learned Xyz Summoning during my duel against Gongenzaka."
"Somehow?" That was new information that Yuya didn't know. "Are you saying that you just suddenly manage to use Xyz Summoning somehow?"
"I'm not really sure how it happened myself," Yuuji thought. "But it probably was a similar phenomenon to how we got our Pendulum Cards in the first place.
"..."
"I originally wanted to evolve in my own way without some weird mysterious force granting me the exact card I need to win," Yuuji continued. "But thinking back on it now, it may just be the key for us to grow stronger. A way of going beyond Pendulum."
"..." Yuya wasn't sure how to respond to this new information.
"I'm not sure about how this power works, so I can't say for sure that it'll work, but it's worth a shot." Yuuji said. "So, I'll keep trying and failing until I unlock that same sensation once again."
Yuuji then stretched for a moment before turning around and walking off.
"I'm going off to do some private thinking," Yuuji said. "Be sure to tell me if you learn something new about what we discussed here."
"R-Right." Yuya replied as Yuuji left the arena.
Yuya thought about Yuuji's words for a moment.
Finding a way to surpass Pendulum? Yuya frowned. Just how the hell am I supposed to do that?
Custom/Altered Cards:
Monster Cards:
Antique Mimic Chest
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5, SC: 1
Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn: You can target 1 monster on the field; make its Level equal to the Level of another monster on the field until the end of this turn.
Monster Effect: Once per turn: You can target 1 monster on the field; this card's Level becomes equal to the targeted monster's Level until the end of this turn.
Antique Twilight Shield
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5, SC: 4
Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: The monster with the highest DEF on the field cannot declare an attack during the Battle Phase.
Monster Effect: When your opponent declares a direct attack while you control no monsters: You can Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card is Special Summoned by this effect, it gains DEF equal to the ATK of the monster with the highest ATK on the field until the end of the turn.
Spell/Trap Cards:
Toy Vendor
Continuous Spell
To activate this card, you must discard 1 card. Once per turn: You can draw 1 card. If the drawn card is a Level 4 or lower monster, you can Special Summon it. Otherwise, discard it.
Pendulum Call
Spell Card
Place 1 Pendulum Monster from your Deck into your Pendulum Zone. You can only activate 1 Pendulum Call per turn.
Springboard
Spell Card
Target 1 monster on your field: return it to your hand.
Sugar Rush
Action Spell
If one of your monsters had its attack negated this turn: It can make a second attack during this Battle Phase and gains 500 ATK.
Frightfur Stampede
Counter Trap
When your opponent Special Summons three or more monsters in a single turn: Destroy a number of cards your opponent controls equal to the number of "Frightfur" monsters you control.
Candy Crumble
Action Spell
When your opponent's monster declares an attack: During the Damage Step, you can temporarily decrease its ATK by the difference between your opponent's Life Points and your own.
Antique Restock
Counter Trap
When your opponent declares an attack, Special Summon 1 'Antique' Monster from your graveyard. You can banish this card from your graveyard and pay half your Life Points; Special Summon 1 'Antique' Monster from your graveyard.
Candy Cushioning
Action Spell
When you would take damage from an opponent's monster's attack: Reduce that damage to 0.
And that's the first of three parts for the LDS Invasion Arc. It doesn't seem to have much to do with it, but it's a buildup for Yuuji's eventually development during the mini arc. The actual arc that we know starts in the next chapter, so go read that.
Chapter 7: The Path to Surpassing One's Limits (II)
Chapter Text
Edit #1: 7/17 Chapters Revamped
Part 2 of the LDS Invasion Arc.
Be sure to drop some reviews. I see all of them so feel free to speak out your mind and drop some suggestions or comments about the story. Criticism is also welcome (as long as it isn't brainless flaming of the story).
Without any further ado, enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: Minor spelling, grammar, and other mistakes may be present.
[Standard Arc Opening Theme (Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Opening 1: BELIEVE X BELIEVE)]
Scale 07: The Path to Surpassing One's Limits (II)
A few days later…
Maiami City Airport.
Under instructions from Akaba Reiji, Nakajima awaited the arrival of the sole person who held just as much authority at LDS next to a luxurious, white limousine.
After waiting several minutes, Nakajima heard the sounds of a jet engine as a private jet slowly descended onto the landing pad before coming to a complete stop. The side door of the jet opened, as a woman with magenta, heart-shaped hair, and blue eyes stepped out of it. She wore a tailored dark pink blouse and skirt, with a set of golden earrings in each of her ears.
Nakajima bowed his head as he went to greet her.
"Chairwoman Akaba, it's been a while."
This woman was Akaba Himika, Akaba Reiji's mother and the Chairwoman of the Leo Corporation.
"It has," She smiled at the greeting. "The negotiations took a lot longer than I was expecting."
"I'm guessing from your good mood that the negotiations were a success?"
"That's correct. With this successful negotiation, LDS is now one step closer to its goal of extending its influence worldwide," Himika answered. "Reiji-san and I will now have a much easier time scouting the most powerful duelists around the world to prepare for 'that' day."
"Speaking of 'that' day, there are a few incidents that happened here in Maiami City over the past week while you were busy," Nakajima informed. "I didn't want to bring them up since you were busy, but now that you're back, I feel that you should be made aware of them."
"Incidents?" Himika was surprised. "Just how much could happen in the week that I was away?"
"I'm not informed about all the details for most of the incidents," Nakajima explained. "But, the one I felt would be the most relevant to tell you about right now is the appearance of a completely new summoning method."
Himika was shocked.
"A new summoning method? How could that be possible?"
"I'm not too sure myself," Nakajima said. "For more details, you should speak to Reiji-dono."
"Then what are waiting here for?" Himika asked as she began walking to the limo. Nakajima opened the door to let her inside, before taking his post in the driver's seat, and driving out from the airport.
Upon arriving at LDS Tower, Akaba Himika quickly made her way to the top floor with Nakajima following behind, not stopping to greet the other personnel around her. Once they reached the top floor, she barged into Reiji's office without knocking. Reiji sat in his seat with a calm expression on his face, not seeming to be phased by the sudden intrusion of his mother.
Himika was surprised to see two other people in the room. A young man with pink hair who was currently taking a nap on a random couch, and a young woman with long scarlet hair that was tied into a ponytail sitting beside him—typing away on her computer.
"Welcome home, Mother," Reiji greeted her. "You seem to be in a hurry."
"Reiji-san, is it true?" Himika decided to ignore the two youths for not, addressing Reiji with the main question on her mind. "That a new summoning method apart from Ritual, Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz has appeared?"
Reiji adjusted his glasses and nodded.
"That is correct, Mother," Reiji answered. "It first appeared around a week ago."
"A new summoning method?" Yuga perked up upon hearing that.
"I've seen it a lot on the web," Shizuka answered. "Apparently, you can summon a lot of high-leveled monsters using it, without the need to Advance Summon them."
Reiji then pressed a button on his remote, which turned on a large screen in his office that showed a playback of Sakaki Yuya's Duel with Strong Ishijima, where Yuya used Pendulum Summoning to make a dramatic comeback.
"From what our systems have gathered, this new summoning method is called Pendulum."
"Pendulum?"
"By placing two special Monster Cards called Pendulum Cards on opposite ends of your duel disk, you can Special Summon multiple high-level Monsters whose Levels are within the Pendulum Scale without being any higher or lower," Reiji explained. "It's something that had never been seen until now."
"Never before seen until now…" Himika muttered. "Could he be related to it?"
"Possibly, but unlikely." Reiji stated. "If it was a weapon that he created, he wouldn't be flaunting it around for everyone to see. That would be counterintuitive."
"That's true," Himika nodded. "Well then, Reiji-san. Do we have any leads on the potential origins of this form of summoning?"
"None have been found so far. We're still working on that," Reiji answered. "However, thanks to all the data we've collected and several tests, we've pretty much grasped the mechanics of the summoning method. Furthermore, we've even managed to create the first prototype Pendulum cards."
"As expected from you, Reiji-san. A quick worker as always." Himika complimented with a smile. "You truly fulfill the mantle of the title President."
"Thank you for your graces, Mother. However, our more pressing concern currently are the duelists who utilize this Pendulum Summoning."
"Duelists?" Himika was surprised. "There's more than one?"
"That's right," Reiji nodded as he pressed another button on his remote, bringing up Yuya's profile on the screen. "The first Pendulum user we found is named Sakaki Yuya. He's a sixteen-year-old boy in the Junior Youth class. He attends the You Show Duel School, a small Duel School which mainly focuses on Entertainment Dueling."
"It says here that his win rate is a poultry fifty percent." Himika commented. "How was such an average duelist belonging to Junior Youth able to bring forth a brand-new summoning mechanic."
"That important thing about this boy is that he is the son of Sakaki Yusho." Reiji stated with a serious tone.
"Sakaki Yusho…" Himika's expression turned serious. "That boy is the son of the famous Duelist who vanished three years ago and could have possibly joined the enemy?"
"It's too soon to rush to conclusions. We don't know if Sakaki Yusho has actually joined forces with our enemy, or if Sakaki Yuya would be involved in such plans," Reiji commented. "Now for the other duelist."
Reiji pressed another button, with Yuuji's profile now appearing on the screen.
"The second Pendulum user we found is a boy named Haruki Yuuji. He's sixteen-years-old just like Yuya and thus is also classed at Junior Youth." Reiji stated. "He originates from the Outpost and arrived here in Maiami City around two weeks ago. From recent scoutings, it seems that Haruki Yuuji has also ended up joining the You Show Duel School."
"This kid has an even lower win rate than Sakaki Yuya," Himika was shocked.
"That's the first thing you noticed?" Shizuka scoffed from the side, annoying Himika. "There are more glaring issues with this guy other than his horrible win rate."
"You…" Himika seethed with anger. "Reiji-san, I was willing to overlook these people before, but now I must know. What are they doing here in your office? As the Chairwoman, I shouldn't be treated this disrespectfully!"
"They're guests that'll help us in our battle. And she's right, Mother," Reiji stated. "Take a look at the boy's face closely."
"That boy's face?" Himika turned back to the screen, looking at Yuuji's face. Her eyes widened in shock when she realized. "I-Impossible. They…have the same face?"
"That's right. One might write it off as a coincidence, or think that the two of them are twins, but…" Reiji glanced at Yuga, who was a little startled by the sudden gaze. "...it's unlikely that this many coincidences could occur all at once. Multiple boys with the same face, two of them unlocking a new, never before seen summoning method at the same time. This can't be a coincidence."
"So, what's your plan?" Himika wondered. "How can we be sure that these boys could be our allies or not?"
"We'll just need to keep an eye on them. Whether they're ally or foe, that'll be revealed with time." Reiji replied. "However, there's one other issue that we need to address, one that may pique your interest."
"Another issue? What do you mean?"
"A mysterious duelist assaulted Sawatari Shingo along with the students present with him yesterday," Reiji informed her. "Furthermore, the attacker was an Xyz user whose summoning energy was also abnormally high."
Himika had a thinking expression, "Did the students assaulted say anything about this mysterious duelist?"
"Now here's the interesting part," Reiji commented. "Sawatari Shingo and the other students present insist that the perpetrator was none other than Sakaki Yuya."
"Sakaki Yuya…you say? That is interesting…" Himika said with a sly smile on her face.
Reiji knew exactly what this face meant. His mother only ever had this expression when she had her sights on a potential business opportunity.
"...I know that expression, Mother. What are you planning?" Reiji inquired.
"Reiji-san, while it is horrible that some of our precious students were attacked so brutally, this has just granted us a golden opportunity here." Himika stated. "And I know just the way to capitalize on it. I'll be leaving now Reiji-san."
With that, Himika exited Reiji's office almost as quickly as she came.
Reiji sighed, "That mother of mine, once she has her greedy eyes set on something, nothing stands in her way."
"She sounds like a handful," Shizuka commented.
"True that," Reiji agreed. "Though it's thanks to that greediness of hers that LDS has grown to what it is today."
In Maiami City…
Yuuji is currently shifting through a card shop, looking for any new cards to add to his deck. He was currently here with Yuya, who also wanted to see if he could find any new cards to power up his deck.
I did say that I wanted to try and go for that weird phenomenon again. But this is also a good way to upgrade my deck a little.
The question is are there any "Antique" Monsters here? Or maybe other monsters that fit into his deck.
"Hey, Yuya!" Yuuji called out to Yuya. "I'm going to go check out the Extra Deck Monsters."
"Alright!" Yuya replied.
Yuuji moved out of the Main Deck Monster area and made his way to the Extra Deck Monsters. There were plenty of good options for him to choose. All that he had to look for were ones that synergized with his deck.
"Hmm…" Yuuji thought heavily. "Maybe I can try monsters from the summoning methods I haven't used yet?"
Yuuji stopped scanning when his eyes met a specific card.
"No way…" Yuuji's eyes widened. "It's an 'Antique' Monster!?"
Antique Golden Kaiju, a Level 8 Fusion Monster with 0 ATK and DEF, but pretty neat effects.
"This is just what I was looking for." Yuuji smiled.
Yuuji picked out the card and put it in a bag where he placed the rest of the cards he was going to purchase. An extra bonus for him getting an 'Antique' Monster is the fact that they aren't worth much of anything, since the archetype is in low demand due to how weak the monsters are.
A problem that is fixed due to Yuuji's Pendulum Cards and a whole other Archetype that supports these 'Antique' Monsters that only he has (at least as far as he knew).
Alright, let's keep it pushing and find some more.
Yuuji kept looking, this time moving to the Xyz and Ritual Section. He tried to see if there was another lucky find in either of these sections, but in the end found nothing like what he had found before.
I mean, it doesn't hurt to get some more Extra Deck Monsters. Even if they're not Antique Monsters.
Something more generic would do for now. Like…
"This." Yuuji picked out an Xyz Monster.
Accel Hacking Spider, a Rank 5 Generic Xyz Monster with a simple yet unique effect that could get him out of a pinch.
This would definitely help with my deck diversity a bit for sure.
Yuuji thought.
Okay, now let's try and get a Ritual Monster.
Yuuji managed to snag another Antique Monster, a Level 6 Ritual Monster. He also made sure to pick up a copy of Polymerization along with an Antique Ritual Spell Card as well.
After he was done, Yuuji soon met back up with Yuya at the counter.
"Hey, Yuuji. What did you get?" Yuya asked.
"Just some Extra Deck Monsters along with some other cards to support them. What about you?"
"I just bought some Spell and Trap Cards as well as a few monster cards." Yuya replied.
"You didn't get any Extra Deck cards?"
"No. I don't know how to use those summoning mechanics like you, so I didn't see the point."
"I've never Fusion or Ritual Summoned before, yet I still grabbed some cards." Yuuji said. "I could teach you how to Synchro and Xyz Summon if you really need somebody to teach you."
"Thanks, but I want to try and figure this out on my own." Yuya said. "To find my own answer."
"..." Yuuji was silent for a moment before smiling. "Well, good luck with that. I'm sure it won't take you that long to find that answer. But before that, let's go pay."
"Right." Yuya nodded.
The two pay for their items and put their new cards in their decks before leaving the card shop. They begin making their way to You Show, exchanging dueling ideas and potential strategies with each other to pass the time.
Eventually the two arrive back at You Show, entering the school and making their way to where the rest were gathered, which was the classroom.
"Ah, Yuya. Yuuji. Glad you guys could join us." Shuzo greeted them. "You're just in time for today's lesson."
"Nice," Yuya smiled. "We made it just in time."
"I was kind of hoping we didn't…" Yuuji muttered. "I hate classes."
"What was that?" Shuzo asked.
"Nothing, Principal." Yuuji innocently smiled. "I'm just so ready for class right now."
"That's the spirit!" Shuzo smiled.
Yuya finds a seat right in front of Yuzu, while Yuuji takes a seat in between Sora and Tatsuya. Shortly after, Shuzo began his lesson.
"Alright, class," Shuzo addressed his students, "Today we'll be going over the different summoning methods."
Shuzo began explaining the basics about Normal, Special, and Advanced Summoning to his students, all things that Yuuji already knew, so he sort of tuned out what he was saying. His attention was drawn to the nearby Yuzu, who seemed to be acting sort of weird today.
Yuzu and Yuuji accidently made eye contact, with Yuzu making a face of discomfort for a moment before looking away from him.
Huh? Did something happen while I wasn't looking? Yuuji wondered. Is it something about my face? It's like she had seen a ghost.
He had never seen her act that way before. Granted, he had only known her for two weeks now, but that's long enough to get a basic idea on how someone normally acts.
"If I fuse this donut together with my ice cream…" Sora began fusing different sweets together. Once he took a bite of what he had just concocted, his face melted in bliss. "Mhm! This is so good."
At least Sora's acting normal, even if he is disturbing the class.
"Sora! What did I tell you about eating in class!" Shuzo reprimanded the youth.
"You're lecturing about things that I already know, so I'm bored," Sora replied before taking another bite of his snack. "Maybe if you taught something interesting, I wouldn't be so bored."
"Hey! I'm trying my best here!" Shuzo yelled. "It's not my fault I can't teach you the summoning methods I don't know about."
It kind of is…Yuuji and Sora both thought at the same time.
Shuzo returned to his lecture, finishing up a few last points. While Yuuji, Sora, and Yuzu were all off in their own world, the rest of the students made sure to take good notes (in the case of Tatsuya), or listened intently to what Shuzo had to say.
"...and that's all. Any questions?"
Nobody raised their hands. Just when Shuzo was about to change the subject, Yuzu suddenly stood up and raised her hand.
"Dad, what about Xyz?" Yuzu asked.
Xyz? That's a weird thing to suddenly bring up? Yuuji thought. She didn't seem that interested in it before.
"Xyz? Yuzu, you know we don't teach Xyz here at this school." Shuzo answered.
"Oh, right…" Yuzu was about to sit back down when Yuuji raised his hand.
"I can explain Xyz Summoning for her, Principal," Yuuji volunteered.
"That would be great, Yuuji," Shuzo approved.
Yuuji stood up and made his way to the front of the class. All of their eyes locked onto him, which sort of made him nervous for a moment, but he calmed his nerves and began speaking.
"Okay, you've all seen me Xyz Summon a few times so I'm sure you know the basic principle of how it works," Yuuji began. "You need to use at least two monsters with the same Level as materials in order to perform an Xyz Summon."
Everyone nodded.
"In order to Xyz Summon using your materials, you must first overlay them. To overlay, you must put your Xyz Materials underneath the Xyz Monster you are trying to summon like so…" Yuuji took out Revolution Commander from his deck along with three other monster cards and stacked them on top of each other. "When the monster is Xyz Summoned, these stacked monsters are treated as Overlay Units, and are the keys that allow Xyz Monsters to use one of their effects."
He pulled out one of the cards from the stack.
"Detached Overlay Units are always sent to the graveyard. Even Pendulum Monsters."
"Pendulum Monsters as well?" Yuya was surprised.
"Yup, their effects don't apply here since they aren't being destroyed." Yuuji explained. "This doesn't apply for when they are used for Fusion, Synchro, or Ritual Summoning however. This is a unique interaction for Xyz Summoning only."
Yuuji then picked up the cards from the table.
"When an Xyz Monster is destroyed, its unused materials are still sent to the graveyard as well."
Yuuji then put away the other monster cards he pulled out, only leaving Revolution Commander out.
"Now there's one last thing that you need to know about Xyz Monsters, and its Ranks."
"Ranks?" Ayu wondered. "What are those?"
"They're an Xyz's Monster's equivalent of Levels," Tatsuya explained.
"That's partially correct. The two concepts are similar but are not the same thing," Yuuji corrected. "Effects that only work on monsters with Levels won't work on monsters with Ranks, and vice versa. For example, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's effect doubles the battle damage from battles involving Level 5 or higher monsters. If Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon attacks a Rank 5 monster, the battle damage won't be boosted by its effect since the Rank 5 monster doesn't have a Level."
"Wait, so it's not Level 0?" Yuzu asked.
"Nope, like I said before, Xyz Monsters have no Level," Yuuji stated.
Yuuji then put Revolution Commander away.
"There are more complicated facts that surround Xyz Monsters, but those are the basics I've been able to figure out so far," Yuuji concluded. "Any questions?"
Yuuji waited for a moment to see if anybody would raise their hands. For a while, nobody did. Just as he was about to finish up and return to his seat, Sora raised his hand.
"I have a question," Sora said. "How do you know so much about Xyz Summoning?"
"I just did some research," Yuuji simply answered.
"Oh…" Sora seemed a little disappointed, as if he hadn't just got the answer he wanted.
Weird…
"I have a question," Tatsuya raised his hand next. "Could you teach us about Synchro Summoning next?"
"I can do that," Yuuji nodded. "In order to Synchro Summon, you…"
However, just before he could begin his next lecture…
"There's no way Yuya would do such a thing!" Gongenzaka's voice suddenly rang from outside the school.
"Gongenzaka!?" Yuya shot up and quickly made his way outside, with the rest following shortly behind.
When they arrived outside, they immediately noticed Gongenzaka, who was standing in front of three male youths.
"What's all the fuss about?" Shuzo asked Gongenzaka.
"I was just going on my daily stroll when I noticed these three hanging around the Duel School," Gongenzaka explained, "I decided to confront them, and they said that Yuya had ambushed them yesterday night! It's complete blasphemy!"
"Ambushed!?" "I did!?" Shuzo and Yuya respectively shouted.
"That's right," One of the three male youths said, "I hope you didn't forget!"
"We saw it with our own eyes after all!" Another youth continued.
"There are four…no, five witnesses!" The final youth announced. "Sawatari-san, us..." The youth pointed at Yuzu. "...and that girl over there!"
Everyone turned to see where he was pointing, locking eyes with Yuzu.
"Isn't that right, Hirragi Yuzu-chan!" The three said in unison.
"Uh, I…" Yuzu had an unsure expression on her face after being put on the spot.
"Is that why you were acting so weird today?" Yuuji asked with a concerned expression. "Did you really see Yuya?"
There's no way, right? Yuya isn't that type of guy. That guy wouldn't even hurt a fly if he had to. Yuuji thought.
Shuzo was absolutely horrified, "This can't be, there has to be some kind of mistake!"
"There's no mistake," One of the males said, "Sawatari-san, the son of the soon-to-be Mayor, was assaulted by none other than Sakaki Yuya!"
"Stop lying!" Futoshi cried out.
"Yeah, there's no way Yuya-oniichan would do that!" Ayu protested.
"There isn't any other possibility," Another male said. "It has to be Sakaki Yuya."
"It's not me though!" Yuya cried out. "There has to be some kind of mistake."
"I agree," Yuuji nodded, "Maybe it's a lookalike of Yuya." Yuuji then pointed at himself as he continued. "If it's happened once, who is to say it can't happen again?"
Like Yuto, he looks just like Yuya and me. Yuuji thought before realizing. Wait, it has to be him, right? If Yuzu was there at the scene and she suddenly asked about Xyz Summoning, the only Yuya lookalike aside from me that could possibly fit the description would be Yuto, right?
He couldn't just come to conclusions now, but it's much more plausible then Yuya being the culprit.
"Such a thing isn't possible, it's either Sakaki Yuya or…" The third male pointed directly at Yuuji, "...it's you! Those are the only two possibilities!"
"Huh?!" Yuuji's eyebrows shot up, his mouth slightly agape in disbelief. "Don't pin the blame on me now!?"
Of course they would immediately jump to conclusions.
"You're the most suspicious out of the two options, we've never seen you around!" The third male continued. "A mysterious duelist suddenly appeared with Yuya's face, only you could fit that description."
"I don't even know who this Sawatari guy is," Yuuji rebuked. "I couldn't have attacked him."
"Likely story, that's just what a suspicious person would say!" The third male declared.
Or maybe a person who doesn't want to be accused for absolutely no reason. Yuuji thought with veins forming on his face.
"I feel so sorry for poor Sawatari-san," The first youth said with a mournful look. "All four of us were attacked, but he got the worst of it. He was so severely injured that he was even hospitalized! We even heard that his life may be at risk!"
"We can't even be sure if Sawatari was really injured," Yuuji stated. "How can we be sure that you are telling the truth? If he was as injured as you say, the cops would be here talking to us instead of you."
"Yeah, that's right!" Yuya agreed. "You would have nothing to gain by confronting us yourself. Knowing Sawatari, he's probably having the time of his life right now enjoying himself."
Meanwhile, at the Maiami City Hospital…
Sawatari Shingo sat in a hospital bed, his cast beside him as he happily chowed down on a bowl of pineapples.
"A–Achoo!"
He suddenly sneezed.
"Is somebody talking about me?" Sawatari wondered with a cocky expression on his face. "Hah! What am I saying? Is that even a question? Of course they are. What else could one be spending their time doing?"
He stabbed his toothpick in another pineapple and ate it, his face melting from how good it was.
Yuuji stepped forward, towering over the three youths just enough to cause them to sweat.
"So, if you bastards are done wasting our time with these stupid accusations, move along and scram."
The three youths tried to retort, claiming that Yuuji wasn't even there, and that they have witnesses who could prove that Sawatari was assaulted, however Yuuji managed to tear down these arguments with nothing but facts and logic, along with some words from Yuzu, who was convinced that neither Yuya or Yuuji could've assaulted Sawatari. Soon enough a white limo pulled up right in front of the school. Stepping out of the limo were Akaba Himika and Nakajima.
"It seems we have come to a standstill," Akaba Himika said.
"You're…from LDS," Shuzo immediately recognized the woman.
"That's correct." Himika confirmed. "I'm Akaba Himika, the Chairwoman of LDS. May we take this inside?"
It's not like we have much leverage in this situation to say no.
Shuzo takes the group inside You Show, moving their conversation to the commonplace room. Himika took a seat on her own chair, while Shuzo sat on one opposite from her, the rest of the You Show students behind him with a variety of expressions. Some were serious, while others held a little unease.
The two sides were completely silent.
"Please feel at ease," Himika spoke up first. "I only want to talk."
"What brings a woman of your stature all the way here to our little school?" Shuzo immediately asked the important question that was on all of their minds.
"Straight to the point, just how I like handling things," Himika smiled. "I've come here to resolve an issue revolving around your student, Sakaki Yuya. One of our valuable students was recently hospitalized in a confrontation involving him."
"It wasn't Yuya, you have no proof of it," Yuuji stated with a ticked-off expression. "Just because a bunch of your students say that they saw him doesn't mean that they did."
"That's right!" Yuya agreed. "Just like Yuuji said, I didn't assault Sawatari!"
"And you expect us to believe your word over our students who were at the scene?" Himika inquired.
"I, the man Gongenzaka, believe in my friend Yuya," Gongenzaka declared with conviction. "The same goes for everyone else here."
"That's right!"
"Yuya would never hurt somebody."
"I'm with Yuya-oniichan!"
The three younger You Show students all agreed.
"..." Yuzu was hesitant to answer, which prompted Gongenzaka to ask her.
"What about you, Yuzu?"
"Me? Umm…."
Yuzu had an unsure expression plastered on her face, something that slightly pissed Yuuji off, though he didn't show it. Yuzu eventually mustered up the courage to turn to Yuya and ask him something.
"Yuya…is it true that it truly wasn't you back there?" Yuzu asked. "That the person I saw really wasn't you?"
"Huh?" Yuya was surprised for a moment before answering resolutely. "I'm not sure what you experienced on that day, but I know for sure that I wasn't the one who attacked Sawatari."
Seeing Yuya's honest declaration, Yuzu nodded and smiled.
"Then I'll believe you, Yuya."
—Clap. Clap. Clap.
Himika began applauding them with a smile.
"My, what a beautiful showing of friendship. You must have formed very strong bonds with each other." Himika commented. Yuuji's face twitched a little upon hearing her sarcasm. "It's a shame that you can't hand over Sakaki Yuya to us without a fuss."
Her expression soon turned serious.
"However, we cannot back down here. If word got out that the students from LDS were defeated by duelists from some unknown school, our reputation would receive a major blow."
"But we've told you already that Yuya didn't—!" Shuzo tried to speak before being interrupted again.
"That's not what this is about anymore!" Himika declared with a furious expression. "LDS's prestige has been dragged through the mud due to this! As such, the only possible way for us to clear this disgrace on our name is through a showdown between our schools!"
"A…showdown?" Shuzo asked aloud in disbelief.
"If your school manages to win, we will ignore this case and clear Sakaki Yuya from suspicion." Himika stated. "However, if we win this, then this school of yours will become a part of our LDS."
"..."
Everybody present was absolutely appalled by this announcement.
"So, this is your plan," Yuuji frowned. "You wanted to stage an incident in order to force us to submit, allowing you to eventually take Pendulum Summoning for yourself once you do. Since we're just a tiny school, you know that we would have no other choice but to fall in your greedy hands."
Himika was stunned by Yuuji's words for a moment. She didn't expect some kid to nearly perfectly grasp her intentions like that.
"...It seems that there's more to you than I thought, Haruki Yuuji," Himika admitted, albeit reluctantly.
"If what Yuuji said was correct, then…" Shuzo began thinking. "...does that mean that you orchestrated the attack on Sawatari on purpose!?"
"Don't jump to conclusions! That's not the case at all!" Himika strongly denied the accusation. "While it's true that I took advantage of what had happened to further my goals of obtaining Pendulum Summoning for LDS, I would never stoop so low to hurt my students."
I doubt that. Yuuji rolled his eyes.
"With the addition of Pendulum, LDS's curriculum will have four pillars supporting it. Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, and Pendulum." Himika explained. "The number of applicants at our school would end up soaring exponentially as a result due to all of the aspiring duelist who would want to make use of Pendulum."
"But it's impossible," Tatsuya stated. "You can't Pendulum Summon unless you have Yuya-oniichan and Yuuji-senpai's Pendulum Cards."
"LDS has the power to easily resolve that thanks to the technology of the Leo Corporation," Himika stated. "All that is necessary is our unionization. Our two schools will duel, and when you eventually lose, LDS will acquire its final piece."
"She's getting on my nerves…" Yuuji grit his teeth, his anger bubbling up. "To just waltz in here and threaten to take over this school just to further her own corporate greed."
It made him sick to his stomach.
Just before he could say something that he may very well regret, Yuya beat him to it.
"Dueling isn't a tool for fighting!" Yuya declared as he began grasping on his pendulum. "But…I don't want the You Show Duel School and Pendulum Summoning to be taken by somebody else! This school was created by my father to teach and spread the idea that duels are to be enjoyed and how to bring smiles to people's faces through dueling. There's no way I'll ever give it to someone like you, who thinks they can put their greedy hands on anything they want just because they have a lot of money and power!"
While he didn't exactly agree with the sentiment of duels are only made to bring smiles, the rest of Yuya's speech resonated with Yuuji heavily.
"I will fight as well!" Yuuji declared. "While this school may be small, the ideas this school brings are ones that deserve to be spread. And as a student of this school, I refuse to let somebody waltz in on her and strip this school of its freedom to spread its positive message!"
Gongenzaka patted the two on the back, "Well said, Yuya, Yuuji! I, the man Gongenzaka, wholeheartedly agree! I'll also fight alongside you all to defend You Show!"
"But aren't you an outsider?" Sora pointed out, speaking up for the first time. Gongenzaka turned white and froze with his jaw hanging open. "This challenge is being directed to You Show, so it's only Yuya, Yuzu, Yuuji and I who should fight as its students, right?"
"To exclude a man such as I, the man Gongenzaka!" Gongenzaka was heartbroken. "T-That's absolutely unforgivable!"
"You heard everyone's piece, Chairwoman," Shuzo said with a determined look. "Our feelings all align here. The You Show Duel School—!"
[We won't hand it over!] They all declared in unison.
"Haha…ahahahahaha," Himika let out a small laugh from this declaration. "Well then, shall we begin this battle?"
Following Himika's words, everyone made their way to the Real Solid Vision Arena. There, they were introduced to the LDS Students who would end up being their opponents. Shijima Hokuto, a tall boy with purple hair and a student of the Xyz Course. Kotsu Masumi, a girl with a darker skin tone, long black hair that reached her shoulders, and red eyes. She was a student of the Fusion Course. Todo Yaiba, a short teen with long spiky brown hair and is a student of the Synchro Course. All three of them were students at the top of their classes in their respective course which made each of them a formidable threat.
"So, who's going first?" Yuuji asked the group.
"I want to go first!" Sora immediately volunteered.
However, Yuya stepped forward in front of Sora.
"I'll go first," Yuya stated with a determined look on his face.
Yuuji was a bit surprised by how serious Yuya was, but it made sense. The fate of the You Show Duel School was on the line after all.
"Hey, no fair! But I wanted to duel these guys!" Sora whined. "They all look so strong."
"Think about how I feel…" Gongenzaka muttered while sulking on the ground, still upset by what Sora said earlier.
"Hey, it's okay big guy, you can duel another time," Yuuji patted Gongenzaka on the head. "I'm always up for a duel with you if you want."
"But I want to duel now!" Sora shouted. "Now, now, now—!"
Yuzu suddenly grabbed Sora by the hand and began dragging him away.
"Just let Yuya have this one, Sora," Yuzu told him. "He's serious about this."
"Hmph, fine," Sora reluctantly said as he let Yuzu drag him away.
"Good luck, Yuya!" Yuzu waved to Yuya.
"Thanks, Yuzu!" Yuya happily waved back, completely losing his serious demeanor for a moment.
And he says that he doesn't like her. Yuuji sweatdropped before he began to leave too.
"Good luck, Yuya," Yuuji wished him luck as he walked off, dragging the disappointed Gongenzaka with him. He joined the rest of the group in the observation room, waiting for the duel to begin. Yuya's opponent was determined to be Hokuto, LDS's Xyz Duelist.
The duel soon began off on the wrong foot as Shuzo ended up using an Action Field that only ended up benefiting the opponent. Yuya tries his best to do what he could under these circumstances, which he does succeed in doing at the start after he successfully performed a Pendulum Summon. However, things took a turn for the worse when Hokuto used his Xyz Monster's effects to prevent Yuya from making any plays. Yuuji was disgusted by how Hokuto would wait for Yuya to be in a vulnerable position before activating his monster's effect, putting Yuya's life at risk.
However, in the end, using a combination of the fact that Xyz Monsters do not have Levels (a fact he learned through Yuuji's lesson earlier) and a combination of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Stargazer Magician, Performapal Trampolynx and Magical Star Illusion, Yuya eventually managed to win the first match for You Show.
[He did it!] The three younger You Show students cheered.
"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Yuuji pumped his fist. "Yuya has really upped his game!"
"My blood is boiling!" Shuzo exclaimed from his spot in the operation room.
Yuya eventually returned to the observation booth, being immediately trampled by the young You Show Students who all surround him and congratulate him. Gongenzaka approaches shortly after and tightly hugs Yuya with tears in his eyes, almost crushing Yuya in his grip.
"Yuya, that was amazing," Yuuji commented with a smile.
"It was?" Yuya was surprised by Yuuji's praise.
"Yup." Yuuji nodded. "I knew you would find a way to win against that guy, but I didn't expect you to take advantage of the fact that Xyz Monsters don't have Levels to win. That Magical Star Illusion play was incredible."
"Well, I only have you to thank for that victory," Yuya admitted. "Those pointers you gave about Xyz Monsters really helped me formulate that plan in the end."
"I had nothing to do with that victory," Yuuji stated. "You're the one who figured out a way to take advantage of the basic information that I provided about Xyz Monsters. I barely had a part in that. That was your total victory."
"I guess you're right," Yuya said with a smile. "Though it sucks that I couldn't find an answer to going beyond Pendulum in that duel."
"That's fine. The security of You Show is more important than that right now anyway," Yuuji stated.
The group continued celebrating their victory for a while longer before the time of the next round soon arrived. Akaba Himika had already sent Kotsu Masumi onto the arena, so all that was left was deciding who You Show would send to go face her.
"Who's up next?" Yuuji asked the group. "I don't really want to duel another Fusion User so soon."
"Me neither," Sora said. "Facing another Fusion User sounds boring."
"I'll go next, then," Yuzu declared with determination, though to the keen eye, one could notice a bit of hesitation in her eyes. "I'll make sure to win this one and secure our victory."
"Go for it, Yuzu," Yuya encouraged. "I know you have what it takes to take it home."
She does have the skill, but her mind seems a little distracted. Yuuji thought. Dueling while your mind is distracted never ends well.
As much as he didn't want to be, he was right. The duel began with Yuzu being pushed into a corner early on by Masumi. It was clear that she wasn't in her right mind throughout the duel. The duel eventually ended in Yuzu's defeat when she failed to grab an Action Card due to not seeing that the one she was going for was nothing but a reflection.
Yuya was the first one to rush to her side after her defeat. Yuzu immediately buried her face into his chest, tears falling down her face as she apologized for failing You Show with her loss.
"You two are giving us quite the show," Masumi commented.
"Mhm," Yuuji nodded in agreement.
"Oh, ah!" Yuzu quickly broke off from Yuzu, her face beat red in embarrassment.
—BAM!
—THUD!
She pushed Yuya away from her, which caused him to tumble onto the ground.
"Ow!" Yuya yelped before standing back up, rubbing his pained back. "What was that for?"
"Sorry!" Yuzu apologized.
"Instead of apologizing, don't push me like that in the first place."
Yuzu's frown grew deeper as she was lost in her thoughts again.
"It was an important duel, but I…lost."
"Don't worry about it," Yuya put his hand on her shoulder. "We just have to win the next one."
"He's right," Yuuji joined in the conversation. "It won't be easy though." Yuuji took a glance at their final opponent, Todo Yaiba. "Just like the other two, that guy is at the top of his class. He won't be an easy opponent to defeat."
"Glad you know your place," Yaiba smirked. "Which of you guys will be my opponent?"
Yuuji turned to Sora who shook his head.
"I don't feel like dueling right now," Sora said as he put a new lollipop in his mouth. He then turned to Gongenzaka. "What about you, do you still want to duel? You can take my place."
"I, the man Gongenzaka, will happily take your place," Gongenzaka perked up, full of fighting spirit. "I, the man Gongenzaka, will get revenge for Yuzu!"
"You can take my place too," Yuuji said. "You sound like you want to duel way more than me."
Once that was decided, everyone except Gongenzaka and Yaiba cleared out of the arena. After Shuzo chose the wrong Action Field for the third time in a row, the duel soon began. The duel looked grim at first, with Yaiba swarming his field full of 'X-Saber' Monsters and Gongenzaka refusing to go for Action Cards, but Gongenzaka managed to hold his own relatively well with his Steadfast Dueling. In one last climactic showdown, with the two of them going back and forth, the duel eventually concluded in a draw thanks to a key effect from one of Gongenzaka's monsters.
One win, one loss, and one draw. Yuuji thought. It's a tie game.
Doesn't that mean that You Show Wins? LDS would only take over if they won the clash between schools, not if they drew.
Shuzo seemed to have the same idea as she soon addressed Akaba Himika.
"In the end, the results of the battle are one win, one loss, and one draw a piece," Shuzo stated. "The end result of our battle was a draw, which means that LDS can't take over You Show. It's your loss."
"You seriously think I'll just stop right here?" Himika replied with disdain. "Like I told you before, LDS's reputation is on the line here. As such, this battle cannot end in a draw!"
"Then what do you suggest we do then?" Shuzo inquired.
"We will have a tiebreaker match," Himika suggested. "The duelists from each school who had won their matches will duel each other to settle this!"
That would mean Yuya would have to face Kotsu Masumi, the Fusion Duelist. Yuuji thought. Guess I won't be getting a duel after all.
Oh well, he did forfeit his position to Gongenzaka and Sora, so it is what it is.
"I'm ready when you are, Sakaki Yuya," Masumi said with a smirk.
"I'm ready too," Yuya said resolutely. "Let's do this."
Just before they could decide to follow through the the match—
"Wait."
—a new voice rang through, drawing this attention. A tall grey-haired young man with a commanding presence stepped forward. Most of his figure was obscured by his hoodie, so they couldn't quite make out his features. However, once the man removed his hoodie, the three LDS students and Yuuji gasp in surprise.
"That's…Akaba Reiji!?" Masumi said in surprise.
"What? Is he famous?" Yuya asked.
"Is he famous? Have you been living under a rock, Yuya?" Yuuji was appalled by Yuya's lack of knowledge. "This man is Akaba Reiji, the current President of the Leo Corporation and the youngest duelist to ever obtain the qualifications of a pro. He's a man who stands at the pinnacle of dueling in this world. There's no way you haven't heard of him before."
Everyone was stunned by this sudden revelation aside from Sora, who eyed Akaba Reiji with keen interest in his eyes.
"That saves me the trouble of introducing myself," Reiji smirked before turning to his mother. "Mother, I would appreciate it if you let me handle the rest."
"Reiji-san…" Himika was surprised by her son's sudden request. "Very well, I'll let you take things from here."
After receiving the approval from his mother, Reiji then turned to the rest.
"It seems our two schools have come to an impasse regarding this battle," Reiji started. "However, with everything that you all have shown me today, I am inclined to back down and forget about this whole Sawatari business."
They're backing down? Yuuji was surprised.
"That's…awfully generous of you, President," Shuzo commented.
"Of course, there is a catch to me turning a blind eye to this," Reiji stated as he turned to Yuuji. "I request a duel between me and Haruki Yuuji here. If he manages to win, I promise that LDS will retreat without a fuss."
"A duel…with me?" Yuuji was surprised to be put on the spot like this. He knew this probably had something to do with his Pendulum Cards, though this only raised more questions in his mind. "Why me specifically? Yuya seems like a better option to duel. It's not like there's much to me that would put me apart as a duelist."
"I've already seen the capabilities of Sakaki Yuya's Pendulum Summoning," Reiji stated. "You on the other hand, I have little to no information on. And that fact intrigues me." Reiji then fixed his glasses before extending his hand. "Now what do you say? Are you up for the challenge?"
Not like I have much of a choice. Yuuji thought. Winning this will guarantee that You Show won't be taken over by LDS.
Yuuji accepted Reiji's hand with confidence, "Let's do this. However, don't be surprised when you eventually end up losing."
"Quite the confidence you have there, Haruki Yuuji," Reiji smirked. "Let's see if you have what it takes to back that claim up."
Once the final duel was decided, the two of them make their way to the arena where they'll eventually duel for the fate of You Show. Everyone present watched from the observation room with bated breath.
"You got this, Yuuji!" Yuya cheered for his friend. "Do your best!"
"We'll be here cheering for you!" Ayu chimed in. "Win this is all of us!"
"I, the man Gongenzaka, know that you have what it takes to win!" Gongenzaka commented.
"How naive," Hokuto scoffed from the sidelines. "Cheering for your friend when he has literally no chance of winning."
"What was that?" Tatsuya frowned. "I don't want to hear that from someone who lost after boasting about how good he is."
"Gah!" Hokuto turned to stone and collapsed onto the ground.
"They got you there," Masumi commented. Yaiba shook his head disapprovingly in the background at Hokuto's antics.
Meanwhile, in the arena…
Yuuji silently walked up to his spot on the opposite end of the arena, his hand over his chest. He could feel his heartbeat slowly getting faster as the anticipation of the upcoming duel washed over him.
What the hell? Why do I feel so…nervous? Yuuji wondered. I've never felt like this before a duel. I didn't even feel like this right before my duel against Black Death.
Could it be because he actually has people counting on him this time? Prior to this, he had never had to worry about other people's fate when he dueled; only his own. Now all of a sudden everybody's hopes, and the fate of this school rested on this duel.
"Okay, deep breaths…" Yuuji calmed himself down. "Nothing good will come from me being nervous like this."
He needed to focus. This is the moment that he had been waiting for. A high-stakes duel that could potentially bring about the phenomena that he had been looking into recently. The catalyst for him to truly find a way to surpass his limits.
Yeah, that's what this was. That's the mindset he needed to keep his nerve at bay.
Once Shuzo saw that both duelists were ready, he decided to choose an Action Field for the two to duel in.
"How about this!" Shuzo enthusiastically pressed a button on the machine, causing the Real Solid Vision Machine to turn on and change the arena. "Action Field, on!"
Their surroundings transform into that of a dark void. Floating in the middle of this dark void were glowing, floating islands which illuminated the otherwise pitch-black dual field. The two duelists found themselves on their own floating island, which were connected to other islands by paths of floating islands.
"Field Spell, Different Dimension Dark Void!" Shuzo declared. "These floating islands are difficult to traverse around, the perfect arena for a You Show Student to shine!"
Suddenly, Himika laughed out loud.
"You people seriously aren't trying to win here. If you had done your research, you would figure out that Different Dimension Dark Void is one of Reiji-san's favorite Action Fields. In his many duels on this field, he has never lost!"
"WHAT!?" Shuzo cried out in shock. "This can't be!"
Yuuji facepalmed, "I can't believe he went 4-for-4 on bad Action Field choices. It's like he's doing this on purpose."
"I'm not!" Shuzo yelled from his spot. "I just got unlucky, that's all!"
"One could only be so unlucky…" Sora sweatdropped from the side.
"Whatever, sulking about a bad Action Field won't do me any good. Let's get this start," Yuuji began the Action Duel chant. "Duelists locked in battle!"
"Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!" Yuya continued.
"They storm through this field!" Gongenzaka chanted.
"Behold!" Sora announced. "This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling!"
[Action—!] The three younger You Show declare in unison.
Yuuji and Reiji both activate their duel disks.
[Duel!] They shout in unison.
And that's the second part of this arc. Not going to write here since most of my thoughts will be in the next chapter (which you should totally go read now).
Chapter 8: The Path of Surpassing One's Limits (III)
Chapter Text
Edit #1: 8/17 Chapters Revamped.
Here's the final chapter of the LDS Invasion Arc…and a Yuuji development chapter.
The chapter is quite long, being the longest one I've written so far, as to make up for the lack of updates in January. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Minor Spelling, Grammar, and other mistakes may be present. I tend to fix most of them when I go back to look at the chapter during a reread, but there will always be some that I miss out on since I'm a solo writer.
[Standard Arc Opening Theme (Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Opening 1: BELIEVE X BELIEVE)]
Scale 08: The Path to Surpassing One's Limits (III)
[Duel!]
The Action Cards dispersed around the arena as the duel began.
Yuuji — LP: 4000
Reiji — LP: 4000
"Since I am dueling you to see your capabilities firsthand, you can take the first turn," Reiji suggested. "I expect you to duel me with your very best."
"That's fine with me. I'll show you exactly what I can do!" Yuuji announced. "My turn!"
[Turn 1: Yuuji] [H: 5]
Yuuji drew his first five cards and examined them closely.
Nice! Now this is the hand that I wanted to see! Yuuji smiled. Let's do this right!
"I activate the Spell Card Pot of Greed!" Yuuji started. "With this card, I can draw two more cards!"
Yuuji drew two cards and smiled.
"Okay, it's time. You wanted me at my best, so I'll show you just what I can do!" Yuuji declared as he revealed two cards in his hand. "I set the Pendulum Scale with the Scale 1 Antique Maker - Swinging Soul and the Scale 8 Antique Maker - Mira!"
Yuuji places his two cards on opposite ends of his duel blade, the word [PENDULUM] appeared in between in rainbow font as a magician in all white with a swinging pendulum in his hand and a woman in a black gown holding a pristine mirror rose into each of his Pendulum Scales. The numbers 1 and 8 appear on the zones in a strange, golden font as a giant silver pendulum swung in between them.
"Now I can summon monsters between Levels 2 through 7 all at the same time!" Yuuji announced. "However, I won't be Pendulum Summoning at this moment."
"He won't be Pendulum Summoning?" Yuya was confused. "Then why would he set up his Pendulum Scale?"
"He must have a plan," Gongenzaka replied. "We'll just have to wait and see."
Yuuji then looked at one of the cards that were in his hand. Polymerization.
If I remember from my duel with Sora correctly, all I need to do is activate this card and tribute two appropriate materials. Yuuji rehearsed in his mind. Okay…let's do this. My first Fusion Summon!
"I activate the Fusion Spell, Polymerization!" Yuuji declared. "From my hand, I fuse Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon together with Antique Ignition Pot!"
"Oh?" Reiji raised an eyebrow.
The two aforementioned monsters rise into the air, fusing together as Yuuji begins chanting.
"Blazing pot. Fuse together with the phantom dragon and give birth to a new power!" Yuuji chanted before clasping his hands together. "I Fusion Summon! Appear, Level 8! The golden dragon forged by the hammer of a god, Antique Golden Kaiju (Light/Dragon/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 8)!"
A brilliant, serpentine dragon with a body of gold appeared on Yuuji's field.
"No way, that guy knows how to Fusion Summon?" Masumi's jaw dropped.
"You're amazing, Yuuji-senpai!" Ayu cheered.
"Ooh, that Fusion Summon is giving me the shivers!" Futoshi said while doing his signature dance.
"That's quite the impressive Fusion Summon there, Haruki," Reiji commented. "I wasn't aware that you were able to use this form of summoning."
"Oh, this is actually my first time ever doing it," Yuuji sheepishly admitted. "I was afraid for a moment that I would mess it up since I was only going off of what I knew from a duel against a Fusion User."
This fact shocked Reiji and the rest of LDS greatly.
"He was able to pick up a new summoning method by only seeing it once before?" Hokuto commented. "That guy, he's a monster."
"You're telling me," Yaiba frowned. "Even the most skilled duelist would need a few lessons from LDS before they're able to use Fusion. And this guy just did it without any help."
Yuya turned to Sora to ask him something.
"Hey Sora, did you help Yuuji at all with this?"
"Nope, not at all," Sora replied. "He never approached me about this."
Yuya was shocked by this. Just when he thought he could potentially close the gap between them, Yuuji widened the gap further.
"Just how much stronger could he become…?" Yuya muttered.
It's not that crazy though. Yuuji thought.
"If you're all done being shocked, I'll continue my turn now," Yuuji stated. "With my currently set Pendulum Scale, I Pendulum Summon!"
A portal appeared in the sky as a beam of energy shot out from it.
"Return from my Extra Deck, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7/SC: 4)!"
A large purple dragon with bone-like armor appeared on Yuuji field.
"Huh? But wasn't Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon just used as Fusion Material?" Hokuto wondered. "How is it back on his field?"
"Pendulum Monsters are sent to the Extra Deck when they are destroyed or tributed as material to summon another monster," Yuuji answered.
"I see," Reiji said while rubbing his chin. "That's a useful piece of information to know."
"Since it's the first turn of the duel, I can't attack, so…" A facedown appeared on Yuuji's field. "...I set one card and end my turn! It's your move, Akaba."
"Very well," Reiji said as he began his turn. "My turn! Draw!"
[Turn 2: Reiji] [H: 6]
"I'll start by activating the Continuous Spell, Dark Contract with the Gate!" Reiji began. "While this card remains activated on my field, during each of my Standby Phases, I receive 1000 points of damage."
"He's willingly taking damage to activate this effect," Yuzu gasped. "It must be powerful."
"Dark Contract with the Gate allows me to add 1 'D/D' Monster from my deck to my hand!" Reiji announced. "I choose to add D/D Berfomet to my hand!"
Reiji added a card to his hand.
"D/D?" Tatsuya asked aloud. "What's that?"
"Different Dimension," Sora answered. "I've heard of an archetype like this before, though this is the first time I will see it in action."
"Next, I activate another Continuous Spell! Dark Contract of the Swamp King!" Reiji declared. "Just like with my other Dark Contract, during each of my Standby Phases, I'll receive 1000 points of damage while this card remains on my field."
"Again? Now it's 2000 points of damage." Gongenzaka stated.
What is he planning? Yuuji wondered. It must be something big if he's willing to take that much damage.
"Since you've shown me a Fusion Summon, it's only right if I respond with my own," Reiji said as he fixed his glasses. "Dark Contract with the Swamp King allows me to Fusion Summon a 'D/D' Monster from my Extra Deck without the need for Polymerization!"
"What!?" This seemed to shock Sora, who then quickly turned away and muttered. "It seems like not all of the duelists here are bad after all…"
"From my hand, I fuse my D/D Necro Slime together with my D/D Berfomet!" Reiji declared as his two monsters rose into the air and fused together. "The scavenger of the dark night meets the one cursed as a fallen. Fuse together and give way to a new power! I Fusion Summon! Be born, Level 6! D/D/D Flame King Genghis (Fire/Fiend/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1500/LV: 6)!"
A red-armored warrior with a giant red sword and shield appeared on the field.
"D/D/D? What does that mean?" Futoshi asked Sora.
"I…don't know. I've never seen it before." Sora said.
Shuzo frowned as he typed away on the monitor, searching through Reiji's dueling records, "I don't see anything in his dueling record about him being able to Fusion Summon. Could that mean that he was holding back even in his official duels? This could be bad."
"A Fusion Summon?" Yuuji was surprised for a second before smiling. "Of course you'd be able to do that."
"I'm not done yet, Haruki," Reiji stated. "I activate the Spell Card, Foolish Burial and use its effect to send 1 card from my deck to my graveyard."
Reiji picks out a card from his deck and sends it to his graveyard.
"I then activate D/D Necro Slime's graveyard effect. By banishing it along with another monster in my graveyard, I can perform another Fusion Summon using those banished monsters as materials. Once again, I fuse D/D Necro Slime together with D/D Berfomet!"
Another one!? Yuuji gasped.
The two aforementioned monsters rise into the air and fuse together as Reiji begins chanting.
"The cursed slime, and the fallen one. Awaken the sinister maiden who rests in the land of the forgotten!" Reiji chanted as he extended his arms outward, an intense expression appearing on his face. "I Fusion Summon! Be born, Level 7! D/D/D Oracle King d'Arc (Dark/Fiend/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)!"
A feminine monster with a set of black wings, wearing silver armor and holding a blade appeared on the field.
"Incredible," Masumi said in awe. "Two Fusion Summons in quick succession of each other. Is this the power of a pro?"
"Genghis' effect now activates!" Reiji announced. "When a "D/D" monster is Special Summoned onto my field, I can Special Summon a "D/D" monster from my Graveyard. Arise, D/D Lilith (Dark/Fiend/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 2100/LV: 4)."
A humanoid monster with a rose plant aesthetic appeared.
"Next, I summon the Tuner Monster D/D Night Howling (Dark/Fiend/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 300/DEF: 600/LV: 3)." A floating mouth with razor sharp teeth appeared. "Now I tune my Level 3 D/D Night Howling to my Level 4 D/D Lilith!"
The two monsters turn into green energy rings and orbs respectively, the energy orbs phasing through the green energy rings as the duelist chanted.
"Howls that tear through the night. Gain the swiftness of a gale and become the cries of a newborn king!" Reiji chanted. "I Synchro Summon! Be born, Level 7! D/D/D Gust King Alexander (Wind/Fiend/Synchro/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)!"
An armored paladin with a green cape and a curved blade appeared on the field.
"Nice! Now a Synchro Summon too!" Yaiba cheered. "This win is guaranteed."
"First two Fusion Summons and now a Synchro Summon…" Yuuji grimaced. "This guy…he's definitely on a whole other level compared to everyone I've faced so far."
"Genghis' effect activates again, allowing me to summon D/D Lilith (ATK: 100/DEF: 2100/LV: 4) back to my field from my Graveyard in defense mode," The rose-themed monster appeared once again. "Lilith's effect then activates, allowing me to add D/D Night Howling back to my hand."
Reiji added the card back to his hand.
"Next, I activate Dark Contract with the Singing Waves," Reiji stated. "Just like my other Dark Contracts, during each of my Standby Phases, I receive 1000 points of damage. In exchange, Once Per Turn I can Special Summon a 'D/D' Monster from my hand and make its Level equal to that of another monster on my field. Return to my field, D/D Night Howling (ATK: 300/DEF: 600/LV: 3)!"
The floating mouth with razor sharp teeth appeared on his field once again.
(D/D Night Howling — LV: 3 → 4)
"Now he has two monsters of the same Level on the field," Hokuto commented. "That means…"
"Using my two Level 4 Monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" Reiji declared as his two monsters transform into beams of energy that are then absorbed into a galaxy vortex in front of him. A giant pillar of light shot out from its center as Reiji began chanting.
"In order to subjugate all that resides in this world, now, descend onto the peak of the world!" Reiji chanted. "I Xyz Summon! Be born, Rank 4! D/D/D Wave King Caesar (Water/Fiend/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2400/DEF: 1200/R: 4/OU: 2)!"
This time, a burly warrior in purple armor, with a giant claymore in its hand appeared.
"No way…" Yuzu muttered in awe.
"He just summoned…" Tatsuya began a sentence.
"...a monster from every Extra Deck Summoning method all in the same turn," Yuya completed the thought.
"..."
The whole atmosphere of the You Show group turned sour.
"Um…are we sure that Yuuji-senpai can win this?" Ayu wondered. "That guy's field is full of powerful monsters, while Yuuji only had Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon and a monster with no attack points."
"Don't say that. Yuuji can definitely win this," Yuzu said, though even she didn't seem to buy her own words. "Right?"
"I, the man Gongenzaka, still have faith in Yuuji," Gongenzaka said with similar unease. "However, it'll take a miracle to get him out of this situation."
The mood on the field wasn't much better.
I may have bit off more than I could chew once again. Yuuji began sweating with unease.
"Battle!" Reiji moved into his Battle Phase. "D/D/D Oracle King d'Arc attacks Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon!"
The female monster leaps forward, using its blade to slice through Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon who roars in pain as it is destroyed.
"Dammit…Sorry, Odd-Eyes…" Yuuji cursed. But he couldn't mourn the destruction of his monster for long, as he played a card effect. "Antique Maker - Mira's Pendulum Effect activates! When I'm about to take damage from battle, I can negate that damage, then you take half the damage I would've taken! Pristine Reflection!"
Mira's mirror begins to glow as a beam of light is shot out from it, aiming directly towards Reiji. Reiji extends his arms outward, inviting the attack that hits him head on. However, instead of doing any damage, the attack results in Reiji gaining Life Points.
Reiji — LP: 4000 → 4150
"What?" Yuuji's eyes widened in shock. "How did you recover Life Points?"
"Oracle King d'Arc's effect," Reiji explained. "Whenever a player would take effect damage, I can activate Oracle King d'Arc's effect to instead allow me to gain Life Points equal to the total damage that effect would deal."
Yuuji's eyes widened.
This is bad. Yuuji thought. Bad. Bad. Bad! He recovers Life Points every time he takes effect damage!? Antique Golden Kaiju's effect literally does that whenever my opponent battles it!
To make things worse, neither Golden Kaiju nor Oracle King d'Arc's effects are once per turn. Which means that Reiji can attack with all of his monsters and just gain a large amount of Life Points for free.
The only saving grace is that I take no battle damage thanks to Golden Kaiju's effect. But being this behind in Life Points is basically a death sentence.
"D/D/D Wave King Caesar attacks Antique Golden Kaiju!" Reiji declared as his monster swung its great sword towards Golden Kaiju. However, the blade fails to connect as a transparent golden barrier formed around it, protecting the dragon from the attack.
"Antique Golden Kaiju cannot be destroyed by battle, and I take no battle damage in battles involving it," Yuuji stated. "However, whenever my opponent battles Golden Kaiju, they take effect damage equal to their attacking monster's ATK points."
"Thanks to Oracle King d'Arc's effect, I regain Life Points instead," Reiji stated as he extended his arms once again, being enveloped by a golden aura as he regained Life Points.
Reiji — LP: 4150 → 6550
"D/D/D Gust King Alexander now attacks Golden Kaiju!"
The warrior in white leaps forward, slamming its blade onto the shield that protected Golden Kaiju. Reiji extends his arms once again as his Life Points rose.
Reiji — LP: 6550 → 9050
"Finally, D/D/D Flame King Genghis attacks Golden Kaiju!"
Reiji's final monster attacks Golden Kaiju, resulting in Reiji gaining Life Points once again.
Reiji — LP: 9050 → 11050
"11050 Life Points!?" Futoshi turned blue with shock.
"I've never seen that many Life Points before," Yuzu gasped.
If things looked grim before, this situation looked impossible to come back from.
"It's settled, this duel is over," Sora commented as he bit down on his lollipop.
Akaba Himika smiled, "As expected from Reiji-san. A flawless victory. With this, Pendulum Summoning is as good as ours."
"With this, I end my turn," Reiji concluded. "This is quite the precarious situation you have found yourself in, Haruki Yuuji. Your monster's effect has ended up backing you into a corner."
"Yeah, I know that. Thanks for rubbing it in," Yuuji rolled his eyes before his set Trap Card flips face up. "Before your turn ends, I activate my Continuous Trap Card, Pendulum Trade! Then, I'll use its effect to Special Summon Antique Maker - Mira (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5/SC: 8) from my Pendulum Zone to my field!"
A portal appears behind the maiden in black, which teleports it onto Yuuji's field.
"Antique Maker - Mira's effect now activates!" Yuuji announced. "When she is summoned onto my field, I can add 1 'Antique' Card from my deck to my hand! I add Antique Maker - Possession Jester to my hand!"
Yuuji adds the card to his hand.
"Oh, so you still plan on dueling?" Reiji wondered with intrigue.
"Well, duh," Yuuji replied. "I'm not going to give up just because one thing went wrong for me. As long as I still have Life Points, this duel isn't over!"
Reiji smiled, "Then show me, Haruki Yuuji. Show me just how far your resolve will take you."
"Oh, I will alright!" Yuuji declared. "My turn! Draw!"
[Turn 3: Yuuji] [H: 2]
Yuuji looked at the card he drew with a mixed expression.
Final Stand…the same card that won me the duel against Black Death.
By sacrificing his next two draw phases and discarding this card along with the rest of his hand, he could draw five cards from his deck. Something that could really benefit him in the short term.
But…if I were to do that, I risk the chance of losing if the cards I draw aren't useful or if I fail to win during this turn. The latter being extremely likely since this guy has over 11000 Life Points. There's nothing that I have access to currently that can take out that many Life Points at once.
It was too risky, especially since he didn't need to do that right now.
Yuuji shifted his attention to Antique Maker - Possession Jester. By using both its Pendulum and Monster Effect, he could get Revolution Commander out on his field.
Reiji has no trap cards on his field to protect his monsters. If I manage to destroy Oracle King d'Arc, I can use Antique Golden Kaiju's effect to deal big damage to Reiji.
But what if Reiji does have a way to protect his monsters?
Yuuji glanced at Wave King Caesar and Gust King Alexander. He still hasn't revealed their effects. One of them could totally have an effect that brings back Oracle King d'Arc even if I do manage to destroy it.
If that's the case, keeping Antique Golden Kaiju on the field at all was a no go. He should opt to use it as material to summon Revolution Commander instead.
Okay…I've been thinking too long. Let's see if this'll work.
"Using the Scale 1 Antique Maker - Swinging Soul already set in my Pendulum Zone and the Scale 8 Antique Maker - Possession Jester from my hand, I rebuild my Pendulum Scale!" Yuuji declared as a jester wearing a cloak, holding a wooden staff with a bell attached to it rose into an empty Pendulum Scale. "Now with my newly reformed Pendulum Scale, I Pendulum Summon!"
A portal appeared in the sky as a beam of energy shoots out from it.
"Return from my Extra Deck, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon (ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)!"
The purple dragon with bone-like armor appeared on Yuuji's field once again.
"Next, I activate Antique Maker - Possession Jester's Pendulum Effect!" Yuuji continued. "I can Special Summon it direction from my Pendulum Zone!"
The jester magician disappeared from its Pendulum Zone, appearing on Yuuji's main field.
[Antique Maker - Possession Jester (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000/LV: 5/SC: 8)]
"Now I activate Possession Jester's Effect!" Yuuji continued. "I can target 1 other monster on my field and make its Level equal to that of Possession Jester. I choose to target Golden Kaiju with this effect!"
(Antique Maker - Possession Jester — LV: 5)
(Antique Golden Kaiju — LV: 8 → 5)
"Now Yuuji has three Level 5 Monsters on his field," Yuya smiled. "That means he's going too…"
"I overlay my Level 5 Antique Golden Kaiju, Antique Maker - Possession Jester, and Antique Maker - Mira!" Yuuji declared that the aforementioned monsters are absorbed into a galaxy vortex. A pillar of light shot out from its center as Yuuji began chanting.
"The will of the oppressed who die on the battlefield burns bright. They wait for the one who guides the will of the fallen to victory! I Xyz Summon! Rise up, Rank 5! The courageous leader who fans the flames of rebellion, Antique Maker - Revolution Commander (Fire/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/R: 5/SC: 5/OU: 3)!"
A tall man with striking red hair and sharp, eagle-like eyes, cloaked in black with a matching mask covering his mouth appeared.
"An Xyz Summon?" Hokuto's jaw dropped. "This guy, he isn't giving up even when his opponent has such a lead in Life Points!?"
"I can honestly respect that," Yaiba nodded approvingly. "A duel doesn't end until someone's Life Points hit zero after all. As long as you have Life Points, there's always a chance for victory."
"That changes when you go against someone with 11000 Life Points though," Masumi commented. "You can't deal that much damage even if you do make use of this never give up mentality. It's impossible."
A Pendulum Xyz Monster? Reiji looked intrigued. Interesting...
"You seem really confident, I assume this monster has an effect that can help you in this scenario, right?" Reiji inquired.
"Why don't you see for yourself," Yuuji smiled. "I activate Revolution Commander's effect! By detaching one overlay unit, I can Special Summon 'Antique Dawning Blaze' from my deck!"
(Revolution Commander — OU: 3 → 2)
[Antique Dawning Blaze (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5/SC: 7)]
A fiery sword with a golden hilt appeared on Yuuji's field.
"Next, by using Antique Dawning Blaze's effect, I can equip this monster to Revolution Commander!" Revolution Commander grabs onto the fire sword's hilt, soon being enveloped by the monster's flames as it powers up. "When a monster is equipped with Dawning Blaze, it gains 500 ATK for each monster on the field aside from itself. Since you have four monsters on your field while I have one other monster on mine, Revolution Commander gains 2500 ATK!"
(Revolution Commander — ATK: 2500 → 5000)
"Furthermore, Swinging Soul's Pendulum Effect activates!" Yuuji announced. "When a Pendulum Monster I control has its ATK increased by an effect, it gains an additional 800 ATK!"
The magician in white swings its pendulum as a purple aura soon surrounds Revolution Commander, increasing its attack even further.
(Revolution Commander — ATK: 5000 → 5800)
"5800 ATK!?" Himika was shocked. "To think he was able to create a monster this powerful!?"
"Alright, Yuuji! Show him just what you're made of!" Gongenzaka cheered.
"Battle!" Yuuji pumped his fist forward. "Revolution Commander attacks D/D/D Oracle King d'Arc! Blazing Revolution!"
Revolution Commander leaps forward, its blade igniting into even hotter flames as it slashes through Reiji's monster, destroying it and causing Reiji to wince.
Reiji — LP: 11050 → 8050
"My monster isn't done yet!" Yuuji announced. "While Antique Dawning Blaze is equipped to Revolution Commander, it can make a second attack during the Battle Phase!"
"What an absurd effect," Hokuto commented with sweat dripping down his face.
"Revolution Commander now attacks D/D/D Wave King Caesar! Blazing Revolution!"
Revolution Commander sets its sight on the large warrior, engaging in a clash with it for a few moments. In the end, Revolution Commander manages to overpower the Xyz Monster, destroying it. However, before it manages to destroy it, Wave King Caesar detaches one of its Overlay Units from itself to activate its effect.
(Wave King Ceasar — OU: 2 → 1)
Reiji — LP: 8050 → 4650
"Now Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon attacks D/D/D Flame King Genghis! Phantom Spiral Breath!" Yuuji commanded his dragon, who shot a breath of purple fire at the red warrior. The orbs on its body begin to glow as its effect activates. "Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon's effect now activates! When it deals battle damage, you receive an additional 600 points of damage for each Pendulum Monster on my field aside from itself. Since Revolution Commander is a Pendulum Monster, you take an additional 600 damage! Phantom Burst!"
Flame King Genghis is engulfed by the purple flames, which create a large explosion that covers the arena in dust. However, when the dust soon settles, Reiji field is once again filled with his monsters that were previously destroyed by Yuuji's barrage of attacks.
Reiji — LP: 4650 → 3550
"How?" Yuuji was surprised. "How did all of your monsters return?"
"D/D/D Wave King Ceaser's effect," Reiji explained. "I made sure to activate it before you destroyed it. During the end of the Battle Phase, I can Special Summon as many monsters that were destroyed this turn as possible. However, during my next Standby Phase, I receive 1000 Points of damage for each monster brought back by its effect."
"And thanks to Oracle King d'Arc's effect, you'll regain Life Points instead of losing them," Yuuji grimaced. "I was right to be wary about you having an effect that can bring back destroyed monsters."
"An extremely smart choice on your part," Reiji stated. "If you had kept Antique Golden Kaiju on your field, I could've used it to regain all the damage you've dealt to me this turn and then some."
He'll still regain a good amount of Life Points from his contracts though. Yuuji thought. Enough to erase the impact of the damage I dealt to him this turn.
"I end my turn," Yuuji concluded. There wasn't much else he could do in this situation.
"Then it's my turn. Draw!" Reiji drew a card.
[Turn 4: Reiji] [H: 1]
"During my Standby Phase, my card's effects now activate, dealing me 6000 points of damage in total," Reiji stated. "However, since Oracle King d'Arc is still on my field, I gain 6000 Life Points instead."
Reiji — LP: 3550 → 9550
"Aw man, there goes all of Yuuji-senpai's hard work," Ayu frowned.
"But now that he has Revolution Commander on his field, the state of the field has changed dramatically," Tatsuya assessed. "He now has an extremely powerful monster protecting him from damage. And on his next turn, Yuuji can wipe out even more of Reiji's Life Points with Revolution Commander."
"I activate Dark Contract with the Gate's effect, allowing me to add 1 D/D card to my hand," Reiji drew a card.
Reiji stopped playing for a moment, staring at the card he drew with intrigue for a moment before continuing.
"I set one card," Reiji placed a card facedown. "Next, I'll battle! D/D/D Oracle King d'Arc attacks Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon!"
"Not so fast!" Yuuji cut in. "I activate Pendulum Trade's effect! This time, I place Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon from my field into my empty Pendulum Zone!"
A portal appeared under Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon, teleporting it into his only empty Pendulum Zone before Oracle King d'Arc's attack connected.
"..." Reiji remained silent for a moment. "There's nothing else I can do this turn. I end my turn."
"My turn! Draw!" Yuuji began his turn.
[Turn 5: Yuuji] [H: 2]
"I set one card facedown," Yuuji placed a facedown card. "Battle! Revolution Commander attacks Oracle King d'Arc! Blazing Revolution!"
Revolution Commander leaps forward, preparing to slice through Oracle King d'Arc with its fire sword.
"Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon's Pendulum Effect now activates!" Yuuji announced. "When a Pendulum Monster battles, it gains 1200 ATK until the end of the Battle Phase!"
(Revolution Commander — ATK: 5800 → 7000)
"Once again, Swinging Soul's Pendulum Effect activates, increasing Revolution Commander's ATK by another 800!"
(Revolution Commander — ATK: 7000 → 7800)
The flames surrounding Revolution Commander turn purple as it powers up.
"It's ATK points just keep getting more absurd each time," Yaiba commented in awe.
Reiji quickly reacts by hopping from island to island, grabbing an Action Card that was on one of the islands.
"I activate the Action Spell Miracle!" Reiji declared. "Targeting Oracle King d'Arc, this card can't be destroyed by battle, and battle damage I receive from this attack is halved!"
The attack connects, creating a heavy shockwave that almost blows Reiji away. However, a transparent shield appears around Oracle King d'Arc, protecting it from harm.
Reiji — LP: 9550 → 7050
"No matter! Revolution Commander has a second attack!" Yuuji announced. "Revolution Commander now attacks D/D/D Wave King Caesar! Blazing Revolution!"
This time, the attack connects before Reiji has the time to find another Action Card, destroying Caesar and leaving a heavy dent in Reiji's Life Points as he is sent flying from the shockwaves from the attack.
Reiji — LP: 7050 → 1650
"Reiji-san!" Akaba Himika cried out for her son, who managed to stand back up from the attack with only minor injuries.
"I'm fine, Mother," Reiji reassured her. "Don't worry about me."
"Reiji-san…" Himika still seemed worried. Her lurking worries were justified as Yuuji continued his turn.
"I activate Pendulum Trade's effect once again, Special Summoning Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon back onto my field!" Yuuji announced as his dragon returned to his field. "Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon now attacks D/D/D Flame King Genghis! Phantom Spiral Breath!"
Phantom Dragon shoots a breath of purple flames at Reiji's monster.
"Once again, Phantom Dragon's effect activates, dealing an extra 600 points of damage! Phantom Burst!"
The blast explodes, destroying Genghis and causing Reiji to wince from the shockwaves.
Reiji — LP: 1650 → 550
"With that, my battle ends. Along with my turn." Yuuji concluded.
(Revolution Commander — ATK: 7800 → 6600)
Reiji brushes the dust off his clothes as he fixes his glasses.
"An impressive display of power," Reiji stated. "If I hadn't managed to find that Action Card, I would've lost this duel by now."
Reiji's expression hardened.
"It appears that it's time for me to get serious," Reiji stated.
That shocked Yuuji to his core, "What do you mean, 'it's time to get serious?' Are you telling me that this whole time, you haven't been trying?"
"I wanted to test your abilities," Reiji adjusted his glasses. "To see if you were as strong as I expected. You've managed to greatly surpass my expectations, Haruki Yuuji. And because of that, it's only right that I respond back similarly. My turn! Draw!"
Reiji drew a card.
[Turn 6: Reiji] [H: 2]
"During my Standby Phase, thanks to Oracle King d'Arc's effect, I gain 3000 Life Points due to my Dark Contract's effects."
Reiji — LP: 550 → 3550
"So annoying!" Ayu whined. "He just needs to stay down and let Yuuji-senpai win!"
"Agreed," Futoshi nodded.
"Next, I activate Dark Contract with the Gate once again, allowing me to add another 'D/D' Monster from my deck to my hand!"
Reiji added a card to his hand. His set Trap Card then flips face-up.
"Now, I activate the Trap Card, D/D Redraw. By destroying all the cards on my field, I can draw 5 cards from my deck."
All of Reiji's monsters and Continuous Spells were destroyed as he drew five more cards from his deck.
"Destroying all the cards on your field?" Yuuji was surprised. "Why would you do something like that?"
"They've all served their purpose," Reiji stated in a calculated tone. "By discarding them, it grants me a chance to change my game plan going forward."
Reiji then revealed two cards from his hand. The words he uttered next shook Yuuji, Yuya, and the rest of You Show to their very core.
"Allow me to demonstrate!" Reiji declared. "With the Scale 1 D/D Savant Copernicus and the Scale 10 D/D Savant Kepler, I set the Pendulum Scale!"
[What!?] The You Show Duel School members exclaimed.
Behind Reiji, two monsters rose into their respective blue columns, with the numbers 1 and 10 appearing on each scale respectively in a strange golden font.
"Now I can summon monsters Level 2 through 9 simultaneously!" Reiji declared. "Grand power that shakes my very soul, arise within me and become a new light that rends the darkness. I Pendulum Summon! Come before me, my monsters!"
A portal appears between the two Pendulum Zones, as three beams of energy are shot out of it.
"Appear, my three copies of D/D/D Doom King Armageddon (Dark/Fiend/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 3000/DEF: 1000/LV: 8/SC: 4)!"
Three monsters with bodies made out of a giant diamond with a sphere of dark energy within their center appeared.
"..."
Everyone was stunned silent by what had just happened. Reiji…had just Pendulum Summoned? The idea of someone other than Yuya or Yuuji Pendulum Summoning was an idea that they all knew would happen someday…but, to think it would happen so soon.
Yuuji was the first to speak up, albeit barely, "H-How? How did you get those cards?"
"I hope you didn't think that Pendulum would be solely yours alone." Reiji smiled as he extended his arms outward. "Not when it could be used to bring a new evolution to dueling as we know it."
"Tch," Yuuji clicked his tongue.
"Battle!" Reiji moved into his Battle Phase. "D/D/D Doom King Armageddon attacks Revolution Commander! Doom Ray of Armageddon!"
Reiji's monster rises into the air, shooting a beam of dark energy at Revolution Commander, who leaps in the air in order to counter that attack.
"What? But if that attack connects, you'll lose?" Yuuji was shocked.
"I activate the Quick-Play-Spell Attack Down from my hand!" Reiji announced. "Lowering your monster's ATK by 2000!!"
(Revolution Commander — ATK: 6600 → 4600)
"But Revolution Commander's ATK is still higher than Doom King Armageddon!" Yuuji quickly regained his composure. "Destroy his monster! Blazing Revolution!"
Revolution Commander slices through the beam of dark energy, reaching Doom King Armageddon and slicing through it with its flame sword. Reiji winces from the shockwaves of the battle.
Reiji — LP: 3550 → 1950
(Doom King Armageddon — ATK: 3000 → 6000)
(Doom King Armageddon — ATK: 3000 → 6000)
However, as a result of the battle, Reiji's other two monster's ATK increase.
"Doom King Armageddon's effect activates!" Reiji announced. "Once per turn, when a monster is destroyed by battle or card effect; this monster gains ATK equal to the destroyed monster's original attack until the End Phase of this turn!"
Damnit. Yuuji grimaced. This is bad!
"The battle continues! Doom King Armageddon attacks Revolution Commander! Doom Ray of Armageddon!"
The second Doom King Armageddon rises into the air, shooting a dark beam of energy at Revolution Commander. However, unlike its predecessor, its attack succeeds, destroying Revolution Commander and sending Yuuji flying from the shockwaves. Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon runs towards Yuuji, catching him on its back before he ends up flying off the islands.
Yuuji — LP: 4000 → 2600
"And now for the third and final attack! Doom King Armageddon! Attack Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon and end this duel!" Reiji commanded his monster. "Doom Ray of Armageddon!"
"Not yet, bastard!" Yuuji countered. "I activate Pendulum Trade's effect, Special Summoning Antique Maker - Swinging Soul (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 2000/LV: 3/SC: 1) to my field in defense mode!"
A portal appeared on Yuuji's field as Swinging Soul emerged from it.
"What's the point of doing that?" Masumi wondered. "Reiji can just choose to target Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon when he replays his attack."
"I activate my Trap Card, Pendulum Friends!" Yuuji followed up as his set card was flipped face-up. "When I only control Pendulum Monsters on my field and not in either of my Pendulum Zones, all Pendulum Monsters I control gain 500 ATK for each Pendulum Monster currently on my field until the End Phase!"
Yuuji hops off Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon as it and Antique Maker - Swinging Soul begin to dance together. Both of their ATK stats increase as a result.
(Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon — ATK: 2500 → 3500)
(Antique Maker - Swinging Soul — ATK: 100 → 1100)
Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon is soon engulfed by Doom King Armageddon's attack, destroying it and sending Yuuji tumbling across on the island he was on—his Life Points dropping.
Yuuji — LP: 2600 → 100
"I set two cards and end my turn," Reiji concluded with two facedowns.
(Doom King Armageddon — ATK: 6000 → 3000)
(Doom King Armageddon — ATK: 6000 → 3000)
(Antique Maker - Swinging Soul — ATK: 1100 → 100)
"Guh…" Yuuji struggled to stay on his feet until…
—Thud!
…he collapsed to the ground. His consciousness waning.
"Oh no, Yuuji!" Yuya cried out for his friend.
"What happened? Why did Yuuji-senpai suddenly fall?" Ayu asked with concern.
"It must be his injuries," Sora stated. "The ones he received mysteriously a few days ago."
"Oh no. He never went to the hospital to treat himself either." Yuzu's eyes widened in realization. "The injuries he had were serious as well."
"He needs to forfeit this duel," Gongenzaka stated. "As much as it pains me to say it, a man must know when he must fight and when he must rest…"
Yuuji couldn't hear the rest of his friend's conversation as he ended up blacking out.
Flashback…
Five Years Ago, The Outpost…
A young boy with striking silver hair could be seen walking through the streets of the rundown city, tears streaming down his eyes. Just a few days ago, he had lost his father in some sort of incident. He wasn't aware of the details since he wasn't there personally. He had only heard about his father's death from others who were there at the scene.
"Dad.*Sob* Why did you leave me?" The young Yuuji cried. "You promised *Sob* that you would *Sob* be there to watch me *Sob* become the greatest duelist there is."
He thought his father was invincible. He always seemed to be. Whether it was a duel or a fight, his father would always come out on top. His father had a major influence on Yuuji as he was growing up.
To have him taken away at such a young age, it was bound to leave a scar on the boy that could never be healed.
Yuuji walked past an alleyway, where a group of three thugs could be seen smoking and chatting. Upon noticing the weak and defenseless boy walk past them, the three of them share a look with each other.
"Easy prey," Thug 1 said.
"Look there, he has a complete deck and a duel disk," Thug 2 pointed out. "That's sure to go for a big buck around here."
"Then what are we waiting for," Thug 3 sneered. "Let's pay that little twerp a visit."
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to Yuuji, though that was probably due to his swirling emotions. If he was in his right state of a mind, he would've probably noticed the three thugs tailing behind him.
His fate was sealed when he turned into an alleyway. Unluckily for him, it was an alleyway that led straight to a dead end. The perfect opportunity for the three thugs to strike.
They cornered the young Yuuji, forcefully taking his duel disk and deck from him. When Yuuji tried to fight back for his stuff, Thug 1 responded by punching Yuuji in the face. The other two shortly followed, pushing the youth to the ground before stomping him out on the pavement.
"S-Stop!" Yuuji cried out in pain as the thugs continuously stomped him out, not planning on stopping anytime soon. Blood spilled from his mouth as he felt his life flash before his eyes after the beating. "P-Please!"
"Aw, would you look at that? The little twerp wants us to stop," Thug 2 mocked before kicking Yuuji's head in, making the youth fade in and out of consciousness. "How naive!"
Just as Thug 2 was about to kick Yuuji again…
"That's enough!"
…a feminine voice suddenly rang through the alleyway, along with the sounds of wheels spinning. A woman with long silver hair rode into the alleyway on some sort of motorcycle.
"Who the hell is this bi—?" Thug 3 wondered aloud before being kicked in the face by the woman.
"I don't want to hear it," The woman said as Thug 3 fell to the ground, being knocked unconscious instantly.
"What do you think you're doing!?" Thug 2 shouted at the woman.
"Bringing justice to this unlawful place," The woman stated. "Especially against bastards like you, who think wailing on a little kid is a good use of their time. It's just pathetic."
"Pathetic, huh?" A crazed smile formed on Thug 2's face as he pulled out a knife from his pocket. "I'll be sure to leave a mark on that pretty face of yours to make you pay for that comment!"
Thug 2 ran towards the woman, attempting to gouge her with his blade. However, in a swift motion, she parries the man's strike and lands a heavy punch to the man's gut, causing him to wheeze before falling to the ground.
—Thud!
Thug 1 was left in shock as both of his allies were knocked out in quick succession. Before he could do anything to fight against the woman, he shrieks in pain as he feels something hit in private hard, causing him to drop to the floor instantly from the pain and drop Yuuji's duel disk and deck on the ground.
The culprit of this was none other than Yuuji, who had used all of the strength he could muster to kick the man in the private as hard as he could.
The woman was surprised by the youth's action, but chuckled afterwards.
"Nice going, little guy," She praised him. "You really hit him where it hurt."
"Ah, t-thank you," Yuuji said with a faint blush.
"Aw, you're blushing. How cute~," The woman teased.
"..." Yuuji's whole face turned red as his brain failed to deliver a response. Instead, Yuuji just quietly picked up his duel disk and deck before walking away.
"Hey, wait. Where are you going?" The woman asked.
"I…don't know. Somewhere," Yuuji simply responded.
"Do you…uh…have a place to stay? Any caretakers?"
"Ye—no," Yuuji solemnly corrected himself after remembering the fact that his father is now dead.
The woman seemed to pick up on this before making a suggestion.
"I can tell you lost someone important to you recently," The woman solemnly smiled. "I can relate to that. I've lost a lot of things and people in my life. I'm sure of it. Though I can't really remember what the thing I lost was."
"..." Yuuji was a bit confused about what she meant.
"Oh sorry." She awkwardly waved her hands. "What I meant is that I can relate to how you're feeling. You must be feeling lost, right? Until you can find your own footing, I can give you a place to stay for a while."
"No thank you." Yuuji rejected the offer, causing the woman's jaw to drop.
"Huh? But why?"
"Stranger danger," Yuuji said as he made an "X" with his hands. "My dad always told me to stay away from weird strangers who try to take me with them."
"Oh. I guess he's right?" The woman sighed. "Oh well, I guess you won't be getting any help from me."
The woman began walking to her motorcycle, getting on it and preparing to ride off. However she stopped when she noticed the young Yuuji's stare. The youth was staring at her motorcycle with stars in his eyes.
"So cool. What is that?" Yuuji asked.
"Oh this? It's a Duel Runner. A vehicle from my hometown."
"A Duel Runner?" Yuuji tilted his head. "Is that something you can duel with?"
"It actually is."
Yuuji's eyes lit up for a moment before he began awkwardly asking something.
"Um…Miss. I…uh…take back what I said…before," Yuuji said while not even looking her in the eyes, his eyes locking onto her Duel Runner. "Can you…uh…take me with you?"
"..." The woman laughed at the youth's antics. "Sure. But before that, I want to know your name."
"Yuuji," The youth introduced himself. "Haruki Yuuji. And…uh…you, miss?"
"You can call me Tanako," The woman, now known as Tanako, replied. "Now get on. We have to leave before these guys wake up again."
"O-Okay!"
Yuuji got on the Tanako's Duel Runner, sitting right behind her.
"You better hold on tight, this baby of mine is quite fast."
Tanako revved up the engine of her Duel Runner before driving away from the scene with Yuuji.
A while later, the two find themselves in an old building. While the outside of the building looked like that of an abandoned complex, the inside of the place looked surprisingly livable, albeit small.
"Welcome to my abode," Tanako said as she pushed her Duel Runner into a corner. "Feel free to make yourself at home."
"Okay," Yuuji nodded as his eyes scoured the room with enthusiasm.
One thing that immediately piqued his interest was a Monster Card that was set alone on a table. He approached the card and picked it up to get a better look at it. It was a white monster card, something that Yuuji had only seen once in his life.
"Like what you see?" Tanako asked as she gently took the card from Yuuji's hand. "This right here is called a Synchro Monster."
"A Synchro Monster?"
"It's one of the three Extra Deck Summoning methods. You know about them right?"
"I've heard of them from my father," Yuuji replied. "But I've never seen them before."
"Hmm," Tanako began thinking for a few moments before an idea suddenly popped into her head. "Hey, I know. Since you have a deck and Duel Disk, why don't we have ourselves a little duel? That way, I'll be able to show you an authentic Synchro Summon."
"A duel!?" Yuuji's eyes lit up. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"
Yuuji quickly ran out of the house, with Tanako sighing briefly. A small smile creeped on her face.
"That kid…he forgot about what was troubling him almost instantly upon hearing the word duel," Tanako chuckled for a moment. She then went and grabbed her duel disk before joining Yuuji outside
Yuuji — LP: 400
Field:
[Antique Forgotten Mask (Light/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5)]
Tanako — LP: 4000
Field:
[Centur-Ion Primera (Light/Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1600/LV: 4)]
[Centur-Ion Gargoyle II (Dark/Dragon/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 3000/LV: 8)]
2 Set Trap Cards
It was currently Yuuji's turn.
"Battle!" Yuuji moved into his Battle Phase. "Antique Forgotten Mask attacks Centu-Ion Gargoyle!"
A spirit monster wearing an old, black mask began flying towards Tanako's monster.
"At this time, Forgotten Mask's effect activates!" Yuuji declared. "Our monster's ATK points are swapped!"
(Antique Forgotten Mask — ATK: 0 → 2000)
(Centur-Ion Gargoyle II — ATK: 2000 → 0)
"Quite an impressive effect you have there, Yuuji-kun," Tanako commented. "However, I have an answer to that! I activated my Trap Card, Battle Shield! For the rest of this Battle Phase, neither of our monsters can be destroyed!"
A barrier formed around Tanako's monsters, protecting them from harm.
"But you still take damage!" Yuuji declared.
Tanako winced a little from the shockwaves as her Life Points dropped.
Tanako — LP: 4000 → 2000
"I did it!" The young Yuuji cheered. "I managed to lower your Life Points!"
"Good job," Tanako clapped as she praised him. "I can hardly tell that I'm dueling a child. You've been taught well."
Yuuji smiled at the praise, "Thank you. I'll end my turn with one facedown."
A facedown card appeared on his field.
"My turn! Draw!" Tanako began her turn. "You've impressed me a lot in this duel. But I think it's time to wrap it up. Just like I promised, I'll show you a true, authentic Synchro Summon. The Level 4 Centur-Ion Primera tunes the Level 8 Centur-Ion Gargoyle II!"
The two aforementioned monsters transform into green rings and orbs respectively, lining up together as a pillar of green light shot through it.
"Machine engines burn bright! Command the brigade and eradicate your enemies before you!" Tanako chanted. "I Synchro Summon! Come forth, Level 12! Centur-Ion Legatia (Light/Machine/Synchro/Effect/ATK: 3500/DEF: 2000/LV: 12)!"
A humanoid machine monster in white armor appeared on Tanako's field. Two floating constructs floated above each of the monster's shoulders, emitting flames that wrapped all around the monster's armor.
"...So pretty," Yuuji said in awe.
"Don't be too entranced now, Yuuji!" Tanako shouted. "Legatia's effect now activates! When it's Synchro Summoned onto my field, I can draw 1 card; then I can destroy the monster on your field that currently has the highest ATK. Since the only monster you control is Forgotten Mask, that monster is destroyed! Blazing Vortex!"
"What!?" Yuuji cried out in shock as his monster was engulfed in a flaming vortex, dispersing into particles as it was destroyed.
"Now it's time for the climax!" Tanako declared as she moved into her Battle Phase. "Legatia now attacks you directly! Hellfire Breaker!"
Tanako's monster erupts into flames, soaring towards Yuuji who tries to protect himself before the attack connects. However, before it does, Legatia stops. Instead of attacking Yuuji head on, the monster opts to end the duel by flicking the youth on the forehead.
Yuuji — LP: 400 → 0
Winner: Tanako
All of their cards disappear as the duel ends. Tanako approaches Yuuji, who was sobbing as he soothed his forehead.
"Hey, are you okay?" Tanako asked, a little concerned.
"Y-Yeah. It just hurts a little," Yuuji regained his composure. He was bummed out about the loss, but losing to something as cool as that Synchro Monster made up for it. "That Synchro Summon of yours was so cool, Tanako-san! I want to learn how to do it just like you."
"There's not really much of a point in me teaching you," Tanako stated, much to Yuuji's disappointment. "Especially if you don't have your own Synchro Monster."
"I do, look," Yuuji pulled out a Synchro Monster from his deck. Antique Guardian Statue. "So could you please teach me now?"
Tanako was a bit surprised by Yuuji suddenly revealing a Synchro Monster. She didn't think much of it though since this would make teaching him a lot easier.
"Okay, then. I'll teach you," Tanako agreed. "You'll become the greatest duelist to ever use Synchro Summoning when I'm done with you."
Yuuji woke up, his mind in a daze. He struggled back onto his feet as he finally began to digest what was happening.
"What happened?" Yuuji wondered.
He immediately noticed that he was still in the Different Dimension Action Field, which meant that he was likely still dueling against Reiji.
I must've blacked out for only a few seconds then. Yuuji guessed. Which is weird, since I had a whole flashback sequence about when I first met my teacher.
Tanako was the one who saved him when he was younger and practically raised him after his father passed away a few years ago. It was thanks to her teachings that led Yuuji to learning how to Synchro Summon, along with shaping him into the person he is today.
Enough with the reminiscing on the past. Yuuji shook his head. I need to focus on what is happening here in the present first.
He was losing. That much was obvious. Even with the help of his strongest monster, he still wasn't able to settle this duel thanks to how far behind Antique Golden Kaiju's effect set him back.
I only have two cards on my field. I could possibly place Swinging Soul into my Pendulum Scale, but I would need to draw a monster with a high Pendulum Scale in order to make use of it. The only card in my hand is Final Stand. And while this card will allow me to draw five new cards by discarding my whole hand, if the five cards I draw aren't able to get me a win, I'll definitely lose this duel.
Yuuji tried to clench his fist, but he couldn't as he felt his hands shaking violently.
What the hell? Why are my hands shaking?
Was he scared? Anxious? Why? Even in his duel against Black Death, he had never felt this nervous before.
Damnit. I wanted to protect You Show. That's why I've been playing it safe and not relying on luck to bail me out. Yuuji thought. But thanks to that, I managed to achieve the opposite and back myself into a corner.
…
—Smack!
Yuuji slapped himself in the face as hard as he could with his free hand, to the point of even leaving a slight red bruise on his cheek.
"What the hell am I doing?" Yuuji berated himself. "I got too caught up in the stakes that I forgot everything that I had learned."
Playing it safe like this, this wasn't how he dueled. Sure, he made safe plays sometimes, but he never relied on the safe plays to win his duels.
"Are you okay there, Haruki?" Reiji inquired. "If you aren't feeling well, we can call off this duel of ours."
"No. I don't plan on backing down," Yuuji said. "I still have a chance for victory."
"A slim chance," Reiji stated. "You've lost both of your strongest monsters, your Pendulum Scale has been broken, and you're down to only 100 Life Points. You would need a miracle to win from this position."
"Hah, I've been through worse scenarios than this," Yuuji smiled. "And besides, even if I have only 1 Life Point left, there's still a chance for victory!"
"Prove it to me then. Bring about that one-in-a-million miracle, Haruki Yuuji," Reiji said with a small smile. "Otherwise…this school of yours will be no more."
"Guide me to victory, my deck…" Yuuji muttered as his pendulum necklace began to glow. "My turn! Draw!"
[Turn 7: Yuuji] [H: 2]
[Current Theme Playing: Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Sound Duel 1 - Swing! Pendulum of Souls]
Yuuji didn't even look at the card he drew. He knew that whatever it was, it wasn't the key that would let him win this.
"I activate the Spell Card, Final Stand!" Yuuji announced. "To activate this card, I must discard all other cards from my hand and forfeit my next two Draw Phases."
"Forfeiting his next two Draw Phases!?" Hokuto cried out in shock. "Has he gone mad!?"
"The bigger the sacrifice, the greater the return," Yuuji said. "Thanks to Final Stand's effect, I get to draw cards until I have five cards in my hand!"
"Oh?" Reiji raised an eyebrow.
Yuuji placed his hand over the top of his deck and took a deep breath.
"Everyone's hopes and dreams are riding on this duel. I can't let them down," Yuuji steeled his resolve. "With this draw, I'll pave a path to freedom! Draw!"
Yuuji drew his five cards. Upon looking at what he drew, he paused.
"Not a single Pendulum Monster?" Yuuji grimaced. "I guess lady luck is not on my side after all—"
—Badump!
Yuuji felt his chest skip a beat as the image of a new monster appeared in his mind.
This feeling…it's just like what I felt when I first summoned Revolution Commander. Yuuji smiled. It looks like lady luck hasn't given up on me this time either.
"I activate the Quick-Play-Spell, Trap Whirlwind!" Yuuji announced. "By tributing cards on my field, I can destroy an equal number of Trap Cards on your field! I tribute Antique Maker - Swinging Soul along my Continuous Trap Card in order to destroy both of your Trap Cards!"
A massive whirlwind roared through the arena, sweeping up Yuuji's two cards along with Reiji's two Trap Cards and destroying them all.
"Getting my two Trap Cards out of the way early, smart move," Reiji commented.
"I'm not done yet!" Yuuji declared. "I summon the Tuner Monster, Antique Maker - Tuning Witch (Dark/Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 300/LV: 1)!"
A female monster with long blonde hair, wearing a black witches cloak and holding a black staff with a yellow gemstone at its tip appeared.
"Tuning Witch's effect activates upon its summon. I take 100 points of damage for each Pendulum Monster on my field or in either of my Pendulum Zones!"
"100 points of damage?" Ayu was confused. "Doesn't that mean that he loses?"
"That's only if he has a Pendulum Monster on his field," Tatsuya replied. "He made sure to get Antique Maker - Swinging Soul off his field first before he summoned Tuning Witch, so he won't be taking any damage."
"Tuning Witch's other effect activates!" Yuuji continued. "After its summoning effect is activated, I can immediately Special Summon an Antique Monster directly from my hand! Appear, Antique Maker - Wrenchworker (Dark/Spellcaster/Effect/ATK: 300/DEF: 400/LV: 2)!"
A young man in apprentice clothing appeared.
"Now, when an 'Antique' Monster is Special Summoned, I can Special Summon Antique Tabletop (Light/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5) directly from my hand!"
A floating wooden table appeared.
"He summoned three monsters at once without the use of Pendulum Summoning," Hokuto was surprised.
"Not to mention, he also has a Tuner Monster on his field," Yaiba pointed out. "Judging from how he made use of the other two summoning methods, I think I know what's about to happen next."
"This is it, Reiji! My key to winning this duel!" Yuuji announced. "The Level 1 Antique Maker - Tuning Witch tunes the Level 2 Antique Maker - Wrenchworker and Level 5 Antique Tabletop!"
Tuning Witch twirls her staff, the gemstone at its tip glowing as it turns Wrenchworker and Antique Tabletop into green orbs. Tuning Witch herself transforms into a yellow ring which lines up together with the green orbs. A pillar of green light shot through the ring as Yuuji began chanting.
"Sonic gale winds that move at the speed of sound. Ride the speeding current as you pave a path to victory!" Yuuji chanted. "I Synchro Summon! Accelerate, Level 8! Antique Maker - Freedom Rider (Wind/Spellcaster/Synchro/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1500/LV: 8/SC: 1)!"
Driving across the air was a man riding a grey and green colored Duel Runner. He wore similarly colored gear. Freedom Rider had a wide smile on his face as he revved up the engines of its Duel Runner in anticipation.
"Alright, Yuuji!" Shuzo cheered. "Show him You Show's burning spirit!"
"You got this, Yuuji!" Yuya cheered him on as well.
"A Synchro Summon this late into the game," Hokuto was stunned.
"To think he still had a monster like this in the back," Masumi commented.
"Hmph, it's no issue," Himika scoffed. "That monster has a measly 2000 ATK points. It won't be doing anything to Reiji-san's Pendulum Monsters."
"Antique Maker - Freedom Rider's effect activates!" Yuuji declared. "When this monster is Synchro Summoned, I can destroy cards on your field equal to the number of 'Antique' Monsters used to Synchro Summon it to my field! I used three to summon Freedom Rider, which means I can destroy three cards on your field!"
"What!?" Himika cried out in shock.
"..." Even Reiji had a shocked expression on his face.
"I choose to destroy your two D/D/D Doom King Armageddons, along with the D/D Copernicus in your Pendulum Scale! Freedom Gale!"
Freedom Rider begins riding in circles at sonic speeds, creating a green tornado that threatens to suck Reiji's monsters into it.
"I activate the effect of D/D/D Launch in my graveyard!" Reiji announced. "By tributing a D/D/D Monster on my field, I can negate the activation of your monster's effect that targets a D/D/D Monster I control!"
One of Reiji's Doom King Armageddons floats towards the tornado. Once it made contact with it, Doom King Armageddon suddenly exploded, dispersing the tornado.
"Furthermore, since a monster on my field was destroyed by card effect, my final Doom King Armageddon gains ATK equal to my destroyed monster's ATK!"
(Doom King Armageddon — ATK: 3000 → 6000)
"I was worried for a moment," Himika smiled. "It seems that worry was unwarranted. This duel is settled now."
"Oh no…" Ayu said with worry. "Is this the end?"
"..." Yuzu remained silent, a guilty expression on her face. If only she hadn't lost that duel against Masumi.
"No, it's not," Yuya reassured. "Look at Yuuji's expression. He still hasn't given up."
Directing their attention back to the field, they were surprised to see that Yuuji still had a smile on his face.
"I now activate Freedom Rider's second effect!" Yuuji shouted. "By banishing an Antique Monster from my graveyard, Freedom Rider temporarily gains its effects, along with 1000 ATK! I banish Antique Golden Kaiju from my graveyard!"
Yuuji sends a card from his graveyard to his Banish Zone, as a green aura surrounds Freedom Rider and his Duel Runner.
(Freedom Rider — ATK: 2000 → 3000)
"Now here comes the climax! Battle!" Yuuji declared as he pumped his fist forward. "Freedom Rider attacks D/D/D Doom King Armageddon!"
Freedom Rider revs up its engine as it accelerates towards Reiji's monster at breakneck speeds.
"Is he insane!?" Hokuto cried out. "His monster has way less ATK points than Reiji's!"
"Have you even been focusing on the plays?" Masumi wondered. "His monster copied Antique Golden Kaiju's effects, which deal damage to his opponent equal to their monster's ATK points when it battles. If he attacks Reiji's monster now, he'll win!"
"I-Impossible…" Himika muttered in disbelief.
"Go, Freedom Rider! Hyperstream Rush!"
Reiji also had a shocked expression on his face for a moment before his mouth curled upwards into a smile.
"So this is the kind of duelist that you are, Haruki Yuuji…" Reiji said as he closed his eyes. "You've won this battle."
A barrier forms around Freedom Rider as it crashes into Doom King Armageddon, creating a shockwave that sends Reiji flying away—concluding the duel.
Reiji — LP: 1950 → 0
Winner: Yuuji
[BGM (Background Music) Ends Here.]
The Action Field dissipates as the two duelists return to the arena. Akaba Himika quickly rushed out of the spectator booth, quickly making her way to her son, who had just managed to stand up on his two feet.
"Reiji-san! Are you okay?" Himika asked.
"I'm okay, Mother," Reiji stated.
Himika breathed a sigh of relief, "Well, that's good." She then turned to Yuuji, who was surrounded by his You Show friends. "That boy. I didn't expect him of all people to defeat you."
"I honestly didn't expect to lose as well," Reiji admitted. "However, in a duel, not everything will always go according to plan."
With the You Show group…
"Yuuji! That was an incredibly hot-blooded duel!" Shuzo shouted with fire burning in his eyes. "That duel had me on the edge of my seat the entire time."
"Mhm," Tatsuya nodded. "I was worried a few times, but you managed to pull through even with the odds stacked against you."
"Yeah. Thanks to you, You Show has been saved," Yuya added.
"You stood strong and fought him like a true man," Gongenzaka commented. "I, the man Gongenzaka, approve."
"Haha, thanks guys," Yuuji smiled happily.
However, he soon stopped when he noticed Yuzu's expression.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Yuuji asked. "What's got you so down."
"I'm..." Yuzu bowed her head. "I'm sorry, Yuuji, Gongenzaka. If I hadn't completely flunked my duel against Masumi, you guys wouldn't have had to duel your hearts out to protect You Show."
"Yuzu…" Yuya muttered.
"Don't beat yourself up, Yuzu," Gongenzaka said with a smile. "You shouldn't feel guilty about this."
"Gongenzaka's right," Yuuji nodded. "You, me, and the rest of us. We all wanted to fight for the safety of You Show. And in the end, we've succeeded in defending this school."
"But…" Yuzu wanted to say something else, but decided to just keep quiet, not wanting to ruin the bubbly atmosphere. "Okay…"
—Clap! Clap! Clap!
Their attention shifted to Akaba Reiji, who was applauding as he approached Yuuji.
"Congratulations, Haruki Yuuji. You're the first person in a long time who has actually managed to defeat me. " Reiji congratulated him with his usual calm demeanor. "As promised, LDS won't bother you lot about this Sawatari Shingo matter anymore."
After he was done speaking, he turned around to leave. However, just before he did, Yuuji spoke.
"...Wait."
"Hm?" Reiji raised an eyebrow. "Is there something you wanted to ask me?"
"I just wanted to say thank you."
"Eh? Why would you be thanking him?" Futoshi wondered. "He threatened to take over You Show."
"Your little friend is right. There's nothing you should be thanking me for," Reiji said.
"There's two things that I can thank you for," Yuuji smiled. "The first is for keeping your word about leaving You Show alone after you lost. And the second is for pushing me to the brink in that duel of ours."
"Oh, well in that case, you're welcome," Reiji simply stated. "If that's all you wanted to say. I'll be going now."
"Just one more thing. The next time we duel, I want to duel you at your best. I can tell in that duel that you were treating it more like a test rather than an important duel. As a duelist, I can't accept a win unless I defeat my opponent at their very best."
"I'll think about it," Reiji replied before walking off. Akaba Himika and the three LDS students soon followed shortly behind. After they left, Yuuji breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness that's over with," Yuuji said. "That duel was exactly what I was looking for, but it made me tired as hell."
"You should go rest," Yuya suggested. "You deserve it anyway, after winning a duel against a pro."
"I'll do just that," Yuuji said before he began walking off. "I'll see you guys later, then. Take care."
After saying his goodbyes, Yuuji made his way back to his hotel. After placing his duel disk and deck on his countertop and changing into his night clothes, Yuuji threw himself onto his bed.
"I'm way too exhausted from today. I never knew that dueling could be that stressful," Yuuji remarked. "But at least I've managed to achieve my goal. There is a way for me to grow stronger."
By pushing himself to the brink and reconstructing himself, he managed to find the key to unlocking a new power for himself.
Yuuji let out a long yawn, tears forming in his tired eyes, "I'm too tired to think about this. Right now, I just want…to…sleep…"
Struggling to maintain his wake, Yuuji's eyes close as he falls into a deep sleep.
Meanwhile, LDS Tower…
Reiji is sitting in his office, staring at a list of all the current qualified participants for the Maiami Championships that will be happening around a week from now. Soon, he hears the door to his office open as Nakajima walks in, a serious expression plastered on his face.
"Ah, Nakajima," Reiji addressed him. "What brought you here on such short notice."
"Reiji-dono, I've come bearing bad news," Nakajima states as he digs into his suit's pocket, taking out a few cards. Reiji's eyes widen in surprise when he sees a familiar face imprinted onto one of the cards. "Just today, we received a report that Professor Marco, along with other personnel, were attacked today by a mysterious assailant. The only things left from the scenes were damaged buildings, along with these cards with the attacked personnel's faces."
Reiji tried to maintain his calm demeanor, succeeding mostly aside from him squeezing his palms a bit.
"What else do you know about the perpetrator," Reiji inquired.
"We noticed around the time of the attacks that there was a surge in Xyz Summoning Energy," Nakajima answered. "However, aside from that and the fact that this assailant can deal real damage to his surroundings through dueling, we know nothing."
Reiji fell into deep thought.
Could this incident be linked to the Sawatari Shingo Incident? Reiji wondered. There's too little information for us to go off of right now to know for sure.
"I want you to alert the security branch about his matter, along with the elites," Reiji stated. "Raise LDS's security and send out a search team to look for this mysterious assailant. The sooner we find him, the less casualties there will be on our side."
"Right away, Reiji-dono. I'll be taking my leave," Nakajima bowed before walking out the room, leaving Reiji alone with his thoughts. Once he was sure that there was nobody in sight, he let out a deep sigh and clutched his head with his hands.
"Damn," Reiji grit his teeth. "I can't let this war go on for long."
Luckily, the assailant seems to only be targeting LDS Members. But what would happen if they decided to go after innocent civilians. As the President of the Leo Corporation, he couldn't let that come to pass.
Father…I swear, I'll bring an end to this tyrannical war that you created. I'll open your eyes to all the pain that you've caused to us, along with the people of the five dimensions.
But for now, he would bide his time. Build up his forces along with finding strong duelists who could join his cause.
And then one day...
He'll take him down.
Elsewhere, Maiami City…
Yuto could be seen walking in an alleyway. He was currently staring at a wall, which had large claw markings engraved into it. The rest of the alleyway wasn't in a much better state, garbage bins were knocked down, with trash and other throwaway objects being scattered across the area. Walking further in, Yuto eventually stopped in his tracks as he noticed a card on the ground. Picking it up, he could see the horrified expression of an LDS Personnel printed onto the card.
"Looks like I'm too late again," Yuto frowned as he pocketed the card.
For the past few days, he had been trying to track down his friend Shun. However, it seems that Shun has caught onto this, as he had been purposely avoiding his detection, only leaving behind a path of carnage for Yuto to find.
"When will that guy learn that this isn't the right way to go about this," Yuto said. "This is the last thing the Ruri would want."
"I can't blame him for his actions though. I can see where he's coming from. If I was just a little more impulsive, I'd do the exact same thing."
Yuto quickly moved into a defensive stance upon hearing the voice. The source of the voice being a cloaked figure.
"Who's there?" He asked.
"It's me," The person said before removing their hoodie, revealing her face along with her long, dark blue hair.
"Rio!?" Yuto was shocked upon seeing a familiar face. "But how? I thought you were going to stay back home to look for your brother?"
"Shark's not there. I know he isn't," Rio solemnly said. "I've looked everywhere I could, but he was nowhere to be found."
"..." Yuto remained silent.
He knew what it meant, as much as he wished he didn't. The last time Rio saw him, he was protecting her from a powerful Academia Agent who single-handedly annihilated the Diamond Branch, the strongest branch of duelists from their school. Most likely, he had been carded, just like the rest of them.
"Anyway, enough about that," Rio quickly changed the subject. "What do you plan on doing about Shun? Are you just going to keep following him or what?"
"It's the only thing that I can do," Yuto said. "I have to find Shun and talk him out of this bloody path that he's walking down."
"I'll help you then," Rio said. "We can cover more ground that way."
Yuto was surprised by the suggestion, smiling gratefully, "Thanks, Rio."
"Don't sweat it, the Resistance needs to stick together after all," Rio smiled back.
A few hours later…
—Crackle!
Dusk soon arrived as a thunderstorm swept through Maiami City. Most of the residents have already made their way into safe shelter in order to avoid the storm. Shun stood on a rooftop, arms crossed as he stared daggers at LDS Tower, the current target for his rage.
"Just wait for me Ruri, I'll bring you back," Shun said with determination. "No matter the cost."
—Crackle!
Thunder flashed behind him, illuminating the area. When the light died down, Shun had disappeared.
Custom/Altered Cards:
Monster Cards:
Antique Ignition Pot
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5
Light/Fairy/Effect
Monster Effect: If you would take effect damage: You can banish this card from your GY; your opponent also takes damage equal to the amount you take.
Antique Golden Kaiju
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 8
Light/Dragon/Fusion/Effect
1 Dragon Monster + 1 "Antique" Monsters
Monster Effect: This card cannot be destroyed by battle, and you take no battle damage from battles involving this card. If this card battles a monster: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's ATK.
Antique Maker - Possession Jester
ATK: 1000, DEF: 1000, LV: 5, SC: 8
Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn; Special Summon this card from your Pendulum Zone.
Monster Effect: Once per turn, target 1 monster on the field and make its Level equal to that of this card's Level.
Antique Maker - Tuning Witch
ATK: 100, DEF: 300, LV: 1
Dark/Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect
Monster Effect: If this card is Summoned: Lose 100 Life Points for each Pendulum Monster you control on both your field and in your Pendulum Zones, then you can Special Summon 1 "Antique" monster from your hand.
Antique Maker - Wrenchworker
ATK: 300, DEF: 400, LV: 2
Dark/Spellcaster/Effect
Monster Effect: Once per turn: You can target one card on your field; increase or decrease its Level by 1.
Antique Maker - Freedom Rider
ATK: 2000, DEF: 1500, LV: 8, SC: 1
Wind/Spellcaster/Synchro/Pendulum/Effect
1 Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters
Pendulum Effect: If a monster you control would have its effect negated by a card effect, you can discard 1 card; negate that effect instead. Once per turn: You can banish 1 Tuner monster and other cards from your field or Extra Deck whose total Levels equal this card's Level; Special Summon this card from your Pendulum Zone (this Special Summon is treated as a Synchro Summon).
Monster Effect: When this card is Synchro Summoned: Destroy cards on the field equal to the number of "Antique" monsters used for this card's Synchro Summon. Once per turn: You can banish 1 "Antique" monster from your GY; this card copies that monster's effects and gains 1000 ATK until the End Phase. If this card is destroyed, you can place it in your Pendulum Zone. If both Pendulum Zones are occupied, you can destroy both cards in your Pendulum Zones, then place this card in your Pendulum Zone.
Spell/Trap Cards:
Dark Contract with the Singing Waves
Continuous Spell
During each of your Standby Phases, take 1000 points of damage. Once per turn, Special Summon a 'D/D' Monster from your hand and make its Level equal to that of another monster on your field.
D/D Redraw
Normal Trap
Destroy all cards on your field, then draw five cards.
Attack Down
Quick-Play-Spell
When this card is activated, target one of your opponent's monsters; that monster loses 2000 ATK.
Pendulum Friends
Normal Trap
If you control only Pendulum Monsters and have no cards in your Pendulum Zones: All Pendulum Monsters you control gain 500 ATK for each Pendulum Monster you control until the end of this turn.
Trap Whirlwind
Quick-Play-Spell
Tribute any number of cards from your field; destroy an equal amount of Spell/Trap Cards on your opponent's field.
D/D/D Launch
Normal Trap
Tribute 1 "D/D" or "D/D/D" monster you control; negate the activation of a monster effect. If this card is in your GY: Once per turn, you can Tribute 1 "D/D/D" monster you control; negate the activation of a monster effect that targets a "D/D/D" monster you control.
And that's the end of the LDS Invasion Arc. I hope you enjoyed it. I had a lot of fun writing this duel especially. Is it the best duel I've written for this fanfic so far? I'm not really sure. I feel a bit critical about how I handled the duel, but that might just be my writer mind speaking. Typically, when I go back and read the duels I wrote a few days later, I like them a lot more.
As for the duel result. I was torn between either having Yuuji draw against Reiji or ending up winning this duel. I originally planned to have him lose while first brainstorming this chapter around a month ago, but decided against it, since having him lose so soon (especially after having some plot armor moment and gaining a new monster) felt pointless. It lessens the impact of the flashback and the new monster greatly in my opinion. These two will be dueling a few more times in this fic, so this result isn't that bad in the long run.
On the topic of the flashback, it isn't much, but it gives a slight glance into Yuuji's past. I plan on delving into this backstory a bit more in the coming chapter, since I didn't want to make the flashback too long and completely mess up the flow of the chapter.
I definitely have some devastating losses (and some less devastating losses) planned for Yuuji later on, so for those who don't want to read a story about a protagonist who always wins, don't worry. We're getting closer and closer to the juicier parts of the story that I'm excited to write about, so stay tuned.
That's all I wanted to say. Be sure to drop some comments, I like seeing that number go up.
Go read the next chapter. Since you're already so deep into the story, you might as well continue 👍.
Chapter 9: Rebellious Falcons (I)
Chapter Text
Edit #1: Changed the name of the chapter. Also corrected the descriptions of Yosenju Kama 1, 2 and 3.
Edit #2: 9/17 Chapters Revamped.
Chapter 9 is here. I've been so hyped to write this chapter, and I've finally got around to it (mainly because Sawatari, my favorite character in ARC-V, is finally making an appearance).
[A/N: Sorry if the first 25% of the chapter feels a little recap-esque, it's needed since while I'm pretty sure most people reading this have already watched ARC-V, they may not remember how certain plot-points progress, especially in the earlier bits.]
Be sure to drop some reviews, suggestions, questions. I see all of them so feel free to speak out your mind and drop some suggestions or comments about the story. Criticism is also welcome (as long as it isn't brainless flaming of the story).
Without any further ado, enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: Minor spelling, grammar, and other mistakes may be present.
[Standard Arc Opening Theme (Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Opening 1: BELIEVE X BELIEVE)]
Scale 09: Rebellious Falcons (I)
A few days later…
Yuya sat on a park bench alone. His eyes were covered by his goggles that he had always brought with him. While children played together on the playground, Yuya was deep in thought.
"First Yuuji, Sawatari, and now even Reiji…" Yuya muttered. "How are so many other people able to use Pendulum Summoning?"
When he first received these cards, he thought he would be the only one with them at least for a good while. However, that dream was crushed in only a day when Yuuji showed up. Yuya eventually got over it, since Yuuji helped him learn how to Pendulum Summon and got these cards in a similar way to him.
But not even half a month later, Akaba Reiji shows up with Pendulum Cards that he manufactured himself. And with this, brings a devastating reality that Yuya had to face.
Pendulum Summoning is no longer something unique to him.
It didn't help that Sawatari also accused him of assaulting somebody else as well yesterday, along with reminding him that soon enough everybody would have Pendulum Cards.
—Ring! Ring! Ring!
His duel disk suddenly began to ring as he received a call. When Yuya picked up, he nearly turned to death and Sora shouted at him.
[Yuya! Where are you! We were supposed to go looking for opponents to help me qualify for the Maiami Championships today!]
"Yeesh, you don't have to yell so loud!" Yuya covered his ears. "I'll come meet you soon."
[You better not be late! Unlike you, I actually have plans today.] Sora said.
"Plans? Since when?"
[That doesn't matter.] Sora dodged the question. [Just hurry up and get back.]
Sora abruptly ended the call, causing Yuya to sigh as a result.
"Why is he always like this?" Yuya wondered as shook his head. "Hah…whatever. I guess this is better than sulking around all day about things out of my control."
Meanwhile…
Yuuji stood in an alleyway, leaning against the wall. His expression sour as he continuously tapped his foot on the ground. Much like Yuya, he was in a bad mood today, although for a different reason
Yesterday, the topic of the Maiami Championships was brought up, mainly due to Nico Smiley's appearance at You Show. While Yuuji wasn't there for that, he did hear from those present that he was there on the behalf of the Duel Association to give Yuya a free pass into the Maiami Championships. Yuya ended up declining this offer, wanting to complete his qualifications for the tournament with his own efforts instead of just being handed a free pass.
This ended up reminding Yuuji of his own reasons for even coming to this city. The Maiami Championships was his main reason for coming here, and the main reason he ended up getting into the deathmatch with Black Death a while back. All of the weird stuff happening recently made him forget about it completely.
It's the perfect place for someone like him who wants to duel as many powerful opponents as he can. However, there was one major issue.
His win rate.
Currently, he had around a 35% win rate and had participated in over 60 duels. To enter the Maiami Championships, he would need a win rate of 60% or higher. To qualify, he would most likely need to participate in around 30 or more duels, and win every single one of them within the deadline of a week and a half. A feat that is practically impossible.
—Ring! Ring! Ring!
His duel disk began to ring, when he picked up, his ears were assaulted by the shouting of a certain Shiunin Sora.
[Yuuji! Where the hell are you!?] Sora shouted.
"An alleyway. Why are you asking?"
[You're supposed to be helping me look for opponents to help me qualify along with Yuya!]
"You never told me that."
[Well I am now! Just hurry up and meet us at You Show.]
"Wait, who said that I was going to—"
—before Yuuji could finish his sentence, Sora abruptly hung up the call.
"..."
"That guy…" Yuuji muttered with a tick mark forming on his face.
A while later, Yuuji arrives at You Show. Sora and Yuya were waiting for him outside, turning their attention to him when they noticed his arrival.
"Finally…" Sora said as he addressed Yuuji. "What took you so long?"
"I don't know? Maybe the fact that I was halfway across the city." Yuuji rolled his eyes. "If you hadn't just brought it up today, maybe I wouldn't have taken so long."
"Whatever," Sora waved him off. "At least you're here now."
"Why did you bring us out here anyway?" Yuya asked.
"I told you on the call already, it's to help me find matches to help me qualify for the Maiami Championships." Sora replied.
"How many matches do you need?" Yuuji asked.
"I thought that I would need at least twenty to fix my faulty win rate, but apparently after looking into it, I only need to win six matches in a row." Sora said.
"Huh? That's a rule?" Yuuji was surprised.
"Yeah, you didn't know? If you have six official documented wins in a row, while having participated in over 50 duels this year, you're automatically qualified for the Maiami Championships." Sora explained.
"I've heard of that rule too," Yuya said. "Though it's a pretty impractical feat to go for since things go wrong in duels all the time. The highest win streak I've ever had was four wins."
Why have I not heard of this?
"Well how do I check?" Yuuji asked.
"You just check your duel disk's battle record," Yuya answered. "There's a neat feature in it where you are able to check your progress in qualifying."
Yuuji quickly pulled up his battle log, pressing a few buttons to bring up a screen with info on his qualifications.
Maiami Championships Qualifications
A 60% Win Rate (the duelist must have participated in fifty Official Duels for this to count):
—Incomplete (Current Win Rate: 35%)
OR
Win Six Official Duels in a Row (the duelist must have participated in fifty Official Duels for this to count):
—Incomplete (Current Winstreak: 4)
"That's so useful!" Yuuji said in awe. "If I had known about this sooner, I would've tried to duel more often."
This meant that all he would need to do is find two more opponents who would be willing to duel him which shouldn't be too difficult.
Though, it's weird that my loss against Ryouga wasn't counted. Yuuji thought.
"Now that that's settled. Let's get going." Sora began walking. "I have plans later so we'll need to be fast."
Yuuji turned to Yuya, "Do you have any idea why he's in such a rush?"
"No idea. He never told me what his plans were." Yuya answered.
"Weird," Yuuji said as he walked off after Sora. Yuya did the same.
Later…
"Go, Frightfur Bear! Attack him directly!" Sora commanded.
Frightfur Bear's arm extends outward as it smacks his opponent, a widely-built sumo wrestler, into one of the Action Field walls, concluding the duel.
Sumoshi — LP: 1800 → 0
Winner: Sora
"Hurray! That's one down!" Sora cheered as the Action Field dispersed.
"That was probably the fastest duel I've ever seen," Yuya commented.
Sora's opponent barely even managed to put up a fight. The opponent's whole field was wiped out by Sora on his very first turn with the use of his Fusion Monster and Action Cards.
"It's expected though. It's Sora we're talking about after all," Yuuji stated.
Sora made his way over to the two of them with a wide smile on his face.
"What'd you guys think? Pretty cool right?" Sora gloated.
"You just brought us along to watch you show off," Yuuji sighed.
"Did not!" Sora denied as he turned away.
"Uh huh." Yuuji was not convinced.
"Whatever," Sora rolled his eyes. "We're done here. Let's get going."
The three You Show students make their way out of the dojo, deciding to go stop by a food stand to get a bite to eat. Once they finished eating and chatting together, they decided to call it quits when Sora was the first one who needed to go.
"I'm late!?" Sora cried out in shock as he checked the time. "She's going to kill me!"
"Late for what?" Yuya asked. "You've been on a time crunch the whole day, but you never told us why."
"I can't tell you that now. I promised not to." Sora said before quickly running off. "I'll talk to you guys later! Thanks for the help today!"
Before they could say anything else, Sora was already out of sight.
Yuuji sighed, "That guy can be so mysterious sometimes."
"You can say that again," Yuya agreed.
"I think it's about time I head out too," Yuuji said. "I want to look over my deck some more before I go find my qualification matches."
"You just reminded me that I need to look over my deck as well."
"You have a duel tomorrow, right?" Yuuji asked.
"Mhm," Yuya nodded. "It's right before noon."
"That early?" Yuuji sighed. "I probably won't be able to watch it then."
"That's fine. I'll have Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya there to cheer me on," Yuya said.
"Well, that's good," Yuuji smiled. "Good luck."
"Thanks," Yuya smiled back.
The two fist bump each other before parting ways.
Sora arrives at the abandoned harbor, panting heavily. Staring at him with her arms crossed was Yuzu. Based on her expression and body language, Sora could tell that Yuzu was pissed at him right now.
"What took you so long?" Yuzu asked. "You promised me that you would be on time today."
"Finding a duel took a little longer than expected," Sora explained. "I rushed here as quickly as I could when I realized I was running late."
Yuzu's expression softened up upon hearing his excuse, "Well, whatever. Since you graciously agreed to teach me, I'll let you off the hook this time."
Sora let out a breath of relief.
"Oh, thank goodness. I was worried you would hit me with that harrison of yours."
"Why would you think that?" Yuzu "innocently" asked.
"You don't want me to answer that."
Sora then decided to quickly change the subject.
"Let's get started. I need to teach you a bunch of the ground rules of Fusion Summoning first before we could put it to practice."
"Right," A motivated Yuzu nodded.
Unknown to the two of them, a certain onlooker was watching them from the shadows.
"..." Yuto observed quietly as Sora began teaching Yuzu the basics of Fusion Summoning.
A few days later…
Yuya was at a convenience store, reading a magazine as his mind drifted off to think of the events that had been happening recently. In the past three days, he had managed to win 2 out of the 4 duels he needed to qualify. His first duel was against Michio, a strong duelist who also happened to be a popular cook, while his second duel was against Eita Kyuando, a quiz-game enthusiast who had won many trivia tournaments in his life. However, weird things occurred during those three days as well.
First of all, right before his second qualification match, he was chased by three men from LDS on the orders of Mr. Sawatari, Sawatari Shingo's father and a candidate for mayor. He tried his best to explain to him that he wasn't the one who attacked his son, but Mr. Sawatari ignored everything he said. To get away, Yuya turned into an alleyway.
Which is where he encountered…him.
A tall man with teal-colored hair, wearing a blue coat, sunglasses, and a red mask standing with one of his monster cards already summoned. The man engaged in a duel against the three LDS Personnel who were chasing Yuya, swiftly defeating them after performing an Xyz Summon. Yuya was horrified when he saw that the mysterious man's monster could inflict real damage to their surroundings, without there being any Real Solid Vision Machine in the area.
Yuya wasn't sure what happened after that since he had blacked out, only waking up once Nico Smiley found him. Though he couldn't think much about what had just happened, since his second qualification match against Eita Kyuando was starting soon. He decided to push that matter to the back of his mind so he could worry about his upcoming duel.
Another weird thing was Yuzu. Ever since a few days ago, Yuzu stopped coming to You Show altogether. While she always ended up back at home when it was curfew, Shuzo was extremely heartbroken by his daughter's absence.
Not too long ago however, they learned that the main reason for Yuzu's absence was because she was training with Sora to learn how to Fusion Summon, which also explained why Sora only made minimal appearances at You Show the past few days as well. Her father tried to convince Yuzu to continue her training at You Show, but she always declined the offer.
Yuya supported his friend's decision to grow stronger wholeheartedly since it was something he was working on as well, but he also wished that she could at least drop by at You Show sometimes.
Damn…this is reminding me that I still haven't found my own answer to surpassing Pendulum. Yuya thought.
Everybody had already found their own answers to improving themselves, while he still hasn't. Yuzu by learning Fusion. Yuuji by finding his own way of surpassing Pendulum. Even Gongenzaka seems to know what he needs to do to get stronger (even if he still hasn't told Yuya just how he was going to do it).
"What should I do?" Yuya anxiously rubbed his head when…
—BAM!
Somebody runs right into him, causing them both to fall onto the ground.
"Ouch!" Yuya hissed in pain as he looked up to see who ran into him.
"Don't suddenly get in my way!" Hokuto shouted before getting a better look at who he ran into. The two of them begin pointing at each other when they find out.
[You're—!?] They both cried out at the same time.
"Sakaki Yuya!?" Yaiba cried out.
"Why aren't you apologizing for crashing into me!?" Yuya shouted
"You're one to talk! It's your fault!" Hokuto shouted back.
"Now's not the time, Hokuto! We have to go!" Yaiba reminded him.
"You're right!" Hokuto said as he quickly stood back up.
Yuya stood back up as well before asking, "Did something happen?"
"We found the culprit," Yaiba explained. "The mysterious duelist who had been attacking people associated with LDS!"
"What!?" Yuya was shocked. "Where?"
"The abandoned harbor," Hokuto stated.
That's where Yuzu is! Yuya grimaced.
"Then what are we waiting for, let's go!" Yuya shouted as he began running off to the harbor.
"H-Hey! Wait up!" Yaiba cried out as he and Hokuto began running to catch up with Yuya.
At the abandoned harbor…
So much had happened in just the span of a few moments, to the point where Yuzu herself could barely keep up.
First, Masumi showed up with an intense expression on her face before yelling at Yuzu to tell her where the mysterious duelist she met when she confronted Sawatari was. This nearly led to them dueling, with Masumi wanting to force Yuzu to talk through a duel. However, this duel didn't come to pass as Yuzu was pushed to the ground after a new person arrived at the scene. The cards in her deck scattered across the floor.
A tall teal-haired man with a blue trench coat, sunglasses, and a red mask which covered the bottom half of his face. The man immediately began challenging Masumi, seemingly targeting the girl due to her association to LDS.
If this wasn't wild enough, that same mysterious duelist that she met a while back actually appeared shortly after, calling the tall mysterious newcomer Shun. The two exchange cryptic talk about whether or not this was their battlefield, along with the mention of someone called Ruri, who Yuzu assumed to be someone close to the two of them.
Masumi began trying to call for backup, prompting Yuzu to try and tell her that it wasn't guaranteed that these two were the culprit she was talking about, which prompted Shun to be surprised once he got a good look at Yuzu's face, to the point of calling her Ruri. However, the mysterious duelist managed to shut that thought down in only a few moments by punching Shun in the gut, knocking him out cold.
Not even a few moments later, Yuzu's bracelet began to glow a bright pink, surprising everyone present. The mysterious duelist was completely engulfed by this light, shortly disappearing once the light died down, just like he had done the other two times Yuzu had encountered him. Similarly to before, when the mysterious duelist disappeared, Yuya showed up shortly after, with Hokuto and Yaiba following closely behind him.
"Masumi!" Hokuto shouted as he and Yaiba ran up to her. "Are you okay?"
"Where's the culprit?" Yaiba asked.
"He vanished..." Masumi, still shocked by what had just happened, muttered.
[Vanished?] They wondered with perplexed expressions.
Yuya ran up to Yuzu with a worried expression on his face.
"Yuzu, are you okay?"
"He disappeared again," Yuzu, who was still looking at her bracelet, responded.
"Huh?"
"They looked at me and said that I'm Ruri and that I'm not Ruri."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"I…don't know," Yuzu said as she covered her face with her hands, beginning to break down. "I don't understand anything at all! Why does my bracelet glow? Why do they vanish only when you arrive?"
"Yuzu…" Yuya frowned at his friend's plight, before noticing her cards scattered across the ground. He kneeled down, picking up the cards from the ground. "Your cards are all over the place."
Sora just silently licked his lollipop as he observed from the side. Once Yuya finished picking up Yuzu's dropped cards, he sorts them neatly before handing them along with her duel disk back to Yuzu, who's solemn expression didn't change at all when she received them.
Soon, they could hear vehicles arriving not too far away, as Hokuto mentioned that LDS had arrived. As Masumi ran off to explain the situation to LDS, Sora began ushering Yuzu and Yuya away.
"It's going to get annoying soon if we stay here," Sora said as he began guiding Yuzu away. "Yuya, let's hurry up and get out of here while we still can!"
"R-Right!" Yuya said as he began running to catch up, at least until he was briefly stopped by Yaiba, who was about to walk off to catch up with Masumi and Hokuto.
"Hey, Yuya," Yaiba addressed him. "I heard that you have to win two more times to qualify for the Maiami Championships."
"How did you know?" Yuya asked.
Yaiba didn't answer Yuya's question as he began walking away, "Try your best to win. Even if it might be impossible for someone like you."
"Impossible? What's that supposed to be? Hey!" Yuya tried to confront Yaiba about what he had just said, but quickly remembered that he was supposed to be getting out of here.
He quickly turned around to go follow Sora and Yuzu, but was surprised when he couldn't find them anyway.
"Yuzu! Sora! Where did you guys go!?" Yuya tried to cry out for them, to no avail. "Strange. I guess they already went on ahead. I should catch up."
Before he ran off after them, he noticed something on the ground that caught his eye.
That's…Yuzu's card!
The Fusion Spell that Sora had given to Yuzu. It looks like he had forgotten to pick it up while he was sorting Yuzu's cards. Yuya picked up, being lost in thought while he looked at the card.
"Polymerization, huh? I should keep it safe until I get the chance to return it to Yuzu."
Yuya placed the card in his side deck before running off to try and catch up with Yuzu and Sora.
The next day…
A blue jay landed on the porch of a hotel, deciding to rest there for a moment. Just as the blue jay was about to doze off to take a short nap—
"GODDAMMIT!"
—the sudden loud shouting of a certain teen scared the blue jay back awake, causing it to fly away in a panic. The source of the yelling was from Yuuji, who had bags under his eyes as he ran his hands through his disheveled hair.
"I just want to duel! Why won't anybody duel me!?" Yuuji whined.
He wasn't usually the type to act this immature, but he just couldn't handle it.
"The past three days, I kept challenging people like I normally would. But…"
Every…single…time, without fail, he would get rejected. Which is weird, because this city was the dueling capital of the world, yet nobody was willing to duel. The fact that more people were willing to duel in the Outpost, a place where finding duelists should be more difficult since almost nobody had both a working duel disk and a deck was absurd to him.
"What was the point of me coming here if I don't get to duel anybody?"
He did try to join some duel tournaments like Sora had been doing, but his win rate was so low that he wasn't even allowed to register. After facing so many rejections, he even considered participating in one of those underground duel circuits like the one he had dueled in when he faced Black Death. But his rational mind pushed off that thought, at least for now.
To make things worse, every night since his duel against Reiji, he had been having the same weird nightmare.
The nightmare went as follows…
A ruined city ignited in flames, the screams of suffering people in the background as they were annihilated by a giant being with the body of a dragon, along with the same line of words that repeated over and over.
"He's coming. The Supreme King of Destruction will be revived once more." Yuuji repeated the phrase as his body began shivering.
He had no idea what this phrase meant, but he was definitely unnerved by it. Whenever he thought about it, his body would begin to shiver in fear, even when he himself wasn't feeling afraid. Like it was some sort of automatic reaction that his body had to that phrase.
"What time is it anyway?" Yuuji wondered as he looked at his digital clock. "Eight!? I'm late!"
Yuuji quickly got up from his bed, making his way to the bathroom to fix himself up. He had promised Yuya that he would come watch his match today since he missed Yuya's previous two, so he didn't want to be late. Once he finished washing up and making himself look as presentable as he could, he grabbed his duel disk and left the hotel, making his way to the location where Yuya's duel would be held, hoping to at least get there before the duel had ended.
He managed to get there right when Yuzu and Sora had arrived, just having come back from Sora's sixth and final qualification duel. The three briefly chatted, with Sora and Yuzu both inquiring about Yuuji's baggy eyes. He quickly dismissed their worries, saying that he just went to sleep a bit late yesterday. The three then quickly make their way inside, arriving just in time to see Yuya's final play.
Yuya revealed a card, causing Yuzu's eyes to widen when she saw what it was.
"That's…my card," Yuzu gasped.
"I activate the Fusion Spell Polymerization from my hand!" Yuya declared.
"What!?" His opponent, Mieru, cried out.
"Yuya is Fusion Summoning?" Sora was similarly shocked.
Yuuji just smirked at the revelation, "So, you've found your answer too, Yuya."
Using Stargazer Magician and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Yuya Fusion Summoned a new monster, Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon—the very proof of Yuya's resolve to grow stronger. By making use of its effect to attack a certain number of times depending on the Level of the "Spellcaster" Monster used to summon it, Yuya was able to wipe out the rest of Mieru's Life Points, winning him his third of four qualification matches.
The Action Field dispersed as everyone went over to congratulate Yuya.
"You did it, Yuya-oniichan!" Ayu congratulated him.
"That Fusion Summon right after you Pendulum Summoned was the coolest!" Tatsuya commented.
"That duel gave me the shivers!" Futoshi said as he did his little dance.
"You guys…" Yuya smiled at the praise.
"That was incredibly impressive, Yuya!" Sora complimented as he, Yuzu and Yuuji joined them. "You were able to Fusion Summon even though I didn't teach you!"
"Mhm," Yuuji nodded. "Most impressive indeed."
"Sora, Yuuji, and Yuzu, when did you guys get here?" Yuya asked.
"Just now," Yuzu said.
"Oh, sorry…" Yuya then remembered something, pulling out Polymerization and handing it back to Yuzu. "I used your card without your permission."
"Giving it back to me? Are you sure?" Yuzu asked.
"Of course, it's your card after all," Yuya said. "With that card, you're working hard to change. And thanks to you, I was able to get a hint on how to grow stronger. Soon, I'll discover my own way beyond Pendulum myself."
"Right," Yuzu nodded and smiled. The two share a nice moment for a few moments before Mieru comes out of nowhere and tackles Yuya to the ground, pinning him to the ground and hugging him while claiming him to be her soulmate.
Yuuji sweatdropped as he noticed Yuzu's expression darkened besides him. He took a few steps away as he saw Yuzu pull out her giant harrison, preparing for the moment when she would eventually snap and go berserk.
The scene resembled a wild goose chase as Yuzu chased Yuya who was both trying to escape Yuzu's wrath and Mieru's affection. Yuuji could only sigh at his friend's plight.
—BAM! BAM! BAM!
Once everything was settled, everyone went their separate ways. Yuzu and Sora left to go get Sora registered for the championships, while Yuya, Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya decided to make their way back to You Show. Yuuji decided to go off on his own, adamant on trying to find somebody to duel, even in his sleep deprived state.
However, being as sleep deprived as he was, he wasn't fully aware of his surroundings. After a few minutes of walking, he ends up bumping into somebody, causing them to fall to the ground.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch!" A teen with brown hair that had striking yellow highlights at the front hissed in pain. "Hey, what's your deal!? Watch where you're going!"
"Huh? Oh sorry." Yuuji apologized as he rubbed his eyes. "I'm just…*yawn*...a bit tired."
"Being tired isn't an excuse," The teen said before turning to his lackeys. "Help me up."
The three lackeys help the youth up, dusting off dirt and dust from the teen's uniform for him. Yuuji almost immediately recognized the three as Lackey 1, Lackey 2, and Lackey 3, the three guys that showed up in front of You Show and started spouting blasphemous accusations towards him and Yuya.
"Hey, I recognize this guy," Lackey 1 said.
"I do too," Lackey 2 agreed.
"What was his name? Baruki Buuji?" Lackey 3 tried to recall.
The three began to laugh as a tick mark formed on Yuuji's face at what he was called, but he tried to maintain his composure.
"I don't care who this guy is. Doesn't he know who he just bumped into?" The teen then began posing, with his lackeys throwing rose petals in the air as he did so. "I'm stylish, beautiful, and great. The son of the next mayor of Maiami City and entertaining extraordinaire, Neo New Sawatari Shingo!"
[Hurray! Hurray!] The lackey's cheer as they had rehearsed many times before.
Perfect introduction, just like we rehearsed. Sawatari gloated. I'm sure he's completely stunned quiet from my greatness.
Yuuji cringed heavily at Sawatari's introduction.
"How long did it take you to rehearse this?" Yuuji asked. "I think it's time to go back to the drawing board."
"Eh?" Sawatari turned to stone.
"I mean, who wrote that script? It sounds like something a snobby fifth grader would write to boost his own fragile ego."
"Gah!" Sawatari felt himself being stabbed through the chest multiple times at Yuuji's comments.
"I mean, it's expected from someone who hides behind his daddy's money and fame since he can't do anything himself."
"Pfft." Lackey 1 almost burst out laughing.
"He's got you there, Sawatari-san," Lackey 2 commented.
"H-Hey! Keep that to yourself!" Sawatari reprimanded his lackeys with an embarrassed look on his face before turning back to Yuuji. "And you, Baruki Buuji. How dare you talk about I, Neo New Sawatari Shingo like that."
"First of all, my name is not Baruki Buuji, it's Haruki Yuuji. Get it right," Yuuji corrected. "Secondly, how many times are you going to repeat that stupid nickname you gave yourself. Neo and New literally mean the same thing, you dumbass."
"T-They do!?" Sawatari was actually surprised by this.
[That idiot.] Sawatari's lackeys all facepalmed at his stupidity.
"W-Whatever!" Sawatari changed the subject to save face. "I won't tolerate this disrespect any longer! I, Sawatari Shingo, challenge you to a duel to regain my honor!"
What honor did he have in the first place? Yuuji thought.
Jokes aside, this is exactly what he had been waiting for. After over half a week of searching, he has finally found another opponent to help him qualify.
"A duel, huh? You're on!" Yuuji accepted the challenge. "I'll teach you a lesson or two about the consequences of trying to get You Show taken down because of your little grudge against someone better than you, AKA Yuya."
"Yuya is not better than me!" Sawatari shouted. "And I'll prove it to you with this duel. Let's take this to the abandoned harbor down south. It'll be the perfect setting for me to beat you down senselessly and pay you back for all those incredulous comments you've made about my competency."
Incredulous, what the hell does that even mean? Yuuji wondered. How does he know words like that, but not know that Neo and New mean the same thing?
Probably just a rich person thing.
"Fine with me," Yuuji agreed to the terms. "However, I won't be the one getting beat down."
After around twenty minutes of walking, the five made their way to the abandoned harbor. Sawatari's three lackeys took their post on the side to spectate, while Yuuji and Sawatari each took their post away from each other.
"I'm ready when you are," Yuuji said as he placed his deck in his duel disk, prompting the auto shuffling system to activate.
"I'm ready too," Sawatari said. "With these custom cards I've personally received from LDS, I'll finally be able to defeat Yuya and his cheap Pendulum Summoning."
"Beat me first before you can even think of challenging Yuya," Yuuji stated as he activated this duel disk.
"That's just what I'll do," Sawatari smirked as he too activated his duel disk.
The two of them each drew their first five cards.
[DUEL!] The two shout in unison as the duel begins.
[Turn 1: Yuuji] [H: 5]
"I'll take the first turn!" Yuuji declared as he began his turn. "I activate the Spell Card, Relic of the Antique! By discarding a Level 5 or higher 'Antique' Monster from my hand and paying 1000 Life Points, I can add two different 'Antique' Monsters from my deck to my hand!"
Yuuji — LP: 4000 → 3000
"Lowering your Life Points right at the start, not a very smart choice, Haruki," Sawatari commented.
"It's not like I need the Life Points anyway…" Yuuji stated as he drew his two cards. "...because with these cards, my path to victory is already in sight."
Yuuji then revealed the two cards.
"Using the Scale 1 Antique Mimic Chest and the Scale 6 Antique Compass, I set the Pendulum Scale!" Yuuji announced as he placed the two cards on opposite ends of his duel blade, the word [PENDULUM] appearing between them in rainbow font as two Pendulum Zones appeared behind Yuuji.
"P-P-Pendulum!?" Sawatari cried out in shock. "Sakaki Yuya wasn't the only one!?"
"I only heard rumors that there was another guy who was able to use Pendulum Summoning," Lackey 1 commented. "But I thought they were fake."
"To think they ended up being true…" Lackey 2 said.
"Sawatari-san might have picked the wrong guy to pick a fight with." Lackey 3 said.
"You guys shut up!" Sawatari reprimanded them. "I can handle this just fine! It's all within my expectations."
You were just shocked when I used these cards. Yuuji rolled his eyes at the blatant lie.
"Let's see if this is within your expectations as well," Yuuji continued. "With my currently set Pendulum Scale, I can summon monsters Levels 2 through 5 all at the same time! Shine, Pendulum of Destiny! Draw an arc across the ether, and reflect onto me a path to victory! I Pendulum Summon! Come out, my monsters!"
A portal appeared in the sky, with two beams of energy shooting out from it.
"From my hand, welcome Antique Maker - Mira (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5/SC: 8) and Antique Maker - Edison (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 1300/DEF: 1200/LV: 5/SC: 2)!"
A woman in all black holding a pristine mirror in her hand and a well dressed man in a suit appeared on Yuuji's field.
"When Antique Maker - Mira is summoned onto my field, I can add 1 'Antique' Card from my deck to my hand!" Yuuji added a card to his hand. "Then, using my two Level 5 monsters, I construct the Overlay Network!"
A galaxy vortex appears in front of Yuuji, as his two monsters transform into energies that are then absorbed by the vortex. A massive pillar of light shot out from the vortex's center as Yuuji began chanting.
"Appear from the digitised world, eight-legged vessel of information!" Yuuji chanted. "I Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 5! Accel Hacking Spider (Dark/Cyberse/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 100/LV: 5/OU: 2) in defense mode!"
A machine spider with a body covered in countless blue circuits appeared on Yuuji's field.
"Now an Xyz Summon?" Sawatari was stunned. "Just how much do you plan on doing."
"Quite a bit more, thank you very much. Accel Hacking Spider's effect activates!" Yuuji announced. "By detaching one Overlay Unit from it, I can Special Summon a Level 5 or lower monster from my deck! Appear, Antique Ignition Pot (Light/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5)!"
(Accel Hacking Spider — OU: 2 → 1)
A large red jar with flames shooting out from the opening on its top appeared.
"Next, I summon the Tuner Monster, Antique Resonance Mirror (Light/Fairy/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 2)!" A floating mirror in pristine condition appeared on Yuuji's field. "And when Resonance Mirror is summoned, I can Special Summon another 'Antique' Monster from my deck! Appear, Antique Tabletop (Light/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5)!"
A floating wooden table appeared.
"And with Antique Mimic Chest's Pendulum Effect, I can make Antique Resonance Mirror's Level equal to that of both Antique Tabletop and Antique Ignition Pot."
(Antique Resonance Mirror — LV: 2 → 5)
(Antique Tabletop — LV: 5)
(Antique Ignition Pot — LV: 5)
"Now that I have three more monsters with the same level, care to guess what I'm about to do?" Yuuji inquired.
"Three monsters of the same level…" Sawatari thought about it for a moment before his jaw dropped. "Don't tell me, you…"
"Yup. Doing it once isn't enough for me," Yuuji smirked. "With the now Level 5 Antique Resonance Mirror, Antique Tabletop, and Antique Ignition Pot, I construct the Overlay Network once again!"
Yuuji's three aforementioned monsters are sucked into a galaxy vortex, with a large pillar of light shooting out from its center as Yuuji begins chanting.
"The will of the oppressed who die on the battlefield burns bright. They wait for the one who guides the will of the fallen to victory! I Xyz Summon! Rise up, Rank 5! The courageous leader who fans the flames of rebellion, Antique Maker - Revolution Commander (Fire/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/R: 5/SC: 5/OU: 3)!"
A courageous man with striking red hair and sharp, eagle-like eyes, cloaked in black with a matching mask covering his mouth appeared.
"I now activate Revolution Commander's effect!" Yuuji continued. "By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can Special Summon Antique Dawning Blaze (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5/SC: 7) from my deck!"
(Revolution Commander — OU: 3 → 2)
A floating, fiery blade with a golden hilt appeared on Yuuji's field.
"Next, Dawning Blaze's effect activates!" Yuuji declared. "I can equip this card to Revolution Commander, increasing its attack by 500 for each monster on the field. Since the only other monster on the field is Accel Hacking Spider, Revolution Commander only gains 500 ATK."
Revolution Commander grabs onto the hilt of Dawning Blaze, whose flames surround the warrior as it powers up.
(Revolution Commander — ATK: 2500 → 3000)
"I set one card facedown and end my turn," Yuuji concluded with a facedown. "You're up, Sawatari."
"...O-Oh right." Sawatari dropped his stunned expression after realizing it was now his turn. "That was quite the impressive turn, Haruki. However I, the Neo New Sawatari Shingo, won't be deterred just from that!"
He went back to using that stupid title again. Yuuji sweatdropped.
"My turn! Draw!" Sawatari drew a card as his turn began.
[Turn 2: Sawatari] [H: 6]
"I activate Yosen Training Grounds! While this card is active, every time I Normal or Special Summon a Yosenju Monster, one Yosen Counter is added to this card, which I can exchange for a specific effect." Sawatari explained as a shine with candles appeared behind him. "Next, I summon Yosenju Kama 1 (Wind/Beast-Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1600/DEF: 500/LV: 4)!"
A silver-haired weasel warrior dressed in a kimono and holding a sickle appeared on Sawatari's field. At the same time, a candle was lit on the shrine behind him.
(Yosen Counter: 0 → 1)
"Thanks to Yosenju Kama 1's effect, I can Normal Summon another 'Yosenju' Monster from my hand!" Sawatari declared. "Appear now, Yosenju Kama 2 (Wind/Beast-Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1800/DEF: 200/LV: 4)!"
Another silver-haired weasel warrior, this time holding a katana, appeared. At the same time, another candle was lit.
(Yosen Counter: 1 → 2)
"Same as Yosenju Kama 1, Yosenju Kama 2 allows me to Normal Summon another 'Yosenju' Monster from my hand!" Sawatari announced. "Make way for Yosenju Kama 3 (Wind/Beast-Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1500/DEF: 800/LV: 4)!"
A third silver-haired weasel warrior, brandishing a dagger appeared.
(Yosen Counter: 2 → 3)
"Yosenju Kama 1's other effect now activates!" Sawatari shouts. "If I control another 'Yosenju' Monster on my field, I can target 1 face-up card on your field, and return it to your hand! I plan to send that Revolution Commander that you worked so hard to bring out right back to where it came from!"
The weasel warrior slashes the air, creating a whirlwind that surrounds Revolution Commander and removes it from the field.
"Damn, that sucks…" Yuuji muttered as he placed Revolution Commander back to his Extra Deck facedown.
"All that effort just to lose it, I'm glad I'm not you right now," Sawatari mocked. "But don't think I'm done yet, Haruki! Now here comes my Battle Phase!" Sawatari smiled as Yosenju Kama 2 leapt forward. "Thanks to Yosenju Kama 2's effect, by halving its ATK points, I can attack you directly with it!"
(Yosenju Kama 2 — ATK: 1800 → 900)
Yuuji braced himself as he was slashed by Sawatari's monster, wincing a bit from the pain as his Life Points dropped.
Yuuji — LP: 3000 → 2100
(Yosenju Kama 2 — ATK: 900 → 1800)
"Yosenju Kama 3's effect now activates," Sawatari announced. "When I inflict battle damage to my opponent using a 'Yosenju' Monster, I can add one 'Yosenju' Monster from my deck to my hand!"
Sawatari added a card to his hand and smiled.
"Next, Yosenju Kama 3 attacks Accel Hacking Spider!" Sawatari commanded as his third monster leapt forward, slicing cleanly through the Xyz Monster.
"Now that guy's field is completely bare of monsters," Lackey 1 was shocked.
"Maybe Sawatari-san wasn't lying when he said that he found a way to counter Pendulum users," Lackey 2 commented.
"Now go, Yosenju Kama 1! Attack him directly!" Sawatari commanded.
"Yeah, no," Yuuji simply said as his Trap Card was flipped face up. "I activate the Trap Card, Special Antique Delivery! When I'm about to be attacked while I control no monsters on my field, I can Special Summon an Antique Monster directly from my deck in defense mode! Appear, the Tuner Monster, Antique Maker - Tuning Witch (Dark/Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 300/LV: 1)!"
A female monster with long blonde hair, wearing a black witches cloak and holding a black staff with a yellow gemstone at its tip appeared.
"When Tuning Witch is summoned onto my field, I take 100 damage for each Pendulum Monster on my field and in my Pendulum Zones. Since there are currently two, I take 200 points of damage."
Yuuji hisses in pain as his duel disk begins to shock him slightly.
Yuuji — LP: 2100 → 1900
"I'll just destroy your monster then, go Yosenju Kama 1!" Sawatari continued his attack.
"That won't work!" Yuuji announced, much to Sawatari's dismay. "When a monster is summoned via the effect of Special Antique Delivery, it can't be destroyed by battle for the rest of this turn!"
A barrier formed around Tuning Witch, protecting it from Sawatari's attack.
"Tch," Sawatari clicked his tongue. "I activate Yosen Training Ground's effect. By exchanging three of my Yosen Counters, I can add 1 'Yosenju' Monster to my hand."
Sawatari added a card to his hand.
"I set one card facedown and end my turn," Sawatari concluded. "And with the end of my turn, Yosenju Kama 1, 2, and 3's effects all activate. If these cards were Normal Summoned this turn, they return to my hand during the End Phase."
Yosenju Kama 1, 2, and 3 are surrounded by tornados before they return back to Sawatari's hand.
"It's my turn! Draw!" Yuuji drew a card as his turn began
[Turn 3: Yuuji] [H: 1]
Yuuji looked at the card in his hand. It was a Trap Card, something he couldn't really make use of right now.
That's fine though, since I have other options. Yuuji thought.
"I set one card," Yuuji began by setting the card he had just drawn. "Then, I activate the effect of the Antique Compass in my Pendulum Zone, allowing me to Special Summon an 'Antique' Monster from my graveyard. Return to my field, Antique Maker - Mira (ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5)!"
The woman in all black with a mirror in her hand appeared once again.
"Antique Maker - Mira's effect activates, allowing me to add an 'Antique' card from my deck to my hand," Yuuji added a card to his hand. "Now, with my currently set Pendulum Scale, I Pendulum Summon!"
A portal appeared above him as a beam of energy shot out from it.
"Appear, Antique Maker - Wrenchworker (Dark/Spellcaster/Effect/ATK: 300/DEF: 400/LV: 2)!"
A young man in apprentice clothing appeared.
"Now the Level 1 Antique Maker - Tuning Witch tunes the Level 2 Antique Maker - Wrenchworker and the Level 5 Antique Maker - Mira!"
Yuuji announced as the aforementioned monsters transform into a yellow ring and green orbs respectively, lining up as a pillar of green light shot through its center.
"Sonic gale winds that move at the speed of sound. Ride the speeding current as you pave a path to victory!" Yuuji chanted. "I Synchro Summon! Accelerate, Level 8! Antique Maker - Freedom Rider (Wind/Spellcaster/Synchro/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1500/LV: 8/SC: 1)!"
Appearing on the field now was a man riding a grey and green colored Duel Runner, wearing similarly colored gear.
"Now a Synchro Summon?" Lackey 3 said with surprise. "I can't believe he still had a way to bring out a powerful monster like that."
"I'm not done yet!" Yuuji announced. "Freedom Rider's effect now activates! When this card is Synchro Summoned, I can destroy any amount of cards equal to the number of 'Antique' Monsters used as material to summon this card. Since I used three cards to summon it, I can destroy up to three cards on your field! I choose to destroy your Yosen Training Ground, along with that card that you set on your turn! Freedom Gale!"
Freedom Rider drives around in circles, creating a cyclone that sucks up the aforementioned cards and destroys them.
"Now that your field is completely bare, I activate Freedom Rider's second effect! Once per turn, I can banish a card from my graveyard in order to temporarily raise Freedom Rider's ATK by 1000, as well as grant it that monster's effect until the end of this turn! I choose to banish Antique Maker - Wrenchworker in my graveyard!"
A green aura erupts around Freedom Rider as it powered up.
(Freedom Rider — ATK: 2000 → 3000)
"3000 ATK!?" Sawatari cried out in shock.
"Battle!" Yuuji moved into his Battle Phase. "Now go, Freedom Rider! Attack Sawatari directly! Hyperstream Rush!"
Freedom Rider revs up its engine as it accelerates straight towards. Sawatari had a worried expression on his for a moment before it soon contorted into a sly smirk.
"Kidding~," Sawatari said. "I activate the effect of Yosenju Oyam in my hand! When you declare a direct attack, by sending one 'Yosenju' from my hand into the graveyard, I can Special Summon it to my field!"
A giant monster with a body cloaked in darkness appeared.
[Yosenju Oyam (Wind/Beast/Effect/ATK: ?/DEF: ?/LV: 6)]
"A monster with an unknown ATK and DEF?" Yuuji was surprised.
"While it's on the field, its ATK and DEF are equal to the original ATK of the monster it's battling!"
(Yosenju Oyam — ATK: ? → 2000, DEF: ? → 2000)
However, once the numbers were calculated, Sawatari's jaw dropped.
"Wait? Why does it have 2000 ATK instead of 3000!?" Sawatari said in shock.
"Your effect only copies a monster's original ATK," Yuuji stated. "Freedom Rider's original ATK is 2000, not 3000."
"Oh right!" Sawatari realized as Freedom Rider crashes into Yosenju Oyam, ripping right through the giant monster and creating a shockwave that causes Sawatari to wince.
Sawatari — LP: 4000 → 3000
"Damn…" Sawatari cursed. "When Yosenju Oyam is destroyed, I can add one 'Yosenju' card from my deck to my hand!"
Sawatari added a card to his hand.
"I end my turn," Yuuji concluded. "And with the end of my turn, Freedom Rider's ATK returns to normal."
(Freedom Rider — ATK: 3000 → 2000)
"My turn! Draw!" Sawatari began his turn.
[Turn 4: Sawatari] [H: 6]
Sawatari looked at the cards in his hand and smiled.
"I've been meaning to take these new cards on a test run. You've just given me the perfect chance to see what they can do!" Sawatari declared as he revealed two cards in his hand, causing Yuuji's eyes to widen in shock once he recognized the cards.
No way. He has them too!? Yuuji thought.
"I set the Pendulum Scale with the Scale 3 Yosenju Shinchu L and the Scale 5 Yosenju Shinchu R!" Sawatari announced. "Make way for their dazzling debut!"
Sawatari placed the two cards on opposite ends of his duel blade, as the word [PENDULUM] appeared between them in rainbow font. Two Pendulum Zones appeared behind him, with two stone statues rising into each of them. The numbers 3 and 5 appear on the zones in a strange, golden font.
"Yosenju Shinchu R's Pendulum Effect activates," Sawatari stated. "While I have a 'Yosenju' Monster placed in my other Pendulum Zone, this card's Scale Number becomes 11!"
(Yosenju Shinchu R — SC: 5 → 11)
"Now with my Pendulum Scale, I can summon monsters Levels 4 through 10 simultaneously!" Sawatari announced as he began chanting. "Glorious power born within the abyss, grant me your strength! I Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my monsters!"
Two beams of energy shot out from the portal.
"Appear, Yosenju Kama 1 (ATK: 1600/DEF: 500/LV: 4) and Yosenju Kama 2 (ATK: 1800/DEF: 200/LV: 4)!"
Two silver-haired weasel warriors holding a sickle and katana respectively appeared.
"Next, I summon Yosenju Kama 3 (ATK: 1500/DEF: 800/LV: 4)!"
A third silver-haired weasel warrior, brandishing a dagger appeared.
"When Yosenju Kama 3 is summoned, I can Normal Summon another Yosenju Monster from my hand!" Sawatari declared. "Appear, wind-clad chief of phantoms! Mayosenju Daibak (Wind/Beast/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 3000/DEF: 300/LV: 10/SC: 7)!"
A giant green canine with a wisp-like body appeared.
"He managed to get so many monsters on his field all at once," Yuuji grimaced. "This could get dicey."
"Mayosenju Daibak's effect activates!" Sawatari announced. "When this monster is Normal or Special Summoned onto my field, I can target two cards on the field and return them to your hand!"
"Before that, I chain my Trap Card, Emergency Barrier!" Yuuji cut in. "I can only activate this card when I have less Life Points than my opponent. For the rest of this turn, all battle damage I would take is reduced to 0!"
"And he chained it right after I activated Mayosenju Daibak's effect, so it will activate before mine. So much for a stunning victory," Sawatari frowned. "Using Mayosenju Daibak's effect, I choose to return that Synchro Monster of yours, along with one of your Pendulum Zones back to your hand!"
Mayosenju Daibak uses its horn, creating a whirlwind that returns the aforementioned monsters back into their card form. Yuuji added Antique Compass to his hand, while he sent Freedom Rider to his Extra Deck facedown.
"Yosenju Kama 1's effect now activates as well, sending your final Pendulum Scale back to your hand!" Sawatari declared that as Yosenju Kama 1 slices the air in front of it, creating a whirlwind that destroys Yuuji's remaining Pendulum Zone.
Yuuji added Antique Mimic Chest back to his hand.
"I end my turn," Sawatari concluded, with Yosenju Kama 3 returning to his hand. "You may have managed to buy yourself one more turn, but I don't see a way for you to make a comeback in this scenario."
"I'm sort of a specialist in this kind of thing," Yuuji smiled. "I hope you won't be too surprised when you lose the next turn."
Yuuji placed his hand over the top of his deck and took a deep breath.
It all comes down to this, I lose here, my chances to enter the Maiami Championships will fade away.
"My turn! Draw!" Yuuji's deck began to glow as he drew with all of his might.
[Turn 5: Yuuji] [H: 3]
When Yuuji saw the card he drew, he smiled.
"I set the Scale 8 Antique Golden Carol into my Pendulum Scale!" Yuuji announced as a golden bell rose into an empty Pendulum Zone. "Golden Carol's effect than activates! When I don't control anything in my other Pendulum Zone, I can place a 1 'Antique' Pendulum Monster into that empty zone!"
Yuuji added a card to his hand.
"With the Scale 1 Antique Maker - Swinging Soul and the Scale 8 Antique Golden Carol already in my Pendulum Zone, I set the Pendulum Scale!" Yuuji declared as he placed the cards on opposite ends, the word Pendulum appearing between in rainbow font as a magician in white holding a pendulum in his hand rose into his other Pendulum Zone.
"Tch," Sawatari clicked his tongue.
"Now I can summon monsters Levels 2 through 7 all at the same time!" Yuuji shouted. "Shine, Pendulum of Destiny! Draw an arc across the ether, and reflect onto me a path to victory! Come forth, my precious monsters!"
A portal appeared above him, with three beams of energy shooting out from it.
"From my hand, Antique Mimic Chest (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5/SC: 1) and Antique Compass (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 3/SC: 6)! And from my Extra Deck, Antique Maker - Mira (ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5)!"
Yuuji's monsters swarm his field.
"When Antique Maker - Mira is summoned onto my field, I can add an 'Antique' card from my deck to my hand!" Yuuji added a card to his hand. "Now, the level 3 Antique Compass tunes the Level 5 Antique Mimic Chest!"
Yuuji's two aforementioned monsters transform into green rings and orbs respectively, lining up as Yuuji begins chanting.
"Sonic gale winds that move at the speed of sound. Ride the speeding current as you pave a path to victory!" Yuuji chanted. "Synchro Summon! Accelerate, Level 8! Antique Maker - Freedom Rider (ATK: 2000/DEF: 1500/LV: 8)!"
Appearing once again on the field was a man riding a grey and green colored Duel Runner, wearing similarly colored gear.
"That guy again?" Sawatari frowned. "Can't you come up with anything new."
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it," Yuuji replied. "Freedom Rider's effect activates! When this card is Synchro Summoned, I can destroy cards on your field equal to the number of 'Antique' Monsters used to summon it. Since I used two cards, I can destroy up to two cards on your field! Freedom Gale!"
Freedom Rider begins spinning around in a circle at sonic speeds, creating a large vortex of wind that threatens to suck up Sawatari's cards.
"Not so fast, Yosenju Shinchu L's effect activates!" Sawatari countered. "By tributing it from my Pendulum Zone, I can negate the destruction of my 'Yosenju' Monsters!"
A barrier formed around Sawatari's field, protecting him and his monsters from the winds produced by Freedom Rider.
"That won't matter. This duel is over!" Yuuji announced. "I activate the Spell Card, Antique Reborn! Thanks to this card, I can Special Summon an 'Antique' Monster directly from my graveyard. Be reborn, Antique Dawning Blaze (ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5)!"
The fiery sword with a golden hilt appeared once again.
"Dawning Blaze now equips itself to Freedom Rider, increasing its attack by 500 for each monster on our field excluding itself!" Yuuji declared as Dawning Blaze transformed into pure flames that then surround Freedom Rider completely. "Since there are three on yours and one on mine, Freedom Rider gains 2000 ATK!"
(Freedom Rider — ATK: 2000 → 4000)
"And since a Pendulum Monster had its ATK increased this turn, Antique Maker - Swinging Soul's Pendulum Effect activates!" Yuuji announced. "Increasing Freedom Rider's ATK by an extra 800!"
(Freedom Rider — ATK: 4000 → 4800)
"Next I activate Freedom Rider's second effect!" Yuuji announced. "By banishing Antique Maker - Edison from my graveyard, I can both copy its effect and increase Freedom Rider's ATK by an extra 1000!"
The flames surrounding Freedom Rider turned blue as it powered up even further.
(Freedom Rider — ATK: 4800 → 5800)
"5800 ATK!?" Sawatari took a step back. "B-But how? There's no way."
"Now for the climax! Battle!" Yuuji pumped his fist forward as he moved into his Battle Phase. "Antique Maker - Freedom Rider! Attack Sawatari's Yosenju Kama 1 and finish this duel! Hyperstream Rush!"
Freedom Rider revs up its engine, accelerating towards Sawatari's monster. The attack makes contact, destroying Yosenju Kama 1 and creating an explosion that sends Sawatari flying away—concluding the duel.
Sawatari — LP: 3000 → 0
Winner: Yuuji
The cards on both of their fields all disappear as the duel ends. Yuuji let out a sigh of relief after the tense duel ended.
I didn't expect him to be as strong as he was. Yuuji thought. I guess does he have at least a bit of skill to back up his boasts.
"Dammit, I was so close this time too," Sawatari sighed as he stood back up and dusted himself off. "That makes the third Yuya lookalike in a row that beat me so far."
While Sawatari was off sulking, Yuuji pulled out his duel disk to check whether or not this duel counted for his qualification.
Maiami Championships Qualifications
A 60% Win Rate (the duelist must have participated in fifty Official Duels for this to count):
—Incomplete (Current Win Rate: 35%)
OR
Win Six Official Duels in a Row (the duelist must have participated in fifty Official Duels for this to count):
—Incomplete (Current Winstreak: 5)
"Nice, it counted," Yuuji smiled. "I'm one win away from the Maiami Championships now."
—Thud!
Yuuji heard somebody drop nearby. When he looked to see who the source of the noise was, he noticed a tall man wearing a blue trench coat, sunglasses, and a red mask which covered the lower half of his face. His attention was locked on the four LDS students nearby.
"You four are from LDS, right?" Shun asked them.
"Yeah, so what?" Sawatari replied.
Shun activated his duel disk.
"Duel me. All four of you."
"Is this guy crazy?" Lackey 1 wondered.
"He seriously thinks he has a chance against all of us at the same time?" Lackey 2 scoffed.
"I think the three of us should go knock some sense into him," Lackey 3 suggested as he activated his duel disk.
"I like that idea," Lackey 2 agreed as he also activated his duel disk. "I think it's about time we put him in his place."
The three get into position, surrounding Shun on all sides. Sawatari moves away from the scene, making his way to the side. Yuuji does the same, leaving them to their duel.
Yuuji turned to Sawatari to ask something.
"You're not going to help them out?"
"They can handle it just fine. It's a three-on-one."
I'm not sure about that to be honest. Yuuji thought as he looked at Shun. That guy…looks incredibly strong.
Soon after that, their duel began.
[DUEL!] The four shouted in unison.
[BATTLE-ROYAL-DUEL]
Shun — LP: 4000
Lackey 1 — LP: 4000
Lackey 2 — LP: 4000
Lackey 3 — LP: 4000
[Turn 1: Lackey 1] [H: 5]
"I'll start!" Lackey 1 shouted. "When I control no cards on my field, I can summon Needle Dart Striker (Earth/Machine/Effect/ATK: 1300/DEF: 500/LV: 4)!"
A humanoid machine with a body made of green, with one of its hands being shaped like a dart appeared.
"Needle Dart Striker's effect activates!" Lackey 1 declared. "When I don't control any other 'Dart' Monsters on my field, I can Special Summon another 'Dart' Monster from my hand without the need to tribute! Appear, Ultimate Dart Striker (Earth/Machine/Effect/ATK: 2400/DEF: 300/LV: 7)!"
A humanoid machine monster with a body coated in blue, with one of its arms being shaped like a giant dart appeared.
"I set one card and pass my turn," Lackey 1 concluded.
"Then I'm up next, draw!" Lackey 2 began his turn next.
[Turn 2: Lackey 2] [H: 6]
"Since I control no cards on my field, I can also summon Needle Dart Striker (ATK: 1300/DEF: 500/LV: 4) to my field!"
Another Needle Dart Striker appeared.
"Needle Dart Striker's effect activates, allowing me to summon Ultimate Dart Striker (ATK: 2400/DEF: 300/LV: 7) from my hand!"
Another Ultimate Dart Striker appeared.
"Next, I activate the Continuous Spell, Dart Exchange!" Lackey 2 announced. "Once per turn, I can discard 1 card from my hand, and immediately after that, Special Summon 1 'Dart' Monster from my hand! Appear, Rocket Dart Striker (Earth/Machine/Effect/ATK: 1900/DEF: 100/LV: 6)!"
A red humanoid machine with a bulky arm that had multiple darts sticking out from it and a more feminine look overall appeared.
"I set one card and end my turn," Lackey 2 concluded.
"Then it's my go! Draw!" Lackey 3 began his turn.
[Turn 3: Lackey 3] [H: 6]
"Since the other two have brought it out, I might as well join in on the fun," Lackey 3 said. "Since I control no cards on my field, I can Special Summon Needle Dart Striker (ATK: 1300/DEF: 500/LV: 4) to my field!"
A third Needle Dart Striker appeared.
"All three of them are using the same archetype, and also just happened to have the same cards in their hand," Yuuji frowned and crossed his arms. "Yeah, not buying it."
"I don't see anything wrong with it." Sawatari scoffed. "We're not in some tournament game, everything out here is fair game."
"So, it's not that much of a stretch to think that you were also cheating in our duel then?" Yuuji inquired.
"Of course not!" Sawatari immediately denied it. "How would I be able to prove just how good I am if I were to do something as low as cheat?"
"That's surprising," Yuuji simply said before returning his attention to the ongoing duel.
"Just like its predecessors, Needle Dart Striker allows me to Special Summon a 'Dart' Monster directly from my hand!" Lackey 3 declared. "Appear, Ultimate Dart Striker (ATK: 2400/DEF: 300/LV: 7)!"
A third Ultimate Dart Striker appeared.
"Next, I activate the Continuous Spell, Dart Armory!" Lackey 3 announced as a machine factory appeared behind him. "As long as this spell remains on the field, 'Dart' Monsters can't be destroyed by card effects! I end my turn."
"Then it's my turn," Shun said as he removed his sunglasses and pulled down his mask, revealing his face. "Draw!"
[Turn 4: Shun] [H: 6]
"I summon Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius (Dark/Winged-Beast/Effect/ATK: 1300/DEF: 1600/LV: 4)!"
A mechanical falcon with green armor appeared
"When Vanishing Lanius is summoned, I can Special Summon another copy of it from my hand!"
Another mechanical falcon with green armor appeared.
[Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius (ATK: 1300/DEF: 1600/LV: 4)]
"I set four cards and end my turn," Shun concluded.
"That's all?" Lackey 1 laughed. "I expected more from somebody who was so adamant to challenge us."
"..." Shun remained quiet.
"Well it doesn't matter anyway, we'll finish you off quickly and get this over with." Lackey 1 stated as he began his turn. "My turn! Draw!"
[Turn 5: Lackey 1] [H: 3]
"Battle!" Lackey 1 moved into his Battle Phase. "Ultimate Dart Striker attacks one of your monsters!"
Ultimate Dart Striker's dart hand shoots out from it, piercing through one of the Vanishing Lanius, creating a small explosion that causes Shun to wince.
Shun — LP: 4000 → 2900
"Needle Dart Striker attacks your final monster!"
Needle Dart Striker leaps forward, piercing its dart arm through the final Vanishing Lanius. Vanishing Lanius begins to short circuit briefly before exploding, taking out Needle Dart Striker with it. At the same time, one of Shun's facedown traps is flipped face up.
"I activate my Trap Card, Raidraptor - Return!" Shun shouted. "When a 'Raidraptor' Monster is destroyed by battle, I can return it to my hand!"
Shun added back one of the destroyed Vanishing Lanius back to his hand.
"I end my turn with that," Lackey 1 then turned to the other two. "You guys make sure you finish him off. I left him completely wide open."
"Right," Lackey 2 nodded. "My turn! Draw!"
[Turn 6: Lackey 2] [H: 1]
"Battle!" Lackey 2 immediately went to his Battle Phase as well. "Ultimate Dart Striker, attack that fool directly!"
Ultimate Dart Striker shoots its dart hand directly towards Shun, who watches the attack approach him with any concern.
"Trap Card, open!" Shun shouts as another one of his set cards is flipped face-up. "Necro Raptor! When I would be targeted for a direct attack, I can reduce the battle damage I would receive to zero, and Special Summon 1 'Raidraptor' Monster from my graveyard! Be reborn, Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius (ATK: 1300/DEF: 1600/LV: 4) in defense mode!"
One of Shun's Vanishing Lanius reappeared on his field. A barrier formed around both it and Shun, protecting them from Ultimate Dart Striker's attack.
"So what? I'll just destroy it!" Lackey 2 shouted. "Rocket Dart Striker attacks Vanishing Lanius!"
Rocket Dart Striker spins around, shooting multiple darts at Vanishing Lanius. However, before any of them could hit it, another one of Shun's set Trap Cards is activated.
"I activate the Trap Card, Defense Draw!" Shun announced. "I can draw 1 card. Then, for the rest of this turn, monsters I control cannot be destroyed by battle!"
Shun drew a card as a barrier appeared around Vanishing Lanius, protecting it from harm.
"He just keeps finding a way to weasel out of our attacks," Lackey 1 frowned.
"Whatever, I'll leave it to you," Lackey 2 said to Lackey 3. "I end my turn."
"You got it, I'll finish him off!" Lackey 3 declared as he began his turn. "My turn! Draw!"
[Turn 7: Lackey 3] [H: 4]
"I activate my own Dart Exchange!" Lackey 3 announced. "By discarding a card from my hand, I can Special Summon a 'Dart' Monster to my field! Appear, Power Dart Striker (Earth/Machine/Effect/ATK: 1800/DEF: 700/LV: 5)!"
An orange humanoid machine with a dart hand appeared.
"Battle!" Lackey 3 moved into his Battle Phase. "Power Dart Striker attacks Vanishing Lanius!"
Power Dart Striker leaps forward, using its dart arm to pierce through Vanishing Lanius and destroy it.
"Ultimate Dart Striker now attacks you directly!"
Ultimate Dart Striker shoots its dart at Shun, who stands unphased as his final Trap Card is activated.
"Trap Card, open! Raidraptor - Readiness!" Shun declared. "When I could take any instance of damage, I can negate that damage!"
A barrier formed around Shun, deflecting the dart before it could even get close to him.
"Tch," Lackey 3 clicked his tongue. "At least I've snuffed out all of your defenses. You're wide open now!"
Needle Dart Striker leaps forward towards Shun.
"Needle Dart Striker attacks you directly!"
Needle Dart Striker tried to attack Shun with its dart arm, but Shun deflected it with his duel blade, only being slightly harmed by the recoil of the action.
Shun — LP: 2900 → 1600
"I end my turn with that," Lackey 3 concluded. "Now you're all out of defenses. Once our next turn comes around, we'll wipe out the rest of your Life Points!"
"He's right, you've done well to survive all of our attacks so far. But once it becomes any of our turns, we'll be able to easily wipe out your remaining Life Points," Lackey 2 added.
"You might as well give up now, it'll save you the embarrassment," Lackey 1 suggested.
The three begin laughing.
"...Are you done?" Shun asked, completely unaffected by the three's words. "Because if you are, I'll begin my turn now."
Shun placed his hand on the top of his deck, closing his eyes for a moment before forcing them open once again, an intense expression etched on his face.
"My turn! DRAW!" Shun drew with might powerful enough to create a small burst of wind.
[Turn 8: Shun] [H: 3]
[Current Theme Playing: Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Sound Duel 1 OST 23 - A Cornered Duelist]
"I summon Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius (ATK: 1300/DEF: 1600/LV: 4)!"
A green mechanical falcon appeared.
"When Vanishing Lanius is summoned, I can Special Summon a second copy of it from my hand!"
Another mechanical falcon with green armor appeared.
[Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius (ATK: 1300/DEF: 1600/LV: 4)]
"When I control Vanishing Lanius, I can Special Summon Raidraptor - Fuzzy Lanius (Dark/Winged-Beast/Effect/ATK: 500/DEF: 1500/LV: 4) from my hand!"
A mechanical falcon with dark purple armor appeared.
"How scary, you summon three harmless birds," Lackey 1 mocked. "If this is your best attempt at a comeback, you might want to go back to the drawing board."
No, they're wrong. Yuuji's eyes widened. That guy, he's planning something big.
"Using my two Level 4 Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius and Raidraptor - Fuzzy Lanius, I construct the Overlay Network!" Shun announced as his monsters were absorbed into a galaxy vortex that appeared in front of him. The ground began to shake as a giant pillar of light shot out from the vortex's center.
"W-What the hell is happening!?" Sawatari asked aloud as he fell to the ground.
This is the same thing that happened when Yuto Xyz Summoned. Yuuji assessed. Could the two of them be related in some way?
"Obscured falcon," Shun chanted, "Raise your sharpened talons in front of adversity; spread your wings of rebellion! I Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 4! Raidraptor - Rise Falcon (Dark/Winged-Beast/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 2000/R: 4/OU: 3)!"
Bursting out of the vortex was a large mechanical falcon with a body coated in blue and silver. The monster let out a loud shriek to announce its presence, sending out a shockwave that caused the three lackeys to wince.
"What the hell is that?" Lackey 2 wondered, sweat dripping down his face.
"I don't know…" Lackey 3 responded.
Lackey 1 was the most level-headed of the three, though he still was sweating just as much as the other two.
"Guys…look at its ATK points," Lackey 1 pointed out. "It only has 100 ATK, it can't do anything to us."
"R-Right. We'll be fine…" Lackey 2 let out an unsure smile.
"Raidraptor - Rise Falcon can attack each of your Special Summoned monsters once," Shun stated. "Prepare to face your annihilation, LDS!"
"So what if you can attack all of our monsters? Your monster is way too weak to even leave a dent!" Lackey 1 sneered. "You have no other cards in your hand or field that can help you out either. You're finished!"
"I activate Rise Falcon's effect!" Shun announced. "By using one Overlay Unit, it gains the ATK points of all Special Summoned monsters on your field!"
Rise Falcon bursts into flames and let out a deafening screech as its ATK increases greatly.
(Rise Falcon — OU: 3 → 2)
(Rise Falcon — ATK: 100 + 2400 + 1300 + 2400 + 1900 + 1300 + 2400 + 1800 = 13600)
"13600 ATK!?" Lackey 1 cried out in shock.
"H-Hey, does anybody have a way to stop this?" Lackey 2 wondered. "My set card can't do anything."
"Mine can't do anything either," Lackey 1 admitted.
"Then doesn't that mean we just lose?" Lackey 3 turned blue at the realization.
"Battle!" Shun shouted as Rise Falcon soars into the air. "Raidraptor - Rise Falcon, slice down all your enemies before you! Brave Claw Revolution!"
Rise Falcon soars down, slicing through all of their monsters brutally, creating countless explosions as a result. The shockwaves from the explosions send the three lackeys flying into a crate—their Life Points all being reduced to zero.
Lackey 1 — LP: 4000 → 0
Lackey 2 — LP: 4000 → 0
Lackey 3 — LP: 4000 → 0
Winner: Shun
[BGM (Background Music) Ends Here.]
"W-What power…" Sawatari nervously muttered. "It's just like that other guy…"
That monster…it wiped them all out in a single turn. Yuuji was left there stunned. I never knew that a monster could have that much power.
Rise Falcon lets out a shrill screech before disappearing. Shun then begins walking towards the three unconscious lackeys.
What is he doing? Yuuji wondered.
Shun stopped in front of the three for a moment, looking down on them with a hateful expression before pointing his duel disk at them. After pressing a few buttons on his duel disk, a bright, blinding purple light filled the area, forcing both Yuuji and Sawatari to look away for a moment.
When the light died down, the two finally looked back. However, Sawatari's three lackeys were nowhere to be seen. Shun pulled out three cards that were just printed from his duel disk, shaking them off a bit before throwing them in front of the two.
Yuuji knelt down, picking up one of the cards to get a better look. However, when he did…
"N-No way," Yuuji said.
"What's wrong? What did you…oh my god!" Sawatari jumped back after looking at the card.
Printed on the card was the face of the unconscious Lackey 2. Yuuji went to pick up the other two cards Shun had thrown their way, finding Lackey 1 and 3 both in a similar state.
He turned them into cards!? Yuuji couldn't believe it. That's possible!?
Shun then began walking up to the two of them, not even concerned about what he had just done. He reactivated his duel disk.
"Three down, one more to go," Shun said in a cold tone.
"One to go? D-Does he mean me!?" Sawatari pointed at himself. "W-Wait we can talk about this. What do you want, money? Power? I can see if I can arrange that for you. Just turn my friends back to normal and let me go unharmed."
"..." Shun didn't say a word as he kept walking closer to Sawatari.
However, before he could get any closer, Yuuji stepped in between the two.
"Hey, bastard!" Yuuji addressed Shun. "I don't know what kind of beef you have with LDS, but I can't let you step any further."
"I don't have any business with you," Shun said. "Unless…are you a part of LDS too?"
"And if I am?" Yuuji inquired.
"Then you'll share the same fate as those three weaklings," Shun stated.
Yuuji activated his duel disk.
"I dare you to try."
Yuuji then looked at Sawatari, who held the carded forms of his lackeys with shaky hands.
Sawatari won't be much help here. I'm going to have to duel him myself. Yuuji thought.
Not the worst thing in the world, since it saves him the trouble of having to look after somebody else while he duels.
"Sawatari," Yuuji said. "Go find a good place to hide. I'll handle this."
Sawatari was shocked by what Yuuji had just said, "A-Are you sure? This guy is crazy strong."
"It's not like you can duel with your hands shaking that much," Yuuji said.
"O-Oh yeah," Sawatari looked at his hands. "I-I'll get out of your way."
Sawatari quickly moved out of the way, finding a hiding spot inside one of the abandoned warehouses. The place had a good enough vantage point, which gave him a good enough view of the duel.
Once Yuuji was sure Sawatari was far enough away, he turned back to his opponent.
"Before we start, may I know the name of my opponent?" Yuuji asked.
"Shun. Kurosaki Shun," Shun answered, much to Yuuji's surprise.
"You actually answered? I thought you would be one of the types to say, 'there's no need for me to tell my name to someone who's about to die.'"
"It's courtesy," Shun responded, "I'll at least give you the minimum respect before I take your life, an honor your people did not grant to mine."
Here comes the cryptic talk again.
"Does the name Yuto ring a bell?" Yuuji suddenly asked.
"How do you know that name?" Shun turned serious.
"Oh, so you do know him," Yuuji was surprised. "Guess that explains the similar cryptic jargon you both keep saying."
"..." Shun didn't respond, however Yuuji could tell that Shun was even more pissed than he already was.
"Guess I struck a nerve," Yuuji smirked. "Since you don't feel like talking anymore, let's just start this duel."
The two of them drew their first five cards as the duel began shortly after that.
[DUEL!]
Nearby…
"Where did he run off to?" Rio wondered as she arrived at the abandoned harbor.
She had finally caught on to Shun's tracks a little while ago, finding the aftermath of one of Shun's duels. Following the path of carnage that Shun left in his wake, she eventually found herself here, at the abandoned harbor.
However, she ran into a problem, since the trail that she had been following had gone cold.
"It would be great if he caused another explosion or something with his duel…" Rio muttered before—
—BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Multiple explosions erupted in a distant part of the harbor, along with a familiar screech of a monster that Rio recognized all too well.
"There you are," Rio smiled as she made her way to the source of the explosions.
Custom Cards:
Monster Cards -
Accel Hacking Spider
ATK: 100, DEF: 100, R: 5
Light/Cyberse/Xyz/Effect
2 Level 5 Monsters
Monster Effect: Once per turn: You can detach 1 material from this card; Special Summon 1 Level 5 or lower monster from your Deck.
Needle Dart Striker
ATK: 1300, DEF: 500, LV: 4
Earth/Machine/Effect
Monster Effect: If you control no cards, you can Special Summon this card from your hand. Once per turn, if you do not control any other "Dart" monsters, you can Special Summon 1 "Dart" monster from your hand.
Spell/Trap Cards -
Relic of the Antique
Normal Spell
Activate this card by discarding 1 Level 5 or higher "Antique" monster and paying 1000 LP. Add 2 different "Antique" monsters from your Deck to your hand.
Special Antique Delivery
Counter Trap
When an opponent's monster declares an attack while you control no monsters: Special Summon 1 "Antique" monster from your Deck in Defense Position. A monster Special Summoned by this effect cannot be destroyed by battle this turn.
Antique Reborn
Normal Spell
Target 1 "Antique" monster in your GY; Special Summon it.
Dart Exchange
Continuous Spell
Once per turn: You can discard 1 card; Special Summon 1 "Dart" monster from your hand.
Dart Armory
Continuous Spell
"Dart" monsters on the field cannot be destroyed by card effects.
Defense Draw
Counter Trap
Draw 1 card, then, for the rest of this turn, monsters you control cannot be destroyed by battle.
And that's the first part of the Kurosaki Arc (I'm not really sure what it's actually called so let's just go with that).
I was planning on having Part 1 and 2 be packed into the same chapter, but this chapter is already super long, so I decided to just break it up. This will be a three-chapter arc, just like the LDS Invasion Arc, though hopefully better since there's more action involved.
As always, be sure to drop some review, suggestions, questions, etc. I would love to hear your thoughts. If the next chapter is out, you might as well go read it.
Chapter 10: Rebellious Falcons (II)
Chapter Text
Edit #1: 10/17 Chapters Revamped.
And here's the second part of the Kurosaki Arc for the people at home.
Be sure to drop some reviews, suggestions, and questions. I see all of them so feel free to speak out your mind and drop some suggestions or comments about the story. Criticism is also welcome (as long as it isn't brainless flaming of the story).
Without any further ado, enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: Minor spelling, grammar, and other mistakes may be present.
[Standard Arc Opening Theme (Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Opening 1: BELIEVE X BELIEVE)]
Scale 010: Rebellious Falcons (II)
[DUEL!]
Yuuji — LP: 4000
Shun — LP: 4000
[Turn 1: Yuuji] [H: 5]
"I'll start!" Yuuji shouted before looking at his hand. However, when he saw what he drew, he froze.
I…can't do anything with this hand.
Four Trap Cards plus Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon, a Level 7 Monster.
"I…set four cards, and end my turn," Yuuji concluded.
"You talk big, but you failed to even summon a single monster," Shun commented.
"I just got a little unlucky, that's all," Yuuji replied.
"..." Shun didn't reply after that, placing his hand at the top of his deck. "My turn! Draw!"
[Turn 2: Shun] [H: 6]
"I summon Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius (Dark/Winged-Beast/Effect/ATK: 1300/DEF: 1600/LV: 4)!"
A green mechanical falcon appeared on Shun's field.
"When Vanishing Lanius is summoned, I can summon another copy of it from my hand!" Shun declared as a second Vanishing Lanius appeared. "And since this second Vanishing Lanius was also summoned, I can Special Summon a third Vanishing Lanius as well!"
A third Vanishing Lanius appeared.
[Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius (ATK: 1300/DEF: 1600/LV: 4)]
[Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius (ATK: 1300/DEF: 1600/LV: 4)]
"Now he has three Level 4 monsters…" Yuuji muttered. "Is he going to bring out that monster again?"
"Battle!" Shun moved into his Battle Phase immediately. "Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius attacks you directly!"
He decided to just attack? Yuuji was surprised.
The ends of Vanishing Lanius's wings shoot out from it, flying directly towards Yuuji.
"I activate the Continuous Trap, Halve Attack!" Yuuji announced. "As long as this card remains on my field, all battle damage I receive is halved!"
Yuuji is hit directly by the Vanishing Lanius's attack—his arms and torso being cut slightly as he tries to endure it.
Yuuji — LP: 4000 → 3350
"Don't think your suffering has ended yet, LDS!" Shun shouted. "My other two Vanishing Lanius attack you directly!"
Yuuji is hit by more pieces of shot metal, opening up even more cuts on his body.
Yuuji — LP: 3350 → 2050
"I set two cards and end my turn," Shun concluded.
Okay, I managed to survive that with a decent amount of Life Points. Yuuji thought. But that could've gone better.
Yuuji placed his hand on the top of his deck.
Hopefully this card will be able to help me.
"My turn! Draw!" Yuuji drew a card as his turn began.
[Turn 3: Yuuji] [H: 2]
Yuuji looked at the card he drew and smiled.
"This could work," Yuuji said. "I activate the Spell Card, Odd-Eyes Accel! Thanks to this card, I can Normal Summon an 'Odd-Eyes' Monster from my hand without tributing! Appear, dragon bearing my very soul, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7/SC: 4)!"
A large purple dragon with bone-like armor that had dozens of colorful orbs scattered around its body appeared. Phantom let out a triumphant roar as it was brought out.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry for not relying on you as much as I should," Yuuji apologized to his dragon. "...Wait."
Did I just understand what Odd-Eyes was saying? Yuuji's eyes widened.
It's not like he could hear Odd-Eyes's exact words, but he could…feel them? He wasn't sure how to describe it. It felt too surreal to him.
"Are you going to keep talking to yourself like that, or are you going to continue your turn?" Shun asked.
"Can you wait just a second, I'm having a moment here," Yuuji sighed. "You don't have to be in such a rush to kill people."
"..." Shun's eyes furrowed.
"Okay, okay…sheesh, I'll continue," Yuuji said before turning to Odd-Eyes. "Let's do this partner."
Phantom Dragon roared as it began charging forward towards Shun's monsters.
"Battle! Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon attacks one of your Vanishing Lanius! Phantom Spiral Breath!"
Phantom Dragon shoots a breath of purple flames at Vanishing Lanius, engulfing the monster completely, and creating an explosion that causes Shun to wince.
Shun — LP: 4000 → 2800
One of Shun's set cards is then flipped face-up.
"I activate my Trap Card, Raidraptor Return!" Shun declared. "When a 'Raidraptor' Monster I control is destroyed by battle, it returns to my hand instead of the graveyard!"
Shun added Vanishing Lanius back to his hand.
"I end my turn with that," Yuuji concluded.
"My turn! Draw!" Shun began his turn.
[Turn 4: Shun] [H: 3]
"I summon Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius (ATK: 1300/DEF: 1600/LV: 4)!" Shun started by summoning the Vanishing Lanius that was destroyed last turn. "Next, I activate Spell Card, Raidraptor - Rise! All 'Raidraptor' Monsters on my field have their levels raised by 1 until the end of this turn!"
(Vanishing Lanius — LV: 4 → 5)
(Vanishing Lanius — LV: 4 → 5)
(Vanishing Lanius — LV: 4 → 5)
"Now he's changing their level?" Yuuji grimaced. "This could be bad."
"Now with my three Level 5 Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius, I construct the Overlay Network!" Shun declared as his monsters were absorbed into a galaxy vortex. A giant pillar of light shot out from the vortex's center as Shun began chanting.
"Ferocious falcon. Break through this fierce battle and spread your wings! Destroy our gathering foes!" Shun chanted. "I Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 5! Raidraptor - Blaze Falcon (Dark/Winged-Beast/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 1000/DEF: 2000/R: 5/OU: 3)!"
A large mechanical falcon with red armor appeared on Shun's field, surrounded by three glowing orbs that orbited around it.
"If that other monster he summoned before is anything to go off of, this monster must have a similarly nasty effect," Yuuji assessed.
And unfortunately for him, he was right.
"Raidraptor - Blaze Falcon can attack my opponent directly during the Battle Phase!" Shun declared. "Battle! Raidraptor - Blaze Falcon, rain down carnage on your enemy!"
Blaze Falcon rises into the air as pieces of its wings break off and point at Yuuji. Then, all at once, they all begin shooting lasers at Yuuji.
"I activate my Trap Card, Mirror Barrier!" Yuuji declared. "When my opponent's monster declares an attack, I can negate it!"
A barrier formed around Yuuji, protecting him from Blaze Falcon's assault.
"Tch," Shun clicked his tongue before setting a card on his field. "I set one card and end my turn."
From his hiding spot, Sawatari watched the ongoing duel.
"Haruki is actually holding on better than I expected," Sawatari commented. "Maybe he can actually win this."
"Just holding on isn't enough to best Shun," A feminine voice said, making Sawatari jump in fear.
"W-Who's there!?" Sawatari asked.
"Don't be so on edge, I'm not an enemy," Rio said as she appeared from the darkness.
Back to the duel…
Yuuji placed his hand over his deck.
"My turn! Draw!" Yuuji drew a card as he began his turn.
[Turn 5: Yuuji] [H: 1]
Yuuji looked at the card he drew and smiled.
"Finally…" Yuuji said. "I activate the Spell Card, Pendulum Call! Thanks to its effect, I can place a Pendulum Monster directly from my deck into my Pendulum Scale! I set the Scale 8 Antique Golden Carol into my Pendulum Scale!"
Yuuji added a card to his hand and placed it on one edge of his duel blade. A golden bell that played a jolly tune as it rang rose into one of his empty Pendulum Zones.
"Pendulum?" Shun was shocked. "Is this a new weapon of Academia?"
"Antique Golden Carol's Pendulum Effect activates!" Yuuji continued. "When I don't control any cards in my other Pendulum Zone, I can place 1 'Antique' Pendulum Monster from my deck into that zone."
Yuuji added a card to his hand.
"Now, using the Scale 3 Antique Wishing Lamp and the Scale 8 Antique Golden Carol already set in my Pendulum Zone, I set the Pendulum Scale!" Yuuji announced as he placed the cards on opposite ends of his duel disk. The word [PENDULUM] appeared in between them in rainbow font as a golden genie lamp rose into his other Pendulum Zone. The numbers 3 and 8 appear on the zones in a golden font as a giant silver pendulum began swinging above him.
"Pendulum? I've never seen something like this before…" Rio muttered.
"Have you been living under a rock," Sawatari was surprised. "It's the hottest topic nowadays. It's a new summon method that allows you to summon many high-level monsters all at the same time."
"That's insane!" Rio said. "If I had something like that, summoning a bunch of monsters as materials would be so much easier."
"Only a few people have access to the summoning method right now," Sawatari said before pointing at himself with a proud expression. "I actually happen to be one of them."
"..." Rio stared at him silently for a moment before looking back at the duel. "Okay…maybe it's not as cool as I thought it was."
"Antique Wishing Lamp's Pendulum Effect now activates!" Yuuji declared. "Once per turn, I can Special Summon an 'Antique' Monster directly from my deck. However, I cannot Special Summon any other type of monster the turn I activate this effect. Appear, Antique Maker - Mira (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5/SC: 8)!"
A maiden in all black, holding a pristine mirror in her hands appeared. The monster smiled at Yuuji when it was summoned.
So, it's the same with her as well. Yuuji smiled back. Not that I'm complaining, it's kind of cool to be able to communicate with my monsters, at least a little.
"When Antique Maker - Mira is summoned, I can add 1 'Antique' Card from my deck to my hand!" Yuuji declared as he added a card to his hand. "Next, I summon the Tuner Monster, Antique Resonance Mirror (Light/Fairy/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 2)!"
A pristine floating mirror appeared.
"When Resonance Mirror is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon another Antique Monster from my deck to my field! Appear, Antique Maker - Edison (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 1200/DEF: 1300/LV; 5/SC: 2)!"
A well-dressed man holding a lightbulb in his hand appeared.
"Antique Maker - Edison's effect activates!" Yuuji shouted. "When it's Special Summoned to my field, I can target 1 monster on your field and destroy it! I choose to destroy your Raidraptor - Blaze Falcon!"
"Naive!" Shun countered as one of his set cards flipped face up. "I activate the Trap Card, Raidraptor - Armory! For the rest of this turn, 'Raidraptor' Monsters I control cannot be destroyed, nor will I take battle damage in battles involving them!"
"Don't think that'll be enough to save you!" Yuuji smiled. "Level 2 Antique Resonance Mirror tunes the Level 5 Antique Maker - Edison!"
The two aforementioned monsters transformed into green rings and orbs respectively, lining up together as a large pillar of green light shot through its center.
"Item of old lost through time. Bring about your legacy!" Yuuji chanted. "I Synchro Summon! Appear, Level 7! The forbidden wand of calamity! Antique Burdened Staff (Light/Fairy/Synchro/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 7) in defense mode!"
An old, floating, used up wand appeared on Yuuji's field with a faint blue aura surrounding it.
"Burdened Staff's effect activates!" Yuuji declared. "Once per turn, I can equip it to a monster on your field! I obviously choose to equip it onto your Blaze Falcon!"
The purple gemstone at the tip of the old wand shoots a beam of purple energy at Blaze Falcon, engulfing it.
"What's the purpose of your doing that exactly?" Shun inquired.
"I'm getting to it. Don't be so impatient," Yuuji said. "When a monster is equipped with Burdened Staff, I can temporarily gain control of it. However, during the End Phase of this turn, this card will be destroyed, and you'll regain control of your monster."
Using its power, Burdened Staff drags Raidraptor - Blaze Falcon to Yuuji's field.
"And with that, you no longer have any monster protecting you," Yuuji smiled. "Crazy how things turned out."
"..." Shun didn't respond.
"No response, huh?" Yuuji then sighed. "That's fine. I'll just have to force a response out of you with this! Battle! Raidraptor - Blaze Falcon, attack Shun directly!"
"I activate the effect of Raidraptor - Armory from my graveyard!" Shun declared. "By banishing it and detaching one Overlay Unit from an 'Raidraptor Xyz' Monster on the field, I can Special Summon the monster contained in that Overlay Unit onto my field! Return to my side, Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius (ATK: 1300/DEF: 1600/LV: 4) in defense mode!"
A green mechanical falcon appeared on his field.
"Furthermore, if this effect was activated during the Battle Phase, I can prevent 1 monster on the field from attacking during the Battle Phase!" Shun continued. "I choose to prevent Raidraptor - Blaze Falcon from attacking."
Chains appeared around Blaze Falcon, locking it in place.
"And since you activated Raidraptor - Armory's other effect this turn, I can't destroy your monster with anything else," Yuuji frowned. "I end my turn. And since my turn has ended, Burdened Staff is destroyed, and your Blaze Falcon returns to your field."
The old, wooden staff turned into dust as Raidraptor - Blaze Falcon flew back onto Shun's field.
"Aw man! He was so close!" Sawatari shouted. "If I was down there, I would've finished that bastard off already!"
"If you could, you'd be the one down there instead of him," Rio commented. "However, it doesn't matter which of you is down there. Neither of you have what it takes to defeat him."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sawatari frowned.
"I don't know about that guy down there, but I can definitely tell that you haven't dueled in anything remotely similar to the conditions we dueled in," Rio stated.
"Huh?"
"You've never been in a duel where winning or losing would determine whether you and your loved ones live or die," Rio continued. "Am I right?"
"Yeah?"
"Then you'd never be able to defeat him."
"B-But..." Sawatari wanted to say something to combat this, to save his pride, but nothing came out. He then looked down at the carded forms of his three lackeys.
Rio noticed this and sighed.
"Shun did that to them, right?"
"..."
"I know this won't make you feel better, but on the behalf of him, I'm sorry," Rio apologized.
"..." Sawatari didn't respond, turning back to look at the ongoing duel. Rio did the same, seeing that he wasn't willing to talk right now.
Back to the duel…
"My turn! Draw!" Shun drew a card as he began his turn.
[Turn 6: Shun] [H: 1]
Shun silently stared at the card he drew for a moment before playing it.
"I activate the Quick-Play-Spell, Rank-Up-Magic Falcon's Double Force!" Shun announced. "Targeting an Xyz Monster on my field, I can Special Summon 1 'Raidraptor Xyz' Monster from my Extra Deck double its Rank! Using Raidraptor - Blaze Falcon as material, I construct the Overlay Network!"
Blaze Falcon transforms into an energized form as it is then absorbed by a galaxy vortex. A massive pillar of light shot out from the vortex's center as Shun began chanting.
"Supreme falcon. Carry on the wishes of your fallen friends, and fly off to the sky of victory!" Shun chanted. "Rank Up Xyz Change! Appear, Rank 10! Raidraptor - Ultimate Falcon (Dark/Winged-Beast/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 3500/DEF: 2000/R: 10/OU: 3)!"
A giant machine falcon with large golden wings appeared on his field. It let out a terrifying screech from its mouth, forcing Yuuji to cover his ears.
Rank Up Xyz Change? What the hell is that!? Yuuji wondered with evident fear. I can't believe he still had something like this in the back.
Shun final set card is then flipped face up.
"Trap Card, open! Overlay Draw!" Shun declared. "Targeting Raidraptor - Ultimate Falcon, I draw cards equal to the total amount of Xyz Materials attached to it. Ultimate Falcon has three Overlay Units currently, so I can draw three cards from my deck!"
Shun drew three cards.
"Next, when I control only 'Raidraptor' Monsters, I can Special Summon Raidraptor - Rebel Lanius (Dark/Winged-Beast/Effect/ATK: 400/DEF: 400/LV: 1) to my field!"
A small mechanical bird with red and blue armor appeared.
"Rebel Lanius's effect activates!" Shun continued. "Once per turn, I can declare a Level 1 through 6, this card and another 'Raidraptor' Card on my field's levels become that. I choose to raise both Rebel Lanius and Vanishing Lanius's Levels to 5!"
A blue aura erupts around the two monsters as their Levels rise.
(Rebel Lanius — LV: 1 → 5)
(Vanishing Lanius — LV: 4 → 5)
"Now with my two Level 5 Raidraptors, I construct the Overlay Network once again!" Shun declared.
"Another Xyz Summon!?" Yuuji cried out in shock.
"The unseen bold falcon. Reveal your wings' unknown power here and now!" Shun chanted. "I Xyz Summon! Come forth, Rank 5! Raidraptor - Stranger Falcon (Dark/Winged-Beast/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 2000/R: 4/OU: 2)!"
A giant machine falcon with thick wings that glowed a bright yellow appeared.
"Now to finish you!" Shun declared. "Raidraptor - Stranger Falcon's effect activates! By detaching one Overlay Unit from it, it can destroy one monster on your field, and deal damage to you equal to that destroyed monster's ATK! I choose to target your Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon!"
(Stranger Falcon — OU: 2 → 1)
Stranger Falcon creates a massive ball of energy which it shoots towards Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon, who tries to counter using its own fire breath. However, it doesn't go well, as Phantom Dragon was overpowered by the attack and destroyed.
"I won't go down that easily!" Yuuji shouted. "I activate my Trap Card, Mirror's Embrace! When I would take an instance of effect damage, I can reduce the damage I take to 0!"
A barrier formed around Yuuji, protecting him from the shockwaves of the attack.
"That won't save you!" Shun shouted. "I activate Stranger Falcon's effect again! This time targeting your other monster!"
(Stranger Falcon — OU: 1 → 0)
Once again, Stranger Falcon creates a massive ball of energy, shooting it towards Antique Maker - Mira. Mira tried to act as a shield to Yuuji, but failed as it was destroyed in a massive explosion—the shockwaves of it sending him flying away.
Yuuji — LP: 2050 → 50
—WHAM!
Yuuji collides with a crate, coughing up a bit of blood as he drops to the ground.
Dammit… Yuuji clenched his fists. Sorry Odd-Eyes, Mira. I couldn't protect you guys.
Yuuji got back up on his feet. He couldn't let his guard down, especially when Shun still wasn't done.
"You're wide open, LDS!" Shun declared as Ultimate Falcon and Stranger Falcon rose into the air, charging each of their energy blasts. "Battle! Ultimate Falcon! Stranger Falcon! Attack him directly!"
The two monsters shoot their respective attacks at Yuuji, who couldn't do anything to defend himself.
Both at the same time!? Yuuji began sweating as he tried to back away—something he couldn't do as he felt his back come into contact with a crate behind him. I can't get out of this!
Just as the attack was about to hit him, Rio leaped out from the window of the abandoned warehouse, landing in front of him.
"I activate the effect of Blizzard Harpy from my hand!" Rio declared. "When a direct attack is declared, I can Special Summon this card from my hand and immediately end the Battle Phase!"
An eagle with a body made up of blue ice appeared. Soon after, a barrier formed around them, protecting them from Shun's fatal attacks.
[Blizzard Harpy (Water/Winged-Beast/Effect/ATK: 400/DEF: 1400/LV: 4)]
[BATTLE-ROYALE-MODE-ACTIVATED]
This message popped up on each of their duel disks suddenly.
[Intrusion Penalty. 2000 Life Points.]
Rio grit her teeth as her duel disk shocked her.
Rio — LP: 4000 → 2000
Shun's eyes widened upon recognizing her.
"You're…"
"It's been a while, Shun," Rio smiled. "You've been busy."
"Why are you helping the enemy?" Shun furrowed his eyebrows. "I was just about to finish him off."
"That's exactly why I needed to stop you in the first place, Shun," Rio said. "You can't keep going down this path. This isn't the way you're going to save Ruri."
"What else am I supposed to do, just sit back and wait for Academia to bring her back!?" Shun shouted. "You and I both know that the only way to get her back is by taking down Academia!"
"That still doesn't make what you're doing okay!" Rio shouted back before pointing at Yuuji. "Do you know what you were just about to do!? You were about to kill him with that last attack! Turning people into cards is one thing, but doing something like that is completely inhumane!"
"Academia didn't show the same mercy to us when they invaded our homeland!" Shun shouted with bottled up hate and rage laced in his words. "They ruined our lives, destroyed our home, turned our people into cards, kidnapped Ruri! They didn't show us any mercy, so why should I show them any!?"
Yup, it's confirmed. Yuuji thought. I've unknowingly involved myself in some genuinely deep shit.
"And I thought I fell off the deep end…" Rio shook her head. "If words won't wake you up, I'll just have to beat these ideas into your head through dueling!"
"Fine with me!" Shun replied. "I set two cards and end my turn! And with the end of my turn, Ultimate Falcon's effect activates. During the End Phase, all monsters my opponents control lose 1000 ATK. And if my opponent controls no monsters, they take 1000 points of damage!"
(Blizzard Harpy — ATK: 400 → 0)
"I activate Blizzard Owl's effect now!" Rio announced. "By discarding it from my hand, all effect damage dealt this turn is reduced to zero!"
A white owl with wings made of ice appeared in front of Yuuji as Ultimate Falcon shot a laser at him. A barrier formed around the owl, protecting Yuuji from the attack.
"Tch," Shun clicked his tongue.
"My turn! Draw!" Rio drew a card and began her turn.
[Turn 7: Rio] [H: 4]
"I'll start by summoning Blizzard Falcon (Water/Winged-Beast/Effect/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1500/LV: 4)!"
A blue falcon with a body made of ice appeared.
"Then, with my Level 4 Blizzard Harpy and Blizzard Falcon, I construct the Overlay Network!" Rio declared as the aforementioned monsters were absorbed into a galaxy vortex that appeared in front of her. A massive pillar of light shot out from its center as she began chanting.
"Elegant winged maiden. Use your dazzling crystal wings to unveil the mysteries of the frozen abyss!" Rio chanted. "I Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 4! Ice Beast Zerofyne (Water/Winged-Beast/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 2200/R: 4/OU: 2)!"
An elegant, feminine monster with two sets of rigid, blue wings which stuck out from its back appeared on Rio's field.
"Ice Beast Zerofyne's effect now activates!" Rio declared. "By detaching one Overlay Unit, until my next Standby Phase, face-up cards currently on the field have their effects negated! Perfect Freeze!"
(Zerofyne — OU: 2 → 1)
Zerofyne rises into the air. Its rigid blue wings begin to glow a bright blue as it begins freezing the surrounding area and monsters.
"Ultimate Falcon remains unaffected by my opponent's card effects," Shun stated.
"That's fine because Ultimate Falcon wasn't my target," Rio smiled. "For each card that Zerofyne's effect negates, one card on the field loses 300 ATK! I choose to target Stranger Falcon with this effect!"
"Shun had one card negated, while I had three," Yuuji counted. "So that means, Stranger Falcon loses a total of 1200 ATK."
"That's right," Rio nodded.
(Stranger Falcon — ATK: 2000 → 800)
"I'm not done yet! I now equip Harpies Aura to Zerofyne!" Rio announced.
Zerofyne was then surrounded by a shining, golden aura.
"Now that its attack is way lower than Zerofyne, it's time to battle!" Rio declared as Zerofyne soars forward. "Ice Beast Zerofyne attacks Stranger Falcon! Ice Ray!"
"Before your attack connects, I activate my Trap Card! Defense Draw!" Shun countered. "I can draw 1 card, then for the rest of this turn, monsters I control cannot be destroyed by battle!"
Zerofyne's rigid wings suddenly transform into softer wings, as it shoots dozens of ice crystals at Stranger Falcon. The crystals bounce off the monster, landing around Shun who winces as his Life Points drop.
Shun — LP: 2800 → 1600
"Harpies Aura's effect activates!" Rio shouts. "Zerofyne now gains ATK equal to the amount of damage that you took!"
(Zerofyne — ATK: 2000 → 3200)
"Now I activate the Quick-Play-Spell, Re-Attack!" Rio announced. "By paying an activation cost of 500 Life Points, I can increase Zerofyne's attack by 500!"
Rio grit her teeth as she was shocked by her duel disk.
Rio — LP: 2000 → 1500
(Zerofyne — ATK: 3200 → 3700)
"Furthermore, Zerofyne gains an additional attack during the Battle Phase!" Rio announced.
If she attacks Stranger Falcon now, she'll wipe out the rest of his Life Points! Yuuji's eyes widened.
"Battle!" Rio commanded her monster once again. "Zerofyne attacks Raidraptor - Stranger Falcon! Ice Ray!"
Zerofyne rises into the air, shooting dozens of ice crystals at Stranger Falcon.
"I should've known you would do something like this," Shun admitted. "I activate the effect of Raidraptor - Retreat Eagle from my hand! When a 'Raidraptor Xyz' Monster is targeted for an attack, I can send this card from my hand into my graveyard to switch that monster into defense mode!"
Stranger Falcon's begins to close off its body as a faint blue aura appears around it. Thanks to this, it's able to protect Shun from the dozens of oncoming ice crystals.
"Damn, he had an out for that too," Rio frowned. "I set one card and end my turn."
A facedown card appeared on Rio's field.
"Ultimate Falcon's effect activates once again!" Shun declared. "During the End Phase, all monsters my opponents control lose 1000 ATK! And any of my opponents that don't control monsters take 1000 points of damage!"
"Blizzard Owl's graveyard effect activates!" Rio countered. "By banishing it from my graveyard, all effect damage for the rest of this turn is negated!"
Ultimate Falcon shoots another beam of energy at Yuuji, who is protected by Blizzard Owl.
"Furthermore, Harpies Aura protects Zerofyne from having its ATK lowered via card effect!" Rio declared.
(Zerofyne — ATK: 3700)
Rio then turned to Yuuji, "You're up. I managed to exhaust most of his defenses. It's up to you to finish him off…uhm…what's your name?"
"Yuuji."
"Right, it's up to you now, Yuuji," Rio said.
"Got it," Yuuji nodded. "My turn! Draw!"
Yuuji drew a card and began his turn
[Turn 8: Yuuji] [H: 1]
Yuuji looked at the card he drew with confusion.
Polymerization? Why did I draw this of all things? Yuuji wondered.
He didn't know much about Shun and Rio's situation. But judging from how Yuto is related to them in some way, and how much he despised Ryouga, who was a Fusion User. Using something like that would be a bad idea.
What makes this worse is that Rio's Xyz Monster negated my effects as well. Yuuji thought. I can't use Wishing Lamp's Pendulum Effect to Special Summon another Antique Monster to my field.
Or in simpler terms, he was stuck. The only play that he could do that may actually do something is Fusion Summon Antique Golden Kaiju, who's effect could potentially win them the duel here.
"..." Yuuji thought for a moment before he realized something. "Wait, maybe there is a way I can do this without having to do that."
"With my currently set Pendulum Scale, I can Pendulum Summon monsters Levels 4 through 7 all at the same time!" Yuuji announced. "Shine, Pendulum of Destiny! Draw an arc across the ether, and reflect onto me a path to victory! Come out, my monster companions!"
A portal appeared above him, as three beams of light shoot out from it.
"Return from my Extra Deck, Antique Maker - Mira (ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5) and Antique Maker - Edison (ATK: 1200/DEF: 1300/LV: 5)! And finally, the dragon containing my very soul, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon (ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)!"
Yuuji's monsters all return onto his field. Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon let's out a triumphant roar as it reappeared.
"Let's do this, partners," Yuuji smiled. "Antique Maker - Mira's effect activates upon its summon, allowing me to add an 'Antique' Card to my hand!"
Yuuji added a card to his hand.
"Antique Maker - Edison's effect also activates upon its summon, allowing me to target 1 monster on your field and destroy it!" Yuuji continued. "I choose to destroy Raidraptor - Stranger Falcon!"
The light bulb in Edison's hand begins to glow with a blinding light, engulfing Stranger Falcon and causing it to disappear from the field.
"Next, I tribute Antique Maker - Edison in order to perform an Advance Summon!" Yuuji announced. "Appear, Antique Dawning Blaze (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5/SC: 7)!"
A floating fiery blade with a golden hilt appeared.
"Dawning Blaze now equips itself to Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon!" Yuuji declared as the sword began growing in size. Phantom Dragon held the blade by its hilt using its mouth. "Phantom Dragon now gains 500 ATK for each monster on the field aside from itself. Since there is one monster on each of our fields, Phantom Dragon gains 1500 ATK!"
(Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon — ATK: 2500 → 4000)
"Now his dragon has way more attack than Ultimate Falcon," Rio commented, a little impressed. "Maybe he can do it after all."
"Battle!" Yuuji pumped his fist forward. "Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon attacks Raidraptor - Ultimate Falcon! Blazing Phantom Rush!"
Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon begins running towards Ultimate Falcon. Ultimate Falcon tries to fight back by firing a few laser beams at it, but Phantom Dragon easily evades each of the blasts, leaping into the air and using its weapon to slice cleanly through the falcon, creating a massive explosion that sends countless shockwaves towards Shun.
"Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon's effect now activates!" Yuuji declared. "When it deals battle damage, you take an additional 600 damage for each Pendulum Monster on my field aside from itself. Since I have one other Pendulum Monster, you take an additional 600 points of damage!"
Shun is sent flying back from the shockwaves of the attack. Before he slams into a crate, he readjusts himself midair, positioning himself to swiftly bounce off the crate with his feet and land back on the ground safely.
Shun — LP: 1600 → 500
"Now to finish this!" Yuuji shouted. "Antique Maker - Mira now attacks you directly! Crystal Beam!"
Mira's mirror begins to glow, as a beam of pure light is shot out from it towards Shun. However, before the final attack could connect, Shun's final Trap Card is activated.
"When I control no monsters, I activate the Trap Card, Copy T!" Shun declared. "This card's effect becomes the same as another Trap Card currently in one of my opponent's graveyards. I choose to copy the effect of Mirror Barrier in your graveyard to negate your attack!"
"What!?" Yuuji cried out in shock.
A barrier formed around Shun, shielding him from Yuuji's attack.
"He managed to use my Trap Card against me," Yuuji grimaced.
He took another look at the card in his hand and sighed.
The result would've been the same even if I did bring it out.
"I end my turn," Yuuji concluded.
"It's not the end of the world though," Rio replied. "With this, now his whole field is completely cleared, and he doesn't have any cards in his hand. He should be completely neutralized now."
"Right…" Yuuji nodded.
Why do I have a feeling that she's wrong? Yuuji thought as he looked back to Shun, who had a defiant expression on his face. His fighting spirit hasn't died down one bit.
If anything, after all of those attacks, it has grown even stronger than it was before.
"Ruri, I swore that I would bring you back to me," Shun closed his eyes. "I won't give up here. Not when I can finally see a way to save you."
Shun places his hand over his deck. His eyes opened with newfound determination.
"My turn! DRAW!" Shun's deck began to glow as he drew with all his strength.
[Turn 9: Shun] [H: 1]
Shun analyzed the card he drew for a moment before speaking.
"LDS, you may have wiped out my comrades, exhausted my defenses, and reduced my Life Points to nothing but dust…" Shun said. "...but these conditions are nothing new to us. Even when the enemy tries to snuff us out using unstoppable force, we the Resistance always find a way to bounce back!"
"Shun…" Rio muttered.
"I activate the Quick-Play-Spell, Rank-Up-Magic Revenge Force!" Shun declared. "Targeting 1 'Raidraptor Xyz' Monster in my graveyard, I can Special Summon a 'Raidraptor Xyz' Monster from my Extra Deck that's 1 Rank higher, using both this card and that monster as its materials! With the Rank 10 Raidraptor - Ultimate Falcon, I rebuild the Overlay Network!"
Ultimate Falcon appeared back on Shun's field briefing, before being absorbed into a galaxy vortex. A massive pillar of light shot out from its center, causing the ground itself to tremble around them as Shun began chanting.
"Hateful falcon, rise from the molten depths! Use your sharp talons as an act of revolution, drag your enemies into the depths of hell!" Shun chanted. "Rank Up Xyz Change! Appear, Rank 11! Raidraptor - Revenge Falcon (Dark/Winged-Beast/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 3500/DEF: 2500/R: 11/OU: 2)!"
A massive red mechanical falcon with three heads appeared. Three rings of fire surrounded the body of the falcon, molding into sharp crests. The monster let out a deafening screech, forcing the two of them to cover their ears, else they may end up going deaf.
"What the hell is that!?" Yuuji cried out.
"I…don't know," Rio said, fear evident in her expression. "I've never seen him use this monster before."
"Revenge Falcon can attack all Special Summoned Monsters on the field once each!" Shun declared. "Battle! Raidraptor - Revenge Falcon, attack Antique Maker - Mira and finish him! Revenge Inferno!"
I can't stop this! Yuuji's eyes widen as Revenge Falcon shoots its flames at Antique Maker - Mira from its three mouths. The flames completely engulfed it, creating an explosion that sent Yuuji flying away as his Life Points depleted to zero.
Yuuji — LP: 50 → 0
Yuuji hits the ground multiple times as he is sent tumbling into a crate, fading in and out of consciousness.
"And for each successful attack during the Battle Phase, it gains an extra 300 ATK!" Shun declared.
(Revenge Falcon — ATK: 3500 → 3800)
"It just gains attack each time it attacks?" Rio was surprised. "And that's all without the use of Overlay Units."
"Raidraptor - Revenge Falcon now attacks Ice Beast Zerofyne! Revenge Inferno!"
Revenge Falcon shoots even more flames from its mouth, engulfing Rio's monster and creating an explosion that sends her flying.
Rio — LP: 1500 → 1400
(Revenge Falcon — ATK: 3800 → 4100)
Rio manages to get up on her feet, turning to look at Yuuji, who was looking worse for wear. She then noticed Shun beginning to walk towards the downed duelist, immediately moving to block his path.
"Don't take a step closer, Shun," Rio said.
"Move…" Shun glared at her. "Stop standing in my way."
"I can't do that and you know it," Rio stood her ground. "I promised that I would knock some sense into you in this duel, and as far as I can tell, I still have Life Points left."
"Not for long," Shun stated. "I end my turn."
Rio placed her hand over the top of her deck and took a deep breath.
Right here, I'll bring you back to your senses. For both Ruri and Yuto's sake. Rio resolved her will.
"My turn! Draw!" Rio's deck began to glow as she drew a card with all her might.
[Turn 10: Rio] [H: 1]
Rio looked at the card she drew and smiled.
"While you've been wrong about most things today, there's one thing you were right about," Rio commented. "Even if you try to snuff us out, we the Resistance always finds a way to bounce back!"
"..." Shun's eyes widened in surprise as Rio revealed the card in her hand.
"I activate the Quick-Play-Spell, Rank-Up-Magic Miracle Rebirth!" Rio announced. "Targeting an Xyz Monster in my graveyard, I can Special Summon another Xyz Monster from my Extra Deck that is 1 Rank higher, using both this card and that monster as materials! Using Ice Beast Zerofyne, I rebuild the Overlay Network!"
Zerofyne appeared briefly before being absorbed into a galaxy vortex. A giant pillar of light shot out from the vortex's center as Rio began chanting.
"Dazzling crystal wings that shine bright in the face of adversity. Soar across the blizzard valleys and become a beacon of hope for all who lay their eyes on you!" Rio chanted. "Rank Up Xyz Change! Appear, Rank 5! Ice Princess Zereort (Water/Winged-Beast/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2100/R: 5/OU: 2)!
A burst of icy blue light flashed as freezing winds howled across the field. Shards of ice swirled together, forming the sleek, metallic wings of the harpy lady. With a sharp cry, it spread its bladed wings, sending a chilling gust that covered the surrounding area in frost.
"I activate Raidraptor - Revenge Falcon's effect!" Shun shouted. "By detaching one Overlay Unit, when my opponent Special Summons a monster, I can negate that summon, then deal damage to my opponent equal to the destroyed monster's ATK! It's over, Rio!"
Revenge Falcon shoots a breath of flames towards Rio and her monster.
(Revenge Falcon — OU: 2 → 1)
"Is that what you think?" Rio smiled as her set card was flipped face-up. "I activate the Counter Trap Card, Subzero! When a Water Monster I control would be destroyed by a card effect, I can pay 500 Life Points to negate that effect!"
Rio grit her teeth as her duel disk zapped her.
Rio — LP: 1400 → 900
A beam of blue energy is shot out from the Trap Card, overpowering the flames and hitting Revenge Falcon right in each of its mouths—freezing them.
"Tch," Shun clicked his tongue.
"I'm not done yet!" Rio declared. "I activate Zereort's effect! By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can target 1 face-up monster and make its ATK 0! Arms Freezing!"
Zereort points its staff at Revenge Falcon, using its power to completely freeze the body of the giant, three-headed falcon.
(Revenge Falcon — ATK: 4100 → 0)
"Now to finish this!" Rio shouted. "Ice Princess Zereort attacks Raidraptor - Revenge Falcon! Brilliant Dive!"
Zereort rises into the air, erupting into a blue aura as it dives right into Revenge Falcon, piercing through the monster, destroying it, and sending Shun flying away as a result.
Shun — LP: 500 → 0
Winner: Rio
Rio's monster disappears after the duel concludes. However, the area around them is still covered in frozen ice due to Rio's attacks. Rio tries to walk towards Shun, who manages to get back up onto his feet. Before she could reach him to talk, Shun pulls out a smoke bomb from his pocket, throwing it on the ground to momentarily blind Rio as he flees the scene.
"*Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*."
Rio began coughing as she tried to clear away the smoke. Once the smoke dissipated, she realized the Shun was nowhere to be found.
"That guy…"
Rio frowned before hearing someone cough nearby. She quickly remembered who it was, rushing over to see their condition.
"Hey, are you okay?" Rio asked.
"...I'm managing," Yuuji said. "Being hurt like this is nothing new to me."
"If you say you're okay, I'll believe you," Rio said.
She briefly looked back to the warehouse she was just in. When she noticed that Sawatari was doing fine, she sighed a breath of relief.
"Sorry about that guy," Rio apologized. "He can be a little intense at times."
"I can tell," Yuuji said. "Way more intense than Yuto was."
Rio tensed up a bit, "You know, Yuto?"
"Yeah, he saved me when I was in a pinch, similar to how you did," Yuuji explained.
"Oh," Rio calmed down.
"But enough about that, you should probably go find that guy before he gets too far," Yuuji said.
"Wait, you're right," Rio remembered, putting her hood over her head. "Oh, thanks for the assist in that duel. I wouldn't have been able to beat him if you hadn't found a way to deal with Ultimate Falcon."
"You saved me earlier," Yuuji said. "You can just call us even now."
"Right," Rio nodded before walking away. "I'll be going now. Tryl not to get yourself more hurt than you already are."
"I'll try not to."
Rio turned around the corner, disappearing from sight. Yuuji then let out a heavy sigh.
"When will I stop getting myself in situations where my life is on the line like this?"
A while later…
Masumi, Hokuto, and Yaiba could all be seen on the ground on the verge of unconsciousness. The perpetrator behind their condition looking down on them with an indifferent expression on his face as Raidraptor - Rise Falcon lets out a deafening screech.
This…wasn't supposed to turn out this way. Masumi thought as she clenched her fists.
They had found him, the one who caused the disappearance of Professor Marco, her teacher, and many other LDS officials over the past few weeks. The three of them decided to duel against him together, wanting to deal with the perpetrator before the LDS top team arrived at the scene.
Things were going well, they managed to summon all of their strongest monsters, as well as completely wipe out that man's field, hand and left him with only 10 Life Points. It looked like it would be an easy win from there.
Oh how wrong they were.
Somehow, that man had managed to summon an Xyz Monster with the few cards he had available. And with the use of its effect, it swiftly wiped out all of their monsters and Life Points all at once—a complete reversal.
She couldn't believe that one monster was capable of having that much power.
Rise Falcon disappeared as Shun deactivated his duel disk. He walked up towards them, pointing his duel disk at them and preparing to finish them off. However, before he could, he heard footsteps approach him. Turning around, he noticed six people (five of which were wearing LDS Uniforms).
Shun smiled.
"You've finally shown yourself," Shun addressed them. "I'm done facing weaklings. Bring out your boss—!"
"I'm here!" A voice suddenly rang out, surprising Shun.
The five LDS Personnel and Nakajima stepped out of the way as Akaba Reiji appeared, all of them bowing to him as he was approaching Shun with calm and calculated steps. He eventually came to a stop, as his underlings stood behind him.
"Who are you?" Shun inquired.
"Akaba Reiji," Reiji simply stated. "I'm the president of the Leo Corporation."
Shun's eyes narrowed upon recognizing the surname, "Akaba…Reiji."
"Since Leo Corporation controls LDS, you assaulted people in Maiami City affiliated with LDS," Reiji said. "All so could meet me. Am I correct?"
Shun smiled, "So you're Akaba Reiji. Leo Akaba's son. I was waiting for this moment! Bring it on! Duel me!"
"I want to ask you something first," Reiji said, unfazed by the challenge. "Why do you want to battle me?"
"I don't have to answer you—!"
"To save your friend. That's why you want to challenge me, right?" Reiji interrupted, surprising Shun. "According to that girl that you just defeated, this is what you said the last time she saw you: 'Ruri? Why are you here, Ruri? Did you escape by yourself?' I'm guessing that Ruri is a dear friend for you—no, for the three of you. And that you enemies took her."
The three of us? Shun was shocked. He even knows about Rio, even though she had just arrived in this dimension recently.
"Ruri still hasn't escaped from your enemy's clutches," Reiji continued. "Which is why you continue to assault LDS."
"I have no doubt that our enemy still has Ruri. But I promised to rescue her." Shun stated before smiling and pointing at Reiji. "And in order to do that, I need you!"
"I see," Reiji closed his eyes. "You need me for a hostage exchange. If a had a nickel for every time someone tried to use me as a hostage recently, I'd have two."
"Exactly," Shun confirmed. "I kept attacking LDS and sent you the cards with souls trapped inside so that I could draw you out. Even Leo Akaba won't say no in exchange for his own son!"
"I wouldn't be so sure," Reiji said.
"What?"
"I don't think he cares about me. Even a little bit." Reiji stated.
"What do you mean?" Shun asked.
"Well, whatever," Reiji changed the subject. "If you want to battle, I'm willing to accept under one condition."
"Condition?"
"If I win, you must join me," Reiji said.
"Join you? In what?" Shun inquired.
"My mission," Reiji answered. "To defeat my father, Leo Akaba."
His father? Why would he of all people want to take down his own father? Shun wondered. This has to be some sort of trick of his to get me to lower my guard.
"And if I win?" Shun asked.
"You may do whatever you want with me," Reiji stated. "Turn me into a hostage. Seal me into a card. Anything you may like."
"Sounds good to me," Shun smiled as he activated his duel disk. "I'll defeat you here, and use you to finally save Ruri from the clutches of Academia!"
"Reiji-dono, are you sure this is a good idea?" Nakajima asked, a little worried.
"I am," Reiji confidently said. "I only take gambles I know I can win."
"Very well," Nakajima backed down. "Do what you must."
Reiji activated his own duel disk and adjusted his glasses. The two drew their first five cards as the duel soon began.
[DUEL!]
Custom/Altered Cards:
Monster Card/s -
Antique Wishing Lamp
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5, SC: 3
Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn: You can Special Summon 1 "Antique" monster from your Deck. You cannot Special Summon monsters for the rest of this turn, except "Antique" monsters.
Monster Effect: (Quick Effect): You can Tribute this card; Set 1 Spell/Trap from your GY to your field. You can activate that card this turn.
Raidraptor - Rebel Lanius
ATK: 400, DEF: 400, LV: 1
Dark/Winged-Beast/Effect
Monster Effect: If you control only "Raidraptor" monsters, you can Special Summon this card from your hand. Once per turn: You can declare a Level from 1 to 6; this card and 1 other "Raidraptor" monster you control become that Level until the end of this turn.
Blizzard Harpy
ATK: 400, DEF: 1400, LV: 4
Water/Winged-Beast/Effect
Monster Effect: (Quick Effect): If a direct attack is declared: You can Special Summon this card from your hand, and if you do, end the Battle Phase immediately after this effect resolves.
Blizzard Owl
ATK: 300, DEF: 1200, LV: 4
Water/Winged-Beast/Effect
Monster Effect: (Quick Effect): You can discard this card; negate all effect damage for the rest of this turn. (Quick Effect): You can banish this card from your GY; negate all effect damage for the rest of this turn.
Raidraptor - Retreat Eagle
ATK: 500, DEF: 700, LV: 3
Dark/Winged-Beast/Effect
Monster Effect: (Quick Effect): When a "Raidraptor Xyz" monster you control is targeted for an attack, you can discard this card from your hand to the Graveyard to change the attack target to Defense Position.
Raidraptor - Revenge Falcon
ATK: 3500, DEF: 2500, R: 11
Dark/Winged-Beast/Xyz/Effect
3 Level 11 Winged Beast-Type Monsters
Monster Effect: This card can attack each of your opponent's Special Summoned monsters once. For each successful attack, this card gains 300 ATK. Once per turn, during your opponent's turn (Quick Effect): When your opponent Special Summons a monster, you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card to destroy that monster, then inflict damage to your opponent equal to the destroyed monster's ATK.
Spell/Trap Card/s -
Raidraptor - Rise
Normal Spell
Increase the Levels of all "Raidraptor" monsters you control by 1 until the end of this turn.
Raidraptor - Armory
Normal Trap
For the rest of this turn, "Raidraptor" monsters you control cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects, and you take no battle damage from battles involving them. You can banish this card from your Graveyard, then detach 1 material from a "Raidraptor" Xyz Monster you control; Special Summon the detached material in Defense Position. If you activate this effect during the Battle Phase, you can also target 1 monster on the field; that monster cannot declare an attack for the rest of this turn.
Rank-Up-Magic Falcon's Double Force
Quick-Play-Spell
Target 1 Xyz Monster you control; Special Summon from your Extra Deck 1 "Raidraptor" Xyz Monster that is exactly twice its Rank, using it as material. (This is treated as an Xyz Summon.) Transfer all of its materials to the Summoned monster.
Overlay Draw
Normal Trap
Target 1 Xyz Monster you control; draw a number of cards equal to the number of Xyz Materials attached to it.
Harpies Aura
Equip Spell
The equipped monster gains ATK equal to the damage it inflicts in battle. Additionally, monsters equipped with this card cannot have their ATK reduced by card effects.
Re-Attack
Quick-Play-Spell
Pay 500 Life Points to activate this card. Increase 1 monster's ATK by 500. If this card is activated during the Battle Phase, the equipped monster can make a second attack.
Copy T
Normal Trap
When you control no monsters; Target 1 Trap Card in your opponent's GY; this card's effect becomes the same as the targeted card's effect.
Rank-Up-Magic Revenge Force
Quick-Play-Spell
Target 1 "Raidraptor Xyz" monster in your GY; Special Summon 1 "Raidraptor Xyz" monster from your Extra Deck that is 1 Rank higher, using the targeted monster and this card as material.
Rank-Up-Magic Miracle Rebirth
Quick-Play-Spell
Target 1 Xyz Monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon 1 Xyz Monster from your Extra Deck that is 1 Rank higher, using the targeted monster and this card as material.
Subzero
Counter Trap
When a WATER monster you control would be destroyed by a card effect, you can pay 500 Life Points to negate that effect.
And that's the second part of the Kurosaki Arc. The Final Part will feature the duel between Shun and Kurosaki, one duel that I (and I'm sure many others) had wanted to see in the anime.
Not going to say much here, just go read it. Thanks!
Chapter 11: Rebllious Falcons (III)
Chapter Text
Edit #1: 11/17 Chapters Revamped.
And here's the final chapter of the Kurosaki Arc. Enjoy!
Without any further ado, enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: Minor spelling, grammar, and other mistakes may be present.
[Standard Arc Opening Theme (Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Opening 1: BELIEVE X BELIEVE)]
Scale 011: Rebellious Falcons (III)
[DUEL!]
Reiji — LP: 4000
Shun — LP: 4000
[Turn 1: Reiji] [H: 5]
"I'll start," Reiji stated. "I activate Continuous Spell, Dark Contract with the Gate! Once per turn, I can add a Level 4 or lower 'D/D' Monster to my hand. However, as long as this remains on my field, during each of my Standby Phases, I take 1000 points of damage. I choose to add D/D Savant Kepler to my hand!"
Reiji added a card to his hand. He then reveals two cards.
"Using the Scale 1 D/D Copernicus and Scale 10 D/D Savant Kepler, I set the Pendulum Scale!" Reiji declared as he placed both cards on opposite ends of his duel blade. The word [PENDULUM] appeared between them in rainbow font as two monsters rose into each of his Pendulum Zone.
"So you have access to this summoning method too," Shun commented. "Makes sense for the leader to have access to it."
"So, you've encountered this summoning mechanic before," Reiji was a bit intrigued. "Then you must know what happens next. With my current scale, I can Pendulum Summon monsters Levels 2 through 9 simultaneously!"
A portal opened above him as Reiji began chanting.
"Grand power that shakes my very soul, arise within me and become a new light that rends the darkness," Reiji chanted. "I Pendulum Summon! Come before me, my monsters!"
Two beams of energy shot out from the portal in the sky.
"Appear, D/D Pandora (Dark/Fiend/Effect/ATK: 1700/DEF: 2100/LV: 5) and D/D Proud Chevalier (Dark/Fiend/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 700/LV: 5/SC: 6)!"
A feminine monster with the bottom half of her resembling a purple vase and an armored warrior with dark fabric sticking out from the shoulder blade on its armor appeared.
"I now overlay my Level 5 D/D Pandora together with D/D Proud Chevalier!" Reiji declared as his monsters were absorbed into a galaxy vortex that appeared in front of him. A massive pillar of light shot out from the portal's center as he began chanting. "Hero of legends, with your profound justice, pierce through all things! I Xyz Summon! Descend, Rank 5! D/D/D Marksman King Tell (Dark/Fiend/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2300/DEF: 2000/R: 5/OU: 2)!"
An armored archer with green skin and hair, holding a golden crossbow that was attached to its right arm appeared.
"I set one card," Reiji concluded. "Turn end."
"My turn! Draw!" Shun declared as he drew to start his turn.
[Turn 2: Shun] [H: 6]
Just before Shun could make any plays, Reiji's set card is flipped face-up.
"During your Standby Phase, I activate Dark Contract with the Eternal Darkness!" Reiji announced. "Just like with my other Dark Contract, during my next Standby Phase, I take 1000 damage. As long as this card remains on the field, you cannot Advance Summon, nor can you use any cards you control as materials for a Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz Summon. You also cannot activate Spell/Trap Cards that target a monster."
Shun was shocked as the card created a dark fog that filled the alleyway, almost making it impossible to see anything due to it also already being nighttime.
"Damn…" Shun cursed. "I summon Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius (Dark/Winged-Beast/Effect/ATK: 1300/DEF: 1600/LV: 4)!"
A green mechanical falcon appeared on his field.
"Vanishing Lanius's effect activates, allowing me to Special Summon another copy of it from my hand!" Shun declared. "Appear, my second Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius (ATK: 1300/DEF: 1600/LV: 4)!"
A second green mechanical falcon appeared.
"Battle!" Shun immediately moved into his Battle Phase. "Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius attacks D/D/D Marksman King Tell!"
"Attacking using a monster with lower attack…" Reiji muttered. "What could you be planning?"
Vanishing Lanius shoots metal pellets at Marksman King Tell, who easily parries them away before shooting an arrow at Vanishing Lanius, piercing through it and causing it to explode. Shun winced a bit from the shockwaves of the attack.
Shun — LP: 4000 → 3000
"Main Phase 2," Shun moved into his next Main Phase. "I activate the Spell Card, Raidraptor - Symbol! If a 'Raidraptor' Monster I control battled this turn, I can add 1 'Raidraptor' Monster from my deck. I add Raidraptor - Rush Lanius to my hand."
Shun added a card.
"I then activate Raidraptor - Rush Lanius's effect! By tributing 1 Continuous Spell/Trap on either player's field, I can Special Summon this card to my field. I tribute your Dark Contract with the Eternal Darkness!"
Reiji's Trap Card disappears, which in turn causes the dark fog to fade away as well. Soon after, an orange mechanical falcon with a red gemstone embedded into its chest appeared on his field.
[Raidraptor - Rush Lanius (Dark/Winged-Beast/Effect/ATK: 1500/DEF: 700/LV: 4)]
"Now that your annoying Trap Card is gone, I'm free to Xyz Summon with my monsters now!" Shun announced. "Using the Level 4 Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius and Raidraptor - Rush Lanius on my field, I build the Overlay Network!"
Shun's two aforementioned monsters transform into energy as they are absorbed into a galaxy vortex that appeared in front of him. A massive pillar of light shot out from the portal's center as Shun began chanting.
"Avian hunter of the afterlife, seek the truth with your dark eyes, and grasp glory with your sharp talons!" Shun chanted. "I Xyz Summon! Take flight, Rank 4! Raidraptor - Force Strix (Dark/Winged-Beast/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 2000/R: 4/OU: 2) in defense mode!"
A mechanical owl appeared on Shun's field with a faint blue aura surrounding it.
Reiji adjusted his glasses, "Impressive play. I didn't expect you to find a way to deal with my Trap Card that quickly."
"Please, that was childsplay," Shun responded. "On the battlefield, I've faced a multitude of opponents who tried to lock me out of Xyz Summoning. Your attempt was lukewarm at best."
One of Force Strix's Overlay Units is then detached from it as its effect activates.
(Force Strix — OU: 2 → 1)
"Force Strix's effect now activates!" Shun declared as he continued his turn. "By detaching 1 Overlay Unit from this card, I can add a Level 4 'Dark' Winged-Beast monster to my hand!"
Shun added a card to his hand.
"I set three cards and end my turn," Shun concluded. "Your turn, Akaba."
"Very well," Reiji said as he drew a card. "My turn!"
[Turn 3: Reiji] [H: 1]
"During the Standby Phase, I take 1000 points of damage due to Dark Contract with the Gate's effect!"
Reiji clutched his chest as he felt a dark aura sap away part of his strength.
Reiji — LP: 4000 → 3000
"D/D Savant Kepler's Pendulum Effect activates," Reiji stated. "During my Standby Phase, this card's Scale Number decreases by 2."
Savant Kepler began to short circuit as its Scale Number dropped.
(Savant Kepler — SC: 10 → 8)
"D/D/D Marksman King Tell's effect activates!" Reiji declared. "When I take damage due to the effect of a 'Dark Contract', I can detach one Overlay Unit from it, then deal 1000 points to damage to you!"
(Marksman King Tell — OU: 2 → 1)
Reiji's Xyz Monster shoots an arrow which glows yellow with energy at Shun. Shun deflects the blow with his duel blade, sending the attack into a nearby building, blowing a tiny piece of it up as Shun's Life Points dropped.
Shun — LP: 3000 → 2000
"Next, I activate Dark Contract with the Gate's effect once again, allowing me to add another 'D/D' Monster to my hand—!"
"Not so fast!" Shun interrupted. "I activate my Trap Card, Raptor's Storm! When you activate the effect of a Spell/Trap Card while I control a 'Raidraptor' Monster, I can negate the activation of that effect and destroy that card!"
The Trap Card creates a gust of wind that blows away Reiji's Continuous Spell, destroying it.
"A minor setback," Reiji stated. "I summon the Tuner Monster, D/D Nighthowl (Dark/Fiend/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 300/DEF: 600/LV: 3)!"
A floating mouth with razor sharp teeth appeared.
"When D/D Nighthowl is summoned onto my field, I can Special Summon a 'D/D' Monster from my graveyard," Reiji stated. "Be reborn, D/D Proud Chevalier (ATK: 2000/DEF: 700/LV: 5)!"
Proud Chevalier returned to Reiji's field.
"Now the Level 3 D/D Nighthowl tunes the Level 5 D/D Proud Chevalier!" Reiji declared as his two monsters transform into green orbs and rings respectively, lining up together as a green pillar of light shoots through the center. Reiji began chanting. "Climb over the corpses of heroes, carrying your bloodstained blade! I Synchro Summon! Be born, Level 8! D/D/D Cursed King Siegfried (Dark/Fiend/Synchro/Effect/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2200/LV: 8)!"
Appearing on the field now was a man with long, white hair, whose body was completely covered in armor. In his hand, he brandished a giant. silver longsword which had dried blood stains scattered across it.
Soon after that, a portal appeared above him as a pillar of light shot out from it.
"I now Pendulum Summon! Return from my Extra Deck, D/D Proud Chevalier (ATK: 2000/DEF: 700/LV: 5)!"
Proud Chevalier appeared once again on Reiji's field.
"Tch," Shun clicked his tongue. "He just keeps recycling that monster."
Reiji extended his arm forward as he moved into his Battle Phase, "Battle! D/D/D Marksman King Tell attacks Raidraptor - Force Strix!"
Marksman King Tell shoots another arrow at Shun's monster, piercing through it and destroying it. After the attack concludes, one of Shun's set cards is flipped face-up.
"I activate the Quick-Play-Spell, Rank-Up-Magic Raptor's Force!" Shun announced. "When a 'Raidraptor Xyz' Monster I control is destroyed by battle, I can use it as material to Xyz Summon a 'Raidraptor Xyz' Monster 1 Rank higher!"
"D/D/D Cursed King Siegfried's effect activates!" Reiji declared. "During either player's turn, I can target 1 Spell/Trap Card on the field, and negate its effects!"
"Trap Card, open! Extra Lock!" Shun countered back with another set Trap. "When a monster from the Extra Deck activates an effect, this card can negate that monster's effects permanently!"
Chains appeared around Cursed King Siegfried's blade and arms, locking it in place.
"Rank-Up-Magic Raptor's Force's effect now remains unimpeded!" Shun declared. "Using my destroyed Raidraptor - Force Strix, I rebuild the Overlay Network!"
Force Strix appeared temporarily before being absorbed into a galaxy vortex. A massive pillar of light shot out from its center as Shun began chanting.
"Ferocious falcon. Break through this fierce battle and spread your wings! Destroy our gathering foes!" Shun chanted. "Rank Up Xyz Change! Appear, Rank 5! Raidraptor - Blaze Falcon (Dark/Winged-Beast/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 1000/DEF: 2000/R: 5/OU: 1) in defense mode!"
A large mechanical falcon with red armor appeared on Shun's field with a faint blue aura surrounding it.
"My Battle Phase still continues," Reiji stated. "D/D/D Cursed King Siegfried now attacks Raidraptor - Blaze Falcon!"
The warrior brandishing a long sword leaped forward, preparing to slice through Shun's Xyz Monster.
"I activate the effect of Raidraptor - Emperor Eagle from my hand!" Shun declared. "When an attack is declared on a 'Raidraptor' Monster on my field, I can Special Summon this card to my field in defense mode! Then, this card becomes the target of your monster's attack!"
A yellow mechanical eagle appeared with a faint blue aura surrounding it.
[Raidraptor - Emperor Eagle (Dark/Winged-Beast/ATK: 1800/DEF: 200/LV: 4)]
Cursed King Siegfried's attack shifts target as it slashes its sword cleanly through Emperor Eagle, destroying it.
Proud Chevalier has an equal amount of ATK points to Blaze Falcon's defense points. I won't be able to destroy it this turn. Reiji assessed with a calm expression.
"I end my turn," Reiji concluded his turn.
"My turn! Draw!" Shun drew a card as he began his turn.
[Turn 4: Shun] [H: 1]
Shun scanned the card he drew for a moment before continuing.
"I activate Raidraptor - Blaze Falcon's effect!" Shun announced. "By detaching 1 Overlay Unit from it, I can destroy all Special Summoned Monsters in your field, and deal 500 damage for each card destroyed! Rain down carnage, Blaze Falcon!"
(Blaze Falcon — OU: 1 → 0)
Blaze Falcon rises into the air, its wings breaking of into floating laser that shoot at all of Reiji's monsters, destroying each one of them and creating countless mini explosions that cause Reiji to wince.
Reiji — LP: 3000 → 1500
"I switch Blaze Falcon to attack mode."
The faint blue aura surrounding Blaze Falcon disappeared.
"Battle!" Shun immediately moved into his Battle Phase. "Raidraptor - Blaze Falcon attacks you directly!"
Blaze Falcon shoots even more laser at Reiji, who tries to deflect some of them with his duel blade. He fails to deflect everything though, as he is hit by a few and sent flying back.
Reiji — LP: 1500 → 500
"I set one card and end my turn," Shun concluded. "Is this all that you've got, Akaba? I expected more from you."
Reiji got back up on his feet, dusting off dust from his clothes and fixing his glasses.
"Now aren't you being premature," Reiji smiled. "You can't count me out while I still have Life Points remaining."
"..." Shun's face twitched as he remembered that Rio said something similar when they dueled earlier.
"My turn! Draw!" Reiji drew a card as he began his turn.
[Turn 5: Reiji] [H: 1]
"D/D Savant Kepler's Pendulum Effect activates!" Reiji declared. "Reducing its Scale Number by 2 during my Standby Phase!"
Savant Kepler began to short circuit as its Scale Number dropped.
(Savant Kepler — SC: 8 → 6)
"With my currently set Pendulum Scale, I can still summon monsters Levels 2 through 5 simultaneously!" Reiji declared. "Pendulum Summon! Return from my Extra Deck, D/D Proud Chevalier (ATK: 2000/DEF: 700/LV: 5)!"
The armored warrior appeared on Reiji's field once again.
"Battle!" Reiji moved into his Battle Phase. "Proud Chevalier now attacks Blaze Falcon!"
Proud Chevalier leaps forward, attempting the slash through Blaze Falcon with its blade.
"I activate the Quick-Play-Spell, Rank-Up-Magic Escape Force!" Shun declared. "When my 'Raidraptor Xyz' Monster is targeted for an attack, I can negate that attack, then immediately after this effect resolves, Xyz Summon 1 'Raidraptor Xyz' Monster that is 1 Rank higher! Using Raidraptor - Blaze Falcon as material, I rebuild the Overlay Network!"
Blaze Falcon is absorbed into a galaxy vortex as a giant pillar of light shot out from the vortex's center.
"Prideful falcon. Spread your wings, dyed in the blood of heroes, and charge through the path of revolution!" Shun chanted. "Rank Up Xyz Change! Appear, Rank 6! Raidraptor - Revolution Falcon (Dark/Winged-Beast/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 3000/R: 6/OU: 1)!"
A falcon coated in grey and yellow paint, with many compartments on its body that could open up to rain bombardment on its enemies appeared from the vortex.
"Raidraptor - Revolution Falcon's effect activates!" Shun announced. "When this card is Xyz Summoned using a Rank 5 or lower monster, it can destroy a monster on your field, then deal damage equal to that monster's ATK points! This is the end, Akaba!"
Revolution Falcon rises into the air, its many compartments beginning to open up.
Reiji turned around to where Nakajima and other LDS Personnel were standing.
"Evacuate everyone nearby!" Reiji ordered. "This attack is going to be a big one!"
"Right away, Reiji-dono," Nakajima nodded. The personnel had already gone ahead and picked up the three unconscious LDS students, quickly fleeing the scene along with Nakajima.
Revolution Falcon begins dropping bombs around the area, incinerating Proud Chevalier along with the area around them. As the bombs approached Reiji, he played a card effect.
"I activate D/D Cursed Marybelle's effect from my hand!" Reiji declared. "When I would take effect damage, I Special Summon this card to my field in defense mode!"
A cursed gothic doll, wearing a dark frilly dress with chains or sigils wrapping around its limbs appeared.
[D/D Cursed Marybelle (Dark/Fiend/Pendulum/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 500/DEF: 900/LV: 2/SC: 3)]
"Furthermore, thanks to Cursed Marybelle's effect, I can reduce the damage dealt by this effect to zero!"
Shortly after, a barrier formed around Reiji, protecting him from Revolution Falcon's effect. Once the attack ended and the smoke settled, Reiji addressed his opponent.
"That was quite the destructive attack that you used there," Reiji commented. "I'm surprised you had the guts to use it, even when there were innocent bystanders nearby."
"You guys are not innocent!" Shun snapped, his voice laced with fury. "Academia's soldiers destroyed my home, turned my people into cards, and kidnapped my sister! You all stand with them—so you're just as guilty!"
"Like I told you before, I have no association with my father," Reiji stated, growing increasingly impatient. "That man left us three years ago, not even saying a word to us before he disappeared. He left me and my mother behind while he went off to start an interdimensional war. Even if he did come back suddenly one day, I can't accept him as my father!"
"And why should I believe you!?" Shun asked.
"You don't have to believe me," Reiji stated as he closed his eyes. "I only told you my thoughts. It's up to you to decide whether or not you believe me."
Reiji then opened his eyes, his expression showing a bit more emotion than usual.
"I may not accept him as my father anymore, but it's still my responsibility as his son to stop him from continuing on with his tyrannical mission," Reiji admitted. "And that is why I want you to join me. With your power, that goal of taking down my father is more likely to become a reality."
"..." Shun was silent.
"You don't have to accept right now, I'll give you time to warm up to the idea," Reiji stated. "I end my turn here."
Shun paused for a moment, closing his eyes as he began thinking more about what Reiji had just said.
He did seem honest, Shun could tell. But at the same time, he shares the same blood as that man. He shouldn't trust what he has to say.
Right?
Flashback…
One Year Ago, Heartland City…
Prior to Academia's invasion, Heartland was a peaceful and prosperous city. The most trouble Shun would have to deal with in his life was his younger sister, Ruri, who always went out of her way to help others, even when it would put her own wellbeing in peril. He appreciated how kind and caring Ruri was, reminding him of their late mother who had passed away when Shun was around five (Ruri being three at the time), and he also didn't mind the minor stress she caused in his otherwise uneventful life.
"Ruri, get down from there before you get hurt," Shun told her.
She had climbed up a tree to help a young boy get back his balloon that had flown into it.
"Just give me a second, Shun," Ruri said. "I'm…almost…there—AH!"
Ruri managed to grab the balloon, but a few moments after that, the branch she was on broke as she began falling to the ground.
"Ruri!" Shun shouted as he ran as fast as he could to save her.
He manages to reach right under where she fell, catching her in time before she could hit to the ground.
"Ruri, are you okay?" Shun asked her, a worried expression present on his face.
"Y-Yeah, I think I am," Ruri answered, a little shaken from what had just happened. "Could you put me down now?"
Shun helps her onto her feet. She then walks over to the little boy, giving him the balloon she had gotten from the tree.
"Here you go," Ruri said with a smile.
"Ah, my balloon!" The kid excitedly said as he held it. "Thank you so much, miss!"
"No problem," Ruri said. "Try not to lose it again."
"I won't!"
The kid ran off happily with his balloon. Shun couldn't help but smile at the sweet scene.
Stuff like this wasn't an uncommon occurrence. It's like Ruri would always go out of her way to find and help out those in need. Shun always accompanied her on these little escapades, even encouraging her to help out from time to time.
He was content with this life, and wished that days like this could last forever.
Sadly, that isn't what fate planned for them.
—BOOOOOOOOOOM!
A massive explosion could be heard in the distance, surprising the two of them.
"What was that?" Ruri wondered.
"Don't know," Shun replied. "But judging from that explosion, it can't be anything good."
Soon after, countless more explosions could be seen, along with the appearance of giant, robotic cyborgs that floated in the air, raining down fire on the city below. In just a few moments, the beautiful city that was Heartland is now burning.
…
A few minutes later...
Shun and Ruri arrived at the Spade Branch of Heartland Duel School, finding Yuto who was busy helping bring in people who were injured from the initial attacks.
"Ruri? Shun?" Yuto's eyes widened in shock upon seeing them. After helping one last person inside, he hurried over. "Thank goodness you guys are okay."
"What's happening?" Shun asked. "We were just on our way here when giant cyborgs began blowing up the city."
"I'm not too sure myself," Yuto admitted. "It just all happened too fast for anyone to react. And I've been too busy helping injured people nearby to go out and figure out the cause of this."
"Leave the injured people to me," Ruri stated. "You have more important things to be doing, like going to see if your father is okay."
Yuto's eyes widened, "Oh yeah, you're right!"
He quickly put on his duel disk.
"I'll be back," Yuto said before running off.
Ruri then turned to Shun, "Shun, you should go join him to make sure he's okay."
"Yuto will be fine," Shun said, shaking his head. "He's strong enough to protect himself. I can't just leave you here alone."
"Why not? Is it because you think I'm weak to defend myself?" Ruri frowned. "You never let me leave home alone unless I'm with someone."
Shun hesitated, his expression softening. "You can't blame me for worrying. You're the only family I have left. I can't afford to lose you… I don't know what I'd do."
"I know," Ruri murmured, looking away. "I just wish you trusted me more."
…
The two of them spent the next few hours tending to the injured, whose numbers only kept rising over time. During this time, they were also made more aware about what, or who was attacking them. Men and women in red uniforms using a new summoning method that they had never seen before called Fusion. They were a group that called themselves Academia.
The fact that horrified Shun the most was what their goal in coming here was.
They treated this invasion as if it were nothing more than a hunting game, using their technology to seal people into cards. Shun had gotten most of this information from defeating an agent from Academia. From what the agent knew, once someone was sealed in a card, they couldn't get out, at least until Academia completed their god-given mission.
Essentially, if you were carded by Academia, you were as good as dead.
What concerned Shun even more was the fact that Yuto still hadn't returned yet. While he was sure Yuto was strong enough to defeat these agent, he couldn't help but be concerned about his friend's safety.
Fortunately, a few hours later, Yuto returned. Unfortunately, he came bearing bad news.
He had a lost expression on his face as he returned back to the Spade Branch. When Shun asked why he had that look on his face, Yuto revealed that he had arrived too late to save his father, watching him get carded right before his eyes.
Shun felt his heart sink upon hearing the news and seeing just how defeated his best friend looked in this moment. He clenched his fist as he felt nothing but rage begin to bubble up within him.
"Academia…" Shun seethed.
Not only did they come here and destroy their beautiful home, but they also hunted them down with nothing but sadistic smiles on their faces—treating their lives as nothing more than entertainment for their horrific hunting game.
It made Shun sick, sick to his stomach. He wanted to go out there and rip the smirks off all their faces. He wanted to go out there and bring back everyone that was sealed into a card. He wanted to go out there and put out the fires that scorched Heartland City.
But he couldn't, not right now. Not when he had to make sure Ruri, Yuto, and the rest of his closed ones were okay.
…
In the blink of an eye, six months had passed since Academia invaded Heartland. So much had happened in just a short amount of time that Shun could still hardly believe it.
Most of Heartland's population was wiped out in the initial stages of the invasion. Most people weren't duelists, so they had no way of fighting back against the Academia agents as they were turned into cards mercilessly.
Heartland's strongest dueling branch, the Diamond Branch, was wiped out in only a single week after the invasion began—by a single man. A man called Hell Kaiser or Ryo Marufugi, who ruthlessly defeated and carded every duelist of the Diamond Branch in only a single day.
After the initial month of Academia's invasion, the number of agents they sent out greatly diminished. After interrogating a few Academia agents that he caught, he learned that the reason why Academia had reduced the number of soldiers that were sent to Heartland was because they were currently in the middle of another invasion—the Ritual Dimension.
This was great for them, as it gave the survivors of Heartland enough time to group together and form some sort of Resistance, giving them more of a fighting chance against the forces of Academia that still remained in Heartland City.
With powerful duelists on their side like Kaito and Kamishiro Shark, they were able to develop a sort of safe haven in this hell that Academia created. Things were finally looking up for the remaining residents of Heartland City.
However, today was when things came crashing down.
Ruri had gone out to gather some more water for the camp. Due to her insisting that she was strong enough to do things on her own all the time, Shun finally cracked today, letting her go do something on her own for once. However, without her knowing, he also sent Saya (Ruri's best friend) to follow her and make sure that she was okay.
Around an hour after they left, Saya returned with tears streaming down her face. When Shun asked her where Ruri was, he was horrified when he heard from Saya that Ruri had been kidnapped.
This was also the moment when Shun finally cracked.
The one person who had kept him sane in this living hell was gone. Without her, Shun felt himself slipping even deeper into his bubbling rage.
Around a month prior, thanks to the help of Kaito's father, Dr. Faker, they had found a way to mimic most Academia's duel disk functions, including the function that allowed them to turn people into cards. Most of the resistance chose not to make use of that function, due to their morals keeping them against killing people. However, some made use of it, including Shark, who believed that their fight against Academia would never end if they just let them go freely.
Shun also agreed with Shark, they shouldn't be letting Academia agents go freely after fighting them off. But Ruri always told him not to use it, since she doesn't want to see her brother become a monster like Academia. Just for her, he decided not to make use of this function.
But now, things have changed.
Academia had taken Ruri, the one person Shun cared for more than even himself.
Shun clenched his fists, "I don't care what I have to do. I'll bring you back, Ruri."
Even if he had to become someone that she hated.
Shun's eyes opened as he felt his fighting spirit burn.
"My turn! DRAW!" Shun drew a card with all his might as he began his turn.
[Turn 6: Shun] [H: 1]
"Battle!" Shun moved into his Battle Phase. "Raidraptor - Revolution Falcon attacks D/D Cursed Marybelle!"
Revolution Falcon soars into the air, dropping down countless bombs that blow up parts of the alleyway, destroying Reiji's monster in the process.
"I set a card and end my turn," Shun concluded his turn shortly after that.
Akaba, if you're serious about what you're saying—if you truly want to defeat your father. Prove it to me. Shun silently challenged. Show me your resolve—right here, right now—on your next turn. Give me a reason to choose a different path.
Reiji seemed to pick up on this silent message through Shun's body language.
"You want me to prove my resolve to you. Am I right, Xyz?" Reiji smiled. "To give you a reason to listen to what I have to say."
Shun remained silent, neither confirming nor denying Reiji's words.
"Very well," Reiji declared, his expression turning serious. "Then allow me to show you my resolve. My turn! DRAW!"
Reiji's deck began to glow as he drew with all his might.
[Turn 7: Reiji] [H: 1]
Reiji looked at the card he drew and smiled.
"D/D Savant Kepler's Pendulum Effect activates!" Reiji announced. "During the Standby Phase, its Scale Number decreases by 2!"
(Savant Kepler — SC: 6 → 4)
"With my currently set Pendulum Scale, I can summon monsters Levels 2 and 3 simultaneously!" Reiji declared. "Grand power that shakes my very soul, arise within me and become a new light that rends the darkness! I Pendulum Summon! Return from my Extra Deck, D/D Cursed Marybelle (ATK: 500/DEF: 900/LV: 2)!"
The same gothic doll monster that Reiji summoned earlier appeared.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card, D/D Exchange," Reiji declared. "By shuffling the two 'D/D' Monsters currently in my Pendulum Scale back into my deck, I can add two different 'D/D' Monsters from my deck to my hand!"
Reiji's Pendulum Zones vanished as he returned the two cards to his deck. His Duel Disk automatically shuffled the deck before ejecting two new cards, which Reiji swiftly picked up.
"D/D Arthur's effect now activates!" Reiji shouted. "By discarding a card from my hand, I can Special Summon it to my field! I choose to discard D/D Necro Slime from my hand!"
Reiji sends a card to the graveyard as a warrior in golden armor, brandishing a golden blade in his hand appeared.
[D/D Arthur (Dark/Fiend/Effect/ATK: 2200/DEF: 1500/LV: 5)]
"The Level 2 D/D Cursed Marybelle tunes the Level 5 D/D Arthur!" Reiji announced as the aforementioned monsters transform into green rings and orbs respectively, lining up as a giant pillar of light shot through the center. "Howls that tear through the night. Gain the swiftness of a gale and become the cries of a newborn king! I Synchro Summon! Be born, Level 7! D/D/D Gust King Alexander (Wind/Fiend/Synchro/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)!"
A powerful warrior in white armor, wearing a green cape on his back appeared.
"Now from my graveyard, I activate D/D Necro Slime's effect!" Reiji stated. "By banishing it along with another monster, I can perform a Fusion Summon using those two monsters as materials!"
"Fusion!?" Shun tensed up.
"I fuse D/D Necro Slime with D/D/D Marksmen King Tell!" Reiji declared.
The two monsters appeared on the field momentarily, before rising into the air and fusing together. As they fused, Reiji began chanting.
"Arcane swirl that takes in all forms. Mold together around the cold-blooded archer and give birth to a new king!" Reiji chanted. "I Fusion Summon! Be born, Level 10! The king who commands ruin and chaos, D/D/D Cataclysmic Kaiser Apollyon (Dark/Fiend/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2000/LV: 10)!"
A towering fiend clad in black and crimson armor, with six spectral wings sticking out from the cracks on the back of its armor appeared.
"D/D/D Gust King Alexander's effect activates," Reiji stated. "Once per turn, when a 'D/D' or 'D/D/D' Monster is summoned onto my field, I can Special Summon 1 'D/D' Monster from my graveyard. Return to my field, D/D Arthur (ATK: 2200/DEF: 1500/LV: 5)!"
The warrior wearing golden armor appeared once again.
"Immediately after that, D/D Arthur's effect activates!" Reiji declared. "When this card is Special Summoned from the graveyard, I can then tribute this card to Special Summon 1 'D/D' Monster from my Extra Deck. Return to my field, D/D Cursed Marybelle (ATK: 500/DEF: 900/LV: 2) in defense mode!"
D/D Arthur sank into a portal under it, and a few moments later, D/D Cursed Marybelle appeared from within it—a faint blue aura surrounding it.
"Now, all my preparations are complete," Reiji adjusted his glasses before pointing at Revolution Falcon. "Battle! D/D/D Cataclysmic Kaiser Apollyon attacks Raidraptor - Revolution Falcon! Apollyon Judgement!"
Kaiser Apollyon's wings extend as it flies into the air. The monster creates a massive ball of dark energy that it then hurls down at Revolution Falcon.
"Revolution Falcon's effect activates!" Shun declared. "When it battles a Special Summoned monster, that monster's ATK points is reduced to zero!"
Revolution Falcon rises into the air, glowing in a bright yellow light as it clashes with the massive ball of dark energy.
Reiji adjusted his glasses, "I've already accounted for that."
"What?" Shun was surprised.
"D/D/D Cataclysmic Kaiser Apollyon's effect activates!" Reiji declared. "When it battles a monster with less ATK points than it, that monster's effects are negated during the Damage Step! Furthermore, it temporarily gains ATK equal to half of your monster's ATK!"
(Revolution Falcon — ATK: 2000)
(Cataclysmic Kaise Apollyon — ATK: 3000 → 4000)
"So what? I still have one last move, Akaba!" Shun declared as his set Trap Card is activated. "I activate the Trap Card, Raidraptor - Empowerment! When your monster declares an attack, I can detach one Overlay Unit from my 'Raidraptor Xyz' monster to negate that attack, then deal damage to you equal to half your monster's ATK points! It's over!"
(Revolution Falcon — OU: 1 → 0)
"I've accounted for this scenario as well," Reiji smirked, much to Shun's shock. "D/D Cursed Marybelle's effect activates! By tributing D/D/D Gust King Alexander from my field, I can negate the activation of an effect that would deal damage to me!"
Gust King Alexander bursts into particles along with Shun's Trap Card.
"No way…" Shun muttered in shock.
"This is the end!" Reiji declared with an intense expression as his monster's attack collided with Revolution Falcon, destroying the massive mechanical falcon and creating a massive explosion.
"..." Shun stood there quietly, a bitter smile forming on his face before he was sent flying from the shockwaves of the explosion.
Shun — LP: 2000 → 0
Winner: Reiji
Reiji's monsters disappeared as he deactivated his duel disk. He turned around to walk away, but not before addressing Shun one last time.
"I'll be expecting great things from you," Reiji said before walking away from the scene.
A few minutes later, Rio arrived at the alleyway where they had just duel.
"Yup, Shun was definitely here," Rio commented upon seeing the floor and surrounding buildings being damaged, as if multiple explosions have gone off around here.
Something big happened here. Something that she was unfortunately too late to see.
"These were recent though, so I shouldn't be too far…" Rio muttered as she looked around until…
—Yawn.
She let out a long, exhausted yawn.
"I think it's time to call it quits for today," Rio said. "I'll continue looking tomorrow."
Rio walked away from the scene, deciding to go look for a good place for her to call the night.
Unknown to her, standing up on top of the rooftop nearby was Shun, who watched her leave with an unreadable expression on his face for a moment before deciding to leave the scene—going in the opposite direction.
Custom/Altered Cards:
Monster Card/s:
Raidraptor - Rush Lanius
ATK: 1500, DEF: 700, LV: 4
Dark/Winged-Beast/Effect
Monster Effect: You can Special Summon this card by tributing 1 Continuous Spell/Trap on the field.
Raidraptor - Emperor Eagle
ATK: 1800, DEF: 200, LV: 4
Dark/Winged-Beast/Effect
Monster Effect:(Quick Effect): When an attack is declared on a "Raidraptor" monster you control, you can Special Summon this card from your hand. While this card is on the field, your opponent can only target it for attacks.
D/D Cursed Marybelle
ATK: 500, DEF: 700, LV: 2
Dark/Fiend/Pendulum/Tuner/Effect
Monster Effect: (Quick Effect) When you would take effect damage: You can Special Summon this card from your hand, and if you do, reduce that damage to 0. (Quick Effect) When a card effect is activated that would inflict effect damage: You can Tribute 1 "D/D" monster you control; negate that effect.
D/D Arthur
ATK: 2200, DEF: 1500, LV: 5
Dark/Fiend/Effect
Monster Effect: You can discard 1 card; Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card is Special Summoned from the GY: You can target 1 "D/D" monster in your Extra Deck; Special Summon it.
D/D/D Cataclysmic Kaiser Apollyon
ATK: 3000, DEF: 2000, LV: 10
Dark/Fiend/Fusion/Effect
1 "D/D/D" Monster + 1 "D/D" Monster
Monster Effect: If this card battles a monster with lower original ATK, that monster's effects are negated until the end of the turn, and this card gains ATK equal to half that monster's ATK during the Damage Step only. If this card is destroyed by battle or card effect: You can Special Summon 1 "D/D" monster from your GY, except "D/D/D Cataclysmic Kaiser Apollyon."
Spell/Trap Card/s:
Extra Lock
Counter Trap
When a monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck activates its effect: Negate that effect, and its effects are negated permanently.
D/D Exchange
Normal Spell
Target 2 "D/D" Pendulum Monsters in your Pendulum Zones; shuffle them into the Deck, then add 2 "D/D" monsters from your Deck to your hand.
Raidraptor - Empowerment
Normal Trap
When your opponent's monster declares an attack: You can detach 1 material from a "Raidraptor Xyz" Monster you control; negate the attack, then inflict damage to your opponent equal to half the attacking monster's ATK.
And that's all. Sorry if it was a bit short, since I didn't really plan on writing anything other than the duel, and it was hard to inflate the word count of it (also the main reason why I decided to add a flashback here).
The next chapter will pick up with the next arc, the Maiami Championships. This is also the point of the story where things will be ramped up, so I hope you, the reader will be looking forward to it.
Don't really have much to say that I haven't said already. You already know the drill, go read the next chapter. Otherwise, have a good day.
Chapter 12: Prelude to the Maiami Championships
Chapter Text
Edit #1: 12/17 Chapters Revamped.
Chapter Number 12. We are now in the second part of the Standard Dimension Arc (which will be like twice as long as the first part).
And with the new part, comes a new opening!
...
Yeah, let's just get into this.
Without any further ado, enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: Minor spelling, grammar, and other mistakes may be present.
Maiami Championship Arc Opening Theme (Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Opening 2: Burn)
(A/N: Not sure if you were doing this already, but you don't have to listen to the song to read the opening. Just read it if you're curious .)
(A/N II: Minor spoilers ahead, though this opening doesn't really spoil too much if you look at it on a base level. A lot of stuff will probably be different to how they're shown in the opening, but some stuff may be the same.)
Rettsu sutāto! Isshun no senkō kara
(Reiji could be seen in a V.I.P booth, looking down at Maiami Stadium with a serious expression.)
Rettsu faindo! Sō, boku ga iku beki Wei
(The scene shifts down the center of the arena, where Shun could be seen looking towards the V.I.P. booth.)
Rettsu sutāto! Otanoshimi wa kore kara
(The screen is then covered in flames as it transitions, with Sora appearing with a sly smile.)
Redī gō! Riaru no maku ake
(The flames behind Sora disappear; revealing that he is also at the arena, standing face to face with Shun, who activates his duel disk. The camera pans up to the sky as the logo for the series appears.)
Kitai, fuan no mirai ga ima ugokidasu
(Yuuji could be seen in a blank void walking forward with a determined expression. Surrounding him are all of the monster cards currently in his possession.)
Tashika na negai ga koko ni aru kara Donto wōrī
(The scene transitions seamlessly to Yuya, who was running in a similar blank void with his own monsters following closing behind him until a bright, blinding light covers the screen.)
Akogareta ano hi mezashite boku wa tatakau
(The scene shifts to Yuzu, who is walking through the streets of Maiami City towards the stadium, her hand over her chest as she takes a deep breath. Looking at her from an alleyway is Shizuka, who watches her for a moment before turning around—disappearing as passerbys walk past the alleyway.)
Kirameku tsuyosa ga Kādo ni yadoru
(Yuzu then notices Yuya, Yuuji, and the rest of her friends, running to catch up with them.)
Appu/Daun wo kurikaeshi nagara
(The next few scenes shift quickly at this part, showing quick scenes of different characters. The first shows Gongenzaka, who is walking away from his Dojo with a serious look. The second shows Yuto resting on the rooftop of a building with one eye open.)
Fīru Itto! Kodō ga Ba,Ba,Ba,Bān!
(The third scene shows Ryouga walking through the hallways of Academia, a wide grin on his face. The fourth and final scene shows Leo Akaba, sitting on his throne. Bowing beneath him are the silhouettes of four people.)
Furikitta genkai wo mata norikoete. Boku wa tsuyoku naru
(The scene shifts to Shun who was still at the arena. He could be seen drawing a card from his deck before summoning Rise Falcon. Nearby, Sora could be seen drawing a card with a crazed expression on his face, before summoning his own monster, Frightfur Bear. The two monsters rush towards each other, clashing as the images of their users appear on opposite sides of the screen.)
Akirametaku wa nai kara
(In a frozen arena, Ryo could be seen summoning Ice Princess Zereot while locked in a duel against a woman with long, dark green hair.)
Kasoku suru kaze ni notte mukaerunda
(Elsewhere in the frozen arena, a green flash of light flooded the area as Yugo appeared from it, swerving to a stop before removing his helmet and looking into the camera seriously. The camera transitions to Yuri, who is shown in a similar camera angle with a sly smirk before the camera moves outward, revealing that the two of them are looking at each other.)
Ashita sura ito'oshikunaru hodo no boku no yume
(Four scenes flash in this section. The first shows Yuya with a smile on his face while he engages in a duel against Sawatari. The second shows Yuuji, who had a sly smirk on his face while engaged in a duel, though who he was dueling could not be seen. The third returns to Yuya, in an Ancient Ruins area, a dark aura surrounding him as he engages in a duel against three men in blue uniforms. The fourth shifts back to Yuuji, in a Volcano Area, who also had a similar dark aura erupting from him, however, he couldn't be seen dueling anybody.)
Ano kumo wo tsukinukete mabushī yume wo aozora ni egakō
(The scene transitions to Yuuji, who could be seen falling through the sky. Flashes of shattered memories flash on the screen throughout the scene, including one of a ruined city, one of a massive dragon, and one that showed a picture on a desk, with two people who look like him being depicted on it.)
Rettsu sutāto! Isshun no senkō kara
(The scene then shifts to Yuuji and Reiji in a hallway, activating their duel disks as they face off against two hooded figures.)
Rettsu faindo! Sō, boku ga iku beki Wei
(Sawatari could be seen in his room, a conflicted expression on his face. Scattered across his bed with the carded forms of his lackeys. Nearby, the image of Shun could be seen in his room with darts pinned into it.)
Rettsu sutāto! Otanoshimi wa kore kara
(Reiji could be seen leaning against a wall in his office, his fists clenched. A tired expression could be seen on his face as he let out a sigh.)
Redī gō! Riaru no maku ake
(Yuuji could be seen shooting up from his bed in a cold sweat, clutching his stomach as the scene soon fades to black.)
Scale 012: Prelude to the Maiami Championships
—Thud. Thud. Thud.
Yuuji could be seen walking through a ruined city. The area around him is devoid of any signs of life. In the distance, one could see a massive dragon monster terrorizing other parts of the city.
I'm back here once again. Yuuji thought as he continued walking with an aimless expression. I've somehow gotten used to seeing this whenever I sleep.
Though, this time, the nightmare seems to have changed a bit.
First of all, there were no other signs of life around him aside from the massive dragon. Secondly, the phrase that had been repeating constantly in his mind was no longer there.
This fact should've unnerved him more since it meant that he was now moving into uncharted territory, but he felt nothing. He was just counting down the minutes until he eventually woke up.
Eventually, he came to a stop and looked up at the massive dragon being, who looked back down at him. This stare-down lasted for a few moments before one of them began to act.
—Splrch!
"—GUH!" Yuuji instantly coughed up blood as he felt something pierce his stomach.
His mind nearly went blank as he felt pain surging up within him. When he looked down to see where the pain came from, he noticed a dark tendril submerged into where his stomach was, piercing out through the other side of his body. Yuuji was then lifted up towards the mouth of the massive dragon.
Right before he was dropped into the mouth of the dragon, that same voice that had appeared in his previous nightmares spoke in his mind once again.
"Five boys with their fates strung together hang in the balance. On the night of the crescent moon, the Supreme King of Destruction will awaken once again."
Yuuji is then dropped into the mouth of the massive dragon. He could feel himself falling deeper and deeper into an unknown abyss as his vision faded, along with the rest of his senses.
—THUD!
Yuuji fell out of his bed.
"Ow…" Yuuji rubbed his pained face. "That was not a fun experience at all."
He didn't expect that nightmare to change all of a sudden. Nor did he expect to get a firsthand experience at what being stabbed through the stomach felt like.
"And what's up with that ominous message?" Yuuji wondered. "'Five boys with their fates strung together hang in the balance.' What does that even mean?"
One thing is for sure, these nightmares can't be chalked up to a coincidence. As for the reason why he was the target of these nightmares, he had no idea.
—RING! RING! RING!
His alarm clock began to ring. Yuuji quickly went and shut it off.
I guess that's my cue.
It had been a few days since the events of his duel against Shun. In that time, Yuya had managed to win his final qualification match against Gongenzaka of all people, making use of a new Fusion Monster, Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon to make a dramatic comeback in the end.
This also meant that he was now the only member of You Show who still hasn't managed to qualify for the Maiami Championships. To make things worse, today was the last possible day he could qualify since the tournament would be happening tomorrow.
Fortunately, his duel against Shun didn't seem to count, similar to his duel against Ryouga. So, he wouldn't have to start from scratch like he thought he would.
Thankfully, an opportunity for him to find one final opponent had appeared recently.
Yesterday, Sora and Yuzu approached him for a favor. Basically, Sora wanted to give Yuzu a chance to test out her skills by using Fusion Summoning against an actual opponent. Yuuji agreed to help them, under the condition that their duel could be counted as an official duel.
Yuuji went to wash up a bit, putting on his usual clothes and fixing up his hair to get himself ready. Once he was done, he returned back to his room, picking up his duel disk and attaching it to his left arm. When he picked up his deck to place it into his duel disk, an idea appeared in his mind.
I should give my deck a revamp in preparation for the tournament.
That duel against Shun made it obvious that his deck needed some major reworking, to address some glaring weaknesses with his cards.
First of all, he had way too many Level 5 or higher monsters. If he drew only monsters like that, without a good way to Pendulum Summon them, they were practically useless in his hand. He couldn't afford to put himself in a terrible position like that, especially if he may encounter a duelist like Shun again.
I should probably remove some of the non-Pendulum Monsters in my deck, huh? Yuuji thought as he took some cards out of his deck, placing them in his side deck. Right, that should be good.
Next, he should probably swap out some of his weaker Pendulum Monsters that don't do much to help bring out his stronger monsters like Revolution Commander and Freedom Rider.
But what should I replace them with? Yuuji wondered as he picked up his side deck to take a look at his options. Woah, there are so many more cards in here that weren't there before. That makes things easier.
Yuuji spent the next few minutes weighing the value of each card, swapping cards between his main deck and side deck until he was satisfied with what he had. He put his side deck in his deck holder and attached his main deck to his duel disk.
"Okay, that should be everything," Yuuji said. "I should get going now, I shouldn't keep those two waiting for too long."
With everything in order, Yuuji left his hotel.
At the abandoned harbor…
A while later, Yuuji arrived at the abandoned harbor. When he makes his way to their designated meeting spot, he sees Sora and Yuzu, who were chatting about something until they notice him approaching.
"Ah, Yuuji. You're finally here," Yuzu addressed him.
"What took you so long?" Sora asked. "We've been waiting here forever."
"It's only been five minutes, Sora…" Yuzu sweatdropped.
"So what? That's still too long," Sora replied.
"I think you just need to develop some patience," Yuzu sighed.
"Sorry if I kept you guys waiting too long," Yuuji said. "I had to make some last-minute changes to my deck before coming here."
"Changing up your deck?" Yuzu was confused. "You don't need to go that far. It's not like this is going to be a serious match or anything."
"It is for me," Yuuji said. "Remember what we agreed on yesterday? This would count as an official match, so if I lose this match, my chances of joining the Maiami Championships will be zero."
Yuzu's eyes widened with surprise, "What?"
"Don't think too much about it, it'll be a win-win for both of us," Yuuji casually remarked. "You get to actually put your newfound strength against a truly serious opponent, and I get a chance to try and qualify for the tournament."
Yuzu was still a little unsure about it, "But if I win, that would mean that I'm the reason why you couldn't qualify for the tournament. I can't do that to a friend."
"You should do it, Yuzu," Sora said as he pulled out a lollipop to snack on. "It'll be a good experience for you."
"But…"
"If he does end up losing to you, that would just mean that he never had what it takes to win the tournament anyway," Sora bluntly stated.
That's a little harsh. Yuuji thought. But he is right.
Yuzu remained quiet for a moment, deep in thought. Once she finally made a decision, she slapped her face to psyche herself up.
"Okay, I'll do it."
"That's the spirit," Sora smiled.
"When you're ready, we can get started," Yuuji said before walking a decent distance away from them. Yuzu soon followed suit, walking to her own post on the opposite side.
Sora stood a decent bit away, silently licking his lollipop while deep in thought about something.
"Do you want to go first, or should I go first?" Yuzu asked as she drew her first five cards.
"You can go first," Yuuji said as he too drew his first five cards. "This duel is more about you getting to test your skills after all."
"Fine with me," Yuzu smiled as she activated her duel disk. "I'll show you both just how much I've grown."
"I'm looking forward to it," Yuuji smiled back as he activated his duel disk.
After her declaration, the duel soon began.
[DUEL!] The two of them shout in unison.
Yuuji — LP: 4000
Yuzu — LP: 4000
[Turn 1: Yuzu] [H: 5]
"I'll start by activating Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two cards," Yuzu declared as she drew her cards. "Next, I activate the Field Spell, Sanctuary in the Sky!"
The area around them transformed, bringing them to a floating island, with a massive temple erected behind Yuzu.
"A Field Spell…" Yuuji muttered. "That'll be annoying."
"You won't have to worry about its effect right now," Yuzu stated before continuing her turn. "I now activate the Spell Card, Dramatic Opera!"
Appearing all throughout the area around them were colorful music notes which brought life to their surroundings.
"When Dramatic Opera is activated, I can summon two Melodious Tokens (Light/Fairy/Token/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000/LV: 2) to my field!"
Two large, glowing music notes appeared in front of her.
"Sonata the Melodious Diva's effect activates!" Yuzu announced as she revealed the card in her hand. "When I control a 'Melodious' Monster, I can Special Summon it to my field!"
A feminine monster with long green hair and wings appeared. Scattered all over the monster's body were countless dark blue music notes.
[Sonata the Melodious Diva (Light/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 1200/DEF: 1000/LV: 3)]
"My preparations are complete," Yuzu muttered with a smile as she picked out one of the cards in her hand, revealing it. "I activate the Fusion Spell, Polymerization! With it, I choose to fuse Sonata the Melodious Diva with one of my Melodious Tokens!"
"..." Sora silently watched the events unfold with a bit of pride.
Sonata the Melodious Diva rises into the air together with one of Yuzu's Melodious Tokens, fusing together with it as Yuzu begins chanting.
"Note strung onto pages! Flowing melody! With guidance of the baton, gather your power!" Yuzu clasped her hands together. "I Fusion Summon! Make your debut onto the stage, Level 6! Schuberta the Melodious Maestra (Light/Fairy/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000/LV: 6)!"
A feminine monster with large, orange hair, wearing a red and black dress appeared onto Yuzu's field.
"A Fusion Summon right off the bat," Yuuji smiled. "You've really done your homework."
"And I'm not done yet!" Yuzu announced. "I activate the effect of my remaining Melodious Token! By tributing it, I can Special Summon a Level 5 or lower Melodious Monster from my hand! Appear, Elegy the Melodious Diva (Light/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1200/LV: 5)!"
A feminine monster with green hair and skin, with one large purple wing sticking out from its back appeared on Yuzu's field.
"Elegy the Melodious Diva's effect activates!" Yuzu declared. "When she is Special Summoned, all 'Melodious' Monsters on my field gain 300 ATK!"
A purple aura appeared around Yuzu's monsters as they powered up.
(Elegy — ATK: 2000 → 2300)
(Schuberta — ATK: 2400 → 2700)
"I also activate Schuberta's effect!" Yuzu continued. "I can banish up to three cards in either of our graveyards; increasing her ATK by 200 for each card I banish. I banish Sonata the Melodious Diva, Pot of Greed, and Dramatic Opera to increase Schuberta's ATK by an extra 600!"
(Schuberta — ATK: 2700 → 3300)
"I end my turn," Yuzu concluded before turning to Sora. "What do you think? Did I do a good enough job?"
"It's too early to rate it. You still need to see if that'll be enough to stop that guy," Sora stated as he casually pointed at Yuuji with his thumb. "If you can stop him from plowing through your defenses this turn, then I'll say it was a good start."
"Right," Yuzu nodded.
"If you guys are done chatting, I'll start!" Yuuji declared. "My turn! Draw!"
Yuuji drew a card as his turn began.
[Turn 2: Yuuji] [H: 6]
"I'll start by setting Antique Golden Carol into one of my Pendulum Zones!" Yuuji declared as a golden bell rose into one of his empty Pendulum Zones. "Antique Golden Carol's Pendulum Effect activates! When I control no other cards in my other Pendulum Zone, I can place 1 'Antique' Pendulum Monster directly from my deck into that zone!"
Yuuj added a card to his hand, revealing it.
"Using the Scale 1 Antique Maker - Swinging Soul and the Scale 8 Antique Golden Carol already in my Pendulum Zone, I set the Pendulum Scale!" Yuuji announced as he placed the card on the opposite end of his duel blade, the word [PENDULUM] appearing in the center in rainbow font as a magician in a white robe rose into his other Pendulum Zone. Above it all, a giant, silver pendulum, swung.
"Here it comes…" Yuzu braced herself.
"With my currently set Pendulum Scale, I can summon monsters Levels 2 through 7 all at the same time!" Yuuji declared as the silver pendulum above him drew a portal in the sky. "Shine, Pendulum of Destiny! Draw an arc across the ether, and reflect onto me a path to victory! Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my monster companions!"
Two beams of light shot out from the portal.
"Appear, Antique Maker - Mira (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5/SC: 8) and the Tuner Monster, Antique Maker - Reverend Architect (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 600/DEF: 1500/LV: 3/SC: 4)!"
Appearing on Yuuji's field was a woman in all black holding a pristine mirror in her hands, and a mage in a purple cloak holding a stone scepter.
"At this time, both Antique Maker - Mira and Antique Maker - Reverend Architect's effects activate," Yuuji stated. "Mira allows me to add an 'Antique' Card to my hand when she is summoned, while Reverend Architect allows me to add an 'Antique' Spell/Trap Card to my hand."
Yuuji added two cards to his hand.
"Now the Level 3 Antique Maker - Reverend Architect tunes the Level 5 Antique Maker - Mira!" Yuuji announced as the aforementioned monsters transformed into green rings and orbs respectively, lining up as he began chanting.
"Sonic gale winds that move at the speed of sound. Ride the speeding current as you pave a path to victory!" Yuuji chanted. "I Synchro Summon! Accelerate, Level 8! Antique Maker - Freedom Rider (Wind/Spellcaster/Synchro/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1500/LV: 8/SC: 1)!"
A man riding a grey and green colored Duel Runner, wearing similarly colored gear appeared on Yuuji's field.
"That's the Synchro Monster you used to defeat that Reiji guy," Yuzu's eyes widened.
"I hope you remember its special effect," Yuuji smiled. "When Freedom Rider is Synchro Summoned, I can destroy cards on your field equal to the amount of materials used to summon it. I used two monsters as materials, so I get to destroy your two monsters! Freedom Gale!"
Freedom Rider revved up his engine as it drove in circles at sonic speed, creating a green tornado that threatened to suck up and destroy all of Yuzu's monsters. However, to Yuuji's surprise, Elegy the Melodious Diva began singing a melody, creating a shield that protected itself and Schuberta from Freedom Rider's effect.
"While Elegy the Melodious Diva remains on my field, Melodious Monsters I control cannot be destroyed by card effects!" Yuzu declared.
"I should've known that it wasn't going to be easy," Yuuji sighed. "But it's not the end of the world. There's still more I can do."
Yuuji revealed a card in his hand.
"I activate the effect of Foolish Burial!" Yuuji declared. "Thanks to its effect, I can send 1 monster from my deck to my graveyard. I choose to send Antique Lightbulb to my graveyard!"
Yuuji takes a card from his deck and sends it to the graveyard.
"And now with my newfound target, I activate Freedom Rider's second effect!" Yuuji continued. "Once per turn, I can target 1 'Antique' Monster in my graveyard and banish it, granting Freedom Rider that monster's effects and granting it 1000 ATK—!"
"I won't let you!" Yuzu interrupted. "I chain Schuberta's effect, banishing Antique Light Bulb and Foolish Burial in your graveyard along with the Polymerization in mine before your effect resolves!"
"A Quick Effect!?" Yuuji cried out in shock.
Schuberta's hair began to ignite once again as its power increased.
(Schuberta — ATK: 3300 → 3900)
She's trying to completely shut me off from doing anything to threaten her field. Yuuji assessed.
But it's not the end of the world.
She may have stopped me from doing most of the things that I wanted to do, but that doesn't mean she's in the clear yet.
"From my hand, I activate the Equip Spell, Power Lance!" Yuuji declared. "By equipping it to Antique Maker - Freedom Rider, I can increase its ATK by 1200!"
A metallic lance materialized in Freedom Rider's hand.
(Freedom Rider — ATK: 2000 → 3200)
"Furthermore, Antique Maker - Swinging Soul's Pendulum Effect activates!" Yuuji added. "Increasing Freedom Rider's ATK by an additional 800!"
The magician in white swings his pendulum around, which begins to glow as it grants additional power to Freedom Rider.
(Freedom Rider — ATK: 3200 → 4000)
"4000 ATK!?" Yuzu's cried out in shock.
"Battle!" Yuuji shouted as Freedom Rider began to accelerate. "Antique Maker - Freedom Rider attacks Schuberta the Melodious Maestra! Hyperstream Rush!"
Freedom Rider accelerates, driving straight through Schuberta, destroying the monster and creating a massive explosion.
"Sanctuary of the Sky prevents me from taking battle damage in battles involving a 'Fairy' Monster I control!" Yuzu declared as a barrier formed around her, protecting her from the shockwaves of the attack.
"I'll set one card and end my turn," Yuuji concluded as a card appeared on his field facedown.
"Then it's my turn! Draw!" Yuzu drew a card and began her turn
[Turn 3: Yuzu] [H: 2]
Yuzu looked at the card she drew and smiled.
"I summon Soprano the Melodious Songstress (Light/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1400/LV: 4)!"
A feminine monster with green skin, dark red hair, and a violet dress appeared.
"Soprano the Melodious Songstress's effect activates!" Yuzu declared. "With it, I can perform a Fusion Summon without the need of Polymerization! I fuse Mozarta the Melodious Maestra from my hand together with Soprano the Melodious Songstress!"
"A Fusion Summon without Polymerization!?" Yuuji was surprised.
Yuzu's two monsters rise into the air, fusing together as she began chanting.
"Angel's song! Supreme genius! With the guidance of the baton, gather your power!" Yuzu chanted as she clasped her hands together. "I Fusion Summon! Now come here to the stage, Level 6! Sing the song of victory, Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir (Light/Fairy/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 1000/DEF: 2000/LV: 6)!"
A pink flower appeared in front of Yuzu. Emerging from within was a beautiful monster with lavender hair and countless pink ribbons floating around her.
(Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir — ATK: 1000 → 1300)
"Battle!" Yuzu moved into her Battle Phase. "Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir attacks Antique Maker - Freedom Rider!"
Bloom Diva floats towards Freedom Rider, who revs up its engine as it shoots toward the Fusion Monster.
"What? But its ATK is so low?" Yuuji was confused before realizing something. "Unless, its effect…"
"Right on the money!" Yuzu confirmed. "Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir's effect activates! Bloom Diva cannot be destroyed in a battle involving a Special Summoned Monster. Also, your monster is destroyed, and you take battle damage equal to the difference in our monster's ATK! Reflect Shout!"
(Bloom Diva — ATK: 1300)
(Freedom Rider — ATK: 4000)
The two monsters were locked in a standstill as an invisible barrier forms right between the two monsters. Bloom Diva begins shouting, creating a green cyclone that destroys Freedom Rider and blows Yuuji away.
Yuuji — LP: 4000 → 1300
"Now to finish this! Elegy the Melodious Diva attacks you directly!"
Yuzu's monster begins singing, forming dark blue music notes that are then shot toward Yuuji with great speed.
"No mercy, huh? Unfortunately for you, I can't afford to lose this early," Yuuji smirked as he got back up on his feet. His set Trap Card is then activated. "I activate the Counter Trap Card, Special Antique Delivery! When my opponent declares an attack while I control no monsters on my field, I can Special Summon an 'Antique' Monster directly from my deck in defense mode! Appear, Antique Wishing Lamp (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5/SC: 3)!"
A golden genie lamp appeared on Yuuji's field with a faint blue aura surrounding it.
"Furthermore, when a monster is summoned via the use of Special Antique Delivery's effect this turn, it cannot be destroyed by battle," Yuuji stated.
A barrier formed around him and his monster, protecting them both from the music projectiles.
"I end my turn," Yuzu concluded her turn, seeing that there was nothing else she could do.
Obviously, it wouldn't be that easy to win whenever that guy is involved. I'm glad I likely won't have to face him seriously any time soon. Sora thought as he bit down on his lollipop. Even though I know I would win, I'd rather avoid getting into a duel against him, or any of my friends.
However, if the time ever came when they became enemies, he wouldn't hesitate to wipe them out for the sake of Academia.
While Sora was deep in thought, Yuuji collected himself, stretching his arms as he began thinking as well.
That monster of hers is definitely a big threat. Yuuji thought. Not only is it immune to card effects thanks to Elegy the Melodious Diva's effect, but it also can't be destroyed by battle.
He would have to be smart about this, or else he'd end up losing before even dealing a single point of damage to her Life Points.
"My turn! Draw!" Yuuji began his turn.
[Turn 4: Yuuji] [H: 3]
"Oh?" Yuuji looked at the card he drew with intrigue. "This is…"
The Ritual Monster he bought a while back when he decided to update his deck a bit. It's not a powerful card, having 0 ATK and DEF just like any other 'Antique' he had, but its effects surely make up for it.
Okay, I see a way out now. Yuuji smiled. Time to try this guy out.
"With my currently set Pendulum Scale, I Pendulum Summon!" Yuuji declared as three beams of energy shot out from a portal above him. "Return from my Extra Deck, Antique Maker - Mira (ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5) and Antique Maker - Reverend Architect (ATK: 600/DEF: 1500/LV: 3), both in defense mode."
Yuuji's two monsters returned to his field with a faint blue aura surrounding them.
"And from my hand, Antique Crescent Breeze (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5/SC: 7), also in defense mode!"
A floating ice blade with a silver hilt appeared on Yuuji's field with a faint blue aura surrounding it.
"Reverend Architect and Mira's effects activate! Upon their summon, I can add an 'Antique' Spell Card along with another 'Antique' Card from my deck to my hand!"
Yuuji added two cards to his hand.
"Next, I summon the Tuner Monster, Antique Resonance Mirror (Light/Fairy/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 2)!" A pristine, silver mirror appeared. "Antique Resonance Mirror's effect activates upon its summon, allowing me to Special Summon another Antique Monster directly from my deck! Appear, Antique Maker - Lilac Magician (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1300/LV: 5/SC: 1)!"
A feminine monster in a purple magician's robe appeared.
"Now I activate the Ritual Spell, Antique Sacred Rites!" Yuuji declared, shocking both Yuzu and Sora. "With it, I can Ritual Summon an 'Antique' Monster from my hand as long as I provide the appropriate tributes. I tribute the Level 2 Antique Resonance Mirror along with the Level 5 Antique Maker - Lilac Magician to Ritual Summon a Level 6 Monster!"
The area around them darkened as a massive shrine appeared behind Yuuji. The shrine had countless stone statues around it, depicting different monsters. Yuuji's aforementioned monsters transform into flames, which ignite the unlit stone candles scattered throughout the shrine.
"Forged in a lost time long forgotten, the forbidden tool that governs the passing of time lies locked away," Yuuji chanted as the altar behind him began to crumble. "Break free from your chains, and bring about your legacy! I Ritual Summon! Come forth, Level 6! Antique Forbidden Hourglass (Light/Fairy/Ritual/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 6) in defense mode!"
A floating hourglass appeared from underneath the altar. Stick out from both sides of its body were two large, ghastly purple arms. Surrounding its whole body was a faint blue aura.
"Forbidden Hourglass's effect activates!" Yuuji declared. "When this card is Ritual Summoned, I can target 1 monster on your field and negate its effects until the end of this turn. I choose to negate your Bloom Diva's effects!"
The floating hourglass extends one of its ghastly hands, which goes through Bloom Diva, who had a terrified expression on her face from the action.
"Now Bloom Diva is just a monster with only 1300 ATK…" Yuzu grimaced.
"I'm not done yet, Yuzu!" Yuuji announced. "I now overlay my Level 5 Antique Maker - Mira, Antique Wishing Lamp, and Antique Crescent Breeze!"
The aforementioned monsters transform into energies that are then absorbed into a galaxy vortex that forms in front of him. A massive pillar of light shot out from the portal's center as Yuuji began chanting.
"The will of the oppressed who die on the battlefield burns bright. They wait for the one who guides the will of the fallen to victory! I Xyz Summon! Rise up, Rank 5! The courageous leader who fans the flames of rebellion, Antique Maker - Revolution Commander (Fire/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/R: 5/SC: 5/OU: 3)!"
A tall man with striking red hair cloaked in black, with a similarly colored mask covering his mouth appeared.
"Revolution Commander's effect activates!" Yuuji declared. "By detaching one Overlay Unit from it, I can Special Summon Antique Dawning Blaze (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5/SC: 7) from my deck to my field!"
A fiery blade with a golden hilt appeared on Yuuji's field.
(Revolution Commander — OU: 3 → 2)
"Antique Dawning Blaze's effect now activates!" Yuuji continued as Revolution Commander grabbed onto the fiery blade. "I can equip this card to Revolution Commander, increasing its ATK by 500 for every monster on both of our fields excluding itself! You and I have 2 monsters on each of our fields, so Revolution Commander gains 2000 ATK!"
The flames from Antique Dawning Blaze surround Revolution Commander, increasing its ATK.
(Revolution Commander — ATK: 2500 → 4500)
"Furthermore, Antique Maker - Swinging Soul's Pendulum Effect activates as well, increasing a Revolution Commander's ATK by an additional 800!"
(Revolution Commander — ATK: 4500 → 5300)
"5300 ATK!?" Yuzu was shocked.
"Thanks to your Field Spell's effect, you won't take any battle damage," Yuuji stated. "However, I can at least destroy your monsters!"
Revolution Commander leaped towards Yuzu's monsters.
"Battle!" Yuuji moved into his Battle Phase. "Revolution Commander attacks Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir! Blazing Revolution!"
Revolution Commander slashes its sword through Bloom Diva, destroying it. A barrier formed around Yuzu thanks to her Field Spell, protecting her from the shockwaves.
"Thanks to Revolution Commander's effect, it can make a second attack during the Battle Phase!" Yuuji continued. "Go, Revolution Commander! Attack Elegy the Melodious Diva!"
Revolution Commander sets its sights on Yuzu's other monster, slicing through it and destroying it. Once again, a barrier formed around Yuzu, protecting her from the battle damage.
"Main Phase 2," Yuuji concluded his Battle Phase. "I activate Forbidden Hourglass's other effect. Once per turn, I can tribute an 'Antique' Monster on my field to draw a card from my deck. I choose to tribute Antique Maker - Revolution Commander."
Antique Forbidden Hourglass's ghastly hands move towards Revolution Commander, surrounding it and crushing it into particles. Yuuji then drew a card from his deck.
"Huh? Why would you destroy your Xyz Monster?" Yuzu was confused.
"Keeping him on my field will only keep me vulnerable, especially if you have a way to bring back the Fusion Monster I had just destroyed," Yuuji explained.
A face down card then appeared on Yuuji's field.
"I set one card, and end my turn," Yuuji concluded.
"Then it's my turn! Draw!" Yuzu announced as she began her turn.
[Turn 5: Yuzu] [H: 1]
"I activate the Field Spell, Melodious Last Chorus, replacing my other Field Spell!" Yuzu declared.
She placed the card over her other field spell. The area around them transformed back into the abandoned harbor, before it then became filled with countless colorful music notes and scores, which looked like ribbons.
"Once during my turn, this Field Spell allows me to Special Summon as many 'Melodious' Monsters from my graveyard to my field as possible," Yuzu explained. "However, monsters summoned by this effect are returned to the graveyard during the End Phase. Also, Melodious Monsters I control cannot be targeted by my opponent's card effects."
That's an interesting effect. Yuuji thought. Maybe I should get myself a Field Spell?
As for how he would end up acquiring one, he wasn't really sure.
As he was deep in thought, a massive portal appeared in front of Yuzu.
"Return to my field, Mozarta the Melodious Maestra (Light/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 2600/DEF: 2000/LV: 8), Elegy the Melodious Diva (ATK: 2000, DEF: 1200/LV: 5), Soprano the Melodious Songstress (ATK: 1400/DEF: 1400/LV: 4), Schuberta the Melodious Maestra (ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000/LV: 6), and Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir (ATK: 1000/DEF: 2000/LV: 6)!"
Yuzu's monsters swarm her field.
"Thanks to Elegy the Melodious Diva's effect, all of my monsters gain 300 ATK!"
A green aura surrounds all of Yuzu's monsters as they power up.
(Mozarta the Melodious Maestra — ATK: 2600 → 2900)
(Elegy the Melodious Diva — ATK: 2000 → 2300)
(Soprano the Melodious Songstress — ATK: 1400 → 1700)
(Schuberta the Melodious Maestra — ATK: 2400 → 2700)
(Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir — ATK: 1000 → 1300)
"Battle!" Yuzu moved into her Battle Phase. "Soprano the Melodious Songstress attacks Antique Forbidden Hourglass!"
The songstress begins singing, creating a gust of wind with her voice that is sent towards Yuuji's monster.
"At this time, I activate my set Trap Card, Emergency Barrier!" Yuuji announced as his set card was revealed. "When I have fewer Life Points than my opponent, I can reduce any battle damage I take to zero for the rest of this turn!"
A barrier appeared around Yuuji.
"Furthermore, I chain Antique Forbidden Hourglass's effect!" Yuuji declared. "By tributing it from my field, I can draw 1 card from my deck."
Forbidden Hourglass's ghastly arms surround its body as it then crushes itself. At the same time, Yuuji drew a card from his deck.
"Tch," Yuzu clicked her tongue before continuing. "I change Soprano's target to Antique Maker - Reverend Architect!"
The songstress' song destroys the magician.
"Main Phase 2," Yuzu concluded her Battle Phase, seeing that she couldn't do anything else. "I activate Soprano the Melodious Songstress's effect once again! I fuse it along with Schuberta, Mozarta, Elegy, and Bloom Diva!"
"A Fusion Summon with five monsters?" Yuuji gasped in surprise.
"..." Sora smiled.
Yuzu's aforementioned monsters rise into the air, fusing together as she begins chanting.
"Musical geniuses, convene together! By the guidance of the baton, assemble your power!" Yuzu chanted as she clasped her hands together. "I Fusion Summon! Light up the stage, the song of passion! Bloom Prima the Melodious Choir (Light/Fairy/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 1900/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)!"
A smaller woman with blue hair in a yellow dress, wearing two green flowers which pointed out from its shoulders appeared.
"Bloom Prima the Melodious Choir gains 300 ATK for each monster used as material for its summon," Yuzu stated. "Since I fused five monsters to make her, she gains 1500 ATK!"
(Bloom Prima — ATK: 1900 → 3400)
"Furthermore, my Field Spell's effect activates!" Yuzu announced. "When I Fusion Summon a 'Melodious' Monster, I can draw 1 card from my deck."
Yuzu drew a card.
"I now set the card I had just drawn and end my turn," Yuzu concluded.
"Then it's my turn! Draw!" Yuuji drew a card as he began his turn.
[Turn 6: Yuuji] [H: 3]
Yuuji couldn't help but smile.
"You seem happy," Yuzu pointed out. "Did you draw a good card?"
"No, it's not that," Yuuji replied. "It's just that you've just sealed your fate this turn."
"Huh?" Yuzu was surprised. "What do you mean?"
"You forgot to banish stuff from my graveyard using Schuberta's effect."
"But you can't make use of them anyway, right?" Yuzu asked. "Why would I need to banish anything from there?"
"It'll be easier to explain if I just showed you," Yuuji stated.
A portal appeared above Yuuji as three beams of light shot out from it.
"Pendulum Summon! Return from my Extra Deck, Antique Maker - Revolution Commander (ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/R: 5), Antique Maker - Reverend Architect (ATK: 600/DEF: 1500/LV: 3), and Antique Maker - Lilac Magician (ATK: 1700/DEF: 1300/LV: 5)!"
Yuuji's monsters swarm his field.
"Reverend Architect's effect activates," Yuuji stated. "Thanks to it, I can add another 'Antique' Spell/Trap Card to my hand."
Yuuji added a card to his hand.
"Now, from my hand, I activate Antique Reborn!" Yuuji declared. "Thanks to this card, I can Special Summon an 'Antique' Monster directly from my graveyard!"
"No way…" Yuzu gasped as a portal appeared on the ground in front of Yuuji.
"Return to my field, Antique Dawning Blaze (ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5)!"
The fiery blade with a golden hilt returned to Yuuji's field. Yuzu's eyes widened when she realized what Yuuji was about to do.
"I'm sure you know what comes next," Yuuji smirked. "Just like before, Antique Dawning Blaze equips itself to Revolution Commander!"
Revolution Commander grabs onto the fiery blade; the flames of the blade begin to envelop the man.
"Revolution Commander gains 500 ATK for each other monster on the field," Yuuji stated. "There are two others on mine, while there is one on yours, meaning Revolution Commander gains 1500 ATK!"
(Revolution Commander — ATK: 2500 → 4000)
"Furthermore, Antique Maker - Swinging Soul's Pendulum Effect activates again, increasing Revolution Commander's ATK by an additional 800!"
(Revolution Commander — ATK: 4000 → 4800)
"4800 ATK…" Yuzu muttered. "Not to mention, it can make a second attack since it has that monster equipped to it…"
"Battle!" Yuuji moved into his Battle Phase. "Revolution Commander attacks Bloom Prima the Melodious Choir! Blazing Revolution!"
"Not yet!" Yuzu countered as her set card was flipped face-up. "I activate the Quick-Play-Spell, De-Fusion! Thanks to this card, I can target 1 Fusion Monster in my field, and tribute it to Special Summon all of the monsters used to Fusion Summon it—!"
"I won't let you!" Yuuji interrupted as Lilac Magician's staff began to glow. "Antique Maker - Lilac Magician's effect activates! When my opponent activates a set Spell/Trap Card, I can tribute this monster to negate that effect and destroy that card!"
Yuzu's De-Fusion bursts into purple particles along with Lilac Magician.
"N-No way…" Yuzu was shocked.
"Now go, Revolution Commander!" Yuuji pumped his fist forward. "Blazing Revolution!"
Revolution Commander leaps towards Bloom Prima, slicing through the monster with its fiery blade, creating an explosion that sends Yuzu flying back.
Yuzu — LP: 4000 → 2600
"And now for the second attack!" Yuuji declared as Revolution Commander rushed towards Yuzu. "Revolution Commander now attacks you directly! Blazing Revolution!"
Revolution Commander stops just short of Yuzu, flicking her on the forehead to reduce the rest of her Life Points to zero.
Yuzu — LP: 2600 → 0
Winner: Yuuji
The Field Spell around them dissipates, returning them to the abandoned harbor. Yuuji approached Yuzu, who sat on the ground while rubbing her pained forehead. He extended his hand out to her.
"Here, let me help you back up."
"Oh, thanks," Yuzu accepted his hand.
Yuuji then proceeded to pull her back onto her feet. As that happened, Sora approached the two of them.
"It looks like you lost," Sora commented. "Though I can't really blame you, since Yuuji always seems to find a way out of terrible situations."
"If I had banished his equipped monster, I could've kept myself in the duel longer…" Yuzu muttered as she clenched her fists. "If only I had known…"
"There's no use in beating yourself up like that," Yuuji said. "It's not like forgetting to banish it was the main reason you lost; I had other ways to win from that position as well."
"Then doesn't that mean that there was no way I could've possibly won," Yuzu frowned.
"That's not what I meant," Yuuji replied. "I had other ways to win, but you also had potential counterplays for those plans that could've given you a more favorable position, hence why I went with the easier option of just using Revolution Commander to take you out as quickly as possible."
"Yuzu also had an easy way to win as well, though this is all with hindsight," Sora commented. "If she had just activated De-Fusion before you had Pendulum Summoned Antique Maker - Lilac Magician, she could've gotten Bloom Diva back on the field along with Schuberta. Then she could've used Schuberta's effect to banish your Dawning Blaze if you tried to activate Antique Reborn. And you couldn't use your Synchro Monster to destroy them since her Field Spell along with Elegy the Melodious Diva protects Yuzu's monsters from being targeted by your effects. On her next turn if you had Revolution Commander or your Synchro on the field, Yuzu just would've attacked them with Bloom Diva and won."
So, I was a lot closer to losing than I thought. Yuuji thought. And I blatantly told her she could've done something like that with Schuberta to stop my plans during the duel. If things had gone a little differently, I would've lost before I could've even done anything.
He couldn't let a situation like that happen again. At least not without him being aware of it.
"So, if I had been smarter, I could've won?" Yuzu asked, feeling a bit relieved from hearing that.
"Pretty much," Sora said as he opened another lollipop. "So, take this as a learning lesson for your next duel."
"Got it," Yuzu nodded.
A while later…
Yuuji could be seen right in front of Maiami Stadium, his eyes glued to his duel disk screen. On it, he could see a giant green check mark next to his profile, signifying that he was officially entered into the Maiami Championships.
"Just in time," Yuuji smiled. "It's good that I decided to come straight here before they closed registration."
Just as he was about to walk off, he heard a voice call out to him.
"Yo, long time no see."
Turning to the source of the voice, Yuuji immediately froze upon recognizing them.
It was a tan-skinned young man around his age, with a similar height and build to him as well. The young man sported rough-looking, but also surprisingly clean clothing.
"Shouma…" Yuuji immediately frowned.
"Aw…is that the way you should react to seeing your old friend again?" Shouma responded.
"You and I both know we were never friends," Yuuji stated. "Cut the bullshit."
"Still as bad-mouthed as ever, Yuuji," Shouma shook his head. "I doubt you could ever find yourself a girlfriend with an attitude like that."
Shouma then shrugged.
"Though, not like that matters much. What girl would want to hang around a duelist that loses as much as you anyway?"
"Not like you would have much luck either, dickhead," Yuuji rolled his eyes. "You'd probably scare off any girl with whatever the hell you're wearing right now."
"I'd rather do that than suck at dueling like you," Shouma scoffed. "You're that bad of a duelist to the point where you needed to be bailed out by that new Pendulum Summoning to defeat my father."
"Your father?" Yuuji was confused for a moment before realizing. "Wait, your father is…"
"...Black Death," Shouma finished his sentence. "The King of the Underground…or I guess the former King now thanks to you and that cheat of yours."
"Pendulum Summoning isn't a cheat," Yuuji retorted. "Our duel disks find it just as legal as any other summoning—"
"—Yeah, yeah, cut the bullshit. You said that at the match as well," Shouma suddenly interrupted. "Even if that Pendulum Summoning of yours is legal, it still doesn't change the fact that you were bailed out by it."
Shouma then stepped up to Yuuji, glaring daggers into him.
"If you didn't have that stupid cheat of yours, you would've died there. A fitting end for the son of a cheater."
"My father was not a cheater," Yuuji held his ground. "It was obvious that he was framed."
"You only think that because you're his son," Shouma stated. "The evidence makes it obvious that he cheated. While you are a horrible duelist just like your father, you of all people should know just how taboo it is to sabotage your opponent's deck before an official tournament match."
"He…didn't…do it," Yuuji said with a dangerous glare.
Shouma put his hands up playfully, "Hey now, no need to get all mad. I'm just making use of public information like any person would."
"I'm like this close to punching your teeth out right now," Yuuji said with clenched fists.
"Right here? In front of hundreds of people? Please," Shouma shrugged. "I saw you register for the tournament earlier; you wouldn't want to give up your spot in the biggest tournament of the year just because you got a little mad, right?"
"Tch…" Yuuji clicked his tongue as he unclenched his fists.
"Smart choice," Shouma smirked. "Must be a shame, right? Being powerless in the face of things completely out of your control. Just like with what happened to your father."
It took everything Yuuji had to not just lunge at Shouma after what he had just said, something the Shouma could tell very easily.
"Well, whatever, I'm bored now," Shouma shrugged before walking away. However, just before he did, he stopped right next to Yuuji. "I hope to see you at the tournament, Yuuji. That is…if you even have the balls to show up at all."
With that last comment, Shouma walked off.
"..." Yuuji stood there quietly for a moment.
He then took a deep breath. And another. Again, and again, and again.
It was the same thing Tanako, his mentor, had always done when she was angry to keep herself composed.
With one final deep breath, Yuuji opened his eyes.
"A cheat, huh? Maybe so, but I swear I'll prove to you…no, the world itself, that I am worthy to carry this blessing."
After saying that aloud to himself, Yuuji began walking back home.
Meanwhile, at LDS Tower…
Reiji sat on his desk, examining a multitude of documents written about people that caught his interest. The one he currently held in his hand was a document about Haruki Yuuji's father, Haruki Gin.
"A rising-star duelist with incredible talent at first…" Reiji read. "...who had disappeared from the dueling scene after a scandal where Haruki Gin had allegedly messed with his opponent's deck before the match to steal an easy victory."
Reiji looked at a photo attached to the document, which showed Haruki Gin messing with a deck that the document claimed to be the one his opponent used. After looking at the photo for a moment, Reiji placed it back down, picking up the document again to continue reading it.
"He moved to the Outpost ten years ago together with his six-year-old son, where he raised the youth until he was killed in a riot incident five years ago. Info about the cause of the riot is still unknown…"
That was the end of the document.
That was surprisingly short. Reiji thought. As if most of the info surrounding this man had been lost many years ago.
Before he could reflect more on it, he heard a knock at the entrance of his office.
"Come in."
The door opened up, revealing the person knocking to be Nakajima.
"Reiji-dono…" Nakajima bowed to his boss. "The guests you've been expecting have finally arrived."
"Good work, Nakajima," Reiji put down the document in his hand as he stood up. "You can let them in now."
"Yes, Reiji-dono," Nakajima bowed before walking out of the room.
A few moments later, three people enter the room. These three people were Yuga, Shizuka, and Shun. It was faint, but if one looked closely, they could see a bit of unease laced in Shun's expression as he briefly glanced at the young woman beside him who looked just like his younger sister, Ruri.
"Good, it seems like you're all here," Reiji greeted them.
"Cut to the chase, Akaba," Shun immediately said. "Just what are you planning?"
"I have an important task for the three of you," Reiji answered. "Obviously, it relates to my plan to take down my father."
He takes out a remote from his pocket, and presses a button which lowers a screen down behind him. A video feed featuring an aerial view of Maiami Stadium was present.
"That stadium…" Shizuka seemed to recognize it. "I heard that was the stadium where the Maiami Championships would be taking place."
"You've done your research. Saves me the time of having to explain what it is," Reiji commented before continuing. "What I want from the three of you is simple. Enter the tournament and sift through the participants to find those who are skilled enough to fight against Academia."
"So, you plan on picking out certain people and ship them off to battle?" Shizuka frowned "Putting your people in harm's way, how cold of you. Especially people who are our age, who never had to fight in a war before."
"There aren't any other options, unfortunately," Reiji stated.
"What about the top duelists of LDS?" Shizuka inquired. "Surely you could make use of them for this."
"That's not an option either," Reiji stated before glancing at Shun. "Thanks to a certain somebody, most of our strongest duelists are out of commission for the foreseeable future. Aside from LDS's Top Team, we don't have any other potential fighters."
"Tch…" Shun looked away.
"And besides, this generation of duelists has proven to be far more talented than its predecessors," Reiji stated, pressing a button to show images of both Yuuji and Yuya. "They're the first generation to grow with the power of Pendulum, and I'm almost certain that they have what it takes to use that power to defeat Academia."
"..." Shun's face twitched a bit upon recognizing Yuuji's face.
"But still…" Shizuka still looked unsure.
"Wait, I have a question," Yuga suddenly spoke up. "If I were to join the tournament, would I get a chance to fight one of those two?"
"If that's what it takes to convince you to join, we can make arrangements," Reiji replied.
"Sweet. I'm in," Yuga agreed.
"Yuga! You can't be serious!?" Shizuka yelled at her friend.
"What? It's a good deal though," Yuga said. "We can increase our numbers in the war, and I get to duel against actually interesting duelists. It's a win-win."
"..." Shizuka looked at her friend with an exasperated expression before sighing. "Whatever. Do what you want. I'm still not okay with this."
Ignoring the two's little argument, Shun addressed Reiji.
"What's in it for me?" Shun asked. "This whole thing just sounds like a waste of time, since Standard is the weakest of the four dimensions. They'd be of no use to us."
"Then would this interest you?"
Reiji pressed another button, pulling up a picture of a certain cyan-haired youth wearing a blue school uniform.
"Who is this exactly?" Shun raised an eyebrow.
"Shiunin Sora," Reiji answered. "A spy from Academia."
"What?" Shun's eyes widened in shock.
"He's one of the participants who will be participating in the tournament," Reiji continued. "If you agree to join, I'll give you a chance to confront him in a duel."
"You have yourself a deal then," Shun agreed with zero hesitation.
Reiji smiled.
"Good, I'll be expecting great things from you, Kurosaki Shun. And you too, Ibarahana Yuga."
The next day…
Yuuji could be seen on a bridge, looking off the horizon towards Maiami Stadium, which was being swarmed with countless spectators. In his hand was his pendulum necklace, which he gently swayed side to side.
"The time has finally come," Yuuji smiled. "My chance to finally prove myself on the big stage."
Everything he had done had been for this exact moment, the chance where he could prove to the world that he had what it takes to become the best.
"I just wish you guys were here to see me, Father, Tanako…" Yuuji solemnly said. "But even though you guys aren't here right now, I promise to do my best to make you guys proud anyway."
"Yuuji! What are you doing over there!? We're going to be late!" He heard Sora shout from a little ways away.
"Right! I'm coming!" Yuuji shouted back, wrapping his necklace around his neck again before running off to join the rest of the group.
Custom/Altered Cards:
Monster Card/s -
Schuberta the Melodious Maestra
ATK: 2400, DEF: 2000, LV: 6
Light/Fairy/Fusion/Effect
Monster Effect: (Quick Effect): You can target up to 3 cards in either GY; banish them, and if you do, this card gains 200 ATK for each, permanently. You can only activate this effect once per turn.
Antique Maker - Reverend Architect
ATK: 600, DEF: 1500, LV: 3, SC: 4
Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Tuner/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn: You can target 1 monster on the field; it gains 500 ATK until the end of this turn.
Monster Effect: If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can add 1 "Antique" Spell/Trap from your Deck to your hand.
Antique Crescent Breeze
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5, SC: 7
Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Pendulum Monsters you control cannot be destroyed by card effects.
Monster Effect: Once per turn: You can target 1 monster you control; equip this card to that target. It gains 1000 ATK. If the equipped monster would be destroyed, you can Tribute this card instead.
Antique Maker - Lilac Magician
ATK: 1700, DEF: 1300, LV: 5, SC: 1
Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn: You can Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using monsters you control as material.
Monster Effect: (Quick Effect): When your opponent activates a Set Spell/Trap Card while this card is on the field, you can Tribute this card; negate the activation, and if you do, destroy that card.
Antique Forbidden Hourglass
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 6
Light/Fairy/Ritual/Effect
Monster Effect: You can Ritual Summon this card with "Antique Sacred Rites." If this card is Ritual Summoned: You can target 1 card on the field; negate its effects until the end of this turn. Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can Tribute 1 "Antique" monster; draw 1 card.
Spell/Trap Card/s -
Dramatic Opera
Normal Spell
Special Summon 2 "Melodious Tokens" (Fairy/LIGHT/Level 2/ATK 1000/DEF 1000) in Defense Position. These Tokens cannot be Tributed, except for the Tribute Summon of a "Melodious" monster, or used as material for a Fusion or Synchro Summon, except for the summon of a "Melodious" monster. You can Tribute 1 "Melodious Token"; if you do, Special Summon 1 Level 5 or lower "Melodious" monster from your hand.
Power Lance
Equip Spell
A monster equipped with the card gains 1200 ATK.
Antique Sacred Rites
Ritual Spell
This card can be used to Ritual Summon any "Antique" Ritual Monster from your hand. You must also Tribute monsters from your hand or field whose total Levels equal or exceed the Level of the Ritual Monster you Ritual Summon.
Melodious Last Chorus
Field Spell
While this card is on the field, "Melodious" monsters you control cannot be targeted by your opponent's card effects. Once per turn, during your Main Phase, you can Special Summon any number of "Melodious" monsters from your Graveyard. During the End Phase, destroy all monsters Special Summoned by this effect. Each time you Fusion Summon a "Melodious" monster, draw 1 card.
And that's the end of the chapter. Not too much happening in this chapter, since just like many chapters before it, it's a buildup chapter for the next arc.
I'm honestly extremely hyped about this next arc since we're finally getting into the more interesting part of the story. And it's also the arc where things will start to drift away from the canon story quite a bit (thankfully meaning that I don't have to slog through summarizing stuff that happens in the anime too much now.)
The next chapter will mark the true start of the Maiami Championships, so go read it when you can.
Chapter 13: Crystalline Evolution
Chapter Text
Edit #1: 13/17 Chapters Revamped.
Chapter 13! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Minor spelling, grammar, and other mistakes may be present.
[Maiami Championship Arc Opening Theme (Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Opening 2: Burn)]
Scale 013: Crystalline Evolution
"Ow, ow, ow!" Yuya whined as Yuzu dragged him by the ear.
"You made us look around all over for you," Yuzu said in a stern tone. "We could've been late because of you."
"I get it! I get it! Can you let go of my ear now?"
"No."
"Please."
"No."
Yuuji just watched the two of them from the sidelines, an exasperated expression present on his face.
"Remind me to not get on her bad side…" Yuuji muttered.
"Mhm," Sora nodded in agreement.
They arrived at Maiami Stadium almost an hour ago to be early. As soon as they arrived, they realized one person in the group was missing.
Yuya.
This led them to look around all over the place for the tomato-haired youth, only stopping their search once Yuya eventually arrived only a minute ago.
Leading to what was happening right now.
"Yuzu, I promise that the next time we go shopping together, I'll carry all the luggage this time," Yuya said as a last resort.
"You promise? If you go back on your word, I'll—"
"-Yeah, I promise! Just…let me go!"
"...Fine."
Yuzu let go of Yuya's ear suddenly, causing him to fall on his face.
—Thud!
"Finally…" Yuya muttered on the ground while he rubbed his pained face.
As he did that, a tall and muscular youth stopped right near them.
"Long time no see, wimp."
When Yuya looked up to see the source of the voice, his eyes widened in surprise.
"You're…Ankokuji."
"Since this is an important tournament, I thought you would've run away just like your old man," Ankokuji commented. "Guess you've decided to grow a pair this time."
"What?" Yuya frowned.
"Still, I won't accept that someone like you defeated Strong Ishijima," Ankokuji continued. "A wimp like you could never defeat a pro."
"Who's that?" Sora wondered.
"No idea," Yuuji shrugged.
"Hey, I have an idea," Ankokuji stepped closer, pointing at Yuya's face. "Want me to crush you here and now to prove that you're a coward just like a father?"
Yuya was about to say something in response when someone suddenly put a hand on Ankokuji's shoulder.
"That's enough, Ankokuji Gen," A familiar voice said.
Yuya's eyes widened in surprise upon recognizing the figure.
"Gongenzaka!"
"Tch…" Ankokuji brushed off Gongenzaka's hand. "You're not showing respect to your senior teammate. You must think you're some big shot, huh Gongenzaka?"
"You're no longer my senior teammate," Gongenzaka stated.
"Oh…" Ankokuji said in a challenging manner. "Look at how you've grown. Standing up to your elders now."
Ankokuji turned to face Gongenzaka, the two of them staring daggers at each other for one long, stretching moment.
—KRRCH!
"You will be entering soon," A voice on the loudspeaker stated. "All duelists please form a line behind your team's placard."
"Heh…" Ankokuji smiled. "You better survive until I can crush you."
Ankokuji let them be with that. After Ankokuji walked far enough away, Gongenzaka spoke up.
"I didn't think I would meet him here after all this time."
"Me neither…" Yuya replied before turning to his friend. "On a different note, Gongenzaka. You being here right now means…"
"Yeah," Gongenzaka nodded with a smile. "I, the man Gongenzaka, barely managed to achieve a 60% win rate right before the tournament."
"I see! That's great!" Yuya said with joy.
The two of them then fistbump each other.
"Good to see you here, big guy," Yuuji greeted Gongenzaka. "It didn't seem right to go into this tournament without you being able to participate."
"It's good to see you too, Yuuji," Gongenzaka greeted back. "I heard that you were having a difficult time finding duels to help fulfill your qualifications."
"Don't remind me…" Memories of the long hours Yuuji spent trying to find people to duel flashed through his mind. "I never want to go through that experience again."
"At least we're all here now," Yuzu said.
"Yeah, that's true," Yuuji nodded before pumping his fist into the air. "And I'm ready to take down anyone who stands in my way to the trophy!"
"That makes us rivals then," Yuya stated before smiling. "I don't plan on sitting by while you gun for the top."
"Me neither," Sora chimed in. "I'm going straight for the top!"
"I'd like to see you guys try," Yuuji smiled.
"Let's save the energy for after the tournament starts," Yuzu suggested. "We have to go line up."
"Oh yeah, you're right," Yuuji remembered. "Let's go—"
Yuuji stopped in his tracks when he noticed someone in the distance wearing a nice white suit. The person in question was surrounded by a flock of girls, all swooning over him. When Yuuji squinted to get a better look at who it was, he froze.
"No…fucking…way…"
"Language!" Yuzu shouted. "We have children here."
"Sorry…" Yuuji apologized.
The person in question was none other than Shouma, who also seemed to notice him.
"I think that's enough for now ladies. You lot should make your way to the stands now," Shouma said in a smooth tone. "We can continue this later."
[Okay!] The crowd of girls replied before dispersing from the area.
Shouma dusted off his suit a bit before walking away to Yuuji, a charming look on his face.
"It's good to see you again, Yuuji," Shouma greeted with a smile.
"Cut the act already, Shouma. You and I both know how much we despise each other," Yuuji stated. "What the hell are you even doing?"
"Was I that obvious," Shouma's smile dropped instantly. "A shame, I thought my acting skills have improved at least a little."
"We're at a dueling tournament, not a modeling gig," Yuuji said. "What's with the get-up?"
"I was just reflecting on our short conversation yesterday. You mentioned that my clothing style before would act like a chick repellant, so I decided to change styles to see if you were right," Shouma replied. "Sure enough, it was at least partially true. Though I think that's more thanks to my good looks and charisma rather than what kind of clothes I was wearing."
"How humble of you…" Yuuji rolled his eyes.
"I know, very humble of me indeed. Taking advice from someone on a much lower level than me, both in dueling and romance," Shouma commented. "Be grateful that you were given this chance to put that tiny brain of yours to good use."
"Um, Yuuji? Who is this guy?" Yuzu asked.
"He's just some loudmouthed lowlife. Don't worry about him," Yuuji replied.
"How cold," Shouma acted hurt. "To think that you would call your old friend a lowlife, in front of such a pretty young lady as well. It pains my heart."
"Can you please shut up about that," Yuuji sighed. "And why the hell are you speaking so formally? You and I are literally from the same slums."
"I just know how to speak appropriately in a public setting. Unlike somebody I know," Shouma scoffed.
"He's got you there, Yuuji," Sora commented.
"Don't agree with him!" Yuuji shouted.
Sora just shrugged in response.
Shouma took a look at his watch for a moment before speaking.
"Would you look at the time," Shouma stated. "If you guys don't get going soon, you'll miss your introduction."
"He's right," Yuzu said. "We have to go now."
"Tch," Yuuji clicked his tongue. "Fine…"
"Are you coming, Gongenzaka?" Yuya asked when he noticed his best friend wasn't moving from his spot.
"People from schools with only one member in the tournament along with people who are unaffiliated to any dueling school are called last," Gongenzaka replied. "I'll meet you guys out there."
"Right," Yuya nodded. "See you later."
The rest of the You Show students made their way into the hallway, with Yuuji trailing slightly behind them. He glanced at Shouma, who had a sly grin on his face, for a moment before following the rest of his friends down the hallway.
"Next is the entertainment dueling school that's been grabbing the headlines - You Show Duel School!" A female announcer introduced them.
The seven of them walk outside upon their introduction.
"Yuya, have fun!" Sakaki Yoko, Yuya's mother, shouted to her son.
"You Show! Fight, fight, fight!" Shuzo cheered with tears streaming down his eyes.
"Thanks, Mom! Shuzo!" Yuya waved back at them.
"That guy…" Yuzu sighed at her father's antics.
Yuuji chuckled a bit at that.
"You Show Duel School's very own Sakaki Yuya has made news headlines for using a new summoning method known as Pendulum Summoning." The announcer continued. "He's one to focus on in this tournament."
Actually, now that I think of it. Aside from a select few people, nobody knows that I have access to Pendulum Summoning. Yuuji thought.
And not only him, but Sawatari Shingo as well, who he was sure was in this tournament as well.
Damn, that means that I won't be able to avoid the spotlight for much longer then. Yuuji sighed. They'll be on my ass, grilling me for answers like they've been grilling into Yuya.
Out of all the things to be excited about in this tournament, that was probably the thing he was the least excited for.
Oh well, it was bound to happen eventually anyway. I might as well deal with it now.
They all stop around where the crowd of participants stood, right around the podium at the center of the arena. It was there that Yuuji noticed a few familiar faces from LDS.
Hokuto, Masumi, Yaiba, Sawatari and…Kurosaki Shun!?
Yuya and Yuzu seemed to have noticed him as well, wearing similarly shocked expressions on their faces while looking in the Xyz Duelist's direction.
What's he doing here? Isn't LDS his enemy? Yuuji wondered. Why would he end up joining them?
Aside from Shun, there was one other person from LDS that caught his eye. It was a pink-haired youth who wore a black skull mask on his face.
That actually looks kind of sick.
Soon after, a man stepped up to the podium, giving a short debrief of their purpose here at the tournament. After that, Nico Smiley announced that there would be a player's oath, given by none other than Yuya himself.
"Huh? Me!?" Yuya's jaw dropped. "No one told me about this."
"Have fun," Yuuji said with a smile as he pushed his friend towards the stage. He quickly retreated after that, before Yuya could say anything in response.
And now we watch. Yuuji thought. If he wants to be an entertainer, he needs to be able to speak to the crowd without being nervous.
And that was also the main reason why Yuuji would never want to become an entertainer. Dealing with large crowds of people was exhausting for someone like him.
Yuya's speech started off awkward, with his nervousness being blatantly obvious to everybody present. However, after some encouragement from his friends along with reminders of how far he had come, he managed to pull himself together. Delivering a heartfelt speech about his journey to get here, along with declaring to everyone present that he would become a pro duelist just like his father, Sakaki Yusho, who can make everyone smile and love dueling just as much as he did.
—Clap. Clap. Clap!
The sounds of clapping started off soft before becoming a crescendo of sound, and everyone present began applauding Yuya's speech.
Yup, I could never. Yuuji thought while he clapped.
Soon after Yuya's speech, it became time for the first-round matchups to be announced.
Yuuji pulled out his registration card from his pocket and inserted it into his duel disk.
Maiami Championships Round 1:
Junior Youth Match 4:
Haruki Yuuji vs Kurogane Shouma
A smile formed on Yuuji's face upon seeing the matchup.
The lord above has really blessed me here. Yuuji thought. I can finally knock that loudmouthed bastard down a few pegs.
"My opponent is…Sawatari!?" Yuya shouted in shock.
"Mine is…Masumi?" Yuzu said in surprise.
"When are your matches?" Yuuji asked.
"Mine is tomorrow," Yuya replied.
"My match is this afternoon," Yuzu answered.
"Mine's also this afternoon," Yuuji stated.
"My match is tomorrow," Gongenzaka revealed as he approached the group.
"Gongenzaka, who's your opponent?" Yuya wondered.
Gongenzaka showed the result on his screen, revealing that his Round 1 opponent was none other than Ankokuji Gen.
"It looks like we all are facing destined opponents," Yuuji said as he revealed his screen.
"Isn't that the guy from earlier with the white suit?" Yuzu asked.
"Yup," Yuuji answered. "You don't get how long I've been waiting for this moment."
"My match is right after the ceremony," Futoshi said.
"And mine is right after his," Ayu revealed.
"Then it's settled," Yuya said. "We'll be cheering for Futoshi, Ayu, Yuzu, and Yuuji today then."
"What about you, Sora?" Tatsuya asked the cyan-haired youth, who was still staring at his duel disk.
"Mine's tomorrow. Against somebody from LDS," Sora answered casually.
"LDS? Who is it?" Yuya wondered.
"Hmm…" Sora looked for the name. "...It's Kurosaki Shun. Though, his expression in his picture is a little too serious for my tastes."
"That guy!?" "Shun!?" "Kurosaki!?"
Yuya, Yuzu, and Yuuji all exclaim in shock before turning to each other confused.
"Wait, how do you guys know about him?" Yuuji wondered.
"That's what we were going to ask you," Yuzu said. "How do you know him? We never told you about him."
"I dueled against him like a few days ago," Yuuji answered. "Granted, I lost and had to be bailed out at the last second, but I still dueled him. How do you guys know about him?"
"I first saw him when I was being chased by some LDS Members ordered by Sawatari," Yuya revealed. "He summoned a powerful Xyz Monster and used it to decimate all of the LDS members. I'm not really sure what happened to them all after I was knocked out, but they all ended up disappearing."
They were probably turned into cards. Yuuji grimaced. But there's no point in telling them that. It would only make them more worried for no reason.
"I only saw him briefly as well before he just up and disappeared suddenly," Yuzu loosely explained the events that transpired that day.
"That does sound like him alright," Yuuji nodded before turning to Sora. "You should be careful, Sora. Kurosaki Shun isn't someone we should take lightly."
"I'll be fine, I'm strong," Sora brushed him off. "You should be more worried about your match anyway."
"I'm being serious, Sora," Yuuji stated. "That guy is dangerous."
"Sure he is," Sora rolled his eyes. "I can handle it."
Yuuji's face twitched in annoyance, but he composed himself.
"Fine then, suit yourself."
Afterwards they chatted for a bit longer, with Yuzu going over to confront Masumi about the reason why Shun was a part of LDS. However, weirdly enough, Masumi revealed that Shun had always been a part of LDS.
Which made no sense since Shun had been targeting LDS Staff and students specifically.
Why would someone attack their own school like that?
With them being unable to get any more info out of Masumi, they decided to shift their attention to the upcoming matches, making their way to watch Futoshi's match (which he manages to win easily without much trouble).
Ayu's match on the other hand was a completely different story.
She was going against another young girl her age with lavender-colored hair named Reira. Contrary to her timid appearance and demeanor, Reira showed excellent skill and finesse in her dueling, easily managing to defeat Ayu after Fusion Summoning C/C/C Water Sword of Battle.
She's good. Yuuji assessed. Whoever taught her must have been a talented duelist.
The third match involving You Show was between Yuzu and Masumi. Even with Yuzu's access to Fusion Summoning, Masumi took the lead early on, showing her experience and putting Yuzu on the backfoot for the bulk of the duel. However, towards the latter half of the duel, Yuzu managed to regain her footing, Fusion Summoning Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir to make a surprising comeback in the end—coming out victorious.
Yuuji didn't stay for long to celebrate with the rest of the group, since he needed to make his way down to the arena next.
Yuuji walked down the hallway towards the stadium, his heart rate accelerating as he made his way to the light of the outside.
It's finally here, the moment I've been waiting for.
Right here on the big stage, he would prove to the world just how much he's grown as a duelist.
He exited the hallway, walking up to the security personnel who stood right at the entrance of the arena. After receiving approval, they allowed Yuuji to enter the arena.
"Entering from the right corner, another Entertainment Duelist hailing from the You Show Duel School, Haruki Yuuji!" Nico Smiley announced.
"I'm not an Entertainment Duelist though…" Yuuji muttered as he waved to the crowd.
"You got this, Yuuji!" Yuya cheered for his friend.
"Do your best!" Yuzu cheered.
"Burn bright, Yuuji! For You Show!" Shuzo shouted with a fire burning in his eyes.
"R-Right…" Yuuji nodded.
"Entering from the left corner, a talented duelist who has managed to enter the tournament with an incredible 90% win rate, Kurogane Shouma!" Nico Smiley announced.
[Shouma, good luck!] His group of fangirls cheered from the stands.
"Thank you for the support," Shouma waved to them with a smile.
"That Action Field these two duelists will be dueling in will be…" A massive Action Card floating at the center of the arena began spinning before revealing an arena. "...Deserted Slums!"
The Real Solid Vision Machine began whirring as their surroundings transformed into that of the slums. The buildings surrounding them were old and worn down. The streets beneath their feet were messy and unkempt.
"How fitting…" Yuuji thought as he closed his eyes to reminisce. "We're right at home. The perfect place for our rematch."
"Couldn't they have chosen a cleaner arena, my new suit will get all dirty," Shouma sighed.
"That's what you get for being a dumbass," Yuuji stated. "Who brings a luxury suit into an Action Duel anyway?"
"I don't need a lecture from an inferior duelist," Shouma scoffed. "I'll finish you off quickly so I don't get this suit too dirty."
"Fine with me, let's start," Yuuji said before he began chanting. "Duelist locked in battle!"
"Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!" Shouma continued the chant.
"They storm through this field!"
"Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling!"
"Action—!"
[DUEL!] The two shout in unison. At the same time, Action Cards were dispersed around the arena.
[Turn 1: Yuuji] [H: 5]
"I'll take the first turn!" Yuuji announced and he drew his first five cards. "I'll start by activating Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw 2 more cards!"
Yuuji drew two cards from his deck.
Antique Maker - Swinging Soul and Antique Maker - Mira. Yuuji's eyes widened when he saw what he drew. I guess I don't have a choice but to reveal these cards then.
"Okay, let's do this," Yuuji took a deep breath before revealing two cards in his hand. "Using the Scale 1 Antique Maker - Swinging Soul and the Scale 8 Antique Maker - Mira, I set the Pendulum Scale!"
Yuuji placed the two cards on opposite ends of his duel disk, the word [PENDULUM] appearing between them in rainbow font. Behind him, a magician in white holding a pendulum necklace and a woman in all black holding a pristine mirror in her hand rose into the two Pendulum Zones behind Yuuji. The numbers 1 and 8 appear on the zones in a strange golden font as above it all, a giant silver pendulum swung back and forth.
"Woah!" Nico Smiley exclaimed. "Just like his classmate Sakaki Yuya, Haruki Yuuji also has access to Pendulum Cards!"
"Another person actually has access to Pendulum Cards," A girl in the audience said in awe. "The rumors were actually true?"
"See, I told you so!" Another girl said to her friend.
Countless murmurs could be heard from the crowd as they discussed the recent reveal. Yuuji tried to not let it bother him, continuing his turn like normal.
"With my currently set Pendulum Scale, I can summon monsters Levels 2 through 7 all at the same time!" Yuuji announced. "Shine, Pendulum of Destiny! Draw an arc across the ether, and reflect onto me a path to victory! I Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my monster!"
The pendulum in the sky drew a portal, as one beam of light shot out from it.
"Appear, phantom dragon bearing my very soul. Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7/SC: 4)!"
Yuuji's purple dragon with bone-like armor which had dozens of pretty orbs scattered around it appeared.
"Of course, you would use that cheat of yours," Shouma mocked. "You can't do anything without it."
"Well duh, my deck is literally built around it," Yuuji rolled his eyes. "How about you stop complaining and do something about it. I set one card and end my turn."
A facedown card appeared on Yuuji's field.
"You asked for it, not me," Shouma replied. "My turn! Draw!"
[Turn 2: Shouma] [H: 6]
"I'll start by moving into my Battle Phase," Shouma stated.
"Battle Phase? But you have no monsters?" Yuuji raised an eyebrow.
"End of Battle Phase," Shouma continued.
Why would he move into his Battle Phase and just immediately end it? Yuuji wondered. He must be planning something.
"When I control no cards during the end of my Battle Phase, I can activate the effect of the Trap Card, Evenly Matched from my hand!" Shouma announced.
A Trap Card effect from the hand!? Yuuji's eyes widened in shock.
"When Evenly Matched is activated, my opponent must banish cards on their field until their total number of cards equals mine," Shouma stated. "I only have one card on my field right now, meaning you must banish cards until you only have one remaining!"
"So that's what you were planning," Yuuji grimaced. "You wanted to wipe out my field completely."
"Pendulum Monsters return to the Extra Deck when they're destroyed, so they're able to just be summoned back again as long as you have an appropriate Pendulum Scale," Shouma explained before smiling. "But it's a different story when they're banished."
"Damn…" Yuuji cursed under his breath. "Which card should I keep?"
Antique Maker - Mira was an extremely valuable card that he couldn't afford to lose since it could help him search for other cards in his deck, but…
It won't do much when it's in my Pendulum Scale. Yuuji thought. If I don't find a way to get it onto my field, I won't be able to make use of that effect anyway.
So if that's the case…
"...the card I choose to keep on my field is Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon," Yuuji stated as he was forced to send every other card he controlled into his Banish Zone.
"And with just a single card, Kurogane Shouma has managed to neutralize Yuuji's Pendulum Summoning!" Nico Smiley exclaimed. "This is shaping up to be quite the match-up!"
How did Shouma even know about that property of Pendulum Monsters? Yuuji wondered. The only people who would know that are my friends, the LDS trio, Sawatari, a few of Yuya's opponents, and…
Yuuji glanced up, noticing Reiji looking directly at him from his V.I.P. booth—a small smile present on his face.
You've got to be kidding me. Yuuji's jaw dropped.
"Main Phase 2," Shouma continued his turn. "I summon the Tuner Monster, Umbrahex Spectre (Dark/Fiend/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 900/DEF: 500/LV: 2)!"
A dark, ghastly purple spirit with red eyes appeared.
Umbrahex? Yuuji was surprised. But the last time I dueled him, he made use of a different archetype.
Granted, it has been a good year since they last dueled, but to change your whole deck completely is odd, especially when it was working well for him.
"When Umbrahex Spectre is summoned, I can Special Summon another 'Umbrahex' Monster from my hand!" Shouma announced. "Appear, Umbrahex Vineyard (Dark/Fiend/Effect/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1500/LV: 5)!"
A ghastly spirit monster with a body surrounded by vines appeared.
"I'm sure you know what comes next, Yuuji," Shouma smirked. "My Level 2 Umbrahex Spectre tunes my Level 5 Umbrahex Vineyard!"
The two aforementioned monsters transformed into green rings and orbs respectively, lining up as a pillar of light shot through its center.
"Fiendish warrior brandishing the crescent moon. Tear through your enemies!" Shouma chanted. "I Synchro Summon! Appear, Level 7! Umbrahex Darkscythe (Dark/Fiend/Synchro/Effect/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)!"
A skeleton with a body made of black bones, brandishing an ethereal scythe appeared on Shouma's field.
"What a fantastic Synchro Summoning from player Kurogane!" Nico Smiley exclaimed.
"Darkscythe's effect activates!" Shouma declared. "When this monster is Synchro Summoned, I can target 1 monster on your field, destroy it, and deal damage to you equal to half that monster's ATK!"
The skeleton fiend's ethereal scythe grows in size, as it then uses it to slash through Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon. The sheer force of the attack sent Yuuji tumbling back.
Yuuji — LP: 4000 → 2750
"Tch," Yuuji clicked his tongue as he stood back up.
"Furthermore, when a Fiend-type monster is Synchro Summoned with Umbrahex Spectre as material, I get to draw 1 card!"
Shouma drew a card.
"Next, I activate Umbrahex Vineyard's effect from the graveyard!" Shouma continued. "When it is in my graveyard, I can pay 500 Life Points to Special Summon it back to my field. Return, Umbrahex Vineyard (ATK: 1800/DEF: 1500/LV: 5) in defense mode!"
The spirit surrounded by vines appeared once again, this time with a faint blue aura around it. Shouma grits his teeth as he felt his duel disk shock him.
Shouma — LP: 4000 → 3500
"I set two cards and end my turn," Shouma concludes his turn with two facedown cards. "Even with that cheat of yours, you still can't change the difference between us in terms of dueling skill."
"Save that for after you wipe out my Life Points," Yuuji rolled his eyes before beginning his turn. "I draw!"
[Turn 3: Yuuji] [H: 3]
"Just what I needed," Yuuji smiled as he looked at what he drew. "I set the Scale 8 Odd-Eyes Sparking Dragon into my Pendulum Zone!"
A small dragon with bright yellow scales and horns shaped like a thunderbolt perched on its head rose into one of Yuuji's empty Pendulum Zones.
"Odd-Eyes Sparking Dragon's Pendulum Effect activates," Yuuji stated. "Once per turn, I can add 1 "Odd-Eyes" Card from my deck to my hand. The card I choose to add is the Pendulum Monster, Odd-Eyes Surge Dragon."
Yuuji added a card to his hand and revealed it.
"Now, I rebuild my Pendulum Scale with the Scale 1 Odd-Eyes Surge Dragon and the Scale 8 Odd-Eyes Sparking Dragon already in my Pendulum Zone!"
Yuuji placed the card on the opposite end of his duel disk, the word [PENDULUM] appearing once again in rainbow font as a small blue-scaled dragon with a set of blue wings made of water rose into Yuuji's other empty Pendulum Scale.
"Alright!" Ayu cheered from the stands. "Yuuji-senpai has managed to rebuild his Pendulum Scale! He can win this!"
"It's still too early to say that," Sora stated. "The duel is only in its beginning stages right now."
Back in the arena, Yuuji's pendulum necklace begins to glow as a portal appeared in the sky. A singular beam of light shoots out from it.
"I Pendulum Summon! Return from my Extra Deck, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon (ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)!"
The purple dragon with bone-like armor reappeared on Yuuji's field.
"Furthermore, Odd-Eyes Surge Dragon's Pendulum Effect activates!" Yuuji continued. "Whenever I Pendulum Summon an 'Odd-Eyes' Monster, I get to draw 1 card!"
Yuuji drew a card.
"So what if you managed to rebuild that Pendulum Scale of yours?" Shouma scoffed. "You're monster is still too weak to do anything."
"For now," Yuuji said as he hopped on Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon. "Let's go, partner."
Phantom Dragon roars as it begins running through the streets of the ruined slums.
"Going for an Action Card, huh?" Shouma frowned. "As if I would let you do that. Stop him, Umbrahex Darkscythe!"
The skeleton fiend leaps in the air, closing the distance between itself, Yuuji and Phantom Dragon. However, before it gets to close, Yuuji leaps off Phantom Dragon to grab an Action Card that stuck out from the roof of one of the buildings. He slid to a stop along with Phantom Dragon—the two of them turning their attention to Umbrahex Darkscythe.
"I activate the Action Card, Damage Breaker!" Yuuji announced. "I can target 1 monster on my field and increase its ATK by 500!"
A red aura surrounded Phantom Dragon as it powered up.
(Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon — ATK: 2500 → 3000)
"Furthermore, I equip the Equip Spell, Power Reboot to Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon!" Yuuji continued. "When a monster is equipped with Power Reboot, it can make a second attack during the Battle Phase!"
Blue circuits began forming across Phantom Dragon's body.
"Battle!" Yuuji moved into his Battle Phase. "Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon attacks Umbrahex Darkscythe! Phantom Spiral Breath!"
Phantom Dragon shoots a breath of purple flames towards Shouma's incoming monster.
"Naive!" Shouma declares as one of his set cards is flipped face up. "I activate the Counter Trap, Tricky Situation! By discarding 1 card from my hand, I can negate your first attack and reduce your monster's ATK by 500!"
Umbrahex Darkscythe uses its ethereal scythe to slash through the flames—the two attacks canceling each other out.
(Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon — ATK: 3000 → 2500)
"Then what about this! Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon attacks Umbrahex Vineyard!"
Phantom Dragon shoots a breath of purple flames at the spirit surrounded by vines, incinerating the monster.
"Upon its destruction Umbrahex Vineyard's effect activates again, allowing me to Special Summon it back to my field by paying a cost of 500 Life Points," Shouma stated as Umbrahex Vineyard returned to his field once again.
Shouma grit his teeth as he felt his duel disk shock him again.
Shouma — LP: 3500 → 3000
"Even after Player Haruki managed to bounce back with another Pendulum Summon, Player Kurogane has managed to maintain his lead by staving off the Pendulum User's devastating assault!" Nico Smiley announced.
"Even after he managed to rebuild his field, that guy just shut him down," Yuzu frowned.
"See what I mean," Sora shrugged. "It's going to take a lot more than something as simple as that for Yuuji to win."
"I, the man Gongenzaka, agree," Gongenzaka nodded. "Yuuji's plays so far have been way too predictable. He's going to have to ramp up his plays."
"Yuuji will find a way," Yuya said. "He has to."
"And just like that, you've done absolutely nothing," Shouma commented before he shrugged. "Tough luck."
"..." Yuuji was silent. "I end my turn."
"No comeback this time, huh?" Shouma smirked. "Fine with me, you're more tolerable when you keep your mouth shut."
Yuuji rolled his eyes at the comment.
It's not like I've made no progress. His Life Points are still being lowered by his monster's effect. Yuuji thought.
"I'll stop stalling now. My turn! Draw!"
Shouma drew a card as he began his turn.
[Turn 4: Shouma] [H: 2]
Shouma's other set card is flipped face up.
"I activate my Continuous Trap, Umbrahex Spectral Chains!" Shouma announced. "However, you'll have to wait to see its effects."
That's definitely something that'll be annoying. Yuuji grimaced.
"Next, from my hand I summon the Tuner Monster, Umbrahex Typhon (Dark/Fiend/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 1)!" A black-winged hawk appeared. "Next, I activate its effect! Once per turn, I can Special Summon an 'Umbrahex' Monster in my graveyard! Arise, Umbrahex Darkhound (Dark/Fiend/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 4)!"
A three-headed cerberus with dark fur appeared.
"Umbrahex Darkhound's effect now activates!" Shouma declared. "When this card is summoned, you must banish the top three cards from your deck!"
Yuuji drew three cards, sending them to his Banish Zone.
"Now the Level 1 Umbrahex Typhon tunes the Level 4 Umbrahex Darkhound!" Shouma declared as the aforementioned monster transformed into green orbs and rings respectively, lining up as he began chanting. "King of the forest, announce your presence! I Synchro Summon! Appear, Level 5! Umbrahex Leobane (Dark/Fiend/Synchro/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 1000/LV: 5)!"
A lion with dark fur and a mane that glowed an ethereal blue color appeared.
"Player Kurogane has performed another perfect Synchro Summon!" Nico Smiley announced. "Player Haruki is in trouble now!"
"Thanks for pointing out the obvious…" Yuuji muttered.
"Umbrahex Leobane gains 300 ATK for each banish card from either of our fields," Shouma stated. "You currently have six in your Banish Zone, so Leobane gains 1800 ATK!"
(Umbrahex Leobane — ATK: 100 → 1900)
"I activate Umbrahex Leobane's other effect!" Shouma declared. "Once per turn, I can make you banish another five cards from your deck!"
"Tch…" Yuuji clicked his tongue as he drew five cards, sending each of them into the graveyard. At the same time, Leobane began powering up.
(Umbrahex Leobane — ATK: 1900 → 3400)
"Battle!" Shouma shouted as his monsters rushed towards Yuuji. "Umbrahex Darkscythe attacks Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon!"
The skeleton fiend raises its ethereal scythe towards Phantom Dragon, attempting to slice right through the dragon.
"Not this time!" Yuuji shouted. "I activate the effect of Antique Kuriblock from my hand! For the rest of this turn, all battle damage is negated, and Pendulum Monsters on my field can't be destroyed!"
A small creature with a body made out of colorful blocks appeared in front of Yuuji's monster. Shortly after, a barrier formed around itself and Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon, shielding it from Shouma's attack.
"That damn resilience of yours. Even after so long, you still have it." Shouma frowned.
"Persevering is all I've ever known," Yuuji replied. "Both in real life and in a duel."
"Well stop that, you should stay down when you're down," Shouma sneered. "I end my turn."
"Then it's my turn! Draw!" Yuuji began his turn.
[Turn 5: Yuuji] [H: 2]
"First, I activate Odd-Eyes Sparking Dragon's Pendulum Effect once again!" Yuuji declared. "Thanks to its effect, I can add another "Odd-Eyes" card to my hand!"
Yuuji added a card to his hand.
"Next, I summon the Tuner Monster, Antique Resonance Mirror (Light/Fairy/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 2)!" Yuuji announced that a floating, pristine mirror appeared on his field. "When this monster is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon 1 'Antique' Monster from my deck to my field—!"
"Naive!" Shouma shouted as chains suddenly appeared around Yuuji's monster. "Umbrahex Spectral Chain's effect activates! While it is on the field, the effects of all Non-DARK Monsters are negated!"
"Ehhh!?" Yuuji cried out in shock.
"That locks Yuuji out of half of his deck," Yuzu gasped.
"He also can't use the effects of any of his boss monsters since none of them are DARK Monsters," Sora added.
"And Yuuji-senpai also now has a 0 ATK Monster out on the field," Tatsuya pointed out. "If his opponent decides to attack it with any of his Synchro Monsters, he'll lose."
[Ehhh!?] Futoshi and Ayu cried out in unison.
"Yuuji, you have to get it off your field somehow…" Yuya muttered.
"That's annoying…" Yuuji muttered. "I was planning on summoning Antique Burdened staff to take control of one of Shouma's monsters, but it seems like I'll have to scrap that plan for now…"
"What's wrong, Yuuji?" Shouma inquired. "Did that ruin all of your plans?"
"I'm not done," Yuuji stated. "From my hand, I activate the Spell Card Pendulum Draw! I can tribute up to both of my monsters set in my Pendulum Scale, and draw an equal number of cards. I choose to tribute both of my scales!"
Yuuji's Pendulum Scale is destroyed as a result.
"Trading away your crux for some cards, how pointless," Shouma scoffed.
"We'll see if it's pointless," Yuuji stated as he placed his hand over his deck. "I draw!"
Yuuji drew two cards. When he noticed one of the cards he drew, he smiled.
This'll work. Yuuji thought.
"I set the Scale 8 Antique Golden Carol into my Pendulum Scale!" Yuuji announced as a golden bell rose into one of his empty Pendulum Zones. "I then Antique Golden Carol's Pendulum Effect, allowing me to place another 'Antique' Monster into my other Pendulum Zone!"
Yuuji added a card to his hand.
"Wait, how did you activate its effect?" Shouma was confused. "Isn't it also a LIGHT Monster like the rest of your 'Antique' Monsters?"
"Your effect only applies to non-DARK Monsters on the field," Yuuji clarified. "When a Pendulum Monster is placed in a Pendulum Zone, it's treated as a Spell Card, not a monster card."
"What?"
Yuuji revealed the card he added to his hand.
"I rebuild my Pendulum Scale with the Scale 1 Antique Maker - Lilac Magician in my hand and the Scale 8 Antique Golden Carol already set into my Pendulum Scale!"
Yuuji announced as he placed the card on the opposite end of his duel disk, the word [PENDULUM] appearing in between once again as a female magician in a purple robe, holding a similarly colored scepter rose into his other Pendulum Zone.
"With my currently set Pendulum Scale, I can summon monsters Levels 2 through 7 all at the same time!" Yuuji announced. "Shine, Pendulum of Destiny! Draw an arc across the ether, and reflect onto me a path to victory! Come out, my monster companions!"
A portal appeared above, with two beams of light shooting out from it.
"Return from my Extra Deck, Odd-Eyes Sparking Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1000/LV: 4/SC: 8)! And Odd-Eyes Surge Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 1000/DEF: 2100/LV: 5/SC: 1) in defense mode!"
Yuuji's two dragon monsters return to his field. Surrounding the blue-scaled dragon was a faint blue aura.
"Odd-Eyes Sparking Dragon's effect now activates!" Yuuji announced. "When it is summoned, I can add 1 'Odd-Eyes' Spell/Trap from my deck to my hand!"
Yuuji added a card to his hand.
"Next, the Level 2 Antique Resonance Mirror now tunes the Level 5 Odd-Eyes Surge Dragon!" Yuuji announced as the aforementioned monsters transform into green rings and orbs, lining up as a pillar of light shot through its center. "Item of old lost through time. Bring about your legacy! I Synchro Summon! Appear, Level 7! The forbidden wand of calamity, Antique Burdened Staff (Light/Fairy/Synchro/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 7) in defense mode!"
An old, floating, used-up wand appeared on Yuuji's field. Shortly after it appeared, chains appeared around it—locking it in place.
"Incredible! Player Haruki has managed to follow up his Pendulum Summoning with an impressive Synchro Summon!" Nico Smiley announced.
However, contrasting Nico Smiley's enthusiastic comment, Yuuji just frowned.
I can't do anything in this situation. Yuuji thought. Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon's ATK is way too low, so the only monster it can destroy is Umbrahex Vineyard, which Shouma could always just bring back.
"Well, whatever…" Yuuji sighed. "Battle! Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon attacks Umbrahex Vineyard! Phantom Spiral Breath!"
Phantom Dragon shoots a breath of purple flames at the vine monster, incinerating it once again. However, surprisingly, Shouma doesn't immediately activate Vineyard's effect.
He didn't activate it? Yuuji was shocked. He must be worried about me attacking it with Odd-Eyes Sparking Dragon.
There was only one thing he could do in this situation.
"I set two cards and end my turn," Yuuji concluded with two facedowns.
"Huh? That's it?" Futoshi was confused. "I thought he would do more."
"It's not like he could do much when his monsters are just weaker than his opponents," Gongenzaka stated. "The only thing he can do right now is bide his time until he finds a solution."
"The real question is whether or not Yuuji could hold out that long," Sora said as he opened another lollipop. "His opponent definitely won't make it easy."
"My turn! Draw!" Shouma began his turn.
[Turn 6: Shouma] [H: 2]
Shouma looked at the card he drew and smiled.
"The lords above are looking down on me right now," Shouma said. "But first, I activate Umbrahex Vineyard's effect once again, Special Summoning it back onto my field (ATK: 1800/DEF: 1500/LV: 5)!"
A spirit monster surrounded by vines appeared once again.
Shouma — LP: 3000 → 2500
"Next, I activate Umbrahex Summoning Ritual from my hand!" Shouma announced. "By tributing 1 'Umbrahex' Monster on my field along with 1 monster from your field, I can Special Summon an 'Umbrahex' Monster directly from my Extra Deck, ignoring all of its summoning conditions!"
"What?" Yuuji's eyes widened.
"I tribute Umbrahex Vineyard along with your Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon!" Shouma declared, the aforementioned monsters being destroyed as a result. "Arise, Level 8! Umbrahex Crimson Dread (Dark/Fiend/Synchro/Effect/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2000/LV: 8)!"
A portal appeared on the ground in front of Shouma. Rising from within was a giant red ogre holding a giant, ethereal red mace in its hand.
"Once per turn, when an 'Umbrahex' Spell that targets a monster you control is activated while I control a Fiend-type Synchro Monster, I can target 1 face-up card Spell/Trap Card on your field and banish it thanks to Umbrahex Spectral Chains! I choose to remove Antique Golden Carol from play!"
A dark portal appeared right under Antique Golden Carol as chains shot out from it, wrapping around the golden ball and dragging it down into the portal. Yuuji takes Antique Golden Carol out of his Pendulum Scale and discards it to his Banish Zone.
(Umbrahex Leobane — 3400 → 3700)
"Umbrahex Crimson Dread's effect then activates upon its summoning, dealing 1000 points of damage to you!" Shouma announced as his monster let out a deafening roar, forcing Yuuji to cover his ears as his Life Points dropped.
Yuuji — LP: 2750 → 1750
"Furthermore, Crimson Dread's second effect now activates!" Shouma declared. "Once per turn, I can target 1 monster on your field, destroy it, and deal damage 500 points of damage to you. I choose to destroy your Synchro Monster!"
Crimson Dread swings its massive mace towards the wooden staff, crushing it, and sending Yuuji flying thanks to the shockwaves of the attack.
Yuuji — LP: 1750 → 1250
"He's not giving Yuuji a single moment to breath," Yuzu frowned.
"Next, I activate Umbrahex Leobane's effect once again, forcing you to banish the top five cards from your deck!" Shouma continued as Yuuji drew five cards and discarded them into his Banish Zone.
At the same time, Leobane's ATK increases.
(Umbrahex Leobane — ATK: 3700 → 5200)
"Finally, I activate Umbrahex Control!" Shouma announced. "Thanks to this card, I can take control of one of your monsters until the End Phase! I choose to take control of your Odd-Eyes Sparking Dragon!"
Chains were shot out from the card, wrapping around the yellow-scaled dragon and dragging it onto Shouma's field.
"Player Kurogane has managed to completely wipe out player Haruki's field!" Nico Smiley announced. "Could this be the end!?"
"Battle!" Shouma moved into his Battle Phase, but before he made any commands, he revealed a final card in his hand. "I activate an Action Card I picked up earlier, Shatter Trap! I can target 1 set card on your field and destroy it!"
A spear materialized in the air, shooting down and piercing one of Yuuji's set Traps, destroying it.
"Now, I'll end you with your own monster, Yuuji! Odd-Eyes Sparking Dragon attacks you directly!" Shouma shouted as Odd-Eyes Sparking Dragon shot a blast of flames at Yuuji.
"I activate my Trap Card, Endurance!" Yuuji countered with his other set card. "By reducing my Life Points to 1, all sources of damage are negated until the end of my next Standby Phase!"
Yuuji — LP: 1250 → 1
Yuuji braced himself, slashing away the fireball with his duel blade.
"Phew," Ayu sighed a breath of relief. "He managed to survive this turn."
"Barely. He only has a single Life Point now," Tatsuya pointed out. "Any effect that deals damage will easily take him out on his next turn."
However, much to Yuuji's surprise, Shouma began laughing.
"Oh Yuuji, how naive," Shouma said as a crazed smile formed on his face. "You think being protected from damage will stop me?"
"Huh?" Yuuji said with a perplexed expression.
"Umbrahex Darkscythe now attacks you directly!" Shouma commanded his monster.
"What? But it won't be doing any damage," Yuuji was shocked.
"I could care less about depleting your Life Points," Shouma sneered. "I just want to put you down for good."
Yuuji could barely react as Shouma's monster closed the distance between them, aiming to slash right through Yuuji's with its ethereal scythe. Yuuji narrowly avoided its attack by ducking under the blade, but was caught by surprise when the skeleton fiend kicked him right in the stomach, sending him tumbling back.
"That was just the appetizer!" Shouma shouted. "Umbrahex Leobane now attacks you directly!"
The lion with black fur and an ethereal blue mane lunged towards Yuuji, trying to bite down on him. However, Yuuji manages to roll away before the attack connects. He then notices an Action Card nearby, quickly picks it up, and attempts to play it. Shouma does something similar, picking up his own Action Card and playing it.
"I activate the Action Spell, Evasion!" Yuuji announced. "Negating your monster's attack—!"
However, before he could play it, his Action Spell was suddenly destroyed.
"What—?"
—Thud!
Leobane lands nearby him. Before he could react, he was whacked by the tail of the monster, slamming right into a building nearby.
"Gah!" Yuuji gasped as he felt the air escape his lungs from the blow—his consciousness beginning to wane.
"Yuuji!" Yuya cried out for his friend.
"Why aren't they stopping him?" Yuzu wondered. "He's not allowed to do that…right?"
"He technically isn't breaking any rules, unfortunately," Shuzo stated. "You've all signed contracts to become Action Duelists. And on the contract, it states that there is a risk of major injury when participating. As long as Kurogane doesn't permanently disable or kill his opponent, everything else is fair game."
"So, they can't do anything about this?" Yuzu frowned.
"I'm afraid so," Shuzo replied.
"Now for my final attack, Umbrahex Crimson Dread now attacks you directly!" Shouma shouted as the ogre began running towards Yuuji, who was still in shock from the last hit.
I-I can't dodge this!
Crimson Dread winds its mace back, before swinging it right into Yuuji at full force.
—SNAP!
Yuuji could feel something on his side crack from the sheer power of the blow, the attack sending Yuuji flying away with enough force to send him through two buildings.
—Crumble!
The buildings themselves, unable to withstand the pressure, began to collapse, with Yuuji himself being buried in the rubble.
"..."
Everyone was silent at the violent display.
"U-Um…" Nico Smiley began speaking in an unsure tone. "If Player Haruki doesn't make a move in the next minute, he'll automatically be disqualified."
Ten seconds passed. Twenty. Thirty. But there was no sign.
"It can't be…" Yuzu covered her mouth.
"C-Could Y-Yuuji b-be…" Futoshi began stuttering.
Yuya and Gongenzaka clenched their fists, rage beginning to well up within them.
Forty. Fifty.
Sixty—
—Rumble!
A few bits of debris began to shake as a hand stuck out from it, beginning to push away the blocks of concrete. Yuuji emerges from the rubble, his body mostly covered in dust. He could be seen clutching his left bicep with his other hand while blood was streaming down from his mouth.
"Player Haruki has managed to get back up!" Nico Smiley announced.
"He's okay!" Ayu cheered.
"Okay is an overstatement," Sora said. "He looks like he could fall over at any moment."
"Hah…hah…hah…" Yuuji panted heavily.
"Damn…you really don't know when to stay down," Shouma frowned. "Oh well, I'll put you down for good on my next turn. I end my turn. And with the end of my turn, Umbrahex Control's effect banishes Odd-Eyes Sparking Dragon during the End Phase."
The yellow-scaled dragon is dragged into a dark portal beneath it—removing it from play.
(Umbrahex Leobane — ATK: 5200 → 5500)
"M-My turn…" Yuuji said as his body began shaking. "Draw!"
Yuuji drew a card as he began his turn.
[Turn 7: Yuuji] [H: 2]
Yuuji looked at the card he drew and frowned.
Antique Maker - Tuning Witch? I can't summon this.
Thanks to her effect, he takes 100 points of damage for each Pendulum Card on his field. He still has Antique Maker - Lilac Magician in his Pendulum Zone, so he would just take 100 points of damage and lose the duel immediately after that.
"I activate Odd-Eyes Pendulum Rebirth!" Yuuji played the Spell Card he had added to his hand a while back thanks to Odd-Eyes Sparking Dragon's summoning effect. "Thanks to its effect…I can Special Summon up to two 'Odd-Eyes' Monsters from either my graveyard or face-up in my Extra Deck! Return to my field, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon (ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7) and Odd-Eyes Surge Dragon (ATK: 1000/DEF: 2100/LV: 5) both in defense mode!"
Yuuji's dragons appear on his field once again, this time with a faint blue aura surrounding the two of them.
"Summoning them in defense mode. Have you finally given up?" Shouma sneered.
"..." Yuuji couldn't even find a response.
What else can I even do? Yuuji thought with a hopeless expression on his face. Lilac Magician's Pendulum Effect allows me to Fusion Summon a monster from my Extra Deck, but I can't make use of Antique Golden Kaiju's effect thanks to Shouma's Continuous Trap. I can't summon Tuning Witch either, and even if I could, I can't use Antique Maker - Freedom Rider for the same reason.
He was stuck. There was literally nothing he could do. On Shouma's next turn, he could just activate Crimson Dread's effect to destroy one of Yuuji's monsters and wipe out the rest of his Life Points.
I haven't felt this hopeless since my match against Ryouga. Yuuji clenched his right fist. And to this bastard of all people, in the biggest tournament of the year. My one chance to prove my dueling skills to the world like my father did so many years ago.
"ROOOOAAARRR!" Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon let out a deafening roar, drawing Yuuji's attention.
"Huh? What are you calling me a dumbass for?" Yuuji asked his dragon.
"Grah!" Phantom Dragon growled.
"For giving up?" Yuuji's eyes widened. "But can you blame me? We can't do anything in this situation. I have to win on this turn, but I can't. It's…hopeless."
—Thud!
"Grah!" Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon stomped on the ground, before turning towards Lilac Magician that was in Yuuji's Pendulum Scale.
Yuuji looked in the same direction before turning back to Odd-Eyes.
"Lilac Magician? You want me to use her effect?"
Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon nodded, its amber-colored eyes more vibrant than ever before.
"So, you haven't given up…" Yuuji muttered
...
"Haha...ahahahahaha," Yuuji began laughing.
"Has he gone insane?"
"Who is he talking to?"
"Why is he laughing?"
His reaction puzzled many in the crowd.
"Fine," Yuuji smiled. "We'll do things your way. If you haven't given up yet, neither will I!"
Just as he declared that, the image of a new dragon appeared in his mind.
[Current Theme Playing: Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Sound Duel 1 - Swing! Pendulum of Souls]
"Are you talking to your dragon?" Shouma wondered before he burst out laughing. "It's hilarious! All of that blood loss has made you go crazy."
"Let's see if you keep laughing after this," Yuuji stated as he pointed his right arm into the sky. "I activate Antique Maker - Lilac Magician's Pendulum Effect! Once per turn, I can perform a Fusion Summon using monsters on my field or in my hand, without the need for Polymerization!"
"What?" Shouma's eyes widened. "A Fusion Summon without Polymerization?"
"Oh..." Reiji muttered with intrigue from his seat in his V.I.P Booth.
"I'll surpass my limits, here and now! I fuse Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon together with the Antique Maker - Tuning Witch in my hand!"
Yuuji declared as the aforementioned monsters rose into the air and began fusing.
"Shining witch! Become one with the phantom dragon and give birth to a new power!" Yuuji chanted before clasping his hands together. "I Fusion Summon! Appear, Level 8! The crystalline dragon with amber-colored eyes, Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500/LV: 8)!"
A large dragon with purple-colored scales, crystal armor that surrounds most of its body, and an amber-colored orb on its chest that matched the color of its eyes appeared on Yuuji's field.
"Player Haruki has managed to Fusion Summon without a Fusion Spell!" Nico Smiley announced. "Could this be the monster that'll bring the climax of this duel!?"
"Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon's effect activates upon its summon!" Yuuji declared. "The effects of all face-up cards on your field are negated until the End Phase! Crystal Suppression!"
Crystal-Eyes lets out a deafening roar as its power suppresses all of the effects of Shouma's cards.
(Umbrahex Leobane — ATK: 5500 → 1000)
"No way…" Shouma began sweating slightly for the first time in this duel.
"Battle!" Yuuji moved into his Battle Phase. "Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon attacks Umbrahex Leobane! Crystal Breath!"
"Like hell I'll let you!" Shouma jumps to grab an Action Card sticking out from a nearby window. "I activate the Action Spell, Redirection! When my opponent declares an attack, I can change the target of the attack to a different monster I control! I change Crystal Eyes Phantom Dragon's target to Umbrahex Crimson Dread!"
(Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon — ATK: 3000)
(Umbrahex Crimson Dread — ATK: 3000)
"Our monsters have similar attack points, so they'll both be destroyed by this battle…" Shouma stated before a crazed smile formed on his face. "And with it, your chances of victory will follow suit! I win, Yuuji!"
"You win?"
Yuuji closed his eyes for a moment before they shoot open again.
"Naive!" Yuuji shouted. "Odd-Eyes Surge Dragon's effect activates!"
"What?" Shouma's eyes widened in shock.
"By tributing it from my field, one 'Odd-Eyes' Monster on my field gains 1000 ATK!" Yuuji declared.
"But Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon isn't an 'Odd-Eyes' Monster! Your effect is useless!" Shouma sneered.
"Useless? As if I would make a mistake like that," Yuuji scoffed. "Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon is also treated as 'Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon', so it's a suitable target for Surge Dragon's effect!"
Surge Dragon bursts into blue particles which then surround Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon, powering it up.
(Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon — ATK: 3000 → 4000)
"Now here comes the climax!" Yuuji announced as he pumped his fist forward. "Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon attacks Umbrahex Crimson Dread! Crystal Breath!"
Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon shoots a breath of shiny, violet flames, engulfing the red ogre completely.
"Who cares if you destroy my monster, on my next turn I'll wipe out the rest of your Life Points with my other monsters—!" Shouma shouted in defiance.
"—Next turn?" Yuuji interrupted, a dark expression present on his face. "There will be no next turn!"
"What—?"
"Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon's third and final effect!" Yuuji declared as the crystal armor that covered Phantom Dragon's body began to glow. "When it destroys a monster via battle, you take damage equal to the destroyed monster's ATK! So, on top of the 1000 points of damage you'll take from the battle, you'll take an additional 3000 points of damage!"
"I-Impossible! I can't lose to you!" Shouma looked distraught.
"With this attack, I'll break free from my past self! Crystal Burst!"
The violet flames exploded, destroying Shouma's red ogre. The shockwaves of the attack engulfed Shouma and sent him flying right into a building, making him gasp for air as his Life Points dropped to 0.
Shouma — LP: 2500 → 0
Winner: Yuuji
[BGM (Background Music) Ends Here.]
Crystal-Eyes lets out one last deafening roar before it along with the Action Field disappears, returning Yuuji to the arena.
"Incredible!" Nico Smiley announced as the crowd began cheering. "In a dramatic climax, Player Haruki has managed to find a way to victory with a dazzling Fusion Summon!"
"He did it," Yuzu let out a breath of relief.
"I was getting worried there, but he managed to pull through in the end," Sora said.
Unlike the rest of his friends, Yuya wasn't as excited. In fact, he didn't even see the climax of the duel, as his eyes were locked onto the Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon in his hand that was glowing for some reason.
"..." Yuuji silently watched Shouma struggle to get up as he was still gasping for air for a moment before turning around and beginning to walk away when…
"W-Wait…" Shouma said. "This isn't over…"
"And you said I didn't know when to give up," Yuuji scoffed. "It's over, Shouma. You lost."
"You cheated didn't you?" Shouma accused him. "There's no way I would lose to you otherwise!"
"Think what you want," Yuuji shrugged before beginning to walk away. "I could care less about what you do or think now."
Custom/Altered Cards:
Monster Card/s -
Umbrahex Spectre
ATK: 900, DEF: 500, LV: 2
Dark/Fiend/Tuner/Effect
Monster Effect: If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 "Umbrahex" monster from your hand. When a Fiend-type Synchro Monster is Synchro Summoned using this card as a material: You can draw 1 card.
Umbrahex Vineyard
ATK: 1800, DEF: 1500, LV: 5
Dark/Fiend/Effect
Monster Effect: Once per turn, if this card is sent to the graveyard, pay 500 Life Points; then Special Summon this card to your field.
Umbrahex Typhon
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 1
Dark/Fiend/Tuner/Effect
Monster Effect: Once per turn: Target 1 "Umbrahex" Monster in your graveyard, Special Summon it to your field.
Umbrahex Darkhound
ATK: 2000, DEF: 100, LV: 4
Dark/Fiend/Effect
Monster Effect: When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, banish the top three cards of your opponent's Deck. Once per turn, you can target 1 Fiend-type monster you control; it gains 1000 ATK until the End Phase.
Umbrahex Darkscythe
ATK: 2800, DEF: 2000, LV: 7
Dark/Fiend/Synchro/Effect
1 Fiend-type Tuner Monster + 1+ Non-Tuner Monsters
Monster Effect: When this card is Synchro Summoned: Target 1 monster on your opponent's field; destroy it, then inflict damage to your opponent equal to half that monster's ATK. Once per turn, when a Fiend-type monster you control would be destroyed by battle or card effect, you can pay 500 Life Points to negate that monster's destruction.
Umbrahex Leobane
ATK: 100, DEF: 1000, LV: 5
Dark/Fiend/Synchro/Effect
1 Fiend-type Tuner Monster + 1+ Non-Tuner Monsters
Monster Effect: This card gains 300 ATK for each card in either player's Banished Zone. Once per turn, you can banish the top five cards of your opponent's deck, face-down.
Umbrahex Crimson Dread
ATK: 3000, DEF: 2000, LV: 8
Dark/Fiend/Synchro/Effect
1 Fiend-type Tuner Monster + 1+ Non-Tuner Monsters
Monster Effect: Non-Dark monsters cannot activate their effects while they are face-up on the field. When this card is Synchro Summoned, inflict 1000 damage to your opponent. Once per turn, you can target 1 monster on your opponent's field; destroy it, then inflict 500 damage to your opponent.
Odd-Eyes Sparking Dragon
ATK: 1800, DEF: 1000, LV: 4, SC: 8
Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn: You can add 1 "Odd-Eyes" card from your Deck to your hand.
Monster Effect: If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can set 1 "Odd-Eyes" Spell/Trap directly from your Deck. You can only use this effect of "Odd-Eyes Sparking Dragon" once per turn.
Odd-Eyes Surge Dragon
ATK: 1000, DEF: 2100, LV: 5, SC: 1
Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: "Odd-Eyes" monsters you control cannot be destroyed by card effects. When an "Odd-Eyes" Monster is Pendulum Summoned; draw 1 card.
Monster Effect: (Quick Effect): You can Tribute this card, then target 1 "Odd-Eyes" monster you control; it gains 1000 ATK until the End Phase. You can only use this effect of "Odd-Eyes Surge Dragon" once per turn.
Antique Kuriblock
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 2, SC: 6
Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn, if you would take damage, you can negate that damage. If a Pendulum Monster you control would be destroyed by battle, you can discard 1 card instead.
Monster Effect: (Quick Effect): You can discard this card; this turn, you take no battle damage, and Pendulum Monsters you control cannot be destroyed by battle.
Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon
ATK: 3000, DEF: 2500, LV: 8
Dark/Dragon/Fusion/Effect
1 Dragon Monster + 1 Spellcaster Monster
Monster Effect: This card is treated as "Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon". This card must be Fusion Summoned. When this card is Fusion Summoned, negate the effects of all other face-up cards on your opponent's field until the End Phase. If this card destroys a monster by battle, inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's current ATK.
Spell/Trap Card/s -
Tricky Situation
Counter Trap
When a Fiend-type monster you control is targeted for an attack: You can discard 1 card; negate the attack, and the attacking monster's ATK is reduced by 500 until the end of the turn.
Umbrahex Spectral Chains
Continuous Trap
While this card is on the field, all face-up non-DARK monsters have their effects negated. If you activate an "Umbrahex" Spell/Trap Card, you can target 1 face-up Spell/Trap your opponent controls; banish it.
Umbrahex Control
Normal Spell
Target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; take control of it until the End Phase, then banish it. If you control an "Umbrahex" Synchro Monster, you can activate this card during your opponent's turn.
Pendulum Draw
Normal Spell
Tribute up to 2 cards in your Pendulum Zones; draw an equal number of cards.
Odd-Eyes Pendulum Rebirth
Normal Spell
Target up to 2 "Odd-Eyes" monsters in your GY or face-up in your Extra Deck; Special Summon them, but they cannot be used as Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz Material this turn, except for a Dragon monster.
Damage Breaker
Action Spell
Target 1 monster on your field, increase its ATK by 500.
Shatter Trap
Action Spell
Target 1 set Spell/Trap card on your opponent's field and destroy it.
Redirection
Action Spell
When your opponent declares an attack, target 1 monster you control; change the target of the attack to that monster.
And that's the beginning of the Maiami Championships Arc. It was a bit of a struggle to figure out how I wanted to start off the arc, but I think I've got a good idea of what to do going forward.
As for the custom character who dueled in this chapter Shouma, I didn't really have much of an idea for him in this chapter. After finishing this chapter I didn't think that I would make use of his character much after this, but then I got a bit of an idea that I thought would be cool, so Shouma will be making an appearance again relatively soon. If you don't like his character much right now, I don't blame you since that's the intention. He'll be getting a bit more development over the next arc (he's not going to be that important of a character, but he'll still be relevant for now).
The next chapter won't feature a match from the tournament but will feature major plot stuff that I can't spoil (but you probably know what I'm talking about since we're still following the anime timeline, for now).
That's all I'll say for now. Drop some reviews/comments, thanks.
Chapter 14: Supreme King's Influence
Chapter Text
Edit #1: 14/17 Chapters Revamped.
Big chapter time! I'm sure you'll be very surprised by how it turns out (hopefully). Not going to say much else to waste your time. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Minor spelling, grammar, and other mistakes may be present.
[Maiami Championship Arc Opening Theme (Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Opening 2: Burn)]
Scale 014: The Supreme King's Influence
The next evening…
Yuuji, Yuya, Yuzu, and Gongenzaka all stood outside of LDS Tower. Shuzo had just taken the younger You Show Students back home. Each of them had solemn expressions on their faces.
"What do you guys think?" Yuya suddenly spoke up. "Kurosaki is definitely the culprit who attacked LDS. I saw him defeat the Top Team with my own eyes. And Yuzu…"
"...I saw someone attack Masumi while she was pursuing the culprit," Yuzu said. "But…back when I asked Masumi about it, she said that Kurosaki was always their teammate."
"Their enemy is also their teammate?" Gongenzaka's eyes widened with surprise. "How does that make sense?"
"Maybe for now, but definitely not before. I could tell when I encountered him that his hatred of LDS is relentless," Yuuji frowned. "If what Yuzu is saying is true, Akaba Reiji probably has something to do with it."
Yuya's eyes widened, "You're saying…"
"Yeah," Yuuji nodded. "Kurosaki has probably made a deal with Reiji. And since Masumi and the others knew about Kurosaki already, they probably altered their memories to keep them quiet."
"Is such a thing even possible?" Yuzu asked, horrified.
"If it's LDS, probably," Yuuji replied. "It's horrible, but I can't blame them. It would be too much trouble for them to cover for Kurosaki if they didn't wipe their memories."
"But why would Kurosaki team up with the people that he hates so much?" Gongenzaka wondered.
"His friend Yuto said that he was attacking LDS to save his friends," Yuzu said.
"Yuto?" Yuuji was surprised. "You spoke with him?"
"You know him, too?" Yuzu was also surprised.
"I encountered him a while back," Yuuji said. "He was spouting a bunch of cryptic jargon like, 'these conflicts are beyond your comprehension', and 'knowing these conflicts will make you a target for the enemy, who won't hesitate to kill you.' Stuff that didn't make much sense to me at the time."
"That does sound like something he would say," Yuzu nodded. "He was also the one who attacked Sawatari back then."
"So this Yuto guy attacked Sawatari," Gongenzaka's eyes widened. "Why didn't you say anything at the time? You could've saved us a lot of trouble."
"I was just confused at the time. I…couldn't think straight," Yuzu replied.
"Confused about what? You knew the culprit," Gongenzaka continued. "Unless...did you think that Yuya was the culprit?"
"No, not at all!" Yuzu shook her head. "Yuya doesn't use Xyz, so it couldn't have been him."
"So it should've been obvious that—!"
"Easy there," Yuuji patted Gongenzaka's shoulder. "It's in the past. Let it go. I'm just as guilty as her since I figured out that it was Yuto at the time, but also didn't say anything."
"...You're right, I, the man Gongezaka, apologize," Gongenzaka apologized to Yuzu.
"Now back on track," Yuuji changed the subject. "As we know now, Yuto is somebody who looks just like me and Yuya. Now, it happening once could be chalked up to a coincidence. But twice? There was to be something more to it."
"You know…" Yuya addressed Yuuji. "I haven't thought about it much, but isn't it weird that we not only share the same face, but also a similar necklace, Ace Monster, and we both similarly unlocked Pendulum Summoning?"
"..." Yuuji blinked for a few seconds. "Maybe like a day after it happened, but ever since, no I haven't. But now that I think about it, that's way too many coincidences."
Yuuji fell into deep thought before remembering something.
"Hey Yuya, quick question," Yuuji suddenly asked. "Do you remember our duel a while back?"
"Yeah," Yuya nodded. "What about it?"
"Do you remember what happened when both of our dragons were on the field?"
Yuya thought about it for a moment before answering, "I felt this weird feeling in my chest when that happened. And…it was like the two dragons were calling out to each other."
"So our dragons are definitely connected. And since we seem to be connected to them, we're also…connected?" Yuuji tried to piece it all together. "I get that we're connected somehow, but as for the reason why? I have no idea."
"So that's a dead end," Yuya crossed his arms before noticing Yuzu staring at her bracelet. "What's wrong, Yuzu?"
"I was just thinking. Whenever my bracelet glows, Yuto seems to vanish and you appear," Yuzu replied. "But that doesn't happen with you and Yuuji."
"Could your bracelet be trying to keep Yuya and Yuto away from each other?" Yuuji proposed.
"Maybe."
"That would also raise the question, why? Why does your bracelet only glow when Yuya and Yuto are close to each other, and not with Yuya and me?" Yuuji wondered before rubbing his hair. "This is getting way too complicated for my brain to handle. I might lose my mind if I think about this anymore."
"I, the man Gongenzaka, have already tapped out ages ago," Gongenzaka said as steam left his ears, his brain working overtime to digest all of this information.
Suddenly, the four of them heard some commotion going on inside of LDS Tower.
"Find him!?" An LDS personnel asked.
"He's not over here!" Another personnel shouted.
"Where did he go?"
"I'll search over there!"
The personnel all split up to cover more ground.
"What's with the commotion?" Gongenzaka wondered.
"Don't know," Yuuji shrugged. "Maybe somebody broke in?"
A few moments later, the personnel all reconvene.
"He may have already gone outside." A personnel stated.
"Someone contact headquarters immediately and tell them that Shiunin Sora has escaped!" Another personnel instructed.
[Understood!] The other personnel shouted as they split up to complete their tasks.
Sora escaped? Why!? Yuuji's eyes widened at the news. Does he plan on going back for a rematch? He's still way too injured from his first duel against Kurosaki.
Yuzu made a quick phone call, contacting her father. After she finishes her phone call, she informs the group that her father is coming to help them search for Sora's whereabouts.
"Okay." Gongenzaka nodded. "Let's split up and search. I'll take the ocean."
[I'll go check Central Park!] Yuuji and Yuya said in unison, turning to each other. [No, I am! I said it first! Stop saying the same thing as me!]
The two stay quiet for a few moments before suddenly playing rock, paper, scissors.
[Rock, Paper, Scissors!]
A draw, they both played rock.
[Rock, Paper, Scissors!]
Another draw, they both played scissors.
[Rock…Paper…Scissors!]
…
"Dammit!" Yuuji cursed as he played rock into Yuya's paper.
"I'll go check Central Park," Yuya quickly sprinted away from the scene before Yuuji could say anything in response.
"Yuya…" Yuzu shook her head and sighed before she turned to Yuuji and Gongenzaka. "I'll go search in the opposite direction of him with my father."
After declaring where they would look, Yuzu and Gongenzaka leave the area, leaving Yuuji alone.
"I guess I'll go where nobody is looking, the city—!"
—BADUMP!
Yuuji's heart skipped a beat as he took a step forward. The silver pendulum necklace around his neck began to glow as it began floating.
"Huh? What the—ACK!"
The necklace began pulling Yuuji towards where Yuya had run off to.
"F-Fine! I'll go, jeez!"
Yuuji began making his way toward Central Park.
Meanwhile…
Yuya and Yuto could be seen speaking to each other. Suddenly, a bright green light filled the surrounding area. When the light died down, a youth could be seen sitting on a white Duel Runner, with similarly colored gear. He took off his helmet and turned to the two of them, shocking both Yuto and Yuya who noticed that the youth had a similar face to them.
"There's…another person who looks like me," Yuya tensed up.
The newcomer cracked his knuckles as he directed his attention towards Yuto.
"We didn't finish our fight last time because others interfered," The newcomer stated before pointing at Yuto. "But if it's one-on-one, I won't lose! So duel me! I'll crush you and make you spill out where you're keeping Rin!"
"Fine. I'll duel you, Pawn of Fusion!" Yuto activated his duel disk in response.
Yuya's eyes widened at that, "Pawn of Fusion?"
"My name isn't 'Fusion!' It's Yugo! Get it right!"
(A/N: If you didn't already know, in Japanese his name sounds similar to the word "fusion", so people in the show get it confused a bunch. Not sure if I'll incorporate this gag much, but I might do it sometimes.)
Yugo's Duel Runner activated as he hopped on it. He placed his helmet over his head as he readied himself for the upcoming duel.
"Here I go!" Yugo revved up the engine of his Duel Runner as he began riding around the park. Soon after that, the duel begins.
[DUEL!] The two of them shout in unison.
Yuto — LP: 4000
Yugo — LP: 4000
"I'll go first and win! My turn!" Yugo declared as he leaped over a ramp. Yuto quickly moves out of the way as Yugo lands where he was. Yugo draws his first five cards as his turn begins.
[Turn 1: Yugo] [H: 5]
"When I control no monsters on my field, I can Special Summon Speedroid Terrortop (Wind/Machine/Effect/ATK: 1200/DEF: 600/LV: 3) from my hand!" Yugo declared as a group of red, floating beigomas appeared. "Next, I activate the effect of the Tuner Monster, Speedroid CarTurbo in my hand! When I control a WIND Monster, I can Special Summon it from my hand as well!"
A floating engine with a body shaped similarly to a card appeared.
[Speedroid CarTurbo (Wind/Machine/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 800/DEF: 1200/LV: 3)]
Yugo then extends his hand as he drifts with his Duel Runner.
"The Level 3 Speedroid CarTurbo tunes the Level 3 Speedroid Terrortop!"
The riding duelist's monsters transform into green rings and orbs respectively, lining up together as a pillar of bright green light shot through its center.
"Magical sword with the form of a cross. Use your power to rend all enemies!" Yugo chanted. "I Synchro Summon! Appear now, Level 6! Hi-Speedroid Kendama (Wind/Machine/Synchro/Effect/ATK: 2200/DEF: 1600/LV: 6)!"
A blue-coated machine in the shape of a kendama toy on its side appeared.
"A Synchro Summon?" Yuya was perplexed. "But wasn't the summoning method that Yuto's enemies specialize in Fusion?"
"I activate Hi-Speedroid Kendama's effect!" Yugo announced. "Once per turn, I can banish a 'Speedroid' Monster in my graveyard to deal 500 points of damage to you! I banish Speedroid Terrortop to activate its effect!"
Yugo sends a card from his graveyard to his Banish Zone. At the same time, his Synchro Monster shoots a blast of blue energy at Yuto, who rolls out of the way before the attack hits him head-on. The attack explodes the ground nearby, creating a shockwave that causes Yuto to wince a bit.
Yuto — LP: 4000 → 3500
"I set one card and end my turn!" Yugo concluded with a face down before revving up his engine and accelerating around the center of the park.
"My turn! Draw!" Yuto drew a card and began his turn.
[Turn 2: Yuto] [H: 6]
"I summon The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves (Dark/Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1000/DEF: 500/LV: 3)!" A floating armored spirit with giant gloves appeared. "Next, I activate the effect of The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots in my hand, allowing me to Special Summon it when I control a 'The Phantom Knights' Monster!"
A spirit wearing a leather cloak and boots appeared on Yuto's field.
[The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots (Dark/Warrior/Effect/ATK: 200/DEF: 1200/LV: 3)]
"Now, with my two Level 3 The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves and Silent Boots, I build the Overlay Network!"
A galaxy vortex appeared in front of Yuto as his aforementioned monsters turned into purple energies that were then absorbed into the vortex. A massive pillar of light shot out from the portal's center as Yuto began chanting.
"The souls of the fallen knights on the battlefield, resurrect and become the light that cuts through the darkness!" Yuto chanted. "I Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 3! The Phantom Knights of Break Sword (Dark/Warrior/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1000/R: 3/OU: 2)!"
A headless, humanoid, armored monster on top of a metallic mount, with a giant greatsword in its hand and blue flames erupting from the open sections of its body, appeared on Yuto's field. Surrounding its body were two Overlay Units.
"When an Xyz Monster is summoned using The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves, it gains 1000 ATK until the End Phase of this turn!" Yuto declared as his monster was powered up.
(Break Sword — ATK: 2000 → 3000)
"Battle!" Yuto moved into his Battle Phase. "The Phantom Knights of Break Sword attacks Hi-Speedroid Kendama!"
"Not so fast!" Yugo shouted as his set card was flipped face-up. "I activate my Trap Card, Speed Turn! When this card is activated, I can target 1 monster on your field, change it to defense mode, and reduce its DEF by 500!"
Break Sword stops in its tracks, taking a more defensive position as a faint blue aura appears around it.
(Break Sword — DEF: 1000 → 500)
"Tch," Yuto clicked his tongue. He then took out three cards from his hand and set them all. "I set three cards and pass."
(Break Sword — ATK: 3000 → 2000)
"You're going to have to try harder than that if you want to beat me!" Yugo shouted. "My turn! Draw!"
Yugo began his next turn.
[Turn 3: Yugo] [H: 3]
"I summon Speedroid Pachingo-Kart (Wind/Machine/Effect/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1000/LV: 4)!" A sleek, futuristic kart with spinning gears and a pachinko-inspired front appeared on Yugo's field. "When this card is Normal Summoned, I can target 1 monster on your field and destroy it! This card won't be able to attack during the Battle Phase of this turn, but it's a worthy price to pay as I use its effect to destroy your The Phantom Knights of Break Sword!"
"Naive!" Yuto shouted, surprising Yugo. One of his set cards is flipped face-up. "I activate the effect of my Phantom Knights' Wings. I can prevent the destruction of my Break Sword, as well as increase its ATK by an additional 500!"
(Break Sword — ATK: 2000 → 2500)
"So what if your monster's ATK grew stronger, as long as it's in defense mode, raising its ATK won't matter! Battle!" Yugo drifted as he moved into his Battle Phase. "Hi-Speedroid Kendama attacks Break Sword!"
The machine kendama shoots another blue energy blast, this time aiming for Yuto's monster.
"Trap Card, Open!" Yuto shouted as another one of his set cards is flipped face-up. "Phantom Knights of Fog Blade! When this card is activated, I can target 1 monster on your field and prevent it from attacking. However, in exchange, I can't target that monster for attacks either. I choose to target your Hi-Speedroid Kendama with this effect!"
A phantom blade appeared from the Trap Card, slashing through Kendama and holding it in place with its power.
Yugo comes to a stop and frowns.
"I can't do anything else this turn," Yugo stated. "Turn end."
Yuto is managing to hold that guy off pretty well. Yuya thought. But I still don't get why the two are dueling each other.
"I draw!" Yuto drew a card as he began his turn.
[Turn 4: Yuto] [H: 2]
Yuto took a moment to look at the cards he drew before continuing.
"I activate the Spell Card, Phantom Breaker!" Yuto declared. "When I control a 'The Phantom Knights' Monster, I can target 1 monster on your field and destroy it! I choose to destroy Hi-Speedroid Kendama!"
A ball of purple energy is shot out from the Spell Card, hitting the Synchro Monster head-on and destroying it. Yugo winces from the shockwaves of the action.
"Next, I summon The Phantom Knights of Cloven Helm (Dark/Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1500/DEF: 500/LV: 4)!"
A spirit wearing a broken knight's helmet appeared.
"I change The Phantom Knights of Break Sword back to attack mode."
Yuto stated as the faint blue aura around his Xyz Monster disappeared.
"Battle!" Yuto then moved into his Battle Phase. "The Phantom Knights of Break Sword attacks Speedroid Pachingo-Kart!"
The headless horseman charges forward, raising its greatsword as it attempts to slash down on Yugo's monster.
"I activate the effect of Speedroid CarTurbo in my graveyard!" Yugo countered. "By banishing it along with the Hi-Speedroid Kendama in my graveyard, I can increase the ATK of all WIND Monsters on my field by 800 until the End Phase!"
(Speedroid Pachingo-Kart — ATK: 1800 → 2600)
(Break Sword — ATK: 2500)
As Break Sword swings its sword down on Pachingo-Kart, the monster spins out of the way before darting through the headless horseman, destroying it.
Yuto — LP: 3500 → 3400
"When Break Sword is destroyed, I can Special Summon the materials used to summon it back onto my field as Level 4 Monsters," Yuto stated as his monsters reappeared on his field with faint blue auras surrounding them.
[The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves (ATK: 1000/DEF: 500/LV: 3 → 4)]
[The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots (ATK: 200/DEF: 1200/LV: 3 → 4)]
"I end my turn," Yuto concluded his turn after that.
(Speedroid Pachingo-Kart — ATK: 2600 → 1800)
"Then it's my turn! Draw!" Yugo drew a card as he began his turn.
[Turn 5: Yugo] [H: 3]
"From my hand, I summon the Tuner Monster, Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice (Wind/Machine/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 100/LV: 1)!"
A floating yellow six-sided dice with red orbs surrounding it appeared.
"When this monster is Normal Summoned, I can declare a Level from 2 to 6 and make another monster on my field's Level equal to the chosen Level. I choose to change Speedroid Pachingo-Kart's Level to 6!" Yugo declared.
(Speedroid Pachingo-Kart — LV: 4 → 6)
"The Level 1 Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice tunes the now Level 6 Speedroid Pachingo-Kart!"
Yugo's monsters transform into green rings and orbs respectively, lining up as a green pillar of light shot through its center.
"Spread those wondrous and beautiful wings, and strike down your enemies at the speed of light!" Yugo chanted. "I Synchro Summon! Appear now, Level 7! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon (Wind/Dragon/Synchro/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)!"
Yuuji stopped in his tracks as a sharp pain appeared in his chest.
"Gah!" Yuuji clutched his chest. "What is happening?"
This feeling...it was the same one that he felt when he saw Yuto duel Ryouga. However, unlike that time, it was a much more painful feeling.
It hurts so bad. Yuuji thought. I-I can't think straight.
Yuuji took out his deck, which was glowing, pulling out the source of the light, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon. He stared deeply into it for a few seconds before putting it back into his deck.
"I…I have to get to the park," Yuuji said as he began running off.
A magnificent dragon adorned in gleaming white and blue scales, with crystal-green wings flaring from its back, appeared on Yugo's field. Simultaneously, Yuya, Yuto, and Yugo all began clutching their chests.
"Ack!" Yuya fell to his knees. "I-It hurts."
"Guh!" Yuto clutched his chest as he stared at the newly summoned dragon.
Yugo seemed to be in the least pain, only feeling mildly distressed.
"I activate the Spell Card, Shock Surprise!" Yugo continued his turn. "By banishing 1 monster from my graveyard, I can destroy 1 monster on your field! I banish Red-Eyed Dice to destroy your The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves!"
Ragged Gloves is destroyed by the effect, causing Yuto to wince.
"Battle!" Yugo shouted as Clear Wing Synchro Dragon flew into the air, its wings beginning to glow. "Clear Wing Synchro Dragon attacks The Phantom Knights of Cloven Helm! Whirlwind Hell Dive Slasher!"
Clear Wing soars into the air, a green air current being formed as it dived down towards Yuto's monster.
"…I activate the effect of The Phantom Knights of Wrong Magnetring!" Yuto declared as his final set card was flipped face-up. "When an attack is declared, I can negate it and Special Summon this card as a monster!"
[The Phantom Knights of Wrong Magnetring (Dark/Warrior/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 2)]
A cloaked monster holding a metallic ring appeared on Yuto's field. It used the ring in its hand to form a barrier that protected Yuto and his monsters from Clear Wing Synchro Dragon's attack.
"Tch," Yugo clicked his tongue. "I end my turn."
"My turn! Draw!" Yuto drew a card as his turn began.
[Turn 6: Yuto] [H: 1]
"Using the Level 4 The Phantom Knights of Cloven Helm and my now Level 4 The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots, I build the Overlay Network!" Yuto announced.
As Yuto's monsters are absorbed into a galaxy vortex in front of him, Yuuji appears.
Dammit, I'm too late! Yuuji thought.
A massive pillar of light shot out from the galaxy vortex, the ground around them beginning to shake as Yuto began chanting.
"Formed from pitch-black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose it with its treacherous fangs!" Yuto chanted, the tone of his voice turning more menacing by the second. "I Xyz Summon! Now descend, Rank 4! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/R: 4/OU: 2)!"
Appearing on Yuto's field was a menacing dragon with dark purple scales, silver spikes, and sharp wings, with a red core at its center plated in armor. At the same time, Yuto and Yugo's eyes began to glow.
The pain in all four of their chests doubled instantly upon the summoning of Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon. Yuya let out an agonizing scream as a dark aura began bursting out from within him. Yugo and Yuto let out similarly agonizing screams. Yuuji didn't let out his own scream like the three of them, but a menacing dark aura could be seen flowing out of him periodically.
Meanwhile, at LDS Tower's Control Room…
Yuga was currently being held down by several personnel, including Nakajima. He let out pained screams as he tried to break out of their grip on him. Shizuka was frozen in horror upon seeing her suffering friend.
"Yuga…" Shizuka muttered.
Reiji had a nervous expression on his face as he turned to the security personnel working at the control panels.
"Have you managed to recover the feed of Central Park?" Reiji asked.
"Yes, President!" One of the personnel answered. "We've managed to get a drone to fly over Central Park. We're pulling up the feed now."
The giant monitor in front of them changed, displaying footage from Central Park. Reiji's eyes widened in shock when he saw what was happening. Four boys with similar faces to Yuga were all similarly clutching their chests.
"Yuto!" Shun shouted upon seeing his friend suffering on the feed. He turned to one of the personnel working on the panel. "What happened to him!?"
"W-We don't know, sir—"
"Well then, figure it out!" Shun shouted.
Reiji grimaced. He had never seen a phenomenon like this before.
Just what the hell is going on? Reiji wondered.
The screen feed suddenly went static.
"What happened?" Shun asked. "Why did the feed cut out?"
"W-We don't know, sir."
"Fix it. I swear if something happens to Yuto, I'll turn you into a card myself!"
"R-Right!"
Meanwhile, in the Fusion Dimension…
In an empty hallway at Academia, a youth could be seen leaning on a wall while clutching his chest as a faint dark aura emanated from his body. He had short purple hair and wore a similarly colored uniform. The most distinctive feature of him was his face, which looked similar to the five youths who were currently going berserk.
"This feeling…" The youth muttered before beginning to laugh. "It feels amazing! I've never felt such a pleasurable thing before!"
In his hand was a glowing Monster Card, Starving Venom Fusion Dragon.
"You're excited too, right?" The youth spoke to his monster. "I'm sure you want to go over there and feast on them now, don't you? Don't worry, we'll be able to soon enough."
Suddenly, three men in blue uniforms appeared, one of them calling out to the youth.
"Yuri-sama, what are you still doing there? The Professor is waiting!"
"Way to ruin the mood," Yuri rolled his eyes. "If I weren't just feeling so good, I wouldn't hesitate to card you fools," Yuri sighed before walking past them. "This meeting better be worth my time."
The three men in blue followed shortly behind him, the four of them disappearing into the darkness.
Nearby, within two towers that stood much higher than the rest of Academia, two different girls with similar faces could be seen looking at their bracelets, which were pulsing every few seconds. One of them had long, dark purple hair, while the other had short green hair.
"Yuto…" "Yugo…" The two girls muttered, worried expressions present on their faces.
Back to the duel…
Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon and Clear Wing Synchro Dragon began roaring at each other, an action that spiked the pain in the teens' chests. Countless unfamiliar memories began flooding into Yuuji's head, to the point where he felt like his head would burst. His vision began fading in and out, but he kept his focus locked on the duel.
"Zarc…" Yuuji muttered randomly.
"The Phantom Knights of Wrong Magnetring's effect activates!" Yuto declared as he continued his turn. "By tributing it along with my Continuous Trap, Phantom Knights' Fog Blade, I can draw two cards from my deck!"
Yuto proceeded to draw two cards.
"Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's effect now activates!" Yuto shouted. "By detaching one Overlay Unit, it can lower the ATK of a Level 5 or higher monster on the field by half, and gain that lost ATK! Treason Discharge!"
(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon — OU: 2 → 1)
Dark Rebellion's wings expand, shooting a wave of electricity towards Clear Wing.
"Naive!" Yugo shouted. "When a Level 5 or higher monster is targeted by an effect, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon's effect activates! The effect is negated, and the monster that used that effect is destroyed! Furthermore, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon gains ATK equal to that of the destroyed monster until the End Phase! Dichroic Mirror!"
Clear Wing begins to glow, its light enveloping Dark Rebellion completely.
"When a DARK Monster I control would be destroyed by an effect, I can discard The Phantom Knights of Hollowed Shield (Dark/Warrior/Effect/ATK: 600/DEF: 1700/LV: 4) from my hand and negate my dragon's destruction!" Yuto shouted. "And since my monster wasn't destroyed, the rest of your effect doesn't resolve!"
A shield formed around Dark Rebellion, protecting it from Clear Wing's effect.
"Tch," Yugo clicked his tongue.
Two face-down cards appear on Yuto's field.
"I set two cards and end my turn," Yuto concluded.
"Then it's my turn! Draw—!"
"My turn! Draw!" Yuuji suddenly interrupted. His grey eyes could be seen glowing.
[Turn 7: Yuuji] [H: 6]
[Intrusion Penalty. 2000 Life Points.]
Yuuji didn't even react as he was zapped by his duel disk.
Yuuji — LP: 4000 → 2000
"You…" 'Yugo?'s eyes narrowed. "You shouldn't be here."
"You can't be allowed to return, brother," 'Yuuji?' stated. "This world doesn't deserve the fate of the previous one."
"And what do you plan on doing about it?" 'Yugo?' inquired. "The last time we dueled, I killed you and absorbed your power."
"You're nowhere near as strong as you once were," 'Yuuji?' closed his eyes. "And while I am nowhere near as strong as I used to be, I'm still strong enough to take you down."
"Are you?" 'Yugo?' grinned.
—BADUMP!
"Gah!" 'Yuuji?' clutched his chest.
"You're also a piece of me now, brother," 'Yugo?' stated. "Unlike back then, I have control over you."
"D-Dammit…" 'Yuuji?' gritted his teeth.
"I don't need your memories intact. Go to sleep now, brother. Forever."
Yuuji suddenly spat out blood as he dropped to his knees. His eyes stopped glowing as he returned to normal.
"What the hell…" Yuuji clutched his head. "What happened?"
He blacked out for a moment. The last thing he remembered, he had just shown up to see Yuto dueling against somebody else.
Yuuji got back up on his feet before looking at his hand and noticed that his duel disk was activated.
"I'm…dueling?" Yuuji's eyes widened in surprise.
"Are you going to make a move or not!?" Yugo shouted, his eyes still glowing.
"Oh right…" Yuuji nodded as he looked over his hand. "I don't get what's happening right now, but I have a gut feeling that I should act."
Yuuji's expression turned serious as he revealed two cards in his hand.
"I set the Pendulum Scale with the Scale 1 Antique Mimic Chest and the Scale 8 Odd-Eyes Sparking Dragon!" Yuuji declared as he placed the cards on opposite ends of his Pendulum Scale. The word [PENDULUM] appeared between them in rainbow font as a chest with razor-sharp teeth and a yellow-scaled dragon with horns shaped like lightning bolts rose into each of his Pendulum Zones. The numbers 1 and 8 appeared on the scale in a strange golden font as a giant pendulum swung above them.
"Pendulum?" Yugo raised an eyebrow.
"I first activate Odd-Eyes Sparking Dragon's Pendulum Effect," Yuuji stated. "Once per turn, I can add an 'Odd-Eyes' Card from my deck to my hand! I add Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon to my hand!"
Yuuji drew a card from his deck. Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon could be seen glowing brightly in his hand.
You want to fight, right? Yuuji nodded. Got it. I'll bring you out now.
Yuuji's pendulum necklace began to glow.
"With my currently set Pendulum Scale, I can Pendulum Summon monsters Levels 2 through 7 all at the same time!" Yuuji declared. "Shine, Pendulum of Destiny! Draw an arc across the ether, and reflect onto me a path to victory! I Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my faithful companions!"
A portal appeared above Yuuji as three beams of energy shot out from it.
"From my hand, Antique Crescent Breeze (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5/SC: 7) in defense mode! Antique Maker - Mira (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5/SC: 8) and dragon bearing my very soul, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7/SC: 4)!"
An ice blade with a silver hilt, a woman in all black holding a mirror in her hands, and a purple-scaled dragon with bone-like armor appeared on Yuuji's field.
Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon began roaring at both Clear Wing Synchro Dragon and Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, who both roared back hatefully. Yuuji doubled forward as the pain in his chest spiked. Yuto, Yuya, and Yugo also clutch their chests in pain.
Shit… Yuuji thought as he noticed their suffering. I need to end this fast.
"Antique Maker - Mira's effect activates upon its summon," Yuuji stated. "When it is summoned, I can add 1 'Antique' Card from my deck to my hand—!"
"Naive!" Yugo cut him off. "Clear Wing Synchro Dragon's effect activates! When a Level 5 or higher monster activates an effect, it can negate that effect, destroy that monster, and gain ATK equal to that monster's ATK! Dichroic Mirror!"
Clear Wing Synchro Dragon begins to glow, its light enveloping and destroying Antique Maker - Mira.
(Clear Wing Synchro Dragon — ATK: 2500 → 4500)
"That's a nasty effect," Yuuji grimaced. "But I'm not done yet. I activate the Spell Card, Equivalent Exchange! By tributing 1 monster on my field, I can target 1 monster on your field and destroy it! I tribute Antique Crescent Breeze to destroy your Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"
Both Clear Wing and Yuuji's Antique Monster were destroyed.
Yuuji then points to Yugo, "Battle! Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon attacks you directly! Phantom Spiral Breath!"
Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon shoots a breath of purple flames at Yugo, who drives away right before the attack hits him. The flames explode upon contact with the ground, creating shockwaves that cause Yugo to wince.
Yugo — LP: 4000 → 1500
"I set one card and end my turn," Yuuji concluded with a face down.
"I'll make you pay for that!" Yugo shouted. "My turn! Draw!"
[Turn 8: Yugo] [H: 2]
Yugo looked at the card he drew and smirked.
"I activate Pot of Greed!" Yugo announced. "Thanks to its effect, I get to draw 2 cards!"
Yugo drew two cards.
"I activate Monster Reborn, Special Summoning Clear Wing Synchro Dragon (ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7) back onto my field!"
The massive white dragon with green gem-like wings appeared once again.
"Next, I summon Speedroid Razorang (Wind/Machine/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 0/LV: 4)!"
A floating monster with a yellow body and arms that looked like they could be connected together appeared.
"I now activate Speedroid Razorang's effect!" Yugo declared. "Once per turn, I can target 1 monster on the field, change it to defense position, and decrease its ATK by 300! I choose to target Clear Wing Synchro Dragon with this effect!"
"You're targeting your own monster?" Yuuji's eyes widened in surprise.
"I chain Clear Wing Synchro Dragon's effect!" Yugo continued. "When a Level 5 or higher monster is targeted by a monster effect, I can negate that effect, destroy that monster, and have Clear Wing gain the destroyed monster's ATK! Dichroic Mirror!"
Yugo destroys his monster with his dragon's effect. At the same time, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon powers up.
(Clear Wing Synchro Dragon — ATK: 2500 → 4500)
"So that's why. Not good…" Yuuji grimaced.
"Time to finish off the weakest link! Battle!" Yugo moved into his Battle Phase. "Clear Wing Synchro Dragon attacks Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon! Whirlwind Hell Dive Slasher!"
Clear Wing Synchro Dragon soars into the air, a green current of air surrounding it as it dives down towards Phantom Dragon, threatening to destroy it.
"I activate my Trap Card, Mirror Barrier!" Yuuji declared as his set card is flipped face-up. "When my opponent declares an attack, that attack is negated!"
A barrier formed around Yuuji and Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon, protecting them from Clear Wing Synchro Dragon's attack.
"Tch," Yugo clicked his tongue. "I set one card and end my turn."
(Clear Wing Synchro Dragon — ATK: 4500 → 2500)
A face-down card appeared on Yugo's field.
"Then it's my turn! Draw!" Yuto drew a card and began his turn.
[Turn 9: Yuto] [H: 1]
"I activate Dragon Lance's effect, equipping it to Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" Yuto announced as a black lance appeared in Dark Rebellion's hand. "A monster equipped with this card gains 500 ATK!"
(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon — ATK: 2500 → 3000)
Yuto turned his attention to Yuuji as Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon soared into the air. When he did that, Yuuji tried to speak to him.
"Hey Yuto, snap out of it!" Yuuji shouted.
"Battle!" Yuto ignored Yuuji's attempt to call out to him. "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon attacks Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon! Lightning Disobey of Rebellion!"
Dark Rebellions flies down, piercing through Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon with the lance in its hand.
"Furthermore, when a Dragon-type Monster equipped with Dragon Lance destroys a monster through battle, the owner of the destroyed monster takes 1000 points of damage!"
The attack creates an explosion, which sends Yuuji tumbling back.
Yuuji — LP: 2000 → 500
"Gah!" Yuto clutched his chest, screaming out in pain.
Yuuji struggled back onto his feet, attempting to use this moment to try and reach Yuto.
"Remember what you're fighting for, Yuto! You're trying to save your friends!" Yuuji shouted. "What would Shun or Rio think of this!? You need to get a hold of yourself!"
"Shun…Rio…" Yuto muttered their names, his eyes returning to normal for a brief moment.
"Yeah, that's it. Remember it," Yuuji smiled. "You can't let yourself be taken over by the darkness within you while you still have a mission to fulfill."
"I…end my turn," Yuto ended his turn. "Guh!"
Yuto clutched his chest before he let out another pained scream, his eyes began to glow once again as the darkness leaking out of him surged.
Damn. It looks like words alone won't be enough to stop this. Yuuji grimaced as he turned to Yuya, who was still screaming out in pain on the sidelines. I have to end this duel now.
Yuuji placed his hand over his deck.
"My turn! Draw!" Yuuji drew a card as his turn began.
[Turn: 10: Yuuji] [H: 1]
However, as he took a moment to look at what he drew, he paused. The image of a new monster appears in his mind. However, unlike the other times when this happened, it felt different. Like he had just remembered that he had a monster like it.
"Using my currently set Pendulum Scale, I can summon monsters Levels 2 through 7 all at the same time!" Yuuji declared. "Shine, Pendulum of Destiny! Draw an arc across the ether, and reflect onto me a path to victory! I Pendulum Summon! Return from my Extra Deck, Antique Maker - Mira (ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5), Antique Crescent Breeze (ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5), and Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon (ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)!"
Yuuji's destroyed monsters return to his field.
"The same monsters again?" Yugo frowned. "Just like before, that won't work!"
"I don't do the same thing twice," Yuuji stated as his pendulum necklace began swinging back and forth, glowing even brighter now. "Antique Mimic Chest's Pendulum Effect activates! I can make the Level of one monster on my field equal to that of another monster. I choose to make Antique Crescent Breeze's Level equal to Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon's Level!"
(Antique Crescent Breeze — LV: 5 → 7)
(Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon — LV: 7)
"I overlay the Level 7 Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon together with the now Level 7 Antique Crescent Breeze!" Yuuji declared.
His two monsters turn into purple energies as a galaxy vortex appears in front of him. The energies are then absorbed into the vortex as a massive pillar of light shoots out from the portal's center.
"Cruel black dragon relentless in its destruction. I now call upon the emanator of annihilation!" Yuuji chanted. "I Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 7! Dark Anthelion Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Xyz/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500/R: 7/SC: 10/OU: 2)!"
A massive black dragon with silver metallic armor that covered countless parts of its body, with massive jagged wings, long metallic horns, and a singular metallic tusk, appeared on Yuuji's field. Surrounding it were two Overlay Units.
"I activate Dark Anthelion Dragon's effect!" Yuuji announced. "By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can halve the ATK of one monster on the field, and grant that ATK to a monster on my field! I choose to target Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon with this effect! Static Void!"
(Dark Anthelion Dragon — OU: 2 → 1)
Dark Anthelion Dragon's wings began to glow, as blue electricity was shot out from it, wrapping around Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon and sapping away its strength.
(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon — ATK: 3000 → 1500)
(Dark Anthelion Dragon — ATK: 3000 → 4500)
"Since both Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon and Dark Anthelion Dragon are Xyz Monsters, they're unaffected by Clear Wing Synchro Dragon's effect," Yuuji stated with a smile. "Next, I equip Power Reboot to Dark Anthelion Dragon!"
Circuits begin appearing all throughout Dark Anthelion Dragon's body.
"Thanks to this Equip Spell, Dark Anthelion Dragon can attack twice during each Battle Phase!" Yuuji declared.
[Twice!?] The possessed Yugo and Yuto both cried out in unison.
"Now here comes the climax!" Yuuji declared as he pumped his fist forward. "Dark Anthelion Dragon attacks Clear Wing Synchro Dragon! Dark Annihilation!"
Dark Anthelion Dragon rises into the air, using its power to create a giant ball of dark energy that it then hurls towards Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, hitting it head-on and destroying it.
However, much to Yuuji's surprise, Yugo began laughing.
[Current Theme Playing:Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Sound Duel 3 OST 16 - A Battle Beyond Imagining]
"Of course, you would come up with something like this even without your memories, brother," 'Yugo?' commented, a dark aura flaring up around him as his set card was flipped face-up. "However, this time your ingenuity won't work! I activate my Trap Card, Supreme King Vengeance! If a 'Supreme King Dragon' I control was destroyed by battle, I can negate all battle damage from that attack and Special Summon the destroyed monster back to my field with 1500 extra ATK! Arise, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon (ATK: 2500 → 4000/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)!"
Clear Wing emerges from a portal that appeared in front of 'Yugo?'.
"Furthermore, when this card's effect resolves, all other cards on the field are destroyed, and the turn player takes 500 damage for each card destroyed by this effect!" 'Yugo?' announced.
"What!?" Yuuji cried out in shock.
All of the cards on Yuuji's field, along with Yuto's set cards and his equip spell, were destroyed.
"Dragon Lance tributes itself to protect the monster it's equipped to from one instance of destruction," Yuto stated as Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon remained on the field.
"Seven Cards were destroyed in total by this effect, so you take 3500 points of damage!" 'Yugo?' declared. "Fall!"
Clear Wing Synchro Dragon soars into the air, glowing brightly as it dives down towards Yuuji.
Shit! I can't avoid this! Yuuji's eyes widened.
Clear Wing Synchro Dragon fives into the ground near him, creating an explosion from the impact that sends him flying into a tree.
—THUD!
"GAH!" Yuuji felt the air leave his lungs from the impact, his eyes rolling back as his consciousness waned—his Life Points being reduced to zero.
Yuuji — LP: 500 → 0
—Thud!
Yuuji collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious. At the same time, the dark aura surrounding Yugo settling down a little.
"Now for you!" Yugo wasted no time, turning his attention to Yuto. "My turn! Draw!"
(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon — ATK: 1500 → 2500)
Yugo began his turn.
[Turn 11: Yugo] [H: 1]
"I activate the Spell Card, Speed Recovery, Special Summoning 1 'Speedroid' Monster from my graveyard!" Yugo declared. "Return for battle, Speedroid Razorang (ATK: 2000/DEF: 0/LV: 4)!"
The machine monster with yellow arms that could connect to form a boomerang reappeared on Yugo's field.
"I activate Razorang's effect once again, targeting Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!" Yugo announced. "At the same time, I activate Clear Wing Synchro Dragon's effect, negating Razorang's effect, destroying it, and adding its ATK points to Clear Wing Synchro Dragon! Dichroic Mirror!"
Making use of the same play he used against Yuuji earlier, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon powers up once again.
(Clear Wing Synchro Dragon — ATK: 4000 → 6000)
"Now to finish you! Battle!" Yugo moved into his Battle Phase. "Clear Wing Synchro Dragon attacks Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon! Whirlwind Hell Dive Slasher!"
Clear Wing Synchro Dragon soars into the air, a current of green air surrounding it as it dives down towards Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, who flies up to meet it. The two dragons clash in the air for a few moments before Clear Wing eventually overpowers Dark Rebellion, destroying it and sending Yuto flying away towards Yuya—his Life Points dropping to zero.
Yuto — LP: 3400 → 0
Winner: Yugo
[BGM (Background Music) Ends Here.]
The pain in Yuya's chest and head suddenly stopped, allowing him a chance to think rationally for the first time since Yuto and Yugo summoned their dragons. When he came to, he was surprised to see not only Yuto nearly unconscious nearby, but also Yuuji, who was actually unconscious.
"Yuto, Yuuji!" Yuya called out as he first rushed to Yuto, who was the closest to him.
Suddenly, a dome of bright white light surrounded the two of them, surprising Yuya.
"What's this?" Yuya wondered.
Yuto opened his eyes. Digging into his pocket, he pulled out Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon which was glowing brightly, showing it to Yuya.
"Here…take it," Yuto said.
"Huh? But that's your monster. Why are you giving it to me?" Yuya asked.
"I'm not really sure myself," Yuto admitted. "But one thing I do know is that I'm running out of time."
"Don't say something like that!" Yuya shouted. "If you're hurt, I can just bring you to the hospital."
"..." Yuto just smiled. "Make people smile with your dueling. It's what I and Dark Rebellion would've wanted."
"Hey, why are you talking like you're about to die?" Yuya frowned. "I still have so many more things to ask you. You can't die on me now!"
"If you find him, tell Shun that I'll be heading out first."
Yuto's hand dropped as he closed his eyes one final time. His body began to glow, blinding Yuya.
"Wait, don't go. Yuto. YUTO!" Yuya yelled as everything went white.
A few moments later…
Yuzu arrived at Central Park. A few moments earlier, his bracelet began glowing again, signaling that Yuto and Yuya were probably nearby. However, all she could find was an unconscious Yuuji along with Yuya, who could be seen blankly staring at the sky.
"Yuya?" Yuzu's eyes widened in surprise.
—THUD!
Yuya fell to the ground, losing consciousness.
"Yuya!" Yuzu rushed over to her friend. She began shaking him. "Hey, Yuya. Wake up. What happened? Was Yuto here?"
No response. She was sure that she kept trying for a good five minutes, but she got nothing. Yuzu quickly pulled out her phone, calling her father to tell him about what happened.
At LDS Tower…
A few hours have passed since the incident. Reiji sat alone in his office, deep in thought. In his hand was a certain file left by his father.
"That makes six boys with the same face…" Reiji thought. "Including this boy, whom my father made a file on."
All of this was no coincidence. They were all connected in some way.
"Not to mention, three girls with similar faces as well, with all of them being near these similar-looking boys," Reiji assessed as he looked at the other individual in his father's file, who looked just like Hiiragi Yuzu and Shizuka. "This also can't be a coincidence."
However, he couldn't quite pin down what their connection was. Something like this had never happened before as far as he knew.
And this fact concerned him. He hated dealing with things that he did not know about.
I'll have to look into this further. Reiji thought.
Custom/Altered Cards:
Monster Card/s-
The Phantom Knights of Hollowed Shield
ATK: 600, DEF: 1700, LV: 4
Dark/Warrior/Effect
Monster Effect: (Quick Effect): When a DARK monster you control is targeted by a monster effect that would destroy it, you can discard this card; that monster cannot be destroyed by that effect.
Dark Anthelion Dragon
ATK: 3000, DEF: 2500, R: 7, SC: 10
Dark/Dragon/Xyz/Pendulum/Effect
2 Level 7 Monsters
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn: You can target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; halve its original ATK until the end of this turn (even if this card leaves the field).
Monster Effect: If you can Pendulum Summon Level 7 monsters, you can Pendulum Summon this face-up card in your Extra Deck. Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can detach 1 material from this card, then target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; until the end of this turn, its ATK becomes half its current ATK, and if it does, one monster on your field gains that lost ATK. If this card in the Monster Zone is destroyed by battle or card effect: You can place this card in your Pendulum Zone.
Spell/Trap Card/s-
Phantom Breaker
Normal Spell
If you control a "The Phantom Knights" Monster, target 1 monster on your opponent's field; destroy it.
Equivalent Exchange
Normal Spell
Tribute 1 monster on your field; target 1 monster on your opponent's field, destroy it.
Dragon Lance
Equip Spell
The equipped monster gains 500 ATK. If a Dragon monster equipped with this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle, inflict 1000 damage to your opponent. If the equipped monster would be destroyed by battle, you can send this card to the Graveyard instead.
Supreme King's Vengeance
Counter Trap
If a "Supreme King Dragon" monster you control is destroyed by battle: Negate all battle damage you would take from that battle, then Special Summon the destroyed monster to your field, and if you do, it gains 1500 ATK. After this effect resolves, destroy all other cards on the field, then the turn player takes 500 damage for each card destroyed this way.
Okay, that was a lot, I'm sure. Some of you might want a bit of an explanation for what just went down in this chapter. However, you won't be getting much of an answer from me. The only thing I'll say is that the dialogue Yugo said in bold is from a different person (it's pretty obvious who it is if you watched the show). As for the person who possessed Yuuji for a bit (I didn't make it bold just to make it easier to tell that there were two different people talking), you'll have to wait to learn more about that.
This chapter is definitely one that you might have to read twice to digest fully, and I'm sorry about that. What happened in the show wasn't any less confusing either.
This chapter also makes Yuuji's third loss (yes, even though I said it was a win in the chapter, I'm still counting Yuuji's duel against Shun as a loss). And for once, an actual consequence. I was honestly planning to keep Yuto alive, at least a while longer, but remembered that there would be way too many characters in the main cast that I would have to worry about consistently. However, Yuto will still be getting much more screen time than the source material, since I plan on expanding on the possession mechanic of the Zarc Counterparts more (like he did in his duel against Serena and Ruri during the Fusion Dimension Arc).
(I also just wanted to write Berserk Yuya scenes in this fic, and you can't really get the full Berserk Yuya experience without Yuto being within him).
Thanks for reading!
Chapter 15: The Will to Entertain
Chapter Text
Edit #1: 15/17 Chapters Revamped.
Chapter #15! This chapter is a bit of a change of pace from the previous chapter. Yuuji actually won't be included in this chapter at all, as it'll more focus on other characters that haven't gotten much time dedicated to them. (Something similar to Chapters 5 and 11).
(Hint: One of them is Sawatari).
Without any further ado, enjoy!
Disclaimer: Minor Spelling, Grammar, and Other Mistakes May Be Present.
[Maiami Championship Arc Opening Theme (Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Opening 2: Burn)]
Scale 015: The Will to Entertain
The next day…
Sawatari Shingo could be seen walking through a park in a foul mood. His head felt heavy as he coped with all of the unfortunate circumstances that he had had to deal with over the past few days.
The most recent of these problems is his loss against Yuya. He was so close to winning that duel too, but Yuya just had to find a way to scrape out a victory.
So now, while I'm stuck on the sidelines, Sakaki will get all the attention by entertaining the crowd. Sawatari thought. It should've been me, not him.
The only good thing that came from his duel against Yuya was a newfound desire to partake in entertainment dueling.
…
Though his sheer dislike of Yuya would never allow him to admit this fact to his face.
Sawatari eventually encountered a park bench right under a tree—the perfect spot. With a nice view of the rest of the park and some good shade from the sun, it was the perfect place for Sawatari to sulk about all the bad things happening in his life.
Sawatari sat down, pulling out three cards from his pocket. His hands began unconsciously shaking as he looked at the cards. Once the feeling was too much for him to bear, he pocketed the cards and sighed.
"What was Akaba Reiji even thinking, letting that guy join LDS…" Sawatari frowned. "And why does everybody think that he's just always been a part of LDS?"
It's almost as if their memories had been altered. But why? Why him of all people?
"I've been curious about that too," A familiar feminine voice said.
"Huh? Who goes there!?" Sawatari jumped up from the bench.
"Calm down, it's just me," Rio said as she jumped down from the tree above them.
"You're…" Sawatari's eyes widened.
"Rio. Kamishiro Rio," She introduced herself. "I never told you my name when we first met a while back."
"I'm Sawatari Shingo," Sawatari returned his own greeting. "But more importantly, why were you eavesdropping on me from a tree of all places?"
"It's not like I was trying to," Rio crossed her arms. "You just happened to show up while I was resting up there."
"You were…resting in a tree?" Sawatari was confused. "Why there of all places?"
"When you don't have a place to stay, you have to get creative with where you dwell," Rio replied.
"..." Sawatari silently blinked at her a few times.
"Anyway, back to what you were muttering to yourself before," Rio changed the subject. "I've also been pretty curious as to why Shun of all people would ally himself with LDS. Especially after his whole mad crusade to take them all out."
"Knowing Akaba Reiji, he must've managed to strike a deal with him," Sawatari deduced. "As for what it's about, I have no idea. And honestly, I don't want to know. I want nothing to do with that guy."
Sawatari subconsciously clenched his fists. Rio seemed to pick up on this action and decided to suggest something.
"You seem pretty stressed out. Why don't we have ourselves a little duel?"
Sawatari looked surprised by the suggestion, "A duel? Why?"
"Before some…unfortunate events, whenever I felt down in the dumps, I would always resort to dueling to cheer myself up," Rio explained. "That way, I can forget all about what had been weighing me down."
"...You do have a point," Sawatari admitted. "But…I doubt I would be much of a challenge for someone as strong as you, who could beat that guy of all people."
"I'm not as strong as you think," Rio stated. "I think his name was Yuuji, right? He managed to weaken Shun down enough for me to finish the job. I wouldn't have beat him if I faced him alone."
"What?"
"And besides, you shouldn't be afraid to go against people stronger than you," Rio continued. "There's no better way to get stronger than to go against the strongest. So don't hesitate and just duel your heart out. At least, that's what my brother would usually say."
"..." Sawatari thought about it for a moment before smiling. "Fine then. I, the Great Sawatari Shingo, accept your challenge!"
Rio smiled back, "That's good to hear. Let's go find a good spot."
The two of them begin walking through the park, looking for a nice open space to duel. Once they found one, they both took their spots on opposite sides.
"You can take the first turn if you want," Rio offered.
"No thanks," Sawatari turned her offer down. "My deck does better going second."
"Okay then," Rio replied as she activated her duel disk. "Even if this is a friendly match, I won't be going easy on you."
"I would feel disrespected as a duelist if you did anything less," Sawatari activated his duel disk as well.
The two of them drew their first five cards, their duel beginning shortly after that.
[DUEL!] The two shout in unison.
Sawatari — LP: 4000
Rio — LP: 4000
[Turn 1: Rio] [H: 5]
"I'll start by activating the Field Spell, Land of Frozen Flames!" Rio announced as she played a card. The surroundings around her suddenly froze over as she did. "While this card remains active, WATER Monsters used as material for an Xyz Monster are treated as two materials!"
"Two materials?" Sawatari's eyes widened in surprise.
"Next, I summon Blizzard Falcon (Water/Winged-Beast/Effect/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1500/LV: 4)!"
An ice falcon with a body made up of blue crystals appeared on Rio's field. She then extended her hand outwards.
"Now, using my Level 4 Blizzard Falcon, I construct the Overlay Network!" Rio declared.
Her aforementioned monster transformed into a ball of energy that was then sucked into a galaxy vortex that appeared in front of her. A pillar of light shot out from the center of the portal as she began chanting.
"Elegant, winged maiden. Use your dazzling crystal wings to unveil the mysteries of the frozen abyss!" Rio chanted. "I Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 4! Ice Beast Zerofyne (Water/Winged-Beast/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 2200/R: 4/OU: 1)!"
Appearing on Rio's field now was an elegant, feminine monster with two sets of rigid, blue wings sticking out from its back.
"That's one of the monsters you used back then," Sawatari recognized the monster.
"That's right," Rio nodded as a face-down card appeared on her field. "I end my turn with a face-down. You're up."
"Got it," Sawatari nodded. "My turn!"
Sawatari drew a card and began his turn.
[Turn 2: Sawatari] [H: 6]
"I activate Yosen Training Ground!" Sawatari announced as a shrine with countless unlit candles appeared behind him. "Next, I summon Yosenju Kama 1 (Wind/Beast-Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1600/DEF: 500/LV: 4)!"
A silver-haired weasel warrior dressed in a kimono and holding a sickle appeared on Sawatari's field. At the same time, a candle was lit on the shrine behind him.
(Yosen Counter: 0 → 1)
"When Yosenju Kama 1 is Normal Summoned, I can immediately Normal Summon another 'Yosenju' Monster in my hand! Appear, Yosenju Kama 2 (Wind/Beast-Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1800/DEF: 200/LV: 4)!"
Another silver-haired weasel warrior, this one holding a katana, appeared on Sawatari's field. At the same time, another candle was lit on the shrine behind him.
(Yosen Counter: 1 → 2)
"Just like Yosenju Kama 1, Yosenju Kama 2 allows me to Normal Summon another 'Yosenju' Monster from my hand! Please welcome onto to field, Yosenju Kama 3 (Wind/Beast-Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1500/DEF: 800/LV: 4)!"
A third silver-haired weasel warrior, brandishing a dagger appeared. Once again, another candle was lit on the shrine behind him.
(Yosen Counter: 2 → 3)
"You managed to summon three monsters almost simultaneously," Rio was a little surprised. "Not bad."
"I'm not done yet!" Sawatari declared. "I still have Yosenju Kama 3's effect, allowing me to Normal Summon one last 'Yosenju' from my hand! Appear, Yosenju Magat (Wind/Beast/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 6)!"
A sinister weasel with dark fur, wearing a tattered purple robe and red bead necklace appeared on Sawatari's field. In its hand, it held a massive jagged sickle, with blades sticking out from the backside of it. At the same time, another candle was lit in the shine behind Sawatari.
(Yosen Counter: 3 → 4)
"Yosenju Magat's effect now activates!" Sawatari continued. "When this monster is Normal Summoned onto my field, I can Special Summon 1 'Yosenju' Monster from my deck! Come forth, Yosenju Kodam Wind/Beast-Warrior/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 1)!"
A floating eyeball that was wrapped in dead leaves appeared. A fifth candle was lit on the shrine.
(Yosen Counter: 4 → 5)
Sawatari dramatically extended his hand outward. "Battle!"
Yosenju Kama 2 dashed forward, glowing yellow as its ATK decreased.
(Yosenju Kama 2 — ATK: 1800 → 900)
"Yosenju Kama 2 attacks you directly!" Sawatari declared.
"What? But I have a monster on my field!" Rio was shocked. "Unless…"
"Yosenju Kama 2's effect allows it to halve its ATK stat to attack you directly!"
Rio braces herself, countering Yosenju Kama 2's katana with her duel blade. However, she winces as she still takes the damage.
Rio — LP: 4000 → 3100
"Yosenju Kama 1 & 3's effects now activate simultaneously!" Sawatari announced. "When you take damage from a 'Yosenju' Monster's direct attack while they're on the field, I can return one card on your field to the hand, and then add another card from my deck to my hand!"
"What!?" Rio cried out in shock before muttering. "Those are some nasty effects…"
"Yosenju Kama 1 returns Ice Beast Zerofyne to your hand, while Yosenju Kama 3 allows me to add Yosenju Shinchu L to my hand!" Sawatari declared.
Yosenju Kama 1 spins its weapon around, creating a gust of wind that blows away Rio's Xyz Monster as Sawatari then draws a card from his deck.
Sawatari confidently snapped his fingers, "And with that, you have no monsters defending yourself."
"..." Rio only frowned in response.
"Now to end this!" Sawatari announced. "Yosenju Kama 1, Yosenju Kama 3, Yosenju Magat, now attack you directly!"
Sawatari's three monsters leaped forward, preparing to wipe out the rest of Rio's Life Points. However, before they reached her, Sawatari noticed Rio smirking.
"Why are you smiling?" Sawatari inquired. "You're about to lose."
"You seriously think I'll let this end that easily?" Rio asked as she revealed a card in her hand. "I activate Blizzard Harpie's effect! When a direct attack is declared during the Battle Phase, I can immediately end it and Special Summon this card to my field!"
An eagle with a body made up of blue ice appeared. A barrier formed around both Rio and her monster, protecting them from Sawatari's attacks.
[Blizzard Harpy (Water/Winged-Beast/Effect/ATK: 400/DEF: 1400/LV: 4)]
"God dammit!" Sawatari comedically stomped on the ground. "You got my hopes up!"
"You should've expected something anyway since I had a set Trap Card as well," Rio stated.
"That's true…" Sawatari muttered. "Whatever! I activate Yosenju Kodam's effect! By tributing it from my field, I can add 3 'Yosen Counters' to my Yosen Training Ground!"
The floating eyeball bursts into particles. At the same time, three candles were lit on the shrine behind Sawatari.
(Yosen Counter — 5 → 8)
"I then sacrifice 3 'Yosen Counters' to activate Yosen Training Ground's effect!" Sawatari continued. "Allowing me to add 1 'Yosenju' Monster from my deck to my hand!"
(Yosen Counter — 8 → 5)
Sawatari drew a card and revealed it.
"The card I added was Yosenju Shinchu R," Sawatari stated.
A face-down card then appeared on Sawatari's field.
"I set one card and end my turn," Sawatari concluded. "And during my End Phase, Yosenju Kama 1, 2, & 3's effects all activate, returning them to my hand when they were Normal Summoned this turn!"
The three weasel warriors were engulfed in vortexes of wind as they were sent back to Sawatari's hand.
"It's your turn now," Sawatari stated.
"Very well. My turn! Draw!" Rio drew a card as she began her turn.
[Turn 3: Rio] [H: 2]
"I activate Pot of Greed!" Rio declared. "Allowing me to draw two cards."
Rio draws two more cards from her deck. When she looked at what she drew, she smiled.
"This'll work…" Rio muttered before continuing her turn. She extended her arm outward once again. "Using the Level 4 Blizzard Harpy on my field, I reconstruct the Overlay Network!"
Just like before, Rio's monster transforms into a ball of energy that is absorbed into a galaxy vortex that appears in front of her. A massive pillar of light shoots out from the vortex's center.
"Elegant winged maiden. Use your dazzling crystal wings to unveil the mysteries of the frozen abyss!" Rio chanted. "I Xyz Summon! Return to my field, Ice Beast Zerofyne (Water/Winged-Beast/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 2200/R: 4/OU: 1)!"
The feminine monster with rigid, blue wings returned to Rio's field.
"I now activate Ice Beast Zerofyne!" Rio continued. "By detaching one Overlay Unit from her, the effects of all other face-up cards are negated until my next Standby Phase! Furthermore, 1 Monster on your field loses 300 ATK for each card negated!"
Rio quickly counted the cards on the field.
"I had 1 face-up card negated, while you had 2 of them," Rio stated. "So you're monster loses 900 ATK in total!"
Zerofyne rises into the air, using its power to freeze Yosenju Magat.
(Yosenju Magat — ATK: 2000 → 1100)
"I equip Wings of Silence to Zerofyne!" Rio declared. "When a 'Winged-Beast' Monster is equipped with this card, it gains 300 ATK!"
Zerofyne's rigid wings begin to glow, expanding in size and changing shape into a more angelic appearance.
(Zerofyne — ATK: 2000 → 2300)
"Battle!" Rio moved into her Battle Phase. "Ice Beast Zerofyne attacks Yosenju Magat! Ice Ray!"
Zerofyne begins to shoot out ice crystals from its wings, piercing through and destroying Sawatari's monster, and causing him to wince as his Life Points drop.
Sawatari — LP: 4000 → 2800
However, Rio was surprised when she noticed Sawatari had a smile on his face. He began laughing as his set card was flipped face-up.
"You fell for it!" Sawatari shouted. "I activate my Trap Card, Yosenjus' Sword Sting! When I control no monsters, by revealing two Yosenju Monsters in my hand, I can return up to that number of cards on your field to your hand! I'll return your Trap Card along with Xyz Monster!"
Sawatari revealed Yosenju Kama 1 and Yosenju Kama 3 in his hand. Shortly after, a gust of wind shoots out from his trap card, threatening to blow away Rio's cards. However, Sawatari is stunned when only Rio's Trap Card is returned to her hand.
"Huh? Why is your monster still on the field!?" Sawatari cried out in shock.
Rio smirked, "Wings of Silence has another effect. A monster equipped with it is unaffected by my opponent's Spell/Trap Card effects!"
"And you didn't think to tell me that before I activated my effect?" Sawatari frowned.
"Why would I give away valuable information to my opponent?" Rio frowned back. "The more information you withhold from your opponent, the better."
"Tch…" Sawatari clicked his tongue.
If he can return cards on my field back to my hand, I should place other decoy cards to try and protect the truly important cards. Rio assessed.
Three face-down cards then appear on Rio's field.
"I set three cards face-down and end my turn," Rio concluded.
That should keep my Trap Card safe if I'm lucky. Rio thought.
"My turn! Draw!" Sawatari drew a card and began his turn.
[Turn 4: Sawatari] [H: 6]
"I activate Yosenju Oroshi Channeling!" Sawatari started. "I can only activate this card when I control no monster on my field. Thanks to its effect, I can add a Level 5 or higher 'Yosenju' Monster from my deck to my hand!"
Sawatari drew a card from his deck and revealed it.
"The card I chose to add was Mayosenju Daibak!"
Sawatari mixed the card into his hand. After glancing at his cards for a second, he picks three out.
"I summon Yosenju Kama 1 (ATK: 1600/DEF: 500/LV: 4)!" The same silver-haired weasel warrior with a sickle appeared. "Just like before, Yosenju Kama 1's effect allows me to summon Yosenju Kama 2 (ATK: 1800/DEF: 200/LV: 4)! And just like Yosenju Kama 1, Yosenju Kama 2's effect allows me to summon Yosenju Kama 3 (ATK: 1500/DEF: 800/LV: 4)!"
Two more silver-haired weasels, brandishing a katana and a dagger respectively, reappeared on Sawatari's field.
"So he can just cycle those monsters on and off of his field whenever he wants…" Rio assessed. "Interesting…"
"It's too soon to be impressed because this is only the beginning!" Sawatari declared before revealing two cards in his hand. "Using the Scale 3 Yosenju Shinchu L and the Scale 5 Yosenju Shinchu R, I set the Pendulum Scale!"
Sawatari placed the two cards on opposite ends of his duel disk, the word [PENDULUM] appearing in between in rainbow font as two stone statues with blue and red face masks respectively, rose into each zone. The numbers 3 and 5 appear in a strange golden font.
"That's the Pendulum Summoning that Yuuji guy did a while back," Rio was surprised. "Now that I think about it, you did mention that you were also able to use it."
"Yeah, it is. But I use it much better than he does," Sawatari boasted. "And I'll show you soon. But first, Yosenju Shinchu R's Pendulum Effect activates! When I control a 'Yosenju' Monster on my other Pendulum Scale, its Scale Number rises to 11 until the end of this turn!"
(Yosenju Shinchu R — SC: 5 → 11)
"Now, thanks to my Pendulum Scale, I can summon monsters Levels 4 through 10 simultaneously!" Sawatari announced as he began chanting. "Glorious power born within the abyss, grant me your strength! Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my monster!"
A typhoon of green winds is shot out of the portal.
"Appear, the wind-clad sacred beast, Mayosenju Daibak (Wind/Beast/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 3000/DEF: 300/LV: 10/SC: 7)!"
Appearing on Sawatari's field now was a massive green canine. Its body was made up of nothing but green, wisp-like flames.
"Mayosenju Daibak's effect activates upon its summon. With it I—!" Sawatari was about to continue his play when he was interrupted.
"Woah! Look, they're having a duel over there!"
"Isn't that guy the one from the tournament who dueled against Sakaki Yuya?"
"Now that you mention it, you're right. Oooh, I can't believe I get to see him dueling here of all places."
"Yeah, I know, right? His duel against Sakaki Yuya was down to the wire."
"Huh?" Sawatari was surprised when he noticed a small crowd forming around their ongoing duel.
"Oh my, it looks like our duel has drawn a bit of attention," Rio smiled. "Though, I guess that's mostly because of you."
Because of me? Why? Sawatari wondered. I know I'm amazing and all, but I lost that duel against Sakaki. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm nowhere near as good as Yuya at entertainment. They shouldn't be excited to see me at all.
However, in contrast to his thoughts, Sawatari smiled.
"Well, this is quite unexpected. But I'm not one to turn down blessings that are handed to me," Sawatari commented. "If the people here want to see The Great Sawatari Shingo, I should give them a show they'll never forget."
Sawatari then extended his hand to the sky and struck a pose.
"Mayosenju Daibak's very special effect activates! When this star is summoned onto my field, I can return two cards that my opponent controls back to their hand!" Sawatari announced before snapping his finger. "At this moment, two of your back row will be exiting stage left!"
The horn on Mayosenju Daibak's head shoots out a gust of wind that blows away two of Rio's three face-downs.
"Now with the prologue out of the way, I'll move to my Battle Phase!" Sawatari announced. "Yosenju Kama 2's effect activates! By halving its ATK, I can attack my opponent directly!"
(Yosenju Kama 2 — ATK: 1800 → 900)
Yosenju Kama 2 leaps towards Rio, slashing at her with its katana. Rio parries the attack and flips back a few times to increase the distance between them.
Rio — LP: 3100 → 2200
"Now, since a 'Yosenju' Monster on my field has inflicted damage to my opponent directly, Yosenju Kama 3's effect activates, allowing me to add another 'Yosenju' Monster from my deck to my hand! I add a second copy of Yosenju Oyam to my hand!"
Sawatari added a card to his hand and revealed it before continuing.
"Just like Yosenju Kama 3, Yosenju Kama 1's effect also activates under the same conditions!" Sawatari declared. "I get to send 1 other card on your field back to your hand. I choose to send that final Trap Card of yours back!"
"Not this time!" Rio shouted as her set card was flipped face-up. "I activate the Counter Trap, Hydro Spiral! When an effect in activated during the Battle Phase, I can Special Summon 1 WATER Monster from my graveyard! Return to my field, Blizzard Falcon (ATK: 1500/DEF: 1500/LV: 4) in defense mode!"
A vortex of water appeared in front of Rio. Shortly after, a crystal falcon appeared on rose from within it. Surrounding the monster was a faint blue aura.
"Upping your defense, huh? Let's see if that'll be enough!" Sawatari smiled as the massive green canine on his field let out a deafening roar. "Mayosenju Daibak attacks Ice Beast Zerofyne! Tempest Gale!"
Using its horn once again, Daibak sends a powerful gust of wind at Ice Beast Zerofyne, blowing the monster into the air and causing it to burst into particles. Rio winced as her Life Points dropped.
Rio — LP: 2200 → 1700
"I'm not done yet! Yosenju Kama 1 attacks Blizzard Falcon!"
The silver-haired weasel rushes forward, using its sickle to slash through the blizzard falcon.
"And finally, Yosenju Kama 3 attacks you directly!"
Sawatari's third silver-haired weasel leaps into the air, chucking its dagger at Rio. Rio sidesteps away from the spot she stood at, narrowly avoiding the dagger.
Rio — LP: 1700 → 200
That was close. Rio thought. I could've lost there if he played even slightly differently.
Rio then smirked.
Guess he isn't as bad as I thought he was. He has some skills to back up all of his boasts.
"Seeing as there is nothing else I could do this turn, I'll cut things short for now," Sawatari stated. "During my End Phase, all of the monsters on my field are returned to my hand, and Yosenju Shinchu R's Scale Number returns to normal."
Each one of Sawatari's monsters was absorbed by the winds, returning to his hand.
(Yosenju Shinchu R — SC: 11 → 5)
"Sawatari is looking even better than he did in his match against Yuya," One of the spectators commented.
"That girl isn't doing bad herself. She managed to survive his relentless assault," Another spectator commented.
"Looks like it's my turn now," Rio put a hand over the top of her deck. "Draw!"
[Turn 5: Rio] [H: 3]
Rio took a moment to look at the card she had drawn before continuing.
"I activate Monster Reborn!" Rio announced. "With it, I target Ice Beast Zerofyne in my graveyard and Special Summon it back to my field!"
The feminine monster with rigid blue wings reappeared from a portal that formed in front of Rio.
[Ice Beast Zerofyne (ATK: 2000/DEF: 2200/R: 4/OU: 0)]
Rio then extended her hand outward.
"Battle!" Rio moved into her Battle Phase. "Ice Beast Zerofyne attacks you directly! Ice Ray!"
Sawatari smirked, "At this time, Yosenju Oyam's effect activates! When you declare a direct attack, I can discard 1 'Yosenju' Monster in my hand to summon this card onto my field in attack position! I send Yosenju Kama 3 to my graveyard."
Sawatari discards a card. Shortly after, a giant monster with a body cloaked in darkness appeared in front of Sawatari.
[Yosenju Oyam (Wind/Beast/Effect/ATK: ?/DEF ?/LV: 6)]
"What the hell is that?" Rio was surprised by the sheer size of the monster. "And what's up with the unknown ATK and DEF?"
"I don't need to answer that," Sawatari smiled. "If you want to figure out, you're going to have to attack my monster."
"Using my own tricks against me, how cruel," Rio frowned.
Rio fell into deep thought for a moment.
Should I continue my attack? Rio wondered. It would be bad for me if I left this monster on the field unaccounted for.
But that was probably what Sawatari wanted in the first place, so she would be falling right into his trap.
Rio then looked at the card in her hand.
If Ice Beast Zerofyne happens to be destroyed this turn, I'll at least survive my next turn thanks to this card. Rio thought before nodding. Okay, I've made my decision.
"Ice Beast Zerofyne attacks Yosenju Oyam! Ice Ray!" Rio declared.
Zerofyne rises into the air, its wings glowing as countless shards of ice are shot toward Sawatari's monster.
"Yosenju Oyam's other effect activates!" Sawatari announced. "When it is summoned by its effect, its ATK and DEF become equal to the original ATK of the monster that it is battling!"
(Yosenju Oyam — ATK: ? → 2000, DEF: ? → 2000)
(Ice Beast Zerofyne — ATK: 2000)
Yosenju Oyam uses one its its giant arms to grab Ice Beast Zerofyne, crushing it in its grip and turning it into particles. At the same time, the massive monster is hit by Zerofyne's attack, letting out a loud, pained groan before bursting into particles as well. Both players wince from the shockwaves of the clash.
"Yosenju Oyam's effect activates, allowing me to add a 'Yosenju' card to my hand when it is destroyed. I add a second Yosenju Oyam to my hand!" Sawatari added a card to his hand.
Rio paused for a moment before placing a card on her duel blade. A set card then appeared in front of her.
"I set one card and end my turn," Rio concluded.
"Then it's my turn now! Draw!" Sawatari drew a card and began his turn.
[Turn 6: Sawatari] [H: 5]
"I summon Yosenju Kama 1 (ATK: 1600/DEF: 500/LV: 4)! Yosenju Kama 1's effect activates at this time as well, allowing me to summon Yosenju Kama 2 (ATK: 1800/DEF: 200/LV: 4) to my field as well!"
Two of Sawatari's silver-haired weasel warriors reappeared on his field. At the same time, two candles lit up on the shrine behind him.
(Yosen Counter — 5 → 7)
"I then activate Yosen Training Ground's effect! By sacrificing three Yosen Counters, I can add 1 'Yosenju' Card from my deck to my hand! I choose to add a second copy of Mayosenju Daibak!"
Three candles became unlit as Sawatari added a card from his deck to his hand.
(Yosen Counter — 7 → 4)
"Next, I activate Yosenju Shinchu R's Pendulum Effect again, increasing its Scale Number from 5 to 11!"
(Yosenju Shinchu R — SC: 5 → 11)
A portal then appeared above Sawatari, with two green typhoons shooting out from the portal.
"Glorious power born within the abyss, grant me your strength!" Sawatari chanted. "Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my two copies of Mayosenju Daibak (ATK: 3000/DEF: 300/LV: 10/SC: 7)!"
Two massive canine monsters with bodies made up of wisp-like green flames appeared. Two candles lit up on the shrine behind Sawatari.
(Yosen Counter: 4 → 6)
"Great, now there are two of them," Rio frowned.
"Mayosenju Daibak's effect activates upon its summon once again!" Sawatari announced. "I can target up to 2 cards on your field and return them to your hand. I'll return your singular set card to your hand!"
Rio adds her set Trap Card back to her hand.
"And with that, you now have nothing protecting yourself!" Sawatari announced. "Now here comes the finale! Battle!"
One of Sawatari's Mayosenju Daibak let out a deafening roar as it began charging up its attack.
"Mayosenju Daibak now attacks you directly!" Sawatari declared.
Mayosenju Daibak shoots a heavy gust of wind from its horn towards Rio, who stares at the attack unfazed. She then revealed one of the cards in her hand.
"I activate the effect of Crystal Mimic Bird!" Rio declared. "Once per turn, this card can copy the effect of a card in my graveyard and immediately make use of it!"
"What?" Sawatari's eyes widened in surprise.
"By copying Blizzard Harpy's effect, I can Special Summon Crystal Mimic Bird (Water/Winged-Beast/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 1) to my field in defense mode!" Rio announced as a small crystal bird appeared on her field. "Furthermore, when a monster is Special Summoned by this effect, the Battle Phase immediately ends!"
A barrier formed around Rio and her monster, protecting them from Sawatari's attack.
"After its effect finishes resolving, Crystal Mimic Bird is sent to the graveyard," Rio stated as the small crystal bird on her field bursts into particles.
"Way to ruin my dramatic finale," Sawatari frowned before shrugging. "Oh well, I guess I'll let you have one more turn. It'll be more entertaining for the crowd anyway. I end my turn."
Sawatari's monsters are engulfed by winds, returning to his hand. At the same time, Yosenju Shinchu R's Scale Number returns to normal.
(Yosenju Shinchu R — SC: 11 → 5)
"I hope you won't eat your words when I win this next turn," Rio commented as she placed her hand on the top of her deck. "My turn! Draw!"
[Turn 7: Rio] [H: 2]
Rio glanced at the card she drew for a moment before playing it.
"I activate Card Exchange!" Rio declared. "By discarding 1 other card in my hand and paying half my Life Points, I can draw two cards from my deck!"
Rio gritted her teeth as her duel disk shocked her.
Rio — LP: 200 → 100
She then sends her final remaining card to the graveyard before playing her hand over the top of her deck.
"Here we go…" Rio muttered. "Draw!"
She drew with all her might, her deck glowing briefly in response. When she looked at the two cards she had drawn, she smiled.
Looks like luck is on my side once again. Rio thought.
She then revealed one of the cards that she had drawn.
"I activate the Quick-Play-Spell, Rank-Up-Magic Miracle Rebirth!" Rio announced. "By targeting one Xyz Monster in my graveyard, I can Special Summon an Xyz Monster 1 Rank Higher using this card and that monster as material!"
That's the move she pulled against that bastard back then. Sawatari's eyes widened in shock.
A portal appeared in front of Rio, with Ice Beast Zerofyne emerging from it.
"Using the Rank 4 Ice Beast Zerofyne, I rebuild the Overlay Network!" Rio declared.
Zerofyne transforms into a ball of energy that is then absorbed into a galaxy vortex that had formed in the sky. A pillar of light shot down from it, illuminating the area as Rio began chanting.
"Supreme dragon who governs the frigid skies. Descend from your throne!" Rio chanted. "Rank Up Xyz Change! Come forth, Rank 5! Ruler of the Frozen Skies, Crystal Winged Frost Dragon (Water/Dragon/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 3000/R: 5/OU: 2)!"
A massive blue-scaled dragon with two sets of wings made out of ice crystals appeared on Rio's field. The magnificent dragon lets out a triumphant roar, announcing its presence.
"Battle!" Rio wasted no time, immediately moving into her Battle Phase. "Crystal Winged Frost Dragon attacks you directly!"
The magnificent dragon flaps its wings, soaring into the air, shooting a beam of ice out of its mouth towards Sawatari.
"Did you not learn from before?" Sawatari frowned. "Yosenju Oyam's effect activates from my hand when you declare a direct attack, allowing me to Special Summon it by discarding a 'Yosenju' Monster from my hand!"
Sawatari discards a card from his hand as a massive monster cloaked in shadows appears in front of him.
[Yosenju Oyam (ATK: ?/DEF: ?/LV: 6)]
"Yosenju Oyam ATK and DEF then become equal to your monster's ATK!" Sawatari declared.
(Yosenju Oyam — ATK: ? → 2500, DEF: ? → 2500)
The massive monster extends its arm, grabbing Crystal Winged Frost Dragon with its arms.
"Yosenju Shinchu L's Pendulum Effect then activates!" Sawatari continued as Yosenju Shinchu L bursts into particles. "By tributing it from my Pendulum Zone, I can negate the destruction of a Yosenju Monster on my field! Meaning Yosenju Oyam won't be destroyed by your attack—!"
"You're not the only one with an effect like that!" Rio cut in. "Crystal Winged Frost Dragon's effect activates! By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can negate an instance of its destruction! Meaning my monster is also safe from the attack!"
Crystal Winged Frost Dragon absorbs one of its two Overlay Units, breaking out of Yosenju Oyam's grip and distancing itself from the massive monster.
(Crystal Winged Frost Dragon — OU: 2 → 1)
"So you managed to keep your monster on the field. You no longer have any way to deal any damage to my Life Points," Sawatari stated. "And with your minimal defenses, I'll be able to wipe out the rest of your Life Points on my next turn."
"That's what you think," Rio suddenly smiled.
"Huh?" Sawatari raised an eyebrow.
"I'll admit, you're definitely a lot more skilled than I gave you credit for when we first met," Rio said. "But even though you are skilled, you forgot one thing."
"And that is?"
"The result of a duel is never set in stone."
Rio then revealed the only card remaining in her hand and played it.
"I activate the Quick-Play-Spell, Crystal Fury!" Rio declared. "By tributing one WATER Monster on my field, I can target 1 monster on your field and destroy it!"
"But what's the point in that—?" Sawatari wondered aloud before pausing, his eyes widening in realization. "Wait…"
Rio smirked.
"That's right, I activate Crystal Winged Frost Dragon's effect once again! By detaching another Overlay Unit, I can prevent one instance of its destruction!"
Crystal Winged Frost Dragon absorbs its remaining Overlay Unit, soaring into the air and shooting a beam of ice at Yosenju Oyam, freezing the monster completely and causing it to burst into particles.
(Crystal Winged Frost Dragon — OU: 1 → 0)
"Furthermore, when Crystal Winged Frost Dragon has no Overlay Units attached to it, it gains 500 ATK, as well as an additional attack during the Battle Phase!"
"What!?" Sawatari cried out in shock.
Crystal Winged Frost Dragon lets out a deafening roar as its entire body begins to glow.
(Crystal Winged Frost Dragon — ATK: 2500 → 3000)
"This is the end!" Rio extended her hand forward. "Crystal Winged Frost Dragon attacks you directly! Crystalline Judgement!"
Crystal Winged Frost Dragon uses its power to form a massive spear of ice, sending it towards Sawatari. The attack lands right in front of him, exploding upon contact with the ground and sending him flying away, concluding the duel.
Sawatari — LP: 2600 → 0
Winner: Rio
—Clap… Clap… Clap! Clap! Clap!
As Crystal Winged Frost Dragon dematerialized, the crowd that had formed around their duel began clapping.
"That was incredible!"
"You both did amazing!"
"What an incredible duel!"
Sawatari was a bit surprised by their praise, dusting himself off as he managed to get back on his feet. Rio approached him.
"What are you doing looking so confused?" Rio asked with a smile. "You should wave back at the crowd when they cheer for you."
"They are?"
"Do you need to get your ears checked or something? Yes, they're cheering for both of us. It would be rude if were didn't respond to them."
"R-Right," Sawatari nodded before turning to the crowd of people.
As he saw all of their happy expression, he felt his heart warm up with pride. It was at this moment that he confirmed the feelings he felt after his duel against Yuya weren't just him being delusional. Entertaining the crowd, having other people smile because of him. That was what he wanted.
"Thank you, thank you. I'm glad you guys enjoyed our duel," Sawatari addressed the crowd with a smile.
A while later, after speaking with the crowd for around an hour, they finally dispersed.
Rio fell to the ground, letting out a deep sigh.
"That took forever. I don't get how people like you can deal with all of them at once," Rio commented.
"Come on, it's not that bad," Sawatari said.
"Unlike you, I don't like being the center of everybody's attention," Rio rolled her eyes.
"Then I'm sure glad I'm not you, then," Sawatari smiled.
"Sometimes I don't want to be me either…" Rio muttered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
Rio then stood back up, patting down her clothes before turning back to Sawatari.
"Now that you're feeling better, take me to this Akaba Reiji you were talking about," Rio said. "I still need to make sure that Shun is doing alright."
Especially since I haven't heard from Yuto in a while. Rio thought. He might have an idea of where he is.
"..." Sawatari silently stared at her.
"U-Um…that is if you can do that," Rio corrected herself. "If not, that's fine too. I'll figure something."
"No, I'll help you," Sawatari shook his head before pointing at himself triumphantly. "I actually happen to be incredibly close to Akaba Reiji. If there's anybody in this world who can get you a meeting with him, it's me."
Rio sweatdropped at Sawatari's boast, "Why do I feel like that's a lie?"
"I'm just going to ignore that," Sawatari said as he began walking away. "Let's get going. Akaba Reiji and I are busy people, so there's no time to waste."
You were just sulking on a bench alone like 2 hours ago.
Rio thought with an exasperated expression before chasing after him.
Meanwhile, in the Fusion Dimension…
"Let me go!" Sora lashed out as he tried to escape from the scientists who were binding him down.
"Stand still, we're still trying to make a copy of your memories, Shiunin Sora." One of the scientists stated.
"There's no time for that!" Sora shouted. "I still have unfinished back in Standard! There are still Xyz Refugees running around over there! I swear I'll defeat them this time until there's nothing left of them!"
Sora tried to force himself out of their hold, forcing more scientists to hold him down.
"Hold him still! I'll inject some anesthesia into him to calm him down!"
"Right!"
"Let me go! I SAID LET ME GO!"
While Sora was locked in an altercation with the scientists, a certain young woman eavesdropped from the outside in the shadows. She had long lavender hair, which was tied into a ponytail by a yellow bow. As for what she was wearing, she wore a standard red uniform, given out to lower-ranking students from Academia.
"Xyz Refugees?" The young woman smirked. "This is just perfect."
She began walking away, moving into a more lit area, which lit up her other features. Two key features are a certain bracelet and the fact that her face looked identical to Hirragi Yuzu.
"I'll take down those Xyz Refugees before anyone else," The Yuzu lookalike declared with a determined expression. "I'll prove to the Professor that I'm worthy of being on the front lines."
What she didn't know was that there was someone else who was nearby, overhearing her.
"Akaba Serena, the Professor's adopted daughter, is planning to disobey her father's orders of staying put…" Ryouga muttered before shrugging. "Eh? Not my problem."
He begins walking in the opposite direction, a grin present on his face as he does so.
Meanwhile, in the Standard Dimension…
It was currently nighttime. Yuga could be seen on a balcony, looking at a beautiful view of Maiami City at dusk. The young man was currently deep in thought about something.
"That day, I lost control of myself again…" Yuga frowned. "It felt much different than any other time I lost control."
He heard a voice. One that repeated constantly in his mind until it made him mad.
"To become one…" Yuga muttered. "What does that even mean?"
He needed answers, and soon.
"Maybe I should have a chat with them. Haruki Yuuji and Sakaki Yuya."
From what he heard from Shizuka, they happened to be present during that incident, and lost control of themselves just like he did.
Luckily for Yuga, that time would be very soon.
He pressed a few buttons on his duel disk, taking a look at his upcoming match.
Maiami Championships Round 2:
Junior Youth Match 12:
Ibarahana Yuga vs Sakaki Yuya
It looks like Akaba Reiji decided to hold up his side of the deal after all. Yuga smiled.
"There you are!" Shizuka suddenly shouted, startling Yuga a bit. "What are you doing out here this late?"
"I…was thinking," Yuga answered before shutting of his duel disk. "What about you?"
"I wanted to check up on you before I call it a day," Shizuka said as she put her hands on her hips. "I can't leave you out of my sight for more than an hour without you causing trouble after all."
"Mhm…" Yuga just agreed.
Shizuka frowned, "You still thinking about what happened yesterday?"
"Yeah," Yuga nodded. "I…just have a bit of a bad feeling about it."
Shizuka walked up onto the balcony, leaning against the edge of it and looking out towards the city.
"You can always confide in me about your troubles," Shizuka smiled at him. "We're best friends. Just like how you always have my back, I always have yours."
"..." Yuga silently smiled at her before looking out towards the city. The two share a moment of silence in each other's company before Yuga eventually speaks up again. "I'm scared."
Shizuka's eyes widened in surprise. "Scared? You? That's a first. You weren't even scared when Academia invaded our homeworld."
"It's different this time," Yuga said. "I'm not scared of someone or something else. I'm…scared of myself. Of what I might become."
"..."
"I've been losing control of myself a lot more recently. While I haven't done anything bad yet, I'm worried that I'll eventually go too far and hurt someone, or even worse, hurt you."
"Yuga…"
"I originally thought it was just a trauma response caused by Academia's invasion, but after what happened yesterday, I feel like there's more to it than that."
Yuga grimaced as he clenched his fists.
"And that's what scares me. Who knows how far I could go? I might be fine now, but what about tomorrow? In a week? A month—?"
Yuga was cut off when he felt arms wrap around him. When he looked to see what caused it, he noticed Shizuka, who hugged him tightly.
"You don't have to worry about that. You're a good person. Even if you do have some darkness within your heart, as long as you fight like the Yuga I know, you'll be able to overcome it."
"..."
"And you are not fighting alone. I, along with the rest of the people from our homeworld, are fighting with you," Shizuka reassured him.
"..." Yuga was silent for a moment. A small smile then crept up on his face. "You're right. I'll be fine. Thanks for the pep talk."
Shizuka released Yuga from her hug, backing away slightly and smiling at him.
"No problem. Anytime."
She then let out a long yawn.
"Well, I'll be going to sleep. Don't stay up too long, 'kay~!"
"Right." Yuga smiled back at her. "Goodnight, Shizuka."
"Goodnight, Yuga."
Shizuka made her way back inside, presumably going straight to bed. Once she was out of sight, Yuga's smile faded.
"I just hope you're right…" Yuga muttered.
He went back inside as well, deciding to put his own thoughts on pause for now.
Custom/Altered Card/s:
Monster Card/s -
Yosenju Magat
ATK: 2000, DEF: 100, LV: 6
Wind/Beast/Effect
Monster Effect: If this card would be Normal Summoned by "Yosenju Kama 1, 2, or 3's" effects; you can Normal Summon this monster without the need for a tribute. If this card is Normal Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 "Yosenju" monster from your Deck, except "Yosenju Magat". During the End Phase, if this card was Special Summoned this turn: Return it to the hand.
Crystal Mimic Bird
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 1
Water/Winged-Beast/Effect
Monster Effect: You can target 1 WATER Monster in your Graveyard; this card gains that monster's effect until the End Phase, then immediately resolves that effect as if it were this card's own. Send this card to the graveyard immediately after its effect resolves. This effect of "Crystal Mimic Bird" can only be used once per turn.
Crystal Winged Frost Dragon
ATK: 2500, DEF: 3000, R: 5
Water/Dragon/Xyz/Effect
3 Level 5 Monsters
Monster Effect: If this face-up card would be destroyed (by battle or card effect), you can detach 1 material from it instead. While this card has no Xyz Materials, it gains 500 ATK, and it can make a second attack during each Battle Phase.
Spell/Trap Card/s -
Hydro Spiral
Counter Trap
When a card or effect is activated during the Battle Phase: Special Summon 1 WATER monster from your Graveyard in Defense Position.
Card Exchange
Normal Spell
Discard 1 card, then pay half your Life Points; draw 2 cards.
Crystal Fury
Quick-Play-Spell
Tribute 1 WATER Monster you control; target 1 monster your opponent controls, and destroy it.
Edit #2: Altered Yosenju Magat's effect (Shown in the Custom/Altered Card's section) to fix a dueling error (thank you Xenvic for informing me).
Finally done with this chapter. I'm honestly surprised at how well this turned out. The hardest part of this chapter was scripting out the duel itself (thank goodness I don't have to write a duel with Yosenju ever again, that deck is a pain to script a duel for). Everything else, from writing the duel itself to the different scenes I had planned out for the chapter, was surprisingly easy for me to write.
Granted, the duel mechanics were rather simple, but there's not much I can do about that, since while I've been including Custom Cards in Rio's deck to supplement it (since her Zexal deck is way too outdated for Arc-V duels), there's isn't a set archetype that her deck focuses on, so it's sort of hard to give her a completely cohesive strategy. But I'll try and figure it out (I'm open to suggestions on how to do so).
On the topic of the next chapter, as hinted at the end of the chapter, there will be a duel between Yuya and Yuga (as well as a shorter Yuuji duel since Yuya vs Yuga will be the main event). I was originally planning on having Yuuji and Yuga duke it out in the second round, but I realized that my readers will probably be tired if I keep shoving only Yuuji duels down their throats (also removed that scene from the opening in Chapter 12).
In total, excluding the next chapter, I only see Yuuji having like 5-6 more important duels for the rest of the arc (which will probably be around 10 to 20 chapters, give or take). So you can probably guess that I plan on having plenty of other characters duke it out.
I don't plan on spoiling much else. If the next chapter is out, go read that. If not, have a nice day!
Chapter 16: A Battle Against a Familiar Face
Chapter Text
Edit #1: 16/17 Chapters Revamped.
Chapter 16 is here!
This'll be a long one, so strap in for it. Two duels plus a lot of plot. I won't be wasting your time here, though. It'll definitely be a chapter worth rereading just to be able to digest it all. Let's get right into it.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Minor Spelling, Grammar, and Other Mistakes May Be Present. Huge chapter so I'll definitely miss some of them even after reading over it.
[Maiami Championship Arc Opening Theme (Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Opening 2: Burn)]
Scale 016: A Battle Against a Familiar Face
Two days later…
Yuzu could be seen walking alone with a bag of groceries, a solemn expression present on her face.
It's been three days since that day, and yet they still haven't woken up. Yuzu thought. Could they be…
No, they couldn't be. They were still breathing, so they had to still be alive.
…
But that didn't make her any less worried.
"What happened on that day to make them like this?" Yuzu wondered aloud.
If that wasn't enough, Sora had also gone missing. Things were spiraling out of her control, and she just wasn't sure about what she should, or even could, do about it.
Yuzu stopped walking, arriving at the Sakaki Household. She knocked on the door a few times. Shortly after, Sakaki Yoko, a tall blond woman and Yuya's mother, opened the door to let her in. After Yuzu helped Yoko put the groceries away, the two of them made their way to Yuya's room.
Upon entering, one could see Yuya resting on his bed, while Yuuji could be seen resting on a mattress that was placed on the ground nearby.
"Nothing about them has changed since yesterday," Yoko stated. "They're still in a deep coma."
"..." Yuzu clenched her fists. "What if they never wake up—?"
Yoko suddenly grabbed Yuzu's shoulders, holding her still.
"Don't think like that. The sooner you lose hope in them; the worse things will be."
"...But what else can we do? Nothing we've done has worked."
"All we can do is wait," Yoko said. "And maybe, eventually they'll just magically wake up as if nothing had happened."
As if it planned by god himself, both Yuya and Yuuji rise up from where they were sleeping, fully conscious.
"*Yawn* I don't think I've slept that good in a while," Yuuji said as he stretched his arms. When he looked around, he noticed that he was in an unfamiliar setting. "Huh? Where am I?"
"I'm…back home?" Yuya said in a daze. "How long have I been out?"
[...] Yuzu and Yoko both look at each other, blinking silently before shouting. [Ehh!?]
"You're telling me we've been out for three days?" Yuuji's looked surprised. "Damn…no wonder I don't feel tired."
"Yeah. You both were in a deep sleep," Yoko nodded. "Though it's only natural. You both had be working hard even before the tournament, so it make sense why you might be tired."
"Even so, three days is a long time to be sleeping," Yuya said before he realized something. "Wait? Doesn't that mean we might've missed our upcoming matches?"
"No, you haven't," Yuzu shook her head. "The second round has only recently started today, and you both have matches near the end of it."
"That's good to hear," Yuuji let out a breath of a relief. "I don't know what I would've done if I got myself disqualified because I was stuck in a coma for too long."
Yuuji then tried to stand up but stopped as he felt a sharp pain from both his back and his left arm.
"Ow, ow, ow!" Yuuji quickly sat back down.
"You should rest some more Yuuji," Yuzu suggested. "From your first-round match to what happened three days ago, your body has gone through a lot."
"I-I'm fine, t-trust me," Yuuji reassured them as he tried to stand up again, this time managing to do so. "Yoko-san has already helped me out too much by letting me recover here, I don't want to leech off her anymore than I have to."
"Oh, don't be like that," Yoko smiled. "Any friend of Yuya is always welcome here."
"You heard her," Yuzu said before putting her hands on Yuuji's shoulder's and pushing him back onto the mattress. "You need to rest."
"Ow! Fine!" Yuuji hissed in pain as he rubbed his left shoulder.
"Besides, I still want to know what happened that day," Yuzu said. "What happened to Sora? Did you guys find him? Why did both of you fall into a coma?"
[...] Both Yuya and Yuuji were silent.
"What's wrong? Why won't you guys say anything?" Yuzu asked.
"I'm not too sure myself," Yuya replied. "My memory is kind of hazy."
"C'mon, you have to remember something," Yuzu frowned.
There was a slight moment of silence until Yuuji decided to speak up.
"Well for starters, we saw Yuto, along with another guy who looked like us," Yuuji explained.
"Oh yeah," That seemed to jog Yuya's memory. "I was talking with Yuto, and a bright green light filled the area. When we looked to see what it was, that guy suddenly appeared riding on some kind of motorcycle."
"A Duel Runner to be more precise," Yuuji corrected.
"A Duel what?" Yuya raised an eyebrow.
"It's basically just a motorcycle specialized for dueling," Yuuji explained. "My mentor happened to own one, so that's why I know of it."
"A motorcycle specialized for dueling?" Yuzu was surprised. "Never heard of that before."
"That does sound pretty cool, now that I think of it," Yuya commented.
"I know right," Yuuji agreed. "She told me that back where she's from, duels were mainly conducted on Duel Runners."
"So, if what your mentor said was true, that means that this Yuya lookalike probably came from where she's from," Yoko said.
"That's possible, but I can't really confirm it until I have a real conversation with him," Yuuji stated. "Our first encounter…wasn't really that pleasant."
"I heard Yuto call him a 'Pawn of Fusion'. But then the lookalike got mad at being called that and said his name was Yugo or something," Yuya said. "After that, the two of them began dueling. As for what happened during the duel, I can't remember any of it."
"I showed up in the middle of their duel. By that point, the two of them, along with Yuya who was off to the side, looked completely possessed." Yuuji chimed in. "But then I blacked out for a moment. And when I came to, I was suddenly dueling against then."
"Possessed?" Now this was something Yuya wasn't aware of.
"Yeah, it's almost like the three of you were taken over by some malevolent spirit," Yuuji explained. "I'm not sure how else to explain it."
[...] Yoko and Yuzu glance at each other, not sure how to digest the information.
"That's concerning…" Yuya commented before continuing. "As for Sora's whereabouts, Yuto told me that he went home."
"Home? To where?" Yuzu asked.
"Academia," Yuya said, shocking both Yuzu and Yuuji. "In the Fusion Dimension."
"Fusion Dimension?" Yuzu raised an eyebrow.
"Yuto told me that there were five dimensions," Yuya began explaining. "Standard is where we live right now. Along with it, there's an Xyz, Synchro, Ritual, and Fusion Dimension."
"This is sounding much more serious than I thought," Yoko commented, completely lost. "I'll go make some breakfast while you guys talk about…that."
Yoko left the room, leaving the three of them alone to talk about the recent revelation.
"Yuto also told me that this Academia invaded his homeworld, the Xyz Dimension," Yuya continued explaining. "They…treated it like a hunting game, turning people into cards."
"Turning people into cards?" Yuzu's face turned blue. "That's horrible."
"Yuto said that they kidnapped someone important to them. A girl named Ruri," Yuya added. "That's also the main reason why they came here into our dimension in the first place, to find her."
"Ruri?" Yuzu recognized the name. "That's what Shun called me when I first encountered him."
"..." Yuuji was silent for a moment, as if his brain was computing all of his recently acquired information in real time. "Wait, I think I'm starting to figure something out."
"What did you figure out?" Yuya asked.
"I think I know why there are multiple people who look like us," Yuuji answered. "There are five dimensions, right? Yuto uses Xyz and is from the Xyz Dimension. Yugo, the guy on a Duel Runner, is probably from the Synchro Dimension due to him making use of a Synchro Monster. That also means there's probably a lookalike of us from the Ritual and the Fusion Dimension."
"What about you and me?" Yuya asked. "That would make six lookalikes and five dimensions, that doesn't add up."
"Damn, that's a good point," Yuuji rubbed his chin. "But it's probably just because one of us is an extra, or there just happens to be two of us in the same place."
Yuuji then turned to Yuzu.
"Shun confused you for this Ruri girl, right?" Yuuji asked. "If that's the case, then maybe just like us, you might have lookalikes from other dimensions as well."
"...That sounds unlikely," Yuzu frowned.
"It's just a guess," Yuuji shrugged. "If it happened to us, who's to say it can't happen to you too?"
"I guess that's true."
"More importantly, whatever's going on goes a lot deeper than we could've ever imagined," Yuuji continued. "Like Sora being from this Academia, who from what Yuto said, invaded and wiped out their entire homeland, killing most of their residents."
"Killing? But they're just being turned into cards, right?" Yuya asked. "They're not dead."
"You probably think that because you haven't seen somebody get turned into a card," Yuuji said. "It happens in the blink of an eye. A blinding, purple light is emitted from a duel disk. When the light dies down and you can see again, you don't see a person there anymore, but a card, with the expression of their last moments engraved into it."
Yuya and Yuzu's faces turned blue.
"There's no coming back from it unless the person who traps you lets you free," Yuuji continued. "And that's if they're even able to reverse it in the first place. The perfect way to silence somebody indefinitely."
"Academia turned the people of the Xyz Dimension into cards…" Yuzu muttered. "And if Sora is from there, that means…"
"...He's probably turned people into cards too," Yuuji finished her thought. "Now that I think about it, that's probably why I felt like he held back during our duel. It would be stupid for a spy to reveal themselves by going all out."
Ryouga must also be a part of Academia too then, since Yuto did mention Academia when he dueled him. Yuuji thought. Which also means…
…if Yuto didn't step in, Yuuji would've been sealed into a card.
Yuuji felt his body begin to shake, a chill coursing through his veins at the thought.
I was so close to dying, and I didn't even realize it. Yuuji's face turned blue, his breathing quickening the more he thought about it. To make things worse, I was completely powerless to stop it.
He was powerless. Completely powerless to change his own fate. Just like when his father—
"—That can't be true!" Yuya shouted, bringing Yuuji back to reality. "Sora isn't like that at all! He's our friend. We've all seen him, right? That guy couldn't even hurt a fly."
"The Sora we've befriended isn't the real Sora," Yuuji stated. "He's just a persona that Sora adopted to blend in with us."
"So, you're just going to believe what other people said about our close friend?" Yuya frowned. "Some friend you are."
"Yeah. I am. Because I'm not as naive as you." Yuuji frowned back. "Everything we know points to Sora being two-faced. From him holding back against us, his duel against Shun, and the fact that he's from an organization who wiped out an entire dimension of inhabitants. All of these factors point to him not being the person we thought he was."
Yuuji then scoffed.
"Besides, we haven't even known Sora for that long, he can't be considered a close friend," Yuuji commented.
"You guys, stop fighting," Yuzu tried to say something, but the two didn't even pay her any mind, continuing their argument.
"I could say the same thing about you then, Yuuji," Yuya retorted. "We've only known you a week longer than we've known Sora. If what you're saying is true, we can't be close friends either!"
"And you would be right, we aren't," Yuuji bluntly said. "I don't remember ever saying we were."
"What did you say?" This set Yuya off.
"You heard me," Yuuji doubled down. "I thought it was obvious."
"You supported You Show in its time of need," Yuya clenched his fists. "You taught us new ways to duel. You laughed with us. And you're saying that it doesn't make us close friends."
"Yeah, it doesn't," Yuuji stood up from the mattress, ignoring the pain as he glared at Yuya. "Tell me. Do you even know anything about me?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"I mean do you even know anything at all?" Yuuji asked. "My past. Where I'm from. Or even what foods I like."
"Of course I do," Yuya said. "Your father was the one who gave you your deck. You moved from…uhh…you moved…you moved to Maiami City to find more opportunities to duel. You have a mentor…who has a Duel Runner. Your favorite food is…uhhh."
"See what I mean?" Yuuji frowned. "You barely know anything about me, like I barely know anything about you. I'm sure you barely know anything about Sora too. How can we be close friends if you don't even know me as a person."
"..." Yuya was silent for a moment. "Okay…you got me there. But can you blame me? You've barely opened up about yourself!"
"Oh, so you're shifting the blame onto me now?" Yuuji raised an eyebrow. "You can't blame me for what's your fault. If you wanted to get to know me more, all you had to do was ask. Where are you from? Can you tell me more about your father? What's your favorite food? But no, you didn't. You didn't ask a single question."
"You could've asked me the same questions too," Yuya frowned.
"But I didn't, because I didn't really want to know," Yuuji admitted. "It's definitely a flaw of mine, my apathy. I don't care enough to form deep, meaningful bonds with other people. The most I can maintain is a base level friendship."
"..."
"Thinking about it now, that's probably why I had no friends in the first place," Yuuji commented before shrugging. "I struggle to express my own feelings to other people."
Yuuji picked up his duel disk, which was placed on a desk next to Yuya's duel disk. He then turned around, walking towards the door to the room, only stopping right before he left the room.
"I'm done talking," Yuuji stated. "If you want to discuss more about the Sora matter, discard your naive preconceptions. Otherwise, we have nothing more to discuss."
Yuuji shut the door behind him, leaving Yuya and Yuzu, who was in deep thought, alone.
"That jerk…" Yuya clenched his fists. "Who the hell does he think he is?" Yuya then turned to Yuzu. "You agree with me, right Yuzu?"
"...Huh?" Yuzu was startled by Yuya suddenly addressing her. "Oh…uhm…yeah? Maybe…?"
"Don't tell me you agree with him too," Yuya frowned.
"It's not that. I'm sure he's not completely correct about Sora, otherwise why would he agree to genuinely teach me Fusion Summoning," Yuzu explained herself. "But…he's also right about us not being close friends too. We may be friends with them, but it's not like we've gotten the chance to really get to know them."
Yuzu pulled out her deck from her pocket, pulling Polymerization from it.
"We especially don't know much about Sora," Yuzu said as she stared into the card. "At least Yuuji told us something about his past, even if it was barely anything. Sora has always been very secretive and has basically told us nothing about him."
"..." Yuya was silent.
"If what Yuto had said was true, Sora definitely supports whatever this Academia group is doing," Yuzu continued. "And that comes with the implications that he's either participated in or is complicent in Academia's invasion of Yuto's homeworld."
"..." Yuya placed his goggles over his eyes.
Seeing that her words weren't doing much to reach Yuya, Yuzu sighed.
"Well, I'll give you some space to digest your thoughts. Everything that has happened is honestly so confusing, and I'm still not sure of how to process any of it."
"..."
Yuzu makes her way to the door, opening it. She pauses, taking one last glance at Yuya before walking out.
A few hours later…
Yuuji could be seen back at his hotel, lying flat on his bed as he stared up at the ceiling. His mind was completely fixated on his recent fight against Yuya.
Yuuji covered his face with his hands.
"Dammit, why did I even say that to him?"
While what Yuya said was very naive, it's not like he had bad intentions. He just was going about things the wrong way.
But somehow, the whole conversation devolved to them arguing about their friendship.
"This is why I avoided making friends in the first place. To avoid the trouble of maintaining it."
…
But at the same time, I feel like this is just my fault. Yuuji thought. I could've opened up to him about myself. I could've asked more questions about him to get to know him. But I didn't.
…
"Thinking back on it, maybe what I said back there wasn't true…" Yuuji muttered. "I just blamed it on my apathy and called it a day when that really isn't the case at all. I do want to develop deep emotional connections with people."
And he knows exactly how he should go about it to do so. So why doesn't he?
I've just established that I do care. So why? Yuuji wondered.
For some reason, an answer to the question just wouldn't appear in his head.
…
"I need to take a walk."
Yuuji grabbed his duel disk and deck before storming out of his room.
A while later, Yuuji could be seen exploring the city. Shortly into his walk, he realized that he hasn't been doing much exploring recently, due to him being so laser focused on trying to qualify for the tournament.
It's moments like these that make me appreciate living. Yuuji thought with a smile.
"Yo bro, did you see that recent tournament match today?"
"Yeah man, that was insane. I knew LDS was strong after Kurosaki Shun and Ibarahana Yuga's matches, but I didn't know they had female duelists who were just as good."
"Maybe I need to try and get me and my girlfriend into LDS."
Yuuji sweatdropped a bit at their discussion.
I mean, I already knew it. But it sounds like there are definitely a bunch of threats coming from LDS. Yuuji thought as he pressed a few buttons on his duel disk, bringing up a certain screen.
Maiami Championships Round 2:
Junior Youth Match 10:
Haruki Yuuji vs Shijima Hokuto
Shijima Hokuto was definitely going to be a challenge, since he even made Yuya struggle during their duel.
Hmm. Thinking about it now, it would probably be more productive if I fixed up my deck a bit before my match tomorrow. Yuuji thought. But I still can't get my mind off that argument.
Yuuji randomly stopped at a bench, taking a seat. He was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice that there was another person on the bench with him.
"I'm not even pissed off at Yuya anymore. I'm more pissed off at myself…" Yuuji muttered.
"Been there before," A feminine voice suddenly said, startling Yuuji.
When he looked to see where the voice came from, he noticed a young woman around his age (possibly a little older), smiling at him. She had long, golden brown hair, and had yellow highlights on her bangs. As for the clothes she wore, wore a white T-shirt with a white and blue coat. She wore a long yellow skirt which reached barely past her knees. On the back of her coat was the logo of the Leo Duel School.
"Oh…uh, sorry about that," Yuuji apologized, blushing a little from being embarrassed. "I tend to just say some of my thoughts aloud."
"No need to be sorry, I tend to do it sometimes," She reassured him before introducing herself. "I'm Sawatari Haruka by the way. It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, Sawatari-san," Yuuji politely returned the greeting until he paused, realizing something. "Wait? Did you just say Sawatari?"
"Yup," Haruka nodded.
"S-So. That means you're his sister? Like actually?"
"You know little Shingo?" Haruka smiled. "I'm surprised to actually meet somebody he knows. He rarely ever tells me stuff that goes on in his life."
"It's a small world," Yuuji commented before remembering. "Oh right, I almost forgot to introduce myself back, Sawatari-san. I'm—"
"—Haruki Yuuji, right?" Haruka finished his sentence. "And there's no need to be so formal with me, just call me Haruka."
"Okay…Haruka. How do you know about me?" Yuuji asked.
"It would be stupid if I didn't know you." Haruka chuckled slightly. "You, along with my brother and Sakaki Yuya, have been the main talk these past few days," Haruka explained. "As if Pendulum Summoning wasn't already the hot topic these days, you three managed to triple the amount of hype for it."
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Yuuji sighed. "Damn, this was one of the reasons why I wanted to keep it a secret in the first place."
"I don't see why you need to hide it," Haruka said. "I mean, people have been talking non-stop about your match against Kurogane Shouma in the first round. That final Fusion Summon into a one-turn kill while only having 1 Life Point remaining was incredible."
"Oh, uh…thanks," Yuuji wasn't sure how to take the compliment.
"No problem," Haruka smiled before leaning in. "Ever since that match, I've wanted to have a chat to learn more about you. To learn more about this mysterious Pendulum User."
"..." Yuuji just silently blinked at her, completely at a loss for words.
"Anyway…" Haruka backed away from him. "I can tell from that earlier mutter that you have a lot on your mind. Do you need someone who'll listen?"
"Only if you won't laugh," Yuuji said. "If you do, I'll knock you out."
"And risk getting kicked out of the tournament?" Haruka asked. "As you probably know, I actually happen to be the daughter of a pretty powerful man in this city. If you get caught laying a hand on me, you might get your dueling license revoked permanently, or worse."
"Oh no, scary~. As if I'm scared of the law," Yuuji rolled his eyes before looking at her seriously. "Do you promise or not?"
Wait? Why am I even thinking about entertaining her? Yuuji thought. I don't even know her, why am I trying to confide in her right now?
"You have my word, I promise," Haruka said.
…
Ah, what the hell? What's the worst that can happen? If she's willing to listen a little, who am I to turn her down?
"..." Yuuji was silent for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "I'm not going to waste too much of our time. I just want to ask you one question."
"What is it?"
"I'm feeling a little lost. I've already figured out that deep down, I want to make deep connections with people. I already know what I need to do to achieve that," Yuuji explained. "But…I don't. I don't even try, and I can't find out why?"
"..." Haruka was silent for a moment, seemingly deep in thought. Once she put the pieces together, she snapped her fingers. "Sounds like you're just scared."
"I'm…scared?" Yuuji raised an eyebrow. That was not the answer he was expecting at all.
"You want to form deeper relations with people, but for some reason you can't. I've felt that way before," Haruka explained. "You must've lost quite a few important people throughout the course of your life, huh? You're probably scared of forming new connections with people because you think you'll end up losing them. In order to avoid this, you end up distancing yourself from people, so you don't get hurt when they do leave your life."
"...You actually might be right," Yuuji was surprised by her deep analysis. "But how do I overcome this fear?"
"You have to get uncomfortable," Haruka replied. "Get out of your comfort zone and actually communicate with people. There's not much else to it."
"..." Yuuji fell into deep thought.
Get out of my comfort zone, huh? Yuuji thought. Yeah, that could work.
Yuuji stood up, a smile forming on his face as he did.
"Thanks, Haruka," Yuuji thanked her. "I don't think I would've been able to figure this out without you."
"No problem," Haruka smiled. "I can't let any of my potential opponents fizzle out before I get to them after all."
"Potential opponents?" Yuuji raised an eyebrow before realizing. "Wait, that means…"
"I'm also a participant in the Maiami Championships," Haruka revealed. "I guess that calls for a more formal introduction then."
She turned around, pointing to the LDS logo on the back of her coat.
"I'm Sawatari Haruka, the daughter of this city's future mayor, and an LDS Student dual-enrolled in the Xyz and Fusion Course," Haruka introduced herself. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"You definitely rehearsed that line a lot."
"Caught me," Haruka smiled before pointing at him. "Why don't you try and introduce yourself like that?"
"I pass," Yuuji rejected the idea.
"Aw, you're no fun," Haruka pouted.
—Ring! Ring! Ring!
Haruka's phone suddenly began ringing. She pulled it out from her pocket and answered it. Yuuji couldn't quite hear what they were saying, but it wasn't like he cared enough to eavesdrop anyway. A small frown formed on Haruka's face as she ended the call.
"There goes my manager once again ruining my mood," Haruka sighed. "I have to go."
She began walking past Yuuji, only stopping for a moment to say one last thing.
"It was nice meeting you, Haruki Yuuji. I hope to see you in the third round of the tournament."
"Likewise," Yuuji replied as Haruka walked away. Once she was out of viewing distance, Yuuji began walking the opposite way.
I'll try and talk to Yuya about this after both of our matches tomorrow. Yuuji decided.
The next day…
Yuuji could be seen walking through a dark corridor alone, a determined expression present on his face. As he exited the hallway, he was stopped by security personnel who did a quick check on his identity before letting him walk onto the arena. As he did so, he almost went deaf as he heard the deafening roars of the crowd.
Haruka wasn't kidding. This is ludicrous. Yuuji sweatdropped.
Yuuji came to a stop, staring down his opponent who was already present at the arena.
"It looks like fate wasn't really on my side, pitting me up against you of all people so soon, Haruki Yuuji," Hokuto addressed him with a smile. "I was planning on testing out my new strength against Sakaki Yuya, but you'll do just fine."
"Oh, so you're not looking down on me," Yuuji raised an eyebrow. "I thought you would try and use that superiority complex of yours to look down on me."
"I can't underestimate you when I watched you defeat Akaba Reiji of all people in front of my eyes," Hokuto said with a serious expression.
"Well that's good," Yuuji smiled. "It means that we can have an actual fun duel then."
"Both duelists look like they're ready for battle!" Nico Smiley announced. "Which means, it's time to choose an Action Field for their bout!"
The giant Field Spell Card above the arena began spinning a few times before eventually coming to a stop. Nico Smiley announced the results.
"Action Field, on!" Nico Smiley exclaimed. "The wonderful Action Field that these two duelists will duke it out in is—Starlight Battleground!"
The Real Solid Vision Machine began glowing as it transformed the surroundings of the arena. Yuuji and Hokuto found themselves on a singular island which floated in the middle of the cold cosmos. Old monuments of various shapes filled the area.
Meanwhile…
"Hey, have any of you guys seen Yuya," Gongenzaka suddenly asked the group.
"He said that he wanted to prepare for his match, that's all he told me," Yuzu said, though it was obvious to others looking at her conflicted expression that someone was amiss.
"That doesn't sound like him at all," Gongenzaka was surprised to hear this.
"Yeah…" Yuzu simply muttered. She decided to not tell the others about what happened earlier, as to try and not make them worry as much.
Elsewhere…
Shun could be seen silently observing the upcoming duel from his vantage point near the top of the stadium. Nearby, a pink-haired youth wearing a black mask could be seen observing with him.
Shun raised an eyebrow to the youth, addressing him.
"Shouldn't you be preparing for your upcoming match?" Shun asked.
"Why would I miss the chance to watch this duel?" The pink-haired youth took off his mask, revealing himself to be Yuga (oh wow, who would've guessed). "This guy, along with Sakaki Yuya were the main reasons why I even joined this tournament in the first place, remember?"
"I tend to ignore things that don't concern me," Shun stated. "And besides, I don't trust this guy in the slightest. I don't get why Akaba Reiji has such high hopes for him. Especially when he made use of that detestable Fusion Summoning last round."
Yuga dropped his enthusiastic look for a second, adopting a more serious expression.
"You think he might be a spy from Academia?" Yuga proposed.
"Possibly," Shun responded. "Though, unlike Shiunin Sora, Akaba hasn't said anything about him being a potential Academia agent, so I can't guarantee it."
"Well if that's the case, there's probably nothing to worry about," Yuga shrugged. "Let's just watch the match and do our job."
"..." Shun stared at him for a moment before looking back at the arena. "Fine with me."
Back in the arena…
This Action Field is rather open. It'll be hard for either one of us to hide from each other's attacks. Yuuji thought before smiling. This'll be fun.
After assessing his surroundings, Yuuji began to Action Duel Chant.
"Duelists locked in battle!"
Hokuto continued the chant.
"Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!"
"They storm through this field!"
"Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling!"
[Action—!] The two activate their duel disks.
[DUEL!]
Action Cards were dispersed around the arena as the duel began.
Yuuji — LP: 4000
Hokuto — LP: 4000
[Turn 1: Hokuto] [H: 5]
"I'll take the first turn!" Hokuto declared. "I summon Constellar Pollux (Light/Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1700/DEF: 600/LV: 4)!"
A massive warrior wearing white and gold armor, with a white cape flowing behind it appeared.
"When Constellar Pollux is summoned, I can Normal Summon another 'Constellar' Monster to my field!" Hokuto announced. "Appear, Constellar Kaus (Light/Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1700/DEF: 600/LV: 4)!"
This time, an armored centaur holding a bow and arrow in its hand appeared.
"Next up, Tellarknight Lyran's effect activates!" Hokuto declared. "When a 'Constellar' Monster is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon this card from my hand!"
An armored warrior wearing a silver, armored cloak appeared, brandishing a fencing sabre.
[Tellarknight Lyran (Light/Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1200/DEF: 1600/LV: 4)]
"Tellarknight? But didn't you just use 'Constellar' Monsters before?" Yuuji's eyes widened in surprise.
"After my loss against Sakaki, I decided to change a few things," Hokuto explained. "I refuse to face such a humiliation ever again."
Makes sense. Yuuji thought. Though, it's probably not too far of a stretch to believe that he has some anti-Pendulum tactics in his deck now. I should be careful.
"Tellarknight Lyran's effect activates upon its summon!" Hokuto continued. "I can add 1 'tellarknight' card to my hand from my deck! I add Constellar Tellarknights to my hand!"
Hokuto added a card to his hand. He then took a moment to organize his cards before making his next move.
"When I control a 'Constellar' Monster, I can also Special Summon Constellar Caduceus (Light/Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1550/LV: 4) to my field!"
A warrior in gold and black armor, holding a giant golden lance in its hand appeared.
"Constellar Caduceus' other effect activates!" Hokuto announced. "Once during my Main Phase, I can 1 'Constellar' Spell/Trap Card to my hand." He added a card to his hand and revealed it. "I add Constellar Star Chart to my hand!"
A few moments later, two Continuous Spells appeared in front of Hokuto.
"I activate my two Continuous Spell simultaneously, Constellar Tellarknights and Constellar Star Chart!" Hokuto declared.
Upon their activation, countless constellations filled up the sky above them, illuminating the arena.
The crowd was in complete awe of how the Action Field transformed with new light to it.
"Woah," A child's eyes sparkled in awe.
"Beautiful," A girl in the crowd commented.
"I think it's time for me to up the ante!" Hokuto smirked. "I overlay the Level 4 Constellar Caduceus together with Tellarknight Lyran!"
Here it comes. Yuuji braced himself.
Hokuto's aforementioned monsters transform into energies which were absorbed into a galaxy vortex that appeared in front of him. A pillar of light shot out from the center as he began chanting.
"Machine warrior representing the constellation of the beehive!" Hokuto chanted. "I Xyz Summon! Come forth and descend, Rank 4! Constellar Praesepe (Light/Machine/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2400/DEF: 800/R: 4/OU: 2)!"
An armored machine warrior with golden guns that stuck out from its shoulder appeared on Hokuto's field; two golden Overlay Units orbiting around it.
"Once per turn, while Constellar Star Chart remains active on my field, I can draw 1 card whenever a "Constellar Xyz" Monster is Special Summoned onto my field!" Hokuto declared as he drew a card. "Next, I activate Constellar Kaus' effect! Up to twice per turn, its effect allows me to raise or lower the Level of a monster on my field by one! I choose to raise both it and Constellar Pollux's Levels by 1!"
(Constellar Kaus — LV: 4 → 5)
(Constellar Pollux — LV: 4 → 5)
"Now, I overlay my two Level 5 Monsters in order to Xyz Summon once again!" Hokuto declared as his monsters were absorbed into another galaxy vortex that appeared in front of him. "Shining light of the stars above, descend and shake this very earth! I Xyz Summon! Come forth, Rank 5! Constellar Pleiades (Light/Warrior/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 1500/R: 5/OU: 2)!"
A tall, powerful warrior wearing white and gold armor; brandishing a massive golden staff appeared.
"Two consecutive Xyz Summons, he isn't playing around at all…" Yuuji muttered.
"And I'm not done yet, Haruki," Hokuto stated. "At this time, I activate the effect of my Continuous Spell, Constellar Tellarknights! Once per turn, I can target 1 'Constellar' or 'tellarknight' Xyz Monster on my field, and use it as material to Xyz Summon a 'Constellar' or 'tellarknight' Xyz Monster of a different rank from my Extra Deck!"
"What?" Yuuji's eyes widened in surprise.
An Xyz Summon using an Xyz Monster as material…that's similar to what Kurosaki and Rio do in their duels. Yuuji assessed.
"I now overlay my Rank 4 Constellar Praesepe!" Hokuto declared as his Xyz Monster transformed into a golden energy which was absorbed into a galaxy vortex that had formed in front of Hokuto for a third time. A pillar of light shot out from the vortex as he began chanting. "Evolved power birthed from the amalgamation of constellations, come forth and descend! I Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 5! Stellarknight Constellar Diamond (Light/Wyrm/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2700/DEF: 2000/R: 5/OU: 3)!"
A massive, armored wyrm with massive wings that captured the vast expanse of the universe appeared on Hokuto's field. Orbiting around it were three yellow Overlay Units.
"Incredible! Player Shijima has managed to perform three consecutive Xyz Summons in one turn!" Nico Smiley announced in astonishment.
"Not holding anything back, huh?" Yuuji smiled upon seeing the massive monster.
"Like I said before, you were someone who managed to defeat Akaba Reiji, even if he wasn't completely serious the whole duel," Hokuto stated. "It would be naive of me to underestimate you."
Two set cards appeared in front of Hokuto.
"I set two cards and end my turn," Hokuto concluded. "You're up, Haruki."
"Right," Yuuji nodded as he placed his hand on the top of his deck. "My turn! Draw!"
He drew a card and began his turn.
[Turn 2: Yuuji] [H: 6]
"I'll start by activating Relic of the Antique," Yuuji stated. "I pay 1000 of my Life Points and discard the Level 5 Antique Wishing Lamp in order to add Antique Maker - Mira and Antique Kuriblock to my hand!"
Yuuji grit his teeth as his duel disk briefly shocked him, adding two cards to his hand from his deck to his hand.
Yuuji — LP: 4000 → 3000
He then took a moment to organize them together with the rest of his hand before continuing his turn.
"Next, I activate Pendulum Call!" Yuuji announced. "With this Spell Card, I can place 1 Pendulum Monster directly from my deck into an empty Pendulum Zone! I choose to place the Scale 8 Antique Golden Carol into my Pendulum Scale!"
Yuuji added a card to his hand before immediately placing it on one end of his duel blade. A golden bell which rang a jolly tune rose into one of his empty Pendulum Zones.
"I now activate Antique Golden Carol's Pendulum Effect!" Yuuji continued. "When I control no cards in my other Pendulum Zone, I can place another 'Antique' Pendulum Monster from my deck to that Pendulum Zone!"
Yuuji added another card to his hand, revealing it.
"I set the Pendulum Scale with the Scale 1 Antique Mimic Chest and the Scale 8 Antique Golden Carol already set in my Pendulum Scale!" Yuuji declared as he placed the cards on opposite ends of his duel blade, the word [PENDULUM] appearing in between in rainbow font as a chest with sharp fangs rose into his other Pendulum Zone. A giant silver pendulum swung around above it all.
"Player Haruki has just set his Pendulum Scale!" Nico Smiley exclaimed. "Does this mean that a Pendulum Summoning is imminent!?"
"You bet it is," Yuuji smirked. "With my currently set Pendulum Scale, I can summon monsters between the Levels 2 through 7 all at the same time!"
Yuuji's pendulum necklace began to glow as he began his chant.
"Shine, Pendulum of Destiny! Draw an arc across the ether, and reflect onto me a path to victory!" Yuuji chanted as the giant silver pendulum in the sky drew a portal, with two beams of energy shooting out from it. "I Pendulum Summon! Appear, Antique Maker - Mira (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5/SC: 8), and the dragon bearing my very soul, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7/SC: 4)!"
A woman in all black holding a pristine mirror in her hands and a purple-scaled dragon with bone-like armor surrounding it; with countless colorful gemstones scattered around it appeared.
"Antique Maker - Mira's effect activates!" Yuuji continued. "When it is Normal or Special Summoned onto my field, I get to—!"
"Stellarknight Constellar Diamond's effect activates!" Hokuto declared as the massive, armored wyrm absorbs one of its three Overlay Units (Stellarknight Constellar Diamond — OU: 3 → 2). "When a DARK Monster activates its effect, I can detach one Overlay Unit from this monster to negate that effect and destroy it!"
Antique Maker - Mira bursts into particles, causing Yuuji to wince a bit from the shockwaves.
"That's a nasty effect…" Yuuji frowned.
Just like in his duel against Shouma in the first round, he was locked out of a good portion of his deck's effects now thanks to the presence of Stellarknight Constellar Diamond.
To make things worse for him, Hokuto still could use Constellar Pleiades effect to return Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon to his hand.
I need to find an Action Card. Yuuji thought as he hopped on Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon; the two of them running off to search for one.
"Looking for an Action Card, how naive," Hokuto extended his hand forward. "Constellar Pleiades's effect activates! By detaching one overlay unit, I can return one card from your field back to your hand! I choose to return Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon to your hand!"
Constellar Pleiades absorbs one of its Overlay Units, its golden staff glowing as a result. Using its power, it causes Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon to glow before it disappears from Yuuji's field. However, before it does, Yuuji leaps off Phantom Dragon, grabbing an Action Card that was lodged into one of the stone monuments nearby.
(Constellar Pleiades — OU: 2 → 1)
Yuuji rolls onto the ground, landing relatively safely. He takes a moment and glances at the card for a moment before three set cards appear in front of him.
"I set three cards and end my turn," Yuuji concluded his turn.
"He managed to stop Yuuji from establishing any semblance of a board," Gongenzaka commented. "He's definitely improved a lot since we've last seen him."
"Yeah, definitely…" Yuzu nodded, though she didn't seem to be entirely engaged in the duel.
"You don't have any monsters on your field to protect. I hope for your sake that you know what you're doing," Hokuto said.
"If I look so vulnerable, why don't you try and attack me?" Yuuji responded with a sly smile.
"That's just what I plan on doing!" Hokuto shouted. "My turn! Draw!"
[Turn 3: Hokuto] [H: 1]
"I activate one of my set Trap Cards, Xyz Reborn!" Hokuto declared. "Thanks to its effect, I can Special Summon an Xyz Monster from my graveyard and attach this card to it as material! Return to my field, Constellar Praesepe (ATK: 2400/DEF: 800/R: 4/OU: 0 → 1)!"
The golden armored machine with gun-like shoulderblades emerged from a portal that appeared on the ground in front of Hokuto.
"Constellar Star Chart's effect activates again! Since a 'Constellar Xyz' Monster was Special Summoned to my field, I can draw 1 card!"
Hokuto drew another card. He smiled when he saw what he drew.
"I now summon Constellar Sombre (Light/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 1550/DEF: 1600/LV: 4)!"
A feminine armored monster with fairy-like wings sticking out from its back appeared on Hokuto's field.
"Battle," Hokuto stated, moving into his Battle Phase. "Constellar Sombre attacks you directly!"
The feminine monster with fairy-like wings flies into the air; its wings begin to glow as rays of light shoot out from it, exploding upon contact with the ground all around Yuuji. Yuuji winces from the shockwaves and rising smoke as his Life Points drop.
Yuuji — LP: 3000 → 1450
"Now to finish you off!" Hokuto continued his assault as his armored machine warrior shoots out missiles from its shoulders. "Constellar Praesepe now attacks you directly, Yuuji!"
One of Yuuji's set cards flips face-up.
"Sorry to tamper with your flow, but I activated my Trap Card, Special Antique Delivery!" Yuuji countered. "I get to Special Summon 1 'Antique' Monster from my deck, and the monster I summon cannot be destroyed by battle for the rest of this turn! Appear, Antique Maker - Lilac Magician (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1300/LV: 5/SC: 1) in defense mode!"
A woman in a purple magician's robe, holding a purple staff in her hand, appeared with a faint blue aura surrounding it. A barrier formed around her, protecting both her and Yuuji from Constellar Praesepe's attack.
"Like that'll stop me!" Hokuto shouted, unphased by Yuuji's play. "Stellarknight Constellar Diamond attacks Antique Maker - Lilac Magician! Stellar Tempest!"
"You're going to attack without making use of Constellar Pleiades's effect? But that attack won't do anything?" Yuuji's raised an eyebrow.
"Constellar Caduceus has an extra effect when it is used as Xyz Material for a 'Constellar' Monster," Hokuto explained. "When a monster with it as material battles a LIGHT or DARK Monster, that monster is banished before damage calculation!"
"What!?" Yuuji cried out in shock.
Stellarknight Constellar Diamond begins to glow as it shoots a beam of light at Lilac Magician, who could do nothing as she was engulfed by the beam of light and banished. Yuuji winces, covering his face as he hides away from the blinding light.
"Now you're completely wide open! Stellarknight Constellar Diamond's attack now continues!" Hokuto declared.
Hokuto's monster shoots another beam of light at Yuuji.
"As if!" Yuuji shouted back as he sent a card from his hand to the graveyard. "I activate Antique Kuriblock's effect! By discarding it from my hand, I can—!"
"—I already saw that play coming! Don't think you can use the same tactic that you used to survive your first-round match here!" Hokuto cut him off. "I activate the Quick-Play-Spell, Called by the Grave! I can target 1 monster in your graveyard and banish it. Furthermore, a monster banished by this effect cannot have its effects be activated until the end of the next turn! I choose to banish your Antique Kuriblock, negating its protection effect!"
He had that card!? Yuuji's jaw dropped. Okay…I'm actually starting to get worried now.
This also gave him an idea to buy some more cards later, but nows not the time to think of that.
Yuuji's second set card was flipped face-up.
"I activate the Counter Trap, Odd-Eyes Phantom Barrage!" Yuuji declared. "Thanks to this card, I can negate your monster's attack, as well as Special Summon 1 'Odd-Eyes' Monster directly from my deck to my field! Appear, Odd-Eyes Surge Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 1000/DEF: 2100/LV: 5/SC: 1) in defense mode!"
A small, blue-scaled dragon with a set of blue wings made of water appeared on Yuuji's field with a faint blue aura surrounding it. A barrier formed around the two of them, protecting them from Stellarknight Constellar Diamond attack.
Constellar Pleiades then absorbs its second Overlay Unit, its staff beginning to glow with its power.
"I activate Constellar Pleiades' effect once again (Constellar Pleiades — OU: 1 → 0)!" Hokuto continued. "By detaching another Overlay Unit, I can return 1 card from your field to your hand. I choose to return Odd-Eyes Surge Dragon to your hand!"
Odd-Eyes Surge Dragon is enveloped by Constellar Pleiades' power, forcing it to return to Yuuji's hand.
"Constellar Pleiades now attacks you directly!" Hokuto wasted no time, commanding his final monster to attack.
However, much to his surprise, Yuuji just smiled. His final set card flipping face-up.
"I activate my final set card, the Action Spell, Final Frontier!" Yuuji declared.
"You set an Action Card!?" Hokuto's jaw dropped.
"It was just in case you decided to let Constellar Pleiades' effect snipe one of my set Trap Cards," Yuuji stated before explaining his card's effect. "Final Frontier allows me to draw 1 card. If the card I draw is a Level 5 or lower monster, I can Special Summon it to my field. However, if it is not, I take 500 points of damage for each card currently on the field."
"Wowzers!" Nico Smiley exclaimed. "Player Haruki has decided to put everything on the line with this draw!"
"That's like 4000 points of damage! Are you crazy!?" Hokuto cried out in shock.
"Playing it safe just isn't my style, that's something I learned from my duel against Akaba," Yuuji stated as he put his hand over the top of his deck. "Putting everything on the line for victory, that's my style of dueling! I…DRAW!"
Yuuji drew with all his might, his deck glowing in response to his will. As he looked at what he drew, he smiled and revealed it.
"I drew the Level 3 Monster, Antique Light Bulb, meaning that I can Special Summon it to my field in defense mode!" Yuuji announced as a small, floating light bulb appeared on his field with a faint blue aura surrounding it.
[Antique Light Bulb (Light/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 3)]
Constellar Pleiades swings its staff, slicing right through the light bulb monster and causing it to burst into particles—Yuuji being left completely unscathed by the attack.
"And in a fantastic showing of defense, Player Haruki has managed to escape Player Shijima's relentless assault!"
Hokuto's mouth was left agape for a moment before he composed himself, shaking his head.
"I should've expected something like this from you of all people," Hokuto remarked. "I end my turn."
"Phew," Ayu sighed a breath of relief. "He managed to survive."
"Barely," Tatsuya pointed out. "If things had gone any slightly differently, he would've lost there."
"Oooh, this duel is giving me the shivers!" Futoshi commented as he did his little dance.
In the V.I.P booth…
Reiji could be seen watching the ongoing match with a neutral expression. His mother, Akaba Himika sat in a seat nearby, with a young girl holding a stuffed animal timidly standing next to her. A bit further in the back stood Shizuka, who was also watching the ongoing match with intrigue.
"See what I mean," Reiji suddenly spoke.
"Yeah, I do. I'm surprised at how well he's been handling this duel," Shizuka commented. "Granted, the duelist he's up against isn't anywhere near as strong as the forces that Academia has, but it's still impressive."
"In your honest opinion, how much stronger do you think Academia is compared to the duelists you've seen here so far?" Reiji inquired.
"From what I can tell, if Academia were to invade Standard, I doubt you'd be able to hold them off without many casualties," Shizuka stated. "...Though, you definitely have some duelists here who might be strong enough to face them."
Upon hearing this, a brief smile formed on Reiji's face.
"Glad you could see their potential like I can."
Yuuji took a moment to stop and think.
Back into a corner once again, what's new? Yuuji joked in his head. This time is different though. I feel…calm?
The pressure that would normally fill his mind is completely gone, as if he had everything under control.
He wouldn't know until much later, but this feeling that he had.
He was in the flow.
I know I can win from here. I just need to put the pieces together.
He placed his hand on the top of his deck, taking a deep breath.
"Let's do this," Yuuji said. "My turn! DRAW!"
Yuuji drew with all his might, his deck glowing in response to his will once again.
[Turn 4: Yuuji] [H: 3]
As he looked at the card he drew, he smiled.
"I don't like that look," Hokuto frowned. "You must've drawn something good."
"Maybe so~," Yuuji replied casually. "Why don't you see for yourself! I activate the Spell Card, Pendulum Exchange!"
The two monsters in Yuuji's Pendulum Zones suddenly burst into particles.
"By tributing two cards from my Pendulum Zones, I get to not only draw 1 card from my deck, but place 1 Pendulum Monster from my Extra Deck into one of these empty zones!" Yuuji explained. "However, on my next Pendulum Summon, I can only summon at most two monsters! I choose to place Antique Maker - Mira into my Pendulum Zone!"
A transparent blue pillar appeared behind Yuuji as a woman in all black holding a pristine mirror in her hand rose into that zone.
Yuuji then proceeded to place his hand over his deck, his deck glowing as he drew a card. He then reveals a monster in his hand.
"Now with the Scale 1 Odd-Eyes Surge Dragon and the Scale 8 Antique Maker - Mira already set, I rebuild my Pendulum Scale!" Yuuji declared, placing the cards on opposite ends of his duel disk.
The word [PENDULUM] appeared in rainbow font as the blue-scaled dragon with wings made of water rose into his other Pendulum Zone. The same giant silver pendulum swung back and forth in the sky above him.
"Now I can summon monsters Levels 2 through 7 all at the same time!" Yuuji declared as his pendulum necklace began glowing. "Shine, Pendulum of Destiny! Draw an arc across the ether, and reflect onto me a path to victory! Come forth, my monster companions!"
A portal is drawn in the sky, with two beams of energy shooting out from it.
"Trickster mimic created to punish wrongdoing thieves, Antique Mimic Chest (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5/SC: 1)!"
A treasure chest with razor sharp fangs appeared.
"And finally, amber-eyed dragon bearing my very soul, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon (ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7/SC: 4)!"
Yuuji's signature purple-scaled dragon with bone-like armor appeared on his field once again. It let out a triumphant roar as it was brought out.
"Odd-Eyes Surge Dragon allows me to draw 1 card whenever a 'Odd-Eyes' Monster is Pendulum Summoned onto my field!" Yuuji announced as he placed his hand over his deck, which glowed for a fourth time in a row. "DRAW!"
Yuuji drew with all his might for one last time.
With this, everything is set in place for my victory. Yuuji thought.
He then revealed a card in his hand.
"I activate the Fusion Spell, Pendulum Fusion!" Yuuji declared. "With it, I can fuse two monsters in my Pendulum Zones together!"
"Fusing monsters in your Pendulum Zone!?" Hokuto's jaw dropped.
"I now fuse Odd-Eyes Surge Dragon with Antique Maker - Mira!" Yuuji declared as his two monsters rose into the air, fusing as he began chanting. "Pristine maiden. Fuse together with the dragon born within the ocean currents and give birth to a new power!" Yuuji then clasped his hands together. "I Fusion Summon! Appear, Level 8! Crystalline dragon with amber colored eyes, Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500/LV: 8)!"
A large dragon with purple-colored scales, dawned with crystal armor that surrounded most of its body, and an amber-color orb on its chest that matched the color of its eyes appeared on Yuuji's field.
"There it is! The same Fusion Monster that won Player Haruki's first round match!" Nico Smiley announced. "It looks like this duel is finally coming to an end!"
"Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon does have a summoning effect, but I won't be activating it this time," Yuuji stated.
"Huh? Why isn't he using his monster's effect?" Ayu wondered.
"If he tried to, Hokuto could've just used Stellarknight Constellar Diamond's effect to negate Crystal-Eyes' effect and destroy it." Tatsuya explained.
"Ohhh," Ayu nodded in understanding.
"Next up…" Yuuji pointed at Antique Mimic Chest and Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon. "...Antique Mimic Chest's effect activates! Once per turn, I can change its Level to match the Level of another monster on my field. I choose to make Antique Mimic Chest's Level equal to that of Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon's Level!"
(Antique Mimic Chest — LV: 5 → 7)
(Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon — LV: 7)
"Now that I have two Level 7 monsters, can you guess what happens next?" Yuuji smiled.
"An Xyz Summon, right?" Hokuto replied.
Yuuji snapped his fingers at Hokuto, "That's right! With my two Level 7 Monsters, I build the Overlay Network!"
A galaxy vortex appeared in front of Yuuji, his two monsters transforming into energies that were then absorbed into the vortex. A massive pillar of light shot out from the portal's center as he began chanting.
"Cruel black dragon relentless in its destruction. I now call upon the emanator of annihilation!" Yuuji chanted. "I Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 7! Dark Anthelion Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Xyz/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500/R: 7/SC: 10/OU: 2)!"
Appearing on Yuuji's field this time was a massive black dragon with silver metallic armor that covered countless parts of its body, with massive jagged wings, long metallic horns, and a singular metallic tusk. Orbiting around the massive dragon were its two Overlay Units.
"Incredible!" Nico Smiley exclaimed. "Player Haruki has not only managed to Fusion Summon, but also Xyz Summon all in the same turn!"
"Now that's a new dragon. When did Yuuji acquire such a monster?" Gongenzaka wondered.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Yuzu replied, equally shocked.
Unlike others' awe or confusion, Shun on the other hand had a much different reaction.
"Woah, that's a pretty neat monster," Yuga commented.
"That dragon…" Shun's eyes widened in surprise, alerting Yuga's attention. "It's just like Yuto's dragon."
"Yuto? You mean that friend of yours you came into the Standard Dimension with?" Yuga asked.
"..." Shun was too stunned to answer, his eyes completely focused on the ongoing duel. This prompted Yuga to pout.
"Fine then, ignore me…bastard."
He muttered that last part to himself as he too returned his attention to the ongoing duel.
"A new monster this late into the game," Hokuto could be seen visibly sweating. "Judging from how all the other matches I've seen you in went, this can't be a good sign."
"And you'd be right. But first I equip the Equip Spell Power Shield to Dark Anthelion Dragon!" Yuuji declared as he played the final card in his hand.
Countless glowing blue spots suddenly appeared on Dark Anthelion Dragon's body.
"Now here comes the climax! Battle!" Yuuji pumped his fist forward. "Dark Anthelion Dragon attacks Stellarknight Constellar Diamond!"
"Not so fast!" Hokuto shouted. "You may have summoned a new powerful dragon and all, but that doesn't mean that I'll just let you do as you please! I hope you haven't forgotten about Consteller Caduceus's effect. While it is an Overlay Unit for a 'Constellar' Monster, during the start of the Damage Step against a LIGHT or DARK Monster, that monster is banished!"
Stellarknight Constellar Diamond shoots a beam of light at Dark Anthelion Dragon, hitting it head on and creating a massive explosion. However, much to Hokuto's surprise, Dark Anthelion Dragon appears from the smoke, completely unphased.
"What?" Hokuto's jaw dropped again. "How is it still here?"
"Power Shield's effect," Yuuji stated. "While a monster is equipped with it, it is completely unaffected by card effects!"
"So, I can't do anything to stop it directly…" Hokuto frowned. "No matter! I activate Constellar Praesepe's effect! By detaching one Overlay Unit when a 'Constellar' Monster is being attacked, I can increase the ATK of that 'Constellar' Monster by 1000!"
(Constellar Praesepe — OU: 1 → 0)
(Stellarknight Constellar Diamond — ATK: 2700 → 3700)
Stellarknight Constellar Diamond begins to glow, charging up its attack.
"Uh oh. Player Haruki is in trouble now!" Nico Smiley announced. "Dark Anthelion Dragon now has fewer ATK than Stellarknight Constellar Diamond. If he lets this attack go through without doing anything, this duel might be over!"
"As if I'd let it end like that!" Yuuji shouted. "I activate Dark Anthelion Dragon's effect! By detaching one Overlay Unit from it, I can halve the ATK of one monster on the field, and grant that ATK to one monster on my field! I choose to give Stellarknight Constellar Diamond's ATK points to Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon! Static Void!"
Compartments in Dark Anthelion Dragon's wings begin to open up, as a wave of blue electricity is shot out from it, wrapping around the armored wyrm and sapping away its strength. Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon begins to glow as it gains the stolen power.
(Dark Anthelion Dragon — OU: 2 → 1)
(Stellarknight Constellar Diamond — ATK: 3700 → 1850)
(Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon — ATK: 3000 → 4850)
"Now go and destroy it, Dark Anthelion Dragon!" Yuuji shouted. "Dark Annihilation!"
Dark Anthelion Dragon creates a massive ball of dark energy, hurling it towards Stellarknight Constellar Diamond, who shoots a beam of light from its mouth to counter Dark Anthelion's attack. The two attacks collide, illuminating the arena in their clash. In the end, Dark Anthelion Dragon's attack overpowers the armored wyrm, crashing down onto it, destroying it, and causing Hokuto to be sent flying back from the shockwaves.
Hokuto — LP: 4000 → 2850
"Damn…" Hokuto curses as struggled back onto his feet, his set card flipping face-up. "I activate Constellar Meteor! Since your monster wasn't destroyed in a battle with a 'Constellar' Monster, it is shuffled back into your deck!"
Dark Anthelion Dragon is struck by falling meteors, falling to the ground and bursting into particles as Yuuji places the monster back into his Extra Deck face down. After that, Hokuto begins running, searching for an Action Card that could save him from this situation. Yuuji does the same, running off for an Action Card as he commands his remaining monster.
"Now for the final blow!" Yuuji announced. "Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon attacks Constellar Pleiades! Crystal Breath!"
Crystal-Eyes shoots a breath of shiny, violet flames, threatening to engulf Hokuto's monster. At the same time, Hokuto finds an Action Card, immediately playing it.
"I activate the Action Spell, Stance Change! Changing Constellar Pleiades to defense mode!"
The armored warrior takes a defensive stance as a faint blue aura appears around it.
"I activate my own Action Spell, Stellar Booster!" Yuuji declared as he found his own. "I can target 1 monster on the field and increase its ATK by 500! I choose to increase Constellar Pleiades's ATK!"
(Constellar Pleiades — ATK: 2500 → 3000)
"Huh? Why would you increase my monster's ATK—wait," Hokuto paused as he realized what Yuuji had done.
"Caught on, huh?" Yuuji smiled. "Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon's effect! When it battles and destroys a monster, you take damage equal to its ATK points! Constellar Pleiades has 3000 ATK points while you only have 2850 Life Points, it's pretty obvious what happens next."
"I lose…" Hokuto frowned.
"That's right," Yuuji smiled. "Finish him, Crystal-Eyes! Crystal Burst!"
Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon's flames explode, destroying Constellar Pleiades and creating shockwaves that send Hokuto flying into a nearby structure—his Life Points being depleted to zero.
Hokuto — LP: 2850 → 0
Winner: Yuuji
The Action Field, along with all of their cards and monsters, disappeared. Yuuji approached Hokuto, who was still sitting on the ground, extending his hand to his fellow duelist.
"That was fun, let's do it again someday," Yuuji said with a smile.
Hokuto accepted his hand, allowing Yuuji to help him back up.
"Yeah," Hokuto agreed. "But next time, I'll be the one who wins."
"I'd like to see you try," Yuuji smirked in a challenging manner.
Meanwhile…
Yuya could be seen watching the aftermath of the duel from the waiting room's TV. His goggles that he usually wore around his neck covering his eyes.
"..." Yuya was silent, staring at the two cards which were glowing brightly in his hand
Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon…
…and Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon.
Elsewhere…
Hokuto could be seen exiting the waiting booth, scratching his head lazily as he was making his way back to the stands. Suddenly, two cloaked figures appeared in front of him.
"..." The shorter of the two figures stepped forward, activating their duel disk.
"Um, what the hell are you doing?" Hokuto asked.
"You're a remnant from the Xyz Dimension, right?" The figure with a feminine voice said before removing their hood, revealing themselves to be Serena. "As a member of Academia, it's my duty to put you down like the rest of your comrades."
"What the hell are you babbling about?" Hokuto looked at the girl like she was crazy. "You still didn't answer my question—"
"—Shut up and duel me, Xyz!" Serena interrupted. "I don't have time to be wasting with your comrades still being on the loose elsewhere!"
"Hmph, rude," Hokuto scoffed before activating his duel disk and smiling. "Fine then, I'll knock some sense into that thick skull of yours."
…
—Thud!
Hokuto fell to the ground, his Life Points depleting to zero.
Hokuto — LP: 4000 → 0
Winner: Serena
Serena walked forward, grabbing Hokuto by the collar.
"Tell me where your comrades are, Xyz!" Serena demanded.
"Comrades? What comrades—ACK!" Hokuto yelped in pain as Serena tugged on his collar.
"Stop playing around! Tell me where your fellow Xyz brethren are!"
"I swear I don't know anything about what your talking about—"
"—Tell me!"
"I don't know! Haruki Yuuji maybe?" Hokuto just blurted out a random name. "If you're looking for a guy who uses Xyz Summoning, he summoned a powerful Xyz Dragon in our recent match. Now can you please let me go."
"..."
—Thud!
"Ow!" Hokuto yelled in pain as Serena let him drop to the ground. She then proceeds to stand up, pressing a few buttons on her duel disk before pointing it at Hokuto.
"Ratting out your fellow comrades is rather disloyal of you. Allow me to do them a favor."
"Say what—?"
Hokuto couldn't finish his sentence as Serena's duel disk produced a bright purple light, engulfing the surrounding area. When the light died down, a card floated down from the sky, falling right into Serena's hand. After she shook the card a bit, the image on the card changed into that of Hokuto, whose unaware expression was printed onto the card.
Serena then proceeds to toss the card to the taller cloaked figure nearby, who catches it with two of his fingers.
"Why are you giving this to me?" A man with a deep voice asked.
"I don't want to hold onto worthless baggage, it'll only hold me down," Serena stated. "And besides, since you decided to tag along even when I wanted to go alone, this is the least you can do, Barrett."
Barret took off his mask, revealing his face. He was a tall, burly man with short, spikey teal-colored hair. A defining feature of his face was the scar on the left side of his face, which was briefly covered by an eyepatch.
"Serena-sama, the Professor ordered me to keep watch of you at all times. I can't just let you go into another dimension alone without supervision."
"I didn't ask to be pampered by him. I'm a strong and independent woman, I can do things by myself."
"This is serious, the Xyz Remnant's you're looking for are most likely those with experience fighting on a battlefield. They're a threat if you happen to underestimate them."
"Don't go trauma dumping on me because you let yourself be caught off guard one time," Serena crossed her arms. "And besides, that Xyz remnant was a complete joke. Some experienced fighter he was."
"That's because he wasn't the one we're looking for," Barrett revealed. "If you took even a moment to read how he reacted to what you were saying, you would've realized that he had no clue about us or the Xyz remnants."
"Maybe so, but at least we got a clue from him," Serena pointed out. "Haruki Yuuji. He said that guy summoned a powerful Xyz Dragon in a duel against him. It's the only semblance of a lead we've got so far."
"...I'll just do as you say, Serena-sama. My job is just to make sure you don't jeopardize yourself, as well as to make sure you return home safely," Barrett simply stated.
"That's fine with me," Serena said before walking.
Barrett pocketed the carded form of Hokuto before following after Serena.
A while later…
Yuuji made his way into the stand, using his hoodie to blend into the crowd. He eventually arrived at the spot where the rest were gathered. Yuuji casually greeted them.
"Yo, am I late?" Yuuji asked.
"Nope, you're right on time," Tatsuya replied. "Their match is just about to start."
"Nice," Yuuji said as he turned his attention to the arena.
"Welcome back everyone! After plenty of dazzling, awe inspiring matches, we have a very special match!" Nico Smiley announced as he pointed to the right entrance to the arena. "In the right corner, the Founder of Pendulum hailing from the You Show Duel School, Sakaki…Yuya!"
The crowd roared as Yuya appeared from the hallway, checking in with the security briefly before making his way to the arena.
"Why does he have his goggles on?" Yuuji wondered.
"He sometimes wears it when he needs to focus, but usually he wears it whenever he's feeling down in the feels," Yuzu answered.
"..." Yuuji was silent for a moment before frowning. "So, he still hasn't gotten over what happened earlier."
"Yeah, it seems so," Yuzu frowned as well.
"What happened earlier?" Gongenzaka raised an eyebrow. "Did something happen?"
"The two of us just had a little…argument, that's all. Nothing to worry about," Yuuji simply stated, though his facial expression gave off a different message.
"..." Yoko briefly glanced at both Yuuji and Yuzu, frowning as he turned to look out to her son.
"And in the left corner, the masked duelist hailing from LDS who managed to defeat his previous opponent without summoning a single monster! The Hollow Rose, Ibarahana…Yuga!" Nico Smiley exclaimed.
The roars of the crowd were deafening as Yuga appeared from the left corner.
"The Hollow Rose? I kind of like it," Yuga smiled under his mask as he reached the security checkpoint.
However, he didn't waste any time, jumping past security and right onto the arena. One of the security personnel tried to chase after him, but they were stopped by a second personnel, who just shook their head and told them to stand down. The young man took a moment to make sure his mask fit on the right way before walking up to Yuya. He extended his hand out to greet his opponent.
"After all this time, I finally get to meet you in person, Sakaki Yuya," Yuga greeted him. "I'm looking forward to our upcoming match."
"...Oh?" Yuya was a bit startled by Yuga suddenly speaking to him. "L-Likewise."
"Hey, are you feeling okay?" Yuga frowned beneath his mask. "You had a lot more energy during your first-round match. Did something happen? I'd hate for it to get in the way of our match."
"...It's nothing, I'm fine," Yuya insisted while rubbing his left arm with his other.
"Not buying it," Yuga sighed. "But, since the crowd is probably getting a little impatient, I'll just take your word for it."
He took a few steps back, activating his duel disk.
"Whatever is on your mind, sort it out while you can," Yuga started. "I've been waiting for this match for a while, so I won't be holding anything back, you hear me?"
Yuya took a few steps back as well. He took a deep breath.
"Loud and clear," Yuya responded in a calm manner as he too activated his duel disk. "Let's do this."
"It looks like our two duelists are ready for their bout!" Nico Smiley announced. "Now comes the time to determine the Action Field that these two powerful duelists will duke it out in!"
The giant Field Spell card spun around a few times before coming to a stop; Nico Smiley announced the results.
"Action Field, on! Field Magic, Gladiator Arena!"
The Real Solid Vision Machine in the sky began whirring as the area around the two transformed. The ground shook as a giant, stone arena floated in the middle of nothing but clouds, countless structures and mini islands floating around the arena.
"Let's get right into this. Duelists locked in battle!" Yuga began the chant.
"Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!" Yuya continued the chant
"They storm through this field!"
"Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling!"
[Action—!] The crowd shouted in unison.
[Duel!] The two shout in unison as their duel begins
Yuya — LP: 4000
Yuga — LP: 4000
[Turn 1: Yuga] [H: 5]
"I'll start and set the tempo!" Yuga announced. "I summon Gravekeepers - Skeleton Guard (Dark/Fiend/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 3)!"
A skeleton warrior with a rusty helmet and sword appeared.
"When this monster is summoned, I can discard one card from my hand. I choose to send the Trap Card, Pot of Secrets to my graveyard," Yuga sent the card to his graveyard. "Pot of Secrets' effect now activates! When it is sent to the graveyard by card effect, I can draw two cards!"
Yuga drew two cards from his deck. Shortly after he did that, Skeleton Guard burst into particles.
"I now tribute Skeleton Guard to activate its second effect!" Yuga declared. "Thanks to it, I can add 1 'Gravekeepers' Card from my deck to my hand!"
Yuga added a card to his hand.
"The card I chose is Gravekeeper's Ritual," Yuga revealed. "A card that I'll be activating right now!"
Yuga played the card. As he did, a shrine appeared behind him. Countless unlit candles surrounded the altar at the center.
"Ritual?" Yuya was surprised.
"Gravekeeper's Ritual allows me to Ritual Summon a 'Gravekeepers' Monster as long as I provide the appropriate tributes," Yuga stated. "I sacrifice the Level 7 Tri-Headed Warlock in order to Ritual Summon a Level 1 Monster!"
A massive humanoid monster with three heads and a staff appeared briefly before transforming into blue flames; the flames igniting all of the candles on the shrine. The shrine began to glow an eerie blue color as Yuga began chanting.
"Ancient scribe of knowledge. Break free from your tattered chains and ascend!" Yuga chanted. "I Ritual Summon! Come forth, Level 1! Gravekeepers - Ancient Scribe (Dark/Fiend/Ritual/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 1) in defense mode!"
A chained up skeleton wearing a red cloak and holding a worn out scroll in its hand appeared. A faint blue aura surrounded the monster.
"I now activate Ancient Scribe's effect!" Yuga continued. "Once per turn, I can add 1 'Ancient Scroll' Card from my deck to my hand!" Yuga took a card out from his deck and revealed it. "The card I choose to add is Ancient Scroll of Self Destruction!"
Three set cards then appeared in front of him.
"I set three cards and end my turn."
"Player Ibarahana seems to be going for the same move that won him the first round!" Nico Smiley exclaimed. "How will Sakaki Yuya respond to such a play!?"
"..." Yuya was silent, placing a hand over his deck and drawing for his turn. "Draw!"
[Turn 2: Yuya] [H: 6]
He paused for a moment, looking at Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon which was glowing brightly in his hand. Without skipping a beat, Yuya revealed two cards in his hand in a serious manner.
"I set the Pendulum Scale with the Scale 1 Performapal Trump Witch and the Scale 8 Timegazer Magician! I'm taking control of this duel starting now!" Yuya declared as he placed the cards on opposite ends of his duel disk. The word [PENDULUM] appearing in rainbow font between them as a playful blonde witch and a tall man in black, with parts of a golden gear as accessories for its body, rose into each of his Pendulum Zones. A giant, blue pendulum swung above it all.
"With my currently set Pendulum Scale, I can summon monsters Levels 2 through 7 all at the same time!" Yuya announced. "Swing, Pendulum of Souls! Draw an arc of light across the ether! I Pendulum Summon! Come out, my monsters!"
Three beams of energy shoot out from the portal drawn by the massive pendulum above him.
"Come out, Stargazer Magician (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 1200/DEF: 2400/LV: 5/SC: 1) and Performapal Frizzle Grizzly (Dark/Beast/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 1300/DEF: 1800/LV: 5/SC: 6) in defense mode!" A magician in white holding a staff with a large circular shape around the helm and a large bear with heavy fur which covered its eyes and colorful clothing appeared. "And finally, wondrous and beautiful dichromatic eyes! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7/SC: 4)!"
A giant, bipedal red dragon with dual-colored eyes, with countless colorful orbs scattered around its giant, pale colored horns appeared. The massive dragon lets out a deafening roar.
—Badump!
Yuga and Yuya suddenly clutch their chests as a sharp pain coursed through their bodies.
"Gah!" Yuya hissed in pain.
"N-Not again!" Yuga grit his teeth.
In the stands, Yuuji wasn't faring much better. He was panting heavily as he clutched his beating heart.
"Hey, Yuuji. Are you okay?" Ayu asked with a worried look.
"I-I'm fine, Ayu-chan. Nothing to worry about," Yuuji reassured her.
Back in the arena, Yuya decided to continue his turn, pushing through the pain.
"I-I activate Performapal Trump Witch's Pendulum Effect!" Yuya declared. "I can target monsters on my field and Fusion Summon 1 Monster from my Extra Deck using those targeted monsters as materials! I fuse Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon together with Stargazer Magician!"
Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon rising into the air along with Stargazer Magician. The two monsters fused as Yuya began chanting.
"Wielder of mysterious powers, become the bright light and dwell in the eyes of the dragon!" Yuya extended his arms outward as he chanted. "I Fusion Summon! Come forth, Level 8! Arcane dragon wielder of ancient magic! Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2000/LV: 8)!"
A massive, red-scaled dragon with a large golden ring that stuck out from its back; a blue orb encased in armor around its stomach; appeared.
"Performapal Frizzle Grizzly's effect now activates!" Yuya continued. "When a Fusion Monster is Fusion Summoned to my field using Pendulum Monsters as materials, I can immediately Fusion Summon using this card and a face-up Pendulum Monster from my Extra Deck! This time, I will fuse Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon together with Performapal Frizzle Grizzly!"
Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon appeared on his field once again, before rising into the air along with the thick furred bear, the two monsters fusing together as he began chanting.
"Timid bear. Become one with the arcane dragon to create a new power!" Yuya extended his arms outward once again. "I Fusion Summon! Come forth, Level 8! The ferocious dragon with luminous feral eyes! Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon (Earth/Dragon/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2000/LV: 8!"
Another massive, red-scaled dragon, this time with its body mostly covered in bone-colored armor and bolstering a more feral appearance, appeared.
Weirdly enough, once Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon had left the field, the pain in Yuya, Yuga, and Yuuji's chests died down a bit.
"Player Sakaki has just Fusion Summoned two times in a row!" Nico Smiley exclaimed. "It looks like our two duelists are pulling out their best cards for this duel!"
"Battle!" Yuya declared. "Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon attacks—!"
"—I activate my two set Continuous Traps!" Yuga cut in as his two set cards flipped face-up. "Ancient Scroll of Fury and Ancient Scroll of Self Sacrifice—!"
"—I won't let you!" Yuya cut him off back. "Timegazer Magician's Pendulum Effect activates! Once during the damage step, it can negate the activation of a Trap Card on my opponent's field and set it back face down! I choose to negate Ancient Scroll of Self Sacrifice's activation!"
Yuga's duel disk rejects the activation of Self Sacrifice, forcing it to be set face down.
"Normally, by using your two Trap Cards together, you would force me to attack you directly and send that damage back to me," Yuya stated. "But now since only Ancient Scroll of Fury is on the field, I get to make use of its effect to attack you directly!"
"So you knew of my card's effects ahead of time," Yuga smiled beneath his mask. "Good, it would've been boring if I took you out with such a simple combo."
"No, I'm ending this now!" Yuya declared. "Thanks to Ancient Scroll of Fury, Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon attacks you directly! Furthermore, due to it having the Level 5 Stargazer Magician as a Fusion Material, Rune-Eyes gets to attack three times during the Battle Phase! Shiny Burst!"
Rune-Eyes roars as it leaps into the air, three glowing orbs appearing on each inside edge of the golden ring on its back as it shoots out a beam of light from one of them.
Yuya isn't dueling like he normally does. Yuuji thought. The goggles already confirmed it, but now I know for sure that what happened earlier is still bothering him. He's fighting extremely recklessly.
Sadly, there wasn't anything he could do to change that right now. He could only hope that Yuya wouldn't end up losing because of this change.
"Taking advantage of my own card, how cruel," Yuga said. "Unfortunately for you, I'm not naive enough to duel without a contingency plan."
Yuga's third set Trap is flipped face-up.
"I activate Lurking Sacrifice!" Yuga declared. "By tributing 1 other card I control, I can prevent 1 monster on your field from attacking until the end of this turn! I tribute Ancient Scroll of Fury to prevent Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon from attacking!"
Yuga's face-up Continuous Trap is destroyed. At the same time, a cloud of darkness spewed out from his Trap, flooding the area around him in a dark smoke. Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's attack hits the cloud of smoke, but instead of doing any damage, the attack is absorbed instead.
"Tch," Yuya clicked his tongue. "Then what about this! Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon attacks Gravekeepers - Ancient Scribe! Hell Dive Burst!"
Beast-Eyes roars as it shoots a breath of hot flames at the skeleton scribe, threatening to incinerate it. However, much to Yuya's surprise, a barrier appeared around it, protecting the monster from Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's attack.
"What?" Yuya's eyes widened in surprise.
"Gravekeepers - Ancient Scribe can't be destroyed by battle while it is in defense position," Yuga revealed. "Meaning that I'm completely safe from your attacks as long as it remains on my field."
"Damn…" Yuya frowned. A face down card appeared on his field shortly after that. "I set one card and end my turn."
"Aw. Yuya-oniichan wasn't able to win," Ayu frowned.
"It's fine, he still has a major advantage over his opponent with his two Fusion Monsters on his field. He'll definitely win this," Tatsuya reassured.
"You can't count out his opponent yet, you guys," Shuzo stated. "While Yuya is likely safe from his opponent's attacks, his opponent is also safe from his own as long as that Ritual Monster remains on the field."
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Tatsuya replied with a bit of embarrassment.
"It's back to me once again," Yuga said as he fixed his mask a bit. "My turn! Draw!"
Yuga drew a card as he began his turn.
[Turn 3: Yuga] [H: 2]
"I activate the Field Spell, Dark Domain!" Yuga played a card. The surrounding sky suddenly turned dark. "While this card is active, DARK Monsters on my field gain 500 ATK for each DARK Monster currently on my field!"
(Gravekeepers - Ancient Scribe — ATK: 0 → 500)
"Next, I activate Ancient Scibe's effect!" Yuga continued. "I add Ancient Scroll of Greed to my hand, which I immediately activate! Ancient Scroll of Greed allows me to copy and immediately use the effect of a Spell/Trap Card in my graveyard! I choose to copy Pot of Secret's effect! However, because its effect would technically already be activated, I get to draw two cards from my deck without needing to fulfill its original condition!"
"You can do that?" Yuzu's jaw dropped.
"I remember dealing with a similar interaction a while ago," Yuuji explained. "If you copy and immediately use the effect of a card with a certain condition for activation, unless it says that you can only use its effect through its specific requirement, you can just ignore the condition altogether and use the effect."
[A/N: I'm pretty sure this is how it works. If not…yeah, that's just how it'll work in this fic from now on.]
"That sounds incredibly complicated," Yuzu commented.
"That's because it is," Yuuji stated. "The fact that this guy knows how this interaction works means that he has an absurd amount of dueling knowledge."
Yuga draws two cards from his deck before continuing his turn.
"From my graveyard, I activate Tri-Headed Warlock's effect!" Yuga declared. "By tributing a DARK Monster from my field, I can Special Summon this card from my graveyard! I release Gravekeepers - Ancient Scribe to summon Tri-Headed Warlock (Dark/Spellcaster/Effect/ATK: 2500 → 3000/DEF: 0/LV: 7) to my field!"
The skeleton scribe bursts into particles as a magician with three heads holding a staff in his hand appeared in its place.
He tributed his Ritual Monster? But why? Yuya was surprised. He just made it easier for me to defeat him now.
"Tri-Headed Warlock allows me to destroy 1 monster on your field when it is Special Summoned," Yuga stated. "I choose to destroy Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! Sinister Curse!"
The warlock waves its staff around, a dark mist oozing out of it and enveloping Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, destroying it.
"Next, I summon Gravekeepers - Hound Servant (Dark/Beast/Effect/ATK: 1700 → 2700/DEF: 1300/LV: 4)!"
A large, skeleton dog with a collar made of dark wisps appeared on Yuga's field.
[Tri-Headed Warlock — ATK: 3000 → 3500)
"Hound Servant allows me to add 1 'Gravekeepers' Card from my deck when it is summoned. I add Gravekeepers - Solemn Tales to my hand!" Yuga added a card to his hand from his deck. "Next, I activate Card Recycling, allowing me to add Gravekeepers Ritual from my graveyard back to my hand!"
Yuga took a card out of his graveyard.
"I now activate Gravekeepers Ritual once again!" Yuga declared. "I tribute Gravekeepers - Hound Servant to Ritual Summon a Level 7 Monster!"
"But Hound Servant is a Level 4 monster, you can't do that, right?" Yuya inquired.
"Gravekeepers - Hound Servant can be treated as the full tribute when it is used to Ritual Summon a 'Gravekeepers' Monster," Yuga explained.
A shrine appeared behind Yuga once again. Hound Servant transforms into blue flames, which ignites all of the candles on the shrine. The shrine began to glow as Yuga began chanting.
"The forgotten records, buried deep within the eternal stream of memories, shall now awaken!" Yuga chanted, a dark aura rising from him as his voice grew louder. "I Ritual Summon! Be reborn, the teller of these ancient texts, Gravekeepers - Solemn Tales (Dark/Fiend/Ritual/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 100/LV: 7)!"
A massive skeleton figure in a black cloak appeared behind Yuga. In its hand as a massive, ancient book.
"Gravekeepers - Solemn Tales gains 500 ATK for each DARK Monster in my graveyard. With there being three currently in my graveyard, Solemn Tales gains 1500 ATK (Solemn Tales — ATK: 100 → 1600)!" Yuga declared. "Furthermore, due to there being two DARK Monsters on my field, Dark Domain increases Solemn Tales' ATK by an additional 1000 (Solemn Tales — ATK: 1600 → 2600)!"
Yuga then pointed at Yuya.
"Time for my counterattack," Yuga said. "Battle! Tri-Headed Warlock attacks Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
Shoot. I need to find an Action Card! Yuya thought.
Yuya runs off, jumping from floating structure to floating structure as he tries to find an Action Card. He manages to find one, picking it up and checking to see what it is. However…
"A-An Action Trap!?" Yuya cried out in shock as a boxing glove shot out from the card, smacking him in the face and sending him tumbling down to the ground.
"Oooh, that's gotta hurt," Yuuji hissed as if he was the one who was punched.
"Oh my, it looks like Player Sakaki was unlucky enough to find the Action Trap, Unwanted Surprise!" Nico Smiley announced. "That card deals 500 points of damage to whoever picks it up!"
Yuya — LP: 4000 → 3500
Yuya finally stopped tumbling down, his goggles falling off his face and resting around his neck. He stood back on his feet as Tri-Headed Warlock's attack closed in on Beast-Eyes. His set card is then flipped face-up.
"I activate Last Minute Cancel!" Yuya declared. "All attack position monsters on my field are switched into defense positions!"
A faint blue aura appeared around Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon as it took a defensive stance. It is then struck by Tri-Headed Warlock's attack, bursting into particles and causing Yuya to wince from the shockwaves of the attack.
"Gravekeepers - Solemn Tales attacks you directly, Yuya!" Yuga continued. "Knowledge of the Forsaken!"
Solemn Tales opens its book, pointing it towards Yuya. A few seconds later, a beam of energy is shot out of the book directly towards Yuya who tries to jump out of the blast radius.
—BOOOOOM!
The attack collides with the ground nearby Yuya, creating an explosion that sends Yuya flying away as his Life Points dropped greatly.
Yuya — LP: 3500 → 900
[Yuya!] Yuzu, Yuuji, and Gongenzaka cried out for their friend in unison.
Yuya skid across the ground for a few seconds before coming to a stop.
"I hope this isn't all you've got, Yuya," Yuga then sighed. "If it is, I'm deeply disappointed. I end my turn."
In the V.I.P Booth…
"That guy…" Shizuka facepalmed. "He always gets too carried away when he's having fun."
"..." Reiji remained silent, smiling slightly as he observed how the duel would proceed.
"G-Guh!" Yuya grunted as he struggled to push himself off the ground. It took him a few tries until he eventually got back onto his feet. However, right when he did, a sharp pain rang through his head. Suddenly, his consciousness was transferred into a dark void. The area felt cold, completely empty and devoid of life.
Where…am I?
To make things worse for Yuya, that same sharp pain was still ringing through his head. It was so unbearable to the point where he felt like he might lose his mind.
Shortly after, Yuto suddenly materialized in front of him. The two of them were staring at each other. After what felt like hours, the two of them unconsciously walked towards each other, extending their hands outward. When their hands made contact, a bright red glow suddenly filled the area, which not only completely blinded Yuya, but also made him feel dizzy.
"What's…happening…to me…?" Yuya muttered before he suddenly blacked out completely.
[Current Theme Playing: Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Sound Duel 1 - A Nerve Wrecking Duel]
Yuya was still, his body unmoving for a moment as he just stared up to the darkened sky. His pendulum necklace could be seen glowing brightly.
—Badump!
He clutched his chest in pain, letting out an agonizing scream as a dark aura suddenly burst out from his body which caused his hair to flow all over the place, his eyes beginning to glow an eerie red. The sudden change in the youth surprised everybody watching.
"Hey, are you good—?" Yuga tried to ask.
"My turn! DRAW!" An awakened Yuya declared as he drew a card. The force of the draw creates a shockwave.
[Turn 4: Yuya] [H: 1]
"I activate the Spell Card, An Actor's Facade," Yuya stated. "Targeting 1 Spell/Trap Card in either player's graveyard, this card copies that card's effect and immediately uses it. I choose to copy the effect of Pot of Secrets in my opponent's graveyard, allowing me to draw two cards."
Yuya drew two cards.
"Next up, Pendulum Exchange," Yuya continued. "I shuffle both Performapal Trump Witch and Timegazer Magician into my deck to add two Pendulum Monsters from my deck to replace them." Yuya took the two monsters set in his Pendulum Scale, shuffling them back into his deck before he added two cards to his hand, revealing them. "I added the Scale 1 Performapal Monkeyboard and the Scale 8 Xiangsheng Magician to my hand, using them to reset my Pendulum Scale."
Yuya placed the two cards on opposite ends of his duel blade, the word [PENDULUM] appearing between in rainbow font as a monkey with teeth similar to that of a piano keyboard and a magician in wearing a cloak with pink ribbons scattered around, holding a pink bow in her hands, rose into each of his Pendulum Scale.
"Something's not right," Gongenzaka said. "His demeanor completely changed."
"You're right," Yuzu said with a worried look, noticing her bracelet beginning to pulse. "It's almost like he's been possessed."
"Scary…" Ayu commented.
"This is giving me that bad kind of shivers…" Futoshi said as he hugged himself.
Yuuji clutched his head as he felt a familiar pain well up.
This…is just like what happened back then. Yuuji's eyes widened upon realising. This is bad.
"I activate Performapal Monkeyboard's Pendulum Effect, using its effect to add the Level 4 Performapal Phantom Performer to my hand."
Yuya added a card to his hand, revealing it briefly before extending his arm into the air.
"With my currently set Pendulum Scale, I can summon monsters Levels 2 through 7 simultaneously," Yuya stated. "Swing, Pendulum of Souls! Draw an arc across the ether! Carve the arc of victory! I Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my monster servants!"
The giant pendulum above him draws a portal in the sky, four beams of energy shooting out from it.
"Return from my Extra Deck, Stargazer Magician (ATK: 1200/DEF: 2400/LV: 5/SC: 1), Performapal Frizzle Grizzly (ATK: 1300/DEF: 1800/LV: 5/SC: 6), and the Supreme King Courageous Dragon — Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon (ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7/SC: 4! And from my hand, Performapal Phantom Performer (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 1300/DEF: 800/LV: 4/SC: 3)!"
Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Stargazer Magician, Performapal Frizzle Grizzly, and a humanoid monster wearing a black and violet cloak with a similar colored jester hat on his head appeared on Yuya's field simultaneously.
[Gah!] Yuga and Yuuji both simultaneously clutch their chests upon the reappearance of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. The sole card in Yuga's hand was glowing brightly, as if it was reacting to the dragon.
"Performapal Phantom Performer can destroy 1 Spell/Trap Card on my opponent's field when it is Pendulum Summon," Yuya stated. "Performapal Phantom Performer destroys your set Ancient Scroll of Self Sacrifice!"
Yuga's Trap Card bursts into particles.
Yuya then points his arm to the sky once again.
"Xiangsheng Magician's Pendulum Effect activates!" Yuya declared, the darkness surrounding him flaring up even more. "I can change the Level of two monsters on the field to match each other! I choose to change Performapal Frizzle Grizzly's Level to match that of Performapal Phantom Performer!"
Xiangsheng Magician aimed her bow, nocking an arrow onto her bow and shooting it towards the aforementioned monsters. A pink dome surrounded them, as the magician's effect went into effect.
(Performapal Phantom Performer — LV: 4)
(Performapal Frizzle Grizzly — LV: 5 → 4)
"I overlay the now Level 4 Performapal Frizzle Grizzly together with the Level 4 Performapal Phantom Performer!"
A galaxy vortex appeared in front of Yuya as his two monsters transformed into energies that were then absorbed into it. A massive pillar of light shot out from the portal's center, the arena trembling as Yuya began chanting.
"Formed from pitch-black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose it with its treacherous fangs!" Yuya chanted. "I Xyz Summon! Now descend, Rank 4! The Supreme King Vengeance Dragon — Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/R: 4/OU: 2)!"
A menacing dragon with dark purple scales, silver spikes, and sharp wings, with a red core at its center plated in armor appeared on Yuya's field. As it did, the pain in all three of their chests doubled, their bodies reacting to the appearance of a second dragon.
Yuga let out an agonizing scream as a similar dark aura suddenly shot out from his body. In the crowd, Yuuji wasn't faring much better, the sharp pain in his mind tripling as he struggled to stifle back his screams, his eyes changing coloring into an eerie green.
"Yuuji! Are you okay?" Yuzu asked.
"Y-Yeah…I'm fine—ACK!" The pain in his mind spiked again, almost causing him to collapse.
"I got you," Gongenzaka said as he caught him.
"T-Thanks…"
Yuuji then turned to the ongoing dueling, locking his attention on Yuya.
I-I need to stop…this somehow. Yuuji thought. B-But, it just…hurts…so…much. I can't…do anything.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the crowd….
"That dragon. That's…" Shun's eyes widened in shock. "...Yuto's!"
What happened? Why does he have it? Where's Yuto? Did he steal it from him?
Questions like that flooded Shun's mind. He wished he could go down there and beat the answer out of him as soon as possible, but he knew that Akaba Reiji would be against such a rash action, so he decided against it. Instead, he would wait until he had a moment alone with the duelist to force the answer out of him.
Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon let out a deafening roar, causing Yuya to clutch his chest in pain. However, he persevered through the pain, continuing his turn.
"I activate Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's effect!" Yuya declared. "By detaching one Overlay Unit, it can halve the ATK of a Level 5 or higher monster on my opponent's field and take that lost ATK for itself! I first target Tri-Headed Warlock with this effect! Treason Discharge!"
(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon — OU: 2 → 1)
Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon absorbs one of its Overlay Units, its wings expanding as it sends a wave of purple electricity at the three-headed monster, sapping away its strength and using it to bolster its own.
(Tri-Headed Warlock — ATK: 3500 → 1750)
(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon — ATK: 2500 → 4250)
"I activate Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's effect again!" Yuya continues as Dark Rebellion absorbs its final Overlay Unit (Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon — OU: 1 → 0). "This time targeting Gravekeepers - Solemn Tales! Treason Discharge!"
Electricity shoots out from Dark Rebellion's wings once again, wrapping around the massive skeleton monster and sapping away its strength.
(Gravekeepers - Solemn Tales — ATK: 2500 → 1250)
(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon — ATK: 4250 → 5500)
Yuga began manuevering across floating structures to look for an Action Card. Noticing his opponent's goal, Yuya extended his hand forward.
"Battle!" Yuya declared. "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, attack Gravekeepers - Solemn Tales and leave nothing left of him! Lightning Disobey of Rebellion!"
Dark Rebellion's tusk began to glow as it flew towards the massive, cloaked skeleton. At the same time, Yuga managed to find an Action Card, playing it almost immediately.
"I activate the Action Spell, Evasion! Negating Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's attack!"
Solemn Tales moves to the side, avoiding Dark Rebellion's attack.
"Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon attacks Tri-Headed Warlock! Spiral Flame Strike!" Yuya commanded his ace dragon, who shot a breath of flames towards the three-headed monster with its mouth. "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon deals double the battle damage when it battles a Level 5 or higher monster! Turn him to ash, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! Reaction Force!"
The flames of the attack grew larger and more violent as the attack engulfed Tri-Headed Warlock, creating a massive explosion that sent Yuga tumbling back.
Yuga — LP: 4000 → 2500
(Gravekeepers - Solemn Tales — ATK: 1250 → 750)
As that was happening, Yuya quickly found an Action Card before continuing his attack.
"I activate the Action Spell, Over Sword! Increasing Stargazer Magician's ATK by 500 during the Battle Phase only (Stargazer Magician — ATK: 1200 → 1700)!" Yuya declared. "Stargazer Magician attacks Gravekeepers - Solemn Tales!"
Stargazer Magician flies forward, its staff glowing as it increases in size. The white-robed magician slashes the giant skeleton monster with its staff, slicing the monster in half and causing it to burst into particles. The shockwaves of the attack, along with the damage caused by Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's attack, caused Yuga's mask to crack—parts of his face now visible.
Yuga — LP: 2500 → 1550
(Stargazer Magician — ATK: 1700 → 1200)
"I set one card and end my turn," Yuya concluded his turn. "During the End Phase, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's effect ends, returning its ATK to normal."
(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon — ATK: 5500 → 2500)
[BGM (Background Music) Ends Here.]
Yuga casually brushed off dust that had accumulated on his body before grabbing his mostly cracked mask, taking it off his face and discarding it. Everyone spectating the duel was shocked to see his face.
"W-What a surprising turn of events!" Nico Smiley tried to continue his commentary as if the duel hadn't taken a darker turn. "Player Ibarahana's mask has slipped off, revealing that he has a similar face to Player Sakaki! Is this some sort of family reunion or what!?"
The crowd remained silent, still stunned by the complete change in Yuya's behavior. It didn't make things better that Yuga had also seemed to have changed.
"My turn. DRAW!" Yuga drew a card from his deck, a shockwave of darkness being produced from the action—his deck glowing in response.
[Turn 5: Yuga] [H: 2]
Yuga glanced at the glowing monster in his hand briefly, the dark aura that was slowly seeping out of him bursting out all at once before he began making his move.
"I activate the Ritual Spell, Between the Crest of Twilight!" Yuga declared. "By banishing tributes from my hand, field, or graveyard as materials, I can Ritual Summon a LIGHT Ritual Dragon from my hand! I banish the Level 7 Tri-Headed Warlock and the Level 1 Gravekeepers - Ancient Scribe to Ritual Summon a Level 8 Monster!"
"No, not that monster!" Shizuka shouted suddenly, surprising Reiji briefly from her outburst. One could notice that her bracelet, which was already pulsing periodically, began pulsing at a much faster rate.
"That monster?" Reiji inquired.
"You could call it his ace monster, since it's been with him for as long as he could remember," Shizuka explained. "But recently, whenever he makes use of that dragon, he completely loses control over himself. That's also why we decided to ban him from using it."
"Interesting…" Reiji commented with intrigue as he turned back to the ongoing duel.
—RUMBLE!
The ground of the floating arena began to shake as a massive shrine appeared behind Yuga. At the center of it all was an altar, featuring a massive dragon surrounded by countless stone candles. His aforementioned monsters briefly appeared on his field, before transforming into pink flames that ignited each of the stone candles. The shrine began to glow with a bright pink light as Yuga began chanting.
"Luminescent dragon of dark twilight. Spread your burning wings as you annihilate all who dare to stand in your path!" Yuga chanted. "I Ritual Summon! Arise, Level 8! The Supreme King Executioner Dragon — Twilight Crest Ritual Dragon (Light/Dragon/Ritual/Effect/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2000/LV: 8)!"
The shrine crumbled as a massive dragon with glowing dark pink eyes shot out from it towards the sky. The dragon's body was made up of countless blue scales, with a glowing crest on its stomach in the shape of a crescent moon. The three sets of wings on its back, which were empty and dull at first, began to ignite with glowing pink flames, illuminating the sky itself with its intense presence.
Twilight Crest Ritual Dragon, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, and Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon all began calling out for each other.
—Badump!
"Ack!" Yuuji doubled over as the pain intensified an unbearable amount. "We…will…become one."
"Huh? What are you talking about, Yuuji?" Gongenzaka asked, though he couldn't get as much of an answer as Yuuji began screaming out in pain.
Yuya clutched his head, shuffling around in pain as he spoke, "B-Become one…we must…become one!"
"Become one…" Yuga muttered. "We must become one!"
Yuga's eyes began to glow a dark pink similar to that of his dragon as he continued his turn.
"Twilight Crest Ritual Dragon's effect activates!" Yuga announced. "It can target 1 Level 5 or higher monster on my opponent's field, copy its effects, and increase its ATK and DEF by the ATK and DEF of that monster! Twilight Crest Ritual Dragon targets Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon with this effect! Twilight's Reflection!"
A bright pink aura burst out from the dragon's body as it used its effect. The dragon letting out a deafening roar as it does so.
(Twilight Crest Ritual Dragon — ATK: 2800 → 5300, DEF: 2000 → 4000)
"Battle!" Yuga moved into his Battle Phase, his dragon soaring back into the air as he did. "Twilight Crest Ritual Dragon attacks Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! Leave nothing left of him! Final Crest Incineration!"
Twilight Crest Ritual Dragon channels its surplus of energy into the crest on its stomach. The crest on the dragon's stomach bursts open like a third eye, a spiraling black and pink beam being shot out from the opening towards Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. As it closes in on the dragon, Yuya's set Trap is flipped face-up.
"Trap Card, open!" Yuya declared while extending his arm forward. "Curtain Call! I pay half my Life Points to negate both battle damage and the destruction of a monster I control for one instance of an attack!"
Yuya's duel disk shocks him, however he remains unphased by it.
Yuya — LP: 900 → 450
A magic curtain appeared all around Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, blocking it out from sight. The curtain opened shortly after that, revealing that Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon was nowhere to be found. Twilight Crest's attack hits the ground, creating a massive explosion that sends debris towards Yuya. Yuya runs towards the flying debris, using one large rock as a boost to jump over the rest of the debris.
"I end my turn," Yuga concluded when he had no other play to make. His dragon's ATK and DEF returned to normal.
(Twilight Crest Ritual Dragon — ATK: 5300 → 2800, DEF: 4000 → 2000)
"..." Yuya placed his hand over the top of his deck, which glowed in response as he drew for his turn. "Draw!"
[Turn 6: Yuya] [H: 1]
Immediately after Yuya starts his turn, Yuga activates Twilight Crest Ritual Dragon's effect.
"I activate Twilight Crest Ritual Dragon's effect once again!" Yuga announced. "Targeting Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon once again to copy its effects and add its ATK and DEF to Twilight Crest! Twilight's Reflection!"
Twilight Crest lets out a deafening roar as a bright pink aura appears around the massive dragon for a second time due to its effect.
(Twilight Crest Ritual Dragon — ATK: 2800 → 5300, DEF: 2000 → 4000)
The awakened Yuya takes a moment to glance at the card in his hand before continuing.
"I activate Performapal Monkeyboard's Pendulum Effect, adding the Level 4 Performapal Darkness Skewer to my hand!" Yuya declared as he drew a card. "I then summon this monster to my field!"
A figure cloaked in black, holding a silver fencing sabre appeared on Yuya's field.
[Performapal Darkness Skewer (Dark/Fiend/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 1800/DEF: 0/LV: 4/SC: 4)]
The darkness surrounding Yuya reached its peak, even spreading to his two dragon monsters. The two dragon's call out to Twilight Crest Ritual Dragon, who call out to them back with a deafening roar.
"We…will become one!" Yuya shouted as he extended his arm forward. "Performapal Darkness Skewer's effect activates—!"
"Yuya! Snap out of it! Please!" Yuzu shouted from the crowd, clasping her hands together in a sort of prayer as her bracelet pulsed rapidly. Yuya pauses upon hearing her. "I don't know what made you like this, but you can't keep going on like this! This isn't your type of dueling at all!"
"M-My type of…dueling?" Yuya muttered before clutching his head in pain.
"She's right, Yuya!" Gongenzaka chimed in this time. "Remember why you duel in the first place! You wanted to bring smiles through your dueling, not bring fear!"
"Bringing smiles through my dueling…" The dark aura surrounding Yuya disappeared for a moment as he remembered what Yuto had said to him that day.
"Make people smile with your dueling. It's what I and Dark Rebellion would've wanted."
[Current Theme Playing: Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Sound Duel 1 - Swing! Pendulum of Souls]
"G-GAH!" Yuya clutched his head, wailing around in pain when he felt the darkness within resurface. While he was able to suppress some of it, he failed to get rid of all of it. Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon begin roaring in unison as he let out an agonizing scream.
"Yuya!" Yuzu cried out to her friend with worry.
"I activate the Spell Card, Forged Between the Pendulum!" Yuya declared. "By tributing 1 monster on my field along with 1 monster in my Pendulum Zone, I can draw 1 card from my deck! However, I can't Pendulum Summon from my Extra Deck the turn I activate this card! I tribute Stargazer Magician along with Performapal Monkeyboard in my Pendulum Zone! DRAW!"
The two aforementioned monsters burst into particles as Yuya drew a card with all his might, his deck glowing in response as he did. He then revealed the card as he continued his turn.
"I rebuild my Pendulum Scale with the Scale 3 Xiangke Magician and the Scale 8 Xiangsheng Magician!" Yuya declared as a man wearing green and gold armor, holding a circular, chakram-like weapon in his left hand, rose into an empty Pendulum Zone. "Magician of Destruction, who watches over contrast! Untie the stars under your sharp judgement! I activate Xiangke Magician's effect! Targeting Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, its effect changes the Rank of 1 Xyz Monster on the field to its Level equivalent!"
Using its power, Xiangke Magician draws a glowing symbol in front of it, which shoots out beams of energy to Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon who absorbs them.
(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon — R: 4 → LV: 4)
"I can't believe my eyes!" Nico Smiley announced. "Player Sakaki has just given an Xyz Monster a Level!?"
"Magician of Creation who watched over harmony! Fill the heavens with stars using your arcane power!" Yuya continued. "Xiangsheng Magician uses its Pendulum Effect to make Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's Level equal to that of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
Xiangsheng Magician cocks her bow back, shooting an arrow in front of the two dragons which creates a pink dome around them. Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's Level changes due to the dome's power.
(Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon — LV: 7)
(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon — LV: 4 → 7)
"Now he has…" Gongenzaka's eyes widened in shock.
"...two Level 7 monsters." Yuzu said with similar awe.
"I overlay my Level 7 Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"
The two dragons roar as they transform into energies, being absorbed into a galaxy vortex that appeared in front of Yuya. A massive pillar of light shot out from the vortex, causing the ground of the arena to tremble as Yuya began chanting.
"Dragon of dual-colored eyes. Eradicate all enemies who oppose you with your scale of wrath!" Yuya chanted. "Xyz Summon! Come forth, Rank 7! Dragon with eyes of rage! The Supreme King Black Dragon — Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Xyz/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500/R: 7/OU: 2)!"
An intimidating dragon with dual red and green-colored eyes and a body covered by black and silver armor appeared on Yuya's field. Its head had many sharp features, similar to that of Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon. Red glowing highlights could be found across its armored arms and legs. Sticking out from its back were massive mechanical wings. The dragon exuded a chaotic, menacing purple-ish aura.
"Odd-Eyes…Rebellion Dragon?" Yuuji, who had managed to recover slightly after the Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon left the field, muttered in awe.
"Performapal Darkness Skewer's effect activates!" Yuya declared. "By tributing itself from my field, I reduce Twilight Crest Ritual Dragon's ATK to 0!"
The cloaked monster leaps forward, its sabre glowing and increasing in size as it pierces the massive dragon. Twilight Crest wails in pain from the action.
(Twilight Crest Ritual Dragon — ATK: 5300 → 0)
"This is the end! Battle!" Yuya declared as compartments on Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon's wings opened up, revealing multiple sets of glowing purple wings, its two tusks glowing purple as it flew towards Twilight Crest Ritual Dragon. "Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon attacks Twilight Crest Ritual Dragon! Rebellious Wrath - Strike Disobey!"
Twilight Crest responds by shooting a beam of black and pink energy from its chest at the Xyz Dragon. Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon's tusks collide with the blast, the two monsters staying in a standstill for a moment before Rebellion Dragon begins overpowering the blast, shooting up towards Twilight Crest Ritual Dragon and shooting through it. A massive explosion is created by the attack, creating heavy shockwaves that cause Yuga to be swept away by it—the rest of his Life Points being reduced to zero as a result.
Yuga — LP: 1550 → 0
Winner: Yuya
[BGM (Background Music) Ends Here.]
Yuya's monsters, along with the Action Field around them, disappear, returning them back to the arena. The darkness that was surrounding the two duelists dissipated: their glowing eyes returning back to normal.
"T-The winner of this match is Sakaki Yuya!" Nico Smiley announced.
"..."
The crowd was completely silent, unsure of how to process what had just happened.
Yuya stared at his hand silently, deep in thought.
That same feeling from before, it came even stronger than before. Yuya thought. And I still don't know what caused it in the first place.
To make things worse, he remembers nothing of what happened during the duel. The last thing he did remember was the beginning of the duel. After a certain point, he completely blacked out, waking up back in the arena while being declared the winner of the duel.
Maybe I should just apologize to Yuuji. He seems to understand things like this better than me.
"If you want to discuss more about the Sora matter, discard your naive preconceptions. Otherwise, we have nothing more to discuss."
…
Why would I apologize to a jerk who doesn't give his friends the benefit of the doubt? Yuya frowned.
"Ah, my head!" Yuga hissed in pain, kicking Yuya out of his thoughts. He rubbed his forehead before realizing something. "Wait, my mask! Where is it?"
That face! Yuya's eyes widened in surprise upon seeing Yuga's face.
Yuga looked around for a few moments, finding his broken mask discarded on the ground about a dozen meters away.
"Huh, it's broken? But how?" Yuga wondered. "Wait…why don't I remember anything from that duel?"
"You also can't remember anything?" Yuya asked.
"You can't either?" Yuga was surprised.
"Yeah, from after your second turn and onwards, I blacked out completely," Yuya explained.
"At least you remembered something, I can't recall anything that happened after the duel began," Yuga said. "Damn…I was really looking forward to this duel too, and I just forgot everything that happened. And apparently, I lost the duel too. These past few days have not been good to me at all."
"Same here, I was just in a coma for three days and then this happened," Yuya said. "So many confusing things have happened recently, I can't really keep up with them all."
"I definitely get that. Things haven't been normal for me either."
"Speaking of one of the confusing things, how do you also have the same face as me?" Yuya asked. "That makes five people including myself who have the same face as me."
"Five?" Yuga was surprised. "I've only counted four so far. You, Haruki Yuuji, this Yuto guy I've heard about from some uptight guy, and I."
"Yugo is another person who looks like us. He rides a…Duel Runner is what I think it's called?"
"A Duel Runner?"
"It's basically just a motorcycle with a Duel Disk."
"So, he gets to play the card game while on a cool motorcycle, that's actually kind of cool," Yuga commented.
"Yeah, it is."
Yuga then glanced towards the V.I.P Booth, noticing that Reiji was nowhere to be seen. He noticed that Shizuka was still there, locking eyes with her while she was looking at him with a worried look. Yuga frowned slightly before beginning to walk off.
"Well, we can continue our little chat at a different time," Yuga said. "There are still a few more matches of the second round that need to happen, so we shouldn't stay in the arena long."
"Oh yeah. I almost forgot about that," Yuya realized before walking off in the opposite direction towards the hallway that he had entered from. He took a moment to glance at the crowd, noticing his friends looking at him with concerned expressions before he entered the hallway.
"..."
The group was silent, unsure of how to digest the recent match. Disliking the atmosphere, Yuuji decided to say something.
"I'll go talk to Yuya and ask him about what happened down there."
"Wait, I'll come with you," Yuzu suggested. "I want to make sure he's doing okay after all of that."
"No need. I want to talk to Yuya alone," Yuuji turned her down.
Understanding what he meant by this, Yuzu sat back down.
"Okay. Just try not to make things between you guys worse."
"No promises," Yuuji said as he walked off.
"Don't make things worse? What's that about?" Gongenzaka asked.
"...They—"
"—The two of them had a dispute yesterday," Yoko answered for Yuzu.
"A dispute? Between those two? That can't be good," Shuzo was surprised.
"Yeah, it wasn't," Yoko nodded. "I wasn't there to hear what they were arguing about, but I could tell that Yuya had not been the same after it."
"So that's why Yuya had been acting off today," Gongenzaka nodded in understanding. "I, the man Gongenzaka, am guessing that Yuuji plans to talk to Yuya about what had happened yesterday."
"That's what I'm thinking too," Yuzu said. "Though we won't know for sure until the two get back."
Yuuji was walking through the stadium hallways, his hands deep in his pockets as he made his way to where he thought Yuya would be. However, he stops where he notices two hooded figures step out from a hallway in front of him, standing in his way.
"Can I do something for you?" Yuuji asked.
"Are you Haruki Yuuji?" The shorter hooded figure with a feminine voice inquired.
"And if I am?" Yuuji raised an eyebrow.
The figure took off her hoodie, revealing her face. Before Yuuji could comment on it, the young woman activates her duel disk.
"Perfect. Duel me!" Serena challenged him. "I'll take you down and use you as proof to the Professor that I'm worthy of being on the front lines!"
Yuuji facepalmed, "Oh, you've got to be kidding me."
It's just one thing after another, and he was getting sick of it.
"Fine," Yuuji's expression turned serious as he activated his duel disk. "I'm already in a bad mood and you've just made it worse. You want a piece of me? Come and do your worst!"
Just as the two of them were about to begin their duel, a voice interrupted them.
"Wait!"
They turned to see the source of the voice. Yuuji's eyes widened when he noticed a tall, silver-haired man with red glasses and a similarly colored scarf that swayed in the air as he walked appeared.
"Akaba…Reiji!?" Yuuji cried out in shock.
"I don't plan on staying idle while you make your moves, Academia," Reiji declared.
Duel Explanation:
This is a new section that I came up with to explain some reasons why certain duels end the way they do. I won't do this for every single duel from now on, only for important ones with unexpected or interesting endings.
The one in this chapter is dedicated to Yuya and Yuga's duel.
It's a bit of a yap, but if you're curious, you might as well read it since it contains info that'll be good to keep in mind going forward.
So, I'm sure some of you might be wondering, why didn't Yuga get absorbed by Yuya after the duel. The answer to that is quite simple.
From what I interpreted from the show are these three conditions for their absorption process to take place. If this isn't exactly how it goes in the show, it's fine since these are the conditions for it to happen here in this story.
1) They both have to be in their berserk/awakened state.
2) One of the dimension dragons has to be destroyed by another dimensional dragon.
3) After step two, one of the owners of the dragons has to be defeated by a dimension dragon dealing the finishing blow.
Yuya could've done this during the duel in this chapter, if he just used Performapal Phantom Skewer's effect earlier to lower Twilight Crest Ritual Dragon's ATK to 0, before attacking with Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. Thanks to Odd-Eyes' effect as we know, double damage is dealt in a battle with a Level 5 or higher monster, so Yuga would've taken 5000 points of damage there.
However, as we know, he didn't. He summoned Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon, which wasn't technically a dimensional dragon, so defeating Twilight Crest Ritual Dragon didn't fulfill step 2.
As for the reason why he summoned Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon, it was due to Yuzu and Gongenzaka's words. Due to them bringing Yuya back from his awakened state temporarily, it also happened to weaken it which allowed Yuya to have more control. Another factor was that Yuya and Yuto both had an unconscious will to prevent Zarc from reawakening (the reason why being a spoiler for later on), which caused them to sync together in that moment, which in turn birthed Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon.
That's enough of an explanation from me. Anymore would just reach spoiler territory, so I won't be disclosing it here. Feel free to ask questions of your curious about other things.
Custom/Altered Card/s:
Monster Card/s—
Gravekeepers - Ancient Scribe
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 1
Dark/Fiend/Ritual/Effect
Monster Effect: You can Ritual Summon this card with any Ritual Spell. This card cannot be destroyed by battle while it is in defense position. Once per turn, add 1 "Ancient Scroll" Spell/Trap Card to your hand.
Performapal Frizzle Grizzly
ATK: 1300, DEF: 1800, LV: 5, SC: 6
Dark/Beast/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: If you Fusion Summon a monster using only Pendulum Monsters as materials; draw 1 card.
Monster Effect: If a Fusion Monster is Fusion Summoned to your field using Pendulum Monsters as material: You can Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using this card and 1 face-up Pendulum Monster in your Extra Deck as Fusion Materials.
Tri-Headed Warlock
ATK: 2500, DEF: 0, LV: 7
Dark/Spellcaster/Effect
Monster Effect: You can Special Summon this card from your hand or Graveyard by tributing 1 DARK monster you control. If this card is Special Summoned: You can target 1 monster your opponent controls; destroy it. You can only use each effect of "Tri-Headed Warlock" once per turn.
Gravekeepers - Hound Servant
ATK: 1700, DEF: 1300, LV: 4
Dark/Beast/Effect
Monster Effect: If this card is used for the Ritual Summon of a "Gravekeeper's" monster, it can be treated as the entire Tribute. If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can add 1 "Gravekeeper's" card from your Deck to your hand. You can only use this effect of "Gravekeepers - Hound Servant" once per turn.
Performapal Phantom Performer
ATK: 1300, DEF: 800, LV: 4. SC: 3
Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn: You can target 1 face-down Spell/Trap your opponent controls; reveal it. If it is a Trap, destroy it.
Monster Effect: If this card was Pendulum Summoned this turn: You can target 1 Spell/Trap your opponent controls; destroy it.
Twilight Crest Ritual Dragon
ATK: 2800, DEF: 2000, LV: 8
Light/Dragon/Ritual/Effect
Monster Effect: You can Ritual Summon this card using "Between the Crest of Twilight." (Quick Effect): Once per turn, if your opponent controls a Level 5 or higher monster, you can choose 1 monster your opponent controls; until the end of this turn, this card's name becomes that monster's, and it gains that monster's original ATK, DEF, and effects.
Performapal Darkness Skewer
ATK: 1800, DEF: 0, LV: 4, SC: 4
Dark/Fiend/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn: If a monster your opponent controls would gain ATK, you can negate that gain, and if you do, inflict 500 damage to your opponent.
Monster Effect: (Quick Effect): You can Tribute this card, then target 1 monster your opponent controls; its ATK becomes 0 until the End Phase.
Spell/Trap Card/s—
Odd-Eyes Phantom Barrage
Normal Trap
When an opponent's monster declares an attack: Special Summon 1 "Odd-Eyes" monster from your hand, Deck, or GY in Defense Position, then negate that attack. You can banish this card from your GY, except the turn it was sent there; add 1 "Odd-Eyes" card from your GY to your hand.
Final Frontier
Action Spell
Draw 1 card. If it is a Level 5 or lower monster, you can Special Summon it. Otherwise, discard it, then take 500 damage for each card on the field.
Pendulum Exchange
Normal Spell
Tribute up to 2 Pendulum Monsters from your Pendulum Zones; place 1 face-up Pendulum Monster from your Extra Deck into one of your Pendulum Zones, then draw 1 card. You can only activate 1 "Pendulum Exchange" per turn.
Pendulum Fusion
Quick-Play-Spell (Fusion Spell)
Target 2 Pendulum Monsters in your Pendulum Zones; Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck using those monsters as Fusion Materials. (This is treated as a Fusion Summon). You can only activate 1 "Pendulum Fusion" per turn.
Power Shield
Equip Spell
A monster equipped with this card is unaffected by card effects.
Stance Change
Action Spell
Target 1 monster on your field and change its battle position.
Stellar Booster
Action Spell
Target 1 monster on the field; increase its ATK by 1000 until the End Phase.
Pot of Secrets
Normal Trap
If this card is sent to the graveyard, draw 2 cards.
Ancient Scroll of Fury
Continuous Trap
While this face-up card remains on the field, change all monsters your opponent controls into Attack Position. All attack position monsters that your opponent controls must attack during the Battle Phase. Monsters your opponent control attack directed when affected.
Ancient Scroll of Self Destruction
Continuous Trap
While this face-up card remains on the field, all battle damage you would take is reduced to 0, the; deal damage to your opponent equal to the damage you would've taken.
Lurking Sacrifice
Normal Trap
Tribute 1 other card you control; target 1 monster your opponent controls—until the end of this turn, that monster cannot declare an attack. You can only activate 1 "Lurking Sacrifice" per turn.
Dark Domain
Field Spell
While this card remains active on your field, DARK Monsters you control gain 500 ATK for each DARK Monster currently on your field.
Ancient Scroll of Greed
Normal Spell
Target 1 Spell/Trap Card in your GY; apply that card's effect as this card's effect.
Card Recycling
Normal Spell
Target 1 card in your graveyard, add it to your hand.
Unwanted Surprise
Action Trap
Deal 500 points of damage.
An Actor's Facade
Normal Spell
Target 1 Spell/Trap Card in your opponent's GY; apply that card's effect as this card's effect.
Pendulum Shuffling
Normal Spell
Send up to 2 Pendulum Monsters from your Pendulum Zones to the Deck, then add an equal number of Pendulum Monsters from your Deck to your hand, except cards with the same name as those sent. You can only activate 1 "Pendulum Shuffling" per turn.
Between the Crest of Twilight
Ritual Spell Card
This card can be used to Ritual Summon any Dragon Ritual Monster from your hand or GY. You must also banish monsters from your hand, field, or graveyard whose total Levels equal or exceed the Level of the Ritual Monster you Ritual Summon.
Curtain Call
Counter Trap
When a Pendulum Monster you control is targeted for an attack: You can pay half your Life Points; that monster cannot be destroyed by battle this turn, and you take no battle damage from that attack.
Forged Between the Pendulum
Normal Spell
Tribute 1 monster you control and 1 Pendulum Monster in your Pendulum Zone; draw 1 card. During the turn you activate this card, you cannot Pendulum Summon monsters from your Extra Deck.
Edit #2: Decided to change the OC that helps Yuuji out into a different character. It doesn't change too much of my plans, but it does allow for more peak character interactions than some new standalone character.
And with that, my longest chapter to date is now complete! I can confidently say that this is my best chapter yet, by a long shot. The duels in this chapter were a lot better than I was expecting too, especially Yuuji vs Hokuto. I didn't really care too much about the match, but somehow, I managed to turn it into a duel entertaining enough to be the sole duel of a chapter (even if it was only four turns long).
I'm a little more iffy on the Yuya vs Yuga's duel, mainly because I had never made a duel similar to it before, so it felt a bit off to write. Though I think I did the best I could've done in the time limit I had given myself, so I can't complain too much about it. I'll just try and do better next time.
This chapter also features some character drama between Yuya and Yuuji, something that'll be a major focal point in the story moving forward. They'll still be on the same side and will still be friends, but I definitely plan to have their ideals clash on multiple occasions. This chapter also brought the introduction of a new custom character (one who'll actually be important, so look out for her).
Next chapter will continue right there this chapter left off, and judging from the set up, I hope you know what's happening next. That's all I wanted to say, I'm done yapping. You've already read a lot of words in this chapter, so I'll end it here. If the next chapter is out, go read that, otherwise, thanks for reading.
Chapter 17: First Contact with the Enemy
Chapter Text
Edit #1: 17/17 Chapters Revamped!!!
Chapter 17 is here. Not as long or as packed as the last chapter, but it should still be a good read. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Minor Spelling, Grammar, and Other Mistakes May Be Present.
[Maiami Championship Arc Opening Theme (Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Opening 2: Burn)]
Scale 017: First Contact with the Enemy
A few minutes after Yuuji left, Yuya arrived back to the group. The rest were surprised, expecting to see him come back with Yuuji. They weren't expecting Yuya to be alone.
"Hey, Yuya? Have you seen Yuuji?" Yuzu asked.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Yuya raised an eyebrow.
"Yuuji-senpai said he was going to go talk to you about something in private," Ayu answered.
"I didn't see him at all," Yuya said.
"Could he have gotten lost?" Tatsuya wondered aloud.
"Maybe. Though it's not like I want to talk to that jerk anyway," Yuya said before taking a seat.
"..." Yuzu frowned at him.
"What?" Yuya asked when he noticed her look.
"It's nothing…" Yuzu said.
Meanwhile, with Yuuji…
"I don't plan on staying idle while you make your moves, Academia," Reiji declared to the newcomers.
"So, you know of us. As expected from the Professor's blood," Barrett remarked as he discarded his cloak.
"Professor's blood?" Serena wondered aloud, but she decided to not think too much about it."
"Academia?" Yuuji's eyes widened upon recognizing the name.
Reiji seemed to pick up on this, addressing Yuuji.
"I assume you're aware of the current situation, right Haruki?"
"Somewhat," Yuuji replied. "While I don't know the full story, I know for a fact that these guys can't be left to do as they please."
"So, you're willing to fight them?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
"Good," Reiji smiled as he activated his own duel disk. "We'll take them on together then."
Barrett stepped in front of Serena, activating his duel disk before digging into his pocket and tossing a card on the ground in front of them. Yuuji went to pick it up, his face turning blue in horror as he noticed who was on the card.
"This is…Hokuto!" Yuuji shouted.
"So, you do happen to know that weakling. He barely managed to even put up a fight, and after he lost, he snitched on you to save his own skin," Serena scoffed. "This fate is fitting for a dishonorable duelist like him."
Yuuji was silent, staring at the card for a few moments before glaring at the two of them. A dark aura begins to seep out of him as his rage began growing. However, before he is taken over by his anger, Reiji pats him on the shoulder.
"Calm yourself. It'll do us no good if you go into this duel blinded by anger," Reiji stated. "Save that anger for after we defeat them."
The dark aura emanating from Yuuji died down as he calmed down.
"You're right," Yuuji nodded. "I'll…try and keep that in mind."
Serena stared at Barrett's activated duel disk, frowning as she addressed him.
"I can fight them alone, you know."
"You and I both know that fighting them both at the same time is not a good idea," Barrett replied. "I'll take the first turn to establish a presence. From there, I'll just do what I can to support you as you wipe out their Life Points."
"Hmph. It's the least you can do for butting in."
Barrett then turned to Reiji and Yuuji.
"We'll be following Tag Duel rules for this duel. Both teams share 4000 Life Points, as well as share a field and graveyard."
"That's fine with us," Reiji replied.
"Good, then let us get started then."
All four of them drew their first five cards.
[DUEL!] They shouted in unison as the duel began.
Yuuji & Reiji — LP: 4000
Serena & Barrett — LP: 4000
[Turn 1: Barett] [H: 5]
"I'll take the initiative!" Barrett announced. "I activate Pot of Greed to draw 2 cards! I then use Polymerization, fusing Panther Warrior and Dark Sentinel in my hand!"
A humanoid purple panther holding a sword and a green drone appeared briefly on Barrett's field before rising into the air and fusing.
"Oh ferocious black panther, merge together with the watchman of the holy darkness and raise a new war cry!" Barrett chanted, clasping his hands together with an intense expression. "I Fusion Summon! Come forth and appear, Level 6! Beastborg Panther Predator (Dark/Machine/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 1600/DEF: 2000/LV: 6)!"
A humanoid purple panther cyborg with green metal armor surrounding most of its body and holding a sword in its hand appeared.
"A Fusion Summon right off the bat. Makes sense for an Academia agent," Yuuji commented.
"This is only the beginning," Barrett declared. "Beastborg Panther Predator's effect activates! Once per turn, it can deal damage to my opponents equal to half of its ATK points!"
Panther Predator roars as a beam of red energy is shot out from the core on its chest, exploding in front of Yuuji and Reiji; the two of them wincing a bit as their Life Points drop.
Yuuji & Reiji — LP: 4000 → 3200
"I set three cards and end my turn," Barrett concluded.
"I'll take the next turn, Draw—!" Yuuji declared before being interrupted.
"Allow me to take the next turn," Reiji stepped in front of Yuuji.
"Huh? Why?" Yuuji asked.
"Your deck is designed to deal the finishing blow," Reiji pointed out. "If you're unable to finish them off on this turn, which is likely due to them having three set cards, it'll be difficult for us to outlast their assault."
"So, you want to soften them up for me. Is that right?"
"Correct," Reiji nodded.
"Knock yourself out then," Yuuji said.
"Perfect," Reiji smiled. "My turn! Draw!"
Reiji drew a card as he began his turn.
[Turn 2: Reiji] [H: 6]
"On the start of your turn, I flip over my two Continuous Traps, Beastborg Medal of the Crimson Chain and Beastborg Medal of the Shield!" Barrett declared. However, he chose to withhold their effects for now.
Reiji was right. I definitely wouldn't be able to break through his field with my current hand. Yuuji thought as he looked at the cards in his hand. Judging from the fact that he was so quick to get them activated, whatever effect those traps may have would not bode well for the two of us.
Reiji, seemingly unphased by this play, just continued his turn like normal.
"I activate Dark Contract with the Gate!" Reiji announced. "Once per turn, I get to add 1 'D/D' Monster from my deck to my hand thanks to its effect. However, during each Standby Phase, we take 1000 points of damage."
"Paying Life Points for a useless effect. How pointless," Serena scoffed.
"Is that so? Let's see if you're right then," Reiji replied as he added a card to his hand. "I use Dark Contract of the Gate's effect to add D/D Proud Chevalier to my hand!"
Reiji then reveals two cards in his hand.
"I set the Pendulum Scale with the Scale 2 D/D Brownie and the Scale 6 D/D Savant Thomas!" Reiji announced as he placed the two cards on opposite ends of his duel blade, the word [PENDULUM] appearing between in rainbow font as a mutated fiend with black wings sticking out from its arms and a golden machine statue rose into each of his Pendulum Scales.
"Pendulum?" Serena's eyes widened in surprise.
"With my currently set Pendulum Scale, I can summon monsters Levels 3 through 5 simultaneously!" Reiji declared before chanting. "Grand power that shakes my very soul, arise within me and become a new light that rends the darkness! I Pendulum Summon! Appear from my hand, D/D Nighthowl (Dark/Fiend/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 300/DEF: 600/LV: 3)!"
A portal appeared above with a single beam of energy shooting out from it. Appearing from the beam onto Reiji's field was a floating mouth with razor sharp teeth.
"Next, I activate a second Dark Contract, Dark Contract with the Singing Waves!" Reiji continued. "Just like its predecessor, we take 1000 points of damage during each of our Standby Phases. This card allows me to Special Summon 1 'D/D' Monster from my hand, and make its Level match that of another monster on my field! With this effect, I summon D/D Proud Chevalier (Dark/Fiend/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 700/LV: 5 → 3/SC: 6)!"
A knight covered in silver armor, wearing a red cape that was draped over its back appeared.
"Now Reiji has two Level 3 Monsters. That means…" Yuuji muttered.
"I overlay my Level 3 Nighthowl and Proud Chevalier together!" Reiji declared as the aforementioned monsters were absorbed into a galaxy vortex that appeared in front of him as he began chanting. "Impregnable invincible king. Surpass eternity and descend! I Xyz Summon! Be born, Rank 3! D/D/D Stone King Darius (Earth/Fiend/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1000/R: 3/OU: 2)!"
A machine golem with dark red armor and a massive staff in its hand appeared on Reiji's field. Suddenly, a floating stone with crimson chains wrapped around it appeared from one of Barrett's Continuous Traps. The crimson chains shoot out from the stone, constricting Reiji's Xyz Monster along with both his and Yuuji's duel disks.
"What the?" Yuuji asked aloud as he tried to rip out the chains to no avail. "I can't take them off."
"You just triggered Beastborg Medal of the Crimson Chain's effect," Barrett stated. "When my opponent Special Summons a monster from their Extra Deck, the monster summoned cannot attack, change battle positions, or be destroyed by battle. Furthermore, as long as you control D/D/D Stone King Darius and I have 'Beastborg' Monsters, you cannot summon monsters, nor can you activate Spell/Trap Cards."
"So, we can't do anything anymore?" Yuuji inquired.
"Precisely," Barrett nodded. "No opponent of mine has ever managed to win once this effect has been resolved. So you two should save us some time and give up while you still can. Maybe, Serena-sama will spare you."
"Spare who? Them?" Serena frowned. "If I manage to bring them back to the Professor, he'll have no reason to keep me on the sidelines any longer."
Barrett sighed, "You heard her. Your fate is sealed. Resisting any longer will only bring you more pain."
"I activate the effect of Stone King Darius," Reiji declared, unphased by their words. "By using one Overlay Unit, I tribute Dark Contract with the Singing Waves on my field to draw 1 card."
(D/D/D Stone King Darius — OU: 2 → 1)
Stone King Darius absorbs one of its Overlay Units as the Continuous Spell was destroyed and Reiji draws a card. A facedown card then appears in front of him.
"I set one card and end my turn," Reiji concluded.
Yuuji was a little surprised by this.
"You're not giving up?"
Reiji raised an eyebrow at him.
"You want me to?"
"Not really. I was just a bit surprised since our situation is looking hopeless right now."
"On the surface, yes. But I'm sure you can see a way out like I can, right?"
"Yeah," Yuuji smiled and nodded. "We might need a bit of luck though."
"I assume you two won't be giving up even after what I said," Barrett smiled slightly. "How admirable, fighting to the very end even when the situation is hopeless."
"Hopeless? This is anything but hopeless," Yuuji smirked. "As long as we have Life Points left, you can't count us out of the game."
"What nonsense. You guys can't even fight back," Serena scoffed. "But fine, we'll do things your way. I'll be happy to land the final blow on you guys. My turn! Draw!"
Serena drew a card as she began her turn.
[Turn 3: Serena] [H: 6]
"I activate Panther Predator's effect!" Barrett declared immediately after Serena's turn began. "Dealing another 800 points of damage!"
The cyborg panther shoots another red energy beam at Yuuji and Reiji which explodes upon contact with the ground in front of them; the two of them wincing from the shockwaves of the attack.
Yuuji & Reiji — LP: 3200 → 2400
Shortly after that, Serena began to make her move.
"I activate Polymerization, fusing Lunalight Blue Cat with Lunalight Black Sheep from my hand!"
A humanoid blue feline and a humanoid monster dressed in black with orange horns sticking out from its shoulders appeared on Serena's field briefly before rising into the air and fusing.
"The beast lurking in jet-black darkness! Fuse together with the azure feline under the vortex of the moon's gravity and be reborn as a new power!" Serena chanted as she clasped her hands together. "I Fusion Summon! Come forth, Level 7! Lunalight Cat Dancer (Dark/Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)!"
A feminine monster with purple skin and feline-ish features, wearing clothing seen on some traditional dancers appeared.
"When Lunalight Black Sheep is sent to the graveyard as Fusion Material, I can add it back to my hand."
Serena added a card from her graveyard to her hand.
"Next I activate Lunalight Perfume, Special Summoning Lunalight Blue Cat (Dark/Beast-Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1200/LV: 4) to my field from my graveyard!" The humanoid feline monster reappeared on Serena's field. "Lunalight Blue Cat's effect then activates, doubling the attack of Lunalight Cat Dancer when it is Special Summoned!"
(Lunalight Cat Dancer — ATK: 2400 → 4800)
"She managed to get such a powerful monster on the field that easily, might need to take some notes," Yuuji was impressed.
"This is no time to be impressed, Xyz," Serena stated. "Lunalight Cat Dancer's effect activates! By tributing Lunalight Blue Cat from my field, she can attack all monsters my opponents control twice during the Battle Phase!"
"She intends on wiping out our Life Points in one move," Reiji commented. "Quite the full proof plan with the support of her partner, since we can't activate Trap Cards to protect ourselves."
Serena seemed a little pissed at how casual her opponents were about the play she was about to play, deciding this was the perfect moment to give them a piece of her mind.
"Battle!" Serena moved into her Battle Phase. "Cat Dancer, attack Stone King Darius and finish them off! Full Moon Mayhem!"
The dancer spins around at insane speed, surrounding herself in a cyclone of wind as she shoots towards the armored golem.
"I activate the effect of Antique Kuriblock in my hand!" Yuuji declared. "By sending it from my hand to the graveyard, all battle damage is negated for the rest of this turn!"
Yuuji discards a card as a small creature with a body made up of colorful blocks appeared in front of them, creating a barrier that protected them from Cat Dancer's attack. At the same time, Stone King Darius absorbs another Overlay Unit.
(D/D/D Stone King Darius — OU: 1 → 0)
"Stone King Darius' battle effect activates!" Reiji declared. "By using one Overlay Unit, it cannot be destroyed by battle. Furthermore, the monster that it battles is destroyed, and you take 500 points of damage!"
Stone King Darius leaps forward, swinging its staff at Lunalight Cat Dancer. The monster bursts into particles from the attack, the shockwaves being sent towards Serena and Barrett who wince as they take the damage.
Serena & Barrett — LP: 4000 → 3500
Reiji turned to Yuuji.
"Nice play, we would've lost there if you hadn't done that," Reiji said.
"I might have forgotten that I could do that if you didn't use Stone King Darius' effect earlier," Yuuji admitted. "I can't believe that I didn't catch that we were still allowed to use monster effects."
Barrett turned to his own partner while the two of them chatted.
"It looks like your plan of taking them out in one turn has blown up in our face, Serena-sama," Barrett commented.
"Can you not remind me…" Serena muttered with a sour look as she rolled her eyes. "I set one monster facedown along with one card set in my Spell/Trap Zone, and end my turn."
Two facedown cards, one with a blue caged creature on top of it, appeared in front of her. She put a hand on her hip as addressed her opponents.
"You may have found a way to save yourself this turn, but as long as our Continuous Trap stays on the field, you two are nothing but sitting ducks," Serena scoffed.
"Wow, way to point the obvious," Yuuji scoffed.
"Just start your turn, Xyz," Serena demanded. "This duel has already gone on way longer than it should've. It's clear to anybody watching that we're going to win this duel."
"Didn't you hear me earlier, we still have Life Points, you still haven't won this duel yet," Yuuji said.
"So what? You can't summon monsters, you can't use Spell or Trap Cards, and you can't even attack with or change the battle position of the sole monster on your field. You…can't…win. This should be obvious."
"Then we'll see," Yuuji smiled as he placed his hand on the top of his deck. "I have faith that my deck won't let me down. My turn! Draw!"
Yuuji drew a card as his turn began.
[Turn 4: Yuuji] [H: 5]
"During each of our Standby Phases, we take 1000 points of damage due to Dark Contract's effect," Reiji stated.
The two of them clutch their chests in pain as a dark energy spews out from it for a few moments.
Yuuji & Reiji — LP: 2400 → 1400
Once the contract was paid, Yuuji looked at the card he drew, his eyes widening in surprise when he saw what it was.
"Just what I needed," Yuuji smiled as he revealed the card he drew. "I activate the effect of Antique Wonder Dice! By sending it to the graveyard, I get to roll a six-sided dice to activate a random effect!"
"Leaving it up to chance, huh? I like the sound of that," Reiji smiled.
"A random effect, but that's so unreliable," Serena's jaw dropped in exasperation.
"Normally, you would be right. But thanks to Beastborg Medal of the Crimson Chain's conditions, fate is in my favor," Yuuji declared as a wooden dice appeared in his hand. "If I roll a 1 or 2, I get to destroy 1 Spell/Trap Card on the field. If I roll a 3 or 4, I get to destroy 1 Monster on the field. And if I roll a 5 or 6, we take damage equal to the difference between our Life Points and our opponent's!"
"You're willing to risk losing on the spot all for the sake of victory. You deserve a medal for your perseverance in the face of certain defeat," Barrett commented.
Yuuji tossed the wooden dice in the air. The dice grew to more than twice its size as it rolled on the ground, eventually coming to a stop at the number two.
"Would you look at that, now I get to destroy a Trap Card on your field!" Yuuji announced before pointing towards Barrett. "Of course, I choose to destroy your Continuous Trap, Beastborg Medal of Crimson Chain!"
Barrett's Trap Card bursts into particles. At the same time, the crimson chains that were wrapped around D/D/D Stone King Darius and the two duelist's duel disks burst into particles as well.
"Good job, Haruki," Reiji said. "I activate the effect of Dark Contract with the Gate, adding D/D Lilith to my hand!"
Reiji added a card to his hand.
"Now it's time for the counterattack!" Yuuji declared. "With the currently set Pendulum Scale, I Pendulum Summon!"
A portal appeared above Yuuji as two beams of energy shoot out from it.
"Appear from my hand, Antique Wishing Lamp (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5/SC: 3) and Antique Reverend Architect (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 600/DEF: 1500/LV: 3/SC: 4)!"
A golden genie lamp and a mage in an all-purple cloak holding a stone scepter appeared on Yuuji's field.
"Upon its summon, Reverend Architect allows me to add an 'Antique' Spell/Trap Card to my hand. I choose to add Runaway Antiques!" Yuuji announced as he added a card to his hand. "Next I activate Antique Possession! With its effect, I get to change the Level of up to two monsters on my field to match that of another monster on my field! I choose to make Stone King Darius and Reverend Architect's Levels equal to that of Antique Wishing Lamp!"
"What? But isn't Stone King Darius an Xyz Monster?" Barrett asked.
"Antique Possession changes an Xyz Monster's Rank to its Level equivalent when this effect is used on it," Yuuji explained.
(Antique Wishing Lamp — LV: 5)
(D/D/D Stone King Darius — R: 3 → LV: 3 → 5)
(Antique Maker - Reverend Architect — LV: 3 → 5)
If I hadn't seen it earlier during Sakaki Yuya and Ibarahana Yuga's duel, I would've thought such a thing was impossible too. Reiji thought. Though the fact that Haruki Yuuji of all people can do it too cannot be a coincidence.
"I overlay the Level 5 Antique Wishing Lamp, Reverend Architect, and Stone King Darius!" Yuuji declared as the mentioned monsters were absorbed into a galaxy vortex in front of him. "The will of the oppressed who die on the battlefield burns bright. They wait for the one who guides the will of the fallen to victory! I Xyz Summon! Rise up, Rank 5! The courageous leader who fans the flames of rebellion, Antique Maker - Revolution Commander (Fire/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/R: 5/OU: 3)!"
A tall man cloaked in black, with bright red hair and a black mask covering his face, leaving only his golden eagle-like eyes visible, appeared on Yuuji's field surrounded by three red Overlay Units.
"Using an Xyz Monster to summon another Xyz Monster, it's just like what I heard from those who fought in the Xyz Dimension. You must be one of the remnants I was looking for!" Serena pointed at him.
Yuuji just looked at her with a dumbfounded expression.
She wasn't even completely confident that I was one before? I mean I know I'm not, since that would mean that I was from Yuto's homeworld, which I'm not. But still, what the hell is wrong with her? Yuuji wondered. If it wasn't obvious already, she's definitely the act first, think later type of gal.
"I don't know where you got the idea from, but I'm not the one you're looking for," Yuuji stated. "Normally, I'd look the other way and say this isn't my business, but…"
Yuuji paused to stare at the card still in his hand, the carded form of Hokuto. He closed his eyes as he continued speaking.
"...I would never forgive myself if I didn't at least try to avenge Hokuto, even if it is futile." Yuuji reopened his eyes, a determined look being etched onto it. "That's why I'll take you guys down, here and now!"
Revolution Commander then absorbs one of its Overlay Units.
(Revolution Commander — OU: 3 → 2)
"I now activate Revolution Commander's effect!" Yuuji announced. "I detached an Overlay Unit from it to Special Summon Antique Dawning Blaze (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5/SC: 7) from my deck! I also use Antique Dawning Blaze's effect to equip it to Revolution Commander!"
A fiery blade with a golden hilt appeared on Yuuji's field. Revolution Commander grabs onto the hilt of the sword, the flames of it burning bright.
"A monster equipped with Antique Dawning Blazes gains 500 ATK for every other monster on the field," Yuuji explained. "You have two monsters in your monster zone, so Revolution Commander gains 1000 ATK!"
(Revolution Commander — ATK: 2500 → 3500)
Yuuji points at Beastborg Panther Predator as Revolution Commander leaps forward.
"Battle!" Yuuji declared. "Revolution Commander attacks Panther Predator! Blazing Revolution!"
"Trap Card, Open!" Barrett shouted as his remaining set card was activated. "Beastborg Medal of Honor! When a 'Beastborg' Monster is targeted for an attack, this card destroys a 'Beastborg' Fusion Monster that I control and Special Summons the materials used for its summon onto my field. Then, my opponent takes damage equal to the combined ATK of my monster! I've been impressed by your tenacity, but this is the end!"
"The end? You don't get to decide that!" Yuuji declared as he played a card. "I activate my Quick-Play-Spell, Runaway Antiques! When my opponent activates a Spell/Trap Card during the Damage Step, I can banish three 'Antique' Monsters from my deck to negate and destroy that card! "
Yuuji picks out three cards from his deck, sending them to his banished zone.
"I banished Antique Light Bulb, Antique Crescent Breeze and Antique Twilight Shield," Yuuji stated.
Barrett's Trap Card bursts into particles.
"Now Revolution Commander's attack continues unimpeded!" Yuuji shouted as Revolution Commander swung its fiery blade down on the cyborg panther, slicing through it and creating an explosion that caused both Serena and Barrett to wince.
Serena & Barrett — LP: 3500 → 2550
"Unfortunately, when Runaway Antiques is activated, all battle damage you receive is halved for the rest of this turn," Yuuji revealed.
"Beastborg Panther Predator's effect activates!" Barrett announced. "When this monster is destroyed by battle, I can still Special Summon all of the materials used for its summon back onto my field! Return for battle, Panther Warrior (Earth/Beast-Warrior/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1600/LV: 4) and Dark Sentinel (Dark/Machine/Effect/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1800/LV: 4), both in defense mode!"
Barrett's two monsters return back to his field with a faint blue aura surrounding them.
"See, it's pointless," Serena shrugged and shook her head. "Even with your miracle, you still haven't managed to do anything meaningful."
"That's where you're wrong!" Yuuji declared. "When Revolution Commander is equipped with Antique Dawning Blaze, it can make a second attack during the Battle Phase! Revolution Commander, attack their facedown monster! Blazing Revolution!"
The facedown monster flips face-up, revealing itself to be Lunalight Black Sheep (Dark/Beast-Warrior/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 600/LV: 2).
"And what does that do for you exactly?" Serena frowned. "It's not exactly a big reveal when you can't even harm our Life Points—"
"—I'm not done yet!" Yuuji interrupted. "Revolution Commander's third effect applies at this time!"
Revolution Commander absorbs another one of its Overlay Units.
(Revolution Commander — OU: 2 → 1)
"When it battles a monster in defense position, it can detach an Overlay Unit from itself to deal piercing damage!" Yuuji declared.
"What!?" Serena cried out in shock.
Revolution Commander slashes its fiery blade down on the Lunalight Black Sheep, the monster bursting into particles as powerful shock waves are sent towards Serena and Barrett as they lose life points.
Serena & Barrett — LP: 2550 → 1100
Shortly after Revolution Commander's attacks, a shield appeared behind Barrett, with twenty-four medals suddenly materializing on it.
"Beastborg Medal of Shield's effect activates. For every 100 points of damage we take, 1 'Medal Counter' is placed on it," Barrett revealed.
(Metal Counters — 0 → 24)
A facedown card appeared in front of Yuuji.
"I set one card and end my turn," Yuuji concluded.
"Solid turn," Reiji praised Yuuji. "You managed to bring us back from quite the hopeless situation."
"Thanks." Yuuji accepted the compliment. "I'm a bit surprised that I managed to turn things back in our favor like this,"
"However, we still can't afford to get complacent," Reiji stated. "We still barely know anything about what they're planning with that Continuous Trap."
"Right," Yuuji nodded.
"He was actually able to turn this duel around," Serena was stunned.
"It appears that we'll need to take them more seriously from now on," Barrett stated as he placed his arm over the top of his deck. "My turn! Draw!"
Barrett drew a card and began his turn.
[Turn 5: Barrett] [H: 1]
"I activate Continuous Spell, Beastborg Fusioner!" Barrett announced. "Once per turn, I can Fusion Summon a 'Beastborg' Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck using cards from my hand or field as Fusion Material. I refuse Panther Warrior and Dark Sentinel!"
The two aforementioned monsters rise into the air, fusing together as Barrett begins chanting.
"Oh ferocious black panther, merge together with the watchman of the holy darkness once again and raise a new war cry!" Barrett chanted as he clasped his hands together. "I Fusion Summon! Come forth, Level 7! Beastborg Panther Driver (Dark/Machine/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1900/LV: 7)!"
A humanoid purple panther covered in green armor, with a blood red drill as a right arm and a red core on its chest appeared on Barrett's field.
"When Panther Driver is Fusion Summoned, I can draw 1 card!" Barrett drew a card from his deck. "Then, I tribute Beastborg Medal of Shield to activate its effect! I can grant 1 'Beastborg' Monster I control 100 ATK for each Medal Counter on this card!"
(Medal Counter: 24 → 0)
(Beastborg Panther Driver — ATK: 2000 → 4400)
"At this time, I activate Beastborg Panther Driver's effect!" Barrett continued. "Once per turn, we gain Life Points equal to half of Panther Driver's ATK!"
A green aura surrounded Barrett and Serena as their Life Points were replenished.
Serena & Barrett — LP: 1100 → 3300
"So not only did he bring out a powerful monster, but it also gives them passive healing as well," Yuuji frowned. "Things just keep getting more annoying."
"Battle!" Barrett moved into his Battle Phase. "Panther Driver attacks Revolution Commander! Crimson Piercer!"
Panther Driver's drill grows in size, spinning rapidly as the machine monster leaps towards Revolution Commander. At the same time, Yuuji's set card is flipped face-up.
"I activate the Trap Card, Mirror Barrier!" Yuuji declared. "When my opponent's monster declares an attack, I can negate that attack!"
A barrier formed around Revolution Commander, protecting it from Panther Driver's attack.
"So, you had an out to that too," Barrett closed his eyes as he set a card on his duel blade. "I set one card and end my turn."
"Okay, I did my part. It's up to you now, Akaba," Yuuji said.
"Got it," Reiji nodded as he drew a card for his turn. "My turn!"
[Turn 6: Reiji] [H: 3]
"Dark Contract with the Gate's cost occurs at this time, decreasing our Life Points by another 1000 points," Reiji stated as he and Yuuji clutch their chests in pain.
Yuuji & Reiji — LP: 1400 → 400
"I then use Dark Contract with the Gate's effect to add D/D Savant Galilei to my hand!"
Reiji added a card to his hand. Reiji then glanced at Yuuji to ask him something.
"You don't mind if I destroy your monster to activate my card effects, right?" Reiji inquired.
"I used yours earlier to summon mine, knock yourself out," Yuuji replied.
"Good," Reiji smiled as the card he set a while back was activated. "I activate my Trap Card, D/D Redraw! By destroying all other cards on the field, I get to draw 5 cards from my deck!"
Revolution Commander along with Reiji's Pendulum Scales were destroyed as he drew five cards. After he does so, he picks out two cards from his hand, revealing them as he plays them on his duel disk.
"I reset my Pendulum Scale with the Scale 1 D/D Savant Galilei and the Scale 10 D/D Savant Kepler!" Reiji announced as two machine constructs rose into the Pendulum Zones behind him. "Next, I summon D/D Lilith (Dark/Fiend/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 2100/LV: 4)!"
A small humanoid rose-like monster with the bottom half of its body being made of green vines appeared on Reiji's field.
"When D/D Lilith is summoned, I can add a 'D/D' Monster from my graveyard to my hand. I choose to add D/D Proud Chevalier with this effect!"
Reiji takes out a card from his graveyard, sorting it into his hand.
"Now, with my currently set Pendulum Scale, I can summon monsters Levels 2 through 9 simultaneously!" Reiji declared. "Grand power that shakes my very soul, arise within me and become a new light that rends the darkness! I Pendulum Summon!"
A portal appeared above Reiji, with four beams of energy shooting out from it.
"Return from my Extra Deck, D/D Brownie (Dark/Fiend/Pendulum/Tuner/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 3/SC: 2)!" The same mutated fiend with black wings that was in Reiji's Pendulum Scale prior appeared on his field. "And from my hand, D/D/D Doom King Armageddon (Dark/Fiend/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 3000/DEF: 1000/LV: 8/SC: 4), and D/D/D Oblivion King Abyss Ragnarok (Dark/Fiend/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2200/DEF: 3000/LV: 8/SC: 5)!"
A massive machine monster with a golden face and a body in the shape of a large crystal, and a massive armored individual sitting on a large throne swarmed onto Reiji's field.
"He summoned three monsters at once?" Serena's eyes widened in shock.
"Ragnarok's summoning effect activates, allowing me to Special Summon D/D/D Stone King Darius (ATK: 1900/DEF: 1000/R: 3) from my graveyard!"
The man on a throne sets wire-like constructs into a portal that appears in front of it. Emerging from the portal was the same machine golem with dark red armor from earlier.
"The Level 3 D/D Brownie now tunes the Level 4 D/D Lilith!" Reiji continued as the aforementioned monsters transformed into green rings and orbs, lining up together as he began chanting. "Howls that tear through the night. Gain the swiftness of a gale and become the cries of a newborn king! I Synchro Summon! Be born, Level 7! D/D/D Gust King Alexander (Wind/Fiend/Synchro/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)!"
An armored warrior with a large blade and a long green cape appeared.
"Next, I activate Ragnarok's other effect!" Reiji continued. "By tributing the recently summoned Stone King Darius from my field, I can banish your Beastborg Panther Driver!"
The man on the throne shoots those same wire-like constructs, this time aiming for Barrett's Fusion Monster.
"As expected from the Professor's blood," Barrett smiled. "However, I won't let you take out my monster that easily! I activated my Trap Card, Beastborg Rampage! I can target 1 'Beastborg' Monster on my field and prevent it from being destroyed or banished for the rest of this turn. Furthermore, that monster gains ATK equal to half its current ATK, and we gain Life Points equal to half the ATK it gains from this effect!"
Panther Driver blocks the wire-like constructs from grabbing it by using its drill, its movements growing more erratic as it goes berserk.
(Beastborg Panther Driver — ATK: 4400 → 6600)
Serena & Barrett — LP: 3300 → 4400
"When a 'D/D' Monster is destroyed by card effect, Doom King Armageddon gains ATK equal to the destroyed monster's original attack (D/D/D Doom King Armageddon — ATK: 3000 → 4900)," Reiji stated.
"Now what? We can't break through his defense due to how high Panther Driver's ATK is," Yuuji asked. "And even if we could match its ATK, we can't destroy it this turn, nor can we make much of a dent to their Life Points."
"My turn isn't over yet, Haruki," Reiji said with a calm look as he revealed a card in his hand. "D/D Swirl Slime's effect activates at this time! While this card is in my hand, I can use it to Fusion Summon 1 'D/D/D' Monster from my Extra Deck, along with monsters from both my hand and field as materials! I fuse D/D Swirl Slime and D/D Proud Chevalier in my hand, along with D/D/D Doom King Armageddon and D/D/D Oblivion King Abyss Ragnarok on my field!"
The four monsters rose into the air, fusing together and Reiji began chanting.
"Arcane swirl that takes in all forms! Bring forth the ultimate king with the power to pierce through fate!" Reiji chanted. "I Fusion Summon! Be born, Level 10! D/D/D Revolution Kaiser Robespierre (Dark/Fiend/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 10)!"
A large warrior clad in pitch black armor appeared on Reiji's field. It wore a marbled mask, with a long tri-colored cape (red, white, and blue) flowing from its back. In its hand was a fencing sabre with glowing white rings surrounding the blade.
"Additionally, since I Special Summoned a 'D/D' Monster, Gust King Alexander's effect allows me to Special Summon D/D Lilith (ATK: 100/DEF: 2100/LV: 4) from my graveyard in defense mode!"
The rose-like monster appeared from a portal, a faint blue aura surrounding it.
"That's an impressive Fusion Monster and all, but what will you do with a monster with no ATK or DEF?" Serena looked unconvinced.
"D/D/D Revolution Kaiser Robespierre effect grants it ATK depending on the Fusion Materials used for its summon," Reiji explained. "It gains 500 ATK for each 'D/D' Monster used for its summon, and 1000 for each 'D/D/D' Monster used. Since I used two 'D/D' Monsters and two 'D/D/D' Monsters to summon it, Robespierre gains 3000 ATK!"
(Revolution Kaiser Robespierre — ATK: 0 → 3000)
"I don't see where you're going with this, Professor's blood. Your monster is still far too weak to defeat my monster, even if it could be destroyed by battle this turn," Barrett commented.
"Your monster isn't what I'm aiming for," Reiji stated while adjusting his glasses. "The thing I'm aiming for…" Reiji pointed a finger towards the two Academia duelists. "...are your Life Points!"
Barrett and Serena were stunned by his declaration. At the same time, a dark red aura begins seeping out from Robespierre's body.
"Revolution Kaise Robespierre has a second effect!" Reiji announced. "When it declares an attack, it can attack my opponent directly!"
[What!?] Serena and Barrett cried out in unison.
"Battle!" Reiji moved into his Battle Phase. "D/D/D Revolution Kaiser Robespierre attacks the two of you directly! Pierce of Revolution!"
Robespierre jabs its sabre forward with quick speeds, creating a shockwave that shoots towards the two duelists; blowing them back.
Serena & Barrett — LP: 4400 → 1400
"Nice! A direct hit!" Yuuji pumped his fists.
"Still barely changes the situation," Reiji stated.
"True...since they can just regain all the Life Points they lost next turn," Yuuji frowned. "Though at least you managed to stop them from gaining too many."
"..." Three set cards appeared in front of Reiji. "I set three cards and conclude my turn."
(Beastborg Panther Driver — ATK: 6600 → 4400)
Serena struggles back onto her feet, Barrett doing the same. She began clenching her fists as she glared at the two of them.
"Okay, I've had enough of this. Your interference made this matter far more difficult than it had to be." Serena said before smiling. "But it's fine, because I'll be sure to finish you off next turn and prove that all this struggling of yours was worthless in the end! My turn! Draw!"
Serena drew a card from her deck, which glowed in response.
[Turn 7: Serena] [H: 2]
"Panther Driver's effect activates, granting the two of us Life Points equal to half of its ATK!" Barrett announced as a green aura surrounded the two of them once again.
Serena & Barrett — LP: 1400 → 3600
"I activate Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two cards!" Serena declared as she drew two cards. She briefly glanced at the cards she drew before continuing her turn. "I summon Lunalight White Rabbit (Dark/Beast-Warrior/Effect/ATK: 800/DEF: 800/LV: 2)!"
A feminine monster with long, white rabbit-like hair and holding a white hammer in its hand appeared.
"Once per turn, Lunalight White Rabbit allows me to send 1 'Spell/Trap' Card you control back to your hand!" Serena revealed. "I choose to send the Trap Card you set in the middle back into your hand!"
Lunalight White Rabbit leaps forward, slamming its hammer down on one of Reiji's set card; sending it back to his hand.
"Next, I activate Monster Reborn!" Serena announced. "With it, I Special Summon Lunalight Cat Dancer (ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000/LV: 7) from my graveyard!"
Serena's signature monster reappears from a portal onto her field.
"I now activate Fusion Armament!" Serena declared. "With it, I can Fusion Summon a monster from my Extra Deck using monsters on my field and in my hand as Materials! I fuse Lunalight Cat Dancer and Lunalight White Rabbit!"
The two aforementioned monsters rise into the air, fusing as Serena begins chanting.
"The beautiful beast dancing in the moonlight! The lively white rabbit illuminated by moonlight! Swarm in the vortex of the moon's gravity and become a new power!" Serena clasped her hands together. "I Fusion Summon! Come forth, Level 8! Elegant beast dancing in the moonlit wilderness! Lunalight Panther Dancer (Dark/Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2500/LV: 8)!"
A dark-skinned feminine dancer with panther-like features scattered around parts of its body appeared.
"When a monster is summoned by Fusion Armament, it gains 300 ATK!" Serena states as Lunalight Panther Dancer powered up.
(Lunalight Panther Dancer — ATK: 2800 → 3100)
"Battle!" Serena moved into her Battle Phase. "Lunalight Panther Dancer's effect allows it to attack each monster you control twice per turn! Go and attack D/D Lilith first, Panther Dancer!"
Panther Dancer leaps forward, landing a blow on D/D Lilith which doesn't destroy it at first. The feline monster then jumps into the air, before diving back down on D/D Lilith and destroying it with a devastating kick. The shockwaves of the attack caused the two of them to wince a little.
"Panther Dancer has an additional effect," Serena reveals. "Whenever it destroys a monster that my opponent controls, it gains 200 ATK until the End Phase!"
(Lunalight Panther Dancer — ATK: 3100 → 3300)
Reiji has to do something, and fast. Yuuji thought. We'll lose once it attacks again.
"It's time to end this! Panther Dancer attacks Gust King Alexander!" Serena continued.
"I activate my Continuous Trap Card, Forbidden Fallacy. In order to activate this card, I tribute the two monsters in my Pendulum Zone as sacrifice," Reiji stated, adjusting his glasses as his two Pendulum Zones were destroyed."By paying half my Life Points, all damage I would take in battles involving 'D/D' Monsters is negated!"
Their duel disks begin to shock them a little as they pay the activation price.
Yuuji & Reiji — LP: 400 → 200
Both of the Pendulum Zones behind Reiji and Yuuji disappeared as D/D Savant Galilei and D/D Savant Kepler burst into particles. A barrier formed around Reiji and Yuuji, protecting them from the shockwaves as Panther Dancer destroys both Gust King Alexander and Revolution Kaiser Robespierre, growing stronger with each monster defeated.
(Lunalight Panther Dancer — ATK: 3300 → 3500)
(Lunalight Panther Dancer — ATK: 3500 → 3700)
"The two of you are wide open now!" Barrett declared as Beastborg Panther Driver leapt towards them. "Panther Driver now attacks the two of you directly!"
"Forbidden Fallacy's second effect activates!" Reiji declared. "I tribute the card to negate one instance of an attack!"
A similar barrier to the one that appeared a few moments ago appeared around them, protecting them from Panther Driver's drill.
"Tch, I end my turn," Serena clicked her tongue. "When will you guys just give up? Can't you see that no matter what you do, you can't win this duel."
"You said that before, yet we're still alive and kicking," Yuuji responded.
"You just got lucky back then," Serena scoffed. "But now it should be obvious that you can't win. Neither of you have any cards in your hands, and your only hope of victory is the single Trap Card that your partner set on his turn."
"You've been talking a lot of shit for somebody who's been completely carried by her teammate the whole duel," Yuuji retorted. "You keep telling us to give up, yet you haven't even managed to dent our Life Points with any of your attacks."
"He does have a point there, Serena—!"
"Shut up! I don't need to hear the same thing from you as well!" Serena cut Barrett off.
"It seems like you've managed to get in her head," Reiji commented.
"Yeah, but it's not like doing so matters when her turn is already over," Yuuji sighed.
She does have a point though. The difference between our Life Points is too great. Even with the two of us working together, we've still been put at a severe disadvantage thanks to her partner. Yuuji assessed the situation. Even if I were to get lucky, it might not even be enough for us to win this.
Yuuji placed his hand over the top of his deck and took a deep breath. He glanced over at Reiji briefly before continuing.
Though, I've faced worse.
"My turn! Draw!" Yuuji drew a card.
[Turn 8: Yuuji] [H: 1]
Yuuji's eyes widened when he saw the card that he drew.
Wait, we can actually win with this. Yuuji realized. Just have to be smart with this.
"I activate Pendulum Acceleration!" Yuuji announced. "This Spell Card allows me to Special Summon a Pendulum Monster face-up in my Extra Deck! Return to my field, Antique Maker - Reverend Architect (ATK: 600/DEF: 1500/LV: 3)!"
The magician clad in purple from earlier reappeared from a portal in front of Yuuji.
"Reverend Architect allows me to add an 'Antique' Spell/Trap Card from my deck when it is summoned," Yuuji stated. "I add Antique Shop to my hand with this effect, which I'll be activating now!"
A portal appeared in the sky, with a beam of energy shooting out from it.
"Using Antique Shop's effect, I Special Summon Antique Amethyst Lasso (Light/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5) from my deck!"
A floating lasso made of amethyst appeared.
"The Level 3 Antique Maker - Reverend Architect tunes the Level 5 Antique Amethyst Lasso!" Yuuji declared as the two monsters turned into green rings and orbs, lining up together as Yuuji began chanting. "Sonic gale winds that move at the speed of sound. Ride the speeding current as you pave a path to victory! I Synchro Summon! Accelerate, Level 8! Antique Maker - Freedom Rider (Wind/Spellcaster/Synchro/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1500/LV: 8/SC: 1)!"
A man riding a grey and green colored Duel Runner appeared on Yuuji's field.
"Freedom Rider's effect allows me to destroy cards you control equal to the number of 'Antique' Monsters used for its summon," Yuuji declared. "I used two for its summon, so I'll use its effect to destroy both of your monsters! Freedom Gale!"
A green vortex erupts from Freedom Rider, threatening to suck in both of their monsters. Beastborg Panther Driver is pulled into the vortex, bursting into particles as it is destroyed; its Fusion Materials returning back to their field with faint blue auras surrounding them. Lunalight Panther Dancer on the other hand stands its ground, completely unaffected by Freedom Rider's effect.
[Panther Warrior (ATK: 2000/DEF: 1600/LV: 4)]
[Dark Sentinel (ATK: 1500/DEF: 1800/LV: 4)]
"What?" Yuuji's eyes widened in shock.
"Just like Beastborg Panther Predator, Panther Driver summons its Fusion Materials back to the field," Barrett stated.
"And Lunalight Panther Dancer can't be destroyed by card effects, so my monster is safe!" Serena declared.
"..." Reiji silently observed Yuuji's reaction to this reveal.
"Damn…" Yuuji cursed. "That ruins everything."
He was betting on one all-out attack, using Freedom Rider and the effect it would copy from Antique Amethyst Lasso to summon back one of the monsters that were destroyed by its effect this turn.
I should've assumed that Beastborg Panther Driver had a similar effect to Panther Predator, but I had no way of knowing Lunalight Panther Dancer's effect. Yuuji clenched his fists. Now what?
He can't destroy Lunalight Panther Dancer even if he makes use of the ATK gain from Freedom Rider's effect. Due to it being in attack mode, if it stays on the field past this turn, Panther Dancer could attack it and wipe out the rest of their Life Points.
"I…activate Freedom Rider's second effect," Yuuji continued anyway. "By banishing Antique Amethyst Lasso from my graveyard, it can copy its effect, as well as gain 1000 ATK until the End Phase of this turn!"
(Freedom Rider — ATK: 2000 → 3000)
"I activate Freedom Rider's copied effect!" Yuuji declared. "Once per turn, I can Special Summon 1 monster that was sent to the graveyard this turn. Arise, Beastborg Panther Driver (ATK: 2000/DEF: 1900/LV: 7)!"
A portal appeared on Serena and Barrett's field. Freedom Rider materializes an amethyst lasso, tossing it into the portal. Soon after, it pulls out Panther Driver from the graveyard, dragging it onto Yuuji and Reiji's field.
"Battle!" Yuuji declared. "Antique Maker - Freedom Rider and Beastborg Panther Driver attack Panther Warrior and Dark Sentinel!"
Both of Yuuji's monsters attack, the two monsters in defense position bursting into particles when they're destroyed.
Serena began laughing, "All of that just to do nothing in the end. I was a bit worried when you summoned that Synchro Monster, but I guess there was nothing to worry about."
"..." Yuuji was silent.
"Nothing to say?" Serena shook her head. "Just end your turn already, Xyz. You've already wasted too much of my time anyway."
"I—" Yuuji began speaking.
"—Don't end your turn," Reiji interrupted Yuuji, surprising him. "There's still a way we can win."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Yuuji asked. "I can't make another attack, I have no card effects to use either."
"Is that right? As far as I can see, there's still one more card that can be played," Reiji stated. "Activate my set Trap Card."
"Your set Trap?" Yuuji raised an eyebrow as he pressed a button on his duel disk, flipping over the Trap, D/D Rise.
"D/D Rise's effect is as follows," Reiji began explaining. "By banishing 1 Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz 'D/D/D' Monster from our field or graveyard, you can Special Summon 1 monster from your Extra Deck while ignoring its summoning conditions and grant it 1000 extra ATK."
"..." Yuuji was stunned while reading the effect of the card, an idea appearing in his mind.
"You have a monster that benefits from such an effect, right?" Reiji asked.
"Yeah, I have one," Yuuji nodded before turning serious. "Using the effect of D/D Rise, I banish D/D/D Stone King Darius, D/D/D Revolution Kaiser Robespierre, and D/D/D Gust King Alexander to Special Summon Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 3000 → 4000/DEF: 2500/LV: 8) with an additional 1000 ATK!"
A massive, purple-scaled dragon with a body covered in crystal armor and a large, amber-colored orb on its chest that matched the color of its eyes appeared, letting out a triumphant roar.
Yuuji immediately pumped his fist forward, "Now for the climax! Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon attacks Panther Dancer! Crystal Breath!"
"The climax?" Serena scoffed. "You're only doing, what, 900 points of damage? That changes nothing about your situation."
"No, it's over," Yuuji stated as Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon's flames engulfed Panther Dancer. The crystals on its body beginning to glow. "When Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon destroys a monster in battle, you take additional damage from battle equal to the ATK of the destroyed monster!"
"What!?" Serena cried out in shock.
"Finish this, Crystal-Eyes! Crystal Burst!" Yuuji commanded as Phantom Dragon's flames burst, creating an explosion that sent heavy shockwaves towards the two of them.
"So, they managed to win in the end. Impressive," Barrett commented as he closed his eyes, the shockwaves of the explosion sending both him and Serena flying as their Life Points dropped to zero.
Serena & Barrett — LP: 3600 → 0
Winner/s: Yuuji & Reiji
Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon dematerialized as the duel ends.
"Impressive finish as always, Haruki," Reiji praised him.
"I was only able to do that because of you," Yuuji smiled at him. "I'd say we make a pretty good team."
"Indeed, we do," Reiji replied back with a small smile before returning to his usual stoic expression, turning to where Serena and Barrett were.
Serena struggled back onto her feet, beginning to slowly walk towards the two of them.
"I'm…not done! Give me…a rematch!" Serena shouted.
"Give up, Serena-sama. We lost," Barrett said from the ground. It looked like he was the one who took most of the force from the attack. "Let's just return back to Academia. I can cover for you when we have to explain what happened to the Professor."
"No, I'm not going home until I beat them!" Serena declared while her body began trembling. "I…was just caught off guard. Next time…will be different."
"..." Barrett stared at her for a few moments before sighing, pressing a few buttons on his duel disk. "If that is what you choose, I won't stop you. However, I will be reporting your whereabouts."
"Fine with me," Serena looked at Barrett unphased. "By the time they come, I'll already be done with my business here."
Barrett's duel disk began to glow as he suddenly disappeared from the area.
"He…disappeared?" Yuuji looked stunned for a moment before snapping out of his daze and turning to Reiji. "Wait…is it okay to let him go like that?"
"It's not like we could go after him," Reiji replied before stepping forward. "Besides, the main person I want to speak with is her."
"With…me?" Serena glared at him with suspicion. "What do I have to talk about with you?"
"Quite a few things actually," Reiji adjusted his glasses. "Mainly about your purpose here…Akaba Serena."
Serena tensed up as he called her that. Yuuji looked a bit surprised at the mention of her surname as well.
"As your escort had been alluding to, I am the son of Akaba Leo, your adoptive father," Reiji revealed. "You might not remember, but this isn't our first meeting."
He's met her before. Yuuji was surprised. Wait…doesn't this also mean that Reiji has some ties to Academia!?
"...Now that I think about it, I do remember," Serena frowned. "It was around three years ago. You traveled through dimensions and came to our world."
"Back then, you were trying to escape Academia if I recall correctly," Reiji said. "I helped you out when you were cornered and the two of us ran to the harbor where we were found by my father."
"You were lucky, you were just sent back here," Serena bitterly said. "While you got to do whatever the hell you wanted, he just restricted me even more. For the past three years, I've had eyes on me wherever I went. This is actually the first time in my life that I had ever left that place."
I would actually feel a little bad…if she didn't turn another human being into a card. Yuuji thought. I could care less about how bad someone's past is, there are some lines that just cannot be crossed.
"You wanted to know the reason I came here, right? I wanted to prove myself," Serena answered Reiji's previous question. "If I can prove myself by catching a few Xyz and Ritual refugees, maybe he'll finally send me to the frontlines instead of keeping me coddled up back home."
Serena then glanced at Yuuji for a moment before turning back to Reiji.
"But I guess I just wasted my time, since he isn't even an Xyz or a Ritual Refugee," Serena frowned. "Just like how I would never make use of the enemy's summoning method, they would never make use of a Fusion Monster."
[A/N: She's referring to Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon, since duelists can see the attributes of monsters summoned onto their opponent's field, but not their effects (since that would make explaining them pointless).]
"At least you realized now," Yuuji rolled his eyes.
"..." Serena rolled her eyes back at him.
"My father has definitely wronged you, like many in the past. For that, I apologize on his behalf," Reiji bowed for a moment. "Ever since that day, I've been making preparations for the past three years to stop Akaba Leo's ambitions. That's also the reason why I took his place as the President of the Leo Corporation. I've discovered countless talented duelists and worked hard to train them for this very purpose. Every action I make is to protect this city, to protect our home from his tyrannical conquest."
"Academia's purpose isn't tyrannical. We strive to fulfill the Professor's ambition to unite the five worlds as one," Serena retorted. "Even if I don't support how he keeps me trapped in Academia like I'm some princess that needs to be protected, I'll still fight to fulfill this noble goal of his."
"Are you even aware of what his plans entail?" Reiji broke his stoic expression, a frown forming on his face. "To unite the five worlds as one means to destroy each one of them. Each dimension has its own people, cultures, cities, and summoning method. To forcefully combine each of them, you'd have to tear these established worlds apart."
"That's a worthy price to pay for salvation," Serena smiled. "Once the worlds are united, peace will be the only constant. That is what the Professor promised us if we follow through, and I'll do anything to reach that paradise."
Okay, maybe I do feel a little bad for her. Yuuji changed his mind. This sounds like a classic case of propaganda brainwashing. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse.
"You know a lot of things, so tell me…" Serena looked at him seriously. "...where are they? The Xyz remnants that I've heard about. I know that you have an idea of where they are. There's no way they would've avoided your eyes, given that you were able to trace our tracks down."
"...I have no idea what you're talking about," Reiji adjusted his glasses once again, before returning a serious look back. "And even if I did, I refuse to support whatever my father's planning, even if it kills me in the end."
"Then we're done here," Serena turned around. "I'll just continue looking for the Xyz remnants myself."
She began walking away.
"Hey wait! Where are you going!? You can't just leave!" Yuuji shouted at her.
Serena paused briefly, glancing back at Yuuji.
"I have no business talking to the two of you any longer. And don't bother me about your friend. I can't change him back even if I wanted to."
With that, she continued walking, disappearing into the distance.
"So, we're just letting her get away. Just like that?" Yuuji frowned.
"All members of Academia including her are trained warriors, both in terms of dueling and physically," Reiji explained. "Even if we tried to keep her here until backup arrives, she could just easily slip away from us. There's no point in wasting the effort."
"Still, not keeping a tracker on her seems kind of stupid. What if she goes on a rampage and turns more people into cards?"
"I'm confident that she won't," Reiji answered. "And don't think for a second that I would actually let her go without a plan. I have people trailing her as we speak. I'll always know of her location."
Reiji placed a hand on Yuuji's shoulder.
"I ask for you to forget about what happened today. I'll deal with it."
"I don't think I'll ever be able to forget to," Yuuji responded as he looked at the carded form of Hokuto.
"..." Reiji silently looked at Yuuji for a moment before extending a hand towards him. "Give it to me."
"Huh? Why?"
"I've been looking into a way to reverse the effects of being sealed into a card after the events with Kurosaki Shun," Reiji explained. "While I haven't made any breakthroughs yet, as soon as I do, I'll be able to bring everybody turned into a card back to normal."
Well…it's way better than me keeping it. At least in Reiji's hand, there's a chance that something would change.
Yuuji places the card in Reiji's hand. Reiji pockets the card before beginning to take his leave.
"Rest up, Haruki. You'll need the energy for the third round in a few days," Reiji said before disappearing into the distance.
"..." Yuuji just silently stared in the direction that Reiji went in, deep in thought before walking in the opposite direction.
Custom/Altered Cards:
Monster Card/s -
Antique Wonder Dice
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5
Light/Fairy/Effect
Monster Effect: (Quick Effect): During your turn, you can discard this card, then roll a six-sided die.
—1 or 2: Target 1 Spell/Trap on the field; destroy it.
—3 or 4: Target 1 monster on the field; destroy it.
—5 or 6: Banish this card from your GY, and if you do, take damage equal to the difference between your LP and your opponent's.
Beastborg Panther Driver
ATK: 2000, DEF: 1900, LV: 7
Dark/Fiend/Fusion/Effect
2 DARK Monsters or 1 DARK Monster + 1 EARTH Monster
Monster Effect: When this monster is Fusion Summoned, draw 1 card. Once per turn, gain Life Points equal to half this card's ATK. If this card is destroyed by battle, and all the Fusion Materials that were used for its Fusion Summon are in your GY: You can Special Summon all of them.
D/D/D Revolution Kaiser Robespierre
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 10
Dark/Fiend/Fusion/Effect
2+ "D/D" Monsters
Monster Effect: This card can attack directly if it has 3 or more materials. This card gains 500 ATK for each "D/D" monster used for its Fusion Summon, and 1000 ATK for each "D/D/D" monster used for its Fusion Summon.
Antique Amethyst Lasso
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5
Light/Fairy/Effect
Monster Effect: Once per turn: You can target 1 monster that was sent to the Graveyard this turn; Special Summon it to your field, but also banish it when it leaves the field.
Spell/Trap Card/s -
Antique Possession
Normal Spell
Target 1 "Antique" monster you control, then target up to 2 other face-up monsters on the field; change their Levels to match the Level of the first target. If any of the targeted monsters is an Xyz Monster, treat its Rank as its Level for this effect.
Beastborg Medal of Honor
Normal Trap
When a "Beastborg" Fusion Monster you control is targeted for an attack: Target that monster; destroy it, and if you do, if all the Fusion Materials that were used for its Fusion Summon are in your Graveyard, Special Summon all of them, then inflict damage to your opponent equal to the total ATK of the monsters Special Summoned by this effect.
Runaway Antiques
Quick-Play-Spell
When your opponent activates a Spell/Trap Card during the Damage Step, while an "Antique" monster you control is battling: You can banish 3 "Antique" monsters from your Deck; negate the activation, and if you do, destroy that card. Battle damage dealt to your opponent is halved for the rest of the turn.
Beastborg Rampage
Normal Trap
Target 1 "Beastborg" Fusion Monster you control; until the End Phase, it cannot be destroyed by battle or targeted by card effects that would destroy it. Then, it gains ATK equal to half its current ATK until the End Phase, and you gain Life Points equal to half the amount of ATK it gained by this effect.
Fusion Armament
Fusion Spell
Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using monsters from your hand or field as Fusion Material. A monster Fusion Summoned by this effect gains 300 ATK. You can only activate 1 "Fusion Armament" per turn.
Pendulum Acceleration
Normal Spell
Target 1 face-up Pendulum Monster from your Extra Deck; Special Summon it.
Antique Shop
Normal Spell
Special Summon 1 "Antique" Monster from your deck.
D/D Rise
Normal Trap
If your opponent has more Life Points than you do: You can banish 1 each of a "D/D" Fusion Monster, "D/D" Synchro Monster, and "D/D" Xyz Monster from your field or GY; Special Summon 1 monster from your Extra Deck, ignoring its Summoning conditions. (This is treated as a proper Summon.) You can only activate 1 "D/D Rise" per turn.
And that's the end of the chapter. Sorry about the sort of abrupt ending. I had to rush the ending of the chapter a bit since I didn't have time to write anymore. Not much is lost though, and I'll just add the scenes that I was planning on adding at the end of this chapter to the next one.
Next chapter will introduce a bunch of new characters, as well as mainly being a plot episode, though I plan to include a duel in it as well.
Thanks for reading!
Chapter 18: Bonus Chapter #1
Chapter Text
I decided to drop Yuuji's Decklist for the first two arcs of the story with the arrival of the eighteenth chapter. You can totally skip past this if you aren't really interested at all. This is just for people who are interested in every card Yuuji used for each section of the story.
—Yuuji (Pre-Maiami Championships Decklist) (Chapters 1 - 11):
Main Deck (Monsters):
Non-Pendulum Monsters:
Antique Light Bulb
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 3
Light/Fairy/Effect
Monster Effect: If an Antique Monster you control is targeted by an effect that would destroy it: You can banish this card from your Graveyard; negate that effect.
Mentioned: Chapter 1, 2 (a card that he draws)
Antique Resonance Mirror
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 2
Light/Fairy/Tuner/Effect
Monster Effect: When this card is Normal Summoned onto the field: Target 1 Antique or Antique Maker from your deck, and Special Summon it onto the field.
Mentioned: Chapter 1,3, 6, 9, 10
Antique Forgotten Mask
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5
Light/Fairy/Effect
Monster Effect: During the damage step, swap the ATK of this monster and the monster it is battling until the End Phase.
Mentioned: Chapter 1, 3, 8 (shown in the flashback duel)
Antique Tabletop
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5
Light/Fairy/Effect
Monster Effect: If an 'Antique' Monster is Special Summoned, Special Summon this monster from your hand.
Mentioned: Chapter 2, 4 (a brick card that he draws during his duel against Ryouga; results in his loss), 8, 9
Antique Ignition Pot
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5
Light/Fairy/Effect
Monster Effect: If you would take effect damage: You can banish this card from your GY; your opponent also takes damage equal to the amount you take.
Mentioned: Chapter 8, 9
Antique Maker - Wrenchworker
ATK: 300, DEF: 400, LV: 2
Dark/Spellcaster/Effect
Monster Effect: Once per turn: You can target one card on your field; increase or decrease its Level by 1.
Mentioned: Chapter 8, 9
Antique Maker - Tuning Witch
ATK: 100, DEF: 300, LV: 1
Dark/Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect
Monster Effect: If this card is Summoned: Lose 100 Life Points for each Pendulum Monster you control on both your field and in your Pendulum Zones, then you can Special Summon 1 "Antique" monster from your hand.
Mentioned: Chapter 8, 9
Pendulum Monsters:
Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon
ATK: 2500, DEF: 2000, LV: 7, SC: 4
Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn, when an attack is declared involving a face-up monster while you control only Pendulum Monsters on your field: You can make that monster you control gain 1200 ATK until the end of the Battle Phase (even if this card leaves the field).
Monster Effect: When this Pendulum Summoned card inflicts battle damage: deal damage to your opponent equal to the number of Pendulum Monsters on your field (excluding this card) x 600. If this card is destroyed by battle or card effect, set it into an empty Pendulum Zone.
Mentioned: Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10
Antique Maker - Swinging Soul
ATK: 100, DEF: 2000, LV: 3, SC: 1
Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn: If a Pendulum Monster's ATK is increased, you can increase its ATK by an additional 800.
Monster Effect: If you control an Antique Monster in your Main Monster Zone, you can Special Summon this card from your hand. Once per turn: You can target 1 monster on the field; switch its ATK and DEF until the End Phase.
Mentioned: Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9
Antique Maker - Mira
ATK: 2000, DEF: 100, LV: 5, SC: 8
Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per Battle Phase: If you would take battle damage, you can negate that damage, and if you do, inflict damage to your opponent equal to half the damage you would have taken.
Monster Effect: Once per turn: If this card is summoned, you can add 1 Antique Card from your Deck to your hand.
Mentioned: Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10
Antique Maker - Edison
ATK: 1300, DEF: 1200, LV: 5, SC: 2
Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: If a Pendulum Monster you control would be destroyed by a card effect, you can destroy this card instead.
Monster Effect: When this card is Summoned: You can target 1 monster your opponent controls; destroy it.
Mentioned: Chapter 2, 3, 4, 9, 10
Antique Maker - Possession Jester
ATK: 1000, DEF: 1000, LV: 5, SC: 8
Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn; Special Summon this card from your Pendulum Zone.
Monster Effect: Once per turn, target 1 monster on the field and make its Level equal to that of this card's Level.
Mentioned: Chapter 8
Antique Journal
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 4, SC: 3
Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn: You can Special Summon this card from your Pendulum Zone.
Monster Effect: Once per turn: You can target 1 monster in either Pendulum Zone; Special Summon it to your field. Monsters Special Summoned by this effect have their effects negated, and if they are destroyed, banish them instead.
Mentioned: Chapter 1, 3, 6
Antique Dawning Blaze
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5, SC: 7
Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Pendulum Monsters you control cannot be destroyed by battle.
Monster Effect: Once per turn: You can target 1 monster you control; equip this card to that target. It gains 500 ATK for each monster on the field at the time this effect is activated.
Mentioned: Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10
Antique Compass
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 3, SC: 6
Light/Fairy/Tuner/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn, you can Special Summon 1 "Antique" Monster from your hand or Graveyard.
Monster Effect: You can equip this card to 1 monster your opponent controls. While this card is equipped to a monster, that monster cannot attack.
Mentioned: Chapter 2, 3, 9
Antique Golden Carol
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5, SC: 8
Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: When this monster is in one of your Pendulum Zones while you control none in the other, you can place 1 Antique Monster from your deck into the empty Pendulum Zone.
Monster Effect: If this monster is Special Summoned from the deck, add 1 Ritual Spell from your deck to your hand.
Mentioned: Chapter 4, 6, 9, 10
Antique Wondrous Globe
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5, SC: 4
Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn, target 1 card on your field; destroy it.
Monster Effect: Once per turn, you can banish both this card and 1 monster on your opponent's field until the End Phase.
Mentioned: Chapter 4
Antique Mimic Chest
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5, SC: 1
Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn: You can target 1 monster on the field; make its Level equal to the Level of another monster on the field until the end of this turn.
Monster Effect: Once per turn: You can target 1 monster on the field; this card's Level becomes equal to the targeted monster's Level until the end of this turn.
Mentioned: Chapter 6, 9
Antique Twilight Shield
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5, SC: 4
Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: The monster with the highest DEF on the field cannot declare an attack during the Battle Phase.
Monster Effect: When your opponent declares a direct attack while you control no monsters: You can Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card is Special Summoned by this effect, it gains DEF equal to the ATK of the monster with the highest ATK on the field until the end of the turn.
Mentioned: Chapter 6
Antique Wishing Lamp
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5, SC: 3
Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn: You can Special Summon 1 "Antique" monster from your Deck. You cannot Special Summon monsters for the rest of this turn, except "Antique" monsters.
Monster Effect: (Quick Effect): You can Tribute this card; Set 1 Spell/Trap from your GY to your field. You can activate that card this turn.
Mentioned: Chapter 10
Main Deck (Spell/Trap Cards):
[A/N: This'll be a little unorganized, I didn't start organizing the Spell and Trap Cards until the second and especially the third decklist which isn't featured in this chapter (since it'll feature spoilers)]
Pot of Greed (Not Custom)
Normal Spell
Draw 2 cards.
Mentioned: Chapter 8
Antique Maker's Will
Equip Spell
Can only be equipped to an "Antique Maker" Monster. The card is equipped to gain 500 ATK for each "Antique" Monster in the graveyard and cannot be destroyed by battle.
Mentioned: Chapter 2, 6
Mirror Barrier
Normal Trap
When an opponent's monster declares an attack: Negate that attack
Mentioned: Chapter 10
Emergency Barrier
Normal Trap
When your Life Points equal to or are lower than your opponent's: For the rest of this turn, reduce all battle damage you would take to 0.
Mentioned: Chapter 1, 6, 9
Antique Repair
Normal Spell
When this card resolves: Special Summon all Antique Monsters that were destroyed during your previous turn.
Mentioned: Chapter 1
Mirror's Embrace
Normal Trap
When you would take effect damage; reduce the damage you receive to zero.
Mentioned: Chapter 1, 6, 10
Halve Attack
Continuous Trap
Halves the battle damage you receive as long as this card remains face-up on the field
Mentioned: Chapter 1, 10
Odd-Eyes Accel (Not Custom)
Normal Spell
This turn, you can Normal Summon 1 "Odd-Eyes" monster without Tributing.
Mentioned: Chapter 10
Pendulum Call
Normal Spell
Place 1 Pendulum Monster from your Deck into your Pendulum Zone. You can only activate 1 Pendulum Call per turn.
Mentioned: Chapter 4, 6, 10
Antique Restock
Counter Trap
When your opponent declares an attack, Special Summon 1 'Antique' Monster from your graveyard. You can banish this card from your graveyard and pay half your Life Points; Special Summon 1 'Antique' Monster from your graveyard.
Mentioned: Chapter 6
Relic of the Antique
Normal Spell
Activate this card by discarding 1 Level 5 or higher "Antique" monster and paying 1000 LP. Add 2 different "Antique" monsters from your Deck to your hand.
Mentioned: Chapter 9
Special Antique Delivery
Counter Trap
When an opponent's monster declares an attack while you control no monsters: Special Summon 1 "Antique" monster from your Deck in Defense Position. A monster Special Summoned by this effect cannot be destroyed by battle this turn.
Mentioned: Chapter 9
Antique Reborn
Normal Spell
Target 1 "Antique" monster in your GY; Special Summon it.
Mentioned: Chapter 9
Damage Launch
Quick-Play-Spell
Tribute 1 monster you control; inflict damage to your opponent equal to the Tributed monster's current ATK.
Mentioned: Chapter 3
Final Stand
Normal Spell
You must forfeit your next two Draw Phases and discard all other cards in your hand to activate this card's effect. Draw card until you have five in your hand.
Mentioned: Chapter 1, 8
Emergency Antique Reinforcements
Counter Trap
Can be activated when a "Antique" Monster is destroyed would be battle or card effect. For the rest of this turn, "Antique" Monsters cannot be destroyed, and all damage you take in battles involving "Antique" Monsters is reduced to zero.
Mentioned: Chapter 3, 4
Pendulum Friends
Normal Trap
If you control only Pendulum Monsters and have no cards in your Pendulum Zones: All Pendulum Monsters you control gain 500 ATK for each Pendulum Monster you control until the end of this turn.
Mentioned: Chapter 8
Pendulum Trade
Continuous Trap
You can target 1 card in your Pendulum Zone; Special Summon it. You can target 1 Pendulum Monster in your Monster Zone; place that Pendulum Monster in your Pendulum Zone. You can only use 1 "Pendulum Trade" effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Mentioned: Chapter 2, 8
Trap Whirlwind
Quick-Play-Spell
Tribute any number of cards from your field; destroy an equal amount of Spell/Trap Cards on your opponent's field.
Mentioned: Chapter 8
Polymerization
Fusion Spell
Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using monsters from your hand or field as material.
Mentioned: Chapter 8, 10 (a card he draws during his duel against Shun)
Extra Deck Monsters:
Xyz Monster/s:
Accel Hacking Spider
ATK: 100, DEF: 100, R: 5
Light/Cyberse/Xyz/Effect
2 Level 5 Monsters
Monster Effect: Once per turn: You can detach 1 material from this card; Special Summon 1 Level 5 or lower monster from your Deck.
Mentioned: Chapter 7 (was the Xyz Monster Yuuji bought in Chapter 7), 9
Antique Maker - Revolution Commander
ATK: 2500, DEF: 2000, R: 5, SC: 5
Fire/Spellcaster/Xyz/Pendulum/Effect
3 Level 5 Monsters
Pendulum Effect: You can Special Summon 1 "Antique Dawning Blaze" from your hand or Graveyard.
Monster Effect: If you can Pendulum Summon Level 5 monsters, you can Pendulum Summon this face-up card in your Extra Deck. If this card has "Antique Dawning Blaze" equipped to it, it can attack twice during each Battle Phase. You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card to activate one of the following effects:
—Special Summon 1 "Antique Dawning Blaze" from your Deck.
—This card inflicts piercing battle damage during its next attack this turn.
Mentioned: Chapter 2, 3, 4, 8, 9
Synchro Monster/s:
Antique Burdened Staff
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 7
Light/Fairy/Synchro/Effect
1 Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner Monsters
Monster Effect: You can equip this card to a monster on your opponent's field; take control of it. During the End Phase, destroy this card, then; return the monster this card was equipped to back to their field.
Mentioned: Chapter 3, 6, 10
Antique Maker - Freedom Rider
ATK: 2000, DEF: 1500, LV: 8, SC: 1
Wind/Spellcaster/Synchro/Pendulum/Effect
1 Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters
Pendulum Effect: If a monster you control would have its effect negated by a card effect, you can discard 1 card; negate that effect instead. Once per turn: You can banish 1 Tuner monster and other cards from your field or Extra Deck whose total Levels equal this card's Level; Special Summon this card from your Pendulum Zone (this Special Summon is treated as a Synchro Summon).
Monster Effect: When this card is Synchro Summoned: Destroy cards on the field equal to the number of "Antique" monsters used for this card's Synchro Summon. Once per turn: You can banish 1 "Antique" monster from your GY; this card copies that monster's effects and gains 1000 ATK until the End Phase. If this card is destroyed, you can place it in your Pendulum Zone. If both Pendulum Zones are occupied, you can destroy both cards in your Pendulum Zones, then place this card in your Pendulum Zone.
Mentioned: Chapter 8, 9
Antique Guardian Statue
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 7
Light/Fairy/Synchro/Effect
Monster Effect: While face-up on the field, if this card would be destroyed; banish one "Antique" Monster from your graveyard instead. Your opponent can only target this monster for attacks while it is on the field.
Mentioned: Chapter 1
Fusion Monster/s:
Antique Golden Kaiju
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 8
Light/Dragon/Fusion/Effect
1 Dragon Monster + 1 "Antique" Monsters
Monster Effect: This card cannot be destroyed by battle, and you take no battle damage from battles involving this card. If this card battles a monster: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's ATK.
Mentioned: Chapter 8, 10 (mentioned by Yuuji while he tried to figure out a plan against Shun)
—Yuuji (Maiami Championships Arc Pre-Battle Royale Decklist) (Chapters 12 - 17):
Main Deck (Monsters):
Non-Pendulum Monsters:
Antique Maker - Tuning Witch
ATK: 100, DEF: 300, LV: 1
Dark/Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect
Monster Effect: If this card is Summoned: Lose 100 Life Points for each Pendulum Monster you control on both your field and in your Pendulum Zones, then you can Special Summon 1 "Antique" monster from your hand.
Antique Resonance Mirror
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 2
Light/Fairy/Tuner/Effect
Monster Effect: When this card is Normal Summoned onto the field: Target 1 Antique or Antique Maker from your deck, and Special Summon it onto the field.
Mentioned: Chapter 12, 13
Antique Light Bulb
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 3
Light/Fairy/Effect
Monster Effect: If an Antique Monster you control is targeted by an effect that would destroy it: You can banish this card from your Graveyard; negate that effect.
Mentioned: Chapter 12, 17 (banished for Runaway Antique's effect)
Antique Wonder Dice
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5
Light/Fairy/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn: Roll a six-sided die. If the result is 1, 2, or 3, gain 500 LP. If the result is 4, 5, or 6, choose 1 monster you control; it gains 500 ATK until the end of this turn.
Monster Effect: (Quick Effect): During your turn, you can discard this card, then roll a six-sided die.
—1 or 2: Target 1 Spell/Trap on the field; destroy it.
—3 or 4: Target 1 monster on the field; destroy it.
—5 or 6: Banish this card from your GY, and if you do, take damage equal to the difference between your LP and your opponent's.
Mentioned: Chapter 17
(A/N: Just replacing this with Antique Maker - Strike Magician. This'll be 1000% the last time this card is ever used).
Antique Amethyst Lasso
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5
Light/Fairy/Effect
Monster Effect: Once per turn: You can target 1 monster that was sent to the Graveyard this turn; Special Summon it to your field, but also banish it when it leaves the field.
Mentioned: Chapter 17
(A/N: I'm also definitely not using this card again. It was a card I made for that specific scenario to give Yuuji the win, but it didn't even do that.
Pendulum Monsters:
Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon
ATK: 2500, DEF: 2000, LV: 7, SC: 4
Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn, when an attack is declared involving a face-up monster while you control only Pendulum Monsters on your field: You can make that monster you control gain 1200 ATK until the end of the Battle Phase (even if this card leaves the field).
Monster Effect: When this Pendulum Summoned card inflicts battle damage: deal damage to your opponent equal to the number of Pendulum Monsters on your field (excluding this card) x 600. If this card is destroyed by battle or card effect, set it into an empty Pendulum Zone.
Mentioned: Chapter 13, 14, 16
Odd-Eyes Sparking Dragon
ATK: 1800, DEF: 1000, LV: 4, SC: 8
Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn: You can add 1 "Odd-Eyes" card from your Deck to your hand.
Monster Effect: If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can set 1 "Odd-Eyes" Spell/Trap directly from your Deck. You can only use this effect of "Odd-Eyes Sparking Dragon" once per turn.
Mentioned: Chapter 13, 14
Odd-Eyes Surge Dragon
ATK: 1000, DEF: 2100, LV: 5, SC: 1
Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: "Odd-Eyes" monsters you control cannot be destroyed by card effects. When an "Odd-Eyes" Monster is Pendulum Summoned; draw 1 card.
Monster Effect: (Quick Effect): You can Tribute this card, then target 1 "Odd-Eyes" monster you control; it gains 1000 ATK until the End Phase. You can only use this effect of "Odd-Eyes Surge Dragon" once per turn.
Mentioned: Chapter 13, 16
Antique Maker - Swinging Soul
ATK: 100, DEF: 2000, LV: 3, SC: 1
Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn: If a Pendulum Monster's ATK is increased, you can increase its ATK by an additional 800.
Monster Effect: If you control an Antique Monster in your Main Monster Zone, you can Special Summon this card from your hand. Once per turn: You can target 1 monster on the field; switch its ATK and DEF until the End Phase.
Mentioned: Chapter 12, 13
Antique Maker - Reverend Architect
ATK: 600, DEF: 1500, LV: 3, SC: 4
Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Tuner/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn: You can target 1 monster on the field; it gains 500 ATK until the end of this turn.
Monster Effect: If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can add 1 "Antique" Spell/Trap from your Deck to your hand.
Mentioned: Chapter 12, 17
Antique Maker - Mira
ATK: 2000, DEF: 100, LV: 5, SC: 8
Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per Battle Phase: If you would take battle damage, you can negate that damage, and if you do, inflict damage to your opponent equal to half the damage you would have taken.
Monster Effect: Once per turn: If this card is Normal or Special Summoned, you can add 1 "Antique" Card from your Deck to your hand.
Mentioned: Chapter 12, 13, 14, 16,
Antique Maker - Lilac Magician
ATK: 1700, DEF: 1300, LV: 5, SC: 1
Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn: You can Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using monsters you control as material.
Monster Effect: (Quick Effect): When your opponent activates a Set Spell/Trap Card while this card is on the field, you can Tribute this card; negate the activation, and if you do, destroy that card.
Mentioned: Chapter 12, 13, 16
Antique Dawning Blaze
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5, SC: 7
Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Pendulum Monsters you control cannot be destroyed by battle.
Monster Effect: Once per turn: You can target 1 monster you control; equip this card to that target. It gains 500 ATK for each monster on the field at the time this effect is activated.
Mentioned: Chapter 12, 17
Antique Crescent Breeze
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5, SC: 7
Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Pendulum Monsters you control cannot be destroyed by card effects.
Monster Effect: Once per turn: You can target 1 monster you control; equip this card to that target. It gains 1000 ATK. If the equipped monster would be destroyed, you can Tribute this card instead.
Mentioned: Chapter 12, 14, 17 (banished for Runaway Antique's effect)
Antique Twilight Shield
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5, SC: 4
Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: The monster with the highest DEF on the field cannot declare an attack during the Battle Phase.
Monster Effect: When your opponent declares a direct attack while you control no monsters: You can Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card is Special Summoned by this effect, it gains DEF equal to the ATK of the monster with the highest ATK on the field until the end of the turn.
Mentioned: Chapter 17 (banished for Runaway Antique's effect)
Antique Wishing Lamp
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5, SC: 3
Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn: You can Special Summon 1 "Antique" monster from your Deck. You cannot Special Summon monsters for the rest of this turn, except "Antique" monsters.
Monster Effect: (Quick Effect): You can Tribute this card; Set 1 Spell/Trap from your GY to your field. You can activate that card this turn.
Mentioned: Chapter 12, 17
Antique Golden Carol
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5, SC: 8
Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: When this monster is in one of your Pendulum Zones while you control none in the other, you can place 1 Antique Monster from your deck into the empty Pendulum Zone.
Monster Effect: If this monster is Special Summoned from the deck, add 1 Ritual Spell from your deck to your hand.
Mentioned: Chapter 12, 13, 16
Antique Mimic Chest
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5, SC: 1
Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn: You can target 1 monster on the field; make its Level equal to the Level of another monster on the field until the end of this turn.
Monster Effect: Once per turn: You can target 1 monster on the field; this card's Level becomes equal to the targeted monster's Level until the end of this turn.
Mentioned: Chapter 14, 16
Antique Kuriblock
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 2, SC: 6
Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn, if you would take damage, you can negate that damage. If a Pendulum Monster you control would be destroyed by battle, you can discard 1 card instead.
Monster Effect: (Quick Effect): You can discard this card; this turn, you take no battle damage, and Pendulum Monsters you control cannot be destroyed by battle.
Mentioned: Chapter 13, 16, 17
Main Deck (Spell/Trap Cards)
Antique Possession
Normal Spell
Target 1 "Antique" monster you control, then target up to 2 other face-up monsters on the field; change their Levels to match the Level of the first target. If any of the targeted monsters is an Xyz Monster, treat its Rank as its Level for this effect.
Mentioned: Chapter 17
Odd-Eyes Pendulum Rebirth
Normal Spell
Target up to 2 "Odd-Eyes" monsters in your GY or face-up in your Extra Deck; Special Summon them, but they cannot be used as Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz Material this turn, except for a Dragon monster.
Mentioned: Chapter 13
Pendulum Draw
Normal Spell
Tribute up to 2 cards in your Pendulum Zones; draw an equal number of cards.
Mentioned: Chapter 13
Antique Reborn
Normal Spell
Target 1 "Antique" monster in your GY; Special Summon it.
Mentioned: Chapter 12
Pendulum Call
Normal Spell
Place 1 Pendulum Monster from your Deck into your Pendulum Zone. You can only activate 1 Pendulum Call per turn.
Mentioned: Chapter 16
Relic of the Antique
Normal Spell
Activate this card by discarding 1 Level 5 or higher "Antique" monster and paying 1000 LP. Add 2 different "Antique" monsters from your Deck to your hand.
Mentioned: Chapter 16
Pendulum Acceleration
Normal Spell
Target 1 face-up Pendulum Monster from your Extra Deck; Special Summon it.
Mentioned: Chapter 17
Antique Shop
Normal Spell
Special Summon 1 "Antique" Monster from your deck.
Mentioned: Chapter 17
Pendulum Exchange
Normal Spell
Tribute 2 monsters from your Pendulum Zones; draw 1 card, then place 1 face-up Pendulum Monster from your Extra Deck into one of your Pendulum Zones. For the rest of this turn, you can only Pendulum Summon up to 2 monsters.
Mentioned: Chapter 16
Foolish Burial (Not Custom)
Normal Spell
Send 1 monster from your Deck to the GY.
Mentioned: Chapter 12
Equivalent Exchange
Normal Spell
Tribute 1 monster on your field; target 1 monster on your opponent's field, destroy it.
Mentioned: Chapter 14
Runaway Antiques
Quick-Play-Spell
When your opponent activates a Spell/Trap Card during the Damage Step, while an "Antique" monster you control is battling: You can banish 3 "Antique" monsters from your Deck; negate the activation, and if you do, destroy that card. Battle damage dealt to your opponent is halved for the rest of the turn.
Mentioned: Chapter 17
Power Lance
Equip Spell
A monster equipped with the card gains 1200 ATK.
Mentioned: Chapter 12
Power Reboot
Equip Spell
A monster equipped with this card can make a second attack during the Battle Phase.
Mentioned: Chapter 13, 14
Power Shield
Equip Spell
A monster equipped with this card is unaffected by card effects.
Mentioned: Chapter 16
Emergency Barrier (Updated Version)
Normal Trap
When your Life Points are lower than your opponent's: For the rest of this turn, reduce all battle damage you would take to 0.
Mentioned: Chapter 12
Endurance
Normal Trap
When you would take damage: Reduce your Life Points to 1 instead. Until your next Standby Phase, you take no further damage.
Mentioned: Chapter 13
Mirror Barrier
Normal Trap
When an opponent's monster declares an attack: Negate that attack
Mentioned: Chapter 14, 17
Odd-Eyes Phantom Barrage
Normal Trap
When an opponent's monster declares an attack: Special Summon 1 "Odd-Eyes" monster from your hand, Deck, or GY in Defense Position, then negate that attack. You can banish this card from your GY, except the turn it was sent there; add 1 "Odd-Eyes" card from your GY to your hand.
Mentioned: Chapter 13 (Not explicitly mentioned, but it was one of the unknown set cards he used), 16
Special Antique Delivery
Counter Trap
When an opponent's monster declares an attack while you control no monsters: Special Summon 1 "Antique" monster from your Deck in Defense Position. A monster Special Summoned by this effect cannot be destroyed by battle this turn.
Mentioned: Chapter 12, 16
Antique Sacred Rites
Ritual Spell
This card can be used to Ritual Summon any "Antique" Ritual Monster from your hand. You must also Tribute monsters from your hand or field whose total Levels equal or exceed the Level of the Ritual Monster you Ritual Summon.
Mentioned: Chapter 12
Pendulum Fusion
Quick-Play-Spell (Fusion Spell)
Target 2 Pendulum Monsters in your Pendulum Zones; Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck using those monsters as Fusion Materials. (This is treated as a Fusion Summon). You can only activate 1 "Pendulum Fusion" per turn.
Mentioned: Chapter 16
Extra Deck Monsters:
Xyz Monster/s:
Antique Maker - Revolution Commander
ATK: 2500, DEF: 2000, R: 5, SC: 5
Fire/Spellcaster/Xyz/Pendulum/Effect
3 Level 5 Monsters
Pendulum Effect: You can Special Summon 1 "Antique Dawning Blaze" from your hand or Graveyard.
Monster Effect: If you can Pendulum Summon Level 5 monsters, you can Pendulum Summon this face-up card in your Extra Deck. If this card has "Antique Dawning Blaze" equipped to it, it can attack twice during each Battle Phase. You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card to activate one of the following effects:
—Special Summon 1 "Antique Dawning Blaze" from your Deck.
—This card inflicts piercing battle damage during its next attack this turn.
Mentioned: Chapter 12, 17
Dark Anthelion Dragon
ATK: 3000, DEF: 2500, R: 7, SC: 10
Dark/Dragon/Xyz/Pendulum/Effect
2 Level 7 Monsters
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn: You can target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; halve its original ATK until the end of this turn (even if this card leaves the field).
Monster Effect: If you can Pendulum Summon Level 7 monsters, you can Pendulum Summon this face-up card in your Extra Deck. Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can detach 1 material from this card, then target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; until the end of this turn, its ATK becomes half its current ATK, and if it does, one monster on your field gains that lost ATK. If this card in the Monster Zone is destroyed by battle or card effect: You can place this card in your Pendulum Zone.
Mentioned: Chapter 14, 16
Synchro Monster/s:
Antique Maker - Freedom Rider
ATK: 2000, DEF: 1500, LV: 8, SC: 1
Wind/Spellcaster/Synchro/Pendulum/Effect
1 Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters
Pendulum Effect: If a monster you control would have its effect negated by a card effect, you can discard 1 card; negate that effect instead. Once per turn: You can banish 1 Tuner monster and other cards from your field or Extra Deck whose total Levels equal this card's Level; Special Summon this card from your Pendulum Zone (this Special Summon is treated as a Synchro Summon).
Monster Effect: When this card is Synchro Summoned: Destroy cards on the field equal to the number of "Antique" monsters used for this card's Synchro Summon. Once per turn: You can banish 1 "Antique" monster from your GY; this card copies that monster's effects and gains 1000 ATK until the End Phase. If this card is destroyed, you can place it in your Pendulum Zone. If both Pendulum Zones are occupied, you can destroy both cards in your Pendulum Zones, then place this card in your Pendulum Zone.
Mentioned: Chapter 12, 17
Antique Burdened Staff
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 7
Light/Fairy/Synchro/Effect
1 Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner Monsters
Monster Effect: (Quick Effect): You can equip this card to a monster on your opponent's field; take control of it. During the End Phase, destroy this card, then; return the monster this card was equipped to back to their field.
Mentioned: Chapter 13
Fusion Monster/s:
Crystal-Eyes Phantom Dragon
ATK: 3000, DEF: 2500, LV: 8
Dark/Dragon/Fusion/Effect
1 Dragon Monster + 1 Spellcaster Monster
Monster Effect: This card is treated as "Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon". This card must be Fusion Summoned. When this card is Fusion Summoned, negate the effects of all other face-up cards on your opponent's field until the End Phase. If this card destroys a monster by battle, inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's current ATK.
Mentioned: Chapter 13, 16, 17
Ritual Monster/s:
Antique Forbidden Hourglass
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 6
Light/Fairy/Ritual/Effect
Monster Effect: You can Ritual Summon this card with "Antique Sacred Rites." If this card is Ritual Summoned: You can target 1 card on the field; negate its effects until the end of this turn. Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can Tribute 1 "Antique" monster; draw 1 card.
Mentioned: Chapter 12
That's the end of it. I'll probably keep adding more of these bonus chapters when the time warrants it, so look out for them.
Chapter 19: To Make Amends
Chapter Text
I have returned with the milk! After a whole bunch of thinking (as well as insane procrastination), I've finally figured out how I'll be handling this story. I'll explain more at the end of this chapter, as to not keep you guys waiting too long.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Minor Spelling, Grammar, and Other Mistakes May Be Present.
[Maiami Championship Arc Opening Theme (Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Opening 2: Burn)]
Scale 018: To Make Amends
The next day, in the Fusion Dimension…
Akaba Leo sat on his throne, staring at the sole entrance to the throne room. He routinely checked his watch, seemingly waiting for something.
The time of the meeting has arrived. They should be here any minute. Leo thought.
And just like he predicted, someone arrived. It was a put together man with short, dark blue hair. He was wearing a grey uniform with a golden pin in the shape of a small bird attached to his chest. In the man's mouth was a lit cigarette.
"So you're the first one, Daigo," Leo addressed him.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Professor," Daigo respectfully bowed.
"No need for formalities, you're the earliest one here," Leo reassured him.
"I thank you for your grace."
Soon after that, two more people arrived (though one looked much more reluctant to be there, being dragged by the ear).
"Did you have to bring me along?" Ryouga asked with a frown.
"The Professor ordered it," The woman who had dragged the young man here stated. She was a tall woman with long, neatly kept dark green hair. She wore a similar grey uniform to the one that Daigo wore. "You're already on thin ice after your last failure. Another strike and you'll find yourself demoted out of the Obelisk Force."
"I don't need to hear that from you, Aika," Ryouga sneered. "You're only talking like that because you happen to be ranked higher than me."
"Wow, you're so smart for guessing that! You want a cookie? " Aika faked being surprised before rolling her eyes. "I'm ranked higher than you for a reason. And you went ahead and proved it after flunking your simple mission."
"Tch…" Ryouga clicked his tongue, not having a way to respond back to that.
A minute after that, three more individuals enter the room. One of them was Shuinin Sora, who stood behind two more individuals with grey uniforms—a boy and a girl.
"Please excuse our late arrival," A young woman with long white hair tied into a ponytail bowed respectfully. She then pointed to the red-haired boy beside her. "Vincent got lost along the way, so we had to track him down and make sure he actually got here on time."
"It's like he's allergic to going in the right direction," Sora let out an exasperated sigh. "Yuki here had to drag him by the collar to make sure he went the right way."
"I don't get why you guys are so serious about getting here on time. I'm telling you that Uncle Leo won't mind if we're a little late," Vincent then turned to Leo with a smile. "Right?"
"...The three of you aren't excessively late, so I'm willing to overlook it just this once," Leo stated. "However, don't make this a recurring incident."
"Yes sir!" Vincent saluted before turning to the two of them. "See? He's fine with it."
"I'd prefer not to risk my position, thank you," Sora shook his head.
Akaba Leo glanced over all of them silently for a moment. Once he saw that everyone was accounted for, he began speaking.
"You must be wondering why I gathered you all here today, right?" Leo inquired.
"Yeah, it's not often that this many Obelisk Grey are gathered in one room like this," Aika crossed her arms. "Last time this happened was when you revealed your intention of invading both the Xyz and Ritual Dimensions."
"It's related to that," Leo revealed. "I plan on sending the Obelisk Force to the Standard Dimension for a special operation."
Sora tensed up a bit upon the reveal.
What? So soon? Sora was shocked. But why? Isn't the Standard Dimension his homeworld? Does he plan to invade it?
Countless questions arose in Sora's mind, but before he could dwell on them for too long, he discarded them.
Wait, what am I shocked for? Sora pinched his face. I'm an Academia Soldier. The mission takes priority over any personal connections.
"The Standard Dimension, huh?" Daigo rubbed his chin. "That's your homeworld if I recall correctly. If I may inquire, do you plan on conquering it in a similar fashion to the Xyz and Ritual Dimensions."
"There's no need for something like that at this moment," Akaba Leo shook his head. Soon after, three holographic screens appeared above them. The image of Serena being displayed on them. "My adoptive daughter, Serena, has decided to make an unauthorized visit to the Standard Dimension. My main mission for the Obelisk Force is her retrieval."
"You're sending the Obelisk Force…to bring back one girl?" Ryouga raised an eyebrow. "That seems a bit overboard—"
"It is imperative that Serena is brought back to me!" Leo declared with a bit of emotion. "Otherwise, our goal of uniting the dimensions will not be possible."
"How does that—?" Ryouga wanted to ask another question, but was stopped by Aika, who covered his mouth.
"Is that all we need to do?" Aika inquired. "Sounds like a rather simple mission."
"There are two more tasks," Leo stated. "The first of the two tasks is the disposal of the Xyz and Ritual remnants who had made their way to the Standard Dimension. As for the second task…"
The three holographic screens change, each of them showing a different young man. Yuya, Yuto, and Yuuji. Leo had a suffocating look on his face as he revealed the second task.
"...I want you to eliminate these three individuals."
This request shocked everyone present. They all knew that the Professor could be cruel at times with his orders, but he's never outright ordered the elimination of someone. Sora was, obviously, the most shocked by this, due to Yuya and Yuuji being people he had come to bond with the past few weeks, even if it was only for the sake of his mission.
"You've never asked us to eliminate a specific target before," Yuki had a worried look on her face. "Are they really that dangerous?"
"Yes," Leo nodded. "Retrieving Serena is of top priority, as she is vital for our mission. However, if left unchecked, these three individuals can…and will, prevent us from achieving our goals."
Leo then pointed his hand forward.
"Sora, Ryouga. The two of you have encountered most of these individuals before," Leo states. "I'll leave you two in charge of eliminating them. View this as your last chance to prove your worth to me."
"A chance to get my revenge," Ryouga grinned. "Things are finally looking up for me now."
"...Okay…Sir," Sora looked a lot less enthusiastic about it, but still agreed to do it.
"An order to kill. I'm sure you don't plan on leaving me out of the fun, right?" A mysterious voice said.
They all turned to the source of the voice, each of them being shocked when they noticed Yuri, who was standing at the doorway of the throne room. Everybody, except Leo, tensed up upon seeing him.
"That's…" Ryouga's eyes widened.
"...Yuri!" Sora exclaimed in shock.
"If you need someone to do your dirty work, I'm the man for the job," Yuri states with an eerie smile. "A little blood on my hand never bothered me."
"Preferably, you'll seal them into a card. That way, they'll at least serve some sort of purpose to our cause," Leo frowned. "I won't tolerate anything more. You know this, Yuri."
"Yeah, yeah, shouldn't have gotten my hopes up," Yuri sighed before glancing at the three individuals who looked like him on the holographic screens. "I still want to take part in this. These three look rather interesting, you might need some more firepower if you want to ensure that they are put down for good, right~?"
"I…suppose you're right," Leo cleared his throat. "I'll allow you to take part in this operation."
"Wait! We don't need him!" Ryouga shouted. "We can…no, I can handle them all on my own! We don't need this psychopath—!"
"Worthless dogs who lose to trash don't get to have a say," Yuri cut him off before glaring at him. Ryouga froze in fear as he felt an ominous presence seep out of Yuri as he spoke. "Continue speaking out of turn, and you'll be the one put down. By me, preferably."
"..." Ryouga didn't say another word.
"Good boy~," Yuri said with a playful smile, receiving a nasty glare from Ryouga as a result.
Akaba Leo decided to finish briefing them on the mission.
"The operation will commence in two days. I expect great results from each and everyone of you."
Meanwhile, in the Standard Dimension…
Sawatari and Rio stood in front of LDS Tower. They had come here a few times before, with the goal of speaking with Akaba Reiji, but they never had a chance to. Reiji had been incredibly busy the past week due to the Maiami Championships, so Sawatari could never find an opening for them to contact him.
However, Sawatari felt like today would be different. Though he had been thinking this every time they went.
The two walk inside the tower, making their way to the front desk.
"I'm starting to think that this is not going to work out," Rio looked at Sawatari with skepticism. "Are you sure that he actually knows you?"
"Yeah, he does," Sawatari frowned. "And he has some nerve for putting me off for this long," He then pumped his fist, "I swear, I'll give that man a piece of my mind when I see him. But first…"
The two arrive at the front desk, with Sawatari stepping towards the desk clerk, beginning to converse with her. Rio waits silently, tapping her foot a bit impatiently as she does. This same interaction happened many times before, with Sawatari trying to use his name to try and get a meeting with Akaba Reiji arranged to no avail, since that was just something that couldn't be done. To get a meeting with the President of the Leo Corporation, it would have to be set up by the President himself.
So, imagine her surprise when the clerk reveals that they did have an appointment set up by Akaba Reiji today.
"Wait, you're being serious?" Even Sawatari was surprised.
"Yes sir," The clerk nodded. "The two of you are actually running a little late for your appointment, so please make your way to the elevator. The President's office will be on the top floor."
Sawatari turned back to Rio, a wide grin on his face. Rio just shook her head in response. The two of them enter an elevator, which takes them all the way up to the top floor of LDS Tower. They walk down a long hallway for a few minutes before coming across a massive door.
Sawatari pushed the door open before announcing his presence to those in the room.
"It's about time, Akaba! It was quite disrespectful of you to keep me waiting for so long!"
"I've been busy. My apologies," Reiji said from his seat.
Sawatari then took notice of the gazes pointed at him, most being people he didn't recognize. Yuga and Shizuka could be seen lounging on a sofa nearby. Shun was casually leaning against a pillar, mostly uninterested. Shouma was sitting alone on a sofa opposite to the two Ritual Duelists, tapping his foot impatiently.
Standing near Reiji's desk were two men that looked like they were cosplaying ninjas. Both had masks which covered the bottom portion of their face, with one having a blue mask and one having a red one.
"What's with all the people?" Sawatari asked.
"You'll find out soon enough," Reiji replied. "Please come in. We have much to discuss."
Sawatari turned around, ushering for Rio to follow. As she entered the room, Shun tensed up a little, surprised to see her.
Once everybody settled in, Reiji crossed his fingers together as his expression turned more serious.
"You all must be wondering why I've gathered you all here today, right?" Reiji asked.
"Yeah," Shizuka responded. "Is it something else related to Academia?"
"That is correct," Reiji nodded. "Something big is about to happen, and I'm going to need all of you to be ready."
"What's this Academia that you are referring to?" Sawatari inquired.
"Seconded," Shouma said. "And what does this have to do with me?"
"I'm getting to that," Reiji stated to Shouma before turning to Sawatari. "As for your question, think of them simply as invaders who pose a threat to Maiami City."
"Invaders?" Sawatari seemed confused.
Reiji then stood up from his seat.
"Due to a recent incident, I've come to the conclusion that Academia plans on invading Maiami City within the next few days."
Everybody, aside from Shouma and Sawatari, tensed up from this reveal.
"So soon? But why?" Rio asked.
Reiji pulled out a remote from his pocket, clicking a button. A large screen appeared behind him, with a short clip of Serena sneaking around the city playing on it.
Most of the people watching looked surprised for different reasons when the shot closed in on her face.
That girl looks just like Hirragi Yuzu. Sawatari thought before glancing at Shizuka. Now that I look closer, she does as well. What the hell is going on?
"They'll be after this girl," Reiji stated. "Akaba Serena, the adoptive daughter of my father. From what I've gathered, she seems to be quite important to whatever his goal is."
"Would these invaders really go that far for a single girl?" Sawatari looked doubtful.
"Yes. They would," Reiji stated deadly, scaring Sawatari a little. "My father seems to be targeting girls with similar faces across different dimensions."
"Wait, did you just say dimensions?" Sawatari was surprised once again by the new revelation.
"Yes, there are multiple dimensions," Rio replied. "Stop asking so many questions and let him speak."
"...Fine."
"Since an invasion from Academia would put the citizens in the city in danger, I've decided to alter my plans for the next round of the tournament," Reiji continued. "The third round of the tournament will be a Battle Royale taking place all around the city. This will get the citizens out of the city and allow it to become a battleground."
"What about the contestant participating in the Battle Royale?" Shizuka asked. "Wouldn't they get caught up in a battle against Academia?"
"That's where you guys come in," Reiji explained. "Along with LDS's Top Team, you all will be tasked with fighting off the invading forces along with the Battle Royale contestants."
"..." Everyone present was silent.
He expects them to just be okay with all of this?
"This all seems like a hassle," Sawatari shook his head. "I'm usually fine with going along with your plans, Akaba. But I'll have to pass—"
"If you help out, I'll allow you to rejoin the tournament."
"Deal!" Sawatari immediately accepted.
"That easily?" Rio just stared at him with an exasperated expression.
Shouma stood up from his seat.
"You may have gotten that dunce to agree to this, but I'm definitely not doing this," Shouma stated. "I'm not going out there to fight potential terrorists for people I don't give a fuck about."
"Kurogane Shouma…" Reiji adjusted his glasses. "You seem to be under the impression that you have a choice here."
"I do. And I'm leaving."
Shouma began walking away.
"Have you forgotten our deal?"
Shouma paused.
"...No."
"In exchange for helping you against Haruki Yuuji, you promised to fulfill a request of mine," Reiji said as he pulled out a contract from his desk. "You even signed the contract. You do know what happens when you break a contract, right?"
"..."
"You get punished," Reiji coldly stated.
Shouma quietly sat back down. Reiji then turned to the rest of them.
"As for the rest of you, the choice is up to you. If you don't want to fight in this battle, you can leave now. I'll respect your choice."
…
Nobody moved.
"I can't leave those participants to fight against Academia alone," Shizuka stated. "If you're so adamant about sending them to the front line, I might as well make sure not too many get hurt."
"If Shizuka's okay with it, I am too," Yuga chimed in.
"Any opportunity to get back at Academia is one that I'll take," Shun stated.
"Since Shun's going, I got to at least make sure he doesn't go off and do something stupid," Rio commented, receiving a glare from Shun which she ignores.
Reiji couldn't help but smile.
"Great, glad to have you all on board."
The rest of the meeting went smoothly, with Reiji discussing with and assigning each of them a specific task. Once the rest left his office, Reiji along with the two men in ninja clothing were left.
Reiji turned around and addressed them.
"Hikage. Tsukikage. I have a special task for the two of you."
The Next Day, At You Show…
Yuya, Yuzu, and the younger You Show students could all be seen chatting with one another about random things. The door to the common room opened as Yuuji stepped in.
"Yuya, could you come with me for a bit?" Yuuji asked.
"Why?" Yuya frowned. "Want to tell me more about how little I know about you?"
"..."
Yuuji pushed down his urges to say something that he might regret. He took a deep breath before speaking.
"I want to apologize."
"What?" Yuya was surprised.
"Can we not do this here? It's awkward with other people around."
Yuya turned to Yuzu, who nodded at him. Yuya then sighed.
"Okay."
The two of them make their way outside of You Show. They began walking down the sidewalk as Yuuji continued what he had started to say.
"Look, Yuya. The two of us can't keep going on like this, so I decided to apologize," Yuuji said. "Someone told me that the best way to handle things like this is to just communicate it clearly to the person."
"..." Yuya silently listened.
"So, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said all those things so carelessly," Yuuji apologized. "We all have different ways of thinking, and your way isn't wrong. Just different from mine."
Yuuji then stopped just ahead of Yuya, extending his hand outward.
"Why don't we start over and get to know each other more?"
Yuya stared at the hand for a moment. The memory of the scene replaying back in his mind. More specifically, what Yuuji and Yuzu said at the end.
'If you want to discuss more about the Sora matter, discard your naive preconceptions. Otherwise, we have nothing more to discuss.'
'We may be friends with them, but it's not like we've gotten the chance to really get to know them.'
…
Yuya accepted the hand.
"Alright," He smiled. "Being mad isn't much of my style anyway."
"Great," Yuuji smiled back. "..."
"..."
"Now what?"
"Don't know."
"..."
"..."
"Want to go shopping for some more cards?" Yuuji asked. "The next round is starting soon, so upgrading our decks will do us some good."
"I'm down," Yuya agreed.
Just like they did a few weeks ago, the two of them make their way to the card shop.
"What do you plan on getting?" Yuya asked.
"Probably a few Spell/Trap Cards," Yuuji replied as he took a look at a card displayed. "I don't really need many since new ones appear in my side deck every few days."
"The same thing happens to me too," Yuya said as he also picked out a card.
"Yet another weird thing that happens to the both of us, huh?"
"Looks like it."
The two of them spend around half an hour searching through the store for cards. Throughout the time, the two exchanged small talk. Nothing too deep, just random things that came to mind.
After they were done shopping, the two of them decided to stop by at a nearby cafe. Once their orders arrived, Yuya decided to ask Yuuji something.
"Hey, Yuuji. I know this is kind of a sudden question to ask, but could you tell me more about your father?"
Yuuji looked a bit surprised by the question, but smiled, "Only if you tell me a bit more about yours."
"Deal."
Yuuji took a sip of his drink, setting it down on the table.
"He's the coolest duelist that I've ever known," Yuuji said. "Every duel, he would bring a passion that I never saw anywhere else. A true master at his craft."
Yuuji then paused, his body tensing up a little.
"But because of that, people got jealous. They framed my father and shunned him from the dueling world, forcing the two of us to move from Maiami City and into the Outpost," Yuuji continued. "I could tell that my father was deeply affected by all of this, but he continued to keep a smile on his face and think positively. That optimism encouraged me to pick up dueling even when times were hard."
Yuuji took out his deck, placing it firmly on the table.
"My father always believed in dueling for one's enjoyment. As long as one could duel for their own amusement, they could overcome anything that comes their way."
"Your father sounds like a really cool guy," Yuya commented.
"He is," Yuuji nodded. "But I heard that your father is just as cool, right?"
"Yeah. My dad revolutionized dueling itself, promoting entertainment as a major form of dueling," Yuya said with a smile. "The smiles of joy that he evoked whenever he dueled inspired me to want to become somebody just like him, even after he disappeared."
"You don't have to stop there, do you?" Yuuji asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, you don't have to just stop at being an exact copy of your father. You can also try to surpass him."
Yuya frantically shook his head, "Me, surpass my father? I couldn't imagine it."
"You and I are similar," Yuuji smiled. "I believe that I can surpass my father, and I believe that you can too. After all, every good parent would want their child to do better than them."
"...Even so, I just don't think I can."
"Well, it's up to you," Yuuji shrugged.
The rest of their conversation devolved to small talk, with the two of them discussing potential strategies and helping each other improve their decklists. After they were done, the two of them decided to part ways.
"You sure you don't want to go back to You Show with me?" Yuya asked.
"Yeah, I want to do some more brainstorming on my own," Yuuji replied.
"Alright then, see you later!" Yuya waved as he began walking away.
"See you," Yuuji waved back as he watched Yuya disappear into the distance.
Yuuji smiled.
"That went well."
...
Wait. I probably should've asked him about what happened during his recent duel.
Yuuji then shrugged.
Oh well. I can do it a different time.
Yuuji began walking in the opposite direction, deck in hand.
My previous deck list got kind of stale, but what I have now should be pretty cool. Yuuji thought. I had a lot of pure defensive cards in my deck because my old style required them, but now that I have plenty of other cards, I won't need them anymore.
A more offensive and adaptive deck just fit him more, though he wasn't exactly sure why.
Yuuji was so deep in his thoughts that he wasn't exactly sure where he was walking to. When he eventually was aware of his surroundings, he found himself back at the abandoned harbor.
"What's my obsession with this place," Yuuji scratched his head. "Why do I keep winding up over here—?"
Yuuji paused, sensing a presence nearby. He turned around, but he found nobody there.
"Your senses are quite sharp," a mysterious voice stated.
Yuuji turned to the source, finding a man in ninja attire, wearing a blue mask over the bottom half of his face.
"It seems the reports about you hold some truth to them," another mysterious voice stated.
Behind Yuuji, another man in ninja attire, this time with a red mask, could be seen.
"Who are you guys?" Yuuji asked with a serious tone.
"I'm Hikage," The red-masked ninja introduced himself. "The other is my brother Tsukikage. The two of us have been tasked to eliminate you."
"Eliminate me?" Yuuji was shocked. "Who sent you?"
"Does Academia ring a bell?" Tsukikage inquired.
Yuuji tensed up upon hearing the name.
Academia? I thought Reiji said that he would handle it. Why would they come after me? Yuuji wondered.
"It seems like it does," Tsukikage activated his duel disk.
"You better arm yourself, Haruki Yuuji," Hikage also activated his duel disk. "We won't be showing any mercy."
"I guess I don't have much of a choice," Yuuji said and he began distancing himself. He came to a stop a decent distance away from them, activating his duel disk in response. "But don't expect me to just stand still while the two of you try to kill me."
"This duel will be an irregular Tag Duel," Tsukikage stated. "My brother and I will share a set of 4000 Life Points, along with a field and graveyard."
"Fine with me," Yuuji replied.
They'll still have the advantage since they have two sets of hands working together, but that doesn't matter much to me. It's better than facing two different duelists at once.
Once the rules were determined, each of them drew their first five cards. The duel then began shortly after that.
[DUEL!] The three of them shout in unison.
Yuuji — LP: 4000
Hikage & Tsukikage — LP: 4000
[Turn 1: Hikage] [H: 5]
"I'll be taking the first turn!" Hikage announced. "I activate Spell Card, Ninjitsu Art of Hazy Duplication, Special Summoning Twilight Ninja Shingetsu (Dark/Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1500/DEF: 100/LV: 4)!"
A sleek ninja warrior in blue appeared. The warrior had four arms, with two of them holding onto pristine, blue katanas.
"Ninja clothing and ninja themed cards. Way better match than whatever that bastard had going on," Yuuji commented (referring to Ryouga).
"I then release Twilight Ninja Shingestu and Advance Summon!" The sleek ninja warrior bursts into particles. "Appear, Twilight Ninja Nichirin, the Chunin (Dark/Warrior/Effect/ATK: 2300/DEF: 1000/LV: 6)!"
Taking the place of Shingetsu was a much more muscular warrior, with a golden mask and a large red scarf wrapped around its neck.
"I set two cards facedown and end my turn!" Hikage concluded with two facedowns. "Let's see what you can do."
"Alright then. My turn! Draw!" Yuuji drew a card and began his turn.
[Turn 2: Yuuji] [H: 6]
"I'll start by—"
"At the start of your turn, I activate my Continuous Trap, Armor Ninjitsu Art of Rust Mist!" Hikage declared that one of his set cards is flipped face-up.
"Not going to disclose the effect, huh? Guess I'll just have to figure it out." Yuuji frowned. "I'll start by activating the Spell Card, Odd-Eyes Transcendence! By discarding the Level 3 Antique Maker - Swinging Soul from my hand, I can Special Summon an 'Odd-Eyes' Monster of a different Level directly from my deck! Appear, dragon bearing my very soul, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7/SC: 4)!"
A massive purple-scaled dragon with amber-colored eyes and bone-like armor appeared on Yuuji's field.
Hikage extended his hand outward, "You've just triggered Armor Ninjitsu Art of Rust Mist's effect! While I control a 'Ninja' Monster, any monster Special Summoned onto your field will have its ATK points halved!"
(Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon — ATK: 2500 → 1250)
"That's annoying…" Yuuji muttered. "But not enough to stop me! Battle!"
"He's moving into his Battle Phase?" Hikage looked a little surprised. "But our monster is stronger, what does he gain from this?"
"Be careful, brother," Tsukikage advised. "The President informed us that Haruki Yuuji is known for making some unorthodox plays."
Yuuji revealed a card in his hand.
"I activate the Quick-Play-Spell, Phantom Erasure!" Yuuji declared. "While I control a card named 'Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon', I can activate this card. Thanks to this card's effect, I can target 1 monster you control and banish it!"
"So that was his plan," Hikage's eyes widened.
Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon shoots a breath of phantom flames at Twilight Ninja Nichirin, the Chunin, which is engulfed by them, disappearing from the battlefield.
"And with that, you're wide open," Yuuji smiled. "Attack them directly, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon! Phantom Spiral Breath!"
Phantom Dragon shoots a breath of purple flames at the two ninja, who leap out of the way before the attack hits them—though they still take the damage.
Hikage & Tsukikage — LP: 4000 → 2750
"Main Phase 2," Yuuji concluded his Battle Phase. "I set one card and end my turn."
"I'll be taking the next turn!" Tsukikage announced. "Draw!"
[Turn 3: Tsukikage] [H: 6]
"I also summon a copy of Twilight Ninja Shingetsu (ATK: 1500/DEF: 100/LV: 4)!" A sleek ninja warrior with four arms appeared. "Next, I activate my own Ninjitsu Art of Hazy Duplication, Special Summoning another Twilight Ninja Shingetsu (ATK: 1500/DEF: 100/LV: 4)!"
Another ninja warrior appeared on Tsukikage's field.
So they use the same archetype, huh? Yuuji assessed. That might actually be trouble. Their cards will synergize with each other much more than partners using different archetypes.
Tsukikage extended his arm forward, "Battle! My first Twilight Ninja Shingetsu attacks Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon!"
The four-armed ninja dashes towards the bipedal dragon. Leaping into the air and preparing to slice through the monster with its blades.
"Before the attack goes through, I activate my Continuous Trap, Destined Pendulum!" Yuuji cuts in right before the ninja slices through Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon. Yuuji winces from the shockwaves a bit as his Life Points drop.
Yuuji — LP: 4000 → 3750
"The effect of Destined Pendulum now activates," Yuuji stated. "When a Pendulum Monster I control is destroyed, I can add 1 Pendulum Monster from my deck to my hand! I'll be adding Antique Maker - Gifting Magician to my hand."
Yuuji added a card to his hand.
"You're wide open!" Tsukikage declared as the second ninja monster leaped forward. "My other copy of Twilight Ninja Shingestu attacks you directly!"
Yuuji braces himself, blocking the ninja's sword with his duel blade. However, the shockwave from the clash sent him sliding back.
Yuuji — LP: 3750 → 2250
"I set two cards and end my turn," Tsukikage concluded his turn.
"Draw!" Yuuji began his turn.
[Turn 4: Yuuji] [H: 4]
Yuuji took out two cards from his hand, revealing them.
"I set the Pendulum Scale with the Scale 1 Antique Maker - Lilac Magician and the Scale 8 Antique Maker - Gifting Magician!" Yuuji announced as he placed the two cards on opposite ends of his duel blade.
A magician in all purple holding similarly colored staff in her hand and a chibi magician holding a present in his hand rose into two pendulum zones behind Yuuji. The numbers 1 and 8 appear in each respective zone in a strange golden font as a giant pendulum swings above them.
"Before I Pendulum Summon, I activate the Pendulum Effect of Gifting Magician!" Yuuji declared. "Once per duel, I can add 1 Pendulum Monster from my deck to my hand! I choose to add Antique Maker - Mira to my hand!"
Yuuji added a card to his hand.
"With my currently set scale, I can now summon monsters Levels 2 through 7 all at the same time!" Yuuji announced. "Shine, Pendulum of Destiny! Draw an arc across the ether, and reflect onto me a path to victory! I Pendulum Summon!"
The swinging pendulum draws a portal in the sky as two beams of energy shoot out from it.
"Returning from my Extra Deck, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon (ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)! And from my hand, Antique Maker - Mira (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5/SC: 8)!"
Appearing along with the purple-scaled dragon was a woman in all black holding a pristine mirror in her hand.
"Just like before, Armor Ninjitsu Art of Rust Mist's effect halves the ATK points of your Special Summoned Monsters!" Hikage declared
(Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon — ATK: 2500 → 1250)
(Antique Maker - Mira — ATK: 2000 → 1000)
"Antique Maker - Mira's effect activates upon its summon," Yuuji continued. "I get to add 1 'Antique' Card from my deck to my hand! I choose to add Antique Maker - Strike Magician with this effect!"
Yuuji added another card to his hand.
"Next, I'll—"
"Trap Card, Open!" Tsukikage cuts in as one of his set cards is activated. "I activate my Continuous Trap, Ninjitsu Art of Shadow Sealing by tributing a copy of Twilight Ninja Shingetsu. With this effect, I target Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon and banish it from your field for as long as this card remains!"
Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon is then trapped by a cage of shadows.
Yuuji looked unimpressed.
"I activate the effect of Antique Maker - Strike Magician from my hand," Yuuji stated as he discarded a card from his hand. "Once per turn, I can discard a card from my hand and destroy a card on your field. I choose to destroy Ninjitsu Art of Shadow Sealing!"
The aforementioned card bursted into particles.
"And since your card was destroyed, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon is freed from its effects!"
The cage around Phantom Dragon dissipates.
"So, he had an answer to that too," Tsukikage commented. "Impressive."
"I activate the Spell Card, Card Recycling," Yuuji continued. "Thanks to it, I can add Phantom Erasure back to my hand."
Yuuji added a card from his graveyard to his hand.
"Battle!" Yuuji moves into his Battle Phase. "Antique Maker - Mira attacks your remaining Twilight Ninja Shingetsu!"
"Attacking using a monster with lower attack again…" Tsukikage muttered, trying to figure out what Yuuji was planning this time.
"I activate the Continuous Trap, Armor Ninjitsu Art of Freezing!" Hikage shouted. "With it, I'll negate your attack and end the Battle Phase!"
A gust of strong, cold winds is shot out from the card, enveloping Antique Maker - Mira and freezing her solid.
"That's a neat trap," Yuuji commented without a care as he set a card. "I set one card and end my turn."
"It's a good thing I played that trap," Hikage stated. "He would've been able to add an extra Pendulum Card to his hand if I let that go through."
"We really can't let our guard down for even a second," Tsukikage replied.
"My turn! Draw!" Hikage drew a card as he began his turn.
[Turn 5: Hikage] [H: 1]
"You're quite impressive," Hikage addressed Yuuji. "However, allow me to show you the true might of Academia!"
"Here it comes…" Yuuji turned serious.
"I activate the Fusion Spell, Instant Fusion!" Hikage announced. "By paying 1000 Life Points, I can Special Summon a Level 5 or lower Fusion Monster directly from my Extra Deck!"
Hikage & Tsukikage — LP: 2750 → 1750
A glowing spiral swirl vortex appeared above as Hikage began chanting.
"When metal meets shadow and honor sharpens the blade, let the chains of fate bind the enemy!" Hikage chanted. "I Fusion Summon! Come forth, Level 5! Yaguramaru the Armor Ninja (Dark/Machine/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 2000/LV: 5)!"
An armored machine warrior with a body covered in flames appeared.
"Yaguramaru's effect now activates upon its summon!" Hikage declared. "By banishing Ninjitsu Art of Shadow Sealing from our graveyard, it can target 1 card on your field and banish it from play. The card I choose to banish is Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon!"
"Before that effect resolves, I activate Phantom Erasure once again!" Yuuji declared that his set card is activated. "I choose to banish Yaguramaru the Armor Ninja with this effect!"
Yaguramaru thrusts its armored fist toward Phantom Dragon as the beast unleashes a torrent of purple flames. In response, the ninja launches its fist like a rocket, spiraling through the fire before striking Phantom Dragon head-on. The flames consume Yaguramaru at the very same moment, and in a blinding flash, both monsters are banished from the field simultaneously.
"I end my turn," Hikage concluded his turn without entering the Battle Phase.
"Then it's my turn! Draw!" Yuuji drew a card and began his turn.
[Turn 6: Yuuji] [H: 2]
They're super wary of Destined Pendulum's effect. Yuuji assessed. Though, I can definitely use that to my advantage.
"Battle!" Yuuji immediately moves to his Battle Phase. "Antique Maker - Mira attacks Twilight Ninja Shingetsu! Crystal Beam!"
The woman in black attempts to shoot a beam of light at the sleek ninja using the mirror in her hands. However, the ninja is far too quick, closing the distance between them and slashing right through the woman, causing her to burst into particles and Yuuji winced from the shockwaves.
"Sorry…" Yuuji muttered an apology to his monster before continuing. "Destined Pendulum's effect now activates since a Pendulum Monster was destroyed. Using it, I'll add Odd-Eyes Sparking Dragon to my hand!"
Yuuji added a card to his hand. At the same time, a portal appeared above him.
"Now, with my currently set Pendulum Scale, I Pendulum Summon!" Yuuji announced as two beams of energy shoot out from the portal. "Return from my Extra Deck, Antique Maker - Mira (ATK: 2000 → 1000/DEF: 100/LV: 5)! And from my hand, Odd-Eyes Sparking Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 1800 → 900/DEF: 1000/LV: 4/SC: 8)!"
The maiden in all black, along with a small yellow-scaled dragon with horns shaped like thunder appeared on Yuuji's field.
"Both Antique Maker - Mira and Sparking Dragon's Summoning Effects activate simultaneously!" Yuuji declared. "Using them, I add Antique Mimic Chest along with Odd-Eyes Scatterstorm to my hand!"
Yuuji added two cards to his hand this time.
"Once again, I activate the effect of Strike Magician!" Yuuji continued. "I discard a card from my hand to destroy the face-up Armor Ninjitsu Art of Rust Mist!"
The trap card bursts into particles, causing the two ninja brothers to wince a little.
"This is getting dangerous," Hikage commented. "Even with the two of us, his card advantage is still too great. We'll eventually be overwhelmed at this rate."
"Which means that we'll have to end it on the next turn," Tsukikage stated.
"I set one card and end my turn," Yuuji concluded with a face down.
"Draw!" Tsukikage drew a card and began his turn.
[Turn 7: Tsukikage] [H: 2]
"I activate the Continuous Spell, Ninjitsu Art of Revival!" Tsukikage announced. "With it, I can target 2 'Ninja' Monsters in my graveyard and Special Summon them! Return for the mission, two copies of Twilight Ninja Shingetsu (ATK: 1500/DEF: 100/LV: 4)!"
Two more sleek ninjas with four arms appeared.
"Great, now there are three of them," Yuuji frowned.
"Not for long…" Tsukikage states. "...because I now Overlay two Level 4 Twilight Ninja Shingetsu!"
"Xyz!?" Yuuji cried out in shock.
The two monsters transform into balls of energy which were then absorbed into a galaxy vortex that appeared in front of them. A massive pillar of light shot out from the portal's center as Tsukikage began chanting.
"From within the shadows, two blades become one. Cloak yourself in silence, and strike twice with deadly precision!" Tsukikage chanted. "I Xyz Summon! Come forth, Rank 4! Blade Armor Ninja (Wind/Warrior/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2200/DEF: 1000/R: 4/OU: 2)!"
A duel-wielding ninja warrior wearing sturdy red armor appeared from the vortex. Circling around it were two Overlay Units.
Wait a minute. Serena was from Academia, and she said that she would never make use of the enemy's summoning method. Yuuji thought. If that's the case, there's no way that these guys are from Academia. But why are they here? Who would be willing to send two ninjas to duel against me…
"I just answered my own question," Yuuji let out an exasperated sigh.
"I activate my set Quick-Play-Spell, Ninjitsu Art Notebook of Mystery!" Tsukikage continued. "This card allows me to set 'Ninja Art' along with another 'Ninja' Monster directly on my field from my deck."
Two set cards appear, one in his Monster Zone and one in his Spell/Trap Zone. One of the set cards is then flipped face-up.
"I now activate Ninjitsu Art of Phantom Steps!" Tsukikage shouts. "Targeting 1 'Ninja' Monster on my field, it allows that selected monster to attack my opponent directly! I choose to target Blade Armor Ninja with this effect!"
Tsukikage then extended his arm forward.
"Now to end you! Blade Armor Ninja attacks you directly!"
The armored ninja warrior leaped forward, practically teleporting through the air as it easily bypassed Yuuji's monster, preparing to land an attack on him directly.
However, Yuuji only smiled in response.
"You're right about this duel coming to an end. But it won't be me who's losing!" Yuuji declared as his set card was activated. "I activate the Trap Card, Magic Cylinder! I negate your attack, and deal damage back to you equal to that monster's ATK points. Blade Armor Ninja has 2200 ATK to your 1750 Life Points. You should know what that means right?"
"We've lost," Tsukikage reluctantly admitted.
"That's right!" Yuuji snapped his fingers at them.
Two large, colorful cylinders materialized behind Yuuji. The left cylinder unleashed a powerful suction force, pulling the attacking Blade Armor Ninja into its swirling vortex. The right cylinder trembled briefly before firing a brilliant beam of energy straight at the two ninja brothers. Caught off guard, they had no time to react as the blast struck them head-on, reducing their Life Points to zero.
Hikage & Tsukikage — LP: 1750 → 0
Winner: Yuuji
All of their cards dematerialized as the duel came to an end. Yuuji approached the two downed duelists, crouching down as he addressed him.
"Akaba Reiji sent you two, right?" Yuuji inquired.
"So you knew?" Tsukikage asked.
"As soon as you summoned that Xyz Monster, I figured it out," Yuuji replied. "From what I know, most Academia duelists would never use an Xyz Monster."
The two ninja brothers eventually rose to their feet, prompting Yuuji to do the same. The two of them then respectfully bow.
"We apologize for the inconvenience we may have caused you," Hikage apologized. "We were requested by Reiji to test your dueling capabilities, and you have passed this test with flying colors."
Yuuji scratched his head.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. When you guys return to give him a report on what happened, could you pass a message to him for me."
"What do you request?" Tsukikage inquired.
"Fuck off."
The evening soon arrived as Yuuji returned to his hotel. After washing up and changing into his pajamas, he threw himself onto his bed, deck in hand.
"As much as I pretend to be mad at Reiji, I am a bit thankful for him giving me a chance to give this new decklist a good test run."
Though the opponents that he faced didn't give him that good of a chance to really show what the deck could do, he could tell that what he had right now was incredibly strong, as well as fun.
"It's sort of exhilarating, not relying on protection cards for once."
And what was that saying? The best defense is a good offense. That's the best description I could give my current decklist.
—Yawn!
Yuuji rubbed his eyes.
"I'm tired. I should probably sleep. I'm gonna need all the energy I can muster for tomorrow."
Tomorrow was the day that the third round of the Maiami Championships would take place, so he had to be ready.
Yuuji put his deck away and tucked himself to bed, excitedly awaiting for what tomorrow would be.
What Yuuji didn't know was that today was probably the last day that he would have even a remotely normal life.
The next day…
Yuuji arrives at the arena right before noon. He could barely sleep last night because of all the anticipation that he had built up for today.
It doesn't help that I have this strange feeling that something bad is about to happen. Yuuji frowned.
He suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. When he turned to see the source, he was surprised to see that it was Sawatari Haruka, the person who helped him out with the Yuya situation a bit back.
"Haruka?"
"It's been a while, Yuuji," Haruka greeted him casually before realizing. "Wait? Can I even call you that? Is it too fast?"
"I mean, you let me call you by your first name. I think it's fine."
"Okay," Haruka breathed a sigh of relief before continuing what she wanted to say before. "Glad to see that you made it to the third round."
"Likewise," Yuuji replied, though he felt a little off for some reason. "I have to thank you again for your help the other day. Thanks to your advice, I was able to make up with Yuya."
"No need to thank me, like I said, I can't have any fellow competitors of mine fizzle out before they face me," Haruka said before turning to where the rest of the contestants were gathered. "We should probably get a move on; it looks like they're starting soon."
"Oh…right," Yuuji agreed as the two of them went to join the rest of the contestants.
Yuya, Yuzu, and Gongenzaka could all be seen standing near each other. Yuya was the first to notice Yuuji approach them from afar, happily waving at him.
"Hey, Yuuji! Over here!" Yuya called out to him.
"Yo, Yuya! Yuzu! Gongenzaka!" Yuuji waved back to the group.
The two of them stopped in front of the group.
"How are you guys feeling?" Yuuji asked the three.
"Great!" Yuzu replied.
"I'm feeling ready to win it all!" Gongenzaka enthusiastically pumped his fist.
"That's the spirit," Yuuji smiled.
"Hey, Yuuji. Who's that girl beside you?" Yuya asked.
"Oh, her?" Yuuji casually pointed at her. "She was the person I was referring to during our talk yesterday. It was thanks to her that I was able to do that in the first place."
"I'm Sawatari Haruka, a student from LDS," Haruka introduced herself with a smile. "It's nice to meet you guys."
"Thanks for the help." "Nice to meet you too." "The feeling is mutual."
Yuya, Yuzu, and Gongenzaka respectively say.
...
"Did she just say, Sawatari?" Yuzu asked.
"I...think she did," Yuya replied.
"I, the man Gongenzaka, heard it too," Gongenzaka nodded.
"It seems my brother's reputation has left quite the impact," Haruka commented.
[...] All three of them silently blinked at her before turning to each other. [She is!?]
Shortly after their greeting, Nico Smiley's voice cut in as it was broadcast around the arena as he spoke into a golden microphone from the ground where the contestants were.
"Given that it is almost noon, it's about time that I explain the rules for the third round!"
Nico Smiley began diverging the rules. Yuuji, the rest of the contestants, and the crowd were all shocked when they heard that the third round was changed into a Battle Royale across the city. Another shocking revelation brought up about the details for the third round was the fact that Pendulum Cards would be scattered around the city, and that you couldn't challenge anyone until you found two of these Pendulum Cards.
"Reiji, you've done it again," Yuuji couldn't help but smile. "Now this is what I'm talking about."
"Wait Yuuji, you're happy about this?" Yuya was surprised.
"Why wouldn't I be? If everybody has Pendulum Cards, it'll even things out," Yuuji replied. "And if I prove to everybody that I'm still stronger even with everyone being granted Pendulum Cards, I would truly be the strongest one here."
"I like the confidence," Haruka replied. "Though you seem to be forgetting that it won't be you winning this whole thing, but me."
"In your dreams. Because I don't plan on losing, especially not to you," Yuuji confidently said.
"Oh really? I was thinking the exact same thing."
The tension between the two was strong. Yuya could've sworn that he saw sparks flying between the two.
"Guess we'll have to prove who's superior in a duel," Haruka suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Yuuji replied.
Soon enough, it was noon.
"It's almost time to begin!" Nico Smiley announced. "Duelists, please prepare your duel disks!"
Every contestant activated their duel disks.
[BATTLE-ROYAL-MODE ACTIVATED] was the message that popped up on each of their duel disks.
As they got ready, the gate to the city was opened up.
"Alright, let's get started!" Nico Smiley shouts. "Duelists locked in battle!"
The crowd joined in.
"Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!"
"They storm through this field!"
"Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling!"
[Action—!]
[DUEL!] Everyone shouted in unison as the contestant began running out into the city. The Action Cards and Pendulum Cards were then dispersed around the city.
"I'll be going on ahead!" Yuuji shouted to the group before dashing off at an insane speed.
"How the hell is he going so fast?" Yuya asked.
"Beats me, but I agree with his enthusiasm," Gongenzaka replied as he began speeding off. "The manliest of men make the first move after all!"
"Haha, guess a little bit of running never hurt," Haruka chuckled as she too quickened her pace.
Countless other contestants began speeding off too, adamant on being the first ones to find some Pendulum Cards.
"Seriously?" Yuya looked a little defeated as he watched everyone else dash ahead of him. He then turned to the girl beside him. "Hey, Yuzu? Do you plan on running off like they did?"
"Not right now, I'd rather save the energy," Yuzu replied. "This is a good opportunity to discuss some things anyway."
"Like what?"
"Kurosaki. Didn't you notice that he didn't show up?"
"Oh yeah, you're right," Yuya remembered.
"You think he decided to quit or something."
"He's one of the sixteen participants, he'll definitely show up."
"Maybe we should split up and search?" Yuzu suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Yuya agreed before pointing his fist toward Yuzu.
Yuzu looked confused for the moment.
"Good luck. Let's promise to meet when this is all over, alright?"
"You make it sound like we're going off to a war or something," Yuzu chuckled as she returned the fist bump. "But yeah, I promise."
As soon as they made it to an intersection, the two of them parted ways, running in opposite directions.
Custom/Altered Cards:
Monster Card/s -
Antique Maker - Gifting Magician
ATK: 1300, DEF: 2100, LV: 5, SC: 8
Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per Duel: You can add 1 Pendulum Monster from your Deck to your hand.
Monster Effect: Once per turn: You can have your opponent draw 1 card, then discard 1 card; if you do, gain 1000 LP.
Antique Maker - Strike Magician
ATK: 2200, DEF: 700, LV: 7
Dark/Spellcaster/Effect
Monster Effect: (Quick Effect): Once per turn: You can discard 1 card, then target 1 card your opponent controls; destroy it. You can activate this effect while this card is in your hand.
Spell/Trap Card/s -
Odd-Eyes Transcendence
Normal Spell
Send 1 Pendulum Monster from your hand to the GY; Special Summon 1 "Odd-Eyes" monster from your Deck with a different Level than the sent monster.
Phantom Erasure
Quick-Play Spell
If you control an "Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon" or a card that is treated as such: Banish 1 face-up monster your opponent controls. Your opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to this card's activation.
Destined Pendulum
Continuous Trap
Once per turn: If a Pendulum Monster is destroyed (by battle or card effect) while face-up on your field or in your Pendulum Zone: You can add 1 Pendulum Monster with a different name from your Deck to your hand.
If this face-up card is destroyed: You can place 1 Pendulum Monster from your Deck face-up in your Extra Deck instead.
Odd-Eyes Shatterstorm
Quick-Play Spell
If you control an "Odd-Eyes" monster: Target 1 card on the field; destroy it. If it was a monster, inflict damage equal to half its ATK.
You can banish this card from your GY; this turn, "Odd-Eyes" monsters you control cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects.
Ninjitsu Art of Revival
Continuous Spell
Activate this card by targeting up to 2 "Ninja" monsters in your Graveyard; Special Summon them in face-up Attack Position. You can only control 1 face-up "Ninjitsu Art of Revival". If this card leaves the field, destroy those monsters.
Ninjitsu Art of Phantom Step
Normal Spell
Target 1 "Ninja" monster you control; this turn, it can attack your opponent directly. If it inflicts battle damage to your opponent this way: You can banish 1 "Ninja" monster from your GY; draw 1 card. You can only activate 1 "Ninjitsu Art of Phantom Step" per turn.
A nice calm builds up chapter with a duel thrown in the mix. The duel featured in this chapter is rather experimental, as I wanted to try out a new style of writing duels (specifically ones that include Yuuji). I decided to change up his deck since I found his previous playing style kind of stale (it sort of devolved to Yuuji negates dangerous attack, then attacks back. Then he negates another dangerous attack, then attacks back again). That isn't exactly how it went, but that what it felt like to me, especially when I look at the duels objectively (they're still good though, I just noticed that). I also got really bored of Yuuji's dueling relying on Revolution Commander and Freedom Rider, so don't expect them to show up for a while.
The result was a slightly shorter duel in word count, being only 2600 words (my average before was like 4000, at least in the earlier chapters). Though I still think this is a good thing, since I'm writing duels as an addition to chapters now, and not as just use it as a way to inflate a chapter's word count. I'm open for suggestions though.
IMPORTANT: As for how I am going to go about uploading chapters, I've decided that instead of a set schedule, I just upload whenever the hell I want. So, it could take either a few days to even a month (don't plan on procrastinating more than that). I realized that if I wrote the story at the same schedule of once every two weeks, it would end up taking FOUR YEARS to finish this. So, I'm just going to upload when I want, it'll likely go by faster when I do that.
That's all I wanted to say, thanks for reading!
Chapter 20: The Riveting Battle Royale
Chapter Text
Chapter 19 is here! I honestly had a difficult time writing this chapter and honestly wish I could've done better. Some less noticeable flaws are more of my personal gripes like character stuff and dialogue, but I honestly can't be bothered to go back and change them. The chapter is good enough anyway, so I'd rather focus my attention on writing the more interesting chapters that come literally after this first buildup one.
Also...new opening this chapter!
Without any further ado, enjoy!
Disclaimer: Minor Spelling, Grammar, and Other Mistakes May Be Present.
[Battle Royal Arc Opening Theme (Guilty Crown Opening 2 - Everlasting)]
(A/N: Updated the opening scenes to better represent what's happening in the arc. I was originally just going to use the same song, but honestly it wouldn't fit for the arc at all, so I changed it to this.)
[Starting Instrumental]
(During this instrumental, a scene of massive giant robots laying carnage to Heartland City played. The camera then pans to Shun, an intense glare present on his face as he could be seen clenching his fist.)
Houkai no shinfonii ga narihibiite
(The scene transitions. Yuuji could be seen walking through a dark void from the right. Memories of his past experiences, good and bad, appear in the background as he does so.)
Furu ame wa maru de namida no neiro
(Yuya could be seen walking through a similar dark void, this time approaching from the left. Similar to Yuuji, memories of his experiences could be seen in the background.)
Kizuite
(The scenes converge as the two walk past each other.)
Sono me wa tagai wo mitomeru tame
(Shun steps into an Ancient Ruin. Within the ruin, Sora could be seen on the opposite end. The camera zooms closer to Sora, with the blue-haired youth pulling out the lollipop from his mouth—a sadistic grin suddenly forming on his face.)
Sono koe wa omoi wo tsutaeru tame
(The scene transitions to a frozen area. Yuzu could be seen walking for a short moment, wearing a standard red Academia uniform, before coming to a stop. Her expression contorted into visible fear as she does so. The camera pans to where she's looking, revealing Yuri. His expression at first was one of surprise, but it quickly shifts into a smile.)
Sono te wa daiji na hito to tsunagu…
(The scene shifts to show a screen that was split into four blocks, with something different being played in each block. In the top left, Rio could be seen in a frozen area, confronting Aika. In the bottom left, Sawatari Shingo and his sister Sawatari Haruka could be seen in a forest area confronting Diago. In the top right screen, Shizuka and Yuga could be seen engaged in two separate duels against Yuki and Vincent. In the bottom right screen, Shouma could just be seen walking around, not engaged in any duel.
…tame ni aru
(A brief clip is shown, revealing Reiji, who was silently watching that very screen with Nakajima and Reira by his side.)
Kono uta ga kikoeteru. Inochi aru subete no mono yo
(The scene shifts back to Shun's POV, as he is engaged in an intense duel with Sora. He could be seen swiftly dodging tentacles that were shot towards him. Suddenly, Frightfur Tiger leaps towards him, but fails to reach him as Blaze Falcon swifting saves him, firing off its own attacks towards Sora, who easily avoided them.)
Shinjitsu wa anata no mune no naka ni aru
(The scene shifts to Yuto, who could be seen summoning Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon while engaged in a duel against three Obelisk Force members. He swiftly commands it to attack them, but the scene shifts before a conclusion could be seen.)
Arashi no umi wo yuku toki mo
(The scene shifts back to the frozen area. A strong blizzard blew through the area as Yuri and Yuuji were having a standoff. The clothes and hair sway with the wind as the two activate their duel disks. The screen goes white as the scene transitions.)
Keshite oku suru koto no nai tsuyosa wo
(The scene then shifts to a molten area, with Yuuji seen in a similar position. However, his eyes were glowing green as a dark aura could be seen radiating from him. In front of him stood Ryouga, who just returned a sadistic grin. Flames envelop the screen as the scene transitions.)
Kureru kara
(The scene that plays immediately after the previous also takes place in a molten area. Yuya and Sora step into a cave which had a massive pit of lava beneath them. Sora walks a few dozen meters away before turning back to Yuya. The two are then just seen staring at each other, unreadable expressions present on both of their faces as the screen fades to black. The title card of the show is shown as the opening ends.)
Scale 019: The Riveting Battle Royale
Yuuji could be seen trekking through a forest. No matter where he went, his path was obstructed by countless trees, bushes, and rough terrain.
"This is such a pain."
Shortly after the Battle Royale began, an Action Field was activated which spanned the whole city. He had ended up in the Forest Area. Fortunately for him, he had managed to find two Pendulum Cards before the Action Field was even activated, meaning that he thankfully didn't have to search for any in this dense forest.
After around ten minutes of traveling, Yuuji finally ends up at a clearing in the forest. He immediately got down on his knees and began praying.
"Thank you lord for blessing me with freedom."
—Rustle!
Yuuji tensed up as he heard some bushes shake nearby. He stood and waited to see what would emerge from the bush.
His tension immediately dissipates when he sees Haruka appear from within the bushes. She brushed off some leaves that had caught onto her clothes.
"I finally got out of there," Haruka breathed a sigh of relief before noticing Yuuji. "Oh, you're here too?"
"Guess so," Yuuji replied. "What a coincidence that I ran into you all the way out here, huh?"
"Y-Yeah, how weird," Haruka awkwardly scratched the back of her head before muttering under her breath. "It's not like I was following you or anything…"
"What was that?"
"Nothing!" Haruka shouted.
Haruka then took a deep breath, regaining her composure.
"Anyway, since we're here now, why don't we have a duel?" Haruka proposed. "You've found two Pendulum Cards, right?"
"Yeah, I have," Yuuji nodded.
"Perfect. We'll both wager 1 Pendulum Card with this duel then," Haruka smiled. "How does that sound?"
"Sounds good with me," Yuuji agreed.
The two duelists put a bit of distance away from each other. They each activate their duel disks, preparing to begin their duel.
Back in the main arena…
"It looks like our first duel of the Battle Royale is about to start in the Jungle Arena!" Nico Smiley announced. "Haruki Yuuji, a favorite to win this tournament, goes against Sawatari Haruka!"
"Alright, Yuuji! Show'em your fiery hot spirit for You Show!" Shuzo cheered.
"He's so loud," Ayu covered her ears.
"Uhuh," Futoshi nodded in agreement as he also did the same.
"The energy is a bit much, but he definitely has the right idea," Tatsuya commented.
The crowd could be heard cheering as they anticipated the beginning of the duel.
Back in the Jungle Arena…
The two of them draw five cards as their duel begins.
[DUEL!] The two shout in unison.
Yuuji — LP: 4000
Haruka — LP: 4000
[Turn 1: Haruka] [H: 5]
"I'll start!" Haruka announced.
Time to see what you're made of. Haruka thought.
"I summon Devaastra Annapurna (Light/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1400/LV: 4)!"
A woman with a radiant aura appeared. She had four arms, the front two holding a golden pot within them.
"Annapurna's effect activates when it's summoned, allowing me to add Devaastra Descent to my hand!"
Haruka adds a card to her hand. Shortly after, three Continuous Spells appear on her field.
"I activate Sacred Ground of Devaastra, Devaastra Descent, and Devaastra Hymm!" Haruka declared. "Sacred Ground of Devaastra increases the ATK and DEF of 'Devaastra' Monsters I control by 200 for each Continuous Spell I own!"
(Devaastra Annapurna — ATK: 1600 → 2200, DEF: 1400 → 2000)
Using Continuous Spells to bolster her monster's attacks. Yuuji assessed. Interesting…
"I activate the second effect of Sacred Ground of Devaastra, sending the Continuous Spell Devaastra Radiance to my graveyard!" Haruka continued. "Then I activate the effect of Devaastra Descent! Once per turn, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower "Devaastra" Monster from my deck in defense mode! Come forth, Devaastra Durga (Light/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 1800 → 2400/DEF: 1200 → 1800/LV: 4)!"
A woman with long, golden hair and dressed in red garments, brandishing a massive golden greatsword appeared in a defensive stance. Surrounding her body was a faint blue aura.
"I now activate Polymerization!" Haruka announced. "Fusing Devaastra Annapurna and Devaastra Durga!"
The two aforementioned monsters rise into the air, fusing as Haruka begins chanting.
"Goddess of Nourishment. Fuse together with the courageous blade and bring about a new divine power!" Haruka then clasped her hands together. "I Fusion Summon! Come forth, Level 8! Devaastra Parvati - The Motherhood (Light/Fairy/Fusion/Effect/ATK: 2800 → 3400/DEF: 2400 → 3000/LV: 8)!"
A fair-skinned woman with long flowing black hair appeared. Adorning her clothes were countless pieces of golden jewelry.
"Summoning a powerful Fusion Monster right off the bat. You sure aren't packing any punches," Yuuji commented.
"I'm not done yet," Haruka replied. "I activate Parvati's effect. I send Devaastra Hymm from my field to the graveyard and add Devaastra Echo to my hand!"
Haruka added a card to her hand again.
"I now activate Devaastra Echo!" Haruka declared. "Devaastra Echo allows me to Special Summon 1 'Devaastra' Monster from my graveyard every turn. However, I must pay 800 Life Points each time I activate this effect, and the monster I summon won't be able to attack. However, it's my first turn so that second part won't matter."
Haruka grit her teeth as her duel disk zapped her.
Haruka — LP: 4000 → 3200
After she paid the price, a portal appeared in front of her.
"Return to my field, Devaastra Durga (ATK: 1800 → 2400/DEF: 1200 → 1800/LV: 4) in defense mode!"
The golden haired woman holding a greatsword reappeared on her field with a faint blue aura surrounding it.
"I set one card and end my turn," Haruka concluded her turn. "Let's see what you can do."
"Alright then. My turn! Draw!"
Yuuji drew a card and started his turn.
[Turn 2: Yuuji] [H: 6]
Yuuji placed the card he drew into his hand, scanning it.
Five Spells and a Trap Card. I guess I should've expected to get a hand like this. Yuuji thought.
However, unlike before, he could actually do something with a hand like this.
"I activate Antique Disposal!" Yuuji declared. "Thanks to its effect, I can send up to 5 'Antique' Monsters from my deck to the graveyard. However, I'll only be sending Antique Wishing Lamp with this effect."
Yuuji grabs a card from his deck and sends it to his graveyard.
"Next, I activate Card Recycling, adding the card I sent to the graveyard back to my hand!"
He took out Antique Wishing Lamp from his graveyard.
"However, it won't stay in my hand for long as I activate the Spell Card, Relic of the Antique!" Yuuji continued. "By discarding 1 Level 5 or higher 'Antique' Monster and paying 1000 Life Points, I can add two different 'Antique' Monsters from my deck to my hand!"
Yuuji grit his teeth as his duel disk zapped him. He then discarded Antique Wishing Lamp before adding two different cards to his hand.
Yuuji — LP: 4000 → 3000
Yuuji then revealed the two cards he added.
"I set the Pendulum Scale with the Scale 1 Antique Mimic Chest and the Scale 8 Antique Maker - Gifting Magician!"
He placed the two cards on opposite ends of his duel disk. As he did, two Pendulum Zones appeared behind him, with a chest mimic with razor sharp teeth and a chibi magician holding a present in his hand rose in the two Pendulum Zones. A giant silver pendulum appeared above it all, drawing a portal in the sky.
"There it is…" Haruka muttered.
"I now activate Gifting Magician's Pendulum Effect! Once per duel, I can add 1 Pendulum Monster and add it to my hand!"
Yuuji added a card to his hand. He then extended his arm towards the sky.
"Now I can summon monsters Levels 2 through 7 all at the same time!" Yuuji announced. "Shine, Pendulum of Destiny! Draw an arc across the ether, and reflect onto me a path to victory! I Pendulum Summon!"
A beam of energy shot out from the portal in the sky.
"Appear, dragon of phantoms bearing my very soul, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7/SC: 4)!"
A massive purple-scaled dragon with bone-like armor appeared on Yuuji's field.
"I equip Power Reboot to Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon," Yuuji played a card. "Then I will battle! Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon attacks Devaastra Parvati - The Motherhood!"
"What?" Haruka was surprised. "But your dragon has way less ATK points?"
"From my hand, I activate the Quick-Play-Spell, Odd-Eyes Reckless Charge!" Yuuji declared as a purple aura surrounded Phantom Dragon. "Thanks to its effect, one 'Odd-Eyes' Monster on my field gains 1000 ATK, and one monster of your field loses 1000 ATK!"
(Devaastra Parvati - The Motherhood — ATK: 3400 → 2400)
(Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon — ATK: 2500 → 3500)
"Now go, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon! Phantom Spiral Breath!"
Phantom Dragon shoots a breath of purple flames at Haruka's Fusion Monster.
"I won't let you take out my monster that easily!" Haruka declared. "I activate Devaastra Durga's effect! I get to target 1 'Devaastra' Monster on my field, increase its ATK by 500, and prevent it from being destroyed for the rest of this turn!"
Parvati goes stronger, allowing it to create a barrier that protects it from Yuuji's attack.
(Devaastra Parvati - The Motherhood — ATK: 2400 → 2900)
"You still take the damage!" Yuuji shouted as the shockwaves of the attack caused Haruka to wince.
Haruka — LP: 3200 → 2600
"Power Reboot's effect allows the monster it's equipped to make a second attack during each Battle Phase," Yuuji stated. "Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon now attacks Devaastra Durga! Phantom Spiral Breath!"
Phantom Dragon shoots another breath of flames, this time targeting the blond woman with a greatsword. Unable to protect herself, the monster is destroyed.
"Main Phase 2," Yuuji concluded his Battle Phase. "I set one card and end my turn. And with the end of my turn, Odd-Eyes Reckless Charge's effect ends."
A facedown card appeared on Yuuji's field.
(Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon — ATK: 3500 → 2500)
(Devaastra Parvati - The Motherhood — ATK: 2900 → 3400)
"My turn!" Haruka began her turn.
[Turn 3: Haruka] [H: 0]
"While Parvati remains on my field, I cannot conduct my draw phase," Haruka stated.
"That's quite the detrimental effect," Yuuji commented.
"It seems that way, but I already have everything I need right here on my field," Haruka smiled before continuing her turn. "I activate Devaastra Descent, this time Special Summoning Devaastra Tara (Light/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 1300 → 1900/DEF: 1500 → 2100/LV: 4) from my deck in defense mode!"
A calm blue-skinned woman with long, dark green hair could be seen sitting on a lotus. She wore shimmering clothes with a glowing halo present on the top of her head.
"Tara's effect allows me to add back Devaastra Annapurna from my graveyard to my hand, which I'll then summon!"
The four-armed woman holding a golden pot reappeared on her field.
[Devaastra Annapurna (ATK: 1600 → 2200/DEF: 1400 → 2000/LV: 4)]
"Annapurna's summoning effect activates again, allowing me to add Devaastra Renewal to my hand!"
Haruka added a card from her deck to her hand. She then extends her arm outward.
She now has two Level 4 Monsters on her field. Yuuji assessed. Basing it off her introduction the first time we met, she must be planning too…
"I now overlay my Level 4 Devaastra Annapurna and Devaastra Tara!"
A galaxy vortex appeared in front of her, with the two aforementioned monsters being absorbed into it. A pillar of light shot out from the portal's center as she began chanting.
"From the realm of silence and sanctuary, I summon the goddess who walks with wind and water!" Haruka chanted. "I Xyz Summon! Take form and bring serenity, Rank 4! Devaastra Shitala Mata (Light/Fairy/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2100 → 2700/DEF: 1700 → 2300/R: 4/OU: 2)!"
A calm, pale-skinned woman with four arms, each holding a broom, a water pot, a fan, and a branch respectively appeared. Orbiting around her body were two Overlay Units.
"I activate Sacred Ground of Devaastra's effect, this time sending Devaastra Harmony from my deck to the graveyard," Haruka continued. "This will then trigger Shitala Mata's effect, allowing me to target one card from your field and bounce it back to your hand! I choose to target the card that you set on your last turn!"
"I activate Unwanted Betrayal!" Yuuji activated the targeted Trap. "I can use its effect to Special Summon a monster from my opponent's graveyard! Arise, Devaastra Durga (ATK: 1800/DEF: 1200/LV: 4) in defense mode!"
A golden-haired woman with a greatsword appeared on Yuuji's field with a faint blue aura surrounding it.
"Using my own monster against me, huh? No matter," Haruka remained unphased. "I activate Devaastra Renewal!"
A fourth Continuous Spell appeared on her field. Sacred Ground of Devaastra increases her monster's ATK and DEF by an additional 200.
(Devaastra Parvati - The Motherhood — ATK: 3400 → 3600, DEF: 3000 → 3200)
(Devaastra Shitala Mata — ATK: 2700 → 2900, DEF: 2300 → 2500)
"Battle!" Haruka went into her Battle Phase. "Parvati attacks Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon! Golden Thread of Grace!"
Parvati creates countless golden threads, which each wrap around Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon—binding it down. Unable to break free, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon eventually bursts into particles, the shockwaves causing Yuuji to wince.
Yuuji — LP: 3000 → 1900
"Shitala Mata now attacks Devaastra Durga!" Haruka continued her attack.
"I activate Durga's effect!" Yuuji countered. "Targeting itself with its own effect, I grant it 500 ATK and prevent it from being destroyed in battle—!"
"Shitala Mata's effect activates!" Haruka countered back. "By detaching an Overlay Unit from her, I can negate the effect of one face-up monster on the field!"
(Devaastra Shitala Mata — OU: 2 → 1)
Due to its effect being negated, Devaastra Durga is destroyed in the battle, causing Yuuji to wince a bit. However, he doesn't take any damage due to Durga being in defense position.
"Main Phase 2," Haruka concluded her Battle Phase. "I activate Devaastra Echo's effect, targeting the recently destroyed Devaastra Durga and Special Summoning it back to my field in defense mode!"
Devaastra Durga appears from a portal back to Haruka's field. She grits her teeth as she pays the cost for this effect.
Haruka — LP: 2600 → 1800
[Devaastra Durga (ATK: 1800 → 2600/DEF: 1200 → 2000/LV: 4)]
"I end my turn here," Haruka concluded. "Things don't look good for you, Yuuji. In our current gamestate, it's pretty obvious that I hold the advantage."
"Way to state the obvious," Yuuji shook his head before smiling. "I'm sorry to break it to you, but nothing is set in stone until one of our Life Points drop to zero."
"..." Haruka looked a little shocked by the statement, which sent her deep into her own thoughts.
Flashback…
Three years ago…
A young teen girl could be seen sitting motionlessly. Her eyes looked dead as she curled herself on a bench.
This girl was Sawatari Haruka, who had just lost her mother in a shooting incident only a week ago. This event deeply traumatized her, as it happened right in front of her eyes.
To make things worse, her brother, Sawatari Shingo, had grown much more distant from her, leaving her pretty much alone.
Haruka began tearing up.
"What's even the point of me being here? Why did she have to be the one who died?"
Her thoughts grew dark as her mental state began deteriorating.
"I should've been the one. At least that way, nothing of value would be lost."
"You shouldn't say that. You'll make the people who sacrificed for your sake sad," a mysterious voice said.
Haruka looked up, noticing a tall woman with long silver hair.
"Who are you?" Haruka would ask.
"You can just call me Tanako," Tanako answered as she sat down near here.
"Why are you talking to me? Shouldn't you have something better to do than talk to someone like me?"
"You remind me of a student of mine. When I first saw him, he had lost a parental figure important to him too," Tanako explained. "But even after his devastating loss, with no one but himself looking out for him, he still held out hope and kept moving forward."
"...So?"
"You shouldn't give up. If someone important to you sacrificed themselves for your life, to pay them back, you should live your life."
"...I guess you're right."
Haruka was silent for a moment before asking Tanako something.
"Who was this student of yours?"
"His name was Yuuji. Haruki Yuuji," Tanako replied. "And he's someone who I believe has what it takes to truly become one of the greatest duelists in this world."
Haruka looked shocked by this declaration.
"Like I mentioned before, he has this never give up attitude and passion for dueling that's incredibly rare to see. And if he clings onto those two traits of his, he'll go far," Tanako continued. "In fact, his determination inspired me to continue my own journey to return back home, which I had almost given up on before meeting him."
"...Do you think I could become someone like that?"
Tanako looked surprised by the question, but she smiled at Haruka.
"Of course."
"So this is what you were talking about…" Haruka mutters with a small smile. "No wonder you were so inspired by him."
As she says this, Yuuji placed his hand over the top of his deck.
Deck, don't let me down now.
"My turn! Draw!" Yuuji drew a card as he began his turn.
[Turn 4: Yuuji] [H: 1]
Yuuji looked at the card he drew.
Antique Resonance Mirror, huh? Just what I needed.
"With my currently set Pendulum Scale, I Pendulum Summon!" A portal appeared in the sky, with a beam of energy shooting out from it. "Return from my Extra Deck, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon (ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)!"
The purple-scaled dragon with bone-like armor reappeared on Yuuji's field.
"Next, I summon Antique Resonance Mirror (Light/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 2)!" A pristine mirror appeared. "When Resonance Mirror is Normal Summoned, I get to Special Summon an 'Antique' Monster from my deck—!"
"I won't let you!" Haruka cut in. "I activate Devaastra Shitala Mata's effect once again! By detaching another Overlay Unit, I negate Antique Resonance Mirror's effect!"
(Devaastra Shitala Mata — OU: 1 → 0)
"It looks like you missplayed," Haruka commented. "Though I guess it wouldn't have mattered anyway, since I have more than enough monsters to wipe you out on the next turn even if you played that card in defense mode."
However, contrasting what she was expecting, Yuuji began laughing.
Haruka frowned, "What's so funny?"
"You did exactly what I wanted you to do," Yuuji replied.
"What do you mean?" Haruka asked.
"You just used your last Overlay Unit, so you can't negate anymore of my monster's effects," Yuuji stated. "Along with that, you've brought you Life Points down to a critical amount."
"But you no longer have any other monster effects, nor do you have any monsters right now with more ATK than my monsters," Haruka pointed out.
Yuuji shook his head in response.
"I have one, but first," Yuuji extended his arm to the sky. "I activate the Pendulum Effect of Antique Mimic Chest! Once per turn, I can target 1 monster on my field and make its Level equal to that of another! I choose to make Antique Resonance Mirror's Level equal to that of Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon!"
(Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon — LV: 7)
(Antique Resonance Mirror — LV: 2 → 7)
"Oh no…" Haruka's eyes widened in shock as she realized what he was planning.
"Using my two Level 7 Monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" Yuuji declared.
His aforementioned monsters turned into energies which were then absorbed into a galaxy vortex that appeared in front of him. A massive pillar of light shot out from the portal's center as Yuuji began chanting.
"Cruel black dragon relentless in its destruction. I now call upon the emanator of annihilation!" Yuuji chanted. "I Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 7! Dark Anthelion Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Xyz/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500/R: 7/SC: 10/OU: 2)!"
A massive black dragon with silver metallic armor that covered countless parts of its body, with massive jagged wings, long metallic horns, and a singular metallic tusk appeared on Yuuji's field. Orbiting around its body were two purple Overlay Units.
"At this time, I activate Dark Anthelion Dragon's effect!" Yuuji announced as Dark Anthelion Dragon absorbed one of its Overlay Units. "By detaching one Overlay Unit from it, I can halve the ATK of one monster on your field, and add that ATK to Dark Anthelion Dragon! I choose to halve Devaastra Parvati - The Motherhood's ATK! Static Void!"
Compartments in Dark Anthelion Dragon's wings begin to open up, as a wave of blue electricity is shot out from it. The electricity wraps around Parvati, sapping away its strength and powering up Dark Anthelion Dragon.
(Dark Anthelion Dragon — OU: 2 → 1)
(Devaastra Parvati - The Motherhood — ATK: 3600 → 1800)
(Dark Anthelion Dragon — ATK: 3000 → 4800)
"Now here comes the climax! Battle!" Yuuji pumped his fist forward. "Dark Anthelion Dragon, attack Devaastra Parvati - The Motherhood and end this! Dark Annihilation!"
Dark Anthelion Dragon soars into the air before charging up a massive ball of dark energy.
Haruka looked up at the massive dragon and grimaced.
I can't make use of my set Trap in this scenario. I could potentially use Durga's effect, but my Life Points are too low. I can't survive this.
She considered looking for an Action Card, but there was no time.
She had lost.
After the attack is finished charging up, Dark Anthelion Dragon hurls it down towards Parvati. The attack explodes on impact, destroying the Fusion monster and creating a massive shockwave that sends Haruka flying away—her Life Points being reduced to zero.
Haruka — LP: 1800 → 0
Winner: Yuuji
Yuuji's cards dematerialized as the duel concluded. He walked over to the downed Haruka and extended his arm out to her.
"That was a fun duel," Yuuji smiled. "Do you need any help?"
"Oh…uhh, sure," Haruka blushed a bit before accepting his hand.
Yuuji helped her back onto her feet. After regaining some of her composure, Haruka went into her deck and pulled out two cards, handing one over to Yuuji.
"As agreed, since you defeated me, you get the Pendulum Card that I had wagered."
"Oh right, I almost forgot about that."
Yuuji accepted the card.
"So what do you plan on doing next?" Haruka asked him.
"Try and get out of this forest. They made this place way too difficult to traverse," Yuuji replied. "And you?"
"I plan on doing the same, while hopefully finding a second Pendulum Card along the way."
"Well, I wish you luck on that," Yuuji said before he began walking away. "See you around."
"Right," Haruka nodded as Yuuji disappeared to the forest.
She couldn't help but frown.
"Already off to the next thing. He didn't even give me much of a chance to talk to him…" Haruka muttered. "Though, I guess this isn't much of a setting to have a good talk anyway. It is a battle royale after all…"
After saying that, she began walking in the opposite direction of him.
Back in the arena, a few moments earlier…
On one of the screens, it showed Dark Anthelion Dragon's final attack against Haruka's Fusion Monster, along with her defeat as a result of that.
"And in a surprising comeback! Haruki Yuuji has managed to come out on top!" Nico Smiley announced.
"Yuuji!" Shuzo exclaimed as flames erupted in his eyes. "Way to show'em that You Show spirit!"
"Could you please stop screaming like that!" Ayu complained.
"Yeah!" Tatsuya agreed. "Your drawing too much attention to us!"
Shuzo sat back down.
"Sorry," Shuzo apologized.
"Oh, what's this!?" Nico Smiley noticed something on one of the screens. "It looks like another duel is about to begin in the Volcano Arena!"
Yuya could be seen on the screen standing face to face with a tall man with frizzy orange hair.
"It's Yuya!" Ayu was surprised.
"Who is he facing?" Futoshi wondered.
"..." Yoko silently watched the events unfold, silently cheering for her son.
A few moments earlier, in the Volcano Arena…
Yuya could be seen walking along a lava river. After walking for a few minutes, he notices a Pendulum Card submerged into the ground beneath him. He picks it up and smiles.
"Alright, I have two Pendulum Cards now," Yuya smiled.
"I've been waiting for you," a mysterious voice said.
Yuya tensed up as he turned to the source of the voice. Sitting casually atop a hill nearby was a young man with frizzy orange hair. He wore an orange jacket which was missing its right sleeve, exposing the blue-collared shirt underneath.
"Who are you?" Yuya asked.
"Who am I?" The mysterious man jumped from his spot, flipping through the air before landing right in front of Yuya. He did a little bow as he introduced himself. "I'm Dennis Mackfield, an entertainment duelist just like yourself."
Yuya's eyes immediately brightened up upon hearing that.
"You're an entertainment duelist?"
"Yup," Dennis smiled. "I happen to be a big fan of your work. I really enjoyed your first round match against Sawatari Shingo. Though, I can't say I was a fan of your second match…"
"Yeah, I agree with you," Yuya frowned. "I don't know what got over me during that duel, but…" Yuya clenched his fists. "I don't want to duel like I did there again!"
"..." Dennis thought for a moment before snapping his fingers. "Why don't we have ourselves an entertainment duel then?"
"An entertainment duel?"
"Yeah, but as much as I just want to have a fun duel with you, this is a tournament. So…" Dennis pulled out a Pendulum Card. "...we'll each wager a Pendulum Card, and the winner gets to take them both."
Yuya smiled and nodded, "Sounds good to me."
The two of them put a bit of distance between each other. They each activate their duel disks as they place their Pendulum Card into their decks, which are then shuffled via the auto-shuffling feature. Once the two were ready, their duel began.
[DUEL!] The two shout in unison.
Yuya — LP: 4000
Dennis — LP: 4000
[Turn 1: Yuya] [H: 5]
Yuya checked his hand for a moment before picking out two cards, revealing them.
"I set the Pendulum Scale with the Scale 1 Pendulumstatue Red Fiend and the Scale 7 Pendulumstatue Red Fairy! I'm taking control of this duel starting now!"
Yuya placed the cards on opposite ends of his duel blade. Two red statues rose into each of the Pendulum Zones behind him, as a giant pendulum could be seen swinging above him.
"Next, I Normal Summon Performapal Guitartle (Water/Aqua/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 300/DEF: 400/LV: 1/SC: 6)!"
A small blue turtle wearing a tophat, with a body that looked like a guitar appeared.
"Once per turn, Guitartle can raise the Scale Number of one monster in my Pendulum Zone by 2 until the End Phase!" Yuya declared. "I raise the Scale Number of Red Fairy from 7 to 9!"
(Pendulumstatue Red Fairy — SC: 7 → 9)
"With my currently set Pendulum Scale, I can summon monsters Levels 2 through 8 all at the same time!" Yuya announced as his pendulum necklace began to glow. "Swing, Pendulum of Souls! Draw an arc of light across the ether, and give way to a path full of fun and smiles! I Pendulum Summon! Come out, my monster!"
The giant pendulum in the sky draws a portal, with a beam of energy shooting out from it.
"Come out, the star of the show! Wondrous and beautiful dichromatic eyes! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7/SC: 4)!"
A giant, bipedal red dragon with dual-colored eyes, with many pretty orbs scattered around its giant, pale colored horns appeared.
"I set one card and end my turn," Yuya concluded with a facedown.
"An impressive start," Dennis commented. "Since you've summoned your star, it's only fair that I return the favor. My turn! Draw!"
Dennis drew a card as he began his turn.
[Turn 2: Dennis] [H: 6]
Dennis looked at the card he drew and smiled.
"Looks like the lords above have blessed me," Dennis comments as he reveals two cards in his hand. "I set my Pendulum Scale with the Scale 3 Pendulumstatue Red Mimicry and the Scale 6 Pendulumstatue Purple Masquerade!"
Dennis placed the two cards on opposite ends of his duel blade as a red and purple statue rose into each of his Pendulum Zones.
"Now I can summon monsters Levels 4 and 5 simultaneously!" Dennis announced. "I Pendulum Summon! Appear, my two copies of Performage Flame Eater (Fire/Spellcaster/Effect/ATK: 1200 → 1500/DEF: 1600/LV: 4)!"
Two dark ball creatures with razor sharp teeth, dressed in a red cape and a blue magician's hat appeared.
"Red Mimicry Pendulum Effect increases the ATK of FIRE Monsters on my field by 300. However, they won't be staying here for long!" Dennis declared. "Because I now overlay my two Level 4 monsters, and build the Overlay Network!"
A galaxy vortex appeared in front of Dennis, as his two monsters transformed into energies which were then absorbed into the vortex. A pillar of light shot out from the center of the vortex and he began chanting.
"The show must go on!" Dennis shouted. "Artisan of the air, swing across the stage with grace! I Xyz Summon! Appear now, Rank 4! Performage Trapeze Magician (Light/Spellcaster/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/R: 4/OU: 2)!"
Swinging down from the air on a golden trapeze as a magician in white with a long, pink cape draped around its back. The humanoid monster could be heard laughing as it swung around the air.
"Next up…" Dennis plays a Spell Card. "...I activate Performance Mage Hurricane! When I control a 'Performage' Monster, I can return all Spell/Trap Cards currently on the field back to their owner's hand!"
Yuya winces as a green tornado suddenly appears between them, blowing away all of their Pendulum Cards, along with Yuya's set card.
"And now for the climax of my turn! Battle!" Dennis declared as Trapeze Magician swung down towards Yuya's monsters. "Performage Trapeze Magician attacks Performapal Guitartle!"
Trapeze Magician's attack connects, destroying Guitartle and sending Yuya flying away from the shockwaves of the attack, his Life Points dropping greatly.
Yuya — LP: 4000 → 1800
"I end my turn with a facedown," Dennis concluded as a facedown appeared on his field. "I hope that isn't all you've got, Yuya. Otherwise, our duel won't be very entertaining now would it?"
"Guh…" Yuya struggled back onto his feet. "As if. My turn! Draw!"
Yuya drew a card as he began his turn.
[Turn 3: Yuya] [H: 4]
Yuya assessed the card he drew for a moment before continuing.
"I set one card," A facedown card appeared on his field. "Then, I'll activate Card Destruction! Both of us discard our hands and draw an equal number of cards!"
Both Yuya and Dennis discard two cards, before each drawing an equal number of cards. When Yuya saw what he drew, he froze.
This card…
Performapal Phantom Performer.
It was a card that appeared when Yuya had gone berserk in his duel against Ibarahana Yuga.
"Gah!" Yuya clutched his head as that familiar uneasy feeling began welling up within him. "No…I won't…duel like that again!"
Yuya picked out the other card he had drawn, playing it.
"I summon Performapal Fireflux (Light/Insect/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 1200/DEF: 1600/LV: 4/SC: 5)!"
A large blue insect in colorful clothing with a lightbulb for a tail appeared. Shortly after that, Yuya began running, seemingly searching for an Action Card. Luckily, he didn't have to look for one as he found it right atop a rock nearby.
"I activate the Action Spell, Flame Surge! Increasing Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's ATK by 400!"
A red aura surged out of the bipedal dragon as it grew stronger.
(Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon — ATK: 2500 → 2900)
"Battle!" Yuya quickly moved to his Battle Phase. "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon attacks Performage Trapeze Magician! Spiral Flame Strike!"
Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon shoots a breath of flames at Trapeze Magician, who isn't able to avoid the blast. However, before the attack connects, Dennis cuts in.
"I can't let you take out the star of my show that easily!" Dennis shouted. "I activate my Trap Card, Trick Box! With it, I—!"
"Performapal Fireflux's effect prevents the activation of Spell/Trap Cards while a Pendulum Monster battles!" Yuya declared as Dennis's duel disk rejects the activation of his Trap Card.
"Uh oh…" Dennis muttered as he was helpless to stop this attack.
—BOOOOOOOM!
Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon destroys Performage Trapeze Magician, creating a shockwave that causes Dennis to wince.
Dennis — LP: 4000 → 3600
Yuya didn't let up, pointing directly at Dennis as he continued his attack.
"Performapal Fireflux now attacks you directly!"
Fireflux leaps forward, headbutting Dennis in the stomach and causing him to drop to the ground.
Dennis — LP: 3600 → 2400
"I end my turn," Yuya concluded.
Dennis struggled back onto his feet, clutching his stomach.
"Man…that guy sure packs a punch," Dennis commented before noticing a card slightly hidden beneath a rock. He then picks it up. "Oh, it's my lucky day."
Dennis sorts the card with the rest he held. He then placed his hand over the top of his deck.
"I draw!"
He draws a card and begins his turn.
[Turn 4: Dennis] [H: 3]
Dennis glances at the card he drew and smiles.
"It's time for my star to return to center stage!" Dennis announced as he played a card. "I activate Monster Reborn, Special Summoning back Performage Trapeze Magician (ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/R: 4)!"
The magician in white appears from a portal in front of Dennis, eerily laughing as it does.
"Next I equip One-Shot Wand to Trapeze Magician," A wand suddenly materialized in the magician's hand. "Thanks to One-Shot Wand, my 'Spellcaster' Monster gains 800 ATK!"
(Performage Trapeze Magician — ATK: 2500 → 3300)
Dennis then strikes a pose as Trapeze Magician leaps into the air.
"It's time for the finale! Battle!" Dennis declared. "Performage Trapeze Magician attacks Performapal Fireflux!"
The magician twirls its staff around before shooting an energy beam at Yuya's bug monster. At the same time, Yuya's set card is activated.
"I activate Last Minute Cancel!" Yuya countered. "All monsters on my field and switched to Defense Position!"
A faint blue aura appeared around Yuya's monsters as they took a defensive stance.
"Oh well," Dennis shrugged, not having a way to counter that. He then plays a card. "I activate my Action Card, Changing Mind. By discarding a card from my hand, I change the attack target of Trapeze Magician to Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
Dennis discards a card. The beam that Trapeze Magician had shot out from its staff suddenly changed direction, hitting Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon directly and destroying it. However, since it was in defense position, it didn't impact Yuya in any way other than making him wince a bit.
"I end my turn," Dennis concluded. He then addressed Yuya. "I wonder how you'll come back from this, especially without your star on the field."
Yuya tensed up a bit after hearing what Dennis said next.
"You could make use of that other dragon of yours, but I doubt you'd be able to control it, now would you."
"..." Yuya couldn't find a response.
Dennis shook his head.
"Oh Yuya, as an entertainer, we should be able to do whatever we can to please the crowd. If we aren't performing at our fullest capabilities, how can we truly entertain the crowd?"
He's right. But…I just don't know anymore. I don't want to lose control of myself like I did back then.
Yuya placed his hand over the top of his deck. However, he didn't look too confident.
"I draw," Yuya drew a card and began his turn.
[Turn 5: Yuya] [H: 2]
Yuya looked at the card he drew and grimaced. This wasn't what he was looking for at all.
"I activate Mystical Space Typhoon!" Yuya declared. "And I use its effect to destroy your set Trick Box!"
Dennis's set card is destroyed.
"Next, I summon Performapal Phantom Performer (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 1300/DEF: 800/LV: 4/SC: 3)!"
A humanoid monster wearing a black and violet cloak with a similar colored jester hat on his head appeared on Yuya's field.
"Guh!" Yuya clutched his chest as it began beating rapidly. His consciousness became trapped in some dark void as an image of Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon appeared.
It…It hurts! Yuya struggled as the pain in his chest grew.
"Yuya…"
Huh?
"Yuya…"
That voice, it sounds familiar…
"Yuya!"
That's—!
Yuya's vision suddenly shifted back to normal as he regained his focus.
"Yuya!" A voice said from beside him. When Yuya turned to the source, he froze.
He saw a transparent Yuto floating beside him.
"Yu—Yuto!?" Yuya cried out in shock. "How are you here!?"
"I'm not too sure about myself," Yuto replied. "But we have a more important thing to worry about right now. This duel."
"This duel?"
"You want to win, right?"
"Yeah," Yuya nodded.
"Then summon it. Summon Dark Rebellion."
"But…what if I end up going crazy again?" Yuya looked unsure.
"Then it happens. To win, you must be willing to take risks," Yuto declared. "So summon him. That is, unless you plan on losing here."
Yuya clenched his fists, countless thoughts whirling around in his mind. But he shook his head, resolving himself.
"No, I don't want to lose," Yuya said with a determined expression. "If summoning him is what I have to do to win, then that's just what I'll do!"
"That's the spirit," Yuto smiled.
"I don't know who you're talking to, but it looks like you've finally decided to get serious, am I right?" Dennis asked.
Yuya smiled, "That's right!"
He then extended his arm forward.
"Using the Level 4 Performapal Fireflux and the Level 4 Performapal Phantom Performer, I build the Overlay Network!"
The two aforementioned monsters transformed into balls of energy that were then absorbed into a galaxy vortex in front of him. A massive pillar of light shot out from the portal's center. Yuya's irises change to a lavender color as he and Yuto begin syncing together.
[Formed from pitch-black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose it with its treacherous fangs!] They chanted. [I Xyz Summon! Now descend, Rank 4! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/R: 4/OU: 2)!]
A menacing dragon with dark purple scales, silver spikes, and sharp wings, with a red core at its center plated in armor appeared on Yuya's field. Orbiting around its body were two purple Overlay Units.
"There it is…quite the impressive monster," Dennis commented.
[I activate Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's effect!] Yuya & Yuto declared. [By detaching one Overlay Unit from it, it can halve the ATK of one monster on my opponent's field! Treason Discharge!]
(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon — OU: 2 → 1)
Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon then absorbs one of its Overlay Units, its wings expanding as it sends a wave of purple electricity at the magician in white, sucking away the monster's strength while using it to bolster its own.
(Performage Trapeze Magician — ATK: 3300 → 1650)
(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon — ATK: 2500 → 4150)
[Once more, I detach another Overlay Unit from Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon! Treason Discharge!]
Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon then another one absorbs one of its Overlay Units, as it uses its effect once again on Trapeze Magician.
(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon — OU: 1 → 0)
(Performage Trapeze Magician — ATK: 1650 → 825)
(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon — ATK: 4150 → 4975)
[This is it!] Yuya & Yuto shout as Dark Rebellion soars into the air. [Battle! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon attacks Performage Trapeze Magician! Lightning Disobey of Rebellion!]
The mandible on Dark Rebellion's jaw begins to glow as it soars down towards Trapeze Magician. With no Action Card around him, Dennis is unable to do anything as his monster is destroyed decisively. His Life Points drop to zero as he is sent flying from the shockwaves of the attack.
Dennis — LP: 2400 → 0
Winner: Yuya
"Hah…hah…hah…" Yuya panted heavily as his iris returned to its regular red color. "I…won!"
"Damn…I lost!" Dennis lamented as he rose back to his feet. "Yeesh, that dragon of yours sure does pack a punch."
Dennis then approaches Yuya, pulling out a card from his deck.
"As per our deal, you earn the rights to the Pendulum Card that I wagered," Dennis hands the card over to Yuya.
"Thanks," Yuya accepted the card.
"So what do you plan on doing next?" Dennis asked.
"I'll try and find a different biome to duel in," Yuya answered as he wiped some sweat from his forehead. "It's way too hot over here."
"I don't think it's that bad," Dennis replied. "I think I'll stay here for a while."
"Guess we'll be parting ways for a while then," Yuya said. "Thanks for all the help."
"You're thanking me?" Dennis looked a little surprised.
"Yeah, this duel of ours helped me get over my fear of Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, so I just wanted to say thank you."
Dennis smiled with pride, "To have the son of the Sakaki Yusho thank me, I must've done a good job then."
"Haha," Yuya chuckled a bit before waving. "I'll see you around. Good luck with your future matches."
"You too," Dennis waved back as Yuya left the area.
Once Dennis was sure Yuya was far away, his smile faded.
"It's a shame that today will probably be our last meeting."
Dennis then let out an exasperated sigh and shook his head.
"Man, the Professor can be so cruel at times. Ordering the elimination of him," Dennis said. "A part of me feels bad, with him being the son of my idol and all. But orders are orders."
Dennis heard footsteps a couple dozen meters away. When he glanced over to see who they were, he noticed Yuzu, who had just arrived at the Volcano Arena. His expression turned deathly serious.
"Speaking of orders."
Custom/Altered Cards:
Monster Card/s:
Devaastra Annapurna
ATK: 1600, DEF: 1400, LV: 4
Light/Fairy/Effect
Monster Effect: If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can add 1 "Devaastra" Spell/Trap from your Deck to your hand. If a Continuous Spell you control is sent to the GY: You can gain 1000 LP. You can only use each effect of "Devaastra Annapurna" once per turn.
Devaastra Durga
ATK: 1800, DEF: 1200, LV: 4
Light/Fairy/Effect
Monster Effect: Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can target 1 "Devaastra" monster you control; it gains 500 ATK, and it cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects this turn.
Devaastra Parvati - The Motherhood
ATK: 2800, DEF: 2400, LV: 8
Light/Fairy/Fusion/Effect
"Devaastra Annapurna" + "Devaastra Durga"
Monster Effect: While this card remains on the field, you cannot conduct your draw phase. Once per turn: You can send 1 "Devaastra" card from your hand or face-up field to the GY; add 1 "Devaastra" Spell/Trap from your Deck to your hand.
If a "Devaastra" monster(s) you control would be destroyed by battle or card effect, you can banish 1 "Devaastra" monster from your GY instead.
If this Fusion Summoned card is sent to the GY: You can place 1 "Devaastra" Continuous Spell directly from your Deck to your Spell & Trap Zone.
Devaastra Tara
ATK: 1300, DEF: 1500, LV: 4
Light/Fairy/Effect
Monster Effect: Once per turn: You can target 1 "Devaastra" card in your GY; add it to your hand. If this card is used as Xyz Material, the Xyz Monster gains this effect: Once per turn, you can detach 1 material; prevent all damage you take this turn.
Devaastra Shitala Mata
ATK: 2100, DEF: 1700, R: 4
Light/Fairy/Xyz/Effect
2 Level 4 LIGHT Monsters
Monster Effect: (Quick Effect): You can detach 1 material; negate the effects of 1 face-up monster on the field until the end of the turn.
If a Continuous Spell is activated while this card has material: You can target 1 card your opponent controls; return it to the hand.
You can only use each effect of "Devaastra Shitala Mata" once per turn.
Pendulumstatue Purple Masquerade
ATK: 700, DEF: 700, LV: 7, SC: 6
Dark/Rock/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Fusion Monsters you control gain 300 DEF.
Monster Effect: If this card is Pendulum Summoned from the Extra Deck: You can add 1 "Pendulumstatue" monster from your Deck to your hand, except "Pendulumstatue Red Mimicry."
Pendulumstatue Red Mimicry
ATK: 1000, DEF: 1000, LV: 10, SC: 3
Fire/Rock/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: All FIRE monsters you control gain 300 ATK.
Monster Effect: If this card is Pendulum Summoned from the Extra Deck: You can add 1 "Pendulumstatue" monster from your Deck to your hand, except "Pendulumstatue Red Mimicry."
Spell/Trap Card/s:
Sacred Ground of Devaastra
Continuous Spell
"All LIGHT Fairy monsters you control gain 200 ATK/DEF for each Continuous Spell you control."
Once per turn: You can send 1 "Devaastra" Spell/Trap from your Deck to the GY. If this card is sent from the field to the GY: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Devaastra" monster from your GY.
Devaastra Descent
Continuous Spell
Once per turn: Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Devaastra" monster from your Deck in Defense Position. You cannot Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck this turn, except LIGHT Fairy monsters.
Devaastra Hymm
Continuous Spell
Once per turn, when you activate a "Devaastra" monster's effect: You can gain 300 LP. You can only control 1 "Devaastra Hymn"
Devaastra Radiance
Continuous Spell
Once per turn, when you activate a "Devaastra" Spell/Trap: Gain 500 LP.
Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can banish 1 Continuous Spell from your GY; target 1 face-up monster on the field, it loses 300 ATK for each Continuous Spell you control, until the end of the turn.
Devaastra Echo
Continuous Spell
Once per turn, you can pay 800 LP; target 1 "Devaastra" monster in your GY; Special Summon it in Defense Position, but it cannot attack this turn. You can only activate 1 "Devaastra Echo" per turn.
Odd-Eyes Reckless Charge
Quick-Play Spell
If you control an "Odd-Eyes" monster: Target 1 monster on the field; it loses 1000 ATK, then your "Odd-Eyes" monster gains 1000 ATK until the end of this turn.
Devaastra Harmory
Quick-Play-Spell
Target 1 "Devaastra" monster you control; it gains ATK equal to the number of Continuous Spells you control × 400, until the end of this turn.
Unwanted Betrayal
Normal Trap
Target 1 monster in your opponent's graveyard; Special Summon it to your field.
Devaastra Renewal
Continuous Spell
Once per turn, if a "Devaastra" Continuous Spell you control is destroyed by a card effect, you can draw 1 card. During your End Phase, if you control no monsters, you can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Devaastra" monster from your hand.
Changing Mind
Action Spell
When a monster declares an attack: You can discard 1 card; then, target 1 other monster on the same side of the field as the original attack target, and change the attack target to that target instead.
That's the end of this chapter. Chapter 20 will pick off right where we left off, and will be the start of the juicy stuff that I know you are all waiting for.
However, until then, thanks for reading!
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