After waking up, I decided to head out to Battle City to find duelists to challenge for the tournament. Early on, I'd found Yugi. He and Joey were there, looking at a cloaked figure.
"Yugi!" I exclaimed, running up to him. "What's going on?"
"Scott!" Yugi said. "It's this Rare Hunter…He stole Joey's Red-Eyes!"
"Huh?" the Rare Hunter seemed to take notice to me. "You…you're Scott Pegasus, aren't you?"
"Yeah, what of it?" I asked.
"Hmm…I'll tell you what." he said. "I challenge you to a duel! If you win, I promise to return Joey's Red-Eyes Black Dragon to him. However, if you lose…I get your Egyptian God Card!"
"!!" I gasped. "How do you know about Solencio?"
"We are the Rare Hunters…we have eyes all over Domino City…"
"Well, whatever. I accept your challenge, Rare Hunter!" I said.
"All right…" he said, extending his Duel Disk. It transformed into its ready-to-duel form, and I followed suit. "Time to duel!"
Scott: 4000 L.P.
Rare
Hunter: 4000 L.P.
"I'll go first." he said, drawing six cards. I drew five. "I activate the Spell Card, Pot of Greed!"
Pot
of Greed
Spell/Normal
Draw 2 cards.
"Now, I can draw 2 cards."
"Watch out, Scott!" Joey exclaimed. "This guy—"
"Silence, Wheeler!" the Rare Hunter declared. "If you say a word about the cards in my Deck, I'm going to rip your Red-Eyes to shreds."
"!!" I gasped. "You wouldn't!"
"Oh?" he said, holding Red-Eyes up. "I don't think you'd like to find out the hard way."
"Ugh…fine, go on." I spat.
"I then summon Stone Statue of the Aztecs in Defense Mode!"
Stone Statue of the Aztecs
EARTH
Level
4
Rock/Effect
ATK: 300
DEF: 2000
Any Battle Damage your
opponent takes from attacking this Defense Position monster is
doubled.
"Now, I set one card face-down, then end my turn."
"I draw!" I said. "I summon Burrow Dragon in Attack Mode!" A brown, scaly dragon stormed the field, protruding from a virtual hole in the ground.
Burrow Dragon
EARTH
Level
3
Dragon/Effect
ATK: 700
DEF: 600
This card can attack
your opponent directly. When this card inflicts Battle Damage to your
opponent, your opponent reveals their hand.
"Now, my Burrow Dragon can attack you directly, so I'll do just that! Go, Burrow Dragon, attack!" The Dragon lunged at the Rare Hunter's Stone Statue, but as it came up, it burrowed into the ground, coming up on the Rare Hunter and striking him.
"Ugh!"
Scott:
4000 L.P.
Rare Hunter: 3300 L.P.
"Now, my Burrow Dragon's effect kicks in! Since it's successfully attacked you, you have to show your hand!"
"!!"
The Rare Hunter's hand was revealed: Gear Golem the Moving Fortress, Left Arm of the Forbidden One, Level Limit-Area B, Right Leg of the Forbidden One, Sangan, and Graceful Charity.
"Exodia? Hmm…" I said. "Interesting!"
"So what, you've figured out my strategy!" he retorted. "That doesn't mean you'll be able to beat it!"
"Well, whatever." I said. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."
"I draw!" he said. "Activate Graceful Charity!"
Graceful Charity
Spell/Normal
Draw
3 cards, then discard 2 cards.
"Now, I draw 3 cards, then discard 2." He did just that. "Now, I summon Sangan!"
Sangan
DARK
Level 3
Fiend/Effect
ATK:
1000
DEF: 600
When this card is sent from the field to the
Graveyard, search your Deck for a monster with 1500 or less ATK and
add it to your hand.
"Now, go, Sangan, attack his Burrow Dragon!"
"I activate my face-down card, Skies of Myth!"
Skies Of Myth
Trap/Normal
Activate when your
opponent declares an attack on a Dragon-Type monster. Negate the
attack, then Special Summon one Dragon-Type monster from your hand.
That monster cannot attack until your 2nd Standby Phase
after this card's activation.
"Now, your attack gets negated, then I get to summon a Dragon from my hand. Meet my Vengeance Dragon!"
Vengeance Dragon
WIND
Level 4
Dragon/Effect
ATK:
1700
DEF: 1200
Each time a monster on your side of the field is
destroyed by battle, increase the ATK of this card by 300
points.
"Now, the upside to summoning my Dragon; it can't attack until the turn after next. But really, it doesn't matter to me." I said.
"Well, now, before I end my turn, I play Swords of Revealing Light!"
Swords of Revealing
Light
Spell/Normal
When this card is activated, flip all
opponent's face-down monsters face-up. This card remains face-up on
the field until your opponent's 3rd End Phase after
activation. As long as this card remains face-up, your opponent
cannot declare an attack.
"Now, your monsters can't attack for three turns!" he said. "I activate the face-down card I'd set last turn; Jar of Greed!"
Jar of Greed
Trap/Normal
Draw
1 card.
"So, I get an extra card." he said. "I then end my turn."
"I draw!" I said. "I summon my Burst Flare Dragon in Defense Mode!"
Burst Flare Dragon
FIRE
Level
2
Dragon/Effect
ATK: 600
DEF: 200
The Battle Damage that
this card inflicts to your opponent is doubled. Whenever you take
Battle Damage, Tribute this card and inflict 1000 damage to your
opponent.
"A face-down card should do it." I said.
"All right, I draw!" he said. "I play a second Graceful Charity!" He drew 3 cards, then discarded 2 of them. "I then switch my Sangan to Attack Mode, and have it attack your Vengeance Dragon!"
"I suppose I won't deny you a chance to kill your own monster!" I said.
Sangan ran towards my Dragon, but it fired back, destroying it.
Scott: 4000 L.P.
Rare Hunter: 2600
L.P.
"Now, my Sangan's effect activates! Since it's been destroyed, I can take a monster from my deck and add it to my hand, as long as it has 1500 or less attack points." He looked through his deck, revealing Exodia the Forbidden One. He then added it to his hand, shuffling his deck. "That should do it for me."
"I draw." I said. "Activate face-down card; Mythical Brutality!"
Mythical Brutality
Trap/Normal
Activate
only when you have more cards on your side of the field than your
opponent. Destroy one face-up card on the field.
"Now, my Mythical Brutality will destroy your Swords of Revealing Light!"
"That doesn't matter!" he said as his Swords were destroyed. He then grinned. Something was up. He must have been close to assembling Exodia, so I had to act fast. However, I had the perfect card. "So, you say you know about Solencio, Rare Hunter? Well, how about you experience its power first-hand? I sacrifice all three of my monsters and summon The Arbiter; Solencio!" The winds of sacrifice enveloped my three Dragons, and Solencio stormed the field.
The Arbiter-Solencio
DIVINE
Level 10
Divine
Beast/Effect
ATK: ?
DEF: ?
This card can only be Tribute
Summoned by Tributing 3 monsters on your side of the field. This card
is unaffected by the effects of Trap Cards. The effect of any Spell
Card that this card is effected by is negated at the End Phase of
that Spell Card's activation. The ATK and DEF of this card are each
equal to the total ATK and DEF of the monsters Tributed to Tribute
Summon this card. By decreasing the ATK of this card by 1000, destroy
one card on the field. Tribute a monster on your side of the field to
increase the ATK of this card by the ATK of the Tributed monster.
Each time your opponent attacks a monster on your side of the field
other than this card, that monster is destroyed after damage
calculation.
"Solencio…!" the Rare Hunter said. "I heard of the legend of the Egyptian Gods, but have never seen one myself!"
Solencio
ATK: 3000
DEF: 2000
"Now, I play the Spell Card, Monster Reborn!"
Monster
Reborn
Spell/Normal
Special Summon one monster from either
player's Graveyard under your control.
"With that, I'll revive my Vengeance Dragon!" Vengeance Dragon returned to the field, bursting out of the Monster Reborn symbol.
"So what if you have a powerful monster?" he laughed. "Even if you're able to destroy my Stone Statue with your Egyptian God, your Dragon doesn't have enough strength to deplete the rest of my Life Points. And next turn, I'll draw the final piece of Exodia that I need to destroy you!"
I laughed. "That's what you think!" I exclaimed. "You underestimate the power that my Egyptian God has. Firstly, I'll sacrifice my Vengeance Dragon to give my Egyptian God an additional 1700 attack points!"
Solencio placed its massive hand directly above my Dragon. The Dragon bowed valiantly, dissipating into energy. Solencio absorbed the energy as its attack power rose to 4700.
"Now, for the other effect my Solencio has! I can decrease my Solencio's attack power by 1000 to destroy any card on the field!"
"WHAT?!" he exclaimed.
My Solencio's attack power dropped to 3700 as it clenched its fist. It pounded it like a gavel directly on Stone Statue of the Aztecs, shattering it.
"Go, Solencio, he's wide open!" I said. "Finish this with Gavel Fist!"
Solencio then swung its fist at the Rare Hunter, sending him flying back.
Scott: 4000
L.P.
Rare Hunter: 0 L.P.
"I win." I said.
I then approached the Rare Hunter to claim his Locator Card and Joey's Red-Eyes, but he began to scream.
"Master Marik!!" he screamed. "Please, Master Marik! Please spare me! I'm sorry I've failed you! AAHHHH!" He screamed, then fell to his knees. However, as he stood up again, his face had a strange mark on it.
"Greetings, Pharaoh and Scott!" Marik said through the Rare Hunter. "Ah, Scott…my sister's kindness never ceases to amuse me. It seems you're getting used to wielding the power that you've been entrusted with. I underestimated you…but don't think for a second that the power you have has anything over the power I do!"
"Cheap talk, Marik." I said. "Why don't you fight us yourself if you're so confident about the so-called 'power' you have?"
"You'd like that, wouldn't you, Scott?" he snidely replied. "However, I will show you my power when I feel the time is right. However, know this. I WILL destroy the spirits inside your Gauntlets, as well as you, Pharaoh!"
"Some tomb-keeper you are." I insulted. "Wanting to destroy the very man you swore to serve."
"Silence, fool." he said. "My motives are no longer those of my family. Besides, I don't need to answer to a mere mortal like you."
"Your motives are fruitless, Marik." I said. "The Pharaoh and I will stop you."
"Well, I'd love to argue with you a bit more, but I have to leave you to plan the rest of my ambitions." he said, releasing his Rare Hunter from mind control.
"Well, that was fun, I suppose." I said, taking his Locator Card. "Here, Joey." I then looked through his cards, taking his Red-Eyes Black Dragon. "I promised I'd give it back if I won."
"Thank you, Scott." Joey said.
"Scott…" Yugi said.
"Don't mention it, Yugi." I said. "Consider it repayment to you for the rudeness I displayed to you when we first met."
"Thank you, Scott…" Yugi said. "And good luck in the tournament!"
"Thanks, Yugi." I said. "You too."
I then parted ways with Yugi, wandering the city. Hopefully, I would find another Rare Hunter, and continue to use Ishizu's power to destroy the Rare Hunters.