Thank you to decode9, MagicalPrincess07, and talesfanjmf for reviewing the last chapter.
Once again, a huge thank you to EndlessNight025 for being an awesome beta-reader/co-author.
Also, I may or may not post the second ARC-V story that I am working on soon, once I have finished the rewrite of Part I and come up with a decent title. So be on the lookout for that.
So here is chapter 10 and, though there aren't any changes to the duel itself, I hope you enjoy it. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
Turn 10
Battle of the Pendulum! A White-Hot Rematch
The energy in the stadium was as high as ever. The last match had been just as action-packed as the ones the day before, even if there hadn't been nearly as much movement. Shun mused that Gongenzaka Noboru's Steadfast style was unique in its own right and, yet, it also had an underlying strength to it, as shown in his duel against Ankokuji. Whether that strength would be enough to withstand Academia, Shun didn't know but Gongenzaka was definitely someone he would keep an eye on.
It seemed that all of the winners of the duels that had been shown so far had the potential to withstand Academia but Shun wasn't that surprised. Akaba Reiji did create the tournament for that very reason; only those who were strong could make it through to the end, and prove themselves useful on the battlefield.
"Our next duel shall be You Show Duel School's Sakaki Yuya versus Leo Duel School's Sawatari Shingo!" Smiley's voice said and Shun turned his gaze to the screen that showed the images of the two duelists and hummed to himself as he studied Sakaki Yuya's form. There was no denying that the boy did bear an unkindly resemblance to Yuto; as it was, the only differences that Shun saw were the boy's hair and eye color, and the smile that graced the boy's face.
A soft, genuinely happy smile.
Yuto used to smile like that too, so did Shun and Kenshin and Ruri and everyone at the Spade Branch and in all of Heartland. The smiles had been wiped from everyone's faces during the invasion and Shun had to wonder if the same would happen to this boy and the residents of Standard when Academia made their move on this dimension.
Not that I plan on letting Academia have their way. I will destroy them first, Shun thought and folded his arms across his chest, his yellow-green eyes drifting from the two duelists who were making their way onto the field to the area of the stands where a certain cyan-haired boy had been sitting.
That boy had gone down with the rest of the people with him to congratulate Gongenzaka Noboru on his victory but had returned to his seat now that the next duel was about to begin. The boy, Shuinin Sora, cast a sidelong glance at Shun and a small, sly smirk crossed his lips.
Shun's lips pressed together. That boy had done the same thing during Hiiragi Yuzu's duel the day before; even if Shun hadn't already been suspicious of that kid, the sly smirks and dark, almost predatory looks Sora kept giving him whenever he saw him would have certainly caused warning bells to start ringing in Shun's head.
He's not even trying to hide his true self from me and yet so easily keeps it hidden from the fools around him. Either those people are completely blind or Shuinin Sora's facade is nearly without flaws and he's only showing me glimpses of his true self because he knows that there's really nothing I can do about it, not if I don't want to draw attention to myself, Shun thought.
If he hadn't already been promised the chance to expose the Academia spy to everyone, and beat him down at the exact same time—and if he had actual proof that Shuinin Sora was that spy—then Shun might have thrown his deal with Akaba Reiji out the window and taken care of that cocky boy right then and there.
But, no, he had to wait until his duel against Sora later that day. Then, he would expose Sora for who the boy truly was; whether he was truly an Academia spy or not would be revealed during that duel and Shun was looking forward to tearing that mask off Shuinin Sora and exposing what truly lay beneath.
"Let's begin!" Smiley said as a card spun around in the sphere of cards before it settled upon one. "Action Field! Sunset Stronghold! Activate!"
The arena changed. As the ceiling darkened and purplish-red clouds gathered in the sky area, buildings made out of wood rose up from the ground, a tall pagoda rose up at one end of the field while Sakaki Yuya and Sawatari Shingo faced each other near the heart of the barren wasteland that dominated the rest of the field.
"Let's go!" Sawatari shouted. "Duelists locked in battle!"
"Kicking against the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!" Yuya shouted back.
"They storm through the field!" The two duelists shouted at the exact same time.
"Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling! Action!" Smiley shouted.
"DUEL!" Yuya and Sawatari declared as they drew their starting hands and Action Cards rained down to the ground below them.
Shun had been observing the type of dueling that was used quite a bit in Maiami City, even before the tournament began. While he knew that the Standard Dimension had people who used all sorts of summoning methods, Action Duels were something unique to the Standard Dimension itself. They were duels in which duelist and monster could work together and implemented the usage of a new type of card known as Action Cards.
Action Cards… Cards that could turn a duel around in a heartbeat but, also, were random. There was no guarantee that the Action Card a duelist picked up during his duel could actually benefit him, which was why Shun knew that Action Cards were not something that one should rely on.
Even so, they were something that no one has ever seen or used before, and certainly something that Academia has never seen or used before.
As such, he mused that they could actually be used against Academia somehow.
He pushed that thought of his mind as he watched Yuya started off his turn by summoning Entermate Drumming Kong and reduce its Level by one before setting a card and ending his turn. No surprise that he was setting up his defense; that was one way of testing the waters, so to speak, with the opponent.
Not that it lasted that long against Sawatari. Sawatari activated a Continuous Magic known as Yokai Shrine of Trials and then proceeded to summon three Yosenju monsters in one turn.
Swarming technique, Shun thought.
"Being able to summon multiple monsters at once isn't unique to Pendulum Summoning," Sawatari said as three counters were added to Yokai Shrine of Trials and then used Yosenju Kamaitachi's effect to send Drumming Kong back to Yuya's hand and went to attack Yuya directly with the same monster.
"He's not out of this yet," Shun murmured, his eyes training on the set card and, sure enough, Yuya used the set card—Entermate Pinch Helper—to negate the direct attack and Special Summon Entermate Kaleido Scorpion. Even so, Sawatari was still able to inflict damage by using Yosenju Kamanitachi's effect to halve its attack and have it attack his opponent directly.
Yuya went for an Action Card but wasn't able to get one and the result of the attack not only knocked Yuya down to 3100 but also sent him flying off a bridge and into an empty moat.
Shun hummed, watching as Sawatari used Yosenju Kamamitachi's effect; since another Yosenju inflicted Battle Damage, he could add a Yosenju cad from his deck to his hand. He ended his turn with a set card and then his monsters vanished in a whirlwind.
"My turn," Yuya said and drew a card. He grinned brightly and held two cards in his hand. "It's here! With the Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and the Scale 8 Timegazer Magician, I set the Pendulum Scale!"
So this is the Pendulum Summoning that Akaba Reiji has been talking about, Shun thought, watching as two columns of blue light emerged onto the field on either side of Yuya; in the one on the left was a blue-and-white clad magician with the cursive number 1 beneath it while, in the one on the right, was a black-and-gold clad magician with a cursive number 8 beneath it.
"With this, I can simultaneously summon monsters from Level 2 to 7! Sway, Pendulum of the Soul! Draw an arc of light across the ether! Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my monsters!" Yuya placed two cards on his duel disk as he added, "Entermate Drumming Kong and, with its radiant dual-colored eyes, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
The ape-like monster from before and a red bipedal dragon with a white breastplate and dichromatic eyes appeared on the field.
Even so, I don't think Sawatari is stupid enough to leave his field wide open without having some sort of plan,Shun thought.
Sure enough, Sawatari did have a plan. When Yuya declared a direct attack, Sawatari used the effect of Yosenju Oyamabiko to discard a Yosenju monster from his hand to Special Summon Oyamabiko to his field; Oyamabiko's attack was also the same as the original attack of the monster it battled. The Shrine of Trials also gained another counter while Sawatari asked if Yuya was still going to go through with his attack.
Yuya did, and activated Drumming Kong's effect to increase Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's Attack to 3100. "And when my monster battles a Level 5 or higher monster, the battle damage is doubled! Reaction Force!" Yuya declared and the flames that Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon released was engulfed by a spiral of dark red flames that crashed into Oyamabiko and obliterated it while also throwing Sawatari off his feet and sending him skidding backwards across the field and dropping his Life Points to 2800.
"That one must have hurt," Smiley said.
Sawatari activated Oyamabiko's effect to add another one to his hand.
Yuya, clearly seeing that it would be pointless to attack since Sawatari would just summon another Oyamabiko, ended his turn and began jogging down the moat.
Shun leaned against the wall, his sharp eyes watching the duel intensely.
. . .
Kazuki frowned as he noticed the move that Sawatari had just made. Instead of bouncing Odd-Eyes back to Yuya's hand, as one would expect, he instead attacked Yuya directly with Yosenju Kamanitachi's effect. Yuya's attempt to avoid the battle damage failed as he was blown into the ground while the Action Card was blown out of the wall by the wind conjured up by Kamanitachi. Yuya was down to 2200 Life Points.
Sawataru then used the effect of Yosenju Kamamitachi to add a Yosenju card from his Deck to his hand because another Yosenju monster he controlled dealt battle damage to Yuya.
"I see. He did that in order to add a specific card to his hand," Sora said.
When Nico revealed that the card Sawatari added to his hand was a Pendulum card, Kazuki found that he wasn't really that surprised. Sawatari had said that he was going to get his hands on Pendulum Cards basically as soon as he possibly could.
Not long after that, Sawatari used the effect of Shrine of Trials and removed three counters to add a Yonseju monster from his Deck to his hand, revealing it to be another Pendulum monster. He set the scale with the Scale 3 Yosenju Sarenshinchu and the Scale 5 Yosenju Urenshinchu and Kazuki watched as the blonde boy used Urenshinchu's Pendulum effect to change its scale from 5 to 11. He also Pendulum Summoned a powerful giant weasel formed out of green wind who stood at 3000 Attack known as Mayosenju Daibakaze.
"That is a powerful monster," Sora commented.
"And that is definitely going to be a difficult monster for Yuya to beat," Yuzu said.
Shuzo glanced at Yoko. The two adults were seated in the stands above where the You Show student were sitting. "We knew that this would happen sooner or later but I wasn't expecting it to be quite this soon," he said.
Yoko hummed in agreement but said nothing.
Sawatari was grinning broadly. "Cheer more! This is getting exciting, isn't it?! The fun has just begun!" he exclaimed.
"Hey, that's Big Bro Yuya's line!" Ayu shouted in protest.
"Yuya says it better," Kazuki said with a small half-smile at Ayu who grinned in response.
"That's true."
"I've truly been chosen by my cards. And I don't just have Pendulum Summoning! I'm going to go beyond that. I activate Daibakaze's effect! When he's Special Summoned, I can return two cards on the field to their owner's hand! I choose Stargazer and Timegazer Magician!" Sawatari declared, pointing at Yuya's two Pendulum monsters. "But that's not all I'm doing! I also activate the Continuous Trap Dizzying Winds of Yosen Village! So long as I control Daibakaze, any card that isn't a Yosenju and is returned to the hand by a card effect is shuffled into the Deck instead!"
Kazuki frowned as he realized the kind of limit that placed on Pendulum monsters. They'd learned during Yuya's duel against Sora that Pendulum monsters went to the Extra Deck when they were destroyed, or returned to the hand, and they could be Pendulum Summoned again but if they were returned to the deck then that couldn't happen.
"He sealed Yuya's Pendulum Summoning," Sora realized just as Nico explained that to the audience.
"Yuya..." Yuzu murmured.
"I also pay 800 Life Points to activate Yosen Whirlwind and then I end my turn. As per their effects, my three Yonseju monsters return to my hand," Sawatari said as his Life Points dropped to 2000. He retrieved the three cards before grinning broadly and adding, "Now bear witness to my legendary combo! Yosen Lost Tornado! Thanks to Yosen Whirlwind's effect, anytime a Yonseju card returns to my hand, I can return one of your cards to your hand for each one. On top of that, Dizzying Winds of Yosen Village's effect activates! Since I returned three Yosenju monsters to my hand, I can return your three monsters back to your hand!"
Twin tornadoes shot across the field and blew Yuya's Trap card as well as Kaleido Scorpion and Drumming Kong back into his hand before Dizzying Winds of Yosen Village's effect forced Yuya to shuffle those cards back into his deck.
"Only Odd-Eyes is left now!" Gongenzaka gasped.
"I have this odd feeling that's not going to last long," Kazuki murmured.
Sawatari laughed. "I'll be having Odd-Eyes leave the stage as well! Daibakaze also returns to my hand at the end of my turn because it was Special Summoned! Yosen Lost Tornado! Bye-bye Odd-Eyes!" he said as a tornado crashed into Odd-Eyes, throwing it off the field and Yuya shuffled it back into his deck.
"His field's bare now," Sora said as the Pendulum scale of Urenshinchu reverted back to normal. "And he only has one card in his hand."
"My turn," Yuya said quietly but, as Kazuki listened to Shuzo, Gongenzaka, and the kids shout out encouragements, he noticed the smile on Yuya's lips. It was clear that, in spite of the predicament that he was caught, he wasn't upset with it. In fact, he was happy and looked excited.
"Wait, Yuya's smiling," Yuzu realized.
"What?" Ayu said and, when she noticed the smile that dominated Yuya's lips, she smiled. "He doesn't look upset at all."
"He's excited," Kazuki said. "And it's clear that he's enjoying every minute of this duel in spite of the tight spot he's been placed in."
"It's time we settle this once and for all," Sawatari declared.
Yuya laughed, the smile on his lips growing brighter as his eyes shone with excitement. "The duel has only just begun! I draw!" He drew a card and then set both cards in his hand before ending his turn.
"What? He ended his turn just like that?" Yuzu said in surprise.
"I don't think there's much he could do," Sora reasoned.
"I went out of my way to hype things up only for you to do something so boring. How lame," Sawatari said in mock disappointment. "But I guess that's all you can do with no Pendulum Summons and an empty hand.
Yuya chuckled as he darted off and jumped onto the wall. "If I don't have any cards then I'll just have to look for some," he said and darted off, heading toward the decrepit pagoda that lay on the other side of the barren wasteland.
"Yuya!" Yuzu gasped.
"It'll be fine. Yuya's eyes are still full of strength," Gongenzaka said.
"You've got this, Big Bro," Kazuki said with a nod while Yuzu thought about Gongenzaka's words for a moment and then smiled.
"The fun has only just begun!" Yuya declared loud enough for everyone to hear.
Ayu giggled. "You're right, Kazuki. It does sound better when Big Bro Yuya says it."
. . .
"This is actually getting really intense," Kenshin noted as he swung his legs beneath the tree branch he was sitting on, since he'd gotten tired of standing. Yuto had just given him an exasperated look but said nothing because it was somewhat refreshing to see Kenshin acting a little bit like his old self, like the person he'd been before Academia's invasion had scarred him and caused him to change into a war-hardened duelist who struggled to survive every day.
"It is," he agreed and turned his gray gaze back to the duel his lookalike was taking place in. There was no denying that Yuya's style of dueling was unlike any other style that Yuto has seen before but he rather enjoyed it and not just because it brought back pleasant memories. No matter the scars that dominated his heart from the invasion, the times when he could remember the good times, while few and far in between, were times that he cherished.
He never wanted to forget the good times because he felt that would be losing a part of who he was and Academia would succeed in taking even more from him than they already have. They had already taken his home and many of his comrades from him; Yuto refused to allow their actions to take away his happy memories as well.
So Yuya's dueling certainly helped in that aspect because it reminded him of those happy times and allowed him to hold on to those happy memories in a small corner of his mind.
He watched as Sawatari brought back Daibakaze and used its effect to send Yuya's set cards back to his hand, and then to his deck because of Dizzying Winds of Yosen Village's effect, leaving Yuya's field absolutely devoid of anything.
"He's wide open now," Yuto murmured.
"And yet he doesn't seem worried," Kenshin noted, pointing at Yuya who'd somersaulted out of a hole in the pagoda's roof to land on top of it.
Yuya held up a card. "That's fine because Amnesia's effect activates when it's removed from the field and changes the name of all of your cards to Amnesia!" he said.
"Clever. Yosen Whirlwind and Dizzying Winds of Yosen Village don't affect Yosenju monsters or cards but if Sawatari's cards aren't treated as Yosenju anymore then they are subjected to those two cards effects just as much as Yuya's cards," Yuto realized.
"Meaning they'll get shuffled back into Sawatari's deck when he ends his turn," Kenshin said. "Your lookalike's a pretty good duelist."
"He has a name," Yuto said dryly.
"I know."
Sawatari, jumping onto Daibakaze's back, started his Battle Phase and declared a direct attack from all of his monsters. Yuto knew that if those attacks landed, the duel was over. He watched, his lips curved into a small frown, as Daibakaze and the other three Yosenju monsters destroyed the gate to the stronghold and leapt into the air, intending on striking Yuya with all of their attacks at once.
Yuya slipped his goggles over his eyes. "I won't let this duel end here!" he declared and backflipped off the roof, disappearing into the hole he'd jumped out of earlier.
"It's the end!" Sawatari shouted as Daibakaze unleashed a tornado that spiraled into and through the building, ripping through the foundations and causing the building to collapse, conjuring up a giant burst of dust and debris that flew in all directions.
Kenshin winced. "I keep forgetting that Real Solid Vision exists in this dimension and that was real. I hope he's okay."
"As do I," Yuto said.
Thankfully, the crimson-and-green-haired boy was fine, surprising everyone when he appeared on top of a nearby building with the spotlight shining on him. He looked fine and his smile remained on his face.
"Those attacks should have landed! I should have won," Sawatari protested, sounding upset but also puzzled.
"Did you think I was running around without a plan?" Yuya asked as he held up a card and the camera zoomed in to reveal to those watching at home that the card as the Action Card Big Escape. "This ended the Battle Phase before your attacks hit, which means this duel is still on." He gave the crowd a bow.
Sawatari scowled. "You're not the one who's supposed to excite the crowd," he complained.
"I still don't like Sawatari," Yuto said.
"You're not the only one," Kenshin agreed.
"This is my dueling style," Yuya said.
"I'll be the one who gets the cheers in the end! I activate Shrine of Trials's effect and remove three Yosen Counters to add a Yosenju card from my Deck to my hand." He did so before ending his turn.
"Now that your turn's over, I kindly ask your monsters to leave the stage," Yuya said.
Daibakaze disappeared in a whirlwind of green light, lowering Sawatari back to the ground before his other three Yosenju monsters also vanished in a cyclone of wind. They were then shuffled into his deck and Yosen Whilwind shattered.
"Yosen Whirlwind is destroyed during my End Phase since a Yosenju monster didn't return to my hand. Also, Urenshinchu's Pendulum Scale returns to normal," Sawatari added.
"Both of our fields look a bit lonely, don't you think?" Yuya noted.
Sawatari grinned. "Oh don't worry. I'll be making my field lively again as soon as my next turn comes around, during the main event where you will taste defeat," he declared.
"I don't plan on losing, either," Yuya said as he removed his goggles from around his eyes and rested them on his head. "I draw!" He drew a card and proceeded to Special Summon Entermate Drumming Kong from his hand by reducing its Level by one.
"He can do damage with this attack but doesn't Sawatari still have that Oyam card he added to his hand earlier?" Kenshin said, looking down at Yuto who nodded.
"He does. He never used it. So long as he has the cost needed to use that card, he can avoid damage," Yuto said. "Unless Yuya has something up his sleeve, that is, because I don't think he's forgotten about that."
"Battle! Drumming Kong, attack Sawatari directly!" Yuya ordered as he hopped onto Drumming Kong's back and the giant clownish ape began to bang its fists on its chest, preparing to attack.
"I discard a Yosenju monster in order to Special Summon Yosenju Oyamabiko in Attack Mode!" Sawatari said and another candle in the Shrine of Trials lit up as he added, "Not only does Shrine of Trials get another counter but Oyamabiko's attack becomes the original attack of the monster it battles. It'll be a draw, like last time."
"Don't think I've forgotten about your monster's effect," Yuya said. "I activate Drumming Kong's effect! When a monster I control battles, I can increase its Attack by 600 until the end of the Battle Phase!"
"Thus making it more than Oyamabiko's. Not only does he keep his monster but he also deals damage at the same time," Yuto said, watching as the shockwaves conjured up by Drumming Kong banging his chest crashed into Oyamabiko and destroyed it while the shockwave sent Sawatari skidding backwards and knocked his Life Points down to 1400.
Yuya hopped off Drumming Kong's back as he ended his turn. It wasn't as if he had a choice; his hand was empty so there wasn't much he could do.
Sawatari began his turn and used Shrine of Trials to add Mayosenju Daibakaze back to his hand. He didn't raise the scale to summon out Mayosenju Daibakaze though as he had earlier and Yuto hummed, watching as Sawatari Pendulum Summoned Yosenju Kamaitachi and Yosenju Kamamitachi instead.
Yuya darted off, heading toward a bridge as Sawatari used Kamaitachi's effect to send Drumming Kong back to Yuya's hand. Kamaitachi let loose a series of razor wind blades but Yuya snagged an Action Card just in time.
"Action Magic! Invisibility! I make Drumming Kong immune to your card effects this turn," Yuya said as he inserted the card he'd just grabbed.
"Don't disappear like that!" Sawatari whined.
Yes, there is a reason why I feel only contempt for Sawatari Shingo, Yuto thought with a grimace.
Even so, Sawatari was, at least, a decent duelist, in spite of his attitude. And there was no denying that the audience were excited about the duel, if their cheers and excited flurry of comments being caught on the camera were anything to go by.
Those two's actions were turning their duel into a show that was definitely entertaining the audience, and Yuto and Kenshin.
Kenshin jumped down from the tree branch. "I am really curious to see who'll end up winning 'cause I can't even begin to guess who's going to win," he said as, on screen, Sawatari Advance Summoned Daibakaze.
"I believe that is part of the reason why the audience is so excited. They don't know where this duel is going or who will win," Yuto said. "So much like Heartland..."
"Yeah, especially during Heartland's own duel tournaments," Kenshin said with a sad smile.
"Maiami City is reminding me quite a bit of Heartland before everything went to hell," Yuto said.
Kenshin nodded in agreement and folded his arms across his chest. "I wish it could last for them but, considering Academia's goal, this peace isn't going to last for much longer," he said. "I hope that this dimension gets, at least, some head's up beforehand, but I doubt it."
"Why are you smiling? Don't you realize you're about to lose?" Sawatari said before Yuto could respond to his friend's words and he turned to find that the camera was focusing on both duelists again, close enough that Yuto could see the smile on Yuya's face and the puzzled expression on Sawatari's.
"I'm excited. And it's not just me, the audience is excited as well! Our unpredictable show is getting the crowd really hyped up. I've found a new possibility and that's why I can't help but enjoy this," Yuya said.
Sawatari snorted but smiled. "I can't help but enjoy it either because I'll get to crush you in front of everyone here!"
Yuya's smile widened but he shook his head. "There is still more to come in our show," he said.
"No, we've reached the climax! Battle! Daibakaze, attack Drumming Kong!" Sawatari declared.
"I activate Drumming Kong's effect again and increase his Attack by 600!" Yuya said and Drumming Kong's Attack Points jumped up to 2200. It wasn't enough to withstand the cyclone of green winds that surged across the field to crash into it but, at least, the damage had been lessened, dropping Yuya to 1400.
"I end my turn. And, since Daibakaze was Advance Summoned, it gets to remain on the field," Sawatari said.
The crowd was getting antsy as they waited for Yuya to start his turn.
"Pendulum! Pendulum! Pendulum!" various members of the audience began chanting, their voices echoing throughout the stadium.
"The entire stadium is cheering on our duel. It's your turn, Sakaki Yuya, you'd better answer them," Sawatari said.
Yuya's smile widened.
Yuto and Kenshin exchanged glances before they leaned against the tree behind them, intent on seeing just what Sakaki Yuya had up his sleeve.
. . .
"Pendulum! Pendulum! Pendulum!" Yuya smiled as he listened to the cheers of the audience that was still going on after Sawatari's words. He was pleased to see that Sawatari was having just as much fun as he was while, at the same time, treating it like the competition that it was. There was no denying that the audience were really getting into the duel and there was no denying that they were waiting for him.
He had no cards in his hand nor on his field. Everything rested on the card that he drew; that card would be the deciding factor of into which direction the duel was going to go.
A spotlight shone down on Yuya as he spread his arms and gazed around at the audience. "Ladies and Gentlemen!" he declared and gestured to his field as he added, "As you can see, my field is completely absent of Set cards as well as monsters. This next draw will be betting the entire stage on a Destiny Draw! If I manage to draw something, I would like you all to cheer! I draw!"
Yuya drew a card and grinned when he saw what it was. Magician's Card. "Right now, I will show you the most amazing magic show you'll see in this world! I activate the Magic Card Magician's Card!"
He inserted the card into his duel disk as he explained, "This can only be activated when I control no cards and have no cards in my hand, except this one. It allows me to draw as many cards as the number of cards my opponent controls. I then reveal them but, unfortunately, they'll all be banished at the end of my turn."
Yuya turned to Sawatari. "Since Sawatari controls five cards, I can draw five cards," he said and drew five cards, turning them over to reveal them as Entermate Amenboat, Entermate Trump Witch, Timegazer Magician, Entermate Turn Toad, and, finally, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon.
Yuya held up Trump Witch and Timegazer Magician as he added, "With the Scale 4 Entermate Trump Witch and the Scale 8 Timegazer Magician, I set the Pendulum Scale!" Two columns of blue light, in which were the clownish witch and the black-and-gold clad magician with the cursive numbers 4 and 8 beneath them respectively, rose up on either side of Yuya.
"With this, I can simultaneously summon monsters from levels 5 to 7! Sway, Pendulum of the Soul! Draw an arc of light across the ether! Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my monsters! Entermate Drumming Kong and, with your heroic and dichromatic eyes, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
Once both monsters were on the field, Yuya pointed to his ace monster. "Battle! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, attack Mayosenju Daibakaze! Spiral Strike Burst!" he ordered as Odd-Eyes roared and charged down the path toward Sawatari's monster.
Sawatari laughed. "You don't have enough attack," he said.
"I activate Drumming Kong's effect and target Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, increasing his attack by 600!" Yuya declared and, as Odd-Eyes's attack rose up to 3100 and a blast of fiery energy began to gather in his maw, he added, "And when Odd-Eyes battles a Level 5 or higher monster, the battle damage is doubled! Reaction Force!" The blast of fiery energy that shot out of Odd-Eyes's jaws was engulfed by a spiraling flame of red as it shot across the field toward Daibakaze.
"I activate Yosenju Sarenshinchu's Pendulum Effect! I can destroy this monster in place of another Yosenju monster!" Sawatari said as Sarenshinchu exploded into dust as the fiery burst of energy shot through Daibakaze, leaving it unharmed, and the backlash sent Sawatari skidding backwards, reducing his Life to 1200.
The crowd continued to cheer and Yuya couldn't keep the smile off his lips when he heard their cheers. They were cheering for both of them and didn't seem to care who won. He could hear encouragements for both him and Sawatari being thrown toward them from the members of the audience.
"This is fun, isn't it?" Sawatari said.
"Oh it is. But the fun has only just begun," Yuya said with a wide grin and pointed to Trump Witch. "I activate Trump Witch's Pendulum Effect! Once per turn, I can perform a Fusion Summon using monsters on my field!"
"What? You can Fusion Summon during the Battle Phase?" Sawatari exclaimed as Trump Witch blast some black suit symbols out of her staff toward the two monsters on the field.
"I fuse Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon with Entermate Drumming Kong! Chest pounding sage of the forest! Become one with the dragon of mystery and form a new power! Fusion Summon! Come forth, ferocious dragon with luminous feral eyes! Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
With a roar, the gray-fur covered form of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon emerged onto the field with beige armor covering its arms, legs, and chest and its dichromatic eyes shining.
Yuya darted toward Beast-Eyes and jumped onto its back as Beast-Eyes lifted its head and roared.
Yuya straightened up and grinned. "Battle! Beast-Eyes, attack Mayosenju Daibakaze! Hell Dive Burst!"
With another roar, Beast-Eyes charged across the field toward Daibakaze.
Sawatari darted forward while Yuya took a flying leap off Beast-Eyes back, both of them were aiming for Action Cards that were hidden under the roof tiles that had been shaken loose by Beast-Eyes's roar.
A burst of flames erupted from Beast-Eyes's maw while a tornado erupted from Daibakaze's horn. Both attacks crashed into each other right as Yuya and Sawatari sailed past each other, each snagging an action card, and smoke immediately filled the arena.
"Action Magic! Burning Barrel! This inflicts damage equal to half the Attack of a monster destroyed in battle to my opponent!" Sawatari shouted as he did a quick barrel roll on the ground and came to his feet, the Action Card already sliding into his duel disk.
Yuya, who'd landed on the roof, turned as a cylinder blasted a fireball toward him and he slid the Action Card into his duel disk. A tarp held by toonish hands appeared and caught the fireball before sending it flying into the air where it exploded like a firework in the sky.
"W...What?" Sawatari gasped in shock.
"Sakaki Yuya turned the damaging flame into a huge firework! Now that's truly entertainment!" Nico exclaimed.
"How?" Sawatari said finally.
"I activated the Action Magic Miracle to prevent my monster's destruction," Yuya said and, since his monster wasn't destroyed, Sawatari's Action Magic resolved without a target, saving Yuya from losing the duel.
"And I activate Beast-Eyes's effect," Yuya added as Beast-Eyes emerged from the smoke as the sole survivor of that last battle and prepared to unleash another powerful blast of fire. "When Beast-Eyes destroys a monster by battle, it can inflict damage to you equal to the Attack of its Beast-Type Fusion Material!"
"Drumming Kong had 1600 Attack..." Sawatari began.
"This is it!" Yuya declared as the blast of fiery energy crashed into Sawatari, knocking him off his feet and taking out the last of his Life Points.
"And the winner of the second match of today is Sakaki Yuya!" Nico shouted.
Yuya walked over to join Sawatari as the Action Field dematerialized and held out a hand, a smile on his lips.
Sawatari huffed and slapped the hand aside before pushing himself to his feet.
Cheers and clapping sounded and Yuya grinned as he gazed at the audience who were on their feet and either clapping or cheering.
"The crowd's still excited," he said with a laugh and he waved at the crowd while Sawatari, a small smile on his lips, bowed to the audience.
Sawatari then turned to Yuya. "I'll face you again anytime," he said.
Yuya smiled. "I will as well," he said and smiled as he gazed at the sky while Sawatari waved at the crowd.
A duel that everyone can enjoy. That's what you've always done and that's what I aspire to do. Did I do that today? Have I gotten closer to you, Dad?he thought.
. . .
Shun pushed away from the wall and closed his eyes. He'd moved to the other side of the stadium as the duel drew to a close since he knew that his duel was going to be next.
He found himself thinking about the duel. The flashy entertainment style of Sakaki Yuya wasn't that suited for a war but, at the same time, there was no doubt that Sakaki Yuya was a decently strong duelist. And his dueling did remind Shun a little bit of Heartland before the invasion; he wondered if Yuto and Kenshin were watching this duel and if they felt the same way but decided that it didn't matter.
The Heartland he knew and loved was gone, ravaged by Academia's forces.
How long before Maiami City suffered the same, or similar, fate?
Shun pushed that thought out of his mind because he knew he had to focus. His duel was going to be coming up soon and he knew that he would have to work to prove whether Shuinin Sora was an Academia spy or not.
He listened to the crowd continue to fawn over the duel as well as commenting on the tournament itself. Many of them were talking about the Pendulum Summoning showcased in the last duel while a few were wondering about what else the tournament had in store.
"Now it is time for our third match of the day!" Nico declared and Shun opened his eyes and pushed away from the wall before turning and walking over to the mouth of the hallway he'd been standing in.
"It will be You Show Duel School's Shuinin Sora versus Leo Duel School's Kurosaki Shun!"
Shun walked past the stands and into the arena, his face expressionless as he gazed at his opponent, at the boy who may be his enemy. The cyan-haired boy was happily waving at the audience and smiling but Shun didn't buy the smile for a second.
As he came to a stop, he found himself thinking about when Nakajima offered him a Pendulum card to use during his duel. He'd refused it; he was planning on winning this duel and exposing who Shuinin Sora truly was with his own strength.
Shuinin Sora, I don't know if you truly are from Academia or not, he thought as he faced Sora who was still waving at the crowd and shouting at them to cheer him on as they did Yuya. But I will expose you for who you truly are. Mark my words, you will not win this duel and I will rip your mask to shreds and show everyone here what truly lies beneath.
. . .
Next Time: A Vision of Destruction! The Ruined City of Heartland
. . .