Kaiba vs Ghost Kaiba Part 5
Disclaimer: The cards Clown Diabolist, Clown Knife Thrower, Clown Dummy, Evil Clown Milenko, Evil Clown the Ringmaster, and Evil Clown's Stare are owned by Toxin00 from the Yugioh Cardmaker website.
THE SHADOW REALM
"The true power of his deck? What do you think he could mean by that, Yug?" asked Joey.
"I don't know. Maybe there's some unstoppable creature living in his deck we haven't seen yet," Yugi replied.
Seto drew his next card. On the field, he had Spell Economics, one facedown card, and a Scapegoat token. Ghost Kaiba had Orichalcos Deuteros, Valkyries Erste, Zweite, and Dritte, and once facedown card.
Seto: 3200; Ghost Kaiba: 18050
"I activate the magic card Dimension Fusion. Since I have Spell Economics on the field on the field, I do not have to pay any life points to activate it. Now we both summon as many of our removed from play monsters as possible.
Since Seto had only 5 monster slots and one of them was being occupied by a Scagegoat token, Seto could only summon 4 monsters. Ghost Kaiba, on the other hand had 10 monster slots since Orichalcos Deuteros was active and only 3 of his slots were taken. Since he only had five monsters removed from play, he was able to special summon all of his removed-from-play monsters.
Three Blue-Eyes White Dragons and Mirror Force Dragon came teleporting into view. Meanwhile, Ghost Kaiba was able to special summon both copies of Peten the Dark Clown that had been removed from play, Exodia's Head, Exodia's Right Arm, and another clown monster Seto had never seen before. The monster looked like a doll with a bald head and orange hair to its side. Valkryrie Dritte's attack strength had been reduced to 1700 since there were now only two monsters removed from play.
"What on earth is that?" asked Seto.
"What, this? This is my Clown Dummy (ATK 500, DEF 300). He may look harmless, but I can assure you he is a lot more powerful than he looks."
"I play my facedown card Gift of the Mystical Elf, giving me 300 life points for every monster on the field." There were five monsters on Seto's side of the field and eight monsters on Ghost Kaiba's side of the field. So Seto gained 3900 life points.
Seto: 7100; Ghost Kaiba: 18050
"It's time for me to get rid of your ponies. Blue-Eyes White Dragons, take out his Valkyries." The three Blue-Eyes White Dragons charged up energy beams with one targeting Valkyrie Erste, one targeting Valkyrie Zweite, and one targeting Valkyrie Dritte. The face of Zigfried appeared over the field screaming in humiliation as the three valkyries were obliterated into nothingness.
Seto: 7100; Ghost Kaiba: 14950
"Now I'll use my Mirror Force Dragon to take out your Clown Dummy." The Mirror Force Dragon swooshed over to Ghost Kaiba's side of the field, but then his facedown card flipped up, revealing a demonic clown with sharp teeth.
"I reveal my facedown card Evil Clown's Stare to negate your attack. Then I'll switch your Mirror Force Dragon to Defense Mode."
"I'll set one card facedown and end my turn," said Seto.
Ghost Kaiba drew his next card. "I activate the magic card Spell Sanctuary. So now we each move one spell card from our deck to our hands." Seto and Ghost Kaiba both moved a card from their deck to their hand. "And look what I've got," said Ghost Kaiba smirking. "It's the card that will lead to your demise." Ghost Kaiba flipped his card around for Kaiba to see. "It's Orichalcos Tritos, the card that will make me unstoppable."
"Oh no!" shouted Yugi.
"What's that card do, Yugi?" asked Rebecca, clutching Yugi's arm in fear.
"When he activates that card, Seto will not be able to target any of his monsters with spells, traps, or monster effects," Yugi answered.
"Oh dear," said Rebecca.
"Hurry up and do something, Kaiba!" yelled Tristan.
"Get ready to be destroyed, Seto," said Ghost Kaiba getting ready to activate it.
But Seto merely laughed. "Why thank you. Now I can activate this, my facedown card Drastic Drop Off." A card flipped up on Seto's side of the field, revealing a machine that was falling apart. "So now you have to send the spell card you just drew to the Graveyard."
"Ahhh! My plan is ruined!"
"Next, time don't show me your card before you activate it, idiot!" Seto finished.
"My turn's not over. I summon another Clown Dummy to the field and will take my life point boost from Orichalcos Deuteros." And then another Clown Dummy emerged onto the field while Ghost Kaiba's life points shot up by 3000.
Seto: 7100; Ghost Kaiba: 17950
"Now my Clown Dummy, destroy his remaining Scapegoat token." And the Clown Dummy dashed forward, kicking the Scapegoat token in the face. "That ends my turn."
"My move!" yelled Seto. "You made a big mistake leaving your Clown Dummy in Attack Mode because now I can take a huge chunk out of your life points. Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack his Clown Dummy." One of the three Blue-Eyes fired a stream of lightning at the Clown Dummy, but the lightning flew past the Clown Dummy. "What's going on?" asked Seto.
"That's the special ability of my Clown Dummy for you. Whenever I have a Clown Dummy, you may not select another Clown monster as an attack target. And since I have two Clown Dummies, that means you can't touch either one."
"I'll place a card facedown and end my turn."
"For my next move," said Ghost Kaiba drawing his next card, "I'll sacrifice Exodia's Head so that I can summon Evil Clown the Ringmaster (ATK 2000, DEF 1800) in Attack Mode." As the head of the Forbidden One vanished from the field, a monster resembling Freddie Krueger took its place. "And I'll take my life point boost from Orichalcos Deuteros."
Seto: 7100; Ghost Kaiba: 20950
"Now I'll activate his special ability so he can automatically destroy one of your monsters, and the monster I choose to destroy is your Mirror Force Dragon."
Evil Clown the Ringmaster charged forward and sank its claws into the Mirror Force Dragon.
Seto drew his next card. "Now I'll activate my facedown card Polymerization to summon Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (ATK 4500, DEF 3800)." A portal opened up as Seto's 3 Blue-Eyes White Dragons disappeared and turned into a 3-headed dragon. "Then I'll sacrifice my Ultimate Dragon to summon Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon (ATK 3000, DEF 2500)." A brightly shining metallic dragon with a blue emerald in its center emerged onto the field as Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon disappeared.
"My new dragon gains 300 attack points for every dragon in my Graveyard." Now Seto had Different Dimension Dragon, Chaos Emperor Dragon, Spear Dragon, Luster Dragon #2, Spirit Ryu, Baby Dragon, Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight, Mirror Force Dragon, 3 Blue-Eyes White Dragons, and Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon in his Graveyard. So Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon had 6600 attack points.
"And that's not all," continued Seto. "My Shining Dragon cannot be targeted by any spells, traps or monster effects. So my dragon is safe from your Evil Clown the Ringmaster. That ends my turn."
"Way to put the moves on that evil freak, rich boy," cheered Tristan.
"My move," yelled Ghost Kaiba. "I'll summon Crass Clown in Defense Mode." Then Crass Clown appeared on the field. "And I'll get 3500 life points thanks to Orichalcos Deuteros."
Seto: 7100; Ghost Kaiba: 24450
"Now I'll activate my Pot of Greed magic card to draw 2 more cards." As a green jar appeared on the field and suddenly disappeared, Ghost Kaiba drew 2 more cards. "I'll set these two cards facedown and call it a turn."
Seto drew his next card, but then Ghost Kaiba yelled something. "I activate my facedown card Berserk Mode. So every monster is switched to Attack Mode, and all monsters are forced to engage in battle." All of Ghost Kaiba's clowns and Exodia's Right Arm switched into attack position and charged forward while the Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon did the same.
"You fool! My monster is the strongest on the field. I'll take down your monsters easily."
"Wrong! For now I play my other facedown card Mirror Force." A card flipped up on Ghost Kaiba's side of the field revealing a beam reflecting off a glass dome.
"Oh no!" yelled Seto.
"Now your Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon will be destroyed." The Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon sped forward but ran into a barrier and shattered into a million pieces.
Seto started to panic when he realized his opponent was very talented. "I'll play Swords of Revealing Light, set a monster in Defense Mode and end my turn." Three shiny beams surrounded Ghost Kaiba.
Ghost Kaiba drew. "I'll sacrifice Peten the Dark Clown along with Exodia's Right Arm to summon Evil Clown Milenko (ATK 2500, DEF 2000)." A man who looked like a sorcerer wearing heavy robes colored red and white emerged onto the field as Ghost Kaiba's other two monsters disappeared. "And my life points will climb even higher because of Orichalcos Deuteros." And here Ghost Kaiba gained 3000 life points since he had six monsters on the field.
Seto: 7100; Ghost Kaiba: 27450
"I'll switch my Crass Clown to Defense Mode and end my turn." And then Crass Clown switched to a crouching position. One of the three swords disappeared.
Seto drew. "I'll place a monster in Defense Mode and end my turn." A card appeared sideways facedown on the field.
Ghost Kaiba drew. "I'll summon Clown Diabolist (ATK 1250, DEF 1000) in Attack Mode." A blue-skinned demon with a face similar to Ghost Kaiba's appeared on the field. "And I'll take my life point boost from Orichalcos Deuteros." And here Ghost Kaiba's life points shot up by 3500.
Seto: 7100; Ghost Kaiba: 30950
"Finally, I'll switch my Crass Clown back to Attack Mode returning one of your facedown monsters to your hand." One of Seto's facedown monster cards flew back to his hand. "That ends my turn." The second brightly shining beam disappeared.
Seto drew. "I'll reset the monster that got sent back to my hand and end my turn."
Ghost Kaiba drew. "I summon Clown Knife Thrower (ATK 1000, DEF 800) in Attack Mode." A man with clown face paint wielding a knife who looked like he was part of a gang emerged onto the field. "And the second layer of the Orichalcos will give me a life point boost." And here Ghost Kaiba's life points shot up by 4000.
Seto: 7100; Ghost Kaiba: 34950
"I may not be able to attack for one more turn due to your Swords of Revealing Light, but that's about to change. For now I'll switch my Clown Diabolist into Defense Mode, and his special ability will allow me to destroy your magic card." As Clown Diabolist switched to a crouching position, the last sword on the field shattered. "Now my monsters are free to annihilate you. Evil Clown Milenko, destroy one of his facedown monsters." The robed sorcerer performed a karate chop on one of Seto's facedown monsters which was revealed to be the Ancient Lamp (ATK 1400, DEF 900).
"You fool. Now the special ability of my Ancient Lamp activates. Since you have more than one monster on the field, its effect will force you to target one of your other monsters."
But instead Seto watched as the robed sorcerer slashed the lamp in half.
"What's going on?" asked Seto.
"Did I mention my Clown Dummies have another special ability? In addition to not being able to select another clown monster as an attack target, you also can't select another clown monster as a target for spells, traps, or monster effects. So your Ancient Lamp goes bye-bye," Ghost Kaiba said giving a wave. "Now I'll take care of your other monster with Evil Clown the Ringmaster."
And the monster that looked like Freddie Krueger leaped in the air and slashed at the other facedown card which was revealed to be D. D. Warrior. A woman wearing armor and holding a short bright sword cried out in pain as Evil Clown the Ringmaster destroyed her. "And since my Clown Dummies are on the field, you can't use her effect to banish one of my monsters."
"Oh no! I'm wide open for a direct attack."
"Five direct attacks to be exact," Ghost Kaiba responded. "Peten the Dark Clown, attack his life points directly." Peten vanished into thin air and then appeared behind Seto, stabbing him in the back.
"Owww! It hurts," cried Seto who felt as if he really was being stabbed with a knife. And sure enough there was a huge scar where Peten had done his damage.
"Clown Dummies, it's your turn." The two Clown Dummies charged forward and punched Seto in his face.
"Now it's time for my Crass Clown and Clown Knife Thrower to attack you directly." Crass Clown threw a bunch of darts forward, piercing Seto's skin and drawing blood. Clown Knife Thrower threw his knife in the air which hit Seto right below his neck.
Seto: 750; Ghost Kaiba: 34950
Seto could barely move. He was in so much pain that he didn't think he could take any more.
"Kaiba, don't give up," yelled Tea. "We believe in you."
"Remember, the duel's not over until the last card is played," shouted Yugi. "You can still win this."
Seto got back up on his feet. "I'm not out of this fight just yet. Now…" and Seto drew his next card. "I play the magic card Monster Reincarnation. So I discard a card from my hand and add a monster from my Graveyard to my hand." And here Seto added Dark Magician Girl to his hand. "Next, I'll play Pot of Greed to draw 2 cards." Seto picked out his next two cards and smirked. "One of the cards I've drawn is Watapon. So I can special summon it." And then the cute pink puffball appeared on the field. "Next I'll play the spell card Magical Academy. So I'll discard 2 cards and sacrifice Watapon to summon Dark Magician Girl (ATK 2000, DEF 1700)." And then the pretty sorcerer appeared on the field. "Since I summoned her with Magical Academy, her level increases by 2 stars and her attack increases by 500." Her attack strength went up to 2500 and then shot up again to 2800 since there was a Dark Magician in Ghost Kaiba's Graveyard.
"Pretty good move, Kaiba-boy. But my Evil Clown Milenko is still the strongest monster on the field. And even if your Dark Magician Girl were the strongest monster on the field, the special ability of my two Clown Dummies prevents from selecting any of my clown monsters as attack targets."
"That's true, but I never said I was done. Now I play the spell card Magic Formula to increase her attack strength." And here Dark Magician Girl's attack strength went from 2800 to 3500. "Now I play Card of Sanctity, so we each replenish our hands." When Kaiba drew his next six cards, he grinned. "I'll set these three cards facedown and end my turn."
Ghost Kaiba drew his next card. "Now I'll…"
"I activate Mischief of the Time Goddess," interjected Seto before his opponent could finish his sentence. "Now we go straight to my battle phase."
"Fine."
"I play the spell card Rain of Mercy."
Seto: 1750; Ghost Kaiba: 35950
Ghost Kaiba merely laughed. "And why would you give me more life points, Seto?"
"So I can play my facedown card, Skill Drain." And then Seto payed the 1000 life points necessary for Skill Drain.
Seto: 750; Ghost Kaiba: 35950
"What! But that means the special ability of my Clown Dummies won't protect my monsters."
"That's exactly what it means. Now I can take all of your monsters down with this, Diffusion Wave Motion. So now my Dark Magician Girl will destroy every one of your clown monsters."
Since Skill Drain had been activated, the Dark Magician Girl no longer received the 300 extra attack points from the Dark Magician in Ghost Kaiba's Graveyard, dropping her attack strength to 3200. However, she was still the strongest monster on the field. Pink energy beams radiated from her scepter as she eliminated Peten the Dark Clown, both Clown Dummies, Evil Clown the Ringmaster, Crass Clown, Evil Clown Milenko, Clown Diabolist, and Clown Knife Thrower.
Seto: 750; Ghost Kaiba: 25400
Ghost Kaiba drew his next card. "You may have defeated my strongest monsters, but I will still win this duel. Now I play the magic card Heavy Storm." A heavy wind blew across the playing field sending every magic and trap card to the Graveyard except for Orichalcos Deuteros since it couldn't be destroyed by spells or traps. Seto gained 1000 life points due to Magic Formula being sent to the Graveyard.
Seto: 1750; Ghost Kaiba: 25400
"Next I'll pay 500 life points to summon Orichalcos Kyutora (ATK 500, DEF 500)." A green spiky ball with an eye in the middle emerged onto the field. Its attack strength shot up to 1000 due to the Orichalcos. An image of Dartz's face appeared over the monster laughing evilly.
Seto: 1750; Ghost Kaiba: 24900
"Orichalcos Kyutora! Not that thing!" said Seto remembering a flashback when he had faced the beast in his team duel with the Pharaoh against Dartz.
Flashback
The Pharaoh and Kaiba were dueling against Dartz in his temple. Seto had just destroyed all of Dartz's monsters with Mirror Force Dragon including his Kyutora.
"Very impressive, Kaiba," said Dartz complimenting Kaiba. "But I'll be just fine. You see, even though it's about to be destroyed, my Kyutora is able to absorb all the damage before saying its final goodbye." Rainbow-like particles flew inside the eye of Orichalcos Kyutora, and then Orichalcos Kyutora closed its eye and tilted down.
"Thanks to my dragon, you have no monsters to protect you."
"Well I beg to differ. Take a closer look, won't you?" Electric energy radiated from Dartz's monster. "Kyutora has another ability. Whenever it's destroyed, it evolves." A bright dome formed around the destroyed creature and then exploded into a cloud of gas. A giant light-green colored monster that looked like a piece of pottery emerged from the smoke. Dartz gave an evil laugh.
"What is that?"
"My little friend is all grown up so play-time's over. Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet Orichalcos Shunoros. Orichalcos Shunoros, activate your special ability. Release Orichalcos Dexia." And then the right arm of Orichalcos Shunoros detached itself from the main body. "And Orichalcos Aristeros." Then the left arm of Orichalcos Shunoros detached itself from the main body.
"What's the meaning of this?" asked the Pharaoh.
"Allow me to clear things up. Shunoros just released two more creatures. The first one is known as Dexia, and its attack strength is always 300 attack points higher than the monster it's battling, making it the perfect sword." The Orichalcos symbol shone brightly on the right arm of Orichalcos Shunoros. "And the second one is just as strong. It will intercept every one of your attacks and retaliate with a blast that's 300 points greater than the one you fired making Orichalcos Aristeros the perfect shield." Then the Orichalcos symbol shone brightly on the left arm of Orichalcos Shunoros.
End flashback
Seto just stared at the creature having his own private thoughts. If I attack it, I'll unleash an unstoppable beast. What will I do?
Ghost Kaiba laughed evilly at Seto Kaiba. "I take it you remember the special ability of this thing. With a monster this powerful in my control, you can't win."
"What is that thing's special ability?" asked Ishizu who never witnessed the duel between Dartz and Kaiba and the Pharaoh.
"As long as that thing is on the field, any battle damage he would receive is reduced to 0," answered Yugi. "But that's not all. When it's destroyed, it evolves into a creature called Orichalcos Shunoros. Orichalcos Shunoros has two dangerous weapons: Orichalcos Dexia and Orichalcos Aristeros. Orichalcos Dexia always has 300 more attack points than the monster it's battling. Orichalcos Aristeros intercepts any attack intended for Shunoros and always has 300 more defense points than the attacking monster."
"My, that does seem like a very difficult monster to defeat," commented Marik.
"Yugi, did the Pharaoh ever tell you how he defeated Orichalcos Shunoros?" asked Tea.
"He did. He used Legend of Heart to bring out Timaeus, Critias, and Hermos in their true form. He then used Critias's special ability and the reflecting power of Mirror Force. But I'm not even sure if Kaiba has Legend of Heart in his deck."
But I didn't put Legend of Heart in my deck. I don't know what else I can do, Seto thought silently to himself as he overheard Yugi.
"I'm afraid there's nothing you can do to stop my Kyutora," Ghost Kaiba chuckled. "And I'm afraid I have more bad news. I play my Soul Charge magic card to revive Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Dark Magician, Relinquished, Valkyrie Zweite, Masked Beast, Shinato King of a Higher Plane, Gorlag, Jinzo, and Diabound Kernel."
Then the signature monsters of each of his strongest rivals appeared. First came Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Dark Magician to the right of Orichalcos Kyutora. Then came Relinquished and Valkyrie Zweite to the right of Orichalcos Kyutora. Finally in the back row from Seto's left to right appeared Masked Beast, Shinato King of a Higher Plane, Gorlag, Jinzo, and Diabound Kernel. Ghost Kaiba had to pay 500 life points for each monster summoned with Soul Charge.
Seto: 1750; Ghost Kaiba: 20400
"Now Orichalcos Deuteros will give me 500 life points for every monster I control."
Seto: 1750; Ghost Kaiba: 25400
"Next the special ability of my Valkyrie Zweite will destroy your Dark Magician Girl since she was special summoned." Valkyrie Zweite raised her sword in the air and let out a loud battle cry as she slashed her sword in the air sending a shockwave that destroyed the Dark Magician Girl.
The Orichalcos shone brightly on each monster on Ghost Kaiba's side of the field. Ghost-like images of Joey Wheeler, Yugi Muto, Dartz, Pegasus, Zigfried von Schroeder, Lumis and Umbra, Noah, Alister, Leichter, and the evil Bakura appeared over their respective monsters smiling evilly at Kaiba.
"And there's a friend in my Graveyard who wants to say hello to you," said Ghost Kaiba.
When Seto peered down, he saw Exodia Necross waving to him along with the ghost of Gozaburo smiling evilly at him.
Suddenly the ghosts all flew over to Seto's side of the field and circled him menacingly.
"You'll pay for all those times you mocked me for my dueling skills," said the ghost of Joey Wheeler.
"When you lose this duel, perhaps you will finally realize that I was the better duelist all along even without the great pharaoh Atem," said the ghost of Yugi Muto.
"Your soul will be used to power up the Great Leviathan," said the ghost of Dartz.
"And I will use your soul to revive my deceased wife," said the ghost of Pegasus.
"You'll get what you deserve for stealing my idea for holographic dueling technology," said the ghost of Zigfried von Schroeder.
"Master Marik will be pleased with us," said the ghost of Lumis
"Agreed," said the ghost of Umbra.
"Soon Father will see that I should be the president of KaibaCorp, not you," said the ghost of Noah.
"This one's for Mikey," said the ghost of Alister.
"You'll pay for betraying us and taking away our responsibilities at KaibaCorp," said the ghost of Leichter.
"My Diabound Kernel will suck out the power from your Blue-Eyes White Dragon," said the ghost of the evil Bakura.
"I'll finally have my revenge on you for beating me in chess," said the ghost of Gozaburo.
"Soon your soul will be trapped in the Shadow Realm for all eternity," the ghosts all boomed simultaneously. Then each ghost disappeared from Seto's sight.
"The monsters I special summoned with Soul Charge may not be able to attack you this turn, but my Orichalcos Kyutora can. Kyutora, attack his life points directly." A laser beam shot out of the eye of Orichalcos Kyutora and hit Kaiba in his chest. Seto clutched his stomach as Ghost Kaiba's monster brought his life points down.
Seto: 750; Ghost Kaiba: 25400
"That ends my turn. Your move."
Instead of drawing his next card, Seto stared miserably at his duel disk.
"Come on, Kaiba!" yelled Duke. "If you don't make a move, you'll forfeit the duel and be trapped here forever."
"Why is he just standing there?" asked Odion.
Then Yugi thought he noticed something wet fall from Seto's face onto the duel disk. "Hold on. Are you crying, Seto?" asked Yugi.
Seto lifted his face clearly revealing tears coming from his eyes.
"He is," said Mai.
"Everyone, I'm going to lose this duel. But before that happens, I want to apologize to every one of you."
Everyone stared at Seto perplexed.
Seto turned his face toward Solomon Muto. "Mr. Muto, I'm sorry for the time I ripped up your Blue-Eyes White Dragon card. Because of you I realize there are other reasons cards can have value to a duelist besides their power."
Then Seto turned toward Tea Gardner. "Tea, I have a confession to make. Even though you saved my little brother from those Rare Hunters at Battle City, I still didn't truly appreciate what you had done for me. The truth is when those Rare Hunters chained you to that chair with that crate hanging over your head, I only rescued you because I felt obligated to save you for saving Mokuba." Then he paused and continued. "When I beat Yugi Muto in Duelist Kingdom, you told me I had lost my humanity. You were right. I did lose my compassion for caring for others. I should've listened to you, and I'm sorry I didn't."
Then Seto turned toward Joey Wheeler. "Joey, I'm sorry for all the times I talked down to you about your dueling skills. The truth is you're a great duelist, and even though I didn't want to admit it, you gave me one hell of a challenge in our duel after we were both eliminated from Battle City. I can see now I was wrong not to invite you to that tournament."
Then Seto turned toward his employee Roland. "Roland, all these years, you've been a faithful employee to me, and I only saw you as my servant and not my friend. You have done so much for, and I can never thank you enough."
Then he turned toward Pegasus. "Pegasus, you tried to warn me about using the Orichalcos card, but I ignored you. I may have thought you were evil when you kidnapped Mokuba, but you came all the way down here and risked your life to free me from the this hell. I can see now that you are a good man, and I'm sorry I didn't listen to you."
Then Seto turned toward Mokuba. "Mokuba, I'm sorry about the fight we had the night before the duel. You were right about me. I didn't care about anyone except myself and you. And I never thanked Yugi or any of his friends when they deserved it. After our fight, I ripped up the Blue-Eyes White Dragon drawing you made for me when we were kids. You have been a great little brother. I just wish I could've been a better big brother."
Then Seto turned to Yugi. "Yugi, you and your friends have always been there to help me. And all I ever thought of you as was an obstacle to overcome." Seto paused. "You know, before our rematch I told my brother I didn't care if you lost your soul. And here you are, trying to save mine. I'm so sorry for putting you in danger and for only thinking about myself."
Then Seto turned and faced everyone watching the duel. "Most of you were on the Battle City Island that I blew up. When I set the timer for the bomb, I didn't care whether or not any of you had a safe way of getting off the island. I put all of your lives in danger, and I'm so sorry."
Everyone listening was thoroughly stunned by Seto's change of character.
"Kaiba," began Joey Wheeler. "Did you really just mean everything you said?"
"I think he did," answered Tea.
"Kaiba, you can't give up just yet," yelled Yugi. "I've been in too many situations where I thought for sure I was gonna lose and still pulled through. As long as you still have cards to draw and life points on the scoreboard, it's not over."
"I can't possibly win with that Orichalcos Kyutora thing on the field. If I destroy it, it will absorb any damage he would have received and unleash an unstoppable beast. I have no way to beat it, Yugi." Then Seto shouted at the top of his lungs and got down on his knees. "EVERYONE I'M SORRY!"
"Snap out of it, big brother!" shouted Mokuba. "The Seto I know would never give up. And even though we may not know how to beat that Kyutora thing without the Legend of Heart card, we know there's gotta be a way. Now show that creep who's boss."
Seto got up off his knees, inspired by Mokuba's speech. "Thanks for reminding me who I truly am, Mokuba."
Then Seto turned toward the demon clown. "All right, you slimeball. It's time for me to show you what I'm truly made of." Then he drew his next card. Seto's demeanor quickly changed from one of confidence to one of fear when he saw what he had drawn was a card he had never even heard of. It was a monster with long claws wearing a white-mask, black clothes, and a maroon cape. It had 600 attack points and 800 defense points. What could I possibly do with a monster like this, he asked himself.
Pegasus saw the look of concern on Seto. Kaiba doubts himself.
Seto read the description on the card and came up with an idea. "I summon Destiny Hero Doom Lord (ATK 600, DEF 800) in Attack Mode." And the monster he had just drawn appeared ready to do business.
"Destiny Hero what?" asked Yugi. "I've never seen that card before."
Pegasus took a good look at the monster. But that card hasn't been released to the general public yet. How did Kaiba-boy know about it?
Ghost Kaiba laughed. "And what do you expect to do with a monster that only has 600 attack points against my unstoppable army?"
"This. Destiny Hero Doom Lord, use Impending Doom Grip on his Kyutora."
Tristan started freaking out. "Is Kaiba going crazy? He's attacking a monster with more attack points."
"Oh no," Serenity said sadly. "Now Kaiba will lose the duel for sure."
"Don't be so sure," said Pegasus.
"What?" asked Joey. "Do you know something about that card that we don't?"
"Destiny Hero Doom Lord has a special ability," answered Pegasus. "Each turn, if it's in Attack Mode, you can remove one monster from play for two turns in exchange for not being able to attack that turn."
Destiny Hero Doom Lord charged forward and sank its claws into Orichalcos Kyutora.
Ghost Kaiba grinned evilly. Yes, now his monster will get destroyed giving me an even bigger advantage.
But instead Kyutora vanished into thin air, and the face of Dartz appeared over it, wondering where he was going while Destiny Hero Doom Lord remained on the field.
"What's going on?" asked Ghost Kaiba. "Why didn't your monster get destroyed?"
Seto laughed evilly at the demon clown. "It's simple. You see, I didn't attack your monster with my Doom Lord. I merely used its special ability to send your Kyutora two turns into the future."
"I still have the advantage," asserted Ghost Kaiba.
"Not for long. I play the magic card Monster Reborn to revive my Blue-Eyes White Dragon." Then Seto's signature monster appeared on the field ready to engage in battle. "Since I used Doom Lord's special ability, I'm forbidden to attack you this turn. But I can still do this. I play the spell card Burst Stream of Destruction."
The Blue-Eyes White Dragon fired a stream of lightning destroying all of Ghost Kaiba's monsters in the front row. First Red-Eyes got hit, then the Dark Magician, then Relinquished, and then Valkyrie Zweite. The faces of Joey Wheeler, Yugi Muto, Pegasus, and Zigfried von Schroeder appeared over their respective monsters screaming in agony as they got destroyed.
"Now it's time for my dragon to annihilate the monsters in your back row." The Blue-Eyes White Dragon fired another stream of lightning destroying the Masked Beast, then Shinato, then Gorlag, then Jinzo, and finally Diabound Kernel. The faces of Lumis & Umbra, Noah, Alister, Leichter, and the evil Bakura appeared over their monsters howling in pain as their monsters got destroyed.
"Awesome!" shouted Yugi with glee. "Now Kaiba's in control again."
"And since he used Doom Lord's ability to remove that monster from play, he was able to destroy his other monsters without unleashing Orichalcos Shunoros," said Joey.
"I knew Kaiba knew what he was doing all along," Rebecca chimed in.
"It looks like you will be the one stuck in the Shadow Realm after all," said Seto.
"This duel's not over yet." Ghost Kaiba grunted in frustration when he drew his next card. "I summon Watapon in Defense Mode and end my turn." Ghost Kaiba gained 500 life points from Orichalcos Deuteros.
Seto: 750; Ghost Kaiba: 25900
Seto drew his next card. "I'll play the spell card Beginning of the End. Now I remove from play my three Giant Germs, Cyber Jar and Chaos Emperor Dragon-Envoy of the End so I can draw three more card." Seto drew his next three cards and suddenly realized something. Oh shit! My deck's almost completely empty. If I don't bring his life points down to 0 soon, he'll win.
Ghost Kaiba apparently sensed what Seto was thinking. "Did you just realize your deck is about to be empty? I guess I won't be stuck in the Shadow Realm after all."
"Don't be so sure," Seto answered. "I now play Advanced Draw, so I'll tribute my Blue-Eyes so I can draw two more cards." As Seto's dragon disappeared from the field, Seto drew two more cards from his deck. "Then I'll play Monster Reborn to bring back my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon in Attack Mode." Then the three-headed beast appeared on the field.
"Ahhh! Not that thing!" yelled Ghost Kaiba.
"Next I'll double its attack strength with Megamorph." And then the three-headed dragon's attack strength rose to 9000. "Destiny Hero Doom Lord, attack his Watapon."
Destiny Hero Doom Lord charged forward and slashed at the pink puffball.
"You're wide open for a direct attack. Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, attack his life points directly." The dragon fired a stream from its mouth, hitting Ghost Kaiba directly in his chest.
"Owww!" Ghost Kaiba yelled in pain as smoke was rising from his body.
Seto: 750; Ghost Kaiba: 16900
"Finally, I'll play the spell card De-Fusion, splitting my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon up into the three original Blue-Eyes White Dragons."
"Oh no! That means you can attack me three more times."
"That's right. Now my dragons, attack his life points directly." All three dragons fired streams of lightning at the demon clown.
"Owww!" Ghost Kaiba yelled as the lightning bolts hit him.
Seto: 750; Ghost Kaiba: 7900
"It's my move." Ghost Kaiba drew his next card. "Although I may not be able to summon a monster, my Kyutora will return to the field as soon as I end my turn. So I end my turn." Orichalcos Kyutora returned to Ghost Kaiba's side of the field.
Seto looked at his deck with huge concern. I have exactly one card left in my deck. And if I don't take him down this turn, I'll lose the duel.
"Come on, Kaiba. We believe in you," yelled Tea.
"You may only have one card left, but it could be the card that wins you the duel," said Yugi. "You just have to believe in the heart of the cards."
Heart of the cards, guide me, Seto thought silently to himself. Seto drew his last card and smirked. "This may be the last card in my deck, but it's the card that will win me this duel."
"But that Kyutora will just absorb all the battle damage. What card could he have possibly drawn?" asked Rebecca.
"I activate the spell card Back to Square One. By discarding one card from my hand, I can send your Kyutora back to your hand. And I have exactly one other card in my hand. So your Kyutora won't be on the field to protect your life points."
Seto discarded the remaining card in his hand. The face of Dartz appeared over Orichalcos Kyutora with a confused look on his face. "What's going on?" the ghost-like image of Dartz asked. Suddenly, Kyutora disappeared from the field and a beam of energy sprang from the area where Kyutora had been toward Ghost Kaiba's hand as the card got added to his hand.
"Ahhh!" he yelled in fear. "I'm wide open for a direct attack."
"Four direct attacks to be exact. Destiny Hero Doom Lord, attack his life points directly." Doom Lord charged forward and sank its claws into Ghost Kaiba.
Seto: 750; Ghost Kaiba: 7300
"Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack his life points directly." One of the three Blue-Eyes fired lightning at Ghost Kaiba hitting him in the chest.
Seto: 750; Ghost Kaiba: 4300
"It's time for one of my other dragons to attack you." The second Blue-Eyes fired lightning at the demon clown.
Seto: 750; Ghost Kaiba: 1300
"It's time for my final Blue-Eyes to take you down," he said with a confident smirk on his face. "Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack his life points directly."
"Awesome! Kaiba's going to win," shouted Yugi. Everyone was cheering wildly and high-fiving each other.
Ghost Kaiba trembled with fear as the lightning drew closer to him. I have to act quickly, he thought.
"It looks like I win," said Seto.
"Or so you think!" Ghost Kaiba retorted. Right before the lightning hit him, Ghost Kaiba sent a card to his Graveyard. Suddenly a wall made of hundreds of Kuribohs formed right in front of Ghost Kaiba, blocking the attack of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
"What just happened," Seto asked in disbelief.
Everyone just stared with their jaws wide open as their feelings of jubilation were suddenly reversed into extreme despair.
"On my last draw, the card I drew was Kuriboh. So even though you were able to send my Kyutora back to my hand, I was never worried. Since you have attacked with all your monsters and have no cards in your hand, your turn is over. So it's my turn to draw." Ghost Kaiba drew his next card. "I choose to end my turn without making a move." Ghost Kaiba had to discard a card from his hand due to the hand-size limit.
"My deck, it's empty," cried Seto.
"That's right, Seto. There are no more cards you can draw. Therefore you lose. I'll enjoy taking control of your body. Bye-bye." Ghost Kaiba disappeared in the blink an eye. The audience watched in horror as the Seal of Orichalcos encircled Seto Kaiba.
"Someone please help me!" Seto screamed as it felt like flames were burning him. But there was nothing anyone watching could do to help him.
"Come on," said Shadi. "We can't stay here. We have to go now." Shadi quickly transported everyone else out of the Shadow Realm and back into the pyramid.
Author's Note: So the duel has come to an end, and it appears as though Seto is stuck in the Shadow Realm for eternity. Or is he? Stay tuned because there is one more chapter to come.