AJ: Well, here's Chapter 25 of my story.
Bil: You're actually pumping these out semi-quick, now. I'm proud of you!
AJ: But Master…I thought you hated this thing?
Bil: Oh, I do, but the faster you get this thing done, the quicker I can get to show you living hell through training!
AJ: Of course…
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Chapter 25: Neos Defeated!? Kaiser's Dignity
"Tempest, attack Cyberdark Horn! Chaos Tempest!" The hero aimed the gun on his arm at the unsuspecting black-armored beast and fired a stream at the creature.
"Reverse card, open! Homing Frequency!" Kaiser declared. The hero's blast suddenly redirected towards the other monster, striking it and dealing 300 points of damage to Kaiser, as well as sending a round of electricity through his body. "This Trap can be activated if you declare an attack on a Machine-type monster on my field," he explained as he breathed heavily. "If I have another Machine-type monster on my field, I can change the target of your attack to it. And Cyberdark Keel isn't destroyed because I sent its equipped monster to the graveyard."
"I'll set a card and end," Judai stated, panting slightly.
The crowd was murmuring at the spectacular dueling that was taking place in front of them, though they were still not sure what to think of the electric shocks the two duelists were receiving. "What a remarkable display," Misawa muttered, eyes widened at the spectacle.
"They're both going all-out," Fubuki noted out loud, "despite the fact Judai seemed reluctant to the terms earlier, but he and Kaiser both are leaving it out in the duel ring."
"Neither of them wants to lose this duel," Asuka commented, "I just hope nothing horrible happens til the end."
Kaiser and Judai both stood in the ring, panting slightly from the shocks that had coursed through their bodies. Kaiser began smiling and chuckling. Judai cocked an eyebrow at the duelist. "I think that's good enough for a warm-up, don't you think?" Kaiser grinned.
Judai panted a few more times before grinning himself. "I suppose we could kick it up a notch, if you think you can handle it," the boy arrogantly stated.
(Kaiser's LP 3500, Judai's LP 3600)
"Look at Aniki…" Sho acknowledged worriedly. "He looks as if he's…enjoying himself…"
"What? Are you suggesting that he'll turn into Richter again!?" Kenzan muttered nervously.
"No…" Manjoume shook his head, causing the two duelists to glance over at him. "Think of who Judai is. He's in front of a giant crowd; in a duel for the Championship of a premier Pro Dueling League; dueling against a man that he views as a peer…no…as superior to himself." Manjoume grinned slightly, as his hands quivered in delight as they clenched onto his jacket. "It's not Richter Davis…it's a duelist's dream. Electric shocks or not, this is the experience every true duelist wishes to receive, at least once in their lives. It's not fair…I wish it were me…"
The others nodded as they agreed. "Yeah, you're right, Manjoume-kun," Sho smiled, turning back to Judai as he focused on his friend's eyes. "He seems to be enjoying himself in a way he hasn't for a while. But still," Sho glanced at the bolts on his friend's arms, "those shackles will still cause damage whenever they lose Life Points. And whether he likes the duel or not, it's not going to be good if either of their body's fail on them."
"You knew it was going to come down to this, though," Fubuki told him. "Kaiser, the cold, calm, collected, calculating, overpowering duelist, and Judai, the sly, tricky, combo-using, Hero-wielding duelist; they're like Edo's and Judai's styles foil each other, so do Kaiser's and Judai's, like yin and yang. They were destined from the moment Judai entered the Academia to be at odds with each other. What's more, even though they act like they can't stand each other, they both know how strong each other is and they respect each other to the nth degree because of that fact." Fubuki blinked and took a breath before continuing. "In a way, they know each other more than we could ever hope to."
"What do you mean?" Ryoma wondered.
"Well, when Kaiser first came to the Academia," Fubuki explained, "he was automatically labeled the Number One duelist, and given the nickname Kaiser. However, never once did I ever see Kaiser so much as smile. He may have chuckled a few times, but he always had a straight face on him. Even when he dueled, he just kept his game face on all the time. However, when Judai dueled him in the Graduation Match, I think Judai opened a part of Kaiser that Kaiser didn't even know existed inside of him. He found a fire not unlike that of Judai's. The truth is, although Kaiser sees Judai as the ultimate obstacle for him to overcome, he chose Judai for another reason. Judai just seems to bring out the best of Kaiser's skills."
"My turn, Draw!" Kaiser roared. "I activate the Spell, Graceful Charity! With this, I can draw three cards and discard two." He took three cards from his deck and slid two more, Rare Metal Dragon and Troop Dragon, into his Graveyard.
"Now, I'll play Polymerization!" Kaiser grinned.
Judai's eyes widened. "He's going for it…!"
"By sending Fusion Material monsters that are listed on a Fusion Monster card to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon the Fusion Monster from my Fusion Deck!" Kaiser explained. "I'll fuse my Cyberdarks Horn and Keel on my field with the Cyberdark Edge in my hand to summon Cyberdark Dragon!"
A rush of lightening stuck the three monsters as they began separating and reattaching to each other. The giant black-plated parasite's eyes flashed and it let out a fierce roar, piercing the arena. The energy it let off flowed out from it, causing a gust of wind to kick up on Kaiser's side of the field.
"When Cyberdark Dragon is summoned to the field, I can select one Dragon-type monster in my Graveyard and equip it, adding its attack points to my Machine," Kaiser stated, retrieving the Dragon he had just discarded with Graceful Charity. "I'll equip Rare Metal Dragon to it!" The smaller, metallic creature appeared on the field, as it was snatched up by Cyberdark Dragon, the cords piercing its steel flesh and extracting its energy into it. The creature's attack points shot up to 3400.
"And, it gain 100 attack points for each monster in my Graveyard!" Kaiser added, as its attack points shot up another 600 points to 4000.
"Cyberdark Dragon, attack Tempest!" The creature unleashed a sickly-yellow looking burst of energy towards the Hero.
"I activate Tempests effect!" Judai announced. "By sacrificing a card on my field, I can save it from being destroyed. I'll sacrifice my facedown Bubble Rod!" Judai stated, as the card flipped up, before disappearing.
"And that's not all, because Bubble Rod was sent to the Graveyard, I can draw one card!" He took a card from his deck.
"But you still take the damage," Kaiser told the boy. Tempest floated in front of Judai, and absorbed a large amount of the beam, but some of it still passed the hero, and this part struck Judai. The electrodes ignited in response, and Judai grunted and howled in pain as 1200 Life Points were taken from his LP meter.
"I end," Kaiser said.
"Draw!" Judai roared. "I activate the Field Spell, Skyscraper!" Judai announced, sliding the card into its respective slot. The two duelists were instantly surrounded by a city that had spring up from nowhere. The crowd murmured even louder in amazement.
"As I'm sure you know, Kaiser, a hero does best on its own field," Judai mentioned. "When an E.Hero battles with a monster with more attack points while Skyscraper is active, the E.Hero gains 1000 attack points."
"Then I'm sure you know, Judai," Kaiser retorted, "that even with your attack power increase, Tempest still is slightly weaker than Cyberdark Dragon."
"I realize that," Judai replied, "which is why I'm activating the Magic card, H-Heated Heart!" The Magic card appeared on Judai's field, as an H grew out of the card's image. "For this turn, I can select one monster on my field and it gains 500 attack points until the End Phase of this turn." Tempest's attack points rose up to 4300.
"Tempest, attack Cyberdark Dragon!" Judai demanded. The Hero leapt above the creature and charged up another stream of energy, firing it upon its opponent. It surrounded the creature, demolishing its equipped Dragon. Kaiser grunted as he took 300 points of damage and was subsequently electrified by the shackles.
"And now, Tempest's attack points go down," Judai smirked, as the monster's attack reduced to 2800. "Turn end."
Kaiser chuckled lightly, grinning at his opponent. "You're something else, you know that?" he told the younger boy.
"What do you mean?" Judai cocked an eyebrow.
"Never mind…" Kaiser shook his head. "It'll just stall our duel. My turn, Draw!" He tore the card and looked at it. "I'll activate the Quick-Play Magic card, Cyber Absorption! I can equip a compatible Dragon-type monster to one Cyberdark monster on my field! I'll reattach Rare Metal Dragon to it!" Again, the smaller dragon growled, as it was equipped to the parasite, before going limp. Cyberdark Dragon's attack points rose to 4000, once again.
"Go, attack Tempest!" Kaiser ordered, gesturing in the opponent's direction. The dragon fired another sickly-colored blast that struck the hero in the chest, this time eliminating it from the field. Judai grunted as he took 200 points of damage.
"Turn end," Kaiser stated.
"Draw!" Judai angrily hollered. "I'll activate Polymerization! I'll fuse E.Heroes Necroshade and Wildheart together to form Elemental Hero Necroid Shaman!" The two monsters were absorbed into the swirling nether, combining into the witchdoctor-like hero.
"When he's summoned to the field, I can destroy one monster on your field and Special Summon another one from your graveyard!" Judai explained, clenching his fist. The shaman twirled its staff within his fingertips, stopping it momentarily, before firing a stream of mystical energy towards the robotic Dragon.
"Cyberdark Dragon is destroyed," Judai exclaimed with glee. The swirling energies began to envelope the creature, before causing a monumental explosion, eradicating it. In its place appeared one of the Cyberdark monsters in attack mode.
"Necroid Shaman, attack Cyberdark Edge!" The monster leapt into the air and slammed its staff down upon the parasite's head, damaging its plating and causing it to explode.
Kaiser roared out loud as the electricity took away 1100 Life Points from the Pro Champion. He began to breath heavily as the shocks subsided. "Turn end," Judai stated.
"My turn, Draw!" He gazed at his new card. "I'll summon Exploder Dragon in attack mode!" The blue dragon appeared on the field, holding a black and yellow egg within its claws.
"When this card is destroyed by battle, I can destroy the monster that destroyed it," Kaiser explained. "Also, if my monster is the attacking monster, any Battle Damage either of us may receive is reduced to zero! Exploder Dragon, attack his Shaman!" The dragon flew across the field at top speed towards its target and crashed into it. Both hero and dragon disappeared within a giant explosion, which annihilated both of them.
"I'll end with a facedown," Kaiser stated.
"Draw!" Judai stated. "I activate Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two cards!" He took two more cards from his deck. He grinned. "I remember, Kaiser, the first time we dueled in this arena, when you told me that I had unlimited potential. I was thrilled beyond words, to get a complement like that from one such as you. Now, I'll show you the card I received this year, that allowed me to fulfill your prediction."
"I'll activate Necroshade's effect, allowing me to summon one Elemental Hero without a tribute once while it's in the Graveyard!" Judai explained. "I summon Elemental Hero Neos!" The white-armored hero descended out from the card, rotating once, before gliding down to the field.
"It's Neos!" Kaiser exclaimed.
"Go, Neos, Direct Attack!" Judai demanded. The hero dashed towards Kaiser, preparing to launch its fist straight at Kaiser, reducing him of the rest of his LP.
"Reverse card, open!" Kaiser hollered. "Call of the Haunted! This card allows me to Special Summon a monster from my Graveyard in attack mode! Come out, Exploder Dragon!" The dragon appeared on the field, once again.
'I could attack his dragon, and take out 1500 of his Life Points,' Judai noted, 'but Neos will be destroyed. And if he somehow gets a Cyberdark monster back, I'll be wide open for an attack.' Neos approached the monster. "I'll call off Neos' attack," Judai somberly decided. "I'll set once card and end."
"Draw!" Kaiser roared. "I'll activate the Spell, Cyber Immolation! I discard one Dragon-type monster to activate this card!" He slid Tri-Horned Dragon into his Graveyard. "Now, by removing one Cyberdark Dragon on my field or in my Graveyard, I can Special Summon one Cyber Immolating Dragon to my field!" He took the card out from his Graveyard and slid it into his deck holster on his belt.
"Not today, Kaiser!" Judai replied. "Trap, open! Hero's Rule II! This Trap can be activated in response to an effect that targets a card in the Graveyard! This card negates the effect and destroys the card!" The hologram of Kaiser's Spell shattered and dispersed.
Kaiser growled in annoyance. "I'll just switch Exploder Dragon to defense mode. Turn End."
"Why didn't onii-san attack with Exploder Dragon on that turn?" Sho wondered out loud.
"Probably cause it would have left him wide open, should Judai have gained another monster this turn, or maybe O-Oversoul," Misawa explained. "He wouldn't have had anyway to defend himself."
"Here I go, Draw!" Judai called. 'I saved myself last turn,' he mused, 'but I need to draw another monster! I can't give Kaiser any openings for an attack on me!' He selected one card in his hand. "I'll just set one card and end."
"My turn, Draw! I summon Cyber Phoenix in defense mode, Turn end!" The robotic bird appeared in a flash of light on Kaiser's field.
"Draw!" Judai grinned, 'Finally!' He placed the card on his monster card zone. "I'll summon Elemental Hero Burstinatrix, in attack mode!" The lady hero appeared on Judai's field, gliding down next to Neos.
"Sorry, Burstinatrix, but you'll have to attack Exploder Dragon!" The lay nodded in response, as if it knew the consequences of her actions. The hero charged up a ball of flame and charged forth towards the dragon. The dragon did the same, and both collided into each other, leaving nothing left except a cloud of debris.
"Now, Neos, attack Cyber Phoenix!" The hero sped towards its target and slammed its palm in a karate chop upon the bird, dividing it in two and eliminating it. Kaiser hung his head as he panted in exhaustion and pain. Judai, too looked worse for wear. The duelist glanced down at his hand and clenched it, he smirked and began chuckling, before slowly rearing his head back and laughing heartily.
"What…?" Judai breathed.
"Judai," Kaiser grinned, "this is what I wanted. A duel with you to the end, with both of us going all out, leaving nothing to chance. I noticed in that last duel we had, your attention was divided between me and Saiou. But now, all your attention is on me. All your focus is towards one goal, defeating me. This is the duel I have long sought after."
"The duel you sought after?" Judai wondered.
"After I was defeated by you before, I thought about what you said, 'What would I do if I lost'," Kaiser explained. "So you know what I did? I improved. I got better, so good, in fact, I was able to achieve this Pro League Championship. But even the duel with Edo didn't fill me for long. Only one thing has been on my mind since I lost to you, it was that duel. But not because I lost to you."
"Wait, you didn't want to face me out of revenge?" Judai gaped.
"Revenge?" Kaiser laughed. "What do you take me for, some type of mindless beast? A loss is a loss. I'm a man, I can take a beating. Making excuses for such a thing is pointless. I wanted a rematch with you, simply put, because that duel I had with you gave me a feeling I had forgotten after my last duel with you."
Judai just quietly stood there, intently listening to his opponent's words. Kaiser lowered his gaze slightly. "Sure, I want to win. Who doesn't want to win? It allows you to keep going. One can't live without winning every once in a while, but my problem before was I thought that would fill me up," he explained, before raising his head. Judai gasped slightly. The eyes were not those one would expect from a heartless sadist, but of a lost soul, searching for an answer.
"I'll admit it," Kaiser noted, "winning isn't everything. What matters is the thrill it takes to get there. That's what's important."
"So you took the name Hell Kaiser because you just wanted to win at any cost," Judai acknowledged, "then why do you keep that name if you don't seem to follow that statement anymore?"
"Because, as long as I bear this name, I can continue to have ruthless duels like this!" Kaiser howled. "I don't care how I do it, but I want to become stronger! The only way to do so is to push my limits and 'Hell Kaiser' allows me to keep on going with this! I don't just want to be the Pro League Champion, that is even too small for 'Hell Kaiser'! No, one named 'Hell Kaiser' be even greater than that, greater than a god! I want to be remembered for being the absolute best at what I do! And to do that, I must keep having monumental duels!"
Judai's furrowed brow rose slightly. 'I understand…' Judai realized, 'Kaiser isn't just out to achieve the win, his main goal is to get as strong as he possibly can.' He remembered the words that Kaiser told him at the Underground arena.
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"You know why you are nothing more than a Novice?" Kaiser asked him.
"This again…" Hiro growled.
"It's because you never put your soul into what you do," Kaiser told him flatly. "I used to be like you. Originally, I played Duel Monsters because it was fun. I loved it. The thrill of surprise. The rush of excitement from pulling off an amazing combo. But after sometime, I just expected to win. It came naturally. Everyone I faced had pretty much lost before we even started the duel, because of my name and the prowess and rumors that followed me. After a while, I began to lose something, the most important thing a duelist could lose. Pride. I expected to win every match, I never had to work for it. Every duel became more and more pointless than before. And after every duel, it seemed I had lost a piece of myself. It was so gradual and so slow, that I never noticed it until I went into the Underground Duel."
"Kaiser…" Edo quietly muttered.
"Kaiser!" Judai called. "But you were perfect! You were superior to everyone in every way! You were a better man than this! You were a better human being than this! Why did that change your attitude!?"
Kaiser lowered his head and chuckled at the boy's words. "Perfect? Superior? What kind of superficial words are those? All they did was limit me to be someone that I obviously wasn't, slowly killing me inside. So, I changed. And this change allowed me to supersede 'perfection'! Hiro, you remind me of myself, how I was just before Duel Academia till my run in the Underground! Always having everything handed to you! Always being looked at as some kind of icon that is to be revered and prized!"
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'He refuses to allow himself to degenerate back into what he views as a lethargic duelist,' Judai mused. 'To do that, he even forces himself to be a demon, even if it costs him the price of his humanity. He despised his old Duel Academia persona so much that he refuses to surrender the nickname 'Hell Kaiser' in fear of reverting back into 'Kaiser'. Edo was right, what he says and what he does are two completely different things, but only through dueling does it truly come out.'
"Alright, I got you, Kaiser," Judai stated. "Let me see that power firsthand that allowed you to transcend perfection!"
Kaiser nodded. "Cyber Phoenix's effect activates!" Kaiser grunted through the din. "When its destroyed by battle and sent to the Grave, I can draw one card!" He looked at it, smiling. 'Excellent…everything is now in place…!'
Judai noticed the look Kaiser had on his visage, and didn't like it one bit. 'I wonder what he's got…' "I'll end," he bemusedly told his opponent.
"You will end," Kaiser told him, "and you will end this turn!"
"What do you mean?"
"You'll find out in a moment! Draw!" Kaiser looked at it and grinned. He selected his first card. "I'll summon Proto-Cyber Dragon in attack mode!"
"Proto-Cyber Dragon…!?" Judai gaped.
"That thing barely has any attack points," Momoe surmised.
"Yeah," Junko added, "what does that thing matter to Judai's Neos?"
"It's not that thing's attack points that has Judai nervous, right now, I can tell you that," Fubuki grit his teeth.
"When Proto-Cyber Dragon's on the field, it's name is treated as 'Cyber Dragon'," Asuka explained, "meaning while it is face-up on the field, he can use it to summon Cyber Dragon's Fusions!"
"I activate the Magic Card, Overload Fusion!" Kaiser roared, holding it up in the air.
"Overload Fusion!?" Judai shouted.
"No…!" Edo cried, standing up in fear.
"With this card, I can remove Fusion Material monsters listed on a Dark Main-type, Machine subtype Fusion Monster from play, in return Special Summoning the Fusion Monster from my Fusion Deck!" Kaiser explained. Four monsters slid out of his Graveyard, which he snatched up, immediately. "YOU WANTED TO SEE THE POWER THAT ALLOWED ME TO TRANSCEND PERFECTION, JUDAI!? HERE IT IS!!!!"
"I'LL REMOVE PROTO-CYBER DRAGON, MY THREE CYBERDARK MONSTERS, AND CYBER PHOENIX FROM THE GAME IN ORDER TO SUMMON, CHIMERATECH OVER-DRAGON!!!!" Kaiser roared. The five monsters each turned into a giant black pillar of light, all of which formed into a single enormous pillar of black light. The crowd gasped and cried in shock and awe as the swirling energies from the card erupted and overtook everyone, wind whipping in their faces. The single pillar soon released a giant metallic ball, which had several openings. One opened to release an enormous tail that surrounded its master, while five others released dragon-like heads out, every single pair of eyes flashing red, gleaming at the opponent across the way.
"Chimeratech Over-Dragon's effects activate," Kaiser explained loudly over the din caused by the roaring machination and swirling wind of the output of its power, "First, it gains 800 attack points for each monster used to summon it!" The monsters attack points shot up to 4000.
"Attack Neos! Evolution Result Burst!" Kaiser directed. The one of the monstrosity's heads opened its mouth and launched a lightening-strike at the hero, which struck its chest, piercing it and eliminating it. Judai grunted and cried out in pain as the red electricity flowed from the collars he bore.
"And now, his second effect activates!" Kaiser grinned, "it can attack you once for each monster used to summon it!"
"No!" Asuka shouted loudly.
"That'll kill him, Kaiser!" Edo shouted, horrified.
"Don't do it!" Fubuki hollered.
"EVOLUTION RESULT BURST!! END THIS!!!!" Kaiser directed. The other fours heads opened their mouths, each sending a wave of blue lightening towards Judai, who was still reeling from the shock he received from the first attack.
Everyone of his friends gasped in fear and shock at the declaration, all calling out to him,
"JUDAIIII!!!!!!!!!!"
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AJ: What a way to end it, eh?
Bil: You know, the way you ended this chapter tells me that you would have Judai finding a way to stop this attack…
AJ: Ah, well, yes, you see…
Bil: But you wouldn't be stupid enough to disregard my request to have Kaiser win, would you?
AJ: Ahh…well…
Bil: Cause you do know how I hate to be disregarded as such…
AJ: …-gulps-…Well…just be sure to come for the next chapter, Chapter 26: