Later that night, Anthony was on his bed, trying to organize his cards, while Kan'u, already having built her deck, was simply lying awake in her bed, staring at the ceiling.
"Okay, so my opponent uses Zombie-types. Seeing that he uses Despair from the Dark, I should probably leave out my Card Destruction, unless I want him to Special Summon a level eight monster. Hm, he's probably going to rely on having strong monsters, so I should use defensive cards like Battle Footballer and Nightmare's Steelcage, as well as cards that can turn his strength against him, like Blast Sphere and Reflect Bounder. Hey, Aisha, what do you think?"
"Hm? Oh, sorry, Lord Anthony, I wasn't paying attention. I guess I'm a little worried about my own opponent. His deck is filled with spirits, which is the one thing that I hate more than anything. To face him so soon must be a curse of some sort!"
Anthony sighed. "Well, I guess I'm done." He then slipped his deck and his extra cards into his respective deck holders, and was about to go into his bed, when Kan'u piped up.
"Hold on. Since we're both so nervous about our opponents tomorrow, maybe we should comfort each other."
"What do you mean, Aisha? Like, cuddle?"
Kan'u patted her right hand on her bed. "Why don't we sleep in the same bed, at least for tonight? I promise, on my honor, that I won't try anything."
Anthony gave her a soft smile. "Anything for you." He then hopped into her bed, and the two simply cuddled for a bit before they fell asleep in each other's arms, sweet dreams repelling their paranoia.
~KD~
"Man, this is gonna be so cool, Rinrin! My Beast-Warriors against your Beasts! It's like a match made in heaven!"
"Rinrin knows, Sui! I'm so excited, I might just explode!"
While the couple in the adjacent room was feeling nervous about who they would be facing in the first true round of the tournament, Chohi and Bacho were actually pretty excited to duel each other. They both got along extremely well, having rather similar personalities. And while they didn't expect to take each other on so soon, they were still eager.
"Sui, don't you dare go easy on Rinrin, or you'll make me mad!" said Chohi, cheeks puffed up.
"No problem, Rinrin, I wasn't counting on it! I'll give it a hundred and ten percent!"
Chohi smiled, and the two of them went to bed, looking forward to the next day.
~KD~
"Alright, everybody! It's time to get the first official En Kingdom Tournament off to its official start with our first duel! In our first match, we've got the Soldier of Skulls, the Overlord of the Undead, General Dokuro of En!"
Upon Chinrin's announcement, Dokuro stepped onto the field, cracking his knuckles in anticipation. Anthony looked at him nervously, before he turned to the stands, where he saw his peerage, as well as Sonken and her peerage, who were smiling at him, giving him their support. He took a deep breath, and when he heard Chinrin begin her advertisement of his skills, he strode forward.
"And next up, it's the Monarch of Metal, the famous Messenger from Heaven, who took down Totaku and was nice enough to let Lord Ensho take this land where we stand today, it's the lord of the Kikai Kingdom, Anthony Calem!"
Anthony walked in, arms folded behind his head, as Dokuro chuckled.
"The Messenger from Heaven, hm? I'll just have to send you to hell!"
"Don't count on it!" Anthony replied, activating his Duel Disk.
"Are both opponents ready? Good! Now, to determine the turn order, both players will play a game of rock-paper-scissors, and the winner gets to decide whether they go first or second!"
Both duelists walked up to each other, shook their fists three times, and shot. Anthony smiled, his scissors beating Dokuro's paper, as both players returned to their original positions.
(Anthony: 4000 LP)(Dokuro: 4000 LP)
"I'll go first!" said Anthony, drawing his card. "I set one monster, then two more cards before I send things over to you!"
"Excellent!" cried Dokuro as he drew. "I summon my Gernia to the field!"
His new monster was quite the disturbing creature, and a few children in the audience actually began to cry. It was a rather warped zombie with white and purple flesh, as well as hideous features like clawed hands and feet, a tail, and a warped mouthless head with white horns, which on closer examination might have actually been teeth, and six violet eyes, four on its head, two on its chest (LV 4: ATK 1300).
"Oh my, what a creepy card! Just looking at it is giving me goosebumps!" commented Chinrin. "Who knows what kind of power it has?"
"Now, I'll equip my monster with Violet Crystal, making it even stronger!"
The jagged purple rock appeared behind the Zombie-type and began to glow, as the monster's eyes started glowing as well (ATK 1300-1600).
"Now attack, my monster!"
The decaying demon leapt towards the defending monster and swung its claw, only for the monster, Blast Sphere, to latch onto it (LV 4: DEF 1400).
"What's this!? It seems like Lord Anthony's monster has somehow grabbed hold of Gernia, and doesn't look like it's gonna let go!" commented Chinrin.
"Rinrin knows that monster! Big bro used it to beat the lady with the spinny hair!" said Chohi.
"You mean Lord Soso, Rinrin," said Kan'u, making Sonshoko gasp. He had beaten Soso in a duel!? But she was one of the best duelists that she knew, aside from Sonsaku and Shuyu! Just who was Anthony Calem?
"That's my Blast Sphere, which will detonate on your next Standby Phase and deal damage equal to your monster's attack points! So thanks for making it even stronger!"
"Well, not if I play my Ectoplasmer, it won't!" But as soon as Dokuro activated the Continuous Spell, Anthony activated his own card.
"No can do, because my Mystical Space Typhoon will destroy that card before you get a chance to activate its effect!"
As the blue whirlwind ripped the card into pixels, Dokuro activated another Continuous Spell.
"Well, now I play my Everliving Underworld Cannon, which will deal eight hundred points of damage once per turn when a Zombie-type monster is Special Summoned!"
A new card appeared, looking like a green pod made from various skulls, attached to the ground by chains and having a cannon barrel.
"Now I set one card and end my turn!"
Anthony drew his next card, and smiled. "Sweet! I summon my Bowganian to the field!" His eyelike robot entered the field, ready to go (LV 3: ATK 1300).
"And now I end my turn!"
"Amazing!" said Chinrin. "His monsters truly are one of a kind! And now, Dokuro's monster is about to meet its maker!"
Blast Sphere then exploded, taking poor Gernia and Violet Crystal with it (Dokuro: 4000-2400 LP).
"Ah, the pain, it feels amazing! So much so, that I want to share it! I summon my Fear from the Dark!"
Dokuro's new monster looked like a smaller version of his best monster, what with the shadowy body, the purple arms, and the simple yet frightening face (LV 4: ATK 1700). However, it wouldn't be out for much longer.
"I activate my Compulsory Evacuation Device, sending your monster back to the hand!"
Anthony's trap showed the monster Giga Gagagigo being ejected from the top of some high-tech building, as suddenly, Fear from the Dark went right back to its owner's hand.
"Hmph! Well, I activate my Book of Life, in order to bring back my Gernia and banish your Blast Sphere from your Graveyard! And since I'm Special Summoning a Zombie-type, you take damage!"
Sure enough, a card showing a green Egyptian spellbook appeared, as did the Zombie-type that had been destroyed that turn (LV 4: ATK 1300), as Anthony took his Blast Sphere out of his Graveyard and put it in the pocket on his satchel.
"What a turnaround! Anthony's monster may have taken Dokuro's with it," said Chinrin, yelling into the spoon, "but Gernia managed to crawl back out, while Blast Sphere was dragged further down!"
After she finished, Everliving Underworld Cannon suddenly began to glow white, as the barrel shot a white ethereal projectile shaped like a skull, which phased through Anthony as it hit him (Anthony: 4000-3200 LP).
"AHHH! GHOST!" screamed Kan'u, jumping back in her seat.
"Wait," said Sonshoko, "that scared you, but not that horrifying monster?"
"Ghosts and zombies are not the same thing! Zombies can't possess you, or turn invisible, and they can be touched!" replied Kan'u, defending her biggest fear.
"And now, I end my turn."
"Sweet! I draw! And on my Standby Phase, Bowganian deals six hundred points of damage! Go, Crossbow of Calamity!"
The Machine-type aimed its crossbow and let loose a metal bolt that struck Dokuro, who grinned as the holographic arrow hit its mark (Dokuro: 2400-1800 LP).
"Come on, Anthony, you've got him! Keep it up!" cheered Totaku, partially because she was simply a nice and supportive person, and partially because his opponent was the one who had beaten her so mercilessly.
"Not a problem!" said Anthony, hearing his maid's request. "I summon my Overdrive to the field!"
The green army vehicle drove onto the field before it screeched to a halt right next to Bowganian (LV 4: ATK 1600).
"And now, I'll have it attack your Gernia! Blast it, Overdrive!"
The monster fired up its Gatling gun and unleashed a rain of bullets that shattered Gernia into pixels (Dokuro: 1800-1500 LP).
"Now I'll attack directly with my Bowganian!"
But just as the DARK monster had Dokuro in its sight once again, the Zombie duelist played his face-down card.
"I activate my Call of the Haunted, in order to bring back my Gernia!"
Once again, the Zombie-type returned to the field (LV 4: ATK 1300), and the Underworld Cannon fired another skull blast at Anthony (Anthony: 3200-2400 LP).
"Bowganian, stop your attack!" This order made Bacho raise an eyebrow, as the Machine-type ceased its attack.
"Why didn't he attack? He could have taken down that thing!"
"And his Bowganian, which means he couldn't deal damage during his Standby Phases anymore," explained Shokatsuryo.
"Pretty smart…" said Kannei, with Ryofu nodding.
"But he needs to keep it on the field for another turn for that to happen," said Choun, as Anthony ended his turn, and Dokuro drew his next card.
"I think you'll find my next monster to be pretty familiar! Come on out, Fear from the Dark!"
Sure enough, the shadowy Zombie-type appeared on the field, letting out an evil laugh (LV 4: ATK 1700).
"Now, my Fear will attack your Overdrive with Shadow Claw, and my Gernia will take out Bowganian!"
His Fear from the Dark plunged its hand into the ground, as a shadowy claw glided across the field and under Overdrive, where it came out, tearing through the monster from under it and shattering it (Anthony: 2400-2300 LP). Then, Gernia went up to Bowganian and grabbed it from either side, attempting to crush it. Bowganian managed to shakily lift its bowgun and fire a single shot in the gut of the Zombie-type, and both monsters were destroyed.
"What a play, folks! While he lost one of his own monsters in the process, General Dokuro just completely cleared his opponent's field!"
Dokuro smirked as he ended his turn while Chinrin provided the recap, and Anthony drew his next card.
'This should keep me in the game a little longer.' "I set one monster and one other card, and that's it for me."
"Uh oh, it looks like Lord Anthony's having some trouble," said Rikuson.
"Don't worry, he can handle it," said Choun.
"For his sake," said Sonken as Dokuro drew his next card, "I hope you're right about that."
"Alright, I summon my Zombie Master!"
His newest monster looked like a pale man with a ghastly grin wearing a baggy beige shirt, faded red pants, and a black tattered cloak (LV 4: ATK 1800).
"And now, I play its effect! Once per turn, I can discard a monster to Special Summon a level four or lower Zombie-type monster from either Graveyard! So I discard my Goblin Zombie to bring back my Gernia with Forbidden Necromancy!"
The Zombie Master let out a wicked laugh as it fired a purple blast of magic at the ground, and out popped a hand, as well as the head of Gernia, who slowly crawled out of its resting place (LV 4: ATK 1300). As soon as it returned, Everliving Underworld Cannon fired a spectral blast at Anthony (Anthony: 2300-1500 LP).
"Wow," said Chinrin, "you cannot keep that monster down, can you? This card has been summoned four times now!"
"Zombie Master, destroy his monster!"
The wicked bokor soon fired a purple bolt of lightning between its hands, and a skull formed inside of it. The monster then fired the skull at Anthony's monster, which turned out to be Giga-Tech Wolf (LV 4: DEF 1400). But as soon as the Machine-type left the field, Anthony activated his face-down.
"I activate Time Machine, which will revive my monster exactly how it was on the field!"
The time machine emerged, and with a blast of steam, the doors opened, and the Machine-type pounced out before crouching down (LV 4: DEF 1400).
"Grr...attack, my monsters!"
Fear from the Dark slashed the mechanical wolf into pixels with an umbral claw, and a swipe from Gernia brought Anthony's life points dangerously low (Anthony: 1500-200 LP).
"Now, I end my turn."
Anthony slowly drew his next card, and after getting a good look at it, he brought down his sunglasses, and placed it onto his Duel Disk.
"I summon my Reflect Bounder!"
The mirror-coated machine appeared on the field, hands outstretched (LV 4: ATK 1700).
"Hawawa, that card might be able to win Anthony the duel," said Shokatsuryo.
"Now attack that Gernia with Mysterious Mirror Ray!"
His monster blasted the Zombie-type into oblivion with a beam of light (Dokuro: 1500-1100 LP).
"And that ends my turn!"
"Now I draw!" Dokuro looked at the card he had drawn, Tutan Mask, before he pointed at Reflect Bounder.
"Zombie Master, take care of that eyesore!"
This caused Anthony to laugh.
"Hm? What's so funny?"
"I just won! By attacking my Reflect Bounder, you now take damage equal to your monster's attack points!"
Dokuro began to panic as the mirror on the Machine-type's chest began to glow, and it suddenly fired a blinding ray of light.
"It's time to face the future!" Anthony shouted as the laser struck Dokuro, who was knocked backwards (Dokuro: 1100-0 LP)(Winner: Anthony).
"And that's a wrap, everybody! Anthony Calem will be moving on to the quarterfinals tomorrow!" said Chinrin over the cheering crowd. Anthony lifted his sunglasses as he went over to Dokuro.
'Heavenly…' thought the masochist as Anthony stretched out his hand.
"That was a great duel," said the Messenger from Heaven.
"Yeah, it was," said Dokuro, who got up on his own, ignoring his opponent's attempt to help, and walked away.
~KD~
After about half an hour had passed, it was time for the next match, as Anthony took his seat in the bleachers next to Kan'u, while Chohi and Bacho were in the arena, waiting for Chinrin to announce their names.
"Alright folks, after the last exciting match, here's a duel that will surely get your blood pumping! First up, although she's small, she's got the ferocity of a tiger and the strength of a bear! Her Beasts will leave you breathless! It's General Chohi Yokutoku from Kikai!"
Chohi walked into the arena with her signature smile, waving to and greeting the cheering fans.
"Hi, hi!"
"And her opponent, the oldest of three born to the lord of Ryoshu, she's a fierce fighter who wants to make it to the top, and her mighty Beast-Warriors will help her get there!"
"Huh," said Anthony from the sidelines, "I didn't know Sui had siblings. I'll have to ask her about it later."
"Please welcome, General Bacho Moki from Kikai!"
Bacho entered the arena, smiling as she did. She then walked up to Chohi with her right arm extended.
"May the best duelist win."
"Okay, Sui!"
They then shook each other's hand, then played a quick game of rock-paper-scissors to decide the order, which Chohi won, her rock beating Bacho's scissors.
"Hmm…Rinrin will go second!"
(Bacho: 4000 LP)(Chohi: 4000 LP)
"You'll regret that!" declared Bacho, drawing her next card. "I summon my Tiger Axe!"
The anthropomorphic tiger appeared with a roar (LV 4: ATK 1300).
"And now, I set one card and end my turn!"
"Okay! Rinrin draws! And I summon Inaba White Rabbit!"
The fountain and the white rabbit spirit appeared on the field (LV 2: ATK 700), as Kan'u, in the crowd, suddenly grabbed Anthony's hand for comfort.
"Ooh, Chohi has just summoned a Spirit Monster, folks!" said Chinrin. "These unique monsters are sent back to the hand on the turn that they're summoned, but make up for it with amazing effects!"
"Rinrin now plays her Wild Nature's Release, boosting her bunny by its defense points!"
The Spirit Monster began to glow red, as it gained an extra bit of power (ATK 700-1200). Anthony winced as his girlfriend tightened her grip, knowing full well that she was significantly stronger than he was.
"And my bunny can attack directly too! Go, attack!"
As the bunny hopped towards Bacho, she activated her face-down.
"I activate my Trap Card, Skill Drain! Now I can pay a thousand life points to negate the effects of all monsters on the field! So now, you can't attack directly!"
Her card flipped up, and suddenly, Inaba White Rabbit became solid (Bacho: 4000-3000 LP). Anthony cradled his hand as Kan'u released her iron grip. She then turned to him as he exhaled in pain.
"Oh my god, are you okay? I didn't know that I would hurt you, I'm so sorry!"
Anthony smiled. "Don't worry, babe. Let's just watch Rinrin and Sui for now, I'll be fine."
"Ah, Skill Drain! This card will certainly make things interesting! Now all monsters on both sides can't use their effects on the field! This might make things harder for Chohi, but since it's in her deck, Bacho must have a workaround!"
"Rinrin ends her turn by setting a card." And as she did, the effect of Wild Nature's Release destroyed Inaba White Rabbit.
"Okay, I draw! And I summon my Panther Warrior!"
The anthropomorphic panther landed on the field, letting out a roar and brandishing its sword (LV 4: ATK 2000).
"And while normally I would need to tribute a monster to have it attack, thanks to Skill Drain, I don't need to! Attack directly with Panther Slash!"
As the monster swung its cutlass at Chohi, she played her face-down.
"I activate my Scapegoat, summoning four fluffy Sheep Tokens to the field in defense mode!"
The four tiny sheep floated onto the field, protecting their owner (LV 1: DEF 0). Panther Warrior swiftly cut down the orange token, and Bacho had her Tiger Axe cut down the pink one.
"Well, you managed to save yourself for now, Rinrin. I end my turn."
"Okay! Rinrin draws, then plays Polymerization to Fusion Summon Chimera!"
Her Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts and Berfomet briefly appeared before getting sucked into a vortex, and Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast popped out (LV 6: ATK 2100).
"Now Rinrin attacks Panther Warrior! Go, Pulverizing Pounce!"
The winged Fusion Monster pounced the Beast-Warrior, knocking it to the ground and shattering it (Bacho: 3000-2900 LP).
"Now Rinrin plays De-Fusion, to send Chimera back and Special Summon her other monsters!"
Her monster then disappeared, and her other monsters joined her Sheep Tokens (LV 5: ATK 1400)(LV 4: ATK 1500).
"Now attack!"
Her Gazelle roared and ripped right through Tiger Axe, shattering it into pixels (Bacho: 2900-2700 LP). Then her Berfomet swiped at Bacho, dealing massive damage to her (Bacho: 2700-1300 LP).
"That ends Rinrin's turn!"
"Okay! I draw! And I play my Sogen!"
Bacho opened her Field Spell Zone, and slipped a card into it. As this happened, the field suddenly became a massive grassland, with everything up to Chinrin's booth becoming covered in grass.
"Whoa! With that Field Spell, the whole arena has changed!"
"She's telling us," said Sonken.
"Now all of my Beast-Warriors gain two hundred attack and defense points! And next, I summon my Beast King Barbaros!"
Her mighty ace monster appeared with a mighty roar (LV 8: ATK 3000-3200).
"And the best part? It doesn't lose any power, because of my Skill Drain!"
Anthony let out a low whistle from the bleachers. "Man, is she using that card effectively or what?" Ryofu nodded, clearly impressed herself.
"Alright, Beast King Barbaros! Attack her Berfomet with your Crag Spear!"
The monster roared and plunged its lance into the ground, releasing various sediments. It then pulled out its weapon and raised it, as the sediments swarmed to the lance and soon, it was coated in rock. The monster then charged at Berfomet, the stone-covered lance impaling and destroying the multi-armed Fiend-type (Chohi: 4000-2200 LP).
Anthony's jaw hung open. "Holy shit! That was awesome!"
Bacho saw his reaction, and attempted to hide her slight blush. 'Thanks, Anthony.' "I end my turn!"
Chohi drew, then turned her Gazelle so that the card was horizontal, as her monster crouched down (DEF 1200).
"Rinrin ends her turn."
"Alright! I draw! And I summon my Battle Ox!"
The minotaur let out a loud bellow as it joined Beast King Barbaros (LV 4: ATK 1700-1900).
"Now take out those tokens with Crag Spear and Axe Slam Attack!"
With both of their respective attacks, the Beast-Warriors made short work of the Sheep Tokens.
"And now, I end my turn!"
Chohi drew, and when she saw what she got, her smile grew as wide as it possibly could.
"It looks like she's drawn something good," said Choun, noticing her reaction.
"Rinrin tributes Gazelle to summon Behemoth!"
Her monster was soon replaced by something much bigger and much more ferocious. It was a massive pink beast with a huge mane of purple hair down its back, with sharp teeth and claws, spiked elbows, and curved horns. This was her strongest card, Behemoth the King of All Animals (LV 7: ATK 2700).
"And just like your monster, Rinrin can summon him for one less tribute with less power, but Skill Drain keeps him strong!"
Bacho wasn't really paying attention to that, however. "Holy crap, that thing is huge!"
Similarly, Anthony was shocked by the massive Behemoth. "When did she get that card!?"
"Rinrin's always had it," said Kan'u.
"Seriously!?"
"Rinrin equips her monster with Beast Fangs!"
The Beast-type had its fangs grow and turn golden (ATK 2700-3000).
"Whoa, for someone so sweet, she's really pulling out all the stops!" announced Chinrin.
"Now attack!"
Her monster obeyed, running up to Battle Ox and grabbing it in its teeth, before shaking it like a rag doll and shattering it between its jaws (Bacho: 1300-200 LP).
"Rinrin's done!"
Bacho looked at her deck. If she wanted to win this round, she needed a monster with at least 1800 attack points. She slowly lifted the top card from her deck and looked at it.
"Oh yeah. This'll do. It was a good effort, Rinrin, but it's all over now! I summon my Exarion Universe!"
Soon, her Barbaros was joined by a powerful centaur. Its horse body had brown fur, while the human half had green skin, and its torso, the back of the horse body, and its head were all adorned in metallic blue armor and a helmet with a long purple plume that resembled a horse's mane. Its left hand held a shield with a sharp tip at the bottom, and in its right was a spear with a red tip (LV 4: ATK 1800-2000).
"Oh my!" cried Chinrin. "With that monster, it looks like Bacho's gonna take this match by storm!"
"Beast King Barbaros, destroy that Behemoth! Exarion Universe, attack directly!"
Her huge Beast-Warrior summoned a stone covering for its lance and charged the Beast with a powerful charge, with the Behemoth attempting to match its power, but in the end, it proved fruitless as the mighty creature of myth was destroyed (Chohi: 2200-2000 LP). Chohi soon found herself face-to-face with the smaller monster, which slashed at her with its spear (Chohi: 2000-0 LP)(Winner: Bacho).
"And that's it!" said Chinrin as the holograms faded away. "Bacho Moki will be advancing to the quarterfinals!"
Bacho walked up to Chohi with a smile on her face.
"Sorry that you got beaten so soon, Rinrin."
Chohi simply beamed, not disappointed that she lost. "But Rinrin came really close! And at least I lost to a friend!"
"I like you, Rinrin. Not a whole lot gets you down."
"Nope!"
"I'm a little disappointed that Rinrin was beaten so soon, but even so, she put up a great fight," Kan'u said from the sidelines.
"She sure did!" said Anthony, before he turned to the Son sisters. "And the next duel's gonna be even better!"
Not a whole lot of author's notes, just some shameless self-advertisement. Recently, I've uploaded a new omake, so feel free to check it out if you want to see Elemental HEROes and Destiny HEROes duke it out! Or, you know, watch Yu-Gi-Oh GX. Starpion out!
Edit 10/1/2018: fixed error of Beast King Barbaros's effect.