Testament 028: Trespassers Like Us

The effects of Mirror Gate ended and Stratos returned to Nero's field. "This will be a long chain, and a lot of spells... sadly. Here goes!" First he activated Emergency Call. "With this spell I can add an Elemental Hero to my hand." He took E-hero Captain Silver. "With this card I can add Skyscraper 2 to my hand." He discarded the Captain for the field spell, which he played. "With this card I can revive a Hero that died in battle!" He used it on E-hero Wildheart(1500/1600). "Fusion!" He could at last combine him with Bladedge through Polymerization. "I fusion summon Wildedge(2600/2000)" Edgar now realized his angle, Wildedge had the ability to attack all monsters at once. "I am not done yet!" He finally activated the spell H-Heated Heart. "This will give all my Heroes 500 attackpoints (Wildedge: 3100/2000, Stratos: 2300) and piercing power as well." In the mean time, the Chronicle scroll gained 4 counters for all 4 spells used this turn. "Now, this will hurt you." He was about to strike, but Edgar raised his hand, which confused the duelist. "Are you sure?"

E-hero Vice Captain Silver 4/2100/800 Light/Warrior
You can discard this card to the graveyard to add 1 Skyscraper 2 from your deck to your this card is on the field but Skyscraper 2 is not on the field, destroy this card.

"Did not want to say this, but...maybe you should reconsider your intentions, Nero." He smiled. "What are you getting at?" He did not like where this was heading. "Nothing, nothing. But a certain someone may feel bitter about losing the duel, and leak out that someone else is here on illegal grounds. Because that certain someone knows for 100 , that 'he' did not pass the first trial." Jacobus was shocked. "You know? And would blackmail me like that? Just to win?" And Diamonds expression already answered that question. "Just think about it. Would you want to leave this stage, universally loathed, or would you simply surrender while maintaining your benevolent appearance?" Either way it would mean his defeat, and Edgars victory, since the only evidence against him was taken away. "Edgar, your proposal sounds proper.." Nero closed his eyes. "But, you aren't innocent yourself, how many trials did you even pass, thats what I wonder. No, I think if anyone has to beat you, it should be me!" Undeterred, he entered the battle phase, Wildedge killed the Centaur Equeste and the Witch Doctor of Sparta with piercing attacks, inflicting 3200 damage. Next Stratos landed a direct hit on the Gladiator duelist.

Edgars LP: 2200

"Hey, Nero might win this after all." Carter smiled, as he watched that big drop in lifepoints. "Perhaps. But he spent all his cards to get this far." Ned was less optimistic. If Tum'aga had made this man their champion.. "Edgar still has the advantage... in numbers." He pointed at the Spell Chronicle. "We will settle this duel like actual duelists, Edgar." Nero then said as he finished his turn. "If thats your logic." The enemy shrugged. "In any case, you activated four spells last turn, thats four chronicle counters." Two slots on the scroll had lightened up. "That means you must pick two cards from the selected five." He showed the removed cards again: Lightning Vortex, Heavy Storm, Defensive Tactics, Colloseum and Gladiator Beasts Battle Manica. Jacobus had to choose which would be unremoved.

"I have to pick something that wont slow me down, at best he will have one monster as a defense, since he emptied his hand last turn.." Certainly, he could not pick Heavy Storm or Lightning Vortex. "I choose your field spell and that one trap card." Diamond accepted and added them to his hand. "Then, I set a monster card and I activate field card: Cage Colosseum." He changed the futuristic city, Skyscraper 2 into an ancient Roman Era ring. "Did not think about that did you?" He placed the trap face down. Nero drew again. "Heh, but now we are even. All the cards I will use from now on are the ones I draw, you can not predict my moves anymore."

He used his turn to summon E-hero Sparkman (1600/1400) "And dont think that I will ease up." He sent Wildedge to attack, and electrocuted the facedown monster card, Test Ape (700/300). When it died, it would be replaced with a gladiator. "Summon Gladiator Beast Laquari" He called the flaming tiger, who was powered up by the dungeons one counter (1900/500). "Wildedge attacks again of course." But this time, Edgar could use his trap. "Defensive Tactics!" The one he drew from the Continuous Spell. A circle of shields surrounded the Gladiator, negating the E-hero's attack. "During this turn, you can not damage the Gladiators." One shield broke down but it regenerated instantly. "No matter how many times you attack, it will not go through." He nearly had him too, he could have tasted it. He ended his battle phase and switched his remaining heroes to defense mode. "Assuming your turn is at an end, since you have no cards in your hand right now.

"Summon Gladial Beast Dimacari (1700/1300)" The Bull was also strengthened by the Cage field counters. "Double attack." Dimacari slayed the electric elemental, while Laquari obliterated Stratos with his flaming missiles. "Then during the end of the battle phase, Dimacari retreats to the deck. Instead Murmillo comes from the stands, to eliminate your last monster card, Wildedge." The aquatic gladiator (1000/600) could kill anything on the field, when it was special summoned from the deck by another gladiator. The fusion hero drowned in a wild torrent. At the same time a counter was placed on the Colloseum once more. For some reason though, Laquari (2000/600) stayed behind, despite the fact that his retreat would create another colloseum-counter.

"Blackmailing you may have been a waste of an offer apparently." His turn ended. "I do not suppose the same offer can be given to you?" Nero sighed and drew. "You've got humor. Too bad that this is not a comedians stage." He chuckled. "Laugh away, lets see how long it lasts. Spell card, Hope of Fifth!" He could send five E-heroes from his grave to the deck, to draw two new cards. "I send back Wildheart, Stratos, Bladedge, Wildedge and Silver." He drew, but both cards werent monster cards. "Oh and because I had nothing on my field or in my hand, when I played this spell, I can draw once more." But the third card was not a monster either. "Gah, not even a special summon card, I have no choice." He would have to play two more spell cards, even if it did add more counters to the scroll. "I play Future Fusion, and send four E-heroes in my deck to the grave. Two turns after this, I can finish the fusion summon. Until that time, I will use the continuous Spell, Damage-Off Zone to half all damage you give me. And a trap card just in case." In total, three counters were added to Magic Chronicle.

"Well then, lets play the game again." He removed two scrollcounters and showed the three remaining cards. "I pick Lightning Vortex. It can kill monsters but only with a discard." And right now he had no monsters anyway. "Very well." he added it to his hand. "Normal summon the Beast Andal (2300/1900) )" He called out the armored bear. "Since you love fusion so much, its only natural to receive some from your opponent as well, eh?" Jacobus gasped, he remembered now that Gladiators could fuse automatically. "The three combine into Gladiator Heraklinos, the armed animal king!" Heraklinos (3200/3000) stomped out from the arena stands, unto the sandy floors. "Damn. I could use my trap on him, but that card can negate spells and traps if he discards a card. It wont be of use." It roared and did not even hesitate to attack his enemy directly. "Gah!" The crowd gasped, as he received the blow from the beasts axe. "Is he gone?" Venice gulped. "No, his spell should save him." Carter replied. And he was of course correct, Damage-Off Zone cut 3200 damage points down to just 1600 points. "But you wont survive another one of those, Nero. Not as you are now.." He drew another card. "I guess not.. but.."

Nero's LP: 1400

"I will not wait for another attack. I activate Miracle Fusion!" He had five Elemental heroes in his cemetery, so he had a lot of fusion options. Unfortunately. "Heraklinos can negate a spell, if a card is discarded!" He tossed Lightning Vortex into the grave, to block the miracle spell. "Tsk. It was better then doing nothing." Though he still had no monster card. "Damn it, I end my turn." At least he could still tribute Damage-Off Zone to block all monster damage next turn, and that was something his foe also counted on. "Hmm, beginning to wonder if your performance right now, indicates fear." He smirked. "Either that, or you have pinned all your hope elsewhere. Like Future Fusion for instance.. It would be a shame to see it destroyed before it can be used properly. Luckily for you, this duelist has no more Bestiari's in his deck and no Halberds in his hand." But his expression changed all to quickly when he played a spell.

"Too bad for you, this duelist has ways of getting them back! Spell card: Gladiators Return." He sent Leonidas, a spell-killing Bestiari and Murmillo back to his deck, and drew a new card. "How Ironic.. I normal summon, Gladiator Beast Murmillo (1000/600). It might not be much, but it only needs to attack once, to allow the arrival of Bestiari." And even if Nero's spell could stop their damage, they could still exchange places with another. "Double direct attack!" The fish and the tiger charged forward. "I have to prevent this now, before they even attack. Counter trap card, Compensation for Heroics!" Suddenly the two beastwarriors ceased their charge. "This card stops the battle phase, as soon as an enemy declares an attack. And as you said, negated attackers can not retreat." He explained. Plus he would not take any damage. "You are persistant for a doomed duelist. Well go ahead, use your future fusion, it wont help."

Compensation for Heroics, Counter Trap
You can only activate this card when your opponent declares an attack. End your opponents battle phase. Afterwards your opponent draws one card from his/her deck, for every monster card on your side of the field.

"I will!" Two turns had passed, Future Fusion finally opened up. "I sent four E-heroes to the graveyard: earth(clayman), fire(burstinatrix), wind(avian) and water(bubbleman). To special summon E-hero Electrum(2900/2600)!" A golden warrior appeared, and its first task was to send all removed cards back to the decks. "Oh, the Chronicle!" That included the two remaining cards inside the scroll, making Edgars spell useless. "There is more, Electrum has all five elements at once, the material and its own Light-attribute. Now thanks to its third effect, it gains attackpoints if those same elements are on the opponents field. Murmillo was water, Heraklinos was Earth, both empowered the Golden Hero (3500/2600). "Finally, the spell card I just drew, Oversoul. I can revive a normal monster/E-hero in my graveyard." He ressurected Sparkman(1600/1400) "This time I get to do the attacking, Edgar Diamond! And I wont fear words, not yours!" Electrum channeled energy from every element into his fist, and used all that gathered energy to punch right through the fused Gladiator. And Sparkman fired a fats lighthing bolt to smite Murmillo, who was still in attack mode. Edgar reeled a bit from the strikes. But he was still in the game

Edgars LP: 1300

"Tsch, forget the offer. Even if you lose, your true nature will still be revealed, no more kindness.". Strangely he took out his MP player headphones at this point. "And now you can stop accusing others of cheating." He drew and placed the card he drew facedown. It was a monster, his last defense possibly. "Draw!" He obtained a spell card, which he placed facedown. "I do not have much to do, except this.." He immediately entered the battle-phase, deciding to attack with Electrum (2900/2600) first, since Diamond tended to have high-defensive monsters facedown and Sparkmans attack could finish his LP anyway. But he did not count on.. "Test Ape(600/300) is destroyed."... that. "No, he has two of them. I should have known." When the simian died, it was replaced by the exact same gladiator that he did not want to face, Hoplomus (1000/2700), whose defense was boosted further by the three counters of the Gladiators Cage. "Damn it, I end my turn." Sparkman was useless in this case.

"Heh, you came close Nero. Not quite enough mind you, but bravo." He taunted him, as he switched the rhinoceros from defense to offense. "But if you wield the power of fusion twice, so can the gladiators." Nero flinched, there was more then one fusion gladiator. "I flip face-up my spell card: Battle Manica." The rhinoceros gained the shoulder weapon, so it could not be slain in battle. "It attacks Sparkman." The earthen beast slammed into the hero with his shoulder, and while sparkman pushed it back, it resisted its own defeat with Manica. But Edgar still took 600 damage to his lifepoints. "Now that it has been in battle, it can be recalled and special summon Spartacus (2600/2000)." Only Hoplomus could special summon the Dinosaur Gladiator. It added another counter to the colloseum. Manica returned to his hand at the same time. "Spartacus allows the player to add a second combat weapon to his hand." Edgar took a Halberd from his deck. "Next, normal summon Secutor (800/700) and let the combining commence!"

Edgars LP: 700

His cannoneer lizard and the Sparta dinosaur merged into one armored warrior, the piercing dino-master Gaiodiaz, boosted by the Colloseum. (3000/1900) "Too bad for you, it is of the dark type: the one attribute that Electrum lacks. So it cant boost his powers with it." Electrum (2900/2600) was now weaker then Gaiodiaz. "Defense will not help you at this point, Nero. Gaiodiaz has a special kind of piercing power. When it kills another monster, you will lose lifepoints depending on how strong its defense is. And your life is already too low for Damage-Off Zone to be of any help." He kept both equipment cards in his hand and ended his turn. Nero was about to draw, feeling the pressure rise around him. "Ugh, I will lose right now if I do not get a good card" He drew quickly, and felt a pulse run through his arm. It felt good, as if he had drawn a lifesaver. But when he looked at the card, he saw that it was a spell that he could not use right now. "Whats the matter, Hero? Are you finally through?" After all this, he still could not beat Edgar.

(To be continued in Testament 029: Nero, not Hero)

New Cards used by Nero Jacobus
Elemental Hero ViceCaptain Silver
Elemental Hero Wildedge
Elemental Hero Electrum

-
E-Emergency Call
Fifth Hope
Future Fusion
O-Oversoul

-
Compensation for Heroics