Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh!-Kazuki Takahashi/Konami
It was once again the start of another week in Duel Academy, meaning it was time for Jason to deliver more mail across campus. So far no monkeys or drama as he dropped the mail from Slifer to Ra to obelisk without incident. Eventually the small bit of mail he brought with him was aimed for the principal's office. But when he caught sight of its door across the hall, someone else was already there.
"Anything wrong?"
Jason's curious question caused both Rock and Noire to jump from the door they were leaning against.
"Jason!" Noire squeaked, "W-what are you doing here?"
"I…need to deliver Principal Sheppard his mail," Jason replied, darting his eyes between the mail and the two fellow students, "But what are you two doing…" he flinched a bit when Rock gave him a harsh shushing, then lowering his voice, "if you don't mind me asking?"
"You gotta hear this," Rock gestured over to the door they were leaning against. Curious himself, Jason decided to play along and press his ear against the door with the others.
"Sacred what?" he heard Jaden asked.
"Beasts," the principal said, "And because of their immense power, their incredible might, they were hidden here."
"Sweet. Like under someone's mattress? Or in a cookie jar?"
"Hey, let 'im finish!" Chazz hissed.
"They're not in a 'cookie jar'," Sheppard said, "They're actually much closer than you think, right below you. You see, this Academy was built in part to protect the Sacred Beast cards. They were buried deep underground, their power sealed away. After all, legend says if these cards ever see the light of day, terrible things will happen. Buildings will crumble, light will fade, souls will fall, our world will be no more."
Both Noire and Rock gasped at Sheppard's warning, "T-the end of the world…?"
"This is major stuff…" Rock breathed.
"So where are these cards? I say we take them out for a spin!"
"Haven't you been listening?!" Crowler yelled at Jaden, "He just said they can't see the light of day!"
"This is why I've gathered you here today," Sheppard said, "You seven are to protect the Sacred Beast cards from the wicked ones."
"Wicked ones?" Zane asked.
"That's right. Seven duelists known as Shadow Riders who covet these cards. I'm afraid one of them are already here. They arrived in the thick of last night's storm."
"Naturally," Bastion said, "The villains' most-used cliché."
"Okay… So how do we protect these cards?" Alexis asked.
"By protecting the seven Spirit Gates. To get to the card's, one must unlock them. And to unlock them, one must gain the seven keys that are needed for each gate. That is how we will protect these cards: by protecting the keys…"
"Powerful cards… Gates... Keys..." Rock muttered, "What kind of craziness are they getting into?"
"Wait, if we hold the keys, won't that make us targets for these Shadow Riders?" Bastion asked.
"It's true. With these cards, the Shadow Riders will seek you out."
"Seek us out?" Chazz asked, "You mean take us out!"
"Only in a duel. Fortunately for our side, the keys can't simply be stolen. An ancient edict commands that the keys to be won in a duel. So, I've called upon our school's seven best to take up this challenge and fight the good fight! …Well, six best, but I need seven so…you know."
"He certainly doesn't mean me!" Crowler said.
"Of course, if any of you think that you aren't up to it, and feel like backing out, I won't blame you. After all, these Shadow Riders play for keeps, so…who feels like saving the world?"
"You're hearing all this, right?" Rock whispered to the other two. Jason and Noire nodded.
"Count me in!" they heard Jaden accept the offer, "How about that, it's just my size!"
"I, too, accept," Zane said.
"It's be my honor," Bastion joined in.
Chazz scoffed as he also accepted the offer.
"I don't want you boys to have all the fun," Alexis joked.
"How can I refuse?" Crowler chirped, "After all, our very world's at stake! Our way of life, the future of our school… And if I say no, I wouldn't have this very posh piece of jewelry."
"Well, I'm glad you're doing it for all the right reasons…" Sheppard face-faulted.
"May I ask why you're prowling around like cat burglars?" Jason, Rock and Noire jumped and gasped towards the direction of the new voice, which belonged to Aspen, the Obelisk girl who was approaching them.
Still conscious on being caught by those on the other side of the door, Rock hurried to her before she could make it to the door, "Uh hey, you like gossip? I can make it worth you while if—"
"Uh-uh, no," Aspen cut him off, erecting a finger between them with a frown, "The only gossip I wanna here is why three students are snooping around outside the Chancellor's office."
"Look, before you go jumping to conclusions, we feel we should let you know that Jaden, Bastion, Alexis, Chazz, even Zane are in there," Rock said, trying to appeal Aspen to his side, "And they're not in any trouble either!"
"And that's supposed to be any of our business?" Aspen asked, "What's so important anyway—hey!" the Obelisk was cut off by Rock spinning her around and pushing her through the hall, away from the door.
"This isn't exactly the best time or the best place. We're just on our way back to class anyway," Rock then turned to the Slifer and Ra and said through a fake grin, "Aren't we, guys?" Jason and Noire, already getting the message, caught up with the two and hurried their way back to the classroom.
"So let me get this straight…" Aspen said. She and the others waited until after class to talk it out outside near the school's entrance where no one could see, "Right under our noses are three powerful cards that we're not even allowed to use…"
Rock nodded, "Yep."
"And there's seven supervillains out to steal those cards and take over the world…"
"Y-yes," Noire said.
"Huh. Sounds like something out of a comic book. Are you sure you heard right?"
"I heard it," Rock said, "Sheppard said those cards are strong enough to destroy the world! So are you in or out?"
Aspen blinked, "In or out of what?"
"The world needs protecting, right? I mean seven may not be enough. They'll need all the help they can get!"
"…Well, I do like a challenge," Aspen sported a small smile, "I'll tell what, give me one that doesn't involve foolhardy, life-risking crusades, and I'll think about it," she pushed off against the wall and strolled off.
After she was far enough Rock looked towards Jason and Noire, "Remind me, how did we become friends with her?"
"How, indeed," Aspen called out, not even looking back and kept walking.
"Wow, how big can a girl's ears get…?" Rock whispered.
"The better to hear your mindless babble with!" Aspen called from even further. The trio found it creepy that she heard that from that distance.
"Okay…I guess it's up to us, then."
"Wha… B-but I don't have to if I don't want to, right?" Noire whimpered.
"I think she has a point," Jason said, "The principal already chose who's going to protect those cards. Maybe we should leave it to them."
"Hey, we don't need someone's permission to save the world. We're just as capable too," Rock said, "Noire, you were trained by one of the best machine duelists out there, one of the Card Professors! You bring the new meaning of 'heavy metal' to every duel you were in!"
Noire blushed furiously, not used to this kind of flattery, "Oh! Um, that's…nice of you."
"And Jason, you have more experience with shadow games than everyone else in this school. You've beaten the decks of Marik, Bakura and even Kaiba! You always held your own on high stakes!"
Jason tried turning away his blush, "I guess you're right about that…"
"Better believe it! We'll be wherever they can't, and show those Shadow Riders you don't mess with Duel Academy!" Rock pumped a fist in the air, "So waddaya say? Comasee or comasi?"
"Coma…huh?" Jason blinked, just as confused as Noire.
"Are you in or out?!" The Slifer and Ra looked at each other before giving Rock a cautious nod, "That's what I like to here! …Now what do we do first?"
"Huh? I thought you have an idea," Noire said.
Rock shrugged, "Don't look at me, this is my first time with this sort of thing. I'm up for suggestions."
After a few silent moments of brainstorming, no one else but Jason could come up with a solution, "You're not gonna like it…" he sighed, "But there might be someone who's know about this…"
With that in mind, the trio made a trip to the slifer dorm where they hope to find who they're looking for. Opening the door to Jason's room they meet his enigmatic roommate Calypso, doing what they thought she'd do: tending to her pet turtle.
"I never thought you the type to bring guests home," Calypso jested, waving a leaf of lettuce over the turtle, "I always figured you didn't have any real friends."
"Calypso, we were wondering if, Uh…" Jason trailed off for Rock to intervene.
"What do you know about Shadow Riders?" Rock asked.
"And why do you think I'd know anything like that?" Calypso asked, not taking her eyes away from the turtle tugging at the lettuce.
Rock shrugged, "You know a lot about this dark magical stuff, don't you?"
"Someone has to appreciate the finer arts," Calypso propped herself on the table watching her turtle eat it's lettuce, "I guess I can give you some advice. If you want to find a band of thieves, catch them when their most active."
"Which means…?" Rock asked.
Calypso sighed, "Wait until nighttime. That's the best time your Shadow Riders can roam undetected."
"Alright, nighttime it is, then," Rock nodded, then turning to the other two, "And you know what that means, right?"
Nightfall came and a small tent was pitched out next to the Slifer dorm. Rock decided they would have a stakeout for whatever Shadow Rider would try to come around here. If he would try to attack Jaden while he's asleep, then Rock, Jason and Noire would catch him before that could happen, "Okay, I got a whole stash of soda and snacks for the whole night. It's gonna be a long one so there's absolutely no reason we won't need them."
"What's that?!" Noire had strayed her eyes away to spot a retreating shadow across the grasslands.
"Is that him?" Jason asked, anxious to decide whether or not to pursue them.
"I guess, but…" Rock trailed off when he realized Jason and Noire went on ahead to chase the stranger and catch up after whimpering, "And I had the whole night planned out…"
Shortly after leaving the Slifer dorm, the three kept trailing the intruder through the dark forest. Eventually the stranger stopped as they ran out of ground. The trio was finally able to corner him.
"Alright, Shadow Riders! This is where you reign of terror ends!" Rock declared, pointing at the stranger. In the dim night light, they could faintly make out a full reddish cloak that made up the stranger's body. Suddenly the ground started to light up in a large circle surrounding the Academy students as well as the stranger. Before the students could cry out a complaint they find themselves surrounded in an instant flash…
And somehow standing not on a grassy cliffside. The children looked around in alarm at their new surroundings.
"What just happened?!" Rock asked.
"I don't know…" Noire whimpered, "D-did we teleport or something?"
"You have been taken to our sacrificial grounds," the stranger announced. The children were still trying to figure out their situation they almost forgot about the red-hooded stranger standing before them, "It is here you will have the privilege to become tributes to my master."
"Say what?!" Rock exclaimed, sharing a similar shocked expression with Jason and Noire.
"Here is where your worth will be tested," the robed stranger threw an arm out from under its cloak to a giant mountain of rock, which turned out to be an active volcano based on the glowing red rim over its smoking mouth. It was the first, unavoidable thing Rock and the others noticed when they first arrived. And down at the bottom, where the stranger was pointing, was a pair of stone pedestals standing apart from each other. Between them were four posts, "One of you shall duel against me upon the alter," the stranger said, "Now whom among you accept this challenge?"
"Jason, you should go first!" Rock suggested, causing Jason to flinch, "You're better at this mystic stuff than either of us! That practically makes you the best out of either of us!"
"Wait a minute, I'm not sure—" unfortunately Jason had no chance to complain.
"Very well. The black-haired one will go first," the stranger decided, "Meet me at the alter and prepare for battle," he then made his way to the pedestals.
'How did I get caught up in this mess…?' Jason wondered as he followed.
Soon both Jason and the stranger were standing on opposite pedestals. On top of them the surface was in a grid-like fashion that looked designed to carry duel-monster cards. Jason subconsciously placed his deck at the bottom-right space as did the stranger with his, which the four posts in-between lit aflame as torches, "Now let the battle begin!"
Jason: 4000
Mage: 4000
"I will go first," the mage drew his first card, "I summon Darkfire Soldier #1(4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1050) in ATK position," a bare-chested swordsman with a fiery lower half appeared inside the perimeter of the posts (ATK: 1700).
"Look at that! Those things must work like a duel arena!" Rock said.
"But aren't those tables made of stone?" Noire wondered, "How could a monster be summoned like that?"
"The I place one card face-down and end my turn," a reverse-card appeared behind the Soldier.
"It's my turn," Jason drew the sixth card from his deck, "I set a monster face-down in DEF mode and another card face-down," two reverse-cards appeared, "I end my turn."
"It is my turn," the mage drew his next card, "I summon Darkfire Soldier #2(4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1100) in ATK mode," a Samurai warrior wearing blazing attire appeared (ATK: 1700), "and now I will attack with Darkfire Soldier #1!" the Soldier obeyed and destroyed the set monster with a swing of his curved Sword.
"The monster you destroyed was Phantom Magician!" Jason explained, "When this monster is destroyed, I can summon an Elemental Hero monster from my deck with 1000-or-less ATK points! And the monster I summon will be Elemental Hero Woodsman!" the wood-limbed Hero appeared (DEF: 2000).
"I now attack with Darkfire Soldier #2," the flaming Samurai drew his sword and poised to strike, "I also activate my face-down trap card Reinforcements to increase his ATK points by 500 for the rest of this turn (ATK: 2200). Now destroy his Woodsman!" the swordsman then charged towards Woodsman.
"I activate my face-down card The Reliable Guardian to increase my monster's DEF points by 700!" after Jason opened his set quick-play spell, Woodsman was able to deflect the blade with his wooded arm (DEF: 2700).
Jason: 4000
Mage: 3500
"Then I will end my turn at that," the mage concluded, and the increases to both monsters wore off.
"It's my turn," Jason drew his next card, "I switch Woodsman to ATK mode and activate Polymerization with Elemental Heroes Ice Edge and Voltic from my hand to summon Elemental Hero Absolute Zero! " the two monsters merged to form the ice-armored Hero (ATK: 2500), "Next, I release Absolute Zero to activate the magic card Gift of the Martyr to give Woodsman his ATK points!" Absolute Zero vanished and Woodsman Rose to his feet stronger than her was before (ATK: 3500), "Finally I activate Absolute Zero's effect: when the monster is removed from the field, every monster on the opponent's side of the field is destroyed!" both Darkfire Soldiers were encased in blocks of ice before shattering, "Elemental Hero Woodsman, attack his life-points directly!" Woodsman leaped over to the opponent's pedestal and landed a powerful place punch at the mage, knocking him into the air and landing him hard on his back.
Jason: 4000
Mage: 0
A small chuckle came from the fallen mage, "Yes, you have indeed proven yourself worthy of becoming a sacrifice to the master," and he vanished in mist.
That was when the ground shook and rumble.
Overhead the volcano spat out a plume of fire the landed right behind the empty pedestal. The flames diminished to reveal a giant man in regal red robes decorated in gold.
"T-there's another one?" Noire gasped.
"Who're you supposed to be?!" Rock demanded.
"I am the High Mage Kepura," the man introduced, "And if you don't mind, I would like to start this ceremony as soon as possible!"
The ground shook once again and the pedestals suddenly Rose with the two still standing on it. Soon there was a giant stone slab connecting the flat surface covered in char-black Rock gridded with glowing orange cracks, with a small river of magma cutting down the middle. The same grid-like pattern seen from the pedestal makes it look like a two-sided duel-monsters mat.
"And now let the ceremony begin!"
Jason: 4000
Kepura: 4000
Jason was ready to reshuffle his deck before a painful jolt shocked him when he got too close.
"Oh, you can't do that, boy," Kepura chuckled as he drew his starting hand, "You just have to start your next turn where you left off. Now then, I activate the magic card Cost Down. By sending one of my cards in my hand to the graveyard, I can decrease the level of every monster in my hand by two stars. That way, I can summon Flame Cerberus(6/ATK: 2100/DEF: 1800) to my field in ATK position!" a fiery-red, three-headed dog appeared, all three heads roaring (ATK: 2730/DEF: 2340).
"Its points increased! How's that happen?" Rock wondered.
"Now, my Cerberus, attack his monster!" the cerberus obeyed the mage's command and launched a fireball from each of its maws, burning Woodsman to cinders. Jason had to shield himself from the intense heat that passed through from the blaze.
"The heat…!" Jason groaned.
Jason: 2270
Kepura: 4000
'I knew it…' Jason lowered his guard and stared at the high mage as he grit his teeth, 'This is another Shadow game…!'
"I now place one card face-down and end my turn," Kepura concluded, "Let's see what you can do with no monsters and one card in your hand!"
"It's my turn!" Jason drew his next card, "I activate Fusion Recovery! This card allows me to add a monster and Polymerization card from my graveyard!" he added the two cards to his hand, "Next, I summon Elemental Hero Voltic to the field in DEF mode!" the violet-armored hero appeared. But when he landed on the field's surface, he let out a painful groan as smoke seeped from under him (ATK: 700/DEF: 550), 'My monster just got weaker?!' Jason cringed.
"Ohohoho!" Kepura bellowed, "That's another effect of my molten field. Every monster summoned that's not a FIRE monster loses 30% of its power."
"I activate the equipment magic card Heart of Clear Water onto Elemental Hero Voltic!" Voltic then became surrounded under a barrier of water, the burning rock sizzling against it, "I can equip in onto any monster with 1000-or-less ATK points. That monster can't be destroyed in battle. I end my turn."
"It's my turn," Kepura drew his next card, "Ooh! I get to summon this monster while there is another FIRE monster on my field: Goka, the Pyre of Malice!" a carved metal pot had appeared on the field, "And it gains a field-power-bonus thanks to my molten field (ATK: 2860)!"
'I think I faced that monster before…' Jason thought, 'How does it work again…?'
"When Goka is summoned, I have to destroy a FIRE monster on my side of the field. But before that, I activate the trap card Backfire!" Kepura's reverse-card opened, "And now I'll have Goka's flame consume my Flame Cerberus!" the pot suddenly burst out a stream of flame and, as if it were alive, coiled over around and devoured the beast over its crying roar. The flames then pulled back into the pot, "And now the effect of my Backfire trap activates: whenever a FIRE-type monster is destroyed, you take 500 points of direct damage!" the trap card fired a ball of fire that slammed into Jason's pedestal, so close towards him that he tried to shield off the searing heat.
Jason: 1770
Kepura: 4000
"And since I can't destroy your monster because of that magic card, I'll just end my turn with this card face-down," Kepura concluded with a reverse-card.
"It's my turn," Jason drew his next card, and looked at it, 'This card should help. It's not a fire-attribute monster, but it could help anyway,' "I summon Elemental Hero Knospe in ATK mode!" the flowerbud hero appeared. But as soon as she touched the field, she became engulfed in flames and let out a painful shriek before being burned away, "Wha…?"
"Ohohoho! I guess you didn't know that plant can't thrive in extreme heat!" Kepura laughed, "Any plant or aqua monster unfortunate to touch this field is instantly destroyed!"
"My turn!" Kepura drew his next card, "And during my standby-phase, Goka the Pyre of Malice can create a Fireball Token on my field!" a small fireball jumped from out of the pot and onto the field, "And now I'll sacrifice that Token to summon my Flame Champion(5/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1300)!" the fireball quickly grew into a raging inferno that burst out a female knight in silver armor wielding a large, flaming shield (ATK: 2470), "And I activate my trap card Call of the Haunted!" the continuous-trap card opened, "This card let's me bring back a monster from my graveyard in ATK position. And the card I choose to summon will be my Ryu-Ran(7/ATK: 2200/DEF: 2600)!" a giant spotted egg appeared. The egg hatched out its wings and feet, staring down at the field through the hole it's glowing yellow eyes could see through (ATK: 2860), "And I will end my turn there."
"It's my turn!" Jason drew his next card, "I place one card face-down and end my turn," a reverse-card appeared.
"My turn!" Kepura drew his next card, "And Goka creates another Fireball Token, which I'll then sacrifice to summon Firewing Pegasus(6/ATK: 2250/DEF: 1800)!" the small fireball grew into a large blue horse with flaming wings, hair and tail (ATK: 2925), "And next I activate the magic card Ookazi! This card inflicts 800 points of damage to your life-points!" the opposing pedestal suddenly became surrounded in a tornado of flames. Jason couldn't find any way to hide from the intense heat.
Jason: 970
Kepura: 4000
"I'll end my turn for now!" Kepura concluded.
"It's my turn!" Jason drew his next card, "I summon Elemental Hero Stratos in ATK mode!" the jetpack-wearing Hero appeared, holding far above the heated rock (ATK: 1800), "When this monster is summoned, I can add another Elemental Hero monster from my deck," Jason added another card to his hand, "Next I activate the magic card Polymerization and fuse Elemental Hero Stratos with Lady Heat from my hand to summon Elemental Hero Nova Master!" the two monsters merged into the fire-armored hero (ATK: 3380), "Nova Master, attack Goka the Pyre of Malice!" Nova Master charged forth in a shroud of fire end smashed the pot in a single punch.
Jason: 970
Kepura: 3420
" Since you destroyed a FIRE monster, my Backfire trap card inflicts another 500 points of damage to your life-points!" Kepura's trap card fired another fireball at Jason's pedestal.
Jason: 470
Kepura: 3420
"And when Nova Master destroys a monster, I can draw one card from my deck!" Jason drew another card, "I place one card face-down and end my turn," a reverse-card appeared.
"Now Jason has less than 500 points left!" Rock gasped, "One more burn like that and it's over!"
Noire could hear footsteps and found a group consisting Chazz, Bastion, Zane and Chakra coming this way.
Rock saw that too, "Guys! What brings you here?!"
"We should ask you the same thing," Bastion replied, looking over to the altar, "I also ask what's going on over there? It looks like some form of ritual…"
"It looks like a classic duel-field," Zane corrected, sharing the sight with Bastion. On the alter were two pedestals, one holding someone they don't know while the other was holding…
"…Jason?!" Chakra gasped, the shot a glare at Rock, "We need to know what's going one here, now."
"It's my turn!" Kepura drew his next card, "I'll have Firewing Pegasus attack your Nova Master!" the Pegasus neither as it flew towards Nova Master.
"I activate the trap card Windstorm of Etaqua!" Jason opened his reverse-card, which summoned a powerful gust that forced back the pegasus and well as force the other monsters to their knees, "This card forces every monster on the opponent's side of the field to change their battle-positions!"
"Oh well, I'll just end my turn for now," Kepura concluded.
"…So here we are," Rock finished his story.
"So you three were eavesdropping," Zane scowled.
"And you thought you can take the Shadow Riders by yourselves," Chazz scoffed, "And where did that getcha?"
"It's my turn," Jason drew his next card, "I activate the magic card Rain of Mercy! This card increases both players' life-points by 1000!" there was a sudden downpour after Jason plated the spell. The Slifer Red student had to lean over his deck to prevent them from being waterlogged until the rain stopped.
Jason: 1470
Kepura: 4420
"Now Nova Master attacks Firewing Pegasus!" Nova Master attacked and destroyed the pegasus, which triggered Backfire once again.
Jason: 970
Kepura: 4420
"And when Nova Master destroys a monster, I can draw another card!" Jason drew once more, "I place one card face-down and end my turn," a reverse-card appeared.
"This duel has got to stop," Chakra said to Rock, "Jason is clearly over his head on this."
"I'm inclined to agree with Chakra on this one," Bastion said.
"Ditto on that," Chazz added.
"C'mon, Chakra! You know as well as I do Jason has more experience with this sort of thing!" Rock protested, "He's been in tougher situations than this, anyway!"
"What is Rock talking about?" Bastion asked Chakra.
"It's… It's not important right now. Right now we to get Jason out of this mess!" Chakra pushed through the group and hurried closer to the altar where the stranger was, "This duel is over! I'll take his place if you let him go, now!"
Kepura looked down at the girl, grinning, "It's not lady-like to interrupt a dispute between men."
"He has nothing to offer you! But I have something you'll want!" Chakra raised her right arm where, along with one of her trademark chain bracelets, dangled a small, angular piece of gold by a string, "Let him go, and I'll duel in his place! You can have this key either way! Is that fair enough?"
Kepura chuckled, "As much as I'd love to have more gold, I'm afraid you'll have to do a lot better than a puny piece of jewelry like that."
"What?" Chakra blinked, confused as the others, "This is a spirit key! Aren't you a Shadow Rider?"
"Shadow Rider?" Kepura laughed, "I've never even heard of one! Anyways, I'm afraid you'll have to wait your turn, after I'm done with this boy first!" Chakra stood dumbfounded like the others. Who is this stranger if not a Shadow Rider…?
"My turn!" Kepura drew his next card, "By removing one of my FIRE monsters in my graveyard from play, I can summon my (1) Inferno(4/ATK: 1100/DEF: 1900) from my hand!" a burst of flame appeared in the form of a sneering face (ATK: 1430), "And now I'll sacrifice both my Inferno and my Flame Champion to summon, (3) Infernal Flame Emperor(9/ATK: 2700/DEF: 1600)!" the ground below suddenly cracked as the two monsters vanished before it shattered and place of a giant wave of fire. The flames took shape forming a centaur-like creature with the wings of a pegasus and the head of the lion. The new monster let itself be known with a powerful roar (ATK: 3510), "When my emperor is summoned to the field, I get to destroy any number of spell/trap cards based on how many FIRE monsters I remove from play. So by banishing three of my monsters, I can destroy three spell/trap cards!"
"Wait, how many of those cards Jason has out?" Rock asked.
"Two, I think…?" Noire said.
"Wow, so my math's not off after all. Why would that guy destroy more than his opponent has? It's not like he's planning to destroy one of his own cards; that's be stupid!"
"You are the stupid ones, young fools! That is exactly what I plan to do!" Kepura laughed, "I'm using my emperor's effect to destroy not only your friend's accessory card and his face-down card, I'm planning to destroy my very own Call of the Haunted trap card!"
"Like I said, Stupid! That trap's the only think keeping your hard-boiled dragon egg on the field! Destroy Call of the Haunted and you'll destroy it, too!"
"Um, Rock…?" Noire mumbled, twiddling her fingers.
"Yeah?"
"There's a Backfire card, too…"
"So, what does that have to…" suddenly realization smacked Rock in the face, "Oh…"
"Ohohohoho! Now who is the stupid one! With my Backfire card still active, Ryu-Ran's destruction will be my gain! Now, my emperor, destroy those cards!" the flame monster formed a pair of fireballs and tossed them towards Jason's field.
'I have to think of something quick!' "I activate my face-down card De-Fusion!" Jason opened his reverse-card and Nova Master separated into Stratos (DEF: 300) and Lady Heat(DEF: 1000), "And when Stratos is summoned, I can destroy a magic or trap card for each other Elemental Hero on my field! So I can destroy both Call of the Haunted and Backfire!" Stratos launched a pair of cyclones against Kepura's two spell/trap cards and destroyed them, along with Ryu-Ran and Woodsman's Heart of Clear Water.
"He managed to widen his defenses and avoided damage," Zane stated, "Bold move…"
"To bad that defense is gonna crumble soon," Chazz said.
"You ruined my strategy!" Kepura scowled, "But I can still destroy your monsters, starting with your Stratos!" Infernal Flame Emperor fired a ball of flame from its mouth and destroyed Stratos, "That will end my turn!"
"It's my turn!" Jason drew his next card, "I activate the magic card Pot of Avarice! After returning 5 monsters from my graveyard to my deck, I can draw 2 more cards!" after shuffling Phantom Magician, Stratos, Woodsman, Nova Master and Absolute Zero into his deck, Jason drew two cards, "Next I place one card face-down and end my turn," a reverse-card appeared, "And during the end-phase, Lady Heat can inflict 200 points of damage for each Elemental Hero on my field!" Lady Heat tossed two fireballs at the opponent.
Jason: 970
Kepura: 4220
"My turn!" Kepura drew his next, "I activate the magic of Stop Defense! Now I can force one of your monster to switch from DEF position!" Lady Heat suddenly rose to her feet (ATK: 1300), "Infernal Flame Emperor, destroy his Lady Heat!" Infernal Flame Emperor exhaled a spiraling stream of flame that even Lady Heat could not withstand.
"I activate the trap card Enchanted Javelin!" Jason's reverse-card formed a decorated spear for Lady Heat, "This increases my life-points by the ATK points of an attacking monster!"
Jason: 4480
Kepura: 4420
"That won't save your monster! And you still take the damage!" As Lady Heat became incinerated by the wave of fire it continued to wash over the field. The flames became to intense for Chakra to handle and backed away from the arena as it flooded over and burned the area around it.
Jason: 2270
Kepura: 4420
"Jason!" Rock and Noire cried out. The arena was now surrounded by a large ring of fire.
"How's he supposed to get out of this one?" Chazz said.
"I don't think he can…" Zane said.
"I will end my turn," Kepura concluded, calm around the raging fire.
That wasn't the case for Jason as his stamina seemed to decrease around the heat. He might pass out if he waits too long to finish the battle, "It's my turn!" he drew his next card, "I place one monster face-down in DEF mode!" a set monster appeared, "I end my turn."
"My turn!" Kepura drew his next card, "I summon (2) Little Chimera(2/ATK: 600/DEF: 550) to the field!" a small, grey feline with wings appeared, perched on the Infernal Flame Emperor's shoulder (ATK: 780), "And it's effect increases the ATK and DEF of all FIRE monsters on the field by 500!"
Little Chimera: (ATK: 1280)
Infernal Flame Emperor: (ATK: 4010)
"Now my monsters, clear the field of your opposition!" Little Chimera fired a large stream of fire that destroyed Voltic while Infernal Flame Emperor tossed a giant fireball ontop of the set monster, revealed as Phantom Magician before being destroyed as well.
"When Phantom Magician is destroyed, I can summon Elemental Hero Woodsman by using its effect!" Jason explained as the wood-limbed hero returned to the field (DEF: 2000).
"I end my turn," Kepura concluded.
"It's my turn!" Jason drew his next card, "And I activate Woodsman's effect and add Polymerization back into my hand! Then I summon another monster face-down and end my turn with one more card face-down!" a reverse-card appeared.
"It's my turn!" Kepura drew his next card, "And now I'll play the equipment magic card Fairy Meteor Crush! Now when my Infernal Flame Emperor attacks a monster in DEF mode, if that monster's DEF points are weaker than my Emperor's ATK points, then you take the difference as damage! But first, I'll have Little Chimera attack your face-down card!" the small Beast flew off of the centaur's shoulder and fired a stream of flame onto what used to be a Morphing Jar before it was destroyed.
"When Morphing Jar is flipped over, both of us have to discard our entire hand and draw 5 more cards!" Jason said before both duelists discarded and redrew.
"That's a pity. I could've attacked that monster with my Emperor instead of Chimera, but at least I get to destroy both monsters. Now for your Woodsman!" raising both arms, Infernal Flame Emperor summoned forth a massive fireball which he tossed down to the field, where Woodsman was flattened and incinerated by the powerful force and heat of the attack, the very force that burst open like a water balloon and sent its flames washing over the pedestal in front of him.
Everyone cried out Jason's name as his half of the field became entirely shrouded in flame.
Jason: 260
Kepura: 4420
"Even if he could avoid those flames, I don't think anyone can withstand that level of heat!" Bastion said.
"C'mon! Don't count him out yet!" Rock said, "He just needs to hang on and finish this!"
"Are you nuts? Take it from someone with some brains," Chazz said, "Let's face it, he's fried!"
"…Not just yet," Zane said, catching everyone's attention, "Look up there," he pointed over to the pedestal, where Jason was cowering, the fire flickering around an invisible wall around him.
"It's Jason! He's okay!" Rock said, "But is that a force field?"
'The heat! I don't think I can handle it…!' Jason kept recoiling against the fire rating around him, 'But I can't think about that! If I win this duel then this can stop…!' "It's my turn!" Jason cried out over the roaring fire and drew his next card, "I activate the magic card Polymerization!" the set spell card opened and two Elemental Heroes appeared on the field, "And I send Elemental Heroes Poison Rose and Flash to summon Elemental Hero Gaia!" the two heroes merged into the earth-armored Hero, whose descent crumbled the rock he landed on and the lava bled out across Jason's field (ATK: 2200), "And when Gaia is summoned, he can cut the ATK points of one of my opponent's monster in half!" Gaia dragged an uppercut across the field towards Infernal Flame Emperor, sending a wave of magma and cooled rock pieces to rip through the monster's fiery body. The rocks that tore through reduced it to half its size as the field now became a pool of lava with Gaia standing on a small plateau.
Infernal Flame Emperor: (ATK: 1755)
"And now half of those ATK points are added to Gaia!" the burning rocks Gaia attacked with traveled back to him and attached to his armor, giving it another layer of protection (ATK: 3955), "Next I activate the magic card Scroll of Enchantment onto Infernal Flame Emperor!" the spell's scroll rolled out from the card and swirled itself around the Flame Emperor, "This card changes the attribute of any monster it's equipped to! The attribute I choose will be WATER!" the foreign words on the scroll began glowing the same blue Aura as it gave the monster, until the fire became water. The new water monster let loose a pain-filled roar as it's feet boiled under the sizzling lava until it became nothing more than cooled rock under the monster. The flames around the altar seemed to have died down as the monster grew weaker.
Infernal Flame Emperor: (ATK: 545)
"That last move had Jason just pull a complete 180 on that Infernal Flame Emperor!" Rock exclaimed.
'That strange duelist clearly set up the playing field to his advantage…' Chakra thought, 'But Jason had managed to turn that tables and use it against him!'
"Next, I summon Elemental Hero Heat in ATK mode!" the fire-armed hero appeared (ATK: 2080), "And for every Elemental Hero on my field, Heat gains 200 ATK points, plus the field-power-bonus from the lava field (ATK: 2480)! Elemental Hero Gaia, attack the Infernal Flame Emperor!" Gaia smashed into the ground in front of him, sending a tidal wave of lava towards the enemy's field. Little Chimera flew out of its path leaving Infernal Flame Emperor for the wave to crash against it.
Jason: 260
Kepura: 505
"Elemental Hero Heat, attack Little Chimera!" Heat hovered over to the small Beast and threw a large fireball the destroyed it.
Jason: 260
Kepura: 0
"Way to go, Jason!" Rock cheered, "Only you can prevent a wildfire like that!"
Jason stood on his pedestal, finally catching his breath after a heated battle. With the danger already passed, he decided to rest his eyes…
"Jason!" the group gasped as the alter suddenly descended into the ground, with Jason still on his pedestal. They ran through the risen cloud of dust and found Jason laid on the ground with his cards scattered everywhere.
"Is he okay…?" Noire asked.
"He has dueling in a ring of fire!" Chazz said, "How can that be okay?"
"Chazz is right," Chakra laid her hand on Jason's forehead and frowned, "He's burning up. The flames must've affected him more than I thought…"
"Then we better get him to medical attention, quick," Zane said and he and Bastion picked Jason up and carried him back to campus ground.
"Wait, don't forget the card's!" Rock called and reached down to collect the card's, until he found something shiny with them, "Hey, what's that?" he picked up the item, which was shaped with a small gold-and-red shield with a gold eye in the center, "I'd never thought Jason the type to wear jewelry… Oh well. Guys, wait up!" Rock picked up the rest of the Card and hurried to the others.
What they didn't know was the sudden disappearance of High Mage Kepura, and the arrival of another man in black retrieving something forgotten on the ground before disappearing back into the night…
DUEL-MON DATABASE
(1) Inferno
Stats: [Pyro/Effect] LV4 ATK/1100 DEF/ 1900
Attribute: FIRE
Effect: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card can only be Special Summoned by removing 1 FIREmonster in your Graveyardfrom play. When this card destroys your opponent's monster and sends it to the Graveyard as a result of battle, inflict1500 points of damage to your opponent's Life Points.
(2) Little Chimera
Stats: [Pyro/Effect] LV3 ATK/600 DEF/ 550
Attribute: FIRE
Effect: All FIREmonsters on the field gain 500 ATK. All WATERmonsters on the field lose 400 ATK.
(3) Inferno Flame Emperor
Stats: [Pyro/Effect] LV9 ATK/2700 DEF/1600
Attribute: FIRE
Effect: This card cannot be Special Summoned. When this card is Tribute Summoned, you can remove from play up to 5 FIREmonsters in your Graveyard. Destroy a number of Spell/Trap Cards on the field equal to the number of monsters removed from play for this effect.
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