Finally…after a month of exciting duels and weird characters showing up…the sixteen finalists have been determined.
I have to say, I'm surprised with the results that have been chosen…a lot of freshmen…quite a few red students, and a couple of transfer students.
We even got a couple of invited duelists with us!
I can honestly say that everyone is different in the finalists, although a few of them are slightly questionable…
Of course, as principal of the school, I'm paid not to judge people on their looks alone (yeah, I'm the only decent principal you've probably heard of).
Still…I must accept this and try my hardest that my plan works out for the best…however, there's only a small chance…
…ya know what? I'll just leave that up to your imaginations as to what may happen…
Good luck my students! With the competition that has arisen on the field…
You'll all need it!
/-/--//-/--//-//-
Chapter 36
Opening the Gates of Hell!
/-/-/-/--/-/-////---/
"Quick! Hurry up!"
"Camera one, ready?"
"Ready sir!"
"Camera two?"
"Waiting for the go sir!"
"Light system?"
"Give me thirty seconds!"
"Ooohhh…" Alan was having a panic attack, and who wouldn't? The month had flown by and the finalists were selected for their skills in dueling with the pins they had collected.
And while the finalists were supposed to duel, the duels were going to be broadcasted to all of the TV sets in all the dorms so people could watch could happen. Alan even managed to get a couple of higher up students to MC the matches…
"ALAN!"
"Huh?" Alan questioned turning around to see Kaisaris Luntina dressed in the stage clothes that were selected for her, and unfortunately, she was very mad…
…of course, the fact that she was dressed in a skimpy blue skirt with a white blouse (that had a small amount of cleavage showing) and her hair was tied in a small cute blue bow.
"Oh, hey there Luntina," Alan greeted as Luntina stomped up to him. "Uh…is there something I can help you with?"
"Yeah…you mind telling why the hell you selected this outfit?!?" Luntina snarled pointing towards her outfit. "There's no way I'm wearing this!"
"F-Fine!" Alan yelped jumping back a few feet. He'd never admit it openly, but Alan was sometimes afraid of Luntina's anger. "Anyway, where's Tony? I thought you both were supposed to MC the matches…"
"…uh, he's struggling with the bow tie that you gave him," Luntina replied with a sweatdrop, pointing over her shoulder.
With a quick glance, Alan saw what Luntina meant. Tony was on the ground, struggling with the tight bow tie around his neck, his face was even beginning to turn blue from the lack of oxygen. "Um…you both can appear in your uniforms…"
/-/--/-/-/-///-///-
All over the island, every student was gathered to the nearest television, the screens shifting to the screen that had both Luntina and Tony sitting behind a desk with a large screen behind them. Both of them were dressed in their usual uniforms and the screen behind them flashing with the words 'Rush for the Treasure!'
"Greetings y'all!" Tony announced into the microphone jumping on top of the desk. "And welcome to the televised finals of the…"
"Tony! That's enough!" Luntina growled slamming her arm into Tony's arms, forcing the chess duelist to fall face first into the table with a loud crash. As soon as Tony was off the table, Luntina smiled brightly towards the camera. "Um…anyway, allow me to introduce myself! For those of you who don't know me, I'm the Kaisaris, Luntina!"
"And…" Tony laughed making a complete recovery in record time. "I'm Tony Havoc, the Chess Duelist, here at your service!"
"Yes," Luntina coughed a little snapping her fingers to get the camera to focus on her. "Now then…"
"Hey!" Tony shouted off camera.
"We are both here to commentate on the finals of this tournament, Rush for the Treasure," Luntina continued while Tony began to have a tantrum. "It's been an exciting month to say the least, with many different characters appearing in the midst of the duels…"
"Are you going to let me have any lines?" Tony asked poking his face into the sight of the camera…only to have Luntina push it back. "OOF!"
"…all of it leading up to the final sixteen," Luntina stated as the screen behind her immediately changed to an overview of the entire island. "And now…as for the location of the finals, Tony, I'm leaving it up with you!"
"…about time," Tony scoffed before pumping his fist into the air. "But now that I have my chance…lets get this explanation over with! Okay, under the island are many tunnels that were left when this island was once discovered for its many cavities of jewels."
The screen flashed to a horizontal view of the island, and then had a many different tunnels racing through it. "The location for the finals is set under the island actually with these tunnels. Duelists will follow the main paths of the tunnels towards the vault where the main prize is…"
Once again, the screen shifted to show a small chibi version of Luntina walking through a small tunnel, a duel disk on her left arm. "Duelists will walk through the tunnels until they come across an opponent…" At this, a small chibi version of Tony walked in front of Luntina, surprising both of them. "When they face each other, their duel disks will activate a signal that will alert one of the teachers that's stationed nearby."
Appearing in between the two chibi duelists was a chibi version of Kryancelo (with a peeved look on his face). Raising her hand, Luntina continued for Tony. "And while the teacher is arriving, the duelists can actually change their decks if they so wish."
"And now for the rules!" Tony shouted jumping in front of the desk to get in front of Luntina. "The deck master system is still in effect, so if your deck master gets destroyed, you automatically lose the duel. Each duelist will use eight thousand life points…"
"…and as an added bonus," Luntina interrupted pushing Tony to the left by his head. "During each match, both duelists may make wagers…this includes the ante rule. And forfeiting…unfortunately, it is allowed. When a duelist wins, he or she will immediately be allowed to proceed down the tunnels…the losers however will be immediately rejected from the caves."
"And with those rules out of the way!" Tony announced jumping back in front of the camera as the desk was pulled away. "Let's meet our duelists!"
"Thanks you two!" Alan announced as the cameras turned towards him.
"HEY!" Luntina and Tony shouted at the same time.
On all of the screens of the televisions around the island, the screens immediately turned black. Then with a white and black blur, De Masque appeared on the screen adjusting his mask. With three puffs of grey smoke, Mask Cu Raid and his two clones appeared behind De Masque. "Making a name for himself…well, two actually, is Alex Tudor…or better known as De Masque!"
As if cut by a katana, the screen fell in two to show Ganryu placing a very sharp katana on his shoulder with a cold look on his shoulder. "Second highest is the great and cold duelist of the bushido…Ganryu Dashiben!"
Lightning then struck the screen, shattering it into pixels to show Beck striking a very effeminate pose and blowing a kiss to the screen. "…I'm a little confused with this guy, but this is Robert Becker…it's a miracle that he was able to get to the finals if you ask me…"
From the middle of the screen, a powerful explosion erupted into a picture of Cleo with an innocent smile on her face with many foxes appearing around her. "…but its no miracle for Cleo Sol to be in the finals. As one of the top female duelists at the academy, she's already made a name for herself."
Many feathers began to float in front of Cleo, covering the screen until they all scattered to show Leo standing in the middle of the screen, his face with the same innocent smile he always had. "Another notable young duelist…Leonardo Childsman, the Champion of the Airknights…"
A powerful vortex appeared into the middle of the screen, shifting Leo's picture into Van, adjusting his new hat over his right eye with his many heroes appearing behind him. "…and the Hero of the Back Streets, Van Tenka, takes the next place in our select finalists!'
A large coffin appeared before Van, opening to show a smirking Maderas, slowly stepping from the coffin with many bats flying around him. "And one of our invited duelists, from the Maderas family is none other than Sven Maderas…an unknown in the world of dueling…"
Maderas was soon engulfed into many dark spirits…allowing a very creepy look Vic to step slowly onto the screen…a large black bandana covering his mouth and nose… "All the way from the Pacific Academy, the former Dark World Prince is Vic Vanhemer!"
Then, the screen began to be pushed away by many Bruisers and fighters, Bravo following them onto the field, performing a large amount of muscle man poses. "Master of the rush, and body like abilities is Sheldon Boomer!"
That's when Sheldon…er, I mean Bravo was swept into a large yellow, green and black tornado that separated into the Ojama trio with Klein standing in between all three of them with a toothy grin. "Weird name…but not as weird as Little Three…I mean, Klein Drei!"
A small push from above managed to pull a picture of Genjyo smiling brightly adjusting the top hat he had on his long hair. "Another transfer student, from the mainland academy, Genjyo Zosimos…huh, weird name…"
In a flash of many red lights, three elf like monsters appeared onto the field, showing Rena lifting up her duel disk. "Unlike Rena Akira, a young duelist trying to grasp into the world of dueling!"
Many elements, ranging from the water to fire crashed into the screen, showing Kazin push up his glasses. "From the third year class, allow me to introduce Russell Kazin!"
That's when many playing cards blew into the screen, allowing Kyo to float into the air on the screen. "Another invited duelist takes the stage, Kyo Swartzvault! The man with many tricks up his sleeves!"
With a mighty kick, the Chaotix Tai Gars shattered the screen into many shards, showing Riko waving his hands into the air. "Ah yes, a familiar soul, and second year student, Riko Kamika, the one hit wonder!"
And finally, in a flurry of rose petals, a new face was on the screen. This one a young girl (who looked to be sixteen years old) with her dark brown hair tied into two tails that fell onto her shoulders, smiling at the camera. Covering her petite body was the Ra Yellow uniform with a slightly longer skirt and a white T-shirt under the yellow top she had. "And, second year, but second to none, the fair Erika Terrance!"
"…wow, he managed that in a single breath," Tony remarked with his eyes glued to his watch.
"…it's almost scary," Luntina admitted.
"So! Duelists!" Alan laughed loudly pumping his fists into the air. "Good luck to you all!"
/--/-/-/-/-/-///-
"So! Duelists! Good luck to you all!"
All the duelists that were previously mentioned stood into a small room in the main building, each of them watching as their names were called…
…and after that, all of them with mixed feelings about their introductions…
"…De Masque would've been fine by itself…"
"…" Ganryu was silent…but his thoughts were in rage. '…cold? That's a little much…'
"Oh, that was a low shot!" Beck spat out with fake tears dripping from his eyes.
"He always says the basics," Cleo sighed loudly combing some of the hair out of her eyes.
"I wouldn't say champion," Leo admitted with his normal smile.
'…Rukia…I'll use that title, and do what I can,' Van thought turning towards the smirking Maderas.
Shaking his head a little bit, Maderas kept his insidious smirk on his face. "…I've already claimed my prize…but, I must help Beck…."
In the corner, Vic just narrowed his eyes at all of the duelists, his mouth and nose still covered with the black handkerchief. '…they'll all pay…I swear…'
"DAMN IT!" Bravo shouted throwing a large tantrum. "Why!?! WHY DID HE USE MY REAL NAME!?!?"
"Heh, Sheldon…" Klein snickered loudly.
"SHUT UP LITTLE THREE!" Bravo roared slamming his foot into the ground.
"Put a lid on it…" Genjyo sighed keeping his eyes on the three girls in the room. '…especially since I'm trying to enjoy the views…'
With a large sweatdrop appearing on the side of her head, Rena had a nervous smile on her face. 'W-well…at least he didn't mention how I got into the academy…'
"…dull and precise…" Kazin muttered pushing up his glasses. "…I like it…"
"I take it no one has noticed it yet," Kyo whispered to himself, keeping his eyes on Rena.
Sitting on the floor, Riko was slowly meditating, ignoring the noises that were flying all through the room's air. '…this is my chance…my chance to prove my skills…'
"Fair? Yeesh, I'm not girly," The Ra yellow, Erika protested with a blood vessel appearing on her head.
"Alright! Listen up!"
All sixteen of the duelists turned their heads towards the entrance of the room, seeing Kryancelo standing in the doorway with a small box under his arm. "Congratulations on making it to the finals…yadda, yadda, blah, blah…now, each of you will take turns drawing one of the pieces of paper. You're not allowed to show anyone these papers, mainly because they represent the gate number you'll be going through to get to the underground tunnels…"
"Ten minutes after everyone has drawn their number, one of our teachers will appear calling two of the numbers. You are to go with them to your gates…and just because you're both called at the same time; it's not true that you'll face each other in a duel…"
"…now then…get in a line and draw your number before I get pissed off!"
It didn't take long for everyone to draw their numbers from the box, in fact, as soon as everyone had drawn their numbers everyone was in their own little groups…
De Masque, Bravo, Kazin and Maderas were standing before Beck, each of them with their arms crossed with each other. "…I'm surprised…I didn't expect to see this many in the finalists…"
"It was a given that I'd be here," De Masque stated adjusting his mask while his stare was pointed towards Bravo and Kazin. "How'd Sheldon and Kazin get here?"
"DON'T CALL ME BY THAT!" Bravo shouted with his fists clenched tightly.
"…it's not that hard to grasp," Kazin stated lifting up a small clipboard to his face. "You see, with those three duel spirits you and I summoned, De Masque, they collected the necessary pins that we needed in order to compete."
"And I managed to get my pins the fair way," Maderas answered flicking some hair away from his eyes. "Although…I already have the hand of my fair maiden already in my grasp…so I don't really see the reason why I'm here now…"
"Because you still have a contract," Kazin answered bluntly.
"Why Sheldon!" Bravo shouted falling to his knees, making everyone take a step away from him.
"In any case, I have one order for you all to follow," Beck stated wagging his finger towards the four Yokai members. "Should you face a certain duelist…"
"Heh, you want us to forfeit against ya?" De Masque guessed adjusting his hat towards Beck.
"…oh, no, you are to face me with all the strength you four have…" Beck chuckled with a large smile on his face. "…it concerns someone else…"
Van was leaning up against the wall, glaring at Ganryu and Maderas. Both of them were duelists that he wanted to face…
One of them…for his chance to prove himself…
The other…to save a friend.
"Hey! Get your head out of the clouds!" Klein shouted snapping Van out of his small trance.
"Huh? What?" Van questioned shaking his head to look directly at Klein.
"About time…listen…" Klein sighed raising his hand up towards Van. "I hope you don't have any ideas of winning this thing! Cause in case you haven't noticed, I'm standing before ya!"
"Klein, this is a matter that is bigger than you," Van stated…only realizing what he just said. "Uh…well, that was a low blow…"
"…short jokes don't work on me," Klein growled with a small blood vessel appearing on the side of his head. "But…just to let you know, that you better not lose till you get to me!"
"Trust me…I wouldn't miss that for the world," Van chuckled before pointing towards Ganryu who was all alone up against the wall with his arms crossed. "Besides…there are three people that I still have to fight…you, Ganryu…and…"
Across the room…
"Heh…looks like the dropout was able to make it this far," Cleo chuckled lifting her hand next to her mouth with a sneer on her face.
"I made it to the finals," Rena sighed lowering her head. "You'd think that'd make me a respectable duelist…"
"You still need to beat me flat-chest," Cleo chuckled twirling some of her hair in her fingers.
"That's enough you two…"
Rena and Cleo turned to the side to see Erika Terrance standing before them, in a very masculine pose. "I can't stand girls like you two…always yapping and never doing! Save your prattling for the duels!"
"…still as sharp tongued as ever, Erika," Cleo sighed shaking her head. "Fine…but, don't expect any mercy."
"That's my line," Erika growled back.
'…geez, looks like Cleo's not that popular with the girl side of the academy,' Rena thought as Leo appeared behind her.
"My, I'm so glad that you made it Rena," Leo congratulated, scaring Rena slightly.
"Ah! L-Leo, thanks," Rena stuttered slightly with a nervous smile on her face.
"Alright! Ten minutes are up!" Kryancelo shouted getting everyone's attention in the room. "The first two students that are numbers eight and twelve, you're both coming with me."
Slowly Rena stepped forward, since her number was twelve. But…Rena was surprised to see Vic stepping forward along with her.
As soon as the two duelists were in front of him, Kryancelo turned his back to them and slowly led the two out of the door. Outside, leaning near the door were other teachers, Rex, Weevil, Hughes, Maria and Alonso. With a quick second, Kryancelo raised his hand up. "Give me two minutes to lead these two to their door…"
"No need to tell me Kryancelo," Alonso sighed shaking his head.
//-/--//---////-/-
"And we're back!" Tony announced with the screen flashing behind him into a map of the underground with chibi versions of all the duelists in the tunnels.
"Each of the duelists have entered the tunnels," Luntina declared turning slightly to face the screen, and right smack dab in the middle of the screen appeared a large safe and a chibi version of Alan. "So now…we wait…"
A large beeping sound went off as soon as Luntina finished her sentence, and near the corner of the screen the chibi versions of Cleo and Genjyo facing each other with their duel disks ready. "Wow…that was fast…"
"True!" Tony laughed lifting up a small remote. "Let's turn to the cameras to see how the duelists are interacting! And remember, you can change to channel five to watch this duel…"
/--/--/---////-/
Genjyo's eyes were replaced with pulsing hearts at the sight of Cleo. "Oh! It's the beautiful blue rose of the Obelisk Dorm!"
With a large sweatdrop appearing on the back of Cleo's head, even though she was all for having someone praise her like Genjyo did…this was a serious competition. "Odd…I never really expected to see you here though…"
"I know! Its fate! It's destiny!" Genjyo shouted clasping his hands together with many hearts appearing around his head. "It's true love! It's…"
"Its time for you two to duel!"
Cleo and Genjyo immediately turned towards the side, seeing that Alonso was standing before them both adjusting his glasses. "Now then…both of you are from the Obelisk Blue dorm, the entire campus is watching you both…I hope you two know exactly what that means…"
"Yes sir," Cleo answered immediately with a nod.
"…uh, a little help?" Genjyo admitted making both Cleo and Alonso fall to the ground.
"You're supposed to represent the Obelisk Blue dorm!" Alonso shouted with a small bandage on his forehead. "Now, if either of you have a wager say so before you select your deck master!"
"Ah, how about, if I win…" Genjyo said lifting up his deck of cards that he immediately fanned out. "…the young lady has to grace me with a kiss on the lips?"
"Ugh! Do I have to accept that?" Cleo spat out turning to Alonso with a disgusted look on her face.
"Unfortunately, Miss Cleo, you have to," Alonso chuckled shaking his head. "But, you can make a wager that is equal to or steeper than the one he has issued…"
"Great…" Cleo sighed loudly lowering her head.
/--//-/-///--///
"Oh! This just in! Another pair of duelists have met!" Tony shouted, changing the channel back to show him and Luntina.
"What the? How'd you do that?" Luntina asked as the chibi versions of Ganryu and Vic appeared on the screen behind them, both of them readying their duel disk. "Uh…I mean…it appears that Ganryu Dashiben and Vic Vanhemer are about to lock horns…let's go check to…"
"OH! No time for that!" Tony announced lifting up the remote control. "There's another duel going on, and the combatants…Rena's in it! Go Rena!"
"Tony! You can't cheer for individual duelists!" Luntina growled with a blood vessel appearing on her head as the screen behind her shifted to show a chibi Rena standing across from…Luntina's head was blocking the other duelist however. "We're supposed to be impartial."
"Forget the rules granny! I'm going to cheer for…" Tony replied before realizing the deathly aura surrounding Luntina.
"Cut to a commercial…" Luntina snarled looking directly at the cameramen. "NOW!"
"NO! WAIT! I NEED WITNESSES!" Tony pleaded before the entire screen shifted into a blue 'Please Stand By' screen.
"HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME OLD!"
"HELP!"
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Indeed, Rena was facing against her opponent in the underground, but, she was too engrossed with the caves themselves. The area itself was quite beautiful though, many crystals lined the walls of the cave and with the dim light from the bulbs on the makeshift ceiling, the crystals created a dramatic effect on walls.
"Hey! You going to just going to be a statue all day?"
"Huh?" Rena questioned snapping out of her little daze to see the Ra Yellow, Erika standing before her with a ticked off look on her face. "S-sorry, I didn't see you there…"
"Well, it's about time you noticed," Erika spat out lifting her duel disk up. "I really am a little annoyed with how things turned out…"
"What?" Rena asked with a question mark appearing over her head. "What do you mean by that?"
"No offense or anything," Erika sighed rubbing the back of her head. "But, you're just not an opponent I'd like to face off against."
"Well, you've kinda lost me," Rena admitted with a sweatdrop appearing on the back of her head.
"…oh great, I get you two…" Kryancelo sighed loudly appearing almost out of no where, freaking out the two girls.
"Oh! Uh, hey there Professor Kinsman," Rena greeted with a slight bow.
"Prof. K, haven't seen you since the spring," Erika chuckled.
"…just to let you know…I hate you both," Kryancelo admitted with a dull look on his face as he turned towards Rena. "You…for getting that cold hearted samurai to embarrass me!"
"Wait…so you're the one who got in without an entrance duel?" Erika asked blinking in confusion towards Rena.
'And here I thought everyone forgot about that…' Rena thought to herself lowering her head even more so.
"And you!" Kryancelo growled narrowing his eyes towards Erika. "I still haven't forgiven you for putting hair dye in the water heater last year!"
"Oh, come on, it was a harmless little prank," Erika giggled winking towards Kryancelo.
"…you act like a tomboy most of the time," Kryancelo growled slapping his face with his palm. "And when you're in trouble you put on that girlish charm…that doesn't work on me!"
"…um…didn't we have a match to get on with?" Rena asked with a sweatdrop appearing on the side of her head.
Meanwhile, in another part of the tunnels…
The caves were immediately filled with challenges…
"Alright boys, I want a clean match," Maria asked wagging her finger at the two duelists. "No direct attack below the belt…but trash talking is optional!"
"No need to sully the ears of a beautiful teacher," Leo admitted fanning out his deck to look at his cards…
"…right Kazin?"
"…it's a cruel joke to hear those words come from your mouth," Kazin spat adjusting his glasses up.
/--/-//-/-//-/-/-/
"…"
"…"
"Geez, I get stuck with the two silent guys," Rex sighed adjusting his hat. Rex had the displeasure of judging the match consisting of Ganryu and Vic. "Yeesh, duelists now-a-days don't know how to properly trash talk…"
"Shut the hell up you washed up has-been," Vic snarled getting Rex's attention. "Duelists have evolved since your stone age of dueling."
"Let us real duelists duel," Ganryu added lifting up his duel disk, snapping head towards Rex. "And maybe you'll learn how to become a better duelist!"
"…well, that's better, but you're supposed to direct the trash talking to each other!" Rex protested as both duelists turned away from him. "…great…just ignore me once more…"
"Select your deck master," Vic growled looking at his cards. "As if it would make a difference..."
"…no one will stop my ambition," Ganryu snarled back.
"Damn it! Don't start stealing my lines!" Rex shouted as both duelists immediately lifted up a single card from their decks.
"Then do your job!" Vic snapped fitting his card into his deck master slot on his duel disk. "The deck master that will stomp your ambitions…will be this!"
Many ghostly blue flames began to float around Vic's body, before the flames dissipated to show a mysterious phantom like man wearing an armored black overcoat over his entire body floating in midair next to Vic. The skin under his black demonic mask was an odd blue, and the man had a pair of red glowing eyes with a sniper goggle over his right eye. In his right hand was an older, medieval sniper rifle that was immediately aimed towards Ganryu. "Allow me to introduce Ghost Knight Sniper…and his aiming to take you down in the prime of this tournament…"
"…great, now they're doing bad jokes," Rex moaned slapping his forehead.
Ganryu remained silent while he slipped his selected card into his duel disk. Then leaping from the ceiling, the battle scarred Dishonored Samurai – Kyu landed on the ground, shooting a glare towards Vic. "Dishonored Samurai – Kyu is my choice, and we'll see who'll walk over whom."
"…alright, and now that…" Rex started raising his fist up into the air.
"We're not done," Vic interrupted making a blood vessel appear on Rex's head.
"Hey! I'm the referee here and…" Rex growled narrowing his eyes at Vic.
"Listen you lousy red," Vic started shaking his head while adjusting the cloth that was around his mouth. "I'm not going to lose a guy like you…never again…so, welcome to hell, where there is no escape!"
"Nice introduction," Ganryu scoffed pulling his five cards. "Too bad intimidation tactics don't work with me…now watch out! I'm going first!" (GLP: 8000)
"Hey! Hold it!" Rex shouted throwing his hand up. "I'm the one who says who goes first!"
"Then say it's him and get it over with!" Vic growled getting Rex to step back slightly. (VLP: 8000)
"Uh, y-yeah, Ganryu, you can go first," Rex coughed with a sweatdrop rolling down the side of his head.
"Then draw!" Ganryu announced doing so. A single face down monster appeared on the field before him.
Then Ganryu simply crossed his arms.
"…I see you like to be the silent type," Vic snickered snapping his sixth card off his deck. "Let's see you stay silent after this, I'm enacting my deck master's ability!"
Lifting three cards from his hand, Vic immediately tossed them into his duel disk's graveyard slot, allowing the Ghost Knight Sniper to take aim and kneel down. "This ability is known as Ghostly Assault! For each Ghost I discard from my hand, I can knock off five hundred life points per card!"
"…a cheap trick," Ganryu growled as the Ghost Knight Sniper had Ganryu in his line of sight.
Then with three pulls of the trigger, the Ghost Knight Sniper fired three ghostly shots that struck Ganryu directly in the chest, making the samurai take a knee himself. (GLP: 6500)
"Not bad taking a lead," Rex muttered rubbing his chin. "But…now he's at a disadvantage with only three cards in his hand…"
"Hey, old man, pay attention," Vic chuckled pulling up his handkerchief a little higher. "When you're using my Ghosts…being in the graveyard is always a plus! Now, I summon Ghost Knight Swordsman!"
Appearing out of a dark mist, the ghostly knight appeared before Vic, raising his demonic sword (1000/500 600/0). Then from the ground, many rusty chains stabbed into the Ghost Knight Swordsman, empowering the monster as it screeched loudly. "You see, I discarded two copies of my Ghost Knight Blade Chains. As long as they're in the graveyard, all Ghost Knights gain three hundred attack points."
"Well, that's an impressive strategy," Rex whistled adjusting his cap slightly.
"Of course you old coot," Vic chuckled fitting the last two cards in his hand into his duel disk.
"I'm only twenty-seven!" Rex shouted slamming his foot into the ground. "So who the hell are you calling an old coot!"
"Well, let's look at the facts shall we?" Vic suggested raising his hand up. "You see, you're older than me…by a good ten years, so no matter how old I get, you'll always be older than me. Hence I can call you old coot."
"…just get this duel over with," Rex sighed crouching down to draw on the stone floor.
"With pleasure," Vic chuckled snapping his fingers as his Ghost Knight Swordsman leapt forward, spinning its demonic sword in its hand. "Attack his face down defense!"
Stabbing its blade into the face down card, the Ghost Knight Swordsman immediately made the face down card reveal itself as the Bushido Scroll (800/400), only to be sliced in two by the sword.
"Thanks, since Bushido Scroll was destroyed in battle," Ganryu stated as a card popped out of his duel disk, and turning it around to show that it was the Samurai of the Void. "I can add one samurai to my hand."
"Not bad…but, it'll take more than a samurai to defeat me," Vic chuckled crossing his arms over each other. "Turn end."
"Draw!" Ganryu shouted now having seven cards in his hand.
"…they forgot I was here," Rex sighed lowering his head even more.
"I summon Samurai of the Void!" Ganryu announced as the dark armored samurai appeared before him (1700/1400), spinning the large katana he held in tightly in his hands. Then, without speaking, Ganryu took the Samurai of the Earth from his deck and add it to his hand.
"Oh, a monster with a hundred points stronger than one of my weakest monsters," Vic joked with his tongue sticking out. "I'm so scared…"
"You better take a look at your monster," Ganryu stated pointing towards the staggering Ghost Knight Swordsman.
"What in the world are you…" Vic started before noticing his Swordsman's weird behavior (1600/500 – 200/0). "What?! How in the…"
"My deck master," Ganryu stated gesturing towards Kyu, whose eyes were glowing a dark purple. "Known as the Glare of Dishonor lowers the attack points of all your monsters by two hundred points for each Samurai I have on the field."
"Heh…not a bad selection…not bad at all," Vic admitted closing his eyes. "But…that's all you've got going for you…"
"Samurai of the Void! Send that ghost back to the abyss!"
Vic's eyes shot open as the Samurai immediately sliced right through the ghost, shattering the chains and turning the ghost into a small spirit orb. (VLP: 7700)
"Trap card activate now!" Vic countered as many chains erupted from the ceiling and ground, slamming into Vic's deck. "Ghost Summon Chain! Since you've destroyed a monster, I can special summon another ghost! Ghost Knight Vanguard!"
The many chains shattered, forming into the heavily armored ghost knight (1000/500 600/0 – 200/0), slamming its large rusty pike into the ground. "Now…it's still your turn…"
Ganryu simply fitted two cards into his duel disk, and held up another card. "I activate the spell card, Heavy Storm!"
Vic's eyes widened as a powerful storm swept the field, sending the echo of wind through out the entire caves. His face down and the two cards on Ganryu's field immediately shattered into the storm. "But that doesn't make any sense! You've already summoned this turn, so if those two were Statues of Wicked, you should've done it earlier so that my trap card wouldn't have activated."
"I have my reasons," Ganryu admitted crossing his arms. "Turn end…"
"Not yet you don't!" Vic interrupted as a card slowly appeared in front of him, showing an exorcist being warped by many ghostly spirits. "That last face down card was known as Spiritual Rebound, and when destroyed, I can special summon one level three or lower Ghost from my graveyard…and choose this one!"
A small ghostly visage appeared around Vic, only to walk forward, forming into a mysterious phantom like man wearing an armored black doctor coat over his entire body. Like the previous two ghosts, this one had a dark mask over his face with a pair of glowing red eyes. In his hands was an old black medical kit (0/0).
"Now before you ask…I sent my Ghost Empire Medic during my first turn by discarding it for my deck master's ability," Vic answered drawing his next card. "But now…I draw…"
'Man…I didn't think duelists these days were so extreme,' Rex thought standing up straight. 'Honestly…these two could probably give some of the duelists I once faced a run for their money…and these two are in Slifer Red, the lowest of the low! I'd hate to face a blue student here!'
'Damn it! This spell is useless,' Vic thought looking up at Ganryu and narrowing his eyes. 'But then again…I can take down his samurai with what I've already got out!'
"Now watch and learn red," Vic chuckled snapping his fingers as both of his monsters disappeared. "I can activate the effects of both my Ghost Empire Medic! By tributing them him, I can special summon two monsters!"
"…" Ganryu was silent with a raised eyebrow as the medic shattered into many flames that flew into the air.
"Heh! Speechless I see!" Vic laughed loudly as two cards popped out of his deck. "So, I special summon two more ghosts! So I choose Ghost Researcher and Ghost Shield Gardna!"
The many flames that were once the Ghost Empire Medic immediately crashed into the cold floor, exploding into a large ghostly cloud of smoke. The smoke dissipated slowly showing two figures, one a pale ghostly scientist with balding hair wearing a tattered scientist coat (1000/500 – 200/0).
The other figure was a mysterious phantom like man wearing an armored black overcoat over his entire body. Like the previous ghosts, this one had a demonic mask over his face. In the monster's arms was an extremely large shield (200/2000 600/0 – 200/0).
"…interesting…" Ganryu stated raising an eyebrow at the two new monsters.
"Now then, I'll activate the effect of my Ghost Researcher," Vic shouted as his Researcher began to cackle loudly, immediately disappearing. "For each increment of five hundred attack points he has, I can draw that many cards! So I get two cards!"
Snapping two cards up, Vic's eyes flashed a dark mist for only a second at the sight of the cards. "Now then…I summon Ghost Knight Lancer!"
A powerful ghostly flame fell from the ceiling, crashing into the ground, forming into a mysterious phantom like man wearing an armored black overcoat over his entire body standing strong. In the monster's hand was a large lance that is glowing dark purple aura on it, while still wearing a dark mask (1800/900 600/0 – 200/0) like the previous monsters. "Lancer! Attack the Samurai of the Void!"
Ganryu closed his eyes as the Ghost Knight Lancer charged forward at a ghastly speed, a dark aura streaming off his lance…
CLANK!!
Only to be stopped by a trap card that displayed a young man placing a katana at a gravestone, forcing the ghostly knight staggering backwards. "…you're not the only one who commands the graveyard…"
"Ha, ha, ha…aren't you the clever one," Vic spat narrowing his eyes at the shattering trap card. "You mind just getting this over with?"
"Fine…you see, my trap card was known as Bushido Last Will," Ganryu stated taking the trap card to fit it into his pocket. Then snapping his deck out of his holster, Ganryu immediately fanned the cards in front of him. "You see, by removing this card from my graveyard, I can end your battle phase. But, then, both of us can take one level four or lower monster from our decks and add them to our hands, of course, we have to show each other what we choose…"
"Fine with me!" Vic snarled snapping his deck out, and with a quick second, the former Dark World Prince held up a single monster card. "I select my Ghost Knight Army Commander."
"And I choose my Wandering Samurai," Ganryu stated slipping the card into his hand. "Any other moves?"
"Yeah…one card face down," Vic growled closing his eyes. 'With that last move…I managed to draw 'him'…if my three monsters can survive next turn…I'll show this punk true terror…'
"…I draw," Ganryu muttered adding another card to his already large hand. "And now, I summon Samurai of the Earth!"
The ground opened up, allowing the green armored samurai to climb out of the earth, lifting up his spear (1200/1400) towards the ghost. "And now…combo attack!"
"What?!?" Vic shouted as another trap card appeared behind Ganryu, this one forming into the Call to War card.
"My Call to War allows me to special summon any Samurai that is added to my hand," Ganryu stated as a card shot out of his deck and into his hand. "Like for example, my Samurai of the Water!"
In a spout of water, the blue armored samurai appeared spinning the trident in his hands (1300/1100), allowing another card to pop out of Ganryu's dueling deck. "And thanks to my Samurai of the Water, I can add and then special summon Samurai of the Flame!"
A powerful burst of flame, the red armored samurai appeared lifting up his large katana in his hands (1500/1000), and as with the previous three Samurai, a card popped out of Ganryu's deck which was immediately slapped onto the duel disk. "And if you couldn't guess, my Samurai of the Flame adds Samurai of the Sky to the field!"
The wind echoed through the caves, introducing the Samurai of the Sky, skidding across the stone floor (1400/1400), taking aim with the bow that he held in his hands. "Normally, I'd add Samurai of the Void to my hand…but he's already here…so Samurai of the Five Rings!"
Vic just sweatdropped as all of the samurai all struck a pose, while the cold glare from the Dishonored Samurai – Kyu grew colder. "And because your deck master's ability works with the number of samurai you have…"
Before Vic could finish his sentence, the glare had infected all of the ghosts on Vic's field…
(2200/900 – 800/0) (600/2000 – 800/0) (1400/500 – 800/0)
"Of course," Ganryu chuckled with a dark smile on his face, while he immediately took another card from his hand, fitting it into his duel disk. "And I'm not done; I activate the spell card, the A. Forces! Now for each warrior and spellcaster on my side of the field, my warriors gain two hundred points each!"
A powerful aura appeared over the five samurai on Ganryu's field, empowering them all greatly. (1700/1400 1000/0) (1200/1400 1000/0) (1300/1100 1000/0) (1500/1000 1000/0) (1400/1400 1000/0)
"W-What an amazing rush!" Rex stuttered falling back at the sight of the five powerful samurai. 'Not only did this Ganryu guy managed to summon a full field of monsters, each with over two thousand attack points, but he also lowered all of his opponent's monsters at the same time!'
"Samurai of the Rings…" Ganryu growled slowly lifting his hand up towards Vic. "Charge and eliminate Vic!"
The echoes of the conjoined battle cries of the five samurai filled the caves, along with their broad footsteps stomping on the stone floors.
"Negate Attack go!" Vic shouted as a powerful barrier appeared before Vic's three monsters, propelling a powerful aura that forced all five of the samurai back to Ganryu's field. "Heh…you're a little too impatient to be a duelist red…"
"…set one card face down," Ganryu growled as the card appeared behind his five glaring samurai. "Turn end."
"Heh…you think you may have this game won don't you?" Vic asked cracking his neck slightly before he drew his next card. "More than likely, that face down card is something to prevent me from having something strong out…right?"
Although it was slight, Ganryu's right eyebrow twitched…and unfortunately, Vic picked up on that. "Ha! I know I'm right! More than likely, that face down card is likely Bottomless Trap Hole!"
'…crap…' Ganryu thought slapping his forehead.
"You've still got a while to go red," Vic snickered as all three of his ghosts began to scream in pain as three dark flames began to erupt from the ghosts' bodies. "Cause now…I sacrifice all three of my ghosts…"
The flames all incinerated the three ghosts, before combining into one powerful dark flame that basked the entire cavern in an eerie purple glow. Two glowing eyes appeared in the fire, sending an even deeper chill in the air than what the Dishonored Samurai – Kyu had before hand.
"W-What the hell is this thing?!?" Rex stuttered taking a few steps backwards, now leaning up against the wall.
"HA! HA! HA! HA!" Vic laughed loudly as the large pillar of ghostly flames sprouted a pair of large clawed hands that immediately shot forward, clutching all five of the samurai in their grasps. "Meet the darkest of the dark in my deck…and his nastiest ability! Say goodbye to all your monsters!"
The claw like flames incinerated all five of the samurai in a quick flash, immediately leaving Ganryu with only his useless face down card before him. Well, that and a look that never seemed to appear on his face before…
…a look of sheer terror…
"Next! To end this, I activate the spell card," Vic continued fitting the rest of his hand into his duel disk's graveyard, allowing a spell card with a soldier with red eyes screaming with many spirits escaping from his mouth. "Berserker Soul! Now... in addition to his initial attack, my ultimate creature can attack for each monster I send from the top of my deck to the graveyard!"
"T-This move…" Rex gasped sliding to the ground, a deep chill sliding down his spine…even more than the demon that stood before Vic. 'It's the same one that Weevil told me about when…when…when…'
Vic immediately snapped off the first card, spinning it around to show Battle Scared Ghost…slipping it into his graveyard as the flames wrapped around Ganryu's body, the flames beginning to singe his skin…just like when he faced Professor Kryancelo…
"Next!" Vic shouted snapping his next card, only to spin it around to show a monster that went by the name of Ghost Alchemist, making the flames increase. "Let's see how well my luck holds up shall we?"
"T-This is…" Ganryu coughed through the flames.
//-/--//-/-/-/-/
"No! Not the duct tape!" Tony shouted before a large strip of duct tape was placed over his mouth.
"Now buzz off," Luntina sighed pushing a tied up Tony to the side while turning back to the cameras turning as a powerful flame enveloped the screen behind her. "Um…anyway, it looks like the match between the young red duelists Ganryu and Vic…the former Dark Prince wins it in a landslide."
That's when a stage hand ran up to Luntina, immediately whispering into her ear. "What? I see…This just in! The match before Genjyo Zosimos and Cleo Sol has just reached the final climax! Let's go see it shall we?"
"You really don't like Cleo, do you?" Tony asked appearing next Luntina, making the top duelist jump from her seat.
"ACK! I thought I tied you up!?!" Luntina shouted glaring daggers at Tony.
"Blame Leo!" Tony announced as the screen began to change channels. "Now to the match!"
"Hey! Wait a minute!" Luntina shouted.
/-//--/-//-//-///
"Direct attack!" Genjyo commanded as a five multicolored lights shot over his shoulders slamming into Cleo's torso.
"AAAHHH!" Cleo shouted before the many lights faded, along with the rest of her life points. (CLP: 0)
"Winner…" Alonso started lifting his arm towards a brightly smiling Genjyo. "Genjyo Zosimos, you will advance to the next round!"
"And that means…" Genjyo gushed with a large blush appearing on his face as he quickly ran towards Cleo. "I get to taste your lips!"
"…Professor Alonso…do I have to?" Cleo pleaded slumping to the floor with a pleading look on her face.
"Unfortunately…you agreed to the conditions," Alonso sighed loudly shaking his head. "And you have to keep your end of the bargain, Miss Sol."
"Fine…get it over with," Cleo moaned as Genjyo immediately placed his hand underneath her chin.
"Joy!" Genjyo announced before leaning forward to plant a deep kiss, making Cleo develop a large blood vessel on her head.
Then with a great push…followed by a definite uppercut, Genjyo was sent flying with hearts in his eyes and a gush of blood shooting from his nose. And with a great crash to the ground, Genjyo flashed his bright smile. "Even more joy!"
"I never said you could use your tongue!" Cleo snarled slamming her foot into Genjyo's ribs.
"Oh! So…this rose…oof…has thorns!" Genjyo laughed through his grunts of pain.
"…And these are the elite of the school," Alonso sighed shaking his head in disgust.
//--//---////-//-/-/
Card Stats
Ghost Knight Lancer / Dark / LV. 4 / ATK: 1800 / DEF: 900 / Fiend/Effect: When this card is destroyed as a result of battle, you may place two 'Ghost' Counters on any face up monster on the field. (A monster with a Ghost Counter on it is considered a fiend type and Dark Attribute.)
Description: A mysterious phantom like man wearing an armored black overcoat over his entire body. The skin that is showing his mouth, underneath his black demonic mask with a pair of glowing red eyes. In the monster's hand was a large lance that is glowing dark purple aura on it.
Ghost Empire Medic / Dark / LV. 2 / ATK: 0 / DEF: 0 / Fiend/Effect: By sending this card to your graveyard, you may special summon two level three or lower monsters from your deck with 'Ghost' in their names with less than 1000 attack points. (You cannot special summon Ghost Empire Medic with this effect)
Description: A mysterious phantom like man wearing an armored black doctor coat over his entire body. The skin that is showing his mouth, underneath his black demonic mask with a pair of glowing red eyes. In his hands is an old black medical kit.
Ghost Shield Gardna / Dark / LV. 3 / ATK: 200 / DEF: 2000 / Fiend/Effect: When this card is normal, flipped, or special summon, you may switch this monster to defense mode. This card is considered to have 'Ghost Knight' in its name.
Description: A mysterious phantom like man wearing an armored black overcoat over his entire body. The skin that is showing his mouth, underneath his black demonic mask with a pair of glowing red eyes. In the monster's arms is an extremely large shield.
Ghost Researcher / Dark / LV. 3 / ATK: 1000 / DEF: 500 / Fiend/Effect: By tributing this face up monster, for every increment of 500 attack points on this card, you may draw one card.
Image: A pale ghostly scientist with balding hair wearing a tattered scientist coat.
Ghost Summon Chain / Trap / Effect: This card can only be activated when a monster on your side of the field is destroyed as a result of battle. Special summon one level four or lower monster from your deck to your side of the field with 'Ghost' in its name.
Image: A dead man being held up with multiple chains.
Spiritual Rebound / Trap / Effect: This card can only be activated when your opponent destroys this face down card. Remove this card from your graveyard and special summon one level three or lower monster from your graveyard with 'Ghost' in its name.
Image: An exorcist being attacked by many spirits
Bushido Last Will / Trap / Effect: When this card is in your graveyard, you remove this card to end your opponent's battle phase. Then each duelist may take one level four or lower monster from his/her deck and add them to their hands. They must show the cards and then shuffle their decks.
Image: a young man placing a katana at grave
Berserker Soul / Instant Spell / Effect: You must discard your entire hand to activate this card. When this card is activated, you can allow one face up monster on your side of the field with an ATK of 1500 points or less to attack the number of times equal to the number of monster cards discarded from the top of your deck and show to your opponent. This continues until you reach a non-Monster card.
Image: A soldier with red eyes screaming with many spirits escaping from his mouth
Deck Masters
Dishonored Samurai: Glare of Dishonor: For each 'Samurai' on your side of the field, lower the attack of all face up monsters on your opponent's side of the field by 200 points.
Ghost Knight Sniper: Ghostly Assault: Once per turn, you may discard any number of 'Ghost' monster cards from your hand. For each card discarded this way, you may inflict 500 points of damage to your opponent.
/-//-/-/--//-///-/
Sorry! But no preview! The finalists and their matches are going to be secret and you'll all enjoy what's going to happen…
…but, I will leave you with this…
/-/---//-//
RRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG! RRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG!
"Damn…I need to change that ring tone…"
'Click!'
"Yeah? Oh…nice to hear from you again!"
…
"Hmm, I see…fine, I've already got what you need to do. I'll send one of my agents on the island meet up with you with some orders…you already know who he is so it shouldn't be that hard."
"But, just to make sure that you don't miss who he is…he'll say my name…and just in case you forgot…it's…"
"…Big Boss…"