Chapter Ten: Burning Hatred

Jasmine had finally returned to the stadium, trying her best to sit as far away from Callum as possible. Luckily for her, she got her chance to get away from him when she was called up for the next duel. Over half of the duelists were gone now, and yet Jasmine didn't feel accomplished for making it so far. She didn't feel good about her argument with Callum, but she didn't want to admit it.

As Jasmine walked out into the dueling area, she was surprised to see Lucy standing there. Lucy seemed to be just as shocked as Jasmine was.

"So, the one who tripped me up has returned. I guess this is the perfect opportunity to show you how much better my deck really is," Lucy sneered.

This only grew Jasmine's hatred towards Lucy, but she decided not to respond. There was no point. Winning the duel would show her superiority far better than words.

"No reply? I guess I was too intimidating. I can't say I blame you," mocked Lucy.

Jasmine growled, but she refrained from replying.

"We are now over the halfway point of the tournament, and this time we have Jasmine back with her Gimmick Puppet deck against Lucy with her Chain Burn deck! The coin flip has chosen Lucy to go first. Let's begin!" the commentator announced.

Jasmine (Gimmick Puppet) 8000 LP VS. Lucy (Chain Burn) 8000 LP

Turn 1 - Lucy - 8000 LP - 5 cards in hand - 0 monsters on field - 0 spells/traps on field

"I set 5 cards face-down in my Spell & Trap Zone and I end my turn. Good luck getting past that! I end my turn."

Turn 2 - Jasmine - 8000 LP - 5 cards in hand - 0 monsters on field - 0 spells/traps on field

"I draw! I'm going to finish you off as fast as I can. First, I normal summon 'Gagaga Magician' (Lv4 ATK 1500/DEF 1000) and activate its effect, allowing me to change its level to 8 (Lv4 — 8)."

"Wait 'Gagaga Magician'? I thought you had a Gimmick Puppet deck!"

"Yes Lucy, I do have a Gimmick Puppet deck. I just put this card in because I liked its design. Now, the effect of 'Gimmick Puppet Bisque Doll' (Lv8 ATK 1000/DEF 1000) activates in my hand! By discarding 'Gimmick Puppet Dreary Doll' (Lv8 ATK 0/DEF 0), I can special summon Bisque Doll to the field. Now, I'll use Bisque Doll and Gagaga Magician to xyz summon 'Number 40: Gimmick Puppet of Strings' (Rank 8 ATK 3000/DEF 2000). I activate the quick-play spell 'Limiter Removal' to double the ATK of Strings, with the downside of Strings being destroyed at the end of my turn (ATK 3000 — 6000). Now, Strings attacks you directly!"

Jasmine was so blinded by her haste to win against Lucy that she hadn't even considered the consequences of her attack. She only realised her mistake when Lucy began to laugh.

"You idiot! That move has basically cost you the duel! I activate the trap 'Dimension Wall'! Its effect forces you to take the battle damage that I would have taken from your attack, but I'm not stopping there. I chain the traps 'Ojama Trio', 'Reckless Greed' and 'Accumulated Fortune' as well! 'Accumulated Fortune' could only be activated as Chain Link 4 or higher, but with an effect that allows me to draw 2 cards, it's definitely worth putting in the effort to build that chain. 'Reckless Greed' draws me 2 cards, skipping my next 2 draw phases as a cost. 'Ojama Trio' special summons 3 'Ojama Tokens' (Lv2 ATK 0/DEF 1000) to your field in defense position in order to fill up your field for my burn cards. Finally, the effect of 'Dimension Wall' activates, inflicting you with 6000 points of damage. To worsen your situation, 'Limiter Removal' will also ensure that your Strings will be destroyed at the end of your turn."

Jasmine's LP 8000 — 2000

Jasmine clenched her fists, frustrated at her own stupidity. "I end my turn."

Lucy grinned, elated to see her opponent so disheartened. All she had to do now was finish the duel.

Turn 3 - Lucy - 8000 LP - 4 cards in hand - 0 monsters on field - 1 spell on field

"It's time to set my field up for your demise. I activate the spell 'Pot of Duality' to excavate the top 3 cards of my deck and add one to my hand. I choose 'Just Desserts' and I set it immediately. I activate 'Upstart Goblin' to draw 1 card, but you gain 1000 LP."

Jasmine's LP 2000 — 3000

"Trust me, that small boost won't save you. I set the final 3 cards in my hand. Go ahead and take your final turn."

Turn 4 - Jasmine - 3000 LP - 2 cards in hand - 3 monsters on field - 0 spells/traps on field

"We'll see about that! I draw! First, I'll normal summon 'Gimmick Puppet Egg Head' (Lv4 ATK 1600/DEF 1200) and activate its effect. By discarding the 'Gimmick Puppet Nightmare' (Lv8 ATK 1000/DEF 2000) I just drew, I can increase Egg Head's level to 8 (Lv4 — 8). By banishing Bisque Doll from my graveyard, I can special summon Dreary Doll back to the field. Using Egg Head and Dreary Doll, I xyz summon another 'Number 40: Gimmick Puppet of Strings'! I activate its effect by detaching Dreary Doll to place a String Counter on each one of the 'Ojama Tokens'. Now, I activate the spell 'Rank-Up-Magic Barian's Force'! It ranks my Strings up into a Machine-Type Chaos Number! Come on out, 'Number C40: Gimmick Puppet of Dark Strings' (Rank 9 ATK 3300/DEF 2000)!"

Lucy clapped sarcastically. "Wow, that's amazing. It's a shame it won't be able to dig you out of the hole you've put yourself in."

"That's what you think! Dark Strings instantly destroys every monster on the field with a String Counter and then draws me a card." Nice, I drew another Bisque Doll for my next turn. Jasmine thought as she looked at her hand. "Now that those tokens are gone, your burn cards will be far less effective, likely buying me another turn! Time for the Battle Ph..."

"Did you really think you could win after such an abysmal first turn? Sorry, but I can't let you go into your Battle Phase. I'm going for a perfect win. I activate the trap 'Ceasefire', followed by 'Just Desserts', 'Secret Blast', 'Secret Barrel' and the quick-play spell 'Chain Strike'! 'Chain Strike' deals 400 damage to you multiplied by the Chain Link number of the card, which is 5! That's already 2000 damage, but I'm not finished yet. 'Secret Barrel' deals you 200 damage for every card you control and have in your hand. You currently have Dark Strings on your field and Bisque Doll in your hand, so that's 400 damage. 'Secret Blast' deals you 300 damage for each card you control, which is just Dark Strings. 'Just Desserts' and 'Ceasefire' both deal you 500 damage for your Dark Strings! That's 3700 damage in total! Sorry Jasmine, but you're finished!"

Jasmine's LP 3000 — 0

WINNER: Lucy

The commentator, who had been quiet the whole time, finally spoke. "Um... well that was quite an intense duel. I guess Lucy is the winner."

The commentator was clearly uncomfortable about the fierce rivalry between Jasmine and Lucy. Jasmine didn't even know what to say. She simply walked off into the waiting room and sat down with her eyes to the floor. Callum glanced over in her direction, but decided against saying anything. He wasn't going to comfort her until she apologised for what she had done earlier to Jake.

Callum sighed. "This is going to be a long day."