Chapter 83: Psychic Nightmare

"Well, that sure was something, but now its time we move on to duel #3: Yuya Sakaki vs Divine!"

Yuya rode his Duel Runner onto the track, where he found Divine waiting for him. The Psychic regarded him with a scoff.

"Well, well, well. Ready to lose?"

"Fat chance. You'll pay for what you did to Moon Shadow!"

"Please. With what lies in store for him, he'll wish I killed him."

"What? What do you-"

"I activate the field spell, Crossover Acceleration! On your mark...get set...GO!"

Although it was a close race for the gate, Yuya quickly overtook his opponent, grabbing the first turn.

Yuya: 4000

Divine: 4000

Crap, this hand won't do me much good. Better play it safe for now.

"I summon Performapal Skeeter Skimmer (500/1600) in attack mode! Next, I set one card face down and end my turn.

"Is that what you call a move? Let me show you how its done. First, I activate the spell Star Blast! I pay 1000 life points to reduce the level of a monster in my hand by 2.

Divine: 3000

"I now summon Overdrive Teleporter (2100/1200) in attack mode! Next, I activate his effect, allowing me to pay 2000 life points to special summon 2 level 3 Psychic monsters from my deck."

Divine: 1000

"Come on out, Psychic Commander (1400/800) and Mind Protector (0/2200)! Now Psychic Commander gives Teleporter and Protector a tune up! I Synchro Summon Hyper Psychic Blaster (3000/2500) in attack mode!"

The usual synchro portal appeared as normal, but instead of riding right alongside it like other duelists, Divine rode right into it, disappearing in a column of light.

"What is this guy doing?"

Then, to Yuya and the audience's shock, the light disappeared to reveal a heavily armored monster with dual blasters pointed right at Yuya. But the greatest surprise was who was wearing it: Divine himself!

"What? But how?"

"This is the fullest extent of a Psychic duelist's potential, and you're about to experience it first hand. Next, I equip myself with Psychic Sword, giving me an extra 2000 attack points (3000-5000). Say your prayers, Yuya!"

Raising his left blaster, Divine shot out a masive blast of energy, heading straight towards Yuya's monster.

"I activate Skeeter Skimmer's special ability to switch him into defense mode and negate your attack, so I get to live another turn."

Undaunted, Divine grabbed an action card, practically shoving it into his duel disk.

"Maybe so, but with Double Sword I can attack again! And I get to deal Piercing Damage, so don't think you'll get off easily!"

Once more he fired, this time the blast was larger and Yuya didn't get a chance to dodge as it hit him dead on, causing him to scream in pain.

"AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH!"

"Yes, suffer! Feel the pain that you deserve!"

Yuya: 600

(Hyper Psychic Blaster: 5000-3000)

"And it gets better. When I destroy a monster with less defense than I have attack, I gain life points equal to your monster's defense points

Divine: 1000-2600

"I'll end my turn with that. Take your last pathetic turn."

Yuya struggled through the pain to draw his next card.

"I activate the spell card Performapal Popperup. Now I can discard three cards to draw three cards, and if I have any Performapals, Magicians, or Odd Eyes monsters in my hand I can special summon up to that many of them, so come on out Performapal Whip Snake and Performapal Bot Eyes Lizard (1600/1200)! With these two monsters I build the overlay network! I Xyz Summon Dark Rebelion Xyz Dragon!"

"Cute lizard, but I'm stronger."

"Not after I use Dark Rebellion's effect. I detach both overlay units to steal half of your monster's attack!"

The dark lightning leapt from the dragon's wings, headed towards Divine. However...

"I activate the trap card Assault Mode Activate! By tributing Hyper Psychic Blaster, I can summon its upgrade from my deck, Hyper Psychic Blaster /Assault Mode (3500/3000)!"

Divine glowed, growing larger and stronger until he was taller than Dark Rebellion. Once the light had died down, Divine was in more advanced armor, his hand blasters larger and futuristic. Even his duel runner had been transformed, combining with his lower half to form a centaur. His comeback destroyed, Yuya sighed in frustration.

"I end my turn."

"And with it, your last hope! I attack you and end this duel!"

He raised up his left blaster, charging up a massive shot. Yuya spotted an Action card up ahead and raced toward it.

"Nothing can save you now, Yuya! Goodbye!"

"Almost there...Got it!"

Just as the energy wave left Divine's gun, Yuya managed to grab it. And it was just what he needed.

"I activate the action card, Selection of Miracle! And I choose to half the damage I take!"

Yuya could only watch as the shot hit his Dragon, causing it to roar in pain as its skin practically melted off, leaving only its skeleton to be consumed by the fire.

"I'm sorry, Yuto."

Yuya: 100

"Don't think you're safe. When I destroy a monster in battle, you lose life points equal to your monsters attack points!"

"Not if I discard Performapal Raingoat from my hand! This reduces the damage I take to zero."

Yuya cringed as his monster shielded him from the second blast. Even if he didn't take damage, he could still feel the intense heat.

"Humph, so you got lucky. Good for you, but now I gain life points equal to your monster's defense points."

Divine: 4600

"I guess that's it, then. Your move. Make it count, because next turn you're going down."

"There won't be a next turn."

Yuya slowly raised his head, but something seemed...off. Like he wasn't himself.

"Oh yeah? And why's that?"

"Because this ends now."

Up in Luna's room, she felt a cold sensation come over her. As if Yuya's very presence pained her.

"Something's wrong with Yuya. I sense a dark presence within him. Something...evil."

Back on the track, Divine chuckled at Yuya's claim.

"Oh really? And prey tell, just how do you plan to accomplish that?"

"With this. I set Performapal Bubblebowwow in the Pendulum Scale. Next, I summon Performapal Odd Eyes Synchron (200/600) in attack mode. Next, I activate his effect to summon Bubblebowowow straight from the Pendulum zone."

"Ha! That's your big plan? I'll crush them both easily."

"I tune my level 6 Performapal Bubblebowwow with my level 2 Performapal Odd Eyes Synchron!"

"What?!"

"Come on out, Enlightenment Paladin (2500/2000) in attack mode!"

Divine just grinned when he saw Yuya's new monster.

"Not bad, but I'm still stronger!"

"Not for long. I activate the spell card Gap Power! When my life points are lower than yours, my Enlightenment Paladin gains attack points equal to half the difference (2500-4750)."

"Uh oh."

"Finish him off, Enlightenment Paladin!"

Yuya's new monster leapt right at Divine, slashing right through his armor. Sparks flew as the armor began to rip apart, Divine screaming as the metal of his duel runner now began to tear into his exposed flesh.

Divine: 2850

Despite the pain, Divine managed to compose himself.

"I'm...still in this."

"No, you're not. When Enlightenment Paladin destroys a monster by battle, you take damage equal to that monster's attack points."

Divine gasped as Yuya's Paladin turned towards him again, sending an arc of energy right at him, shocking him into submission as his life points plummeted.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Then, just as they hit zero, his duel runner exploded, sending him and chunks of metal everywhere, much to everyone's horror.

Divine: 0000

Yuya wins!

Yuya soon regained consciousness, confused over what had happened. One minute he was dueling, the next he wakes up to the duel being over. It was as if he had blacked out, and yet...

"The winner is Yuya, everybody!"

"Huh? What do you-"

Yuya's train of thought was interrupted by the sight of his opponent. Or rather, what had became of him. The remains of Divine's Duel Runner lay a few feet away, a smoldering wreck. But that was nothing compared to Divine's state. His whole body was covered in severe burns, as if his flesh was melting. Bits of metal clung to his skin, causing him more pain and suffering. If it wasn't for the pained rising and falling of his chest, one would assume Divine was dead.

"Wh-what did I do?"