Chapter 3: The Blazing Dead

Jack drove around on his Duel Runner, looking for worthy opponents. So far his search had yielded no results.

"Come on, who wants a piece of the king!"

"Don't you mean the former king?"

Pulling right alongside him was Hunter Pace, sneering at him with malice.

"Last I checked, Yusei kicked your ass and dethroned you! How's it feel to be the former champ?"

"I don't know, how's it feel to be a washed up has been?"

This made Hunter mad, and he loudly revved his runner's engine.

"That's it! You and me, Turbo Duel right now!"

"Fine, if you want to embarrass yourself once more. I guess on the bright side, no one will be here to see you lose again!"

"Dream on, Atlas! Old Hunter here has learned some new tricks. I activate the field spell Speed World 2!"

A purple aura enveloped the area surrounding them, signifying the activation of the field spell. Just as the two were about to start their engines, the ground beneath them to shake.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know!"

Slowly, the path rose from the ground, taking them high into the sky while protective barriers shot up around them. When the shaking had stopped, they found that the path had turned into a Duel Runner track shaped in the symbol for infinity.

"So that's what that Surtr guy was talking about. Alright Jack, let's do this for real! No autopilot, first to the corner takes the first turn!"

"Fine by me! 3..."

"2..."

"1..."

"GO!"

The two shot off, racing for the corner. At first they were neck in neck, but just as Jack was about to pull ahead Hunter rammed him, forcing his way into the lead.

Hunter: 4000

Jack: 4000

"You want the first turn that badly? Fine the, take it!"

"With pleasure (HSC:1) (JSC: 1)! And to start, I'll discard Skull Conductor so that I can use his effect to summon 2 Burning Skull Heads from my hand (1000/800)! And when they're special summoned from my hand, you take 1000 points of damage!"

The two skulls turned and launched themselves at Jack, exploding in a small inferno that rocked the field. Jack just drove out of the smoke unfazed.

Jack: 2000

"So what, you've been using that tactic for years! It hasn't beaten me before, and it never will!"

"Who said I was done? I summon the tuner monster Pain Painter (400/200)! And with his effect, I can make my level 3 Skull Heads level 2!"

The grotesque artist took his paintbrush and painted a red X across one of the stars from each of his companions, making them disappear.

"Now my level 2 Pain Painter tunes with my level 2 Skull Heads to Synchro Summon Archfiend Zombie Skull (2500/1200)!"

Breaking out of the ground was a severely decayed version of the classic Summoned Skull. Guts and gore oozed out from his bones, and a horrible stench permeated the air.

"So what, he's not so tough."

"Tell that to his effect. See, as long as he's on the field, my Zombies can't be destroyed by card effects. How do you like them apples? I set one card face down and end my turn."

"That's it? Let me show you how a real duelist duels (JSC: 2) (HSC: 2) ! First, since you have a monster and I don't, I can bring out Vice Dragon from my hand by cutting his attack and defense points by half (2000-1000/2400-1200). Next, I summon the tuner monster Dread Dragon (1100/400) in attack mode. Now, Dread Dragon tunes with my level 5 Power Giant in order to Synchro Summon Exploder Dragonwing (2400/1600)!"

"Looks like someone failed math. Your Dragon's 100 points too short!"

"Don't be so sure, I activate the Speed Spell Silver Contrails! By removing one speed counter (JSC: 1), my Exploder Dragonwing gains 1000 attack for the turn. Exploder Dragonwing, take out his Archfiend!"

The Dragon roared, releasing a fireball that incinerated the skeleton and sent Hunter Pace spinning out of control momentarily.

Hunter: 3100

"I'll set two cards face down and end my turn. If you have some new tricks, now's the time to use them."

"Oh, I'm gonna (JSC: 2) (HSC: 3)! I'll start by summoning my Zombie Master (1800/0)! And by discarding a monster, I can special summon a level 4 or lower Zombie from my graveyard, and who better than the Plaguespreader Zombie (400/200) I discarded? Next, I tune Zombie Master with Plaguespreader in order to summon Revived King Ha Des (2450/0)! Next, I activate Call of the Haunted to bring back Archfiend Zombie Skull. Now my zombies, rip him to shreds!"

"As if! I activate Half or Nothing! Now you get a choice, Hunter. Either all of your monsters get their attack points cut in half, or your battle phase is over."

"Grr, You think you're so clever, don't you? But I have other ways to inflict damage, like my Speed Storm Speed Spell! Since I have 3 Speed Counters, you take 1000 points of damage!"

Jack barely reacted as the winds buffeted his duel runner, dropping his life points even further.

"I set one card face down and end my turn. Your move, Jackie!"

Jack thinks he's so clever, but I have him all figured out. Next turn, he's going to summon Red Dragon Archfiend, like he always does. Too bad for him, I have my Tuner Scheme ready to snatch it up! And even if he has a way to get it back, I can return Speed Storm to my hand next turn, and my Count Up spell will give me enough counters to use it again! Either way, I win, and revenge will be mine!

"I tribute Exploderwing Dragon!"

"What? Why?"

"So I can summon Strong Wind Dragon (2400/1000)! And yes, his attack points are lower than your monsters, but that's what his special ability is for! If I summon him by tributing a dragon type monster, he gains half that monster's attack points (2400-3600)!"

"That's not good."

"And its about to get worse, because I activate the Speed Spell Ignition! By destroying my facedown, all of your monsters switch their battle positions."

A huge explosion rocked the field, forcing Hunter's monsters into a kneeling position.

"And sadly for you, Strong Wind Dragon deals battle damage even when your monsters are in defense position."

"What? But that menas-"

"Remember this, Hunter: Once a loser, always a loser! Strong Wind Dragon, dethrone his king and end this duel!"

Strong winds rocked the undead king, reducing him to a pile of bones while Hunter's duel runner powered down while his life points hit zero.

Hunter: 0000

Jack wins!

Hunter growled furiously, pounding his fist while Jack sped off.

"I'll get you, Jack! If its the last thing I do!"