SailorStar9: With Chapter 73 uploaded, I present Chapter 74 of this fic. For everyone who put this fic on your favorited and followed lists and/or story alerts, thank you, but remember everyone, a lot of authors (myself included) sustain on readers' reviews.
Disclaimer: I own nothing expect the Safiastra and Ami's dueling deck.
Chapter 74: Kaiba vs. The Eighth Duelist
"We will now hold the fourth duel of the tournament." Isono declared, after Mai retreated back to her room to recuperate.
"Yuugi, watch me." Kaiba prepared to take the stage. "This will be a battle for the God Cards and the title of 'Duel King'. In order to settle the score with you, I will win this battle." this unknown duelist who hasn't shown themselves yet. He mused. Who cares? I'll crush any foe who stands before me. So, he finally shows himself? He smirked, seeing the elevator raise to the Aerial Duel Ring.
"Fourth match, Kaiba Seto versus..." Isono gestured to the eighth duelist. "His opponent is..."
"You're late." Kaiba snapped. "You've got some nerve, making me wait. Or if you don't want to be here, it's fine for you to surrender now. You're..." he gaped, seeing Ishizu after she pulled down her face cloth.
"Contestant Number 8, your name please." Isono requested.
"My name is Ishizu Ishtar." Ishizu replied.
On the sidelines...
"Nee-san..." Marik breathed.
On the Aerial Duel Ring...
"Why are you..." Kaiba frowned.
"I am guided here by my own fate." Ishizu replied.
"Explain it in a way I can understand." Kaiba instructed.
"That person is my younger brother." Ishizu turned to Marik. "I know his darker personality has been sealed away, but it's only a temporal measure. In order to save my younger brother, Marik, I will win this duel. Seto, this Millennium Tauk has the power to see into the future. You will lose your battle with me. You cannot escape that fate."
"The future, right?" Kaiba snorted. "More of that Occult rubbish, again? I've grown tired of your ridiculous jokes. Who was it that gave the God Card, 'Obelisk the Tormentor', at the museum and asked for my help in destroying the Ghouls? And this tournament was held for that sole purpose. Now you say you will defeat me? You are quite bold. You've made much better impression than our first meeting."
"The commander of the Ghouls, thieves who raid duelists all over the world in secrecy, is my younger brother, Marik." Ishizu admitted. "As the leader of the Ghouls, it's natural not to forgive him for the crime of stealing Rare Cards. But compared to this, there's a more terrifying threat in Marik now."
"I see." Kaiba remarked. "That's why you spoke to me and asked me to hold this tournament as bait for the Ghouls. Now I know what drives your resolve, but something still bothers me. You use me for your goals and claim you're going to beat me. You're saying you can see the future' I'm sorry Ishizu, but your superstitious Occult paraphernalia won't work on me. I'll use my Cards to decide my future. And I'll use the power of the Obelisk you handed to me to do so."
But what if that very same Obelisk instead leads you to a path of destruction? Ishizu wondered.
"Declare the start of the duel, Isono." Kaiba ordered.
"Let the duel begin." Isono declared.
Seto, I can see everything in your future. Ishizu sighed.
"My turn." Kaiba started first.
You're Summoning 'Vorse Raider' in Attack Mode. Ishizu predicted.
"I Summon 'Vorse Raider' in Attack Mode." Kaiba played his Card.
Furthermore, you will set one reverse Card. Ishizu added.
"Then, I'll set a reverse Card." Kaiba added. "Turn end."
"Everything is the same as my vision." Ishizu declared. "It's my turn, right? 'Keldo' in Defense Mode."
On the sidelines...
"She didn't look at the Card she drew." Jonouchi pondered.
"Has Ishizu really seen everything that will happen in this match?" Yami Yuugi wondered.
"So you mean she already knows what Card she will draw?" Anzu asked.
"It's a trick." Jonouchi insisted. "Mai did the same thing before."
"It's not the same as the Aroma Tactics trick Mai was using." Yami Yuugi corrected. "The wind is too strong up here, so the fragrance would just blow away."
"Nee-san's abilities are far from a trick." Marik supplied. "She's the real deal. You find out what I mean soon enough."
On the Aerial Duel Ring...
"And now I activate a Magic Card." Ishizu continued. "'Exchange of the Spirit'."
An annoying Card that exposes both of our hands. Kaiba realized. She'll make me discard my best Cards. Such a humiliating Card.
"Please discard 'Kaiser Glider' and 'Polymerization'." Ishizu requested.
That woman knew the Cards in my hand without seeing them. Kaiba gritted his teeth. Can it be some kind of trick that lets her see my hand? "Let me see your Cards. Discard 'Monster Reborn' and 'Revival Magic' from your hand."
"Turn end." Ishizu ended her turn after discarding the two mentioned Cards.
On the sidelines...
"Nee-san's really using that strategy?" Marik shivered. "Not even I can defeat that deck."
"You're kidding?" Ami turned to her blond lover.
"Who did you think was the one who taught me how to duel?" Marik smirked.
On the Aerial Duel Ring...
"It's my turn." Kaiba took his turn. "'Vorse Raider', attack. How's that?" he challenged, taking out 'Keldo'. "Is that what you saw in your future? Before you look into the future, you should look at the enemy right in front of you, Ishizu."
"It appears that you still don't understand." Ishizu stated. "I've seen everything concerning this battle. What Cards you will play and how you will lose. I know it all."
"It's you who don't understand." Kaiba retorted. "Did you really think using such a feint would work with me? Furthermore, I will set a reverse Card on the field. My turn is over."
"It's my turn." Ishizu took her turn. "I Summon 'Mudora'. In addition, on this turn, I equip 'Mudora' with the Equipment Card, 'Sword of Dogra'. Attack 'Vorse Raider'."
"Reverse Card, open." Kaiba countered. "Fall into the trap of Hell." he used 'Shrink' to halve 'Vorse Raider's Attack Points. "Now that this Dark Attribute Monster has less than 1000 Attack Points, he becomes the carrier of the virus. All the Monsters on your field and in your deck are destroyed. Put all of your Monsters with 1500 Attack or higher into the graveyard."
"Very well." Ishizu discarded the Monster Card in her hand, as well as the bulk of her deck. "I will invoke this now. 'Swords of Revealing Light'."
"So, you plan to strengthen your hand and use this to escape demise during the next three turns?" Kaiba remarked.
"I'm not planning to escape." Ishizu corrected. "The 'Swords of Revealing Light' shall act as a countdown to your defeat. During those three turns, you will raw the Card that will decide your defeat."
"Save the sleep-talking gibberish fro when you're actually asleep." Kaiba retorted. "You've already got one foot in the grave. You're the one whose lost their best Cards, their main battle force. You can just wait out these three turns and pray that you draw better Cards."
"I will set one Card on the field." Ishizu was unfazed. "My turn is over."
On the sidelines...
"Kaiba just played right into nee-san's hands." Marik shook his head. "The important question now is when will she play that Card."
On the Aerial Duel Ring...
"My turn." Kaiba took his turn. "Moreover, I put one Card in reverse." he added, Summoning 'Dark Gremlin'. "Turn end."
"It's my turn." Ishizu took her turn. "Turn end." she passed her turn, drawing 'Muko'.
"What's wrong?" Kaiba mocked. "Didn't you draw a Monster? Don't you see the future of my failure? It seems very different."
"You'll draw the Card which guides you to destruction in just two turns." Ishizu insisted.
"I'm not the one who's putting on a show here." Kaiba taunted. "The Card I'll draw up next and every Card I'll draw after that are nothing short of the road you're walking on that will lead to your loss. My turn. Turn end."
"Turn end." Ishizu also ended her turn after drawing a Card. "There's just one more turn."
"Ishizu, this is the supposed 'countdown to my loss'?" Kaiba snorted. "It's hard to believe that you played the 'Swords of Revealing Light' yet couldn't manage to get a single Card out on the field. How about struggling a bit more for me? But, no matter what you draw, all that awaits you is a pit of despair. My turn. Turn end." he ended his turn after drawing a Card.
"It's my turn." Ishizu took her turn. "Turn end." she ended her turn after drawing a Card. "The countdown to your loss has been completed."
"And even though you gave yourself three more turns to live, and you couldn't even play a mere Wall Monster." Kaiba smirked. "How can you even say that? The effects of 'Swords of Revealing Light' have vanished. Are you ready for this? 'Dark Gremlin', direct attack the player. The future is infinite. The past is merely a string of footsteps. The stuff that happened long before my time in the past has nothing to do with me. Ishizu, the same goes for the fact that you gave me a God Card. Listen carefully, Ishizu, I won't be controlled by the future. The road I walk myself; that is what determines my future."
SailorStar9: Any OOC-nes is regretted. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Reviews are much appreciated.