In the Kanto Regional Tournament finals, Yumi faces off against Ren and learns the true terror of his unpredictable deck.
This was really the finals. Really, truly the finals. Yumi could barely believe she'd made it to the Regional Championship in the first place, let alone done so well as to be one of the last two duelists left standing by the end of it. She'd really made it.
After a thorough round of siding in cards, she made her way towards the arena for the last time. The entire walk there, she couldn't help but skip and bounce and flap her hands in excitement, barely having the strength to compose herself before it was time to take the field. She also made sure to slip her goggles back over her eyes once more, this duel being just as important as the one before it.
"It's been a long journey!" the announcer shouted into the microphone. "Finally, after the blood, the sweat, the tears, and the determination of all of our fine competitors, two duelists are left to stand above the rest! When the dust settles on this climactic battle, one will be crowned as the Duel Monsters Champion of the entire Kanto region!"
The crowd exploded into cheers, the night's long battles about to come to an electrifying conclusion. Whether it be from the stands, the TV at home, or in the competitor areas backstage, all eyes were on the field as they awaited the final pair of combatants to kick things off.
Yumi was the first out, jumping back at just how loud the applause was this time. To say she'd won over the spectators would be an understatement to the degree it might be an outright falsehood, the people absolutely loving her as the underdog of this tournament. Quite a few had also gone on the hunt to find out more about her, seeing her past success at Chiba and even learning of her heritage as the daughter of two accomplished pros. Though she may have come here an unknown, she was now being hailed as a prodigy and an inspiration as well as the clear favorite of most of the people currently watching.
While the enthusiasm was an almost intoxicating sensation to absorb, Yumi's main concern was spotting Sakuya in the crowd. Up until leaving the stage the last time, she hadn't been focused enough to do so with how intense her matches had been. However, the strange sense of confidence and contentedness the conclusion to her duel with Rio left her with finally gave her the push she needed to spot that familiar blue hat several rows up and across from where she stood.
"She's really going to win!" Suzy squealed beside Sakuya in their seats. "I know that guy seems strong, but I really think Yumi's got this!" Turning to Sakuya, she gave her a nudge in the arm. "She was always talking about how much you taught her, but this is crazy. Maybe you should teach me next time. I'm almost jealous."
"It was a one time only deal for Yumi," she replied, trying to keep herself sociable despite her nervousness. As excited as she was to see her friend make it this far, the last leg of any journey was always bound to be the hardest. Her confidence in Yumi didn't waver but something inside her said that maybe things wouldn't be as simple when it came to fighting the mascot again.
All that aside, Sakuya was having her own doubts. Not about Yumi, but her own place in all of this. Suzy's words were meant to be complimentary but only served to highlight how useless she'd felt as of late. Her greatest contribution to Yumi's success was a few months of help improving her base game and strategies over the summer, after which it was the responsibility of that Fukukado and the Critical Games people. After that, all she could really do was remind her to take things seriously and bother her about some card choices. Sure, she'd at least done enough to help Yumi win the Prefecture Championship, but that seemed so small now. Insignificant, almost.
She was being absurd and she knew it. This wasn't about her; it was about Yumi. She was here for Yumi, to support her and show her her love. Worrying about herself was just a load of selfish nonsense. "She'll definitely win," she blurted out, hoping that verbalizing this would refocus her mind back to the more important things at hand.
"While Takano Yumi's feats can't be understated," the announced proclaimed after giving a small introduction, "the same can be said for our next competitor, Kanekura Ren!" More applause now but with the shocking realization that it was less so than for Yumi even as the man himself walked out onto the field with a lazy wave.
"Our longtime watchers probably know this man by now! He's shown up here several times over the years and took home the title twice! One of Tokyo's finest duelists, Kanekura Ren's varying strategies always keep his opponent's on their toes in ways few others can even dream of!"
Both duelists met in the center of the arena, handing off their decks to shuffle. "Looks like we kept our promise," Ren said cheerfully.
"Met in the finals, just like you said," Yumi nodded. "Don't expect me to go easy on you just because you gave me a helpful card."
He chuckled. "Wouldn't dream of it. And I'm not holding back just because you got me a couple million views. If anything, I've got to redeem myself to my fans." They traded decks back, moving to their sides of the field.
"I guess this is where the real fight begins," Ren said, a slick black duel disk of the same cutting edge series as Yumi's activating on his left arm. Was the rest of the tournament not a real fight to him? He was probably just trying to act tough and give a good show to the audience.
"You'd better go all out from the start!" Yumi told him. "If you don't, I'm going to run you over in no time!" Her own duel disk sprung to life as she held it parallel to the ground.
"Then let's not waste any time!" he shouted, placing two fingers on top of his deck before they both gave a powerful, "Duel!" in unison. Taking his hand, he cracked a smile. "My deck's almost screaming out to fight you," he said. "It wants to avenge its comrade for last time we met."
"Just try it!" Yumi said with a goofy grin. "It'll just end up like last time."
"Are you sure about that?" he asked. "I'll start my turn with the Magic Card, Pot of Greed!" He placed the card into his duel disk. "When I activate this, I can draw two more cards from my deck and add them to my hand."
He pulled the cards out of his deck, adding them to the four others he already held. "Now the fun really begins," he said ominously, taking one of his new cards and placing it into a slot on the top of the duel disk blade. "Field Magic, activate! I open the page to reveal Toon Kingdom!"
The legendary Toon deck. The shock still hadn't faded even after its several appearances in this tournament so far. Notoriously the sole property of one of the most prolific card designers in the game's history, he'd had the cards reprinted and released to the public the day of his death a few decades back. Even then, they were impossibly rare with barely anyone managing to get a full set, let alone a functioning deck.
Anyone but Kanekura Ren it seemed. "To activate this, I need to banish the top three cards of my deck face-down." He took the cards and placed them into his pocket, paying no mind to what they were. "But from now on, it's as if I control the card Toon World. I kind of like to think of it as a reprint, though. You know, the kind with all the text annotations and a foreword by some kind of famous author."
After a quick laugh at his own joke, he was ready to full unleash this card's power. "First, I Special Summon the monster Toon Mermaid from my hand!" The large book behind him that display Toon Kingdom's castle flipped over several pages, the caricatured mermaid popping from the pages inside a clam shell after it settled on an underwater scene.
"This card's pretty useful given it summons itself when I control Toon World," he explained. "That frees up my Normal Summon for my next card, Toon Gemini Elf!" The process repeated, the elves jumping out from a forest to stand beside the mermaid, all three creatures seeming to hold a conversation in some nonsense language after recognizing each other.
Raising a hand up, his monsters realized mid-conversation they'd begun to glow, their bodies turning to light and flying off to leave behind three sets of cartoon eyes that sped off behind them. "I overlay my Level 4 Toon Mermaid with my Level 4 Toon Gemini Elf to construct the Overlay Network!"
A deck like this that had so much summoning potential with so little cost was ideal for taking advantage of the Extra Deck. "Xyz Summon! Rank 4, Lavalval Chain!" A serpentine creature burst forth from overhead, letting out a screech as a torrent of fire rose up around it.
"By detaching an Overlay Unit from Chain, I can send a card from my deck to the Graveyard," Ren explain, one of the orbiting red balls of light around the creature absorbing into its chest to raise the fires higher. "I'll drop Super-Electromagnetic Turtle," he declared, the card ejecting from his duel disk to allow him to change its position, the deck then shuffling.
He took another card from his hand. "My turn's not done," he said, activating his card. "I play Instant Fusion, letting me immediately Fusion Summon a monster without its materials for the cost of 1000 Life Points." The gigantic instant ramen container appeared beside Chain and over some of the flames, steam rising from a small opening at the mouth of the cup. "I use it to summon Elder God Norden!"
Bursting forth from the cup was an aesthetically incongruent figure. Pulled in a chariot by an aquatic equine, a bearded man raised a trident to the sky to bring down a bolt of lightning into the field. "Norden's a bit special," Ren explained. "When I summon it, I can also summon back a Level 4 or lower monster from my Graveyard next to it. I'll choose the Toon Gemini Elf I detached from Chain."
The elves returned, looking quite relieved to be back to life moments before they were sucked back up into another vortex. "Xyz Summon! Rank 4, Exciton Glimmer Knight, Verzbuth!"
"Fusion Xyz!" Yumi noted. "This is so cool! We're playing the same kind of deck, just like I thought!"
He nodded. "I value efficiency in my plays. It's the shortest way to get some really powerful monsters out all at once. I guess we're on the same wavelength in that regard." With a smile, he played the second to last card in his hand. "Before I end my turn, I activate Field Barrier. This protects Toon Kingdom from destruction and ensures no one else can play a Field Magic. Your move."
His reason for using that card was obvious. With so much of his deck running based on Toon World, protecting it and not setting off a good number of his main deck monsters' self-destruction effects was a good investment along. On top of that, he prevented opponents from using their own Field Cards come the second turn.
More than any of that, though, it was to keep Exciton's effect viable. So long as Field Barrier held out, Ren would get at least one blast off the knight's effect without fear. He might lose Chain but that was a small price to pay for clearing a dodgy field. So long as Toon Kingdom remained, he could easily rebuild his board with little problem.
"Draw!" Yumi declared. She was already working all of this out in her head, identifying both a way around this defense as well as a counterattack for later down the line. It didn't hurt that Ren left himself with only a single card in hand, hopefully meaning his next turn's combo potential wouldn't be nearly as good as the first.
"I activate Heavy Storm," Yumi said, placing a card into her duel disk that whipped up a maelstrom. "This blows away every Magic and Trap Card on the field."
"Good try, but Field Barrier saves Toon Kingdom even if you can destroy Barrier itself." Just as he explained, the barrier card was torn to bits while the green bubble it produced around the Toon Kingdom remained until the winds died down. "You'll have to try harder than that."
She only smiled. "I guess you're right," she agreed, though she was more than aware he'd already figured out the true purpose of Heavy Storm. Exciton was locked down now unless he felt like taking a hit himself. She was willing to bet he wasn't given the extra defense of Toon Kingdom in the first place, but it seemed like they'd find out in a matter of seconds.
"I summon my monster, Rescue Rabbit! My friend here is pretty useful in letting me get out monsters, so I'm going to banish him to use his effect!" The fluffy rabbit bounced to the field, standing on its hind legs and speaking into the device around its neck. Suddenly, it screamed, a piercing static crunch coming from the other end. As it disappeared, the monster fell on its back in a daze.
"Wait, what happened?" Yumi questioned, utterly baffled by this bizarre turn of events.
"Not much," Ren said as he held up a card. "I just activated my monster's effect. Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring." He discarded the card before explaining. "If an effect activates that would interact with your deck, either by summoning monsters, sending cards, or adding things to your hand, I can negate it."
"That's unreal!" Yumi proclaimed.
Ren only shrugged. "It's not too different from Necro Maria. I guess I can admit it's kind of rough, though. Too bad you had such a good card in your opening hand."
Yumi had no way of knowing whether this was a staple of his deck or if he'd sided it specifically to fight her. Either way, it wasn't a very pleasant turn of events. Her current hand didn't have the resources to bounce back from that, essentially meaning her turn was over. "I set a card and end."
"I thought for sure you'd be able to do something more than that," Ren said, almost seeming disappointed. "Too bad."
"I'm just getting warmed up," Yumi said, pouting a bit. She didn't like being talked down to like that even if it did seem to be a joke.
"Then let's see how you can deal with this turn," he replied. Drawing a card, Lavalval's remaining Overlay Unit flew into it. "I use Chain's effect again to send Overlay Eater to my Graveyard." This seemed like an obvious side against Yumi in specific, that card having some potential to be annoying if she did get back on her feet after that rough start.
"Now seems like a good idea to do some searching," he said, playing another card. "I activate Toon Table of Contents." Toon Kingdom flipped to its opening pages. "I can search a new Toon card to my hand with this. What to choose, what to choose..." He cracked a smile. "Well, I think I'll choose Toon Table of Contents!"
"You can do that?" Yumi asked.
"It doesn't say I can't," he replied smugly. "Only that it searches a Toon card. And wouldn't you know it, Toon Table of Contents is just that. In fact, I think I'll do it again just to prove my point." True to his word, he played the new Table of Contents and searched out the third copy, activating that immediately to perform a more authentic search. "I'll grab Toon Mask to put an end to all of that."
Pointless as that might have seemed, it was very successful at reducing his deck by another three cards. That was a total of four cards dropped since the turn began, the efficiency that provided making it all the more likely for the real danger of Ren's deck to finally show itself.
But now he came to a problem. "Let's see..." He tapped his chin. "I guess I could destroy the field. Chain's used up its materials now and you have a pesky face-down, but I'd also be giving up all my potential for damage and losing my Kingdom. That's a pretty big cost. How worried am I about what you might have?"
"Are you sure you want to be saying all of that out loud?" Yumi asked, feeling again like she was being condescended to.
"Oh, it's fine. Sometimes I talk to myself when I have a hard decision to make. Most people don't get to hear it since the mask muffles my voice." He laughed. "Really goes to show how seriously I'm taking this, right?" For some reason, these compliments were starting to sound less and less genuine as the duel went on.
With a shrug, he simply said, "Guess I'll go for it. What's life without some risk? Battle!" Both his monsters charged forward on this order, their total ATK being 3700. If this went through, Yumi would be all but completely wiped out.
"Trap activate!" Yumi declared, her card raising up. "Holy Barrier – Mirror Force! When you attack, I'll destroy all of your attacking monsters!"
Ren grit his teeth, watching as his monsters charged forward into their mirror images and shattered to bits. "Looks like that risk wasn't as well-calculated as I thought."
Literally jumping for joy, Yumi placed her card in the Graveyard. "Finally!" she shouted. "I finally got to use it! It's been so long!" After so many times of having Mirror Force destroyed or rendered useless, it finally went off without a hitch. It practically saved her life this time, too.
"Well, at least one of us is happy," Ren sighed. "I'll set a card and end my turn. Let's see that comeback now."
"Already on it!" Yumi said as she took a card. "Let's start with Angel's Charity," she declared, relieved at what she was able to draw. "I draw three to discard two." After several seconds of consideration and planning, she chose to get rid of Armaduriboh and Majesty Sanction, figuring they would be at least as useful in the Graveyard as her hand or field.
"Now I can banish the Armaduriboh I just discarded to add an Equip Magic to my hand." Scrolling through her options, she clicked on one. "I add Broken Wand," she said, taking the card before playing another. "Then, I activate Unexpected Guy! When I control no monsters, I'm able to summon a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster directly from the deck."
Materializing from the card was a copy of Hat-Trick Magician, bouncing around on the field soon to be joined by a second Normal Summoned copy Yumi already had in her hand. "I've got two monsters with the same Level now," she grinned. "So let's go! I overlay my two Level 4 Hat-Trick Magician to construct the Overlay Network! Take the stage, Great Blackstone!"
Emerging from a cloud of dark smoke, the black-suited monster gave a bow as it stepped onto the field. As soon as it did, the floating Overlay Units around it drifted into its hands to be crushed into sparkling lights. "When Great Blackstone is Xyz Summoned, I can detach both its Overlay Units to give myself a second Normal Summon for a Normal Monster."
"Convenient," Ren nodded.
"It is. So I'll conveniently Normal Summon Rusty Swordsman from my hand, letting Great Blackstone's second effect activate." Rusty Swordsman clanked to the field, Blackstone beginning to glow beside it. "I draw a card, then discard a card."
Yumi chose to give up Broken Wand for this effect. A hard choice to make but ultimately the right one with how the rest of her plays would go. "I activate Instant Fusion, letting me summon Rare Fish from my Extra Deck." Just as Ren did before, she cheated out a Level 4 monster, overlaying shortly after.
"Come out, The One Who Lurks in the Abyss!" Slamming into the field, the serpent snarled at the enemy, its ATK having grown to 2200 thanks to having Rare Fish as material. "Using this effect, I can stop any effects from going off in your Graveyard for the rest of this turn," she explained, the monster grasping one of its own Overlay Units out of the sky and crushing it between its jaws.
This stopped Turtle from ending her Battle Phase once she got there. However, she wasn't done quite yet. "It's time!" A subtle glow overtook Yumi, her hair beginning to sway in the air. "By banishing Instant Fusion from my Graveyard, I activate Rank-Up-Magic Emerald Force!"
Ren immediately hit the face of his duel disk with his finger. "I activate Toon Mask! It attaches to the Abyss monster, letting me summon a Toon from my deck with the same Level as its Rank." The card flipped up, the mask on its face blasting out of the artwork to attach to Yumi's Xyz. After a bit of struggling, her monster shook it off. The mask them picked itself up off the floor, a body dropping out from it before the new monster's arms took the mask itself and flipped it around, revealing the "face" of Toon Masked Sorcerer.
It was clear why he did it. There was only one card Yumi had that could be summoned like this. "If you're done, I'll Rank-Up Great Blackstone now! Forged in the deepest depths, a new power awakens! Taste true freedom as you soar above anyone who would hold you down! Chaos Xyz Change!"
Energy crackled as Great Blackstone began to change, flying into a vortex as an Overlay Unit before finally emerging as something new. "Appear, Rank 5! Chasm Empress – Conatus!" Conatus' appearance meant that the backrow was sealed for the rest of the turn, an effect that would have stopped Toon Mask and lost Ren the duel had he not acted quickly.
"Emerald Force gives Conatus a new effect," Yumi explained. "I can draw a card for half the number of Overlay Units she has rounded up, meaning I get to have one." She smiled at her new draw, figuring it might be useful in the coming turns as well as a bit of a dramatic reversal.
"Battle! One Who Lurks in the Abyss, attack Toon Masked Sorcerer!" Blasting at the creature, she saw it twist its body around her attack.
Ren removed a card from the top of his deck. "As long as I have Toon Kingdom, I can just banish a card to stop a Toon from being destroyed. And with Toon Masked Sorceror in Defense Mode, you can't damage me."
Yumi huffed. "We'll see how long that lasts. Conatus, attack!" Though the attack was again dodged, that meant another card banished. Without a Magic Card as Conatus' material, the card couldn't inflict piercing damage. This essentially meant the game was now down to whether or not she could remove Kingdom from the field or run out Ren's deck.
Yumi's turn came to an end after that, Ren drawing. Half his deck was gone now and what he did manage to draw didn't seem to be the most helpful at this point in time. It was all he had, though. "I activate the card Copycat!" The image of the Magic Card appeared beside him, a cartoonish blue cat twirling out of it and laughing sneakily into its own gloved hand. "Copycat's pretty tricky, letting me steal any card in your Graveyard and use it as my own." He smirked. "So, let's see what we have here. I think that Mirror Force might be useful right about now. How about we-"
"I don't think so," Yumi said, holding back a laugh. Both Ren and the Copycat looked confused at this, contemplating in the same way. "That card interacts with the Graveyard, doesn't it? Well, I think Necro Maria is going to put a stop to that!"
The gothic creature materialized above Yumi, shining brightly and blasting apart a cowering Copycat before settling onto the field in Defense Position. "Copycat is negated and destroyed," Yumi said proudly. "Kind of funny, right?"
Ren sighed. "I suppose it is," he finally agreed. "I didn't expect it to hurt me that much." He took a moment to think over his options, shocking everyone when he switched Toon Masked Sorcerer to Attack Position. "Guess we'll have to bet everything on this."
"What are you doing?" Yumi asked. She wanted to win, but it seemed like he was just going to give up.
"It doesn't look like any of your cards are Toons. Wouldn't you agree to that?" This didn't seem like an answer.
"Uh, no. Why does that matter?"
Ren smirked. "Well, that's good for me. Toons can attack directly if the opponent doesn't have any of them. Battle! Toon Masked Sorcerer, attack your enemy directly!" His monster picked up the end of its robe, feet whirling as it geared up to attack. Charging forward, it bypassed Yumi's monsters entirely and came to a stop directly in front of her. It then flicked her on the nose and jumped backwards, cackling as it came to a halt in front of Ren once again.
Though it was only a hit for 900 damage, the true value of the attack came just after. "Toon Masked Sorcerer's effect activates," Ren declared. "When I inflict damage with it, I draw a card." Seeing what he'd gotten, he couldn't help but laugh. "Looks like fate isn't ready to let me lose just yet. I'll use this card now!"
The pages of Toon Kingdom began to flip. "Equip Magic, Comic Hand! With Toon World and a Toon Monster on my field, I can equip it to one of your cards and take control of it!" Toon Masked Sorcer reached behind itself, pulling out the extending hand featured on the card's art, sneering as it prepared to snatch up one of Yumi's cards.
Her first instinct was Conatus. With its high ATK, it could run over her other Xyz Monster without any problem. But that wasn't his goal here. "Steal Necro Maria," he declared to Yumi's utter confusion. The card was ripped off her field and flung into the Toon Kingdom book, popping out as a distorted joke of its original form.
"Now I'll show you what that card is really for," he said with a smirk. "I'm tuning my Level 4 Toon Masked Sorcerer with my Level 4 Tuner Necro Maria!" Both his monsters began to fly into the air, Necro Maria breaking apart into four glowing rings as Toon Masked Sorcerer moved between them. Their total Levels were 8.
"The dead and the living...The moment they meet at zero, the demonic dragon will be released from the cage of eternity! Synchro Summon! Come forth, Infernity Death Dragon!" A hush fell over the crowd as the ghastly creature spread its wings. With a thunderous roar, a creature entirely unlike anything Ren had played before graced the field.
"Synchro Summon!" the announcer screamed. "It's amazing! Kanekura Ren never even attempted that before now! Who would have expected he'd pull it off, especially with his opponent's own Tuner Monster!"
It was at that exact moment that everything clicked into place. This was all a set up. Despite the crowd absolutely losing its collective mind at this upset, Yumi could only stare in shock at the creature, a symbol of how thoroughly she'd been tricked.
"Looks like you figured it out," Ren said, friendly smile still in place. "Yes, I knew this would happen. I'll just come out and say it. I investigated a few people over the months leading up to the tournament. I had plans for everyone but ultimately I decided to bet on you. I don't know why I did that really, but it seemed like the smart choice. And, well..." He gestured up at his dragon. "Looks like at least this bet paid off."
He'd purposefully showed her duel to the internet in the hopes that the other competitors would find it. He was the one who created that distraction and prevented her instructor get there and stop him from handing off Necro Maria. He planned for her to use it only seeing that it was a strong card. He put that specific Synchro Monster in his deck knowing she would get this far in the tournament. All of it had been planned without so much as a single tell.
"I guess we can continue now," Ren said. "While my Battle Phase might be over, I still have my monster's effect. When I have no cards in my hand, I can use Infernity Death Dragon to destroy a monster you control and inflict half its ATK to you as damage." He pointed to Conatus. "Destroy that monster. Infernity Death Breath!"
A torrent of demonic fire spewed from the dragon's maw, Conatus able to do nothing but scream as it burned to pieces. As a result, Yumi was hit with an immense 1650 damage, blasting her backwards across the ground and leaving her with just 450 Life Points. "And that ends my turn," Ren said, watching with complete indifference as she pulled herself to her feet.
Yumi was truly at the end of her rope. This next draw would decide everything. If she tried to defend, that dragon would still beat her with its effect. If she attacked, she'd have to make it decisive. There was no room for error.
"Draw!" Despite the extreme amount of pressure and the sting of betrayal, Yumi still felt exhilarated. Standing on the razor's edge between victory and defeat, she knew a single misplay would be the end of her. And yet, that just made all of this more exciting.
"This is going to be my last turn!" she declared with utter certainty. "I'll start by activating my monster's effect to seal off your Graveyard." No Turtle. She was going for the attack. "Then, I activate this, Common Fusion!"
The vortex appeared behind her, sucking in Violentist, Flame Viper, Big Bat Knight, and Wallrus from her deck. "I can Fusion Summon a non-effect monster using cards in my deck!" Placing her hands together, she held them into the air while reciting her chant, bringing them down together at its end. "Forces of the ordinary, join hands to form a storm of change! Combine together to reach a new power! Fusion Summon, Level 10! Helpful, Knight of Commons!"
The knight appeared on the field, raising its sword and readying for battle. "That effect might be strong but it can't stand up to this card! Battle!" Helpful slashed at the Infernity card, cutting it in half and causing it to explode. After that the Abyss Xyz had a direct path to Ren's Life Points.
Once both monsters had struck, Yumi's opponent was left with only 500 Life Points. It was frustrating for a number of reasons, the most obvious being that using her Xyz Monster's effect had prevented the win. She had no choice but to do it but that didn't change how irritated that left her. He'd scrape by however slimly.
Ren silently drew a card to begin his turn, then glanced to it with a smile. "Looks like it's decided," he said, almost as if he was about to concede. But he didn't. "The card I've drawn is… Resurrection of the Dead!"
Yumi gasped in horror, realizing where this was going. "That's not..."
"Yes," he said. "I revive my Infernity Death Dragon now!" The monster exploded out of the ground behind him, soaring above the field before circling back around to dive towards Helpful. "Infernity Death Breath!"
That was the end. Helpful was blasted with the fire, Helpful doing its best to shield Yumi from the heat as it was slowly torched itself. Her Life Points slowly depleted until hitting 0, Ren finally winning the duel.
As shocked as much of the crowd was, the cheers didn't stop just because the favorite had lost. The announcer confirmed Ren's victory as he waved to the audience, soaking in the glory as Yumi stood in stunned silence on the opposite end of the field.
Ren approached her, walking slowly until he was a few feet away. Extending a hand, he smiled down at her. "No hard feelings," he said. "You did well. Maybe next time you'll be able to beat me."
Unsure of what to say, Yumi just took his hand. It seemed like the right thing to do even if it left a bad taste in her mouth. Losing wasn't what had upset her the most even if it was a blow to her pride; it was still how completely and remorselessly Ren had manipulated her. How could he do that?
In all likelihood, she'd never entirely know why. It didn't matter, either. He was the Regional Champion now and nothing would change that for at least a year. She'd just have to accept her loss and move on.
After returning to her room, she was consoled by Miss Fukukado. "You did well," she said, her trademark pep being far more reserved than usual. "You'll certainly win next year. You can believe that."
Not long after that, she came out to find her friends and family, Sakuya immediately pouncing on her in a hug. "This is inexcusable," she said. "He can't do that to you."
"He gave you that card, right?" Suzy asked. "That's got to be some kind of tampering with the opponent's deck. He got you to use it so he could trick you."
Yumi shook her head. "No, it's all legal. I chose to put it in my deck. No one forced me to."
"That doesn't make it right for him to do that," Sakuya insisted. "Can we at least tell a judge?"
"No, it's fine," Yumi said. "There's nothing we can do now. But it's not happening again." Rather than depress her, this loss had only served to ignite her passion even further. "Next year's going to be different. I'll win for sure next time. Ren better think of an even worse trick if he wants to beat me then."
As hard as it was to accept, she'd lost. Nothing would change that now. But this was only the beginning of her journey to the top and she wasn't about to let one little bump slow her down. She'd continue to grow over the next year and come back even stronger. That was her promise to herself.
They returned to the hotel then, resting before the trip back to Chiba the following morning. All in all, it was a rather eventful tournament.
Cards Used in Order of Appearance
Pot of Greed
Normal Spell Card
Draw 2 cards.
Toon Kingdom
Field Spell Card
When this card is activated: Banish 3 cards from the top of your Deck, face-down. This card's name becomes "Toon World" while in the Field Zone. Your opponent cannot target Toon monsters you control with card effects. If a Toon monster(s) you control would be destroyed by battle or card effect, you can banish 1 card from the top of your Deck, face-down, for each of those monster(s) instead.
Toon Mermaid
WATER
Level 4
Aqua/Toon/Effect
1400 ATK/1500 DEF
Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Cannot be Special Summoned unless you control a face-up "Toon World". Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) by Tributing the same number of monsters needed for a Tribute Summon (normally 0). Cannot attack the turn it is Special Summoned. You must pay 500 LP to declare an attack with this monster. If "Toon World" on the field is destroyed, destroy this card. This card can attack your opponent directly, unless they control a Toon monster. If they do control one, this card must target a Toon monster for its attacks.
Toon Gemini Elf
EARTH
Level 4
Spellcaster/Toon/Effect
1900 ATK/900 DEF
Cannot attack the turn it is Summoned. If "Toon World" on the field is destroyed, destroy this card. While you control "Toon World" and your opponent controls no Toon monsters, this card can attack your opponent directly. If this card inflicts battle damage to your opponent: Discard 1 random card from your opponent's hand.
Lavalval Chain
FIRE
Rank 4
Sea Serpent/Xyz/Effect
1800 ATK/1000 DEF
2 Level 4 monsters
Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card to activate 1 of these effects;
● Send 1 card from your Deck to the Graveyard.
● Choose 1 monster from your Deck and place it on top of your Deck.
Super-Electromagnetic Turtle (Electromagnetic Turtle)
LIGHT
Level 4
Machine/Effect
0 ATK/1800 DEF
During your opponent's Battle Phase: You can banish this card from your Graveyard; end the Battle Phase (this is a Quick Effect). You can only use this effect of "Electromagnetic Turtle" once per Duel.
Instant Fusion
Normal Spell Card
Pay 1000 LP; Special Summon 1 Level 5 or lower Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, but it cannot attack, also it is destroyed during the End Phase. (This is treated as a Fusion Summon.) You can only activate 1 "Instant Fusion" per turn.
Elder God Norden (Elder Entity Norden)
WATER
Level 4
Fairy/Fusion/Effect
2000 ATK/2200 DEF
1 Synchro or Xyz Monster + 1 Synchro or Xyz Monster
When this card is Special Summoned: You can target 1 Level 4 or lower monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon it, but its effects are negated, also banish it when this card leaves the field.
Exciton Glimmer Knight, Verzbuth (Evilswarm Exciton Knight)
LIGHT
Rank 4
Fiend/Xyz/Effect
1900 ATK/0 DEF
2 Level 4 monsters
Once per chain, during your Main Phase or your opponent's Battle Phase, if your opponent has more total cards in their hand and field than you do (Quick Effect): You can detach 1 material from this card; destroy all other cards on the field, also your opponent takes no further damage this turn.
Field Barrier
Continuous Spell Card
Field Spell Cards on the field cannot be destroyed. Neither player can activate a new Field Spell Card. You can only control 1 "Field Barrier".
Heavy Storm
Normal Spell Card
Destroy all Spell and Trap Cards on the field.
Rescue Rabbit
EARTH
Level 4
Beast/Effect
300 ATK/100 DEF
Cannot be Special Summoned from the Deck. You can banish this face-up card you control; Special Summon 2 Level 4 or lower Normal Monsters with the same name from your Deck, but destroy them during the End Phase. You can only use this effect of "Rescue Rabbit" once per turn.
Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring
FIRE
Level 3
Zombie/Tuner/Effect
0 ATK/1800 DEF
When a card or effect is activated that includes any of these effects (Quick Effect): You can discard this card; negate that effect.
● Add a card from the Deck to the hand.
● Special Summon from the Deck.
● Send a card from the Deck to the GY.
You can only use this effect of "Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring" once per turn.
Overlay Eater
LIGHT
Level 2
Reptile/Effect
300 ATK/800 DEF
You can banish this card from your Graveyard; take 1 Xyz Material from a monster your opponent controls and attach it to an Xyz Monster you control as Xyz Material.
Toon Table of Contents
Normal Spell Card
Add 1 "Toon" card from your Deck to your hand.
Toon Mask
Normal Trap Card
If you control "Toon World": Target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; Special Summon 1 Toon monster from your hand or Deck, whose Level is less than or equal to the Level/Rank of that monster, ignoring its Summoning conditions.
Holy Barrier – Mirror Force (Mirror Force)
Normal Trap Card
When an opponent's monster declares an attack: Destroy all your opponent's Attack Position monsters.
Angel's Charity (Graceful Charity)
Normal Spell Card
Draw 3 cards, then discard 2.
Armaduriboh
DARK
Level 1
Fiend/Effect
300 ATK/200 DEF
During your opponent's turn, when an attack is declared involving a monster you control equipped with an Equip Card: You can discard this card; make the attacking monster's ATK 0 until the End Phase of this turn, also it cannot be destroyed by that battle. You can banish this card from your Graveyard; add 1 Equip Spell Card from your Deck to your hand.
Majesty Sanction
Normal Trap Card
Discard 1 card; monsters you control cannot be destroyed by a Spell/Trap effect (once each) until the End Phase. During either player's turn, except the turn this card was sent to the Graveyard: You can banish this card from your Graveyard and target 1 monster you control; once this turn, if it would be destroyed by an opponent's Spell/Trap effect, it is not destroyed.
Broken Wand
Equip Spell Card
You can only equip this card to a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster with 1500 or less ATK and DEF. The equipped monster gains these effects: This card's original ATK increases by 500. When this card attacks or is attacked by a monster with higher ATK: You can return this card to your hand and end the Battle Phase.
Unexpected Guy (Unexpected Dai)
Normal Spell Card
If you control no monsters: Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Normal Monster from the Deck.
Hat-Trick Magician
DARK
Level 4
Spellcaster
1200 ATK/1500 DEF
Great Blackstone
LIGHT
Rank 4
Spellcaster/Xyz/Effect
2500 ATK/2000 DEF
2 Level 4 Normal Monsters
When this card is Xyz Summoned: You can detach 2 Xyz Material from this card; during your Main Phase this turn, you can Normal Summon 1 Normal Monster from your hand, in addition to your Normal Summon/Set. If you Normal Summon a Normal Monster while this card is face-up on the field: Draw 1 card, then discard 1 card. (You can only gain each effect once per turn.)
Rusty Swordsman
EARTH
Level 4
Warrior
1500 ATK/1000 DEF
Rare Fish
WATER
Level 4
Fish/Fusion
1500 ATK/1200 DEF
"Fusionist" + "Enchanting Mermaid"
The One Who Lurks in the Abyss (Abyss Dweller)
WATER
Rank 4
Sea Serpent/Xyz/Effect
1700 ATK/1400 DEF
2 Level 4 monsters
While this card has an Xyz Material attached that was originally WATER, all WATER monsters you control gain 500 ATK. Once per turn, during either player's turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; any card effects that activate in your opponent's Graveyard cannot be activated this turn.
Rank-Up-Magic Emerald Force
Normal Spell Card
Banish 1 Spell Card from your Graveyard, then target 1 face-up Xyz Monster you control; Special Summon from your Extra Deck, 1 Xyz Monster with the same Type as that monster you control but 1 Rank higher, by using it as the Xyz Material. (This Special Summon is treated as an Xyz Summon. Xyz Materials attached to it also become Xyz Materials on the Summoned monster.) It gains this effect.
● If it is Xyz Summoned: Draw cards equal to half the number of materials attached to this card (rounded up).
Toon Masked Sorcerer
DARK
Level 4
Spellcaster/Toon/Effect
900 ATK/1400 DEF
Cannot attack the turn it is Summoned. If "Toon World" on the field is destroyed, destroy this card. While you control "Toon World" and your opponent controls no Toon monsters, this card can attack your opponent directly. If this card inflicts battle damage to your opponent: Draw 1 card.
Chasm Empress – Conatus
DARK
Rank 5
Spellcaster/Xyz/Effect
3300/2700 DEF
4 Level 5 monsters
You can Xyz Summon this card by using Equip Spell Cards equipped to monsters used as Xyz Material for this card's summon. When this card is Xyz Summoned: Your opponent cannot activate Spell/Trap Cards for the rest of the turn. If this card battles an opponent's monster: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; the opponent's monster loses 400 ATK and DEF for each Spell Card in your Graveyard during the Damage Step only. If this card attacks a Defense Position monster while it has an Equip Spell Card as Xyz Material, inflict double piercing battle damage.
Copycat (Mimicat)
Normal Spell Card
If you control "Toon World" and a Toon monster: Target 1 card in your opponent's GY; if it is a monster, Special Summon it to your field, or if it is a Spell/Trap, Set it to your field. You can only activate 1 "Mimicat" per turn.
Necro Maria
DARK
Level 4
Fairy/Tuner/Effect
500 ATK/0 DEF
When a card or effect activates that targets or would move a card(s) in the Graveyard to a different place (Quick Effect): Special Summon this card; negate that effect, and if you do, destroy that card.
Comic Hand
Equip Spell Card
If you control "Toon World", equip to an opponent's monster. Take control of it. It is treated as a Toon monster. If your opponent controls no Toon monsters, it can attack your opponent directly. If "Toon World" is not on the field, destroy this card.
Infernity Death Dragon (Infernity Doom Dragon)
DARK
Level 8
Dragon/Synchro/Effect
3000 ATK/2400 DEF
1 DARK Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters
Once per turn, if you have no cards in your hand, you can select 1 monster your opponent controls. Destroy that monster and inflict damage to your opponent equal to half its ATK. This card cannot attack during the same turn you activate this effect.
Common Fusion
Normal Spell Card
Fusion Summon 1 non-Effect Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using Normal Monsters from your hand, field, or Deck as Fusion Material. When the card Fusion Summoned by this effect battles an opponent's monster: You can banish this card in your Graveyard; negate that monster's effects and apply its original ATK and DEF when calculating damage until the end of the Battle Phase.
Violentist
LIGHT
Level 3
Fiend
650 ATK/1300 DEF
Flame Viper
EARTH
Level 2
Pyro
400 ATK/450 DEF
Big Bat Knight
EARTH
Level 3
Warrior
1100 ATK/500 DEF
Wallrus
WATER
Level 2
Beast
400 ATK/800 DEF
Helpful, Knight of Commons
EARTH
Level 10
Warrior/Fusion
3800 ATK/3050 DEF
4 Level 4 or lower Normal Monsters
Resurrection of the Dead (Monster Reborn)
Normal Spell Card
Target 1 monster in either player's Graveyard; Special Summon it.
And there it is. Both the completion of the tournament and the second arc of the story. Took a while longer than I wanted it to, but now we're here.
Yumi's grown a lot. Won one tournament, got 2nd place in another, finally kissed a girl, controlled the power of Chaos, made some friends, reformed some villains. Real shonen protagonist stuff. Wonder where her adventures will take her next.
Fun fact: Three years ago to this day was when the tournament took place in the timeline. I rushed to get it out just so that I could tell everyone that. Next chapter will finally move the story into 2017.
Surprisingly not a lot to say on this one. I kind of feel like the chapter speaks for itself. Yumi's grown but still has a lot to learn if she's going to survive in the cutthroat world of pro dueling but is excited to meet it head on. Hopefully the next arc is good to her.
Thanks for reading. Share if you're enjoying. Always remember to try your best.