YU-GI-OH! NEO

Chapter 7: An Iron Colony of Darkness!

The day after the opening ceremony…

The beginning of the first semester in Alina Duel Academy is just a few more days away. The students who will be staying in the academy has now been divided into the dorms that they will occupy during their stay here. There are Seven dorms in the academy, divided by the Six major methods of special summoning, and the General dorm for those who does not fit among the group.

Both Yumi and Yuri have both been assigned in the General Dorm, although Yuri had to get special permission from the Director of the academy himself as she should have been in the XYZ dormitory.

"Hey sis," Yumi said as her hand touched the knob that will open the door. "Is it normal for my heart to beat so loud like this?"

Yuri smiled faintly before answering. "I think so."

They both turned the knobs of their respective doors, both of which will lead towards their respective rooms. As the light from the inside touched their hands, and their eyes first laid upon where they will be living for the next few years of their lives, the two of them were caught with their mouths down.

The room in front of them isn't particularly big, but it certainly is bigger than what they've been used to all these years. There's a small hallway just after the door, with the bathroom situated just after it, right besides the kitchen counter with a mini-fridge, a water heater, some mugs and plates and other utensils for eating, and a small electric stove. Past that is the bedroom, with a whiteboard in the wall in front of the small bed, in the place of where the TV would usually be, a closet right besides it, complete with a deck safe, a study table on the other side of it, and a small bookshelf near the whiteboard. There's also no windows in the room - instead, it is replaced with a glass door that leads towards a balcony with a small table, lending an amazing view of the lake where the academy is situated in as well as giving view of the balconies of Yuri and the other students.

Yumi haven't got many things to unpack, but she started swiftly anyways. The teacher, Ms. May, has told the students during the opening ceremony that they could modify the room as they see fit, as they will be occupying it for the next few years of their lives anyways, and Yumi plans to do just that.

Jonathan Ham gave her and Yuri some money to spend as congratulations to getting into the academy, and Yumi spent many of it on decorations like posters of her favorite cards that was being sold on the mall, some other monsters she's heard so much about, and many other things. She doesn't really understand most of them, but she wishes to do so during her stay in this academy.

On the other side of the wall is Yuri, who also started unpacking and decorating like Yumi is currently doing. Her method is much simpler, though, and she didn't change much about the room as Yumi did. She just arranged her clothes in the closet, placed a picture of her and Yumi on the table, and hang a schedule board in the whiteboard. She also took note of the small object protruding just above her bed. Apparently, they are Duel Disk rests where you put your duel disk in to have it project over the whiteboard, which can be useful for many things such as duel simulation, online calls, and viewing movies.

Just as Yuri finished settling down on her room, she heard a knock on her door. It seems that her sister has also finished back in her room.

"Just a second!" she said as she stood up to open the door that leads outside her room.

"Ms. Mayumi…" said the person on the other side of the door as Yuri opened it.

She closed it again.

She opened it again. Outside stands a man as tall as her door, wearing a suit and tie and an ear piece that probably connects somewhere outside. He seems professional, though probably not trustworthy. However, it's doubtful that he'll just leave her alone if she doesn't answer the door.

So instead of just standing there and doing nothing, Yuri took her academy issued duel disk from the rest along with her deck that she placed on the deck safe before once again heading for the door and opening it.

"What do you want?" she asked, hoping to intimidate the man.

It doesn't work, though. The man is barely fazed and instead sends her tricks right back at her.

"My employer told me to bring you to him, by any means necessary."

At this point, Yuri knew that a confrontation might be inevitable. "Who's your employer?"

"You'll meet him soon enough. So come with me and nobody gets hurt." The man glanced at the room adjacent to her's. "Or would you prefer the alternative?"

Yuri slightly fidgeted with her duel disk as her teeth grit in anger. "I'll come with you, so don't even think about it."

"Good."

With that, Yuri walked out of her door, closing it right behind her. The man started walking, and Yuri followed his lead. They went out of the dormitory, out into the dark woods that covers the huge campus of Alina Duel Academy. The two of them continued walking, illuminated only by the light of the moon, bringing warmth to the cold evening forest.

"We're here," said the man as they arrived in a small clearing in the forest.

"But there's no one here!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, however, she felt the tug of a rope wrapping itself around her wrist.

"What's the meaning of this!?"
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" The laughter echoed across the entire forest, with the epicenter originating right from where the rope came from. A stepped out of the shadows where the origin of the rope lies. He's certainly smaller than their thug, though Yuri can't see his face due to the iron mask that covers it, and his clothes are mostly made of a deep shade of gray to make it difficult to see him in the shadows. "That, my dear, is a Duel Anchor! It will never come off unless I want it to or I lose a duel!"

"Is that all?"

The man was taken aback by her response and, frankly, seems rather disappointed. "What do you mean 'is that all'? It's a brand new device! One that's never been seen before!"

"Oh, it's just that I've seen that already. I mean, not really 'that', but I already know what this thing you attached in my wrist is and, frankly, I was expecting more."

"More!? It can't get any better than this!"

"Really? I can think of a million ways that it can."

"Alright, just shut up! I didn't call you for a chatter anyway!" He's definitely in denial. "For this duel, please refer to me as… Stell."

"Did you mean 'Steel'?"

"No, I meant Stell! Weren't you listening!?"

"Sure you did…" Yuri rolled her eyes. "It's lame, either way."

Stell prepared his duel disk, trying to hide his eyes even though it's already hidden. "Just… Just shut up, okay? Let's just duel!"

Yuri did the same thing. "Fine by me!"

'DUEL!'

Yuri: 4000

Stell: 4000

Turn 1: Stell

"Alright, I'll go first!" Stell said, placing a card on the board. "I set a monster face down and end my turn!"

"Is that… Is that really all?"

"YES! Now just take your turn!"

Turn 2: Yuri

"Alright then…" Yuri drew her card. "My turn, draw! I activate Exorsister Pax from my hand! Thanks to this card, I can add an 'Exorsister' card, like Exorsister Stella, from my deck to my hand, all for the low price of 800 LP!"

Yuri: 3200

Stell seemed baffled by this move. "Are you… are you trying to die!?"

"Of course not! I summon Exorsister Stella in attack position!"

As she placed her card on the disk, the familiar red-head in frilly clothes carrying a bunch of boxes materialized into the field.

Exorsister Stella [Level 4/LIGHT/Spellcaster/300 ATK/800 DEF]

"Then I activate her effect! Once per turn, I can special summon an 'Exorsister' monster from my hand to the field! Through this, I special summon Exorsister Sophia!"

The second red-head of the quartet also appeared on the field, shining her flashlight everywhere.

"Finally, since I control an 'Exorsister' monster, I can draw one card using Sophia's effect!"

Sophia turned around, shining her flashlight towards Yuri's deck and showing the card directly on top which, for some reason, caused it to fly towards Yuri's hand.

"Now it's time! I activate the permanent spell Exorsister Ascento! By paying 800 life points, I can XYZ summon using only one 'Exorsister' monster! I choose to pay it twice!"

Yuri: 1600

"I overlay Exorsister Stella and Exorsister Sophia to create two overlay networks!" Both monsters turned into orbs of light, which went into separate black holes. "O' holy mother, I pray to thee to grant me thy spear and thy bow to help me vanquish the evils that plagues the Earth! XYZ SUMMON! Appear, Exorsister Caspitelle, Exorsister Usophiel!"

The black holes exploded into a bunch of colors, which took a little time to settle. Once it did, it revealed two beings descending from the heaven, their entire being glowing with a holy aura. One of them carries a spear of silver, and the other a bow of light.

"Now, Usophiel! Attack that face-down monsters! Piercing Light!"

Usophiel raised her bow, carefully aiming it towards the card, before finally letting go. The card was pierced all the way through, offering no resistance.

"Caspitelle! Follow up and attack directly! Heaven's Spear!"

Just like her sister, Caspitelle raised her weapon and aimed it carefully, then threw it with all her might towards the enemy player.

Stell: 1700

"AGGGGHHHHH!" The steel-masked man flew back as the spear pierced his heart, taking away a huge part of his life points.

"Had enough? Release the anchor already. The victor is clear."

Stell stood up, panting heavily. "Why… would I? I'm barely getting started!"

"Whatever… I end my turn here."

"My turn, then… Draw!"

Turn 3: Stell

"First of all, since I don't control any spell or traps, I can special summon Steelswarm Scout from the graveyard!"

"From the graveyard…!? Don't tell me!?"

"Exactly!"

The card that Usophiel just destroyed rose out of the grave, finally revealing it's true form. It's a cockroach-like being, though humanoid in many ways, and all made out of steel.

Steelswarm Scout [Level 1/DARK/Fiend/200 ATK/0 DEF]

"It's… weak?"

"Not for long! I tribute Steelswarm Scout!" The cockroach monster vanished once more, turning into hundreds if not thousands of smaller insects. "A colony of iron and darkness that lives past the forest evil, strike fear on the hearts of your enemy and destroy all who oppose you! ADVANCED SUMMON!"

The thousands of insects that came from Steelswarm Scout reformed once again, taking a much larger shape than before. As they settled into place, it became clear what they became - a large human-like demon with the features of a moth.

"Meet Steelswarm Moth!"

Steelswarm Moth [Level 6/DARK/Fiend/2400 ATK/0 DEF]

"That's… hideous!" was all Yuri could say.

"Don't call them hideous! The Steelswarms are beautiful creatures far greater than us!"

"Are you nuts!?"

"YES! And for that retort alone I will pay you back a hundred times! I activate Steelswarm Moth's effect! Upon summoning, I can pay 1000 life points to return two of your cards back to your hand! So say goodbye to your Exorsisters Caspitelle and Usophiel, who will now return to the extra deck!"

"What!?"
The two angels vanished back into the light where they came from, leaving Yuri's field bare and ripe for the picking.

Stell: 700

"Now! Steelswarm Moth, attack Yuri directly! Wrath of the Swarm!"

The moth flew at high speeds towards Yuri, seemingly piercing her as a whole.

"Ahhh!" she screamed in agony.

Yuri: 0

"Not so tough, are you?" said Stell. "And here the boss is telling me to take care…"

Yuri is currently on the ground, still bound by the duel anchor that she was placed in. "At least…tell me… who hired you…?" she spoke through labored breaths.

"I'm kinda under contract to say nothing about him, so…"

"Him?"

Stell realized what he said. "Him? What do you mean him? I never said any him! Anyways, I've been hired to take you in, so come on already!"

Yuri smiled. "I don't think so…"

"...What?"
Out of nowhere, a second duel anchor connected to the first, disrupting the flow of electricity and short-circuiting both of them.

"Who's there!?" Stell asked.

A man walked out of the shadows that Stell himself was hiding in earlier, wearing gaudy clothes fit more for a stage than a forest. "Well, well, well. What have we here? Have you finally decided on your owner, my good flower?"

"Shut up, Barett."

"Good work today, either way. I told you the 'emergency call' wheel in your duel disk is easy to use."

"It's not and it's a miracle that no one noticed."

"Anyways, all that's left is to take him in, right?" Barett looked around to point his finger, but found no one. "Wait… where is he? Did he run away?"

"Probably. But now we have a lead…"

"Well, what's gone is gone and there's no use looking for it. We should just head back and work on your dueling skills instead. They seem rather… dull, to say the least."

"I-… I agree."

"What, no retorts? Not even an angry face?"

"No. I was completely beaten. I… lost."

And that's the next chapter done! Again, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy! It was a short duel, but I hope you enjoyed reading through it! Once again, thank you and see you next time!