Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Chapter 39: The revenge of the Grand General

Ryu smiled once more. "From the terrified look upon your face I can assume that you remember it? Though its name has been lost in the sands of time, I for one have decided to rename it appropriately." The dragon hissed again, the sound so very harmonious to the ears of anyone that could hear it. "Its name is Grand Emperor Dragon-Envoy of Revenge!" (2000/2500)

Rikuo bit back his fear and managed to put on an unimpressed face. "Why should I care what you call it? Its attack points are even lower than your Grand Dragon General's strength. It's not a threat to me."

Ryu went cold and impassive once more. He became the general. "What did I say earlier? Its attack is going to be infinite."

Rikuo snorted and lifted his head haughtily. "You're full of hot air Ryu."

Ryu shrugged. "And you're full of shit Rikuo." He slid a card into his duel disk. "I play the equipment magic card Revival Spear." A crystal spear appeared next to the Grand Dragon General. The golden armored warrior threw its normal spear aside and grabbed the new weapon.

Rikuo watched the move impassively, though inside he was starting to feel the cold grip of fear wrapping around his heart. ("His stance...his eyes...the way he is playing his cards. He has something up his sleeve.")

("We can beat it, right?")

("Without some of your best cards in your deck, I'm not so sure if we can. Don't worry though...I'm not giving up yet.") "Come now Ryu, stop beating around the bush and show me this infinite attack dragon you have." He made sure to hide the fear in his voice behind a thick veil of sarcasm.

Ryu looked to his Grand Dragon General. "Show him your power." The monster nodded and tapped the butt of its spear into the ground. The earth next to it churned and the reptilian head of one of Ryu's dragons broke through the surface of the dirt. The dirt-covered dragon shivered in pain and then exploded into dust.

The crystal spear of the Grand Dragon General released a weak green light that invigorated its wielder. The General struck its spear against the ground again and another dragon from Ryu's graveyard appeared, only to explode just like the one before it.

The spear glowed once more and the Grand Dragon General repeated the process of summoning of a dragon, only to destroy it. The spear would glow and then the General would summon another, destroy it, summon another, etc.

While all of this was happening, the attack totals of Ryu's Grand Emperor Dragon went insane, flickering and showing strange symbols as the computers of the duel disk started to malfunction.

Rikuo stared in horror as the holographic screen over the Emperor Dragon's head finally came to a stop. (Infinite/2500)

Ryu smiled at the priceless look of fear that was plastered to Rikuo's normally fearsome features. "I suppose your little wolf brain is working overtime to try and figure out what is going on, so I will explain each of my card's effects in turn for you."

He pointed to his Grand Dragon General. "As you remember from our last duel, each of my turns Grand Dragon General may summon one dragon sub-type monster at random from my graveyard."

Then he pointed at his Grand Emperor Dragon next. "My dragon's special ability is that it permanently gains 500 attack points every time a dragon sub-type monster is summoned to the field."

Finally he pointed at the Revival Spear that the General was holding. "Revival Spear allows whatever monster holding it to re-use its special ability as many times as it wants each turn. All it requires is that for each extra time the ability is used I must sacrifice a monster from my field."

Rikuo already saw the combo. "Every time that you summon back a dragon from the graveyard with your General's effect, your Grand Emperor Dragon gains 500 attack points. Then you sacrifice the summoned dragon to power your spear. Your General repeats his summon effect and your Grand Emperor gains another 500 attack points. You continue this process until..."

"...my Grand Emperor Dragon has infinite attack points. I'm glad your skills haven't dulled at all from being sealed inside the boy's head." Ryu knew he had the upper hand now. He had a monster on his field that would annihilate his opponent in one blast. "Prepare to die Rikuo Amero."

Rikuo snickered, ignoring the cold sweat that was pouring down his brow. "Take a look at my field. I have over ten thousand Kuriboh in defense mode. You will never get past all of them, since your infinite attack dragon can only attack one of them per turn."

Ryu had hoped his opponent would point that fact out. "Do you think I am so dumb that I would waste my time doing this is I if didn't have a way past your defenses?" He didn't wait for Rikuo to answer the question with one of his smart-aleck replies. Ryu took a card from his hand and slid it into his disk. "Now to get rid of your wall of Kuriboh, I activate the magic card Exile of the Wicked!" The thick smell of incense filled the air around both duelists. "You know what that magic card does, correct?"

Rikuo gulped. "It destroys all demon sub-type monsters on the field." All at once Rikuo's ten thousand Kuriboh exploded into digital dust.

Ryo lifted his hand slowly, one claw pointing right at Rikuo. "Good-bye Rikuo Amero. Let it be known that you went down fighting." The Grand Emperor Dragon roared and opened its crystalline jaws. Instantly a lump of golden light appeared between its teeth. The lump grew and grew, until it was like a miniature sun. "Grand Emperor Dragon, destroy him with your all-powerful Solar Stream!" The dragon released the sun of energy in the form of a wave of light that threatened to annihilate Rikuo as it barreled across the field.

Rikuo still refused to let his fear show. He wasn't done yet. "You still need to learn about attacking when your opponents have face-down cards! I reveal the trap card Attack Redirection Armor!" A steel suit of demonic armor appeared and flew over to Ryu's field, where it hovered in front of his Grand Dragon General. "This trap card will change the target of your attack to your own monster!" The wave of light energy swerved left and shot backwards towards Ryu's other monster.

Ryu flipped up his face-down card. "I reveal the trap card Negate Attack!" A swirling vortex sucked up the energy before it ever got close to the Grand Dragon General.

Rikuo snarled loudly, his eyes glowing angrily in the early morning light. ("Damn...I thought we had him.")

("At least we survived the attack without taking any damage.")

Ryu smiled at the frustrated look his enemy was giving him. "I see you understand the futility of your situation then? I am ready for any of your pitiful traps Rikuo. I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Rikuo drew and fanned his hand out, sliding the card in between the middle two of his hand. ("Now let's see. We have enough traps to defend us for two more turns.")

("But defense won't win this duel for us.")

Rikuo knew it wasn't even worth replying to that statement. He had to win this duel, regardless of the way he accomplished that victory. "I set two cards face-down and one monster in defense mode. End turn."

Ryu drew and sneered. "I have just drawn the perfect magic card for this situation. First I activate the effect of my Grand Dragon General." The Grand Dragon General slammed its spear into the earth and the form of one of Ryu's dragon appeared from it. "Now I will sacrifice the monster to summon Emerald Dragon (2400/1400) in attack mode." A large dragon covered in emerald armoring appeared on Ryu's field.

Rikuo frowned but didn't say anything.

Ryu slid a card into his duel disk. "What's the matter Rikuo? You used to be so very talkative. Do you not like losing?" The Emerald Dragon swept its wings back and then flapped them once, a wave of wind tearing across the ground towards Rikuo's field.

"Well get used to the feeling, because I just played my Wingbeat of Giant Dragon magic card." He pulled his Emerald Dragon card off of his disk and placed it back in his hand. "By returning one level five or higher dragon monster from my field to my hand I may destroy all of the magic and trap cards on the field. That means your two face-down cards, which are most likely traps, are gone."

Right before the wave of wind his Rikuo's cards, he flipped one of them. "In response I activate the trap card Waboku!" A trio of woman in blue shawls appeared on the wolf demon's field, chanted a spell, and then vanished. A blue barrier sprang up across his field. "So while my other trap card is destroyed, the effect of this trap will stay in effect. It will keep me safe from attack this turn." Rikuo slid the two destroyed trap cards into his graveyard slot.

Ryu shrugged off the turn of events like it was nothing at all. "That is nothing more than a minor inconvenience to me Rikuo. That just means I have to wait until next turn to destroy you completely. End turn."

Rikuo drew. "I play the magic card Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two cards from my deck." He drew his two and read each of the card's texts in turn. ("Well this is interesting...Why would your sister put such powerful cards into your deck if she had thought you were dead?")

("Maybe she didn't think we were dead??")

("No matter. We've got some time now.") He slid one of the two cards into his duel disk. "I play the magic card Nightmare Steel Cage!" All around Ryu's field a giant gunmetal grey cage appeared, locking his field away from Rikuo's. "For the next two turns you will be unable to attack me and I will be unable to attack you. Think of it as a temporary truce."

Ryu looked disgusted by the mere though of having a truce with the murderer of his family. "You wish we on such friendly terms, cur."

Rikuo slid his face-down monster into the graveyard. "Give the theatrics a rest you overgrown iguana. Since we're repeating history, let me bring out a monster you should remember very well from out last duel. I summon Wolf Demon Lord (2400/1000) in attack mode."

A wolf demon in samurai armor appeared on Rikuo's field and bowed to his master, before bringing his attention to Ryu's Grand Dragon General. The two monsters exchanged heated glares. "I see that our physical avatars share more than appearance with our ancient selves, wouldn't you agree?"

Ryu growled quietly from within the steel cage.

Rikuo felt his confidence returning, now that immediate threat of Ryu's infinite attack power dragon was removed. "End turn."

Ryu drew and placed a monster in defense on his field. "End turn."

Rikuo drew. ("At the end of Ryu's next turn the Nightmare Steel Cage will be over. Then we will be wide open to attack. Any suggestions Daniel?")

("You're asking me for help?") Daniel's voice had more than just a little surprise in it.

("Of course. I do not understand these cards quite as well as you do apparently. Since you and I share the same body, it would be unfair for you not to have a say in what I do in this duel.")

("Wow......if it wasn't for the fact that I knew you were an arrogant jerk, I could almost think of this as kindness.")

("You wish I liked you that much.") Rikuo's tone was as curt as possible.

("I trust in your judgement Rikuo. There aren't any combos that we have at the moment. Play what you will.") Daniel's reply was just as curt.

Rikuo nodded and slid a card into his duel disk. "End turn."

Ryu drew and sniggered. "I set one card face-down and end my turn." The Nightmare Steel Cage screeched in protest as it collapsed, the pieces fading to dust before they ever touched the ground. "Now you have one turn left Rikuo, for I reveal the trap card Final Attack Orders. As long as this continuous trap card remains in play you cannot play monsters in defense mode. I suggest you prepare yourself for the next life."

Rikuo pulled off the top card of his deck. He gave it a passing glance and slid two cards into his duel disk. "I set these two cards face-down and end my turn. Do your worst Ryu."

The dragon demon drew his card and pointed at Rikuo's Wolf Demon Lord. "You heard him Grand Emperor Dragon. Solar Stream!" The golden dragon charged up its attack and unleashed another wave of solar energy that tore across the field towards Rikuo.

Rikuo shook his head and flipped his face-down card up. "Prepare to suffer the consequences of being stupid, my dear friend. I activate Magic Cylinders! This trap will reflect your monster's attack back at your life points, meaning you are about to get hit for infinite points of damage!"

Ryu sneered and flipped up his face-down card. "I'm not the same duelist you played last time, fool. I activate the trap card Dragon's Bead. By discarding one card from my hand I may negate any trap card that targets a Dragon sub-type monster." The two cups that represented the effect of the Magic Cylinders trap card cracked and shattered.

Rikuo felt the sweat pouring down his face. That had been his plan for winning. He had no other traps to negate the attack of the Grand Emperor Dragon. The last thought that crossed his mind before the Solar Steam engulfed his field was that at least Ryu would be able to reclaim his honor. ("I've been defeated.")

The Solar Steam slammed into his field and consumed it in a flash of bright golden light. Yet he felt no pain at all. In fact...

The attack had never hit. The Wolf Demon Lord had absorbed the full blast of the attack. All that was left was a smoldering crater where the monster had been. Yet Rikuo's life points had been untouched. ("How can this be possible?")

Ryu felt the same. "What kind of trickery is this!? Your monster was in attack mode! How could you of not taken any damage from its death!?"

Daniel's voice sighed from within Rikuo's mind. ("And here I thought you were a master strategist.")

("Explain this now...")

("Have you forgotten the special ability of your own monster?")

Rikuo's eyes went wide in surprise. He had forgotten all about the Wolf Demon Lord's second special ability. "So that's it..."

Ryu's hair was lifted up in the air around him as his golden aura began to flare up around him. "I told you to explain this to me! Tell me how this is possible!?"

Rikuo's upper lip lifted into a smug smile. "It's the second power of my Wolf Demon Lord. You see when he is destroyed as a result of battle I take no damage from the overflow, if there is any."

Ryu clenched his fists tightly. "Grand Dragon General! Attack his life points directly with Spear of Dragon Mastery!" The golden dragon demon threw his spear across the field. The crystal weapon slammed into Rikuo's chest and sent him sliding backwards a few feet.

Rikuo- 2000

Ryu- 8000

Ryu trembled in his rage. Seeing the dog get hit by his physical avatar was not what he wanted. ("This murdering scum must feel the purifying touch of my Envoy's Solar Stream. It will happen. Justice shall be served this morning!") "End turn!"

Rikuo looked at his deck expectantly. ("You pulled me out of the frying pan, but are you going to deliver me victory or drop me into the fire?") He drew and his eyes widened in surprise. ("Victory it is then.")

Ryu sneered. "What's the matter? Did your deck not give you some way to defeat my infinite attack loop?"

Rikuo no longer looked worried or afraid. Now he looked like Ryu had remembered him being back in the feudal ages. Those golden-amber eyes gave off nothing less than the ruthless efficiency of a general who had nothing to fear. "Prepare yourself Ryu. I've found a way to defeat your infinite attack loop."

Ryu chuckled, though inside he wanted to break down into sweat. Rikuo's tone had been nothing less than the most serious of tones. The kind of tone one gives to someone who was about to be defeated. "I highly doubt you have a monster in your hand that is capable of matching my creature in attack points."

Rikuo flashed a feral grin, his fangs glistening. "Oh don't worry I don't have a monster in my hand that can match your Grand Emperor's attack points. What I am holding is a combo that will give me a monster with more attack points than your dragon."

Ryu narrowed his eyes. "That is impossible. There is no way to go over infinite in this game."

Rikuo's eyes glimmered back that confidence once more. "As I said, by the time I am done your creature will be destroyed in battle by one of my own." He lifted a claws finger up to point at his opponent's Grand Emperor Dragon. "Get ready to feel the power of my own infinite loop!"

To be continued...

Next Chapter: Breaking a loop with a loop.

Author's Notes: Hello everyone. Well this is the second part of the final duel between Ryu and Rikuo. I hope all of you are enjoying it so far. I'm sorry if the infinite attack combo that Ryu used was confusing at all.

Please read and review, I always like to hear from you guys about what you think of my story. Thanks in advance.