Chapter 12: Amy vs. Amethyst Part 1
Amy and her friends entered the room of the fourth Fiendish Five member. Only two members stood between her and a duel with Lord Hallows and Amy couldn't wait to get it over with. She just wanted Jack's soul back to get out of this nightmare. She was still unsure how she could save the Fiendish Five at the same time. What could she do to bring their souls back? The only thing she could think of was asking Hallows to expand the deal so that if she won, she got their souls back as well as Jack's but somehow, Amy doubted Hallows would accept such an offer. He especially wouldn't when it was still possible his last two minions might be able to finish her off so why wager? It wasn't going to be easy but Amy was sure she could think of something.
"How are you doing Ames?" Kazuki asked her.
Amy couldn't help but appreciate how warmly he'd asked her that question. This was the kind of boy she dreamed of having: a boy who well and truly cared for his friend's well-being and wasn't afraid to ask about their feelings.
"I'm feeling a little worn out after three duels in a row of close calls and nearly dying but I'm still holding up. Barely I'll admit…" Amy muttered, "I'm amazed I haven't lost my mind yet."
"If you want, I can fill in for you and duel the last two members so you can get a rest." Kazuki offered.
"I'm afraid not, young man. The challenge specifically states that AMY has to defeat the Fiendish Five." Hallows reminded him, "If anyone else fills in for her, I'll classify it as a forfeit on Amy's part and she will lose the challenge. Jack's soul will remain in my possession and she won't get her duel with me."
"But that's not fair!" Kazuki protested, "Surely even you can see that Amy needs a rest from all the hell you're putting her through! Please let me take over for her!"
"Fie! Either Amy finishes the challenge or she forfeits her position to you! There are no third options here, Kazuki." Hallows insisted, "Amy, can you carry on or would you rather let your precious boyfriend suffer for you?" he asked, a cruel smile spreading across his skull face.
"He's not my boyfriend!" Amy snapped, Not yet anyway… she added in her mind, "And of course I wouldn't want him to suffer for me! I'd never ask that of my friends! Whether they'd want to risk their lives to help me, that's their decision to make, not mine! And I'm not giving up this challenge Hallows. I need to beat the Fiendish Five? I'll beat the Fiendish Five!"
"Glad we've got that settled." Hallows sneered.
Amy looked over apologetically to Kazuki.
"I'm so sorry Kazuki, but that's how it has to be." she said solemnly, "But thank you for offering. You have no idea how much I appreciate it."
"I just think you've been through enough, Ames." Kazuki said, putting an arm around her, "I wanted to at least alleviate your suffering by taking over for you. It's a shame that I can't, but I can still help you in other ways."
"I know." Amy said appreciatively, "I'm so glad you're here Kazuki. I don't think I'd have the strength to carry on without your support."
She hugged him graciously. Chloe watched this with awe. As tough as things were right now, at least Amy had someone like Kazuki to comfort her. She was amazed the two weren't making out right now. They were just one romantic sentence away from kissing!
I only wish Jack could see this. He'd love this… Chloe thought sadly.
Amy and Kazuki broke up the hug and followed Hallows as he led them through the door to the fourth member's room. This room looked like a giant had scooped up a graveyard from somewhere and dropped it in this very room. There were gravestones everywhere and there were coffins lying around, some open and some closed. It certainly looked about as cheerful as an actual graveyard. Chloe shivered uncomfortably.
"Oooh, I hate graveyards!" she whimpered, "They're so creepy and they serve as a horrid reminder that one of these days, I'll end up in one!"
"Can't say I'm too keen on them either." Amy agreed, "But don't let it get to you Chloe. It's clear this place was made this way to intimidate the fourth duellist's opponents so they're thrown off their game. It won't work on me, that's for sure!"
"I wish I had your courage Amy!" Chloe exclaimed, "Sure would be nice not to be as timid as I usually am!"
"Oh Chloe, you're braver than you believe you are. Trust me on that." Amy said kindly.
Chloe wasn't sure she believed that herself but hearing Amy say that did make her feel better. She would try not to let this place creep her out. The three teens looked ahead to see Amy's next opponent. It was another girl this time. She was sixteen years old, just like Amy, and dressed in goth attire. She wore a black tank top that stopped just above her belly button, black fingerless gloves, a black skirt, black leggings and black boots. Her skin was deathly pale, making her look like a ghost wandering among the gravestones in this room. She had long black hair that drooped over one eye. Amy shivered. This girl was the creepiest member of the Fiendish Five so far. Her blank gaze, mouth so straight it could've been drawn by a pencil and ruler and her pale complexion made her look inhuman.
"And here is Fiendish Five Member Number 4, Amethyst! She is the Mistress of Fiends and a duellist who has a lot of tricky masks that you may not want to wear." Hallows announced, "Don't be fooled by her ghastly appearance though. She's not so bad really…unless you lose to her that is! Enjoy your duel Amy. I think Amethyst will be the one to end your winning streak…"
He disappeared into the shadows, leaving the two teenage girls to duel each other. Amy loaded up her Duel Disk and activated it, ready to duel. Amethyst did the same. Her Duel Disk matched the graveyard theme of her room as the section her deck was housed in looked like a tombstone and the duelling blade had a slight coffin shape to it. Amethyst's face hadn't changed despite the fact they were getting ready to duel. It was as if this was just something she wanted to get over with, not something she was actively going to enjoy. Amy supposed it was refreshing not to be against a complete sadist for once. Chloe shuddered.
"That g-girl g-gives me the creeps!" she stammered, "Are w-we s-sure she's e-even human?"
"She's not someone with a lot of life in her, I'm guessing." Kazuki murmured.
"Amethyst, I'm sorry that I'm gonna have to feed your soul to Lord Hallows but you must understand that it's nothing personal." Amy insisted, "I'm doing this to get my brother back. I only wish you didn't have to lose your soul so I can get his back."
Amethyst shrugged.
"It's OK. This isn't personal either." she mumbled, her voice low and croaky and sounding tried as if she was done with life and wanted it to end already, "I don't really want to be the one that defeats you either. You seem like a nice girl."
Amy was speechless. Did Amethyst just compliment her?! She was at least glad to hear Amethyst didn't like this either and wasn't completely up for it. Maybe she could reach out to this girl unlike the others.
"Um…thank you?" Amy said unsurely, "So if this isn't personal…why are you doing this then? Do you get anything out of this or…?"
Amethyst shook her head.
"I learned a long time ago that life is meaningless." the goth girl mumbled, "What is the point of life if it's nothing but misery, pain and suffering. Life to me seems like one cruel joke. We live to the end and die, that's it. What's the point in all that? So when Hallows came to me one time, I joined his cult in the hopes he could give me a new lease on life…reignite my desire to live. But he hasn't. To me, life is still meaningless and I don't even know why I'm bothering anymore. I guess I'm only still doing this in the hopes I will lose one day so I can be put out of my misery. I don't really care if I end up in the Shadow Realm, it's hardly any worse than the folly that is life itself. But if I'm to end my time in this world, I hope a duel with you will give me something to end my life on a high note with."
Amy was shocked to hear this. She'd heard of nihilism and knew what it was about but she'd never met anybody that was actually nihilistic before. To meet someone with this much of a miserable outlook on life was beyond comprehension! Chloe and Kazuki were equally as stunned. What could they even say to someone like that?! Amy took a minute to recover. She blinked heavily and coughed.
"That was…depressing. No offence there." she said sheepishly.
"I've long since stopped caring enough about anything to ever be offended. You can say what you want, it doesn't matter to me." Amethyst said glumly.
"That's pretty sad if you ask me." Amy said sympathetically, "I really am sorry that you feel this way about life. I dunno what I can say to that, Amethyst. But I will say that if you want a true lease on life, you shouldn't have joined Lord Hallows. He'll only teach you that life is about stealing the lives of others, and that's horrible. You should leave him. Join me and my friends instead!"
She held out a hand for Amethyst to take.
"We can teach you what life is really all about!" the red-head offered, "We can give you a better life than what Hallows has offered you. We can reignite that spark in your soul and give you a desire to live again! Please Amethyst, reject Hallows and join us so we can put a stop to him once and for all. Neither of us wants to do the other in so why not team up against him?"
Amethyst stared at Amy's hand for a minute…and shook her head.
"It's too late for that now Amy." she mumbled, "Life holds no meaning for me. It's either I keep serving Hallows, or I go to the Shadow Realm. I'm sorry…"
Amy lowered her hand. She felt a wave of sadness wash over her. Even Chloe and Kazuki felt sorry for Amethyst. What had happened to this poor girl to feel as low as she did? They knew that of all the duels so far, this was going to be Amy's hardest one to win yet. The other three had been horrible people who were asking for their fates but Amethyst wasn't like that. How could they condemn her to the Shadow Realm when she wasn't as cruel as the others? Amy retook her position on the field.
"I only wish you didn't see it that way, Amethyst." Amy said solemnly, "I'll try not to make you suffer too much in this duel."
"I'll try to make it quick for you." Amethyst offered, "You're too nice to suffer a long, torturous duel."
"So what's my fate if I lose this one?" Amy asked, "Do I get buried alive or something?"
"Yes actually." Amethyst confirmed bluntly, "When your life points hit zero, the ground will explode underneath you and you'll fall into a grave. Your body will be buried and your soul will belong to Hallows."
"I WAS KIDDING!" Amy cried in exasperation.
"I'm not." Amethyst retorted, "Now let's duel."
The girls readied their Duel Disks and drew their starting hands. Chloe looked over sadly to Kazuki.
"As weird as it sounds Kazuki…I'm not sure I want anyone to win this duel." she said thoughtfully, "Of course I'm rooting for Amy, but it feels cruel to want her to win given how sad and depressed Amethyst is. I kinda hope they end in a draw so neither of them win."
"I'm not sure if Hallows will accept a draw." Kazuki muttered, "I bet he'll do something cruel and steal both their souls if that happens. One of them has to win or else, I bet."
They turned their attention to the duel as Amethyst made the first move. She drew her sixth card and studied her hand carefully.
"I'll set a card face-down on the field." the goth girl said as she placed the card in her Spell and Trap Zone, "And then I'll activate the Field Spell Yami."
She placed the card in her Field Zone and all at once, purple and black swirling clouds surrounded the field. It was as if the graveyard was turning into a fantastical nightmare world with these strange coloured clouds everywhere. Amy knew about Yami. It was a Field Spell that gave all Fiend monsters 200 extra attack and defence points while Fairy-type monsters would lose 200 attack and defence points. Luckily Amy didn't have any Fairy monsters in her deck so that wouldn't be a problem for her.
"Next I'll play Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands in Defence Mode." Amethyst declared.
Her monster (1400ATK/1000DEF) appeared on the field. True to its name, it was some bizarre fantastical creature with lots of hands all over its body and even atop its head. Amy was puzzled at that choice. Manju was a Fairy-type monster so Yami lowered its attack and defence points by 200. Why would Amethyst include that in a deck that included Yami? Kazuki had some idea on what Amethyst was up to.
"Be careful Amy!" he called to her, "That card allows Amethyst to add a Ritual Monster or Ritual Spell Card to her hand when it goes to the Graveyard. She might be planning to Ritual Summon something later on!"
"I'll hopefully win this duel before she can do so." Amy murmured.
She drew her sixth card and studied her hand carefully. She had Beta the Magnet Warrior, Spear Dragon, White Dragon Ritual, Shrink and Man-Eater Bug in her hand and had drawn Polymerization.
Nice one! Now if I can draw Paladin of White Dragon, I'll be able to Ritual Summon myself and then I can sacrifice my dragon to get Blue-Eyes White Dragon on the field! Amy thought to herself.
Hopefully she'd draw it in due time. For now, she had to make use of what she had now.
"I'll set a card face-down as well." Amy announced as she set Shrink, "And then I'll play Beta the Magnet Warrior in Attack Mode."
The magnet-themed monster appeared on the field in Attack Mode. Chloe beamed upon seeing Beta. Hopefully Amy would get to use Valkyrion again in this duel. It had been so cool to watch her use it last time. Amy ordered Beta the Magnet Warrior to destroy Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands. It aimed its magnet hands at the many-handed creature and destroyed it with a terrific jolt of electricity. Manju was destroyed but its effect took hold as Kazuki had warned Amy about. Amethyst chose to add a Ritual Monster to her hand. She'd chosen the Masked Beast. Now if she drew the Ritual Spell card she needed to summon it, she'd be able to Ritual Summon her monster. Amy hoped that she wouldn't have to face it as the Masked Beast was a powerful monster to fight and Yami's Field Power Bonus would make it even more so.
"That's all I can do for this turn." Amy announced.
"Back to me then." Amethyst acknowledged, "Now let's see what I can do…"
She drew her next card. It wasn't a Ritual Spell but it was a Spell Card she could make use of later. She kept it in her hand.
"I'll activate my Trap Card, Jar of Greed." the Fiend Duellists declared, "Now I get to draw one extra card."
Amy sighed with relief, glad the face-down card wasn't anything too bad to worry about but she also felt a little underwhelmed. That was it? Just a Jar of Greed? Then again, it might help Amethyst draw her Ritual Spell to summon her Masked Beast! Amethyst drew her extra card. Again, it wasn't the Ritual Spell she needed but it was a Trap Card she could make use of.
"Now I'll set this card face-down." Amethyst declared as she set the card, "And next I'll play my Man-Eating Treasure Chest in Attack Mode."
Man-Eating Treasure Chest materialized onto the field (1600ATK/1000DEF). True to its name, it looked like a treasure chest that could eat people what with it being a treasure chest that literally sported teeth and a tongue! Amy pitied any fool who tried to raid this treasure chest as they'd be in for a nasty surprise if they did. Thanks to Yami, the fiendish chest gained an extra 200 attack and defence points, making it 100 points stronger than Beta the Magnet Warrior. But to Amy's surprise, Amethyst chose to end her turn instead of attacking. The red-head suspected that Amethyst was suspicious of her face-down card and didn't want to risk attacking. Clearly the Fiend Duellist had been paying attention to her previous wins and knew she couldn't take someone like Amy lightly. Amethyst may well be the smartest opponent Amy had faced so far.
"OK, I'll make my move." Amy said as she drew her next card.
She'd drawn Battle Ox, a monster card that might come in handy later on but she didn't need it too desperately now. She had a better monster to play for now anyway.
"I'll play my Spear Dragon in Attack Mode." the rookie duellist declared.
Her Spear Dragon materialized onto the field beside Beta the Magnet Warrior. At 1900 attack points, the powered up Man-Eating Treasure Chest wasn't strong enough to handle it. But Amy knew Amethyst had a face-down card. It could be anything and she would have no idea what she'd be up against. Did she dare risk an attack or did she play cautiously like Amethyst was doing? Amy thought carefully and came to a decision. She supposed it would be worth the risk. She still had Shrink face-down to help her if necessary so it wasn't like she didn't have back-up.
"This might bite me in the ass later, but here goes. Spear Dragon, attack Man-Eating Treasure Chest!" Amy ordered.
Spear Dragon skewered the fiendish treasure chest with its spear like nose. Amethyst didn't activate her face-down card in response to this. Amy relaxed a little. It was clear it wasn't a Mirror Force or any other similar Trap Card to it. Now Man-Eating Treasure Chest was destroyed, Beta the Magnet Warrior attacked Amethyst directly. Its electrified blasts hit the goth girl and she winced from the blow. She staggered back in pain as her Life Points dropped to 6200. It had only been four turns but Amy was now holding a huge lead. This duel was looking to be over quicker than anyone could've guessed.
"Amy's doing great so far." Chloe said brightly, "I do hope Amethyst isn't purposefully throwing the duel though. I don't want Amy to win like that."
"Oh she's not throwing it Chloe." Kazuki said dryly, "I can't tell what she's planning as she's giving nothing away with her neutral expression, but I'm sure she's plotting something…"
"It was the same with Jack the Ripper last time. Amy looked to be on top only for it to turn out he was stringing her along the whole time. Maybe Amethyst is doing the same…" Chloe said worriedly.
"We'll just have to see what her play is." Kazuki agreed.
All eyes were on Amethyst as she drew her next card. She still hadn't drawn her Ritual Spell card, but she'd drawn a Spell Card that would still be very handy regardless.
"I hate to do this to you, Amy, but this one will really hurt. Literally." Amethyst announced, "I now equip your Beta the Magnet Warrior with Mask of the Accursed."
A grotesque looking mask with a twisted facial expression and huge nails sticking out of it formed around Beta the Magnet Warrior's face. Amy stared in horror at the mask her warrior now wore.
"Beta! What did you do to him?!" Amy declared.
"Mask of the Accursed prevents it from switching battle positions and it can't attack me while it's wearing the mask." Amethyst explained, "Also during my Standby Phases, you lose 500 Life Points from it. In a way, this mask will slowly but surely bleed your Life Points dry. It's like how life itself slowly bleeds you dry so it's appropriate for me."
Amy gulped. She had to get rid of her Magnet Warrior and the mask it was equipped with before it really did damage to her Life Points!
"Now I'll set another card face-down." Amethyst went on, setting another card she'd been keeping in her hand for a while, "And next I'll play my Twin-Headed Wolf in Attack Mode."
A green lupine creature with two purple tails and two pink heads (1500ATK/1000DEF) appeared on the field and both heads howled in unison. Twin-Headed Wolf gained a power boost from Yami, boosting it up to 1700ATK and 1200DEF. Seeing as she wanted to keep Beta on the field so Mask of the Accursed could eat away Amy's Life Points, Amethyst chose to attack Spear Dragon instead. Par its effect, it had gone into Defence Mode after attacking in Amy's last turn and with 0 defence points, it offered no protecting against the vicious wolf's attack. Twin-Headed Wolf pounced on Spear Dragon and bit into it with both heads at once. Spear Dragon was destroyed and Amy was left with an immobile Magnet Warrior to protect herself. But in this case, it was hardly protecting her as it would slowly be killing her thanks to Mask of the Accursed. The duel wasn't looking good for Amy now. She had to make a comeback and fast!
"I knew Amethyst wouldn't be making it easy for her." Kazuki muttered, "Hallows did warn us her deck has mask cards in it. The Mask archetype is all about limiting your opponent's options and doing damage to them and we're seeing the first example of that here."
"Do you think Amy can get rid of it?" Chloe asked hopefully.
"If she can tribute Beta the Magnet Warrior for a tribute summon or use it to Ritual Summon her Paladin of White Dragon, she'll be safe." Kazuki said reassuringly, "But can Amy draw anything like that in time…?"
Lord Hallows was growing interested in how this duel was going.
"Amethyst's masks have always made her a tricky duellist to deal with. And if at least one of her face-down cards is what I think it is, she'll really make it tougher for Amy…"
Amy drew her next card, praying it was a monster she could tribute summon so she could get rid of Beta the Magnet Warrior and stop Mask of the Accursed being a problem for her. She looked at her card and smiled. It wasn't a monster but it was still something that would hopefully help out.
"OK, I now play Pot of Greed!" Amy declared, placing the card in her Spell and Trap zone.
Pot of Greed granted her two extra cards to draw and Amy added them to her hand. To her delight, she'd drawn Paladin of White Dragon and Monster Reborn. Now she could Ritual Summon her dragon and get rid of Beta the Magnet Warrior!
"I'll set a monster on the field in Defence Mode and then I'll play my White Dragon Ritual Spell Card!" Amy announced.
A face-down card appeared beside Beta the Magnet Warrior and the White Dragon Ritual card appeared just behind it.
"I'll use Beta the Magnet Warrior as a tribute in order to Ritual Summon my Paladin of White Dragon!" Amy cried, "So say goodbye to your Mask of the Accursed, Amethyst!"
"Your Magnet Warrior isn't going anywhere and the mask is staying on." Amethyst said grimly, "Sorry Amy, but I had a little contingency for that…"
She activated one of her face-down cards. To Amy's horror, it was Mask of Restrict. A bizarre spiky looking mask appeared on the field in Amethyst's Spell and Trap zone. White Dragon Ritual's effect was cancelled out and Beta the Magnet Warrior wasn't sacrificed as a result. Amy's entire plan had come crumbling down thanks to this one card. Chloe looked to Kazuki in confusion.
"I don't get it. What just happened?" she asked.
"Mask of Restrict prevents either player from offering monsters as tributes." Kazuki explained, "As long as it's in play, neither Amy or Amethyst can tribute monsters for tribute summons, Ritual Summons or to activate effects. It's all part of Amethyst's plan, to limit Amy's options and force the equipped Beta to stay in play so Mask of the Accursed will slowly bleed her Life Points dry. Unless Amy can get rid of Mask of Restrict, she won't be able to Tribute Summon any powerful monsters or get rid of Beta. She's stuck with it…"
"That's awful!" Chloe cried in worry, "How will Amy get out of this one?"
"We'll just have to wait and see…" Kazuki said grimly.
Amy considered her options for now. She could use Monster Reborn to bring back a monster like Spear Dragon but it wouldn't do her any good. She'd be able to get rid of Twin-Headed Wolf but then it'd go back into Defence Mode and get destroyed by whatever monster Amethyst had next. She was better off keeping it in her hand until the opportunity to revive a more powerful monster from either her side or Amethyst's side presented itself to her.
Don't worry Jack. Your card will save me in this duel yet. Just you wait… Amy promised in her thoughts.
"You've got me good Amethyst…as much as I hate to say it. All I can do now is end my turn." the red-haired teen said sadly.
Amethyst nodded and made her next move. Now it was her Standby Phase, Amy lost 500 Life Points from Mask of the Accursed, taking her down to 7500. It was the first of what was going to be plenty of effect damage that Amy was going to suffer as time went on.
"I now call Opticlops to the field in Attack Mode." Amethyst announced, placing the card on her Duel Disk beside Twin-Headed Wolf.
A huge muscular cyclops with a large horn protruding from the middle of its head materialized on the field and roared menacingly. Opticlops was already a strong monster with 1800ATK and 1700DEF but Yami boosted it up to 2000ATK and 1900DEF. Amethyst's powered up monsters were starting to look very formidable on the field and Amy knew they would soon start to overwhelm her. Amethyst then ordered Twin-Headed Wolf to attack Amy's face-down monster. It pounced on the card and bit into it, revealing that it was Man-Eater Bug that was lurking there.
"Sorry Amethyst, but you've fallen for my trap!" Amy cried, "Now Man-Eater Bug can destroy any of your monsters that I choose!"
"No it can't." Amethyst cut in, "Twin-Headed Wolf's special ability negates the effects of Flip Monsters it destroys by battle as long as I control another Fiend Monsters. Thanks to Opticlops joining my wolf, your Man-Eater Bug's effect is cancelled."
"What? NO!" Amy exclaimed in shock.
Man-Eater Bug was sent to the Graveyard with no damage done to Amethyst. Both her monsters were here to stay and Amy was no closer to getting around Amethyst's strategy. She had to admit, for a nihilistic person who didn't care what happened to her, the Fiend Duellist was playing exceptionally well. It was like sub-consciously, Amethyst didn't want to lose after all despite her lack of interest in living. Was Amethyst really as depressed as she let on or was there more to her than she thought? Amy knew that she was against a more complex person than she would've expected.
Amethyst chose to end her turn instead of having Opticlops destroy Beta the Magnet Warrior as well. Clearly she wanted to keep Mask of the Accursed in play as long as possible to really do the damage to Amy. The red-head drew her next card and frowned.
Dammit! It's Barrel Dragon, a monster I can't summon! Amy cursed in annoyance, I don't have enough monsters on the field and Mask of Restrict would only stop me from summoning it anyway! At least I have it in my hand for now should I finally get rid of that mask…
"All I can do is just play Battle Ox in Defence Mode and end my turn." Amy said in disappointment.
A huge ox in red and gold armour and brandishing an axe appeared beside Beta the Magnet Warrior, knelt down in Defence Mode (1700ATK/1000DEF). Lord Hallows watched this and laughed to himself with glee.
"Looks like poor little Amy's really on the back foot now. She has a monster that's sucking her dry and Amethyst has a card that's preventing her from offering tributes for some of her plays!" he crowed, "Amethyst my girl, I think you've concocted the winning formula to bring this girl's soul to me at last!"
He watched on eagerly as Amethyst made her next move. How much was she going to make Amy suffer this turn? As Amethyst drew her next card, Mask of the Accursed inflicted more damage to Amy's Life Points, bringing her down to 7000. She glanced at her card and shrugged casually.
"This'll do." she murmured, "I'll play Dark Lucius LV4 in Attack Mode."
Dark Lucius LV4 (1000ATK/300DEF) appeared on the field besides Opticlops. It looked like an armoured warrior with multiple spikes on its back, red eyes and blue hair. Yami provided it with an extra 200 boost to its Attack and Defence as it was also a Fiend-type Monster. Amy could already feel the hopelessness of her situation weighing down on her. Amethyst was slowly but steadily building up an army of monsters and all she could do was defend for now with Beta not providing much of a defence as it was inflicting more and more damage to her. What was she going to do to stop her?
Dark Lucius lunged towards Battle Ox and destroyed it with a single powerful punch. Thanks to Yami's Field Power Bonus, it just had enough Attack Points to get past Battle Ox's defences. Battle Ox was destroyed and Beta was the only monster left protecting Amy now, although she wouldn't exactly call it protection. Amy was curious on Amethyst's choice of attack in this turn. Why had she chosen Dark Lucius to attack specifically? Given its name included "LV4" in it, she imagined it had an effect that would let it level up and maybe it needed to destroy a monster first before she could do so. Amy hoped she could draw something to destroy it before it could level up. Kazuki was hoping the same thing too. He'd duelled many duellists with level monsters before and knew what they could do. Amy drew her next card. At first she was disappointed. It was a monster that was much too weak to handle Dark Lucius LV4. But on the other hand…
I wish it was something stronger, but its effect will make up for it! Amy said excitedly in her thought, Trap Master will get rid of that damn mask for me so I'll be able to Ritual Summon my White Dragon and get rid of Beta so Mask of the Accursed can stop bleeding Life Points out of me!
"I'll set a monster face-down in Defence mode and end my turn." Amy announced out loud, placing Trap Master on her duel disk face-down like she'd said she would.
Kazuki shook his head sadly. He knew that wasn't much of a move and Amy was stuck having to desperately use whatever resources were still available to her. She'd need to make a much bigger move if she had any hopes of making a comeback or that gravestone behind her would be marked with her name! Amethyst drew her next card. Mask of the Accursed once again wiped out 500 Life Points from Amy, dropping her to 6500. The gap between Life Points was closing rapidly between the girls. Another 500 gone and Amy would be fall below Amethyst.
"I'll set this card face-down." Amethyst declared, setting her card, "And now I'll use the effect of Dark Lucius LV4 to send it to the Graveyard and Special Summon Dark Lucius LV6 in its place."
"Wait a minute! Won't Mask of Restrict stop you doing that?" Chloe interrupted, "I thought it prevented tributes from happening?"
"Dark Lucius LV4 sending itself to the Graveyard isn't classed as a tribute, nor is it a Tribute Summon. It's sending itself to the Graveyard to Special Summon the next level from her deck, ergo it bypasses Mask of Restrict's effect and Amethyst is allowed to do that." Kazuki informed.
"Oh. Too bad Amy hasn't got anything like that as well as that would've been handy…" Chloe muttered.
Dark Lucius LV4 left the field and in its place emerged a stronger, more powerful version of itself. Dark Lucius LV6 (1700ATK/600DEF) was bigger than its predecessor, had stronger looking armour coating its body, carried a long thin sword in its hands and sported four sharp appendages that hung down from its back. Amy was worried about how much further could it level up and how strong its final form would be. She also thought that the whole thing was like a Pokémon evolution with each form looking stronger and a little different from the previous form. Like with Amethyst's other monsters, Dark Lucius LV6 powered up further with Yami, now sporting a more intimidating 1900ATK/800DEF.
"Now Dark Lucius LV6, destroy Amy's face-down monster." Amethyst ordered.
The sword-wielding monster rushed towards Trap Master and sliced it in half. It flipped face-up for a brief moment to reveal itself to Amethyst.
"Too bad Amethyst for you activated my Trap Master's special effect!" Amy declared, "I can destroy a Trap Card on your side of the field now you've flipped it face-up!"
"One step ahead of you again, Amy." Amethyst said bluntly, "When Dark Lucius LV6 is summoned by the effect of LV4, it can negate the effects of monsters it destroys by battle. Trap Master isn't going to help you this time, I'm afraid."
"What?! Aw dammit! I thought I could finally get rid of that stupid mask of yours!" Amy complained.
She watched despairingly as Trap Master was sent to the Graveyard at the hands of Dark Lucius LV6 and Mask of Restrict remained untouched on the field. Her plan was once again out the window. Chloe put her hands to her face in exasperation.
"This is nuts! It's like Amethyst built her entire deck specifically to counter Amy's! That's so unfair!" the blonde bookworm wailed.
"Nah, her deck's just that good." Kazuki muttered, "It has nothing to do with countering Amy specifically. It's just unlucky for Amy Amethyst has the right deck to handle her. With Amy's deck containing so many Effect Monsters, it just wasn't the kind of deck Amy could do with going up against."
"But she'll find a way around it, I'm confident she can!" Chloe said supportively, "She's beaten the previous three members in spite of everything, she'll do it again!"
"I'm glad you have faith in me Chloe because I honestly doubt myself right now!" Amy exclaimed, "I'm really running out of ideas here!"
"If you're anything like Hallows has described to me Amy, I'm sure you have some kind of strategy cooking away in that brain of yours." Amethyst said bluntly, "You're not gonna give up on me that easily, are you?"
"No, of course not!" Amy retorted, "Not while my brother's counting on me! It's just a matter of what I can draw next whether it'll save me or not…"
Amy drew her next card, praying that she could draw a powerful Trap Card or something. Remove Trap would especially be useful in this situation! But she'd only drawn Koumori Dragon. That would never do! What good would it do against Amethyst's army of fiends? Sighing, Amy just played it in Defence Mode and ended her turn. On her next turn, she'd be sure to put Monster Reborn to good use as she may well need it.
"You know Amy, I'm a little disappointed." Amethyst said grimly, "I was hoping duelling you would give me the big finish I was looking for. Looks like I'm just gonna beat you as easily as I did everyone else and my pointless existence continues. When is someone gonna put me out of my misery already…?"
She drew her next card. Mask of the Accursed activated again, dropping Amy down to 6000 Life Points. At long last, Amethyst had taken the lead. And her lead was only going to increase as she made her next move.
"I set another card face-down." Amethyst announced, "And then I activate Dark Lucius LV6's ability to send it to the Graveyard and Special Summon Dark Lucius LV8 from my deck."
Dark Lucius LV4 disappeared and LV8 appeared in its place (2800ATK/900DEF). It was even bigger than LV6 with a much bigger sword in its hands, six wings, a more heavily armoured appearance and bladed shoulders. Amy got the feeling that this beast could cut a telephone pole in two with a single stroke of its sword. Yami boosted its power up to 3000ATK/1100DEF but Amethyst wasn't done yet.
"I now also equip him with Mask of Brutality to bring his power up by 1000 points." she declared.
So Amethyst had been keeping that card in her hand the whole time and had waited until she had a particularly powerful monster to equip it to. Amy had the feeling this girl had been mapping out her strategy from the moment she drew her starting hand! Mask of Brutality formed around Dark Lucius's face, beefing it up even further to 4000ATK as a result. The mask looked very strange with a pair of clawed hands sprouting out of the eyes and a large open mouth with sharp teeth on it but Amy knew this mask was nothing to laugh about.
"Now usually, this card has a pesky drawback in where I have to pay 1000 Life Points to keep it on or destroy it." Amethyst explained, "But I set these two as a contingency for that…"
She activated her two face-down cards, revealing two copies of Life Absorbing Machine. Amy had to admit, it was impressive Amethyst had structured her deck so well around her monster's effects and her card's draw backs. Life Absorbing Machine restored half the amount of Life Points an opponent paid to activate an effect but because Amethyst had two copies of it, she would regain all her Life Points, effectively meaning she would never lose Life Points this way. Mask of Brutality could stay on as long as she wanted with no side-effects. How had Amethyst become such a clever duellist?!
"Given how everything's going for me right now, I think we can get rid of Mask of the Accursed. No need to keep it on anymore." Amethyst muttered, "Dark Lucius LV8, destroy Beta the Magnet Warrior now."
Dark Lucius LV8 rushed towards Beta with its beefy sword held high above its head and ready to strike. Seeing that she was about to take a lot of damage, Amy acted quickly in response.
"Not so far Amethyst! I activate my Shrink Spell Card!" Amy cried.
Shrink flipped face-up and took effect on Dark Lucius LV8. Its attack was cut in half, rendering it with only 2000ATK instead of 4000 until the end of this turn. It wasn't enough to save Beta the Magnet Warrior but it did mean she lost less Life Points this way. She only lost 300, leaving her with 5700 Life Points left. But that didn't last long as next, Twin-Headed Wolf destroyed Koumori Dragon, leaving Amy wide-open for Opticlops to come in and finish the job. The cyclopean creature skewered Amy in the belly with its horn, causing her to double over in pain and fall to her knees as her Life Points dropped to 3700. Despite the holograms, the attacks never stopped feeling real to her. It really did feel as if she'd been skewered by an actual horned cyclops. It was looking very hopeless for poor Amy. She only had a Polymerization, Paladin of White Dragon, Monster Reborn and Barrel Dragon left in her hand, neither of which would help her win this duel and she had no monsters left on the field or any cards in her back row to protect her. She was done for and this duel was going to end in victory for Amethyst!
Lord Hallows was especially agreeing with Amy's thought as he watched the duel he stroked the head of his cane with glee.
"Amethyst has been playing Amy for a sucker since turn one and now she has her wrapped around her little finger!" he crowed, "Amy cannot possibly defeat her, not when Amethyst has left her with such little options left in this duel! That girl may have no desire to live, but she's proving she has a desire to win at least and that's going to bring Amy's soul to me once the last card is played!"
Amy's really in trouble here. Mask of Restrict (true to its name) is restricting many of her options and Mask of the Accursed has sucked some of her Life Points away so now she's down to very few. Can she possibly survive this duel or will Amethyst be marking Amy's grave when this is over? Find out in Part 2...
Trivia: Amethyst's Mask-themed Deck is a reference to Lumis and Umbra from the anime in where those two use a similar themed deck and playing style. Beta the Magnet Warrior getting equipped with Mask of the Accursed especially should look VERY familiar to anime fans. ;)
Amethyst is also sort of based on Raven from the Teen Titans franchise.