Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Chaos Arc

Chapter 22: Water's awakening…..right?

Adriel drew. "Here it goes…the beginning of your end! I summon Oxygedon (1800/800) in attack mode!" An explosion of air rocked the field as a creature resembling a pterodactyl made of air appeared in play. "This monster is the key card to your defeat! I'm sure even a simpleton like you can figure this part out." He pointed at his field. "The elements of your doom are on the field."

"The elements of my doom?" Ichigo's eyes widened. "Hydrogen…Oxygen…"

"Water." Adriel held another card. "I play the magic card Bonding H2O! This card lets me send my Oxygedon and two Hydrogedon to the graveyard to special summon a monster made of the purest water!" The three creatures swirled together and formed a huge snake-like dragon made of pure water. "Water Dragon!" (2800/2600) Snarling, the dragon lowered its head to look at Ichigo. "Prepare for the end! Water Dragon, attack with Aqua Punisher!" The dragon released a blast of water that came bearing down on Ichigo's last remaining defense.

Ichigo's lips lifted slightly and he pointed at one of his set cards. "Go Shadow Optics! This trap lets me sacrifice one Cyber Shadow on my field to create a false version of one monster on my field until the end of the turn!" His Shield Bearer exploded into dust and was replaced by an exact copy of the Water Dragon. "Now I reveal the trap card Forged Bonds! This card activates when a non Cyber Shadow monster is my only monster in play. It becomes a Cyber Shadow until the end of the turn and gains a 1000 attack points bonus!" Snarling, the false Water Dragon turned pitch black. (3800/2600)

Adriel frowned. "I withdraw my attack and end my turn." The false Water Dragon disappeared. "You won't escape next time."

"I won't need to escape next time." Ichigo drew. "Pot of Greed lets me draw two cards!" Holding up one of the two new cards, he smirked. "Then I play the magic card Research on the Pot of Greed. It's an odd card, but I think in this situation it will work just fine. During a turn where Pot of Greed was played this card lets me draw two cards. Otherwise, I'd be able to only draw one." Sliding two more cards off of his deck, Ichigo placed one face-down on his disk and one into his disk. "I set a monster and a magic/trap card. Then I play the continuous magic card Mirage of Nightmare. End turn."

Adriel narrowed his eyes and drew. "It's my turn…"

Ichigo snapped four cards off of his deck. "Mirage of Nightmare lets me draw until I have four cards in my hand during your standby phase. Then I reveal my face-down Emergency Provisions! This magic card lets me sacrifice magic and trap cards to gain life points! So I'll send Mirage of Nightmare to the graveyard and gain 1000 life points!"

Ichigo- 2500

Adriel- 4000

Frowning, Adriel pointed at Ichigo. "You think I'll let you survive this turn? Wrong! I play the continuous magic card Dragon's Fangs! As long as this card is in play all monsters with dragon in their title gain 500 more attack points! Also, when they attack and destroy a monster you lose 300 life points! So now Water Dragon, Aqua Punisher!" The snake-like dragon roared and released a blast of water that slammed into the set card and blew it apart. "Now you lose 300 life points!"

Ichigo- 2200

Adriel- 4000

Ichigo caught a card that was spat out of his graveyard. "Cyber Shadow-Retriever lets me take back one Cyber Shadow monster from my graveyard when it is destroyed as a result of battle."

"I know the effect of your damned card!" Adriel pointed at Ichigo. "Now feel the wrath of my Luster Dragon!"

"Reverse card open! Negate Attack will stop the attack and end your battle phase!" Ichigo rubbed his index finger under his nose. "I'm not beaten that easily."

Adriel hissed in annoyance. "End turn!"

Ichigo removed two cards from his back pocket and held them up. "I think now is the time to take back the monsters that I removed with Hero's Return."


"Now he has seven cards in his hand. I'm guessing he's going to use a good number of them by the end of this turn though." Kenshin shrugged slightly and sat back against a nearby tree. "Not that it's a bad thing. If he can get the job done, then it's no big deal."
Ichigo looked at his seven cards and slid one into his disk. "It's time to bring out the big boys! Go Polymerization!" A pair of black-clothed forms appeared on his field. "I fuse Cyber Shadow-Assassin (1000/800) and Cyber Shadow-Soldier (1600/1600) together to create Special Operative-Snake!" (2000/1800) The bandana-wearing form of Ichigo's favorite monster appeared on the field.

"Snake…" Adriel's eyes narrowed for a few moments, and then he snickered. "Water Dragon will enjoy destroying you."

Ichigo pointed at Luster Dragon. "Go Snake, attack that thing!" Nodding, the warrior leapt forwards and slammed its fist into the face of the monster, blowing it apart. "End turn."

Ichigo- 2200

Adriel- 3400

Adriel chuckled mirthlessly and drew. "You just sealed your fate fool! By sending another card to my graveyard you have now piled ten cards on top of Carbonedon. Do you know what happens when Carbonedon gets ten cards piled onto it?"

"It gets really cramped?" Ichigo asked jokingly.

"Actually, it gets removed from play and lets me special summon a mighty dragon made of the strongest gem in existence! Go Hyozanryu!" (2100/2800) A medium-sized dragon covered in diamond appeared on the field and roared at Ichigo and Snake. "Prepare for the end! Go Hyozanryu, Diamond Breath!" Opening its jaws, the dragon released a wave of glittering crystals that hurtled towards Snake.

"Reverse card open!" Ichigo pointed at one of his two set cards. "I activate the quickplay magic card Emergency Casting! This card requires that my opponent declares an attack on a monster on my field for it to activate. Now I can play one magic card from my hand immediately!"

"What magic card can you possibly play to make any kind of a difference in this duel?" Adriel pointed at Ichigo. "Give it up, you've got nothing."

"This doesn't look like nothing to me." Ichigo opened his field magic card slot. "It's time to reveal the field of a true spy! Activate Jungle Zone!" All around them huge trees sprang into existence. Insects chirped in the distance and Ichigo snickered calmly as the Diamond Breath blast slammed into Snake and blew the agent away instantly. "As long as this card is on the field, whenever I lose a Cyber Shadow as a result of battle all battle damage to me is zero for the rest of the turn. Meaning that I'll only lose 300 life points from losing Snake, and also I'll emerge from this battle phase without another scratch on me."

Ichigo- 1900

Adriel- 3400

Adriel snarled loudly and his eyes turned an even darker shade of red. "Then take your damned turn!"

Ichigo drew. "Here we go…it's time to even out the playing field! Go Fusion Return. This magic card lets me take one Polymerization from my graveyard and add it to my hand." He slid the card into his graveyard and picked up the magic card from the same slot on his disk.

"You plan on fusing your monsters again? How pointless…no two monsters, even when combined, can match my new power." Adriel waved his hand across his field. "With all of these mighty dragons on my field, there's no way you can hope to win!"

"Two monsters huh…" Ichigo pointed at his face-down card. "What about a fusion that can be formed through fusion? Go Re-Fusion! This equipment magic card costs 800 of my life points, but I can special summon a fusion monster from my graveyard! Snake returns!" In a flash of light a jungle-camouflage wearing version of Ichigo's favorite monster appeared on the field.

Ichigo- 1100

Adriel- 3400

"It's a waste! What can that useless monster do against me?"

"Useless?" Ichigo held up Polymerization and another card. "We'll see about that! Go Polymerization! I fuse Cyber Shadow-Blademaster (2000/1600) and Snake together to form Cyber Shadow-Lord of Knives!" (2800/2400) A black trench-coat wearing warrior appeared on his field. Opening its eyes, the warrior looked at the dragons and snickered calmly. "Fools…"


Kenshin's eyes widened. "Wait a minute; he used that card against me! But when he did so it was a different combination he used to bring it out…"


Ichigo pointed at his new warrior. "Lord of Knives can be formed through the three-way fusion of Assassin, Soldier, and Blademaster. However, he also can be created through the fusing of fusions between these monsters. More or less….he's pretty flexible."

"It doesn't matter; you can't defeat me that easily. Thanks to Dragon's Fangs Water Dragon has 3300 attack points, so your monster is outclassed." Adriel pointed at the Lord of Knives and laughed calmly.

Ichigo pointed at the Lord of Knives, who held up a group of knives pinched between his fingers. "When summoned, Lord of Knives destroys a magic or trap card on the field and a monster as well. So your Water Dragon really isn't a problem now! Knife Barrage!" The warrior snapped its arms out and both Water Dragon and Dragon's Fangs were torn to bits of paper.

Adriel growled in anger and pointed to his field. "When Water Dragon is destroyed two Hydrogedon and one Oxygedon are special summoned from my graveyard to the field in defense mode!" Two jets of brown water exploded out of the ground and quickly formed into a pair of lizard-like creatures in crouching positions. Next to them a swirl of aquamarine air quickly formed into a pterodactyl-like creature in a crouching position. (1600/1000) (1800/800)

Ichigo's eyes started to twitch. ("Damn it…he still has five monsters now!") "Lord of Knives, attack Hyozanryu!" The warrior flicked its wrists and a wave of knives slashed the dragon apart.

Ichigo- 1100

Adriel- 2700

Ichigo slid a card from his hand into his disk. "I'm not done yet Adriel! From my hand I play De-Fusion! This quickplay magic card will break Lord of Knives down into its three base components!" The warrior blew apart and Soldier, Assassin, and Blademaster appeared on Ichigo's field. "Assassin and Soldier attack Oxygedon and Hydrogedon now!" Both monsters leapt forward at once and punched the monsters, blowing them apart. "And finally, I attack Nexus Dragon with Blademaster!" The twin sword-wielding flipped forwards and slashed the finned dragon apart.

Ichigo- 1100

Adriel- 2200

"And one more thing." Ichigo placed a card onto his disk. "I summon Cyber Shadow-Shield Bearer (0/2400) in defense mode." A black-suited warrior holding a huge riot shield in front of it appeared in play. "End turn."

Adriel drew. "I'm impressed…barely. However…" He slid a card into his graveyard and another into his disk. "I activate the magic card Monster Reincarnation. This card lets me discard a card from my hand to pick up a monster from my graveyard."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes slowly…and then widened them as he saw one of Adriel's face-down cards flip up. "What's that?"

"It's a trap card called Dragon's Wing Blast. This card forces me to shuffle one card from my hand and one from my graveyard into my deck, but in return I can destroy magic or trap card on the field." The card released a burst of fire that consumed the Jungle Zone, leaving them both standing in the plain school courtyard again.

Ichigo gulped quietly. ("Now I just have a field full of targets…")

Adriel sneered and pointed at his remaining Hydrogedon, which stood up and roared. "Hydrogedon, Hydro Press!" The monster released a blast of brown water that blew Assassin apart.

Ichigo- 600

Adriel- 2200

"And when Hydrogedon destroys a monster as a result of battle I can special summon another from my deck. Since the graveyard card I returned to my deck through my trap card was that monster, let's bring it out!" A geyser exploded out of the ground and formed into another of the lizard-like creatures.

Ichigo narrowed his eyes as he realized what was going to happen. ("He's going to revive that Water Dragon…")

Adriel slid another card into his disk. "Also, I play the equipment magic card Premature Burial. At the cost of 800 life points I will return Oxygedon (1800/800) to the field!" The pterodactyl reformed in play. "I set one card face-down on the field and end my turn now."

Ichigo- 600

Adriel- 2200

Ichigo drew. "I won't let you recreate that dragon! Go Blademaster, destroy Oxygedon!" The warrior started its charge, and then lowered its weapon and returned to Ichigo's field. "What happened?"

"You triggered my trap card. It's called Dragon's Hoard. This card first requires that I sacrifice a monster on my field." His Oxygedon disappeared. "Then I may take back a magic card from my graveyard." Removing a card from his graveyard, Adriel also took his other hand card and discarded it. "Finally my other face-down card will be revealed. It's called Revival Pearl. By discarding a magic card from my hand I can return a monster from my graveyard to the field." A glowing green pearl appeared on his field and shimmered. Then his Oxygedon reappeared. "And thanks to Dragon's Hoard, you can't attack during this turn."

Ichigo frowned and pointed to his monsters. "I switch everyone into defense mode. End turn." All of his monsters fell to their knees and braced themselves for what they knew was coming.

Adriel calmly smiled, his eyes glowing steel-grey. "For the next three turns I cannot draw cards thanks to Dragon's Hoard…but I don't need to." He held up the single card in his hand. "Go Bonding H2O!" His three monsters were pulled together and formed into the snake-like form of his Water Dragon. (2800/2600) "Now Water Dragon, Aqua Punisher!" The dragon roared and dropped a waterfall of water against the Shield Bearer, blowing it apart. "End turn."

Ichigo drew. "End turn."

Adriel pointed at Blademaster. "Next up!" Water Dragon brought its head down and bit the warrior in half. "End turn."

Ichigo drew. "End turn."

Adriel pointed at Soldier. "The final barricade!" Water Dragon wrapped its coils around the body of the warrior and squeezed tightly, shattering Soldier instantly. "End turn."


Eri frowned and looked back at Hitokage. "What's the matter with Adriel? Why is he acting so strangely?"

"He's found some kind of power…though I'm unsure of the source." The blond-haired boy rubbed his chin. "It seems natural…just overly powerful."

"I'm more worried about what Ichigo is going to do now. He's not exactly in the best position at this point." Kenshin opened his eyes slightly so that he could watch the duel. He could hear what was going on far too well, but this he wanted to see with his eyes. ("Ichigo…show him your power.")


Ichigo drew. "I summon Cyber Shadow-Shifter (800/1200) in attack mode!" A black-clothed ninja appeared on his field. "Then I equip it with the equipment magic card Shifting Daggers!" A pair of daggers built to offer more protection than offensive power appeared in the hands of the ninja. "This card can only given to Shifter, and only while it is in attack mode. It now gains 500 attack points." (1300/1200) "End turn."

Adriel drew. "Get ready…because here I come! First I summon Masked Dragon!" (1400/1100) A red and white scaled dragon appeared on his field. "Now blast Shifter away!" Opening its mouth, the dragon released a fireball that rocketed towards Ichigo's monster.

With lightning speed Shifter snapped its daggers up, blocking the attack with the blade. Each weapon shuddered and blew into dust, while Shifter fell to one knee.

Ichigo pointed at his monster. "When my monster would be destroyed Shifting Daggers are destroyed instead. Also, my monster goes into defense mode."

"Damn it…" Adriel pointed at Shifter. "Water Dragon, Aqua Punisher!" The dragon released another pillar of water that drowned the warrior. "End turn!"

Ichigo looked down at his deck. "Why are you doing this? And more importantly, where did you get so much power from so quickly?"

Adriel sneered and thumbed at himself. "Allow me to explain. Thanks to the help of a nice man I met a short while ago I managed to unleash my true powers as a dragon demon. Now I'll crush you with my true strength and reclaim my honor."

"We'll see about that." Ichigo drew. "Then again…we'll see about that right now! First I play The Warrior Returning Alive! This magic card lets me take back one warrior monster." Catching a card spat out of his graveyard, Ichigo slapped it down. "Cyber Shadow-Shifter in attack mode!" The ninja reappeared on his field. "Then the magic card Shadow Shift! When played, this card will force all attack mode monsters into defense mode."

All three of the monsters on the field slid into crouching positions. "As an added bonus, I may sacrifice Shifter to summon a different Cyber Shadow from my deck! Emerge now, my mighty Cyber Shadow-King of Swords!" (2600/2300) The ninja vanished. In its place stood a lone figure with a pair of blades attached to its forearms. Opening its eyes, it looked at the Water Dragon appraisingly. "Perhaps you can offer me a challenge…"

Adriel snickered calmly. "Our monsters have the same point totals. And don't bother trying to attack Masked Dragon, because I activate the last effect of Dragon's Hoard. When I have lasted out the three turn draw lock-out, I can decide what monster on my field you will be attacking for the rest of the duel."

Ichigo looked at the last card in his hand. "Adriel…you're good. Much better than they'd ever like to admit. However…" He opened his field magic card slot. "I'm not to be toyed with! Activate Cyber Battlefield!" All around them the landscape faded and was replaced by a simple green grid. "In this place, Cyber Shadows gain the training necessary to defeat whatever monster confronts them. So now I declare Dragon!"

A targeting reticule fell over the Water Dragon, lighting up numerous weak points along its body. "During this turn, whenever a Cyber Shadow battles against a monster with Dragon in its title, my monster will gain a 500 attack point bonus!" (3100/2300) "King of Swords!" The warrior shimmered out of existence and then reappeared moments later back in the same spot. "Too easy."

Howling in pain, the Water Dragon exploded into dust.

"And when King of Swords fight a monster in defense mode, it still deals damage!" Ichigo pointed at Adriel. "So have a taste of 500 life point damage!"

Ichigo- 600

Adriel- 1700

Adriel pointed at his field, where a trio of watery forms appeared. "As you should remember, when Water Dragon is destroyed my Oxygedon and two Hydrogedons are returned to the field in defense mode."

Ichigo nodded slightly. "End turn for now."

Adriel drew, looked at the drawn card…and started to laugh. "You…you're finished!" He pointed to all four of his monsters. "These creatures are stronger…but useless against your King of Swords. But any King should also have a Queen, no?" The four monster disappeared. "I sacrifice four monsters to normal summon Tiamat; Queen of Dragons!"

The monster that appeared on his field was a five-headed dragon of enormous size. Each of the heads were a different color, and all of them roared at King of Swords. (5000/5000) "When this monster would be destroyed, it instead loses 1000 attack points. Also when summoned, the Queen of Dragons brings out two level seven or higher dragons from my deck to the field!" A huge red-scaled dragon and a golden dragon appeared on both sides of the Queen. "I special summon Tyrant Dragon (2900/2500) and Grand Emperor Dragon (2000/2500) to the field!" Both dragons roared and looked down at Ichigo. "This is your end Pilkington. Five Star Doom!" Tiamat's jaws opened and all of them released a different element of energy that hurtled towards Ichigo's last chance.

"Cyber Battlefield special ability number two!" Ichigo opened his field magic card slot and removed the card. "I may send this card to the graveyard at any time to replay a field magic card in my graveyard! Go Jungle Zone!" The field changed into the treetop area right before the five blasts slammed into the King of Swords and blew it away. "So for this turn I'm safe."

Adriel closed his eyes and smirked coldly. "You won't escape…because you have no cards left in your deck capable of helping you win. End turn."

Ichigo looked down at his deck and smiled weakly. ("Could I actually lose this? Adriel has gotten so much more powerful…even stronger than I am.") Then he looked over at the side of the field…and saw Eri. ("Well that fixes that. I can't lose in front of her, because she'll never let me live it down.") "Sorry Adriel…but I won't lose."

"Then draw your card." The half-dragon demon pointed at Ichigo. "Bring out you best."

"You want my best?" Ichigo drew and placed the card onto his disk. "I special summon Steel Titan-Crane!" (2000/2500) A screech shook across the sky. "When I want to summon this monster without making any sacrifices, I must draw the top five cards off of my deck. For every monster I take 1000 life points of damage!" Snapping the top five cards off of his deck, Ichigo showed them to his opponent. "And I'm in the clear." He discarded the drawn cards, while the screeching got louder.

The green-metal form that floated down to the field had a body built for flight, with jets rimming along its bird-like wings and jets built into its lower body so it could get into the air. Opening its steel jaws, the machine monster screeched one more time at the three dragons.

"A Steel Titan…" Adriel frowned. "So this is your true power…"

"I have no true power…" Ichigo pointed at his opponent. "I don't believe that you have to be powerful to be the best. You simply have to have the necessary skills, as well as a hope in your heart that everything will always come out on top if you are a hero!" Crane's jets activated and it launched into the air, quickly disappearing into the sky. "When this card is summoned successfully, its special ability activates! Now all monsters in play will lose 2000 attack points!" Bombs rained down from the sky and slammed into the collected dragons. The Grand Emperor Dragon was immediately blown apart, while the Tyrant Dragon was left stumbling and Tiamat seemed nearly unaffected. (900/2500) (3000/5000)

"Was that it?" Adriel threw back his head and laughed. "That means I've won!"

"Wrong!" Ichigo drew a single card. "When Crane activates its entrance effect I draw one card." Glancing at it, Ichigo slid it into his disk. "Steel Defense Barrier! During this turn life point damage to me is zero as long as I have a machine in play! Then I activate Crane's second effect! By drawing five more cards, I can destroy a monster on the field for every monster amongst those cards. However, like its summoning effect I'll take 1000 life point damage for every monster as well!" Snapping five cards off of his deck, he snapped them around. "Three monsters!" Three bombs fell from the sky and slammed into Tiamat. (3000-2000-1000-0/3000) (Destroyed)

Letting out a trio of screams, the dragon Queen blew apart.

Adriel hissed in anger. "I still will survive until the next turn! Also, when Tiamat is destroyed the monsters sacrificed to summon it are returned!" Four monsters in crouching positions filled up his field.

Ichigo pointed up into the sky. "The last special ability…one final suicidal attack. During this turn, if Crane is my only field monster, I may increase its attack points by 1000 and let it attack all monsters on the field, though it will be destroyed at the end of the battle phase!" A single glowing meteor could be seen in the sky. That meteor was Crane, preparing for its final attack. (3000/2500) "Suicide Strike!" The meteor hit the ground and every monster on Adriel's field was instantly consumed in flames.

Ichigo- 600

Adriel- 0


A short distance away from the explosion that shook the whole island, a single ice-blue stone slid through a crack in the ground that was cause by that explosion and disappeared. It fell for an immeasurable amount of time, and then finally landed within an empty cave. Moments later light flooded out of the damaged stone. ("I am awake…and I wait for an owner…")

Adriel pounded his fists into the ground. He still felt his awakened powers…but now he didn't feel invincible. ("To think I gained the strength my father possessed…and yet I still lost!") Closing his eyes, he prepared to be mocked and ridiculed.

"Hey Adriel, that was a great game." Ichigo offered his hand to the Obelisk Blue student. "You nearly had me there. It all came down to luck on my part."

Adriel stared at Ichigo for a few moments, and then took his hand. "You mean…you're not going to mock me?"

"Why should I? You put up a great fight." Ichigo flashed the victory sign. "One wrong move on my part and I would have lost that duel. It was so close."

Adriel stood silent…and then smiled. "Perhaps next time then?"

"Perhaps." Ichigo turned and gave a thumbs-up to Griff and Krieger.

To be continued…

(Jeez, I haven't done one of these in a while) Next Episode: The top duelists meet in battle, Hitokage vs. Kenshin (Who do you think is going to win?)

To Gryphinwyrm: They seem to do that a lot, don't they?

To Seeker of the Soul: Daichi isn't that much of a geek…at least I think so. As for what I'm up to….well, you'll see.

To Seth Vindicare: Thank you very much. When are you going to post the next chapter of your story?

To Bobbomp: ……………………………………………….You certainly have an interesting imagination…….I guess….

To Anime Albino: Any particular reason that you don't like Daniel?

To whitwolf: Actually, the reason Rykiel wants to lose isn't because he is bored of the game, but because he is bored of the competition. Or the lack thereof.

To Hogwarts-Knight: I did nothing to Adriel. He just finally found the power that is like his father's. As for Water Dragon, it and its pieces are property of Duel Monsters GX.

To G.O.T. Nick: Yeah, it is kinda like that actually. Of course that was so long ago….but then again, history is supposed to repeat itself.

To Nanashi Minimino: Yes there is. Like Cyber Shadows there are only one set of Divine Agents.

To Adriel: Hey now, think about this…he challenged Ichigo and nearly crushed him. I mean, he's gained the power to match somebody who has defeated duelists supposedly many times greater than he is. More or less, Adriel emerged from this duel better than before.

To Rex: I'd answer your question…but that would be rather stupid.