Disclaimer: I don't own Magic: The Gathering or Yu-Gi-Oh!
Yeah, I know. I don't know what I was doing while I wrote the last chapter, but there are plot holes you could drive a truck through!
On a better note, this fic has almost reached 300 reviews! Do you know how incredibly excited that makes me?
Well then, onto chapter 31!
As Arrathir rode the elevator up to the duel platform, he felt sick to his stomach. The thought of wagering another battle for his life was a little unnerving, but he didn't have a choice. It was this or to drop out of the tournament, and Arrathir wasn't a quitter.
Just do what Yugi said: Trust in the Heart of the Cards.
The doors of the elevator opened and Arrathir found himself plunged in a world of darkness. The Shadow Game had already begun!
"Well, well," said yami Marik, who was already in place. "Another one of the Pharaoh's little friends has come to play! Prepare yourself for the ultimate suffering! Soon, you…will…DIE!"
"I thought the looser was banished to the Shadow Realm," said Arrathir.
"Yes, but I'm getting tired of that," said Yami Marik "This time, the looser will die when their lifepoints reach zero, and it won't be me!"
"We'll see about that," said Arrathir, drawing his hand "I'll go first and summon Noxious Ghoul (1500/1500)." A green zombie appeared on the field. "I set one card and end my turn."
"Strong words for a weakling," said Yami Marik "I summon Gilasaurus (1400/400). I may treat this card as a Special Summon, which allows me to summon A Man With a Wdjat (1600/1600). I set one card and attack with A Man with a Wdjat!"
"Activate trap," said Arrathir, flipping his facedown card, "Terror!" Yami Marik's monster was destroyed.
"End turn."
"I summon Undead Warchief (1500/1000)," said Arrathir "Next, I set one card, and I attack with Noxious Ghoul (2500/2000)!"
"Ha!" said Yami Marik "I activate my trap, Demon Mirror of Nightmares! This card negates your attack and deals 1000 damage to you!" Arrathir's creature blew apart and he cried out in pain.
YAMI MARIK: 10, 000ARRATHIR: 9000
"You're going to be easier to defeat than I though," said Yami Marik.
"Your move," said Arrathir.
"I activate my trap card, Nightmare Wheel!" said Yami Marik "This card attaches you your Noxious Ghoul and deals 500 damage to you on my turn. As well, your monster cannot untap. Next, I summon Newdoria (1200/800). Now, Gilasaurus, Newdoria, attack!"
"I activate my trap card," said Arrathir "Wail of the Nim! This card deals 500 damage to each creature and each player, so your Gilasaurus dies! And I'll block Newdoria with Undead Warchief."
YAMI MARIK: 9500
ARRATHIR: 8300
Suddenly, Arrathir's Noxious Ghoul exploded to pieces.
"When Newdoria dies," said Yami Marik "It lets me destroy a monster on the field. I set one card and end my turn."
"My turn," said Arrathir, snapping up a card "I summon Corpse Harvester (1500/1500). Next, I play Necromancy to bring my Undead Warchief back to play! I set one creature facedown and end my turn."
"I set one monster and one card. End of turn," said Yami Marik.
"I activate my Corpse Harvester's ability," said Arrathir "By sacrificing a monster, I can search my deck for a zombie and put it in my hand. I sack my facedown card and search my deck for Soulless One! Since I only have three zombies in play and in my graveyard, I can summon him without tributes. He's a 3000/2500. I attack with Soulless One!" The zombie tore through Yami Marik's card. The card flipped to reveal a bloodshot eye.
"You attacked my Big Eye (1200/1000)," said Yami Marik "When this monster is flipped, it lets me look at the top five cards of my library and place them back in any order."
YAMI MARIK: 7000
ARRATHIR: 8300
"End turn."
"I play Card of Sanctity," said Yami Marik "Now we each draw until we have six cards in our hand. Next, I summon Karate Man (1000/1000)." A man in a yellow kimono appeared on the field. "Now, I activate my trap card, Energy Drain. This card increases a monster's attack and defense by 200 for each card in your hand, meaning my Karate Man is a 2200/2200! Finally, I activate Karate Man's effect: Once per turn, I may double his attack, making him a 4400/2200! Using this ability means Karate Man will be destroyed. Karate Man, attack!"
"I block with Undead Warchief," said Arrathir. The karate master flew at the zombie and knocked it out with a flying kick. Arrathir was thrown back as his lifepoints dropped. The Karate Man exploded on the spot.
YAMI MARIK: 7000
ARRATHIR: 4900
Arrathir got up, wincing. "This isn't over yet! I summon Zombie Masters (2000/2500). Now, I attack with Soulless One!" Yami Marik was blown back as the zombie's attack crashed into him.
YAMI MARIK: 5000
ARRATHIR: 4900
"You've fallen into my trap!" said Yami Marik "Reveal card, Metal Reflect Slime!" A gray blob appeared on the field and began expanding and stretching into a shape. The slime took the shape of Arrathir's Soulless One. "Metal Reflect Slime creates a duplicate of an attacking monster, but with only ¾ that monster's strength, meaning my slime token is a 1500/1500."
"So?" said Arrathir "My Soulless One is still more powerful than your copy! I set one card and end my turn."
"The theme of my deck is Immortality," said Yami Marik, drawing a card "Let me show you what I mean. I summon Revival Jam (1500/500)!" A blue blob appeared on the field. "Next, I play Polymerization, fusing my Revival Jam with my Soulless One token! Now I have a perfect barrier for my lifepoints! When the slime token is destroyed, it returns to the field. Until I can summon Anubis, this will protect me. I set one card. End turn."
"We'll see," said Arrathir "I sacrifice Zombie Masters to summon Twisted Abomination (2500/1500)! Next, I activate my trap card, Terror, to destroy your token!" The slime monster exploded, covering the duellists in slime, but the slime pieces reformed into the slime token.
"Baka," said Yami Marik "My slime monster can still re-form after being destroyed by your puny cards!"
Shit! None of my creatures can take that thing down! The good news is he doesn't have enough creatures to defend himself from multiple attacks.
"I attack with Soulless One (2500/2500) and Corpse Harvester!"
"Reveal trap," said Yami Marik "Jam Defender. Now, whenever you attack, the attack is redirected at my slime token!"
There goes that plan…
The zombies' attacks crashed into the slime token which reformed, good as new, the token killing Arrathir's Corpse Harvester.
"End turn."
"I set one monster and I summon Sangan (1000/600). Now I play Riryoku. This magic card decreases the attack of one monster by half and increases the attack of another monster by that amount until end of turn. I'll decrease your Twisted Abomination's attack to 1250 and increase my slime token's attack to 2750! Slime token, attack!" The slime monster destroyed Arrathir's Twisted Abomination.
YAMI MARIK: 5000
ARRATHIR: 3650
Arrathir's Twisted Abomination suddenly reappeared on the field.
"You're not the only one that can regenerate creatures, freak," said Arrathir "By paying 500 lifepoints, I can regenerate my Twisted Abomination."
YAMI MARIK: 5000
ARRATHIR: 3150
"I set one card and end my turn."
"Excellent. I summon Festering Goblin (500/500), and I end my turn."
"This is getting boring," said Yami Marik "So what do you say we kick it up a notch? I summon Boganian (0/1000). This monster deals 300 damage to you each turn. End turn."
Arrathir cried out in pain as Boganian shot a missile at him, shaving off 300 lifepoints.
YAMI MARIK: 5000
ARRATHIR: 2850
"I summon Withered Wretch (1000/1000)," said Arrathir "Each turn, it removes a card in your graveyard from the game. Its effect can be activated at any time during a turn, so I'll activate it now." A card floated out of Yami Marik's graveyard and faded from existence. "Now, I activate my magic card, Handcuffs!" A black two-headed snake shot from the card and bound Yami Marik's hands together, the snake's heads biting into his wrists. "As long as this card is in play, you cannot summon or set any cards. To get rid of it, you must sacrifice three cards in play. End turn."
YAMI MARIK: 5000
ARRATHIR: 2550
"Gladly!" said Yami Marik "I tribute Sagan and my slime toke, which counts as two sacrifices to get rid of your card. Next, I play Trade Your Left Arm. By discarding my entire hand, I may put one card from my deck into my hand. End turn."
YAMI MARIK: 5000
ARRATHIR: 2250
"I play Demon's Horn. Whenever I summon a zombie, I may gain 500 lifepoints. I summon Carrion Feeder (500/500)." Arrathir's lifepoints shot up by 500.
YAMI MARIK: 5000
ARRATHIR: 2750
"Next, I sacrifice Festering Goblin into Carrion Feeder, boosting its attack and defense by 500. As well, this decreases your Boganian's attack and defense by 500. Now, Soulless One, Twisted Abomination, attack!"
"Activate quickplay magic card, Dark Wall of Air. For one turn, I may not be attacked by monsters."
"End turn."
YAMI MARIK: 5000
ARRATHIR: 2350
"I flip summon Dice Jar," said Yami Marik "This monster makes us roll a six-sided die and whoever rolls the lowest takes 500 times their roll of direct damage. However, if the winner rolls a six, they take 6000 points of direct damage. Ready?"
Two dice appeared on the field and rolled. Arrathir's dice stopped on a 3 and Yami Marik's dice stopped on a 4. Arrathir cried out in pain as his lifepoints dropped.
YAMI MARIK: 5000
ARRATHIR: 850
"End turn. Have fun. Next turn, you die!"
YAMI MARIK: 5000
ARRATHIR: 550
Arrathir could barely stand. The physical pain was so great he had trouble holding his cards. Every inch of his body was crying out in pain.
I…must…keep…going…must…trust…my…deck!
"I summon another Festering Goblin (500/500)," said Arrathir.
YAMI MARIK: 5000
ARRATHIR: 1050
"Now, Soulless One (4500/4500), attack!" The zombie tore through Yami Marik's creature, blowing him back.
YAMI MARIK: 1500
ARRATHIR: 1050
"End…turn," gasped Arrathir.
"You almost had me," said Yami Marik "But its time to die! I play Monster Reborn to revive Anubis (4000/5000) ( from the Graveyard!" (A/N: Monster Reborn does work on God cards, except they only come back for one turn.)
The jackal-headed God appeared on the field.
"Now I activate Anubis' special ability," said Yami Marik "By sacrificing all but one of my lifepoints, I may destroy all monster in play and deal direct damage equal to the combined monsters' attacks to my opponent! Anubis, Embalming of the Dead!"
The God raised his staff and pointed it at Arrathir's creatures. The monsters bowed before the gatekeeper of the underworld and exploded in a shower of pixels. The tip of Anubis' staff began to glow. From the tip issued a bright red beam that hit Arrathir in the chest. Arrathir watched in horror as his lifepoints fell to zero.
YAMI MARIK: 1
ARRATHIR: 0
Arrathir collapsed, his cards falling to the floor. He writhed in agony as death took his toll. His eyes misted over and with a final spasm, he lay still. Arrathir was dead.
To be continued…