Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 11: Gambit of the Grand Fusion Dragon
"Stop."

Eri and Akuma both looked over to the side of the clearing…

Adriel walked in front of the girl and activated his Duel Coat. "Akuma…I challenge you. And this time you'll lose…"

Adriel- 4000

Akuma- 4000

Akuma smirked coldly. "And why is that?"

Now that the duel had been engaged Adriel knew it was safe to speak. "Because you're about to face the fruits of my research. You made a big mistake by copying the deck of Ichigo Pilkington…" He drew. "Because this deck is the perfect method to defeat you! My anti-warrior dragon deck!"

"Anti-warrior?" Eri, Akuma, and Ichigo in Luna's dimension said in surprise.

Adriel nodded and looked at his hand. "That's right…anti-warrior." He slid a card into his disk. "First though I play Different Dimension Capsule. This card lets me select one card from my deck and place it into my removed from play pile. In two turns that card will enter my hand."

Akuma snickered and looked at his hand. ("With this powerful deck I cannot be defeated by anyone. Especially not the likes of you, boy.")

Adriel opened his field magic card slot. "Now I play Dragon's Haven. As long as this haven is in play all battle damage that I would take is negated." He threw a card down. "Now I summon Element Dragon (1500/1200) in attack mode." An orange dragon appeared on the field and roared quietly. "End turn."

Akuma drew. "Then let me crush that dragon. Cyber Shadow-Berserker (1900/1200) in attack mode!" A wild warrior holding a sharp toothed sword appeared in play. "Attack Element Dragon!" It leapt across the field and slashed through the dragon easily. "End turn."

Adriel drew. ("One turn to go.") "I summon Divine Dragon Ragnarok (1500/1000) in defense mode." A mist-like white dragon appeared on his field. "End turn."

Akuma drew. "I summon Cyber Shadow Blademaster (2000/1600) in attack mode!" A twin sword wielding warrior appeared on the field. "Also, I play the continuous magic card Cyber Shadow Mainframe." Energy flowed around his two monsters. "This card will raise the attack of all Cyber Shadows in play by 500." (2400/1200) (2500/1600) "Now Berserker, attack Ragnarok!" The warrior slashed through the dragon and it exploded into dust. "Blademaster, direct attack!" The twin-sword warrior slashed across the boy's chest. "Now I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Adriel- 1500

Akuma- 4000

Adriel laughed and drew. "You just sealed your fate." He removed a card from his disk and added it to his hand. "Different Dimension Capsule adds the stored card to my hand." Licking his lips, the half dragon demon sneered. "Now then…let's get a monster onto the field. I special summon Fire Tongue Raptor (1500/1200) to the field." A fire red dinosaur appeared on the field. "This monster's special ability lets me special summon it if I have more monsters in my graveyard than any other kind of card."

"So what?" Akuma pointed at his monsters. "These creatures I control are far too strong for your monster."

Adriel held up a finger. "We'll see about that. Because I now sacrifice Fire Tongue Raptor to summon my best method to win this duel!" The dinosaur disappeared in a flash of light. "Come out now, Magnum Crasher Dragon!" (3000/2500) A huge dragon covered in steel armor appeared on the field and roared.

"That monster has ten level stars…" Akuma pointed at him. "How did you summon it for one sacrifice?"

Adriel chuckled. "Its special ability causes it to cost less one sacrifice for every warrior my opponent has in play. Now I order it to attack! Magnum Shooter!" The dragon shot out a bullet of energy that hurtled towards Blademaster.

"Reverse card open!" Akuma's set card flipped up and his monsters disappeared. "What? Truce of Opposing Forces should have…" He gritted his teeth as the bullet slammed right into his stomach.

Adriel- 1500

Akuma- 1000

Adriel snickered. "The effect of Magnum Crasher Dragon makes it immune to trap effects. So sad huh? So for now I set one card face-down and end my turn." A card shimmered into existence behind his dragon.

Akuma snarled and drew. "You little…" He looked at the drawn card…and smiled. "Let me end you. I summon Cyber Shadow Shifter (800/1200) in attack mode!" A black-clothed ninja appeared on the field. "Now I play the magic card Shadow Shift!"

"Shadow Shift?" Adriel's eyes widened in memory.

"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…"

"That's right…" Akuma pointed at Adriel's set card. "First…" The card flipped up and a clone of Shifter appeared on the field in a crouching position. "So you had a Physical Double trap card face-down huh?" He pointed at Magnum Crasher Dragon and its folded its wings in on itself. "Now then…" Shifter slid into defense mode and then disappeared. In its place stood a tall imposing figure with forearm blades attached. "The dragon son…it is you…" King of Swords closed its eyes, ashamed at what it was being used for.

Adriel grimaced. ("King of Swords…")

Akuma pointed at Magnum Crasher Dragon. "Attack now!" The warrior shimmered and the steel dragon exploded into dust. (3100/2300) "End turn." The false Shifter exploded.

Adriel closed his eyes and clenched his fist. ("Man…")


Ichigo's hands clenched so tightly that the knuckles turned white. "Come on Adriel…I know you can do it!"

Luna sat at the edge of the pool and watched the scene with a calm demeanor. ("The host of brother Jin…please win.")


Adriel drew. He looked at the card…and smiled coldly. "You're good…but nothing like my key rival. Ichigo Pilkington…he is beyond you!" His field magic card popped out and Element Dragon and Divine Dragon Ragnarok appeared on the field and roared. "Dragon's Haven lets me sacrifice it to special summon two level four or lower dragons from my graveyard to the field!" He pointed at both of them. "And now I sacrifice these two monsters!" Both disappeared in a whirlwind of fire. "Come out now Tyrant Dragon (2900/2500) and bring forth death amongst my foe!" A huge brown dragon appeared on the field and roared loudly. "One of the dragon lords…"

Akuma sneered… "King of Swords will destroy your pitiful dragon…"

"Oh really?" The half dragon demon smirked and held his field magic card slot open. "Now then…I play the field magic card Dragon's Kingdom!" All around him huge golden spires rose up into the sky, lighting up the night. "In this field, the power of all dragons in play is raised by 500." (3400/2500) "Tyrant Dragon, unleash your flames!" The dragon sprayed the warrior with fire and blew it apart. "End turn."

Adriel- 1500

Akuma- 700

Akuma drew. "I summon Cyber Shadow Berserker in defense mode." The wild warrior appeared on the field in a crouching position. "Also, I set one card face-down. End turn."

Adriel drew. "I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards." He slid two cards off of his deck and fanned out his three hand cards. "Go now Tyrant Dragon, attack now!"

"Reveal Mirror Force!" A barrier of light sprang up, stopped the attack, and blew the king dragon apart.

Adriel growled and slid a card into his disk. "I set one card face-down on the field and end my turn."

Akuma drew. "I summon Blademaster in attack mode and switch Berserker into attack mode." The monster stood up and both of them lifted their weapons. "Cut him down!" Both monsters charged towards Adriel.

"Reveal Zero Gravity!" Adriel pointed at his now face-up trap card. "All face-up monsters in play switch modes!" Both Cyber Shadows went into defense.

Akuma narrowed his eyes. "End turn!"

Adriel drew. "I summon Larva Dragon (1200/900) to the field in attack mode!" A little pale-skinned dragon whelp appeared on the field. "Now I play the magic card Dragon's Secret Lore." The little dragon disappeared. "This magic card lets me special summon one dragon from my deck to the field if I sacrifice a face-up dragon in play. This dragon's level is the level of the sacrificed dragon plus two." A huge dragon appeared on the field and roared. "Young Drill Dragon (2900/1700) in attack mode!" The dragon had drills all over its body and charged across the field to pierce through Blademaster's armor. "End turn!"

Akuma drew. "I summon Cyber Shadow Retriever (1500/1000) in defense mode" A silver-colored crab robot appeared on the field in a crouching position. "End turn."

Adriel drew. "I play the continuous magic card Dragon's Legendary Journey. Young Drill Dragon, attack now!" The monster dove across the field and pierced the body of Berserker, shattering it. "End turn."

Akuma drew. "First I play Fusion Sage to add one Polymerization card from my deck to my hand." He removed a card from his deck and added it to his hand. "End turn."

Adriel drew. "I set one card face-down and attack with Young Drill Dragon!" The dragon pierced the Retriever's shell and blew it apart. "End turn!" ("I'm winning…he's running out of cards…")

Akuma slid Retriever into the graveyard. "Now I take one Cyber Shadow from my graveyard and add it my hand." After holding up Blademaster, he drew. "Now I activate the effect of Cyber Shadow Mainframe." The continuous card exploded and Retriever along with King of Swords appeared on the field in crouching positions. "Now that I have special summoned these monsters, your dragon will fall to my equipment magic card! Go Special Operative Weapon Stinger!" A rocket launcher appeared on the shoulder of Retriever. "Now Young Drill Dragon will be destroyed!" A rocket left the weapon and flew towards Adriel's weapon.

Adriel pointed at his set card. "Burst Breath lets me sacrifice Drill Dragon to destroy all monsters in play with defense lower than its attack!" The dragon sprayed both of Akuma's monsters with fire and they exploded along with it.


Ichigo thrust his fist into the air and grinned. "Good going Adriel! With Burst Breath you've evened out the playing field!"

Alahandra whistled at the image of the grimacing Adriel. "Come on Adriel! Push him back, push him back, way back!"

Luna closed her eyes and felt out with her power. ("I feel the energy…I know the truth. I'm amazed Ichigo doesn't understand Adriel's folly.")


Akuma smirked. "You just lost. From my hand I activate Polymerization!"

Adriel nearly choked on his tongue as he realized that huge mistake he had made. ("Oh no…")

Akuma held up two cards. "Blademaster and Assassin fuse to create Special Operative Fox!" (2200/2000) A steel armored ninja appeared on the field, its single red eyes glowing in contrast to the golden light of Dragon Kingdom. "If you remember correctly this monster can attack twice."

Adriel closed his eyes and pointed at Dragon's Legendary Journey. "I sacrifice this card to special summon two Dragon Child Tokens (0/500) in defense mode." A pair of dragon hatchlings appeared on the field. "I won't be taken down by you if I can avoid it."

"Fox, attack them both!" The ninja leapt from one hatchling to another, cutting them down before it returned to Akuma's field. "End turn."

Adriel drew. "I play the magic card Fossil Emergence." Fire Tongue Raptor appeared on the field in a crouching position. "This card returns one dinosaur monster to the field in defense mode." He motioned to the spires around him. "Dragon Kingdom lets me sacrifice one non-Token dragon or dinosaur to draw a card!" The Raptor disappeared and he drew. "Now I set one monster face-down on the field and end my turn."

Akuma drew. "Fox, attack the set monster and then his life points directly!" The warrior snapped its katana through the set monster, which exploded. "Now you lose."

"Are you so certain?" Adriel pointed at his field. "You should look before you leap, Akuma. Child of the Grand (1000/1000) lets me special summon Grand Emperor Dragon!" (2500/2500) A huge gold and silver dragon appeared on the field in a crouching position. "So there…"

Akuma snarled and slid two cards into his disk. "I set two cards face-down. End turn."

Adriel drew slowly, a cold smile on his face. "Let me give you a taste of what I felt when you took down my father! First I switch Grand Emperor Dragon into attack mode!" The dragon stretched its wings and roared into the night sky. "Now I summon Spear Dragon (2400/0) in attack mode." A blue-nosed angular dragon appeared in play. "Since a dragon was summoned Grand Emperor Dragon gains 500!" (3000/2500) "Now, attack with Solar Stream!" The Emperor opened its jaws and released a blast of pure solar energy towards the steel ninja.

"Reveal Narrow Escape!" Akuma pointed at one of his set cards and Fox leapt aside, the attack shooting off into the existence.

Adriel pointed again. "Spear Flash!" Spear Dragon sprayed energy from its mouth at the ninja.

"Reveal Emergency Alarm!" A blast of sound spotted the energy and Akuma took a card from his graveyard and added it to his hand. "I pick up Shifter."

Adriel looked at the monster in his hand. "End turn."


Alahandra leapt up and down, cheering. "He's used up all of his trap cards!"

Luna's eyes opened. "In the next turn Adriel will lose."

Ichigo frowned. "First Akuma will summon Shifter. Then he'll use Shifter's Trickery to draw three cards. After that he'll use Fusion Return to pick up Polymerization. Next will be Reinforcements of the Army to search his deck for Cyber Shadow Soldier. Then he'll use Polymerization to fuse Fox and Soldier into Lord of Knives. Using Lord of Knives' effect he'll destroy Dragon Kingdom and Grand Emperor Dragon. Then he'll attack the weakened Spear Dragon with Lord of Knives. His last move will be the attack by Shifter for game." He closed his eyes. "Thank you for trying with all of your heart Adriel. But I don't expect anyone but me to defeat him. The Cyber Shadow cards he uses are my responsibility…and I will defeat them."

Alahandra stared at Ichigo like he was crazy. "You…how do you know for sure that is what will happen?"

"Because that's exactly what I would do in that situation. Akuma will be in a big surprise if he thinks that he can win using a set of cards that I have learned every strategy for." Ichigo looked down at his duel disk and the Shining Force deck. "Such strange monsters…but I'll put them to good use."

Luna stood up and nodded to him. "Your body is fully healed. You can leave at any time you wish."

"I'll be leaving now." Ichigo glanced back at Alahandra. "Hey, it's good to know why I was acting so weird in my girl form."

Alahandra hugged him tightly. "Please don't die…Luna can't bring you back this time."

"I won't lose…" Ichigo looked down at his deck one more time. ("I must conquer my past or we won't have a future.")


Akuma drew. "Tell me boy…do you think you can succeed where your father failed?" He held up the two cards of his hand. "Because deep within your heart you know the truth about this duel. Something about this deck radiates a power that has beaten you once before." His hand lifted up and placed one of the cards down. "First I summon Shifter!" The black-clothed ninja appeared on the field. "Then I play Shifter's Trickery. This magic card lets me draw three cards when Shifter is in play." Sliding three cards off of his deck, the giant smirked.

Adriel felt a drop of cold sweat slide down his cheek. ("What's this feeling? It's…")

Akuma held up a card. "First I play Fusion Return. This magic card lets me take one Polymerization card from my graveyard and add it to my hand."

Eri felt fear grip her heart. She knew all too well what was going to happen next. ("A new fusion…")

Akuma flipped a card up. "Now I use Reinforcements of the Army to search my deck for Cyber Shadow Soldier." A cold wind blew through the clearing. "Tell me…do you understand?"

"Lord of Knives…" The name was like acid of the half dragon demon's tongue. "No…"

"Yes." Akuma held up Polymerization and Soldier. "Fuse together now…create Lord of Knives!" A vortex swallowed up the cards and Fox. And from within that vortex emerged the mighty fusion. "Son of the Dragon…forgive me." He threw his knives and destroyed the Dragon Kingdom and Grand Emperor Dragon. (2800/2300)

Adriel looked back at Eri. "Make sure someone comes here to stop this guy. From the looks of it I've lost to Ichigo again." He sighed. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by it at all."

"Silence mortal! Lord of Knives, attack now!" The warrior threw a wave of knives that slashed through Spear Dragon and blew it apart.

Adriel- 600

Akuma- 700

Adriel closed his eyes. ("Father…forgive me…") He was already before Shifter's knife stabbed right into his chest.

Adriel- 0

Akuma- 700

Eri turned and ran. She was a creature of the night herself…but this thing was something from a different world. It was impossible…

Akuma watched her move as if in slow motion. Every step she took gave him time to count the number of leaves on a tree. ("It's not even worth the time…but I shall do it. For if I can kill them all then I shall free from Master Midnight's service.") He started to walk in the direction she was running. "Come and fight girl. Come and die."

Eri stumbled through some trees and found soft moonlight as she reached the edge of the forest. ("I have to get help. I can't duel him until someone knows what's going on.")

"Oh little girl…come and fight." Akuma stepped through the covering of the forest like a shadow and grabbed her by the back of the neck.

Eri gasped in surprise and kicked as hard as she could to get away. "LET ME GO!"

"By the power of the darkness I begin this game of darkness. Let the…"

"Hey Akuma!"

The giant turned his head to look at the speaker. "It's you…the one from before."

Ichigo stood facing off against the being that represented that hatred that was part of him just a few hours ago. "You and me, right now." He lifted his arm…and blinked in surprise. ("My right arm is back…")

("Consider it a gift for being such a good sport.")

Ichigo smiled slightly and then went stone-faced. "By the power of the Dark Halo, I overlap your challenge with one of my own."

Akuma grunted as he was forced to let Eri go by the power of the Shadow judges. "So you know of the laws of the darkness games…"

Ichigo lifted his arm to reveal a duel disk. It clicked into place and he slammed his deck into place. "Enough talk. I'm sick of you."

Akuma activated his duel disk. "Prepare to feel the pain of my deck."

"You're wrong." Ichigo closed his eyes. "Snake…King of Swords…Lord of Knives…I shall put their souls to rest right here and right now! Let the duel begin!"

Ichigo- 4000

Akuma- 4000

To be continued…

Ichigo…can you win? I know these new Shining Force monsters are tough, but these are the Cyber Shadows. You know how powerful they are, and…

I will win. Because if I lose there won't be a future for any of us.

Next Episode: Past vs. Future; Cyber Shadow vs. Shining Force

To Raine: Thanks for that. Let's see…perhaps Ichigo will win…

To Seeker of the Soul: I answered the question for you already.

To Darkstar: He might be taken down…

To Hogwarts-Knight: Akuma's energy isn't something Hitokage can drain. Even compared to Sestros it is too destructive for anyone to contain without dying…unless you're trained for it.

To Gryphinwyrm: No, I agree.

To john: Indeed it is great.

To G.O.T. Nick: Lost your spirits have you?

To Sinister: Well thank you very much.

To BLS: Adriel tried as hard as he could, but it's like dueling Ichigo when he uses the Cyber Shadows. It's nearly impossible to defeat.

To Bobbomp: I'm going to assume you're mad…

To Anime Albino: Ichigo had best hope so.

To Dais: Sorry buddy, but Curse is stronger than Akuma.

To falcon demon general: Well he was close. And yeah, he has tried lots of combinations.

To Redphoenix: It isn't the original deck. It's a copy created by remains of Ichigo's soul that he gathered after beating him.

To The White Mage: He's strong as ever. Of course….