Chapter 29: Zakei's Wisdom

Zakei slowly got up from the ground. "I'm far from finished."

'Damn. I better protect myself.' "Two Spells."

"My turn. Before I do anything, Pikeru and Curran activate their special abilities!"

Both little magicians lifted their staffs. Pikeru sent a wave of light at Zakei, surrounding his body and recovering some of his life. Curran then shot a blast of dark energy at Gensin, depleting some of his health.

"Now, I offer Pikeru as a Tribute to summon Dark Magician Girl, but I'm not done. Time to finish you. My next spell is Magical Dimension!"

Curran vanished from the field. In her place, a large locked sarcophagus appeared, covered in chains and encased in glass.

"No… no one could get out of that thing."

"Nobody but the greatest sorcerer to ever live."

Dark Magician Girl displayed the case like an assistant. Smoke filled the chamber.

"Ta daa!"

The smoke vanished and Dark Magician stood in the chamber. The glass walls fell down. Dark Magician lifted his staff, spun it around and shot a blast of energy at the Reaper, destroying him.

"Wha… what!"

"After using Magical Dimension, I can destroy any monster on the field. Your Reaper was an easy target. Also, thanks to your own spell, when my Dark Magicians attack, I'm gonna deal quite the damage from the Attack Recoil."

"No…"

"Yes. Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, double strike his soul with Dark Magic and Dark Burning Attacks!"

The Magicians' lifted their staffs into the air and started to create a large ball of magical energy.

"No, I won't lose to you! Activate trap!"

"What!"

"I summon the Dead Dragon Zoma!"

A zombified dragon rose up from the ground.

"I end my attack! I know what that Dragon does. You won't be able to use it on me if I don't attack."

"Look again."

"Huh?" Zakei looked around. His face suddenly filled with horror. "No…"

"Yes!"

Dark Magician was still continuing his attack.

"Bu… but how?"

"My second trap, an Invitation of Earth Spirits! It forces your Dark Magician to attack my Dragon!"

Dark Magician unleashed his attack, striking Zoma, who absorbed the magic. Zoma then unleashed his own attack, striking Zakei with the same power as Dark Magician. Afterward, the Dragon disappeared.

"Uh… I… still can… attack with Dark Magician Girl!"

Dark Magician Girl used her Dark Burning Attack, striking Gensin who laughed after he hit the ground.

"What's so funny?"

"You. You are no match for my power. You are already on your last legs. That attack was nothing to the damage you've sustained. My turn, Zakei," he said, still lying in the dirt. "I summon Jowgen the Spiritualist! Then, I activate his special ability, immediately destroying your Dark Magician. I told you that you were no match for me. I cast a Spell. Your turn. Make it a good one."

"Damn it." 'Without Dark Magician, I'm in a bind. I can't bring him back and I have very little life.' "I summon Silent Magician."

A small magician wearing white robes appeared.

"HA! You send that to fight! You truly are pathetic!"

"Better than Jowgen. Silent Magician, attack!"

Silent Magician shot Jowgen.

"Idiot! I wouldn't use Jowgen unless I knew to protect him. Activate Ghost Shield!"

A shield of spirits surrounded Jowgen and Gensin. Spirit Reaper was shot with the blast, exploding and surrounding Zakei's side of the field in darkness.

"What the hell?"

"My ghost shield not only stops your attack, but it blinds you for the rest of the turn, so you and your Cree won't know where to attack. It's pointless for your Dark Magician Girl to strike what she can't see."

"You coward. I cast two spells. Go ahead."

The black cloud dispersed.

"Ha! Now, I sacrifice Jowgen to summon the Earl of Dark Demise. Also, I activate Monster Reincarnation, trading the soul of my Headless Knight to bring back my Dark Necrofear. Then, I cast two spells and end my turn. Go ahead."

'His Earl is stronger than my Dark Magician Girl. He must have been wary of my traps. Sucks for him. He could have ended this duel.' "My turn. I activate my two traps, Pitch-Black Power Stone and Miracle Restoring."

"What? That means you were bluffing!"

"Yeah, and you fell for it. Now I summon Dark Magician back to the field and use the last counter in my stone to power up Silent Magician. Now, I sacrifice Dark Magician to summon Dark Executioner."

A wizard in extravagant robes replaced Dark Magician. He wielded a large staff and wore armor like Dark Magician's. I plan to burn your life down to nothing. I activate Magical Blast!"

Silent Magician and Dark Executioner lifted their staffs, forming a ball of magical energy even larger than the one Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl made. It broke through the Seal and sailed across the clearing, hitting Gensin.

"You… you bastard. My turn, and I will make sure I take out one of your two Magicians. Earl of Dark Demise, attack Dark Executioner!"

Earl of Dark Demise struck the sorcerer. Both of them, with equal attack, were destroyed, but Gensin has planned this. He activated both his traps, Revival Ouija and Mirror Ouija. The combo brought the Earl of Dark Demise back to the field with even more power. The Seal crowned the fiend's forehead.

"Ha ha ha ha! Die, Zakei! Earl of Dark Demise, attack from the grave!"

Because he had just been revived, the Earl of Dark Demise was able to attack again. The power of the Seal and Gensin's own abilities made it much stronger than Silent Magician, who was crushed.

"Zakei! Oh man, get up!"

'Shit… Shit! Shit! Shit! What the hell? I tried. This guy is too much for me. Every move I've made, he's countered. My best monsters are gone. Even if I could attack, he'd just deflect it with that damn Ghost Shield.'

"Come on Zakei. Don't give up this easily."

'Huh? Who's there?'

"I only left you a few moments ago. You've forgotten me already?"

Zakei was finally able to see who was calling to him.

'Da… Dark Magician Girl! Wow, what a babe… uh… um. What I mean is… crap, you can read my thoughts, can't you.'

Dark Magician Girl giggled.

'Wait, I remember now. That night on the tower, I was able to talk to you then. Dark Magician was there too, and Pikeru.'

"Yeah, your memories were fragmented during the battle with Judis. So was everyone else's. Listen, you can still win, but not with us. Trust me, I know you will find a way."

'I… I trust you.' "Huh?" Zakei looked around. His vision had cleared up and he was now standing.

"How! How can you stand up? The Seal should have taken your soul by now!"

"Maybe this almighty Seal doesn't want my soul. Maybe it wants yours."

"Shut up! I swear that my next move will kill you."

"I'll get back to you on that. My turn!" 'Huh? What the hell is this thing? I don't run dragons.'

"You did it!"

'Did what?'

"This is your chance, Zakei. Use this Dragon."

'I don't even know what the hell it is or what it does.'

"You said you trusted me. You will know everything you need once you summon him."

Zakei stared at Dark Magician Girl for a second. 'Alright.' "I summon… the Fang of Critias!"

"What? Not him! No!"

Gensin knew he was about to lose. Nothing in his power could withstand the force of the Legendary Dragons. He ran toward the edge of the Seal, but was thrown back.

"Looks like you're the one who's trapped now. Critias, fuse with Magic Cylinder!"

Critias fused with Zakei's spell, transforming into Magic Reflector Dragon.

"Now, Magic Reflector Dragon, attack Earl of Dark Demise!"

"I use the power of my Ghost Shield, protecting myself with Nightmare Horse."

"Bad move. First of all, my Magic Reflector Dragon can't be stopped. Also, whenever you remove monsters from play, my dragon launches them at your soul for damage!"

Nightmare Horse appeared to protect Gensin, but was absorbed by Magic Reflector Dragon, who launched a direct attack of blue flames at Gensin.

"Now, finish him!"

The Dragon shot an attack at Earl of Dark Demise. The fiend countered, but his attack was absorbed by the Dragon, who launched it back at Earl of Dark Demise and Gensin.

"You're lucky. You have just a little bit of life left. Now, call this duel off."

"Ii… it can't be called off. Once the Seal is active, it remains so until it takes a soul. No… nothing will break it."

"Then… I am sorry."

"You're the one who should be sorry! I summon Earl of Dark Demise, Headless Knight, and Earthbound Spirits from play to Special Summon Dark Necrofear! Dark Necrofear, atta…"

"You lose!"

"What?"

"You forgot my Dragon's effect! When you remove monsters from play, you take damage!"

Magic Reflector Dragon absorbed all three monsters in and shot a blast of blue fire at Gensin. The Seal began to shrink around Gensin as he burned in the blue flames. A greenish light shot down from the sky absorbing Gensin's soul and the Seal. Gensin's lifeless body hit the ground, charred and motionless.

Zakei dropped to his knees. 'Oh man…' he thought.

"Hey, Zakei. You sustained quite a bit of damage. Here, lemme help you back to… no way."

"What?"

"Your wounds. You have none. It's like whatever happened in the Seal… has no effect on the outside world. Only the wound you received before the Seal was activated is still there."

Zakei got up. Bann was right. Zakei didn't feel weak at all, like was the case with other duels.

"What the hell is up with that Seal?"

"No clue, but we'll discuss that later. We better get back."

Next time on City of Fire: Ancient Conquest