Everyone, of all the chapters thus far written, this is probably now my favorite one. This is one kickass duel, if I do say so myself. Originally it was supposed to be about a quarter the length it turned out to be. It just kept on going! It's another one of those chapters that sort of writes itself. Not only that, but this chapter is almost all dueling, plus a tiny bit of commentary at the end. That's a lot of dueling, let me tell you.
Anyway, I'm gonna shut up now and let you guys read.
The Way of the Dreamer
Chapter Eight-Light At the End
"My children, it has been an amazing day. However, it will soon be coming to a close. Only three more duels remain. Sadly, we've come across an unexpected problem. The duel that was set to go next had one of its competitors fall ill today. Without him, it we miss out. As such, I have spoken with your principle, and we have come up with a solution. One student will be chosen at random to face off in the next duel. If they succeed, then they will be handsomely rewarded by I2!"
With this explanation, Pegasus had ensured that a maximum level of tension had been set. Just about every student in the audience now locked their gaze on the large screens above the arena used to project enlarged images of the field to people in the stands. Now it was being used to show a montage of student profiles that zipped by at lightning speed. Everyone wanted the chance to duel and be indebted to by Industrial Illusions...
Finally, the images on the screen began to slow down, though for a while they were still going by too fast for anyone to distinguish anything. At this time, Pegasus chose to speak again; "Katsuya Seikai from Obelisk Blue, your opponent will be..." The images finally stopped.
Eyes narrowing, Eizan and Katsu glared at the screen and the image it displayed, though Eizan's was softened by the bemused grin he had on his face.
From his seat, Kazuki stared, eyes wide. He couldn't believe it.
"Katsuya, your opponent will be Kazuki Katsura from Osiris Red!"
Swallowing hard, Kazuki continued to stare at the enlarged image of himself up on the screen, displaying his dorm, rank, year, and other trivial bits of data. That in and of itself wasn't his problem, though. No, his mind was on very different matters.
It just didn't seem fair! Why did he have to duel an Obelisk Blue?
While he did not leave his seat, he did notice a young man in a uniform that was blue and white, and equal amount of each color, meaning he was a second year. He was tall, probably about six feet or so, and...blue hair? No, that didn't seem right, because it was too smooth and tight against his scalp to be hair. He carried himself with an air of dignity, though his face showed a bit of a grimace, not that Kazuki could clearly make out any features.
"Kazuki Katsura, please come on down!" Pegasus's voice chimed over the speakers.
Still Kazuki did not move from his seat. However, many student around him began to realize that the Osiris Red sitting in their midst was the same one as on the monitor, and so they began to try and encourage him to go as well with various lines such as "Get going." or "They're calling you, you know."
"Kazuuuuki..." Pegasus said again, adding a bit of emphasis to his words. "Where arrrre you?"
After a few more minutes, a loud sigh could be heard from the arena, and Katsuya could be seen with an irritated look on his face. Seconds later he began to tap his foot on the ground lightly, each moment of contact resulting in a ring in everyone's ears, and within just a few seconds had become very annoying.
Finally, one of the students sitting near Kazuki, another Osiris Red boy who was behind him, grabbed a pencil, leaned forward, and lightly jabbed Kazuki in the back...
"Agh!" he yelped, hopping to his feet and reaching behind to massage the spot where he'd been "attacked".
"Ah, there he is!" Pegasus practically sang, pointing up at the slightly wincing Osiris Red.
It took Kazuki about three seconds after he stopped rubbing his back to realize that everyone was now looking at him expectantly. Grimacing nervously, he looked around, unsure what to do...until the same Osiris Red from before poked him again, prodding him towards the steps. Now out in the open and already on his way down, Kazuki sighed, though his face still revealed that he was quite nerve wracked, and began his descent.
Less than a minute later he arrived in the arena. Now that he was much closer, he realized something: Katsuya was the boy he'd met earlier that week just after his run-in with Rangiku Mitsuhoshi. The one who had told Kazuki that Rangiku was the number one duelist at the school. Not only that, but now Kazuki could tell that Katsuya's hair wasn't blue, but was infact bound underneath a blue bandana, a small tuft of black hair poking out of the back and fanning out on either side of his neck. He also wore blue gloves now, the fingers removed halfway up and the base of each glove cut at an angle.
Pulling his deck out of his pocket Kazuki looked around questioningly. Katsuya responded by raising an eyebrow before asking "What is it, kid?"
"I don't have a duel disk." Kazuki responded, and Katsuya sighed again. Kazuki's problem was solved a minute later, however, when Torisuna, the Ra Yellow who had dueled earlier that day, approached the arena, removed his duel disk from his arm, slipped his deck out, and handed it to Kazuki, who accepted it gladly. Inserting his shuffled deck, Kazuki turned around to face the Obelisk Blue, who sighed again. (KLP:4000)
"What a buzz-kill. I was supposed to duel the current third place duelist in the school and take his place." he said, his disappointment evident. Lifting his head, and at the same time his duel disk, he reached for his deck and thumbed his cards until he felt only five in his grasp. "But, a duel is a duel. Can't be helped, can it?" (KyLP:4000)
"No, I guess not." Kazuki responded, drawing five times and then fanning his opening hand out. Breathing deeply, he decided to try and focus on what he'd learned so far, mostly from Professors Yoriyoi and Kiske. 'Forget about his rank. Just focus and give it your all. Even an underdog can topple a Goliath.'
"Here we go kid. I'm going to show you exactly why I'm in Obelisk Blue!" Katsuya called, drawing a sixth card. "I summon End Slasher (1700/1500) in attack mode!" A warrior, completely black both clothing and skin, and wielding a thick bladed and silvery sword appeared. "And that'll do it for me."
Kazuki sweat dropped. Katsuya had made it sound like he had some sort of great play all set, and all he had done was summon a monster. He hadn't even set a card! 'There's more too it. He's waiting for something, but what? A card in his deck? No, if that were the case he would have done some sort of card drawing or stall technique.' Examining Katsuya closely, he tried to discern what the older student was up to. 'Does his End Slasher have an effect that would hurt him or his field if it weren't alone? Maybe he drew a bad opening hand and is just trying to get me all worked up...gotta stay calm. Alright, here I go!'
Shaking the weird feeling off, he drew. "I summon Ancient Mystic (1700/1000) in attack mode to match your End Slasher!" he called, a man in gray robes appearing, shifting his fingers around into various different symbols. "Next I set two cards face down and end."
Smirking as he drew, Katsuya wasted no time in grabbing a card from his hand and turning it around, displaying a green bordered card. "I play the ritual magic card, End of the World!" Taking another of the cards he had held in his hand last turn, he turned it around, showing a brown bordered card. "This is my Ruin-Warrior of the End (1400/1500), and when I use her in a ritual to a light-type ritual monster, she counts as double her level, making her a level eight monster for the ceremony; just what I need."
Slipping the monster card into his graveyard, Katsuya slapped the card he had just drawn onto the plate of his duel disk, the holographic image of a card with a blue border appearing for a second before flashing with light as the monster emerged from it.
With a smirk rivaling Katsuya's a tall and extremely slender woman walked out onto the field. She had dull white hair which hung down to her ankles in the back while a few scattered locks up front reached down to her mid torso. Two large crimson fins arched up from her head, being attached to a small cap of the same material placed over the back half of her head. A top of the same deep red was what was used to cover her top, but barely. It was sleeveless and a large diamond shaped opening exposed her stomach (which was actually very well toned and muscular when compared to the rest of her thin body) while a long black cloth hung from the girdle over the front and back of her legs. Finally, elbow-length gloves covered each arm, and in her right hand she held a red weapon reminiscent of a spear, only the head was extremely wide and split like a double-bladed axe.
"Meet one of my favorite monsters, Goddess of Extermination-Ruin (2300/2000)." Katsuya introduced. "And when I summon her by sacrificing Ruin-Warrior of the End, she gains an additional seven hundred attack points." Eyes wide, Kazuki watched as an emerald aura flowed freely around the goddess, her smirk growing wider as her attack points came to a rest at three thousand.
"That's...bad..." Kazuki finally murmured.
"You have no idea, squirt." Katsuya responded. "Goddess of Extermination (3000), attack his Ancient Magician!" Hefting her weapon without any trouble the woman gave it a few experimental slashes at the air before grinning with satisfaction. Turning her attention on the older mage, she lifted it over her head, preparing his attack. The elder man didn't react in the slightest.
"Activate trap card, Mirror of Confusion!" Kazuki called as his trap card flipped up, displaying the image of a Marauding Captain slashing at a large mirror, his sword sinking into its surface and then extending out behind himself. "This card forces your attack at a monster on your field, so you're going to destroy your own End Slasher."
Undaunted by the young mans words the woman in red continued with her attack, slashing diagonally down, leaving a line barely visible in the mirrors surface. Then, as the top half of the mirror began to slide down, so did the top half of Katsuya's black fighter, his sword also having been cut in half. Despite the loss of both his monster, as well as a decent amount of life points, Katsuya didn't seem at all bothered. (KyLP:2700)
"Heh, it doesn't make any difference to me, twerp." he explained to Kazuki. "First off, when End Slasher leaves the field, he takes the top card of your deck as well." Kazuki grimaced as a spectral hand reached out of his graveyard, grabbed the top card of his deck, and pulled it into the cemetery. "But also..." Katsuya trailed off as, to Kazuki's shock, the woman in red spun her weapon above her head rapidly and then slashed horizontally, cutting his monster in half at the waist. "When Goddess of Extermination-Ruin destroys a monster in battle she is then allowed to attack again. All you did was save yourself from losing this turn." (KLP:2700)
"Now I play the continuous magic card known as Contract Revisions, but it's kinda moot right now." Katsuya said, the large holographic image appearing to his side. "That should do it for me."
As Kazuki drew again, his thoughts were interrupted by a shout from the audience. "Take it too him, Old Man Seikai!" Confused by these words, Kazuki looked around, wondering who was being addressed.
That, however, would be answered when Katsuya called back "Act your age, not your shoe size!" Shaking his head in irritation, Katsuya waited for Kazuki to make his move. He didn't really care for the nickname, he just didn't like how playful some students got about using it.
Shrugging, Kazuki returned himself to the duel and drew, giving himself four cards and one set, while Katsuya held two cards, but controlled the field with his pumped up goddess, plus his mystery magic card. Glancing at his own cards, Kazuki smiled.
"I play Ancient Curse, which will instantly destroy your monster." he explained as the gaudy woman suddenly shriveled up with wrinkles, her hair becoming thin and faded. Seconds later she crumbled into dust, vanishing completely.
"Well, you took care of that faster than I expected." Katsuya responded, an air of amusement in his voice. "But don't get too far ahead of yourself. You've just activated my Contract Revisions card's effect. When a ritual monster is sent to the graveyard I get to take one of the monsters I used as a sacrifice and summon it to the field." Taking the card that his duel disk supplied him with, Katsuya slapped it onto his field, a woman much like the one just destroyed, only younger and her clothing was a brighter shade of red, her hair only hanging down to her mid back, in each hand holding a half-moon shaped blade, and faded white wings extending out of her back appearing. Crossing her arms over her chest, she fell into a crouch, a sideways image of her card appearing underneath her. "Ruin-Warrior of the End (1400/1500). Since she's the only one I used in the sacrifice, it makes the choice easy, doesn't it?"
Growling in frustration, Kazuki looked back to his hand of cards. Already his plan had come to a halt. "I play Graceful Charity to draw three and discard two." he continued, quickly glancing the new cards over before shoving two into the graveyard. "Next I summon Ancient Illusionist (1600/1500), who gains one hundred more attack points for every card in my graveyard. I've got five now, so that's twenty-one hundred attack points."
Across from him, Katsuya merely smiled, seeming completely unworried about the might of Kazuki's monster. Then again, currently Kazuki only had that one monster to pit against his one defending monster, so there really wasn't any need to worry.
"Ancient Illusionist (2100), attack Ruin-Warrior of the End!" Kazuki shouted, his monster complying by holding up his arms and firing a blast of light from his open palms, vaporizing the target.
"My turn." Katsuya called as the light faded away. "I set a monster in defense mode and end." he smiled as he made yet another unextraordinary play.
Cautiously, Kazuki drew. 'Again he just summoned a monster. Not only that, he doesn't seem worried at all, even though I already managed to destroy such a powerful monster.' Looking at his new card Kazuki tried to stop thinking about it. 'Focus. Focus! Don't get so worried just because of his rank or his attitude. I have control right now, and I'm going to beat him with these cards.'
"Ancient Illusionist," he called after he added the new card to his hand. Then he paused as he watched Katsuya. 'He still isn't worried. Maybe his monster has some sort of effect? That's got to be it! His End Slasher had an effect that activated when destroyed, and then his Contract Revisions did the same when I destroyed his ritual monster. Even his Ruin-Warrior of the End had an effect that activated when it went to the graveyard, though that was as part of a ritual.'
Folding his hand of cards up, Kazuki cleared his throat before declaring "I pass."
Smirking, Katsuya drew, giving himself three cards, even with Kazuki. "I play Treasure of Hell, so we both draw from the bottoms of our decks until we hold six cards." Both players did so, Kazuki drawing three cards and Katsuya drawing four.
"Heh, you didn't attack? You should have." Katsuya said, reaching for his monster. "I flip summon Caller of the End (600/800), who lets me place a card with 'End' in its title into my hand." Fanning his deck out, he quickly found the card he wanted and then shuffled the remainder up and returned them as they were. "Next I summon End Craftsman (300/700) to the field, who lets me take an End of the World card from my deck and add it to my hand." he continued to smirk as his duel disk popped the card out of his deck and into his waiting fingers.
Adding the new card to his hand, Katsuya grabbed one of his other seven cards and played it, a magic card image appearing on the field. "Theme of the End sacrifices all monsters on the field and gives each player one thousand life points for each monster they lose. I have two, but you only have one." he declared as one by one the monsters on the field exploded into showers of light, which then flowed into their individual duel disks, raising the life points of both players. (KLP:3700)(KyLP:4700)
"Now let me introduce you to the other half of Armageddon!" Katsuya called as he grabbed the card he had most recently added to his hand and the image of End of the World appeared. "I sacrifice Demise-Warrior of the End (1500/1500) from my hand for this ritual, and as you may have guessed he counts as double his actual level when used in a ritual summon of a dark monster. Also, because of the monster I have chosen, it will gain six hundred extra attack points!" Slipping the card into his graveyard, Katsuya grabbed the card from his hand which he'd retrieved from his deck thanks to Caller of the End.
The new monster was...frightening, to say the least. He stood about eight feet tall, covered in heavy black armor with ivory plates over the shoulders and elbows. If the size of the armor was any indication, the wearer was very large and muscular, with massive pectorals. Clasped in his hands was a heavy battle axe.
"This is King of the End-Demise (2400+600/2000), and he's going to finish you up nice and quick." Katsuya introduced. "However, because I used Theme of the End this turn, I don't get a battle phase. So, I'll just set a card face down and that'll be it for me."
Breathing in relief, Kazuki drew a card, giving him seven in hand. As he looked at the card, though, a thought struck him. 'If he hadn't used Theme of the End, he could have attacked me. That means he needs life points for something, but what?'
"I'll summon a monster in defense mode, and then I'll set two cards face down to end my turn." Kazuki declared as two face down card images appeared on either side of the card he had set at the very beginning while the horizontal monster card rested a few feet ahead of them.
Nodding, Katsuya drew a card, though he did not take the time to look it. Instead his eyes were focused on the large monster on his field, his confidence in its destructive prowess radiating throughout the entire field. Then, tilting his head forward with a dangerous smirk, he explained in a rather cut throat voice, "Time to use Demise's effect. I pay two thousand life points to destroy all cards on the field except for him." (KyLP:2700)
As Katsuya's life point meter dropped nearly in half, the colossus of destruction lifted his heavy weapon, the edge glowing with a black energy. Swinging down with all of his might, he released ten streaks of black light in all directions, some going off harmlessly while others found the monsters and other cards on the field and cut them in half. Kazuki simply watched in horror as his field was cleared and the massive warrior sized him up.
"King of the End-Demise (3000), attack his life points directly!" Not moving from its current position, the warrior in the unholy armor slashed horizontally, leaving a crescent of black energy in its wake which it flung at Kazuki, striking him in the abdomen and sending him crashing to the ground. (KLP:2700)
As the holographic life point counter for Kazuki appeared, showing that he still had over two thousand life points, a number of confused murmurs began to bubble throughout the crowd. After all, that meant that he'd only taken one thousand points of damage, one third of what it should have been.
"So that's it?" Katsuya commented not sounding surprised when the faded image of a trap card appeared to Kazuki's side. "You had Corrosion of Earth set for four turns and activated it just before my King's effect resolved, so you decreased his attack points by two. Not bad."
'He doesn't fool around.' Kazuki winced as Katsuya explained the simple move aloud, mostly for the sake of the audience. 'He could have not played Theme of the End, thereby meaning I wouldn't have had enough life points to survive, but instead he used it to gain the life points needed to use that effect again, in case I had managed to chain with my set card.'
"Well, that may not have been as overbearing as I had thought, but I still hold the advantage. Then again, with Demise now down to just one thousand life points I suppose I should do something to protect him, shouldn't I?" the Obelisk Blue grinned, taking a card from his hand and setting it face down, leaving him with four to use at a later date.
Snapping a card off of his deck, Kazuki tried to come up with something. Currently Katsuya's monster was weak enough to be destroyed without too much trouble, and their life points were even once again. However, Katsuya held the advantage as long as he had Demise on the field and more than two thousand life points. Then again, there was the potential threat, or at least obstruction, from the set card.
"I play the magic card, Search for the Lost, which allows me to search my deck for an Ancient card and place it into my hand." Fanning his deck out, Kazuki took a moment to find what he wanted, shuffled his deck up, and then set the chosen card down in a magic zone.
"Next I summon Ancient Spellweaver (1600/1400) and have it attack your Demise-King of the End (1000)!" In a flash, a red robed magician appeared, each finger alight with a mystical glow. Writing a few signs into the air, he clasped his palms together and a glowing symbol appeared on the ritual monsters chest plate. Wriggling in pain, he dropped his axe before falling to a knee and then collapsing to the ground and faded away. (KyLP:2100)
Blinking, Kazuki started with surprise. "You...didn't use your set card to stop my attack?"
"Of course not." Katsuya replied. "After all, if I had then my King of the End would still be at a low one thousand attack points. Didn't you notice that I kept him in attack mode? I wanted you to destroy him so that I could use this card..." he trailed off as his face down trap card flipped up. "Sacrificial Living special summons a ritual monster from my graveyard that was destroyed this turn. So I'll bring my King of the End back, and his attack points will be fully restored. Tough luck, young whippersnapper."
Biting back his fear, Kazuki watched as the monstrous being re-appeared, axe at the ready and his attack fully restored to the initial twenty-four hundred.
"Your monster may be back, but because my Spellweaver destroyed a monster, I get to either draw a card to place a card from my graveyard on top of my deck. I choose the latter." Kazuki finished as his graveyard ejected a card, which he slipped on top of the remainder of his deck.
"You're pretty good kid, I'll give you that." Katsuya said as he drew, giving him four cards. "But there's still a huge gap between the two of us. But don't feel bad. Because of the difference between us, even when you lose your rank wont be affected."
"You've got an awful lot of bark, did you know that?" Kazuki said back. Normally he wasn't one for rebuttals, but Katsuya was really starting to get on his nerves.
Katsuya merely shrugged. "Yes, but I can back it up. A mongrel dog that tucks its tail and runs away from battle without fighting should not bark!"
"No one here is going to run away." Kazuki replied, his tone even.
"Then let's do this." Katsuya half shouted. "I pay two thousand life points so that Demise can destroy all cards on the field except for himself!" (KyLP:100)
Raising his hefty weapon above his head, the emissary of destruction charged more of that dark energy of his before striking the ground, lifting up a huge wall of earth and power (despite the fact that the arena floor was metal) which washed over Kazuki's field, once again clearing it.
"Next I'm going to summon my End Healer (1200/1000), but she'll vanish instantly as I play my Gift of the Ender to sacrifice her to gain her attack points, plus five hundred, as life points! Plus when Healer of the End goes to the graveyard I gain an additional eight hundred life points!"
A woman in blue garments much like Katsuya's deceased Goddess of Extermination had been wearing appeared. She also had golden hair instead of white, and in her hands she held a sapphire scepter.
Seconds after fully materializing, she dissolved into thousands of dots of light which flowed into Katsuya's duel disk and a holographic image of his life points rising appeared. (KyLP:2600)
"Now that that's out of the way, I can pay for my Fulfillment of Contract magic card, giving up eight hundred life points to special summon a ritual monster from my graveyard to the field. However, if one or the other goes to the grave, then the attached card is destroyed." he explained as the holographic card appeared to his right and his life points fell to eighteen hundred. However it didn't matter a great deal, as everyone knew what he would revive. It was the only ritual monster in his graveyard, after all. "I special summon Goddess of Extermination-Ruin (2300/2000) in attack mode."
Bracing himself, Kazuki eyed the two destructive monsters, a look of determination in his eyes, despite their power and his once again empty field. "There will be no attack from you this turn." he finally declared. "Once again I chained to your destructive effect by activating my Enchanted Relic trap card, preventing you from targeting me or my field for attacks this turn."
"Ah, so you were ready for me I see." Katsuya smiled. "Well, you survived longer than I would have expected from an Osiris Red. So, to end my turn I'll play the continuous magic card, Alliance at the End."
Drawing a card as the enlarged image of the continuous card appeared to Katsuya's left, Kazuki tried to think his options over. He'd only been planning on dealing with one of the ritual monsters, not both!
"First, I play the Ancient Curse card that I returned to my deck last turn, and I'll destroy Demise this time!" he called.
To his surprise, and most people in the audience, nothing happened to Katsuya's monster, and to their further surprise, Kazuki's magic card shattered!
Chuckling, Katsuya nodded to his new continuous card. "Alliance at the End is only useful while I've got both Ruin and Demise on the field. While that curriculum is met neither of them can be destroyed by card effects."
Grinding his teeth as this was explained, Kazuki looked at the other three cards in his hand. After a moment longer of hesitant thinking, he grabbed two of them and set one as a monster and the other as a magic or trap card.
Seeing that Kazuki didn't seem intent on making any other moves, Katsuya drew again, giving himself just one card in hand. To Kazuki's relief, Katsuya grimaced at the sight of the card. Although Kazuki didn't have a clue what it was, it was clear that it wouldn't increase Katsuya's life points, meaning he couldn't use Demise's effect this turn.
Placing the card in his left hand, Katsuya moved his attention to the field. "Ruin, attack his monster!" Twirling her weapon to her right-hand side, the destructive nymph picked up momentum before slashing down, her blade pausing for a moment once it hit Kazuki's monster...and then it bounced off! "What!"
"I activated another trap card." Kazuki explained, holding the card up. "Drain Shield negated your attack in increased my life points by the same amount as your monsters attack." (KLP:5000)
'How clever of him.' Katsuya said to himself. 'He stopped Ruin from destroying his monster, and so she doesn't get another attack this turn. That means that I have to destroy his monster with Demise, keeping him safe and with a new stock of life points.'
"King of the End-Demise, attack and destroy his monster!" With a low growl the armored denizen of death lifted his axe with both arms and swung down, both slicing and smashing Kazuki's monster at the same time.
Drawing to begin his turn, Kazuki tried to figure a plan out. He now had just two monsters in his hand, and he couldn't even summon one of them. He could use the lower leveled one to try and gain some leeway, but it would leave him wide open. Then again, if he just set it in defense mode then he'd suffer the full power of both Ruin and Demise next turn, since Ruin would destroy it and then go directly, as would Demise.
"I summon Ancient Sorcerer (1800/1300)." The new monster was taller than many of Kazuki's other monsters, dressed in red robes with black symbols printed in various patterns all over.
"Attack mode, huh?" Katsuya repeated, sounding mildly amused. "What's he going to do that'll allow him to battle against my bringers of the End?"
"Absolutely nothing." Kazuki responded. Katsuya raised his eyebrow in confusion. "He isn't going to battle. I'm going to use his effect, sacrificing him to permanently decrease King of the End-Demise's attack points by an amount equal to his own."
There was an audible clap as Kazuki's monster pressed his palms together and then touched his fingertips to the symbols on his clothes, causing them to glow light blue for a moment before the monster completely faded away. Once he was gone a swirling pillar of black light formed all around Demise, who howled in agony for a moment before dropping to a knee, once again weakened.
"I end my turn." Kazuki spoke, his voice holding a sense of conviction, even though his field was now empty. Nodding, an unsure look in his eyes, Katsuya drew.
"I play Card of Sanctity, so we both draw until we hold six cards. That's five each." he began and both players whipped the new cards off of their decks. "Next I will set one card face down and play my Emergency Provisions card to sacrifice it and my Fulfillment of Contract to gain two thousand life points. However, because if Have Alliance at the End in play, Ruin cannot be destroyed, even when Fulfillment of Contract is destroyed." he declared as a face down card image appeared in front of him and then shattered, followed by the green bordered card behind his goddess. (KyLP:3800)
"I'll set one monster in defense mode, and then I'll have Goddess of Extermination-Ruin and King of the End-Demise (600) both attack you directly!" Lifting their weapons high, both of Katsuya's dangerous monsters charged across the field. First to attack was Demise, who slashed straight down, which, if a real attack, would have cut Kazuki in half. To avoid this, Kazuki tried backing away, but lost his footing in his rush and fell onto his butt. Next Ruin attacked, this time using the spear-like shape of her weapon to thrust at Kazuki, but not actually hitting him since he was out of the range of the holographic imagers. (KLP:2100)
"I switch Demise to defense mode and end my turn." Katsuya finished, satisfied with his move.
Kazuki winced as he rose to his feet and then drew a card. Upon seeing it, his eyes lit up to such a point that it was noticeable by his opponent, despite the distance between them.
"Katsuya, I'm going to take control of this duel right now!" he called. "First I set three cards face down, and then I play Card Destruction. Discard your hand and I'll do the same and we'll both draw three cards." With a curious look on his face, Katsuya did as he was told to and both duelists drew new hands of four.
"Now I'll activate the first of my set cards, Magic of Revival to special summon a magician from my graveyard. I choose the monster that I drew at the beginning of this turn, Ancient Mage (2700/2200), in attack mode!"
Eyes wide, Katsuya watched as Kazuki's most powerful monster appeared on the field, it's black robes billowing and it's golden staff at the ready. For some reason, as Katsuya looked at this monster, he began to feel, for the first time all duel, a sense of fear.
"My other set card, Power of the Ancients, which will increase Ancient Mage's attack by one thousand for as long as he's on my field." Kazuki pressed on as a crimson aura surrounded his monster, increasing his power to thirty-seven hundred.
"Now it's time for battle, and since you have more monsters on the field than I do at the beginning of the battle phase, Ancient Mage can attack all of your monsters during the course of this turn." the black haired youth explained to his older opponent. "Ancient Mage (3700) attacks your King of the End-Demise first!" Extending his staff forward, the magister released a crescent of light which dissolved the target monster on impact. "Next is your defense mode monster." Pivoting on his feet, the magician aimed at the horizontal card, which was sliced in half by the attack.
"Before you continue," Katsuya interupted. "The monster you just now destroyed was another Caller of the End (600/800), so now I get to place a card with 'End' in its name into my hand." Fanning his now very small deck out, it only took Katsuya a few seconds to find the card he wanted, which he added to his hand and then signaled Kazuki to continue.
"And before I continue I'd like to explain to you that whenever Ancient Mage destroys a monster, another monster on your field is dealt three hundred points of damage. I've destroyed two now, and I've directed all six hundred points at Ruin." the younger of the two said as the woman in red suddenly put a hand to her chest and began to breathe heavily, sounding very winded.
"Ancient Mage, attack Goddess of Extermination-Ruin (1700)!" With a quickly flourish, the black robed man aimed at the woman of destruction and fired an x-shaped blast, shattering her instantly. (KyLP:1600)
"Turn end."
"Draw!" Katsuya nearly shouted. "That was amazing, Kazuki. I applaud such an awesome attack. However, that was your last one. Go magic card, End of the World!"
Upon hearing the card name, Kazuki's eyes widened in fear as Katsuya slid a card into his graveyard. What appeared on his field, though, was neither Goddess of Extermination-Ruin nor King of the End-Demise. It looked similar to Ruin, as had many of Katsuya's other monsters. It was obviously female, with ebony black hair which hung in the exact same fashion as Ruin's. She wore a black top with a red cloth over her legs in front and in back, as well as a red cape hanging down her back, reaching the base of her spine. In her hands was a black spear with a handle that was barely longer than her arm.
"Princess of Extermination-Ruin (1700/1400)!" he introduced, much to everyone's surprise. The new monster was just as weak as Goddess of Extermination-Ruin had been when Kazuki had destroyed her last turn. Obviously, Katsuya didn't seem worried about this, though, as he grabbed another card from his hand and placed it into a magic zone.
"Shrink will cut your monsters attack points in half."
The magician on Kazuki's field began to shrink rapidly until it was barely taller than the waist line of either duelist. Now it's amazing attack points of thirty-seven hundred had been reduced to a par of eighteen hundred and fifty. Still, it was stronger than Katsuya's monster.
"Think I can't beat it?" Katsuya grinned in his usual cocky manner. "I play Ritual Weapon, powering up my level four ritual monster by fifteen hundred attack points!" he continued as a scarlet aura surrounded the black haired woman on his field, nearly doubling her attack points.
Kazuki gulped.
"Princess of Extermination-Ruin (3200), attack Kazuki's weakened Ancient Mage (1850)!" Literally vanishing from sight, the female monster appeared seconds later behind Kazuki's monster, her entire body in a passive stance. After a few seconds of tension, Kazuki's mage shattered and his life points took a steep drop. (KLP:750)
"And Princess of Extermination-Ruin has the same effect as her more powerful form, meaning she gets to attack again now that she's destroyed a monster in battle." Katsuya explained.
"No she doesn't." Kazuki responded, extending an arm out over his final set card, which revealed itself to be a pink bordered trap card. "Lost Skills removes the effect from one monster on your field, so now you just have a really powerful monster."
Because she no longer had her effect, the monster at Kazuki's throat gave a feral snarl and then returned to Katsuya's field in a flash. Kazuki, needlessly, breathed deeply with relief.
"I set one card face down, and end my turn." Katsuya declared, leaving himself with just one card in his hand.
Drawing, Kazuki quickly began to turn his options over in his head. Sadly, he didn't really have much in terms of options.
"I summon Ancient Saint (1500/1300) in attack mode. And he powers up all Ancient monsters on my field by four hundred!" he called as the man in white robes appeared. "Next is the magic card, Ancient Technique, powering my monster up by the number of magic cards in the graveyard times three hundred! I have six, so that's eighteen hundred added points!"
Everyone in the arena watched in awe as Kazuki's monster nearly doubled in strength, coming to a stop at thirty-seven hundred, even with what Ancient Mage had been at one turn before. "Ancient Saint, attack and destroy Princess of Extermination-Ruin!" Pressing his palms together and muttering a prayer of some sort, the magician gathered the needed energy. Spreading his arms out to the sides, a ring of light appeared around his target and then filled up with magical energy, incinerating her. (KyLP:1100) "End."
"Draw!" Katsuya called, the force of the pull causing his body to tremble so much that his bandana came undone and fell to the floor. "This is the end! This turn decides it, because if this fails then I will lose."
"I accept!" Kazuki shouted back, ignoring the sweat on his face. It was the first time he'd ever been in such an intense duel, and he didn't quite know what else to do or say.
"Pot of Greed!" Katsuya called, beginning his actual move. Drawing two cards, he instantly activated the one card he'd been holding since his last turn. "Ender's Renewal to revive Princess of Extermination-Ruin (1700/1400). However, she may not activate her effect while on the field after being summoned by this card." In a flash of light the black haired mistress of destruction reappeared.
Setting another card down, Katsuya played the last card that he held. "Twilight Renewal to draw five new cards since my hand is empty." Doing so, he fanned the new cards out. Then he pressed a button on his duel disk and the card he had just set flipped up. "Magic Shard Excavation to discard two cards from my hand to then play a magic card from my graveyard. I choose End of the World one last time."
Taking two cards from his hand he placed them into his graveyard, which then released the magic card he wanted, which he promptly played.
"I sacrifice Princess of Extermination-Ruin to summon Prince of the End-Demise (1800/1400)!" he called as the maiden on his field faded away and was replaced by a smaller version of the black armored warrior from earlier, brandishing a hammer in place of an elegant axe.
Again, Kazuki gulped.
"Here it is, Kazuki Katsura! This younger version of Demise isn't as overwhelming as what you have faced before, but he will end it just the same. I pay one thousand life points to destroy all monsters on your field!" (KyLP:100)
Raising the mighty weapon above his head, the miniature juggernaut gave a mighty battle cry before bringing it crashing down, the shockwave of the impact blasting Kazuki's monster and shattering it.
"Prince of the End-Demise, attack Kazuki's life points directly!" Katsuya shouted. With a grunt, the black armored warrior lumbered across the field and swung its hammer at Kazuki, striking him in the chest and knocking him back onto his butt with a light 'thud'. (KLP:0)
Wincing in pain, Kazuki rubbed his now soar backside.
"Here, let me help you with that." a voice spoke from above him. Looking up, Kazuki was surprised to see Katsuya leaning over, arm extended. Taking the outreaching palm, Kazuki used the older boy to help hoist himself to his feet.
Brushing his uniform off, Kazuki wiped some sweat from his forehead, and for the first time noticed that the crowd was cheering madly. Letting a weak smile show, he turned to Katsuya.
"Amazing duel." he said. "I could have sworn I had you."
"You almost did." the Obelisk Blue replied. "Many times. But, I could say the same thing. But, in the end I won, and that's all that matters, right?"
Frowning, Kazuki shook his head and stepped off of the elevated arena, heading towards the stairs so that he could return to his seat.
Watching Kazuki leave, Katsuya gave a light grin and mumbled in a low tone that only he could hear, "They were right. He's good. He's really, really good."
XXXXXXX
"He lost again." Kita said aloud from her seat in the teachers section. "But once again he nearly won. It's almost like the skill of his opponent doesn't matter. He keeps on getting close, but never seems to be able to go all the way."
"That's exactly it, that it is." Eizan said, his tone seeming even, but his lips twisting into a smirk. Turning to Katsu he said "I think it's about time to get going, that I do."
Nodding, the Ra Yellow head rose as well, smoothing out his blazer. Normally he didn't wear the dorm coat, but this was a semi-formal occasion, so he felt in some ways obligated to. Leading the way, he left the other teachers, Eizan Kiske only a few steps behind.
XXXXXXX
Throughout the arena people where chatting excitedly about the several duels they'd seen. Each one had left them worried that those that followed would be rather dull in comparison. Now that they'd seen Kazuki verses Katsuya, it was doubtful that there could be a greater match.
"Ladies and gentle, it has been an amazing day." Pegasus called from his box. "But all good things must come to and end. However, I think that any spectacular even should end with a real bang. As such there's going to be a huge buffet dinner here on the island tonight, complete with fireworks, games, and everyone's favorite band, Millennium Seven, performing live!"
As he announced this, there was a massive uproar of cheering from the student body, as well as many teachers. After a few minutes of waiting, Pegasus lifted his hands as a signal for everyone to calm down.
"However, that's not the full extent of my genius planning. No, I have one final surprise for you. Like I said, everything should end with a bang. Although that means that we technically could have ended it after any one of these duels, I have one more slated for the day." A number of hushed whispers spread throughout the crowd, all wondering what he was talking about. After all, every single duelist that had signed up had gone. The bottom ring of seats were the competitors had been sitting was now empty. Finally, everyone looked back up to Pegasus, since it was obvious he held the answer.
"To make sure that we got to end on as amazing a note as possible, I spoke with your faculty, and two of your teachers have volunteered to give an exhibition match against three professional duelists which I brought here with me today." he grinned ferally.
Cheers erupted from the students for various reasons. For some it was because it was a promising match. For others it would be a chance to see their teachers against real pros, something any student would want to see. Others just wanted to see another duel. And still the list went on.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Duelist Pro League's very own sibling team of Yusuke, Ukon and Shizuka Toria." Again cheers erupted as the easily recognizable duelists entered the arena from the west doorway.
As they came into full view, the flooring surrounding the dueling field pulled back and a larger ring, about ten feet wide, rose up all around the current field, expanding it greatly.
"And now, their opponents, you should all be very familiar with Professors Katsu Yoriyoi and Eizan Kiske!"
To Be Continued...
To Be Continued...
See what I mean? One seriously badass duel, that is. Then again, the next duel I'm hoping to be even better. I'm planning it to be so, at least. I've been waiting ever since I started writing this story to write the coming duel, so look forward to it. In truth, it's gonna be a very long duel, since it's five duelists. Right now I'm look at about fifty to sixty turns, which comes out to only ten to twelve turns a player. Funny how that happens, ne?
I would also like to thank Seeker of the Soul for making Katsuya and his deck. Totally kickass. For the first time I didn't have to make up a single card for a submitted OC. It was in some ways relieving. Original cards are as follows:
Katsuya (All by Seeker)- Prince of the End-Demise, Princess of Extermination-Ruin, End Craftsman, Demise-Warrior of the End, Ruin-Warrior of the End, Caller of the End, End Slasher, End Healer, Contract Revisions, Theme of the End, Treasure of Hell, Alliance at the End, Ender's Renewal, Twilight Renewal, Gift of the Ender, Sacrificial Living.
Kazuki- Ancient Mage, Ancient Saint, Ancient Technique, Search for the Lost, Lost Skills, Enchanted Relic, Power of the Ancients, Ancient Curse, Ancient Mystic, Ancient Spellweaver, Ancient Sorcerer, Ancient Illusionist, Mirror of Confusion, Magic of Revival (Seeker).
Next Time-Pegasus has brought in professional duelists who have made names for themselves individually in the Duelist Professional League, but even more so famous for their awesome teamwork. Up against them are Katsu and Eizan. But can three against two be fair? All five duelists seem to think so. Now Katsu and Eizan, for the first time since either of them entered Duelist Academy as a teacher, choose to battle with their true decks, and with their true strength.
Next Time-Professional Duel; Divine Duelists Pt. 1