Author's Note: Let the games begin!

Chapter Forty-One: Ammut's Power; Am-heh's Power

"Stall? How am I supposed to do that?" Dalin looked back at Am-heh who was still frozen in his spot, staring blankly at Dalin. The angel duelist finally spoke.

"It doesn't matter. But if you're still alive and I live through my task then I will give you the answer as to whether or not I killed your parents. And once Am-heh is dealt with, if the answer to that question is yes, I swear that my life will be forfeit at your hand." Nikolas stared openly at Dalin, unable to believe what he was hearing.

The chance at his vengeance, the chance at finally knowing the truth was staring him right in the face. This was what he wanted, had wanted for a dozen years. No matter what Ihami said, this was the sole defining want of his life, the answer to everything. "I accept! Come back and let me know which of us is really the dead man!"

Without looking back Dalin clapped his hands together and his body rippled. Then the serpent's head separated from his body and stretched out, forming into the giant head of Saint Dragon Osiris. It opened its jaws wide and swooped down, engulfing Dalin's body in its massive maw.

When Dalin was out of the sight the head of the dragon shrieked to the sky and then crumpled into itself, vanishing with a pop. Nikolas smirked and rose to his feet, his eye moving to meet Am-heh's eyes which now focused on him. "Come on big guy, while he's out, let's play a little game. I swear it will be the last game you'll ever play."

He reached behind his back and unhooked a small pack, letting the object within drop out into his waiting palm. He brought it around his body and strapped it onto his arm in one swift motion, revealing it to be a pure white duel pod. "I'm curious as to how long a monster like you can last in a Darkness Game!"

The duel pod activated as soon as Nikolas slid his deck into it and shadows sprang up all around himself and Am-heh, hiding the ruins of Cairo from their prying eyes. "Come and face me in the darkness Devourer of Millions!" (NLP: 4000)

Am-heh's slotted eyes narrowed and then he burst out laughing, the sound frightening as it struck a primal cord of fear deep within Nikolas. But what was more shocking than that was when Am-heh spoke, still in the same language, but the words were clear as crystal. "I will devour you and beat back the pain for a moment longer! Then I will devour him and end the pain forever!"

Nick frowned, not quite sure how to take the fact that he could now understand Am-heh. But since there was magic involved he was willing to ignore it without any comment. "If you think that you can devour me, beat me in this duel first! And I'll start things off for us!"

He drew the top card of his deck and held it up to his eye, and smirked at the sight of another single eye looking back at him. "Perfect. I summon Don Zaloog(1400/1000) in attack mode!"

The purple haired one-eyed thief jumped out of the card and onto the field, twirling a revolver in his left hand. "With Don and the rest of the Dark Scorpions at my sight, even a monster like you can't beat me."

Next Nick took two of his five remaining cards and placed them into his disk directly behind Don Zaloog. They appeared one after the other on the left and right sides of Don. "Two cards set, and end turn."

He watched Am-heh carefully, considering what might be coming. 'I have no idea what sort of strategy Am-heh uses, but he doesn't seem all that intelligent so I'll probably have an advantage.'

Am-heh stared at Don, and then at Nick, then back at Don. Nick blinked at Am-heh's blank stare and tapped his right foot against the ground. "Well? What are you waiting for? Hell, you haven't even….ummm….do you even have a duel disk? Or a deck?"

The monster looked down at his forearms when Nick gestured to the object on his own arm. Then he looked back at Nick and raised an eyebrow. Nick grimaced and slapped a hand against his forehead. "Shit…how the hell do I duel somebody in a Darkness Game when they don't have a deck at all or even know what I'm talking about."

Am-heh's right eye twitched when he saw that Don and Nick seemed to be ignoring him. Nick jerked to attention when he felt a surge of power from the monster and his body shook from the pressure of the energy. 'Damn…what the hell is he doing?'

"DON'T IGNORE ME! I HATE THAT!" The monstrous humanoid swung his right arm in an arc and the darkness shook as a ripple shot across the field. The force of Am-heh's swing translated into dark energy that was heading straight for Nick.

Nick stared at the oncoming attack and panicked. "Wait a second; you can't attack the other player in the middle of a duel, especially not one that's a Darkness Game!"

His eye widened even further when a holographic counter appeared beneath the oncoming ripple of energy. One that clearly read 4000. "What the hell….attack points?"

Instinctively he reached down and pressed a button on the top of his Duel Pod, and the card he had set on his right flipped up. "Reverse card open, Dark Scorpion Leadership! This lets me sacrifice a Don on the field, from my hand, or remove him from my grave to special summon two level four or lower Dark Scorpions to the field!"

Don shimmered and turned to dust, but then appeared in his place were two monsters in crouched positions. The first was a dark haired woman in a black and red outfit, while the other a gaunt man with glasses. "I special summon Cliff the Trap Remover(1200/1000) and Dark Scorpion-Maenae the Thorn(1000/1800) in defense mode!"

The ripple of force struck Cliff and he screamed as his body was ripped in half and he blew apart. Nikolas grimaced and nearly lost his balance as he realized that he had felt part of that damage. "Cliff….no…"

Am-heh snickered, his jade eyes filled with amusement at the sight of the death he had caused. "Your pathetic little thing doesn't touch my power! My power is untouchable!"

It didn't seem that Am-heh was going to be doing anything else, so it just left Nikolas feeling confused. 'Did he just attack as if he were a monster? So is that maybe his Duel Presence, something that lets him be a monster? Okay…so if that's the case then he's open and I can attack his life points directly.'

He frowned, chewing on his lip even as he drew. It was bothering him, trying to figure out exactly how that worked. 'Okay, so his attack was four thousand. Maybe his attack is equal to his life points. Or maybe I can only beat him if I defeat him in battle…I won't know until I try.'

There was no method to take other than to just give it a try, so now he was going to have to strike a blow. "I summon Dark Scorpion-Chick the Yellow(1000/1000) in attack mode to join Maenae the Thorn!"

Appearing on the field in a flash was the youngest and smallest of the Dark Scorpions. The little spiky haired blonde kid who was roughly half the height of Maenae. "Okay…time to give this a try! Maenae, Chick, attack Am-heh!"

Chick reached behind his back and whipped out a huge mallet, much bigger than he should have been able to carry. Maenae reached to her side and unfurled the whip that was placed there and cracked it. "Mallet Smash and Rose Whip!"

Maenae cracked the whip against Am-heh's chest, though the monster appeared undamaged and didn't budge. Chick followed it up by jumping into the air and then swinging his mallet down on Am-heh's head. His mallet bounced off and he stumbled back to Nick's side of the field. "I honestly can't tell if that did anything…"

Am-heh blinked and looked down to his left side where a glowing counter had appeared. Nick smirked, realizing that Am-heh had been completely open to a direct attack just like he had hoped. "Perfect, that'll mean I've already gotten rid of half your life points."

The counter stopped and displayed the final number. When he saw it, Nick just stared at it in horror. "No….that can't be possible. How is that possible?" (ALP: 498,000)

He gulped, realizing exactly what was going on here, even if Am-heh didn't seem aware of it. 'No…this is impossible. He's not a monster, but instead of dueling he's…translating his own power into this duel. Those life points represent his own life, and his attacks are based on the physical effort he puts into an attack.'

Continuing that line of thought he realized exactly what that meant about his effects. 'If that's the case then he doesn't even have a deck, so the discard effects of my Dark Scorpions are essentially useless!'

He stared down at his hand of cards, and listlessly reached for his graveyard, picking up Don Zaloog and adding it to his hand thanks to Maenae's effect since she had dealt damage. Then once he had done that he grabbed another card from his hand and placed it down to replace his previously used card. "End Turn…"

Nick wasn't a math genius, but he was certain that he couldn't possibly deal five hundred thousand points of damage in a duel before he was finished off, even if his opponent didn't defend himself. 'How…how can I possibly win this duel? Dalin…I have to stay alive until he returns, so even if I die I can have an answer!'

Am-heh chuckled and stomped the ground with his left food, shaking the entire field of darkness. Nick stared as cracks spider webbed towards his monster, and a counter above the cracks showed the number six thousand. 'His attack points increased?'

The wave of cracks was awfully close to his monsters, so Nick knew that even though it wouldn't have much effect he still had to act. "Activate trap, Dark Scorpion Thorn! I tribute Maenae in order to negate your attack and deal her attack points as battle damage to your life points!"

Maenae shattered as Nick's trap flipped up and flying out of it came a giant black thorn. It struck Am-heh in the chest and imbedded itself, but the monster ripped it out instantly, letting the wound heal. Then he laughed in delight. (ALP: 497,000)

"Using Maenae's effect I pick up Cliff from the cemetery and add him to my hand!" He picked up the monster from the grave and placed it amongst his other cards, sighing with relief as the web of cracks stopped just shy of Chick.

Nick reached for his deck and drew, taking a deep breath to try and calm himself. 'It looks like winning this duel is impossible, but I'm going to stall him as long as I can so that I can hear the truth from your lips Dalin. So come back with an answer for me!'

He fanned out the five cards he was holding and began to formulate a strategy. 'Let's look at this at least a little bit logically. I know I can't possibly drain all his life points, but I can put up a decent fight. So there's no reason not to play this as a normal duel. Meaning…I've got my combo all set up!'

Taking one of the five he slapped it down onto the field, and the purple haired form of the Dark Scorpion's leader returned. "Don Zaloog(1400/1000) takes to the field once again, but he won't be lonely for much longer!"

Smirking he slipped the key card of his move into his duel pod, activating it. A magic card appeared on the field with an image of the Dark Scorpions all gathered together in an ornate pose. "Dark Scorpion Clan is my choice of card, and it will let me summon out three of the clan. One from the hand…"

Grabbing a third card out of his hand he placed it onto his duel disk and the tall but skinny figure that was the trap expert of the group took his position next to Don. "Cliff the Trap Remover(1200/1000) rejoins his companions! And from the cemetery, the beauty of the group reappears!"

His chosen card popped out of his cemetery and he set it onto his duel pod with care. "Dark Scorpion-Maenae the Thorn(1000/1800) takes her place at her clan's side yet again! And to complete the group, the brutal power of the clan from my deck…"

Finally from his deck came another card which he placed in the final position of his five monster zones. What came out was a tall and muscular bald man with squinted eyes who had a hammer slung over one shoulder. "Dark Scorpion-Gorg the Strong(1800/1500) is here to tear you a new one!"

A pulse of power surged through the six of them as the connection he had with the Dark Scorpions roared to life. Am-heh looked eager, obviously feeling the power. "COME! FIGHT ME!"

Nick's eye became colder as he thrust out his right hand and pointed at Am-heh. "You asked for it Am-heh! Dark Scorpions, attack him all together now! Dark Scorpion Assault!"

Maenae snapped her whip out, cracking it against Am-heh's shoulder. Cliff followed up by tossing a pair of knives which bounced off his chest. Gorg and Chick went tag-team and smashed their respective weapons against opposite sides of Am-heh's head at the same time. When they hopped out of the way Don appeared in front of him and fired a round directly into Am-heh's face. Yet despite all that, he didn't budge. 'So strong…' (ALP: 490,600)

Shaking off the oncoming despair of barely denting his opponent's life points Nick gestured with his left hand to Maenae who had her whip curled around her shoulders. "Because Maenae the Thorn did damage to your life points I can pick up a Dark Scorpion card from the cemetery, and this is my choice."

He held up Dark Scorpion Clan and then placed it into his hand. "Although the rest of the scorpions have abilities of their own, since you have no field and no deck they can't do anything. Now, I set one card face down."

A card took a position as a replacement for his previous trap, and this one he was even more confident in. Nick exhaled and gave each of the three summoned scorpions a nod of the head. "During my end phase all Dark Scorpions summoned by Dark Scorpion Clan are sent to the cemetery, so now they go to the grave. Farewell for now."

Gorg, Maenae, and Cliff all faded away, leaving Don and Chick left together on the field without the rest of their group. "But don't think that means the Dark Scorpions are done for, because they're far from gone. They'll be back, and with our power united we'll last as long as we need to find our answer."

Am-heh laughed with delight and slapped his hands together as if clapping. But the strength of that clap sent a wave of force heading towards his two Dark Scorpions, and going with it was a counter that read ten thousand. 'Ten thousand attack points…impressive, but against my trap it doesn't matter if it was a million attack points!'

Nick pointed with his right hand at his newest face down card, which opened and showed an image of a ripple of energy blocking a red blast. "This famous trap card will negate the attack and destroy the attacker, so let's find out if that works on you. Mirror Force, obliterate Am-heh!"

The wave of pure force bounced back right before striking the Dark Scorpions and surged towards Am-heh. The monster's eyes glowed a dark red as it roared and held out one hand, palm outstretched. The wave of force struck his hand and…stopped. "What the hell?"

"RAAAA!" Am-heh pushed back with his hand and the attack surged back towards Nikolas' field and smashed into the two Dark Scorpions, blowing them apart like ripe melons.

Nikolas couldn't stop himself from staring at the blank space where Don and Chick had been just moments before. 'Impossible….he just reflected the attack and used the ability of Mirror Force to destroy my face-up attack mode monsters! In other words…he turned back the power of one of the game's best trap cards. What sort of power is this?'

He shook even as he reached for his deck and looked down at the card he had drawn. But when he saw it his shaking stopped and it was replaced by a different sort of shaking. His shoulders now shook with mirth. "Am-heh…you fight with your power and your rage, and I can't tell if you hold anything back. But I've been dueling conservatively, and the only way to face a monster like you is to give it everything you have. In other words, I'm going to dump every ounce of my ability and my deck into defeating you!"

He snapped up the card and his eye was filled with determination, his body unmoved by his fear. "Just as I said, every ounce of my deck, and it all comes with this card. Dark Scorpion Graveyard, which has a special effect that sends every Dark Scorpion card in my deck to the cemetery!"

Am-heh blinked in confusion as Nikolas pulled his deck out of its holding place and searched through it. He quickly found all the cards that weren't Dark Scorpion cards and then dumped the rest into his grave. What he returned was a very small number. "It seems stupid, to any duelist, and possibly even to someone who isn't a duelist like you are. But Dark Scorpion Graveyard is a give your all double-edged sword."

The monster looked down at his feet as thousands of black scorpions began to crawl up out of the ground. A fewer number were surrounding Nikolas, but it was still an impressive amount. "By sending my deck to the grave like that I get the choice to deal my opponent ten thousand points of damage. But it acts as a double edged sword because I also take five thousand damage if I choose to do so. And believe me, I choose to!"

All of the black scorpions swarmed, crawling all over Am-heh, covering him completely from head to toe. The black scorpions also began to crawl up Nikolas' body, but he was ready for them. "Rarely do I use this card except for a few combos, and this is my ultimate one with it! The magic card Delight of the Fall! This turn I gain three hundred life points for every card sent to the cemetery from hand or deck by an effect!"

His body was bathed in light, blasting the black scorpions off of him. Am-heh snarled from within the pile of scorpions and flexed, sending them sailing off his body. Nikolas smirked, somehow confident despite the loss of his deck. "Even though I gained life points and did hefty damage you must be wondering why I'd risk such a thing. I'll explain." (NLP: 16,400; ALP: 480,600)

Nikolas flipped around one of the cards he was holding, revealing it to be the same card he had picked up last turn. "If you remember right I recovered this card last turn, so now I'll play it again. Dark Scorpion Clan this time can only bring back one monster, one from the graveyard since I have none in my hand or deck."

A card popped out of his cemetery and he slapped it onto the field. His field glowed as a middle aged but beautiful dark haired woman appeared, with a rose in one hand and a whip in the other. "Meet the elder version of Maenae the Thorn, her more experienced self, Dark Scorpion-Maenae the Rose(1800/2200)!"

Maenae smirked and snapped her rose, causing a giant holographic card to rise out of the ground. She reached out and touched it, turning it into a smaller form which she handed to Nick. "When she's summoned Maenae the Rose returns a Dark Scorpion card from my cemetery to my hand. And I'll summon the card I chose, her younger self, Maenae the Thorn(1000/1800)!"

Younger and older versions of the same monster exchanged glances and smirked in exactly the same way, readying their whips for an assault on Am-heh. "These two are the same person, so obviously they think the same way and they've guessed right. Maenae and Maenae, attack Am-heh!"

A double snap of whips punched down more of Am-heh's life points, draining him an insignificant amount. "Now they both activate their effects, Maenae the younger bringing back one card and Maenae the elder bringing back two!" (ALP: 477,800)

Both monsters cracked their whips and then offered their three cards to Nikolas who placed them into his hand, giving him four total. "Thanks to these two monsters I've got a nice full hand. Now I activate their field card, Den of Thieves!"

A cavern formed all around them, with treasure packed against the walls and the weapons of the Dark Scorpions lying on a table in the corner. "Den of Thieves gives me several abilities, but right now the one that matters is that all Dark Scorpions gain a three hundred attack and defense point bonus."

The two Maenaes' attack points rose at the same time, and though it wasn't a huge amount it was quite a large enough number. "During my end phase Maenae the Rose will return to the grave, so I'll set this card and end my turn. Thank you Maenae."

She blew him a kiss and then burst into pixels, leaving her younger self alone against the brutal power of Am-heh. "You see Am-heh? I'm not done yet, because I won't stop fighting as long as my quest for revenge remains unresolved!"

Am-heh sneered, or perhaps grinned, Nikolas couldn't tell. All he knew was that Am-heh's lips curled back to reveal his blood and dirt stained teeth. "You are strong, which will make eating you all the more satisfying! DIE LITTLE SCORPION!"

He swung both arms in an x motion, and an x of energy burst out of his arms, shooting directly towards Maenae. Nikolas grimaced as he saw that it showed twenty thousand attack points, and it was all coming for him. "You get stronger each turn, but brute strength can't stop me, especially not when I've got traps, like this one!"

His new trap flipped up and Maenae the Thorn's body rippled, turning into the older form of Maenae the Rose. "Dark Scorpion Experience lets me sacrifice a Dark Scorpion for their older self from the grave or my deck, as well as negating your attack. In addition since Maenae the Rose was summoned I get to pick up another Dark Scorpion card from the grave."

Nick reached for his graveyard, but was stopped when a powerful force struck him head-on and blew him off his feet. He gasped as he was tossed into the air and then tumbled, bouncing along the ground under the pressure of the attack. He finally stopped rolling, his body aching as if he had been stepped on by an elephant. (NLP: 14,400)

The thief surprised himself by rising to his hands and knees, then coughing up blood. He hadn't been sure if he could even move after that, but he still had plenty of strength left. He glared up at Am-heh, blood dripping from his chin. "How is that possible? I negated your attack…why did I take damage?"

Am-heh's lips curled up again and he laughed. "My power is raw; my power is unstoppable, untouchable. Nothing can stop my brutal force for long, not even your little tricks."

Nikolas growled and spat some more blood out of his mouth. Then he struggled up to his feet, his knees feeling weak as he glared up at Am-heh. "I get it…now you've got so much power that even my traps can't completely stop you. Enough that your attack did life point damage to me equal to a tenth of the original attack strength. And if this trend is correct then…"

He shuddered with the realization at how impossible this duel was once again. There was no way for him to win that, he had already figured it out, but seeing this began to make him fear that he couldn't stall very long. "If this trend is right then if your power grows to a certain level then nothing will affect your attacks."

Nick felt his shoulders shaking and he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small knife with a scorpion imprinted on the hilt. "No…no I won't stop…I won't surrender, I won't be cast down no matter how strong the opponent. If I can't survive against you I can never beat Dalin! Therefore I'll survive and fight you with all my strength, with all the power of my blood, the blood that he once spilled! I pledge by my blood, the blood of my family, that I won't lose here!"

He dragged the knife across his left palm, opening it and letting it pump blood out. He clenched his hand tightly shut and imagined the cut that rested on Dalin's own left hand. 'Dalin…my hand and yours both bleed. This sign of the connection of blood is a sign of the eternal promise I have to take vengeance upon you. As long as there is a trace of my blood left I will not stop. This is far from over between you and I, so don't let your blood be your downfall! Fight me so that we might spill each other's blood and find out which of us deserves to be dead!'

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"I bet my soul and my body to Ammut. It can devour me completely should I lose." There was an additional pause, Osiris' head hovering in place as if considering something. Finally it spoke.

YOUR BET HAS BEEN ACCEPTED. TO THE WINNER GO THE SPOILS.

Osiris' head lowered back down, completing the wide platform again. The far end of the platform shimmered as a shape approached out of the nothingness, its form and appearance familiar to Dalin. He had seen this monster before.

"It was always my duty to take the souls that were determined as evil and consume them, to make sure they didn't end up here. I consumed that darkness but was never affected by it, for I am a demon." They were words he had heard before, back then from the same voice as he heard it in now. Nearly identical to his own, but harsher, dryer.

Ammut took on the appearance it had the last time Dalin had seen it. Its body was identical to Dalin's, but the neck was longer than normal and the mouth was wide and grinning full of razor teeth. "Hello Dalin. Still frightened of me?"

Dalin shook his head, surprised at how calm he was. He had expected excitement of some form, maybe even fear at the risk, but there was nothing but calm and readiness. "What is there to fear? All that you are is the essence within me, the demon Ammut."

"My own words thrown back at me, how amusing of you. Are you ready to face me, to face the challenge? You can still back out, but if you do you will never have the chance again." In response Dalin raised his left arm and a swarm of angel feathers wrapped it around it, forming into a pure white wing extending off his arm with just two openings on it, one for the deck and the other for his cemetery. His deck was already in place. (DLP: 4000)

Ammut chuckled, the sound clicking harshly out of that fanged mouth. He gave his own response in form of lifting up his right arm, which was surrounded by swarming black feathers. They merged into one pure black wing, otherwise identical to Dalin's. Its deck was also in place. "Eager to die, as always." (ALP: 4000)

Dalin quirked an eyebrow at that flippant comment. "As always?"

The demon wagged a long finger at him, his slotted red eyes showing his amusement. "No telling unless you defeat me first. So face me Dalin, if you can!"

Both opposites drew their cards, Ammut drawing six while Dalin drew five. The demon sneered, showing off its fangs as it picked up one of its cards and laid it down. "One monster in defense mode. And since I think I'll start things slow, so you can go."

Dalin drew and held out the card instantly without registering it. "Activate magic card, Choice of Fate. You may choose one card in my hand, and if it is a monster it is special summoned to the field. Take your pick."

Ammut casually pointed to the card on the far left, and Dalin took it and placed it down onto his angelic duel disk. "You have special summoned for me my Titan of Obelisk(3000/3000)! Now my beast, attack his defense monster with Titan's Fist!"

The titan was at least twenty feet tall and a dark blue color, with tusks coming out of its almost demonic face. Its eyes glowed red as it raised one huge fist and then slammed it down upon the set monster, splattering it across the field. Some of the goo hit Dalin and he frowned, wiping it off. "I see. A Giant Germ(1000/100)." (DLP: 3500)

The demon smirked as two purple globes with fine hairs all over them appeared in the place of the set monster. "As you obviously know when a Giant Germ is destroyed you take five hundred damage and I get to special summon two more from my hand or deck in face-up attack mode. They make excellent direct damage monsters, swarm monsters, or tribute bait."

Dalin responded by snapping his fingers, and Titan of Obelisk raised its goo covered hand and uncurled its fist. Two tiny points of red light floated out and then up into the air over Dalin's field. "When Titan of Obelisk destroys a monster I may place Tribute Counters on my field equal to the level of the slain monster, which in this case is two."

His demonic opponent raised an eyebrow, looking interested in the duel at last. "Oh? Tribute Counters? What do they do?"

"That is for later. For now I set one card face down and conclude my turn." A tiny little card representation formed behind Titan of Obelisk, completely dwarfed by its bulk.

Ammut drew his hand once again at six cards. "Ah yes, perfect. I said that Giant Germs acted as excellent tribute bait, and I was telling the truth. I sacrifice one of my germs for Phantom Dragon(2300/2000)!"

The germ faded, and a ten foot tall dragon with a black aura around it appeared, its long neck stretching into the air as it shrieked. Of course it was a pathetic dragon when compared to what they were standing on. "Phantom? Interesting…"

Dalin's words drew a response from Ammut who seemed quite happy with his monster. "Yes, phantom. Phantom monsters are a special breed in that they can be any sub-type yet are all considered to be demons at the same time. So Phantom Dragon is a demon dragon, making him more dangerous than a normal dragon."

Dalin calmly observed the large dragon, which seemed to be sizing up his Titan of Obelisk. "I'm certain that being treated as both dragon and demon at the same time is not the only ability your monster hides. What else is it capable of?"

"No need to ask, I was about to show you! During my turn I can sacrifice monsters to Phantom Dragon in order to reduce a monster on the opponent's field by the tribute's attack points. And since I already sacrificed one, I'll just tribute the final Giant Germ to lower Titan of Obelisk's attack points." The germ hurled itself at Titan of Obelisk, its body bursting on impact. The goo that it was made of seeped all over the titan, hampering its movement and reducing its attack to two thousand.

Ammut pointed to Phantom Dragon which opened up its mouth and gathered up energy for a fireball that was pitch black. "Phantom Dragon, attack his weakened Titan with your Phantom Flame!"

The ball of black flame shot out of the demon dragon's mouth and straight for the titan, which in its weakened strength couldn't possibly fight the attack. But Dalin was unfazed and had already activated his set card. "Reveal set card, Goliath's Might. This trap sets all monsters on the field that have a base attack of over two thousand at double their base strength for the turn."

Titan and demon dragon alike began to grow, their bodies becoming double their original size. And along with the increase in bulk came a massive strength increase, Titan reaching six thousand attack and demon dragon reaching forty-six hundred. "My monster now has strength advantage, so he will counter attack with Titan's Fist!"

Ammut's fangs shone with a deadly light as he reached down and picked out one of the five cards left in his hand. He turned it around and both monsters started glowing. "My response is the magic card Alteration Reflow, which returns all monsters on the field to their last known attack points. In addition we both gain life points equal to the amount they lost or gained."

Both monsters shrunk again, returning to respectively two thousand and twenty-three hundred points for Titan and Phantom Dragon. Dalin didn't seem extremely bothered as the black fireball blasted through his monster's chest, destroying it. "Thank you for revealing your strength to me, now I understand what I am up against." (DLP: 7200)

The demon raised an eyebrow, but otherwise didn't appear shocked. "You were testing me to see how good I was? I'd be surprised if I hadn't been doing exactly the same thing. I must admit…you're exactly as strong as I thought." (ALP: 6300)

Both duelists matched each other stare for stare, neither flinching under the other's gaze. Without looking away from Dalin the demon Ammut played another card. "Revival of Broken Flesh will return all monsters I sacrificed this turn to the field with half their original points, as well as their ability to attack stripped from them."

Taking yet another card out of his hand the demon placed it into his black wing disk, letting it appear behind his Phantom Dragon. "I end, and during my end phase my two Giant Germs(500/50) return in defense mode."

The germs reformed out of the goo splattered on the field, but they just floated there, making no indication that they were in defense mode. But with spheres it was often hard to tell. "How long will this game of testing our strengths go on I wonder…and whose real strength is greatest. I'm eager to find out before I devour you Dalin."

Dalin drew. "In order to devour me you must prove yourself stronger, because if you prove to be the weaker of us the one who will be devoured is you. Now, I will show you more of my power and we will measure our strength!"

He slid three cards into his duel disk one after another and then took the final card in his hand and slapped it onto his angelic disk. A monster in a black robe with a blue fist on the left breast appeared a serpentine blade in his right hand. "Assassin of Obelisk(1000/1000) is my choice of monster, and he may attack up to three times during a turn. He begins by slaying your two Giant Germs!"

The assassin sped across the field and with two slashes of his sword he cut the germs in half, their essence striking Dalin and burning away more of his life points. Ammut chuckled as his opponent's life points fell. "All you succeed in doing is draining your life points. After all, that monster is much too weak to defeat my Phantom Dragon." (DLP: 6200)

Dalin wasn't the world's champion duelist for nothing, so he was completely prepared for this. He motioned with his left hand to one of the three cards he had placed into his duel disk which now showed up face-up on the field. "The first of the three cards I played was a continuous magic card called Rite of Strength. This card gives any monster on my field one thousand attack points any time it slays another monster. This means my assassin has now absorbed two thousand attack points."

Despite the situation Ammut seemed unworried as the now mighty assassin moved in and slashed its sword through Phantom Dragon's neck, slaying the demon dragon in one swift blow. "So you've managed to slay my strong monster with a weak one as well as clearing my field. You are strong, but is that really enough?" (ALP: 5600)

"I am more than strong; I am also intelligent and strategic. As such my second continuous magic card is known as Sacrifice for Sacrifice, which works just like Titan of Obelisk's effect. Since I destroyed ten levels of monsters I gain ten Tribute Counters." Ten red orbs of light floated out of the sword that Assassin of Obelisk held and joined the previous two counters, creating a total of twelve.

Snapping his fingers Ammut responded. "Really, you do all that and drain your hard in the process. Not that effective of a strategy as you will have to work your way from zero, and against an opponent of equal strength that is unwise to have any disadvantage this early."

"Strategically speaking you are correct. No general is effective without resources at his disposal, and superior generals have lost wars before based on insufficient supplies. This is what my third continuous magic card is for, Essence of Sacrificial Victims. During my standby phase I draw one card for every five Tribute Counters in play." The demon laughed, apparently delighted by how well planned out Dalin's move had been.

"You are a genius of strategy, always thinking two or three steps ahead of your opponent just as always. However, while I may not be a genius of forethought as you are, I am still an expert in military action, and most specifically reading the opponent. Though you have the ability to read the opponent very well, which gives you insight; in the area of insight my ability is superior. That is what I am, a genius of insight." With that his set card flipped face up, showing thousands of spirits flowing out of a pit in the ground.

Dalin examined the card, reading the title and the effect. He didn't comment on it immediately though. "A genius of insight you say? Then we will match our separate specialties, the ability of ultimate forethought against the ability of ultimate insight."

Ammut's fanged grin was the perfect answer and all he needed. "That is exactly what I want, to prove my insight is superior to your forethought. And here is the first step in my strategy, to see exactly how you will react. Unlimited Renewal lets me infinitely revive during the end phase all monsters that have gone to the grave this turn from my field. In other words my three monsters will always come back to me provided my trap is in play."

One by one the three chosen monsters, the two germs and the one demon dragon, all reappeared in front of Ammut, facing off against the now incredibly powerful Assassin of Obelisk. Dalin's jade eyes swept over the monsters and then refocused on Ammut. "I understood that you would revive your monsters from the start of this turn, in fact I was certain you would from the moment that you spoke of tribute bait. There was no need to explain the benefits of the Giant Germs to give me that chance to understand your future plans unless…"

The demon nodded, tapping a long finger against the side of his head. "Yes, you understand at last. I saw that you have the ability to foresee an opponent's strategy ahead of time based on tiny hints and to understand how moves must connect, so I wanted to see just how well it would work. In other words, you proved to me the strength of your own ability by understanding what I was going to do."

Dalin folded his arms across his chest and watched Ammut carefully, shifting his stance to avoid falling when the coils beneath his feet shifted. "All told, this means that in this duel the person that we must deceive in order to deceive the opponent is ourselves. Our own abilities undermine each other, making this duel a battle of intellect more than one of skill. Whoever deceives the other most successfully will be the winner."

Ammut nodded and picked up the top card of his deck, watching his opponent carefully. "Exactly! This is no duel; this is a war of two strategic thinking minds. All warfare is based on deception."

Opposite him Dalin began to speak, understanding what Ammut was speaking of. "Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near."

The demon chuckled, continuing from there. "Hold out bait to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him."

Their eyes remained focused on the other person's eyes, trying to understand and follow based on the repetition of the words they knew and understood. "If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him."

"If you opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant."

"If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them."

Dalin spoke the final lines that they had been reciting. "Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected."

Ammut chuckled and fingered one of the cards in his hand. Dalin took note of it, filing it away to decide on the meaning of the move. "Yes, the words of Sun Tzu. The words of the first man to write a treatise on war. I knew him, Sun Tzu. He learned from two of the most brilliant strategic minds ever to have lived. But of course if you remember, and you should, only one general should know his words. What happens when both do?"

Dalin kept his gaze steady and unflinching, and then had his gaze shift to the left corner of his eyes, noting it when Ammut's eyes flickered with recognition. But whether Ammut drew what Dalin wished out of it couldn't be said yet. "At that point it is whoever follows out on his words with greater ability that wins the day. So, why not show me if you are superior to me? Or am I the superior general?"

Without giving a direct answer to Dalin's question the demon took a card different from the one he had been fingering and held it up. "Magic card activates, Minimum Sacrifice Output. For the rest of the duel whenever a sacrificed monster's number is related, such as their attack or defense, the minimum is always one thousand. So even a monster of no attack points can be thought of as a monster of one thousand attack points when tributed for an effect such as that of Mystik Wok."

Dalin didn't blink when the two germs flew at his assassin and covered it, keeping it from moving. "By sacrificing my two germs to Phantom Dragon's effect I reduce your monster to two thousand attack points, all thanks to the effect of Minimum Sacrifice Output."

Next Ammut snapped his fingers and his dragon vanished in a flash of light, giving shape to a tall and armored monster with a black crown on its head. "Meet Phantom Monarch(2400/1000). When tribute summoned he lets me draw one card for every monster sacrificed this turn, meaning I draw three cards."

Again Dalin noticed that his monarch was not the card he had been taking note of earlier, and he didn't seem to give as much notice to the three new cards. "Since Phantom Monarch is the stronger one, he will slay your assassin!"

A black streamer of energy shot from the armored monster's fist, catching the goo covered assassin in the chest and blowing him apart. Dalin didn't flinch, as the damage was still minimal. Instead he let one of his upper teeth drag lightly against his bottom lip. "Four hundred damage is nothing." (DLP: 5800)

"Perhaps you're right. I thrown one card down to defend my monarch, and then conclude my turn. With the end of my turn comes the renewal of my two germs and my dragon." His three monsters were restored to power, all their stats again set to zero. Dalin reached for his deck and drew.

Dalin then drew two cards because of the effect of his continuous magic card, giving him three in total. He fanned them out in front of them so he wouldn't have to look away from Ammut much. 'Which of us is the superior general; that is the question. Because if what Sun Tzu said about generals is true, then this is an important battle indeed.'

"Thus it may be known that the leader of armies is the arbiter of the people's fate, the man on whom it depends whether the nation shall be in peace or in peril."

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Author's Notes: And now it has been shown that nature of the two duels.

Next Time: Brute strength versus desire for revenge. Insight versus foresight. Rage against rage, intellect against intellect. The two sides must face each other at their best, but in the case of Dalin's battle with Ammut, it seems that determining who is at their best is an impossible task. In a duel filled with deception the specifics of war must be applied.

See it all in, Art of War!