Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.
Tournament of Tears
Chapter 9: Continuing the Impossible…and preparations nearing completion
Rikuo sighed and finished the last few touches on his deck. "He'll be expecting machines…so this will leave him completely unprepared."
Ryu took a deep breath and looked down at the deck of the cargo liner he had 'borrowed' from the bay in Kyoto. All across it, the members of the Duelist Academy team were dueling each other to their fullest to prepare for the insane duels that awaited them. ("This will take everything we have not to lose…not to fall against him…")
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Julius- 0
Ichigo- 500
Jyashin stomped up next, and shuffled his deck together. "Now then little man, are you ready to face me?"
("No…I'm not.") Ichigo knew he had to, but he was tired after just one duel…how would he manage to beat all four of these annoyances if they were all as strong as his first opponent. "Duel!"
Ichigo- 500
Jyashin- 4000
Ichigo looked down at his hand of cards and frowned. ("At the moment neither of these cards can help me. And for now, my opponent's strategy isn't revealed. I wish I could activate the effect of Flower Reaper again, but my opponent must have no cards in hand or on their field for it to work. And since he does have cards…") "End turn." So far, he had his Shining Force-Flower Reaper (1500/2400) on the field, and two cards in his hand.
Jyashin drew. "Then it's time to begin tearing you down! First I play the magic card Armor of Doom! This ritual magic card requires I sacrifice four levels of monster to activate it!" A card from his hand burned to ash, and then a large suit of armor that resembled himself appeared on the field. "Dark Armor (1400/1500) is special summoned to the field! Also, I summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands (1400/1000) to the field!" A strange grey monster appeared on the field. "It's special ability lets me add one ritual magic card to my hand!" He held up another Armor of Doom card. "I sacrifice Manju to my ritual!" Another suit of armor appeared on the field. "Also, I set two cards face-down on the field and end my turn."
Ichigo drew, and was definitely glad his opponent hadn't summoned something strong enough to take him out. "I activate the magic card Stage of Introduction! Both you and I now special summon a level four monster from our deck to the field! My choice is Shining Force-Lady of the Night!" (1400/700) A woman wearing a body-tight black dress appeared on the field.
Jyashin's monster was another Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands. And with it he picked up his last Armor of Doom ritual card.
Ichigo snapped up another card. "Now I activate Polymerization! Fuse Midnight Hawk and Lady of the Night together to special summon Shining Force-Midnight Angel!" (200/2000) The monster that was formed was a dark-winged angel wearing the dress of Lady of the Night.
"What can you do with such a weak monster?" Jyashin started to laugh, right up until the point his Manju exploded into dust. "What?"
"When Midnight Angel is summoned, all non-dark attribute monsters in play are destroyed immediately!" Ichigo smirked. "Also, for every dark monster in play Midnight Angel's attack power is increased by 700!" (3000/2000) "Go now, Dark Feather Storm!" The angel flapped her wings and sprayed feathers toward the first Armor of Doom.
Jyashin's face-down card flipped up. "I activate Dark Armor Shield! This card equips to one monster on my field with Armor in its title!" A black steel shield attached the arm of the Armor of Doom. "From this point onward, this Armor of Doom can negate one attack used against it per turn!" The feather storm was stopped instantly.
"Then Flower Reaper will take you down!" Ichigo pointed at the same armor. "Go now and attack with Reaping the Orchard!" The monster launched forwards…
"Reveal another Dark Armor Shield, which I also equip to my Armor of Doom!" Jyashin's monster now had two shields, and it lifted the second one to negate the incoming scythe with ease.
Ichigo grimaced. "End turn."
Jyashin drew. "You only have 500 life points…why keep your high defense monster in attack mode?"
Ichigo didn't answer.
"Then you're finished, because I activate these two equipment magic cards! Dark Armor Swords!" A pair of katana appeared in the grasp of the non-shield holding Armor of Doom. "These cards each increase my monster's attack points by 300, and now it can attack an additional time for every card on it!" (2000/1500) "Go now, attack his Flower Reaper and end this duel!" The Armor of Doom charged…
And Ichigo smirked as it stopped in its tracks. "While there is another Shining Force monster on my field, you cannot attack my Flower Reaper."
Jyashin slid the last card in his hand into his disk. "I set one card face-down on the field and end my turn."
Ichigo drew. "You're nearing the end! I attack your Armor of Doom with Midnight Angel! Dark Feather Storm!" The angel unleashed her storm once more…
"Reverse card open!" Jyashin's face-down card flipped up and his two armor switched places. "Continuous trap card activates its effect now…it's called Armor Shift. This card can only activate when you target a monster on my field with Armor in its name. When you do so I can redirect your attack to a different Armor monster that is on my field."
Ichigo frowned. "End turn."
Jyashin drew. "Since I can't play magic or trap cards for now, I'll end my turn and leave you in my little lock."
Ichigo drew. "I'll end my turn then, since you are stuck in the exact same situation."
Jyashin drew. "You fool…I'll win in the end. For now though…" He tilted his head to Ichigo in recognition.
Ichigo drew. "I grow tired of this game! First I play the magic card Midnight's Dawn! This card can only activate when a monster with Midnight in its title is in play! All face-up magic and trap cards in play are destroyed!" All of Jyashin's cards were destroyed. "And now I double attack with both Midnight Angel and Flower Reaper!" His two monsters leapt across the field and blew right through the two Armors of Doom.
Ichigo- 500
Jyashin- 2800
Ichigo slid a single card into his disk. "I set one card face-down, and I play Fusion Gate. End turn." All around the hallway, the air began to turn hazy.
Jyashin drew. "I summon my last Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands!" A final monster appeared, and he added a single ritual card to his hand. "And now it ends for you, because I activate my last Armor of Doom ritual card! Emerge now, my last Dark Armor!" The Manju disappeared and was replaced by the dark suit of armor. "Now I play the magic card Repair Polish. All successfully summoned Dark Armor in my graveyard are special summoned to the field!" Two more armor appeared in play.
Ichigo shrugged. "It's just three weaklings now…"
"Fool. I play the ritual magic card Summon the Wicked Armor! By sacrificing three Dark Armor on my field, I can special summon the Dark Warlord Armor!" (3000/3000) A giant dark-colored metal armor appeared on the field. "Now, I attack with my monster against yours!"
Ichigo frowned as his Midnight Angel's attack power dropped to show the number of dark monsters on the field. (2300/2000) "Oh crap…reveal Emergency Provisions! I sacrifice Fusion Gate to gain 1000 life points!" Right as he said this, his monster was chopped in half.
Ichigo- 800
Jyashin- 2800
Jyashin started to build up a rumbling laughter. "The effect of my Armor allows me to draw three cards when it successfully attacks." He drew three cards, and then slid two into his deck. "End turn."
Ichigo drew. "I summon Shining Force-Aroma Revival Flower (0/1600) to the field in defense mode. Also, I switch my Flower Reaper into defense mode." The wooden reaper dropped to one knee as it switched to defense. "End turn."
Jyashin drew. "And so your downfall begins…" He held up the drawn card. "Pot of Greed lets me draw two cards." Now he was holding three cards in his hand. "Go my Armor, attack!" The metal monster leapt across the field and slashed through the Aroma Revival Flower. "And as such I draw three cards."
Ichigo slid his Flower card into his graveyard. "When Aroma Revival Flower is destroyed in battle, I can add one Shining Force monster from my graveyard to my hand, and then I can draw one card!" He held up Hyperion and then drew.
Jyashin discarded his hand. "Now the effect of my monster activates since I have six cards in my hand! My hand is discarded, and all your cards in play are destroyed!" Flower Reaper exploded into dust. "End turn."
Ichigo closed his eyes and smiled calmly. "This is it for you…" He drew. "I summon Shining Force-Storm Ninja (1100/200) to the field!" A woman in green ninja garb appeared on the field. "When this monster is summoned, all magic and trap cards in play return to their owner's hands!" Jyashin's two set cards returned to his hand. "For every card returned to our opponent's hand, we can draw a card!" Ichigo drew twice. "Then I'll play my Graceful Charity card to draw three cards and then discard two." He looked at the three new cards he had pulled, and then slid two of his hand cards into the graveyard. "Then I set one card face-down on the field and end my turn."
Jyashin drew. "Go Warlord Armor, attack his Storm Ninja and end this duel!" His monster charged across the field…and slammed right into a swirling vortex.
Ichigo tapped the side of his nose. "My Negate Attack trap card negates your attack and end the battle phase."
Jyashin slid two cards into his disk. "Now I set two cards face-down on the field and end my turn."
Ichigo drew. "Now I…"
"…lose your monster! Reveal Knives of Damage!" Jyashin's face-down card flipped up and released a storm of knives that tore right through Storm Ninja, blowing it apart. "When this card is activated, I must discard one card from my hand. Afterwards, a monster in play that has less attack points than one armor monster I have in play is destroyed and half of its attack points are deducted from your life points."
Ichigo- 250
Jyashin- 2800
Ichigo held up a card from his hand. "I summon Shining Force-Aquarius (800/1200) to the field in attack mode!" There was a burst of water that came from the earth, right before a finned humanoid monster appeared on the field. "When this monster is summoned and I have no cards on my field other than it, one card at random is added to my hand from my deck!" A single card was spat out of his deck and he caught it, adding it to his hand. "Now I play the magic card Ocean Tides! This card activates when there is a water attribute Shining Force monster in play! All monsters on the field switch to defense mode!" Both Aquarius and the Warlord Armor fell to their knees. "Also, the second effect of Ocean Tides only activate if Aquarius on my field! All magic and trap cards on your field are destroyed!" Jyashin's face-down card exploded into dust. "Now I activate the magic card Fusion Recovery! One monster in my graveyard that has been used in a fusion and one Polymerization card from my graveyard will now be added to my hand!" He held up Flux Beetle and the Polymerization card. "Now I fuse Aquarius with Flux Beetle to create Shining Force-Ocean Striker!" (2800/1500) A giant crystalline beetle appeared on the field. "This is the end for you! I set one card face-down and use the effect of my Ocean Striker! It can attack you directly when I have more magic and trap cards in play other than your cards!"
Jyashin gasped right before he was struck by a blast of energy from the giant beetle.
Ichigo- 250
Jyashin- 0
Ichigo took a relaxed breath. "Well…that's two do…" Then he dropped to his knees, eyes going in and out of focus. ("What's the matter with me? Why am I so tired? Maybe…maybe the Dark Halo isn't quite so powerful…")
Jyashin exploded into dust. And Silence stepped right up, disk in place. "…." She shuffled her deck and drew he opening hand.
Ichigo- 250
Silence- 4000
Ichigo stumbled up to his feet and snapped the last card in his hand up. "Now to use the effect of the card I acquired through the effect of my Aquarius! Coins from Heaven!" He drew a brand new hand, while Silence only drew one card. "Now I set three cards face-down on my field and end my turn."
Silence drew. After she looked her hand over, she held up a magic card. Energy flowed from it and a strange red-orange machine appeared on her field.
"What's that?" Ichigo frowned…then face-fell when no answer came from his opponent.
"She isn't big on words…so I'll do the narration for this." Haku pointed at the machine. "Its name is Chaos Distill, and when it is in play all of her cards that go to her graveyard are removed from the game."
Silence held up three cards, all of which started to glow. "…." The three cards disappeared into the distill's body.
"Those are called Alchemy magic cards. When there is a Chaos Distill in play she can use these cards to special summon Alchemy monsters from her deck. Their names are Iron Salamander, Copper Snake, and Golden Lion." (500/500X3) "These monsters can't be normal summoned, but they can attack directly." A giant golden lion, a similar sized copper snake, and a metal dragon-like creature appeared on the field. "And that means you are finished!"
Silence pointed at Ichigo, and the three monsters each unleashed attacks of water, fire, and darts towards the half-demon's person.
"Reverse card open!" Ichigo's face-down card opened. "First I play A Hero Emerges! Now you select a card at random from my hand and if it is a monster, it is special summoned to the field!"
Silence pointed at the middle card in Ichigo's hand.
"Heh, nice choice! Shining Force-Marble Guard!" (800/2000) A giant white marble statue appeared on the field. "Reverse card open! Marble Blocker! This card can only activate when Marble Guard is in play! All damage to me during this turn is zero!" The three attacks fizzled out on their way to Ichigo.
Silence slid a card into her disk and pointed at Ichigo.
Ichigo drew. "You're deck is good…but not enough! I summon Shining Force-Jungle Fighter (1500/1200) in attack mode!" A wildman holding a spear appeared on the field. "Now I switch Marble Guard into attack mode and attack your three monsters with mine!"
Silence's face-down card flipped up to reveal a glowing wall. "…"
Haku sighed. "She needs to start talking. The card she revealed is Golden Wall. It can only be activated if Chaos Distill is in play. All life point damage you deal to her this turn is zero." All three of the girl's monsters were blown apart by the respective attacks of Ichigo's creatures.
Ichigo snarled and slapped a card onto his disk. "When Jungle Fighter destroys a monster as a result of battle, I can special summon a level four or lower monster from my hand to the field, but during this turn that monster cannot switch modes or attack!" A golden-robed angel appeared on his field. "Shining Force-Heal Angel (1600/0) is special summoned to the field! End turn!"
Silence drew. "…" She held up a single card.
Haku rolled his eyes. "She is playing Chaos Greed, which allows her to draw two cards when there are at least four cards in her removed from play pile."
Silence drew two cards, and then held up three of them.
"Three more Alchemy magic cards…to special summon Silver Moonface, Mercury Fish, and Lead Hawk!" (500/500X3) "And like the original three Alchemy monsters these ones can attack you directly!" A silver larged-headed rock, a silver-ish fish, and a dark grey bird appeared on the field. "And if I'm correct…they are attacking you directly!" All three of the monsters unleashed blasts of energy that hurtled towards Ichigo.
"Reverse card open! Shining Overwhelming Force!" A flash of light filled the hallway momentarily. "When there are more than three Shining Force monsters in play, the current phase ends immediately!" Ichigo took a deep breath. For now he would live…though with the fact that his entire body was sore…that might not matter.
Silence held up her last card.
Haku groaned. "Alchemic Breakdown can only activate when Chaos Distill is in play and she has no cards in hand. All Alchemy monsters on the field are removed from the game, and she draws two cards for every lost card." The three monsters vanished in one blast of fire.
Silence drew six cards, and then slid two of them into her disk before motioning to Ichigo.
Ichigo drew. "First I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards!" As he drew two cards, he saw another possible threat in this duel. He was running out of cards. "I summon Shining Force-Firestorm Cobra (1400/1100) to the field!" A giant snake made entirely of fire appeared on his field. "Now this duel ends here! I attack with everyone!"
Silence's face-down card flipped up to reveal a strange metal machine with four prongs on top of it.
Haku started to laugh. "You're done. The power of Elemental Absorber allows her to remove monsters from her hand to make it so that all monsters on the same attribute as the discarded monster can no longer attack…your monsters, I mean."
Silence held up Hoshiningen, The Fire Spirit, The Rock Spirit, and the Aqua Spirit. The four cards disappeared, and the prongs of the Elemental Absorber lit up blue, red, yellow, and brown. The five attacks of Ichigo's monsters were instantly negated.
Ichigo gasped. "It's a continuous trap card…"
"Right. All light, water, earth and fire monsters on your field can no longer deal damage to her. Fool…it's over for you." Haku waved his hand dismissively.
Ichigo slid a card from his hand into his disk. "I set one card face-down on the field and end my turn."
Silence drew. And when she held the card up a giant golden humanoid appeared on the field.
Haku smirked. "Perfect draw, Silence. That card she played was called Golden Composite. It can only activate when Chaos Distill is in play. She can special summon Golden Homunculus from her deck to the field." (0/0) "And what makes this monster so deadly is that for every removed card she has, it gains 300 attack and defense points." (6000/6000) "Golden Harvester!" The giant released a wave of golden darts from its hand that soared towards Ichigo's Ocean Striker.
"Reveal Shining Barrier!" Ichigo's face-down card flipped up. "This card negates your attack and gives me 2000 life points!" The attack stopped and faded, while Ichigo's life points shot upwards.
Ichigo- 2250
Silence- 4000
Silence pointed at Ichigo.
Ichigo closed his eyes and felt cold…he felt tired. His rage had long since fled…because there was no reason for rage. ("I can't win this…I overestimated my own strength. I put myself into a duel I cannot win…right dad?") He felt a tingle run up and down his spine. ("No…there's something else…something more…") His hand grasped his deck and another tingle ran up his spine. ("What's going with me? Why do I feel like this…like my heart is beating for the first time in my whole life?") Then it happened…a pulse…like that of a heart beating from somewhere within his chest. "What…"
("From the looks of it, you don't know how to use your own powers yet…such a shame. Therefore, I will teach how to use them properly. Now then…") Ichigo felt pain up his spine…and then nothing.
Silence and Haku blinked as Ichigo's body drew. "What's he doing?"
Ichigo held up a card. "I activate the shadow magic card Siphon Spirits! The souls of all beings within range of this card will now be converted!" And then his eyes came back into focus. "…'s happening?"
Haku narrowed his eyes and then looked to Silence. "Are you feeling alright?"
She nodded and then they both turned their heads to look at Ichigo.
Ichigo screamed in pain and dropped to his knees. "What's going on? What did you two do?" He tilted his head when he heard a loud thud behind him. It was Eri and Krieger, both unconscious and having slumped past their hiding place in the elevator. "No…" The half-demon forced himself to his feet. "I'll kill you…both…" His eyes went foggy again…and a swirling tornado of red energy exploded to life around him, stealing all sight of him.
Silence and Haku both had to brace themselves against the incredible force of energy that struck them both at the same time. It was so intense that neither of them were sure what it was from.
Then deep laughter came from somewhere within the tornado. "Both of you are annoyances that need to be wiped off of the planet. So therefore, I'll kill you both…and move onto the last thing imprinted in this mind. Midnight…" Then the tornado was cut off to reveal a new form.
To be continued…
My heart beats…and I smell false humans nearby. It has been so many years since I have last tasted the air of Ichigo's world. Now my chance is in front of me. His deck and tactics have all been useless up to this point…so now I'll use my power and show him how to uphold the ways of the demons!
Next Episode: Pulsing Heartbeat of the Demon