Tournament of Tears
Chapter 34: Drop into defeat; Game of the Gods part four
Midnight suddenly grew silent as the ball lowered to just a few inches from the ground before him. "It comes. The Undefeated Sun Dragon; Mutekitaiyouryu!" The fireball was blown away as a huge golden draconic form erupted from within its depths. That flaming form condensed on his field rapidly, growing smaller and smaller…and finally extinguishing, leaving a screeching gold bird-like dragon no bigger than a human child on Midnight's field. (500/500)
Ichigo just stood there, eyes wide in utter shock. "W…W…What…is…that?"
Midnight just smirked. "This is the instrument of your destruction, Ichigo. This is the Undefeated Sun Dragon; Mutekitaiyouryu. I have summoned it in defense mode. End turn."
Silence held over the whole world…and then Ichigo voiced the thoughts of the whole world through one word. "Huh?"
Midnight watched patiently as Ichigo just blinked repeatedly at his ultimate weapon. "Something the matter?"
"What…what in the hell are you thinking?" Ichigo wasn't sure whether or not Midnight had just lost his mind. "That thing won't last a turn against me…"
"Who says that you will summon a monster during your next turn?" Midnight closed his eyes. "But perhaps I have underestimated your powers once again. Please take your turn, I don't want to be unfair and destroy you without offering you a chance to fight back."
Ichigo sighed and removed the top card of his deck. "Whatever, it's your funeral." Looking at the drawn card, he suddenly acted as if he had just tasted something bitter. ("It's one of the blank cards that Grandpa gave me. I'd have thought it would have transformed or something…") Adding the useless card to his hand, he grasped a different card. "I summon another of the mighty Final Shadow Gods, Halo Breaker!" A dark knight wearing pitch-black armor and holding a heavy scythe appeared on his field. Its cold expression was the perfect representation of Halo's mindset, perfectly ruthless. (1700/1000)
"When Halo Breaker is summoned one counter is placed on him, giving him 300 attack points." (2000/1000) ("Normally I can use that counter to destroy a face-up monster in play, but for now I'll have to just attack.") "Halo Breaker, wipe that thing out now!" The dark warrior slashed the air, sending a crescent blast of energy across the field that crashed into the little dragon and created a nasty explosion of smoke. "And that's…" His eyes widened as the smoke cleared. "What…?"
Midnight threw back his head and laughed, while the Undefeated Sun Dragon screeched out a battle cry. "Your pitiful strikes won't work against this enemy. Or have you not realized why this monster is called Undefeated? It's because Undefeated Sun Dragon; Mutekitaiyouryu cannot be destroyed as a result of battle. Also, as a tier four God Card it cannot be affected by your monster, magic and trap cards."
Ichigo had gone silent, his eyes wide in disbelief and newfound terror of the screeching little gold thing on his opponent's field. ("But the only way to destroy the other two Dark Demon God Cards was to defeat them in battle.") "It cannot be defeated, eh?" Taking a shallow breath, he shoved a card from his hand into his disk. "I'll place this face-down and end my turn."
Midnight waved his hand and a card appeared in the air above him. "Perfection…"
"Oh no, you don't!" Ichigo pointed at one of his set cards. "I activate the trap card Internal Disruption! I look at the card you have just drawn, and then at the top five cards of your deck. I select one of those five to take the place of the drawn card, and then shuffle your deck!" The card above Midnight flipped over to reveal a Card of Demise magic card. "I thought as much." Five more cards appeared in the air above Midnight's magic card. "Out of the top five cards of your deck, you can take the Kaiser Dragon (2300/2000) instead of that nice magic card." He felt a strange sense of achievement, right up until he realized that Midnight was still smiling. "Considering you have a dead card in your hand, that smile doesn't scare me."
"Is that so?" Midnight snapped up his hand and the Kaiser Dragon flipped over to face Ichigo's field. "Mutekitaiyouryu! Here is your first tribute!" The card burned into nothingness. "By sending one dragon type monster from my hand to the graveyard, I can add that monster's attack and defense to Mutekitaiyouryu's!" (2800/2500) The tiny dragon disappeared within a blast of gold fire.
Ichigo watched as a much larger emerged from the flame, roaring at him and his Halo Breaker. ("So this is the power of the final Dark Demon God Card. Not only can it not be defeated, but simply by discarding monsters he can power it up by the attack of the monsters he surrenders.")
"I switch Mutekitaiyouryu into attack mode and attack Halo Breaker with Pulse of the Sun!" His ultimate dragon stomped its foot against the ground, sending massive shockwaves across the whole of the tower that nearly threw Ichigo off the edge of the tower and instantly vaporized Halo Breaker.
Ichigo- 1900
Midnight- 2200
Midnight didn't even bother to smile. "You are no longer even worth the effort to express emotions, child. Run home before Mutekitaiyouryu decides to actually use a real attack. That was merely a flex of his mighty power against your pitiful Dark Halo energy. End turn."
Ichigo slowly stood up and drew the top card of his deck, returning to his spot in the dueling arena. "Your ego just rocketed somewhere into the stratosphere apparently." Looking at his hand, he realized that this was getting him nowhere. ("I've exhausted almost every monster in my deck against this guy, and from the looks of things the remaining Final Shadow God won't be enough to beat this guy's ultimate terror. This might just be the end; I don't have a leg to stand on.") Suddenly an image flashed through his mind.
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("It's final jeopardy time.") Ichigo looked down at his deck. ("Snake…Titans…all of you….thank you. No matter what happens next, understand that each and every one of you have fought with loyalty and bravery. I look up to all of you.") Images of each of his monsters flashed through his thoughts. ("Thank you.")
Richard and Solidus gasped in surprise at what they now saw on Ichigo's field.
Standing as a group was phantom images of every single fusion monster and monster that Ichigo. All of them silently watched on as their best went head to head with the best of the Divine Agents.
Snake looked back at all of them. "All of you…"
All at once they saluted.
Ichigo and Snake both nodded, returning the salute.
"What kind of crap is this? How are you doing this?" Richard's voice bordered on panicked now.
Ichigo and Snake turned to look at Richard and Solidus. "This ends here! Draw!" Ichigo snapped the top card off of his deck, looked at it, and smirked. "I've finally found the card to defeat you!"
"What?" Richard gasped as the phantom images disappeared.
Ichigo held up the card. "I activate the magic card Legend's Reminder! This magic card lets me revive monsters from my graveyard as long as they are Cyber Shadows. They cannot attack however and they return to my graveyard at the end of the turn!" He removed four cards from his disk and slapped them all down. "Return to me Cyber Shadow-Trainer, (300/1200) Cyber Shadow-Kuriboh, (300/200) Cyber Shadow-Soldier, (1600/1600) and Cyber Shadow-Assassin (1000/800) in defense mode!" The four called monsters appeared on his field in crouching positions. "And because of Trainer's effect, Snake gains 500 attack points!" (4300/2500)
"So what? That bonus will only last for one turn, and that won't be enough time to end this." Richard and Solidus both sneered.
Ichigo pointed at his set card. "That's what you think! Reverse card open!" The card flipped up. "Final Mission!"
"Final Mission?" Richard irises narrowed to near pin-points.
"This magic card means I lose at the end of this turn. However, I now select one Cyber Shadow on my field! This monster will gain 1000 attack points and will attack a number of times equal to the number of monsters I have on the field other than itself! Now I sacrifice all other monsters besides the selected!" His four special summoned monsters exploded into dust and Snake's eyes burned with a new fire. "Solidus, it's over!" (4800/2500)
Solidus stumbled backwards, but was unable to stop the fist that broke a hole in the stomach plating of his armor.
Snake- 1
Solidus- 3
Snake withdrew his fist and slammed his forehead down against the Divine Agent's nose, crushing the bone instantly.
Snake- 1
Solidus- 2
"You...bastard…" Solidus gasped out. Growling, he leapt forward and swung his sword in an arc to behead Snake.
Stepping out of the way of the attack, Snake kicked the sword out of Solidus' hands and in one smooth motion relieved his enemy of the Supreme Machine Gun. Lifting the weapon, he unloaded the whole magazine of it into Solidus' armor.
Snake- 1
Solidus- 1
At this point Solidus was unable to fight back anymore. "I…I…will kill you…" Roaring, he launched forwards with impossible speed and tackled Snake, sending the spy flying away from him. "Prepare to die!"
For a few moments Richard actually thought that Solidus might somehow win this fight. Then those thoughts left his mind as he heard a beeping.
Solidus heard it too…
Snake stood up and revealed an item he was holding in his hands. It was a detonator. "Whatever works, right?" Pressing down on the trigger, he waved.
The explosion woke up the whole island.
Snake- 1
Solidus- 0
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("That was one of the hardest duels I've ever faced, because I had to overcome my weakness of relying on fusion to deal with my problems. Well, this is a similar duel! I have to overcome my fear of the Dark Demon God Cards. I can win without the assistance of the Divine Angel God Cards!") Ichigo pointed at his face-down card. "I activate the trap card In the Face of Danger! One Final Shadow monster from my graveyard is special summoned to my field if I have no monsters in play and the opponent does!" A battle cry erupted from his field as Penultimate Cyber returned. (2400/1200)
"That thing again? When will you learn that for all of your posturing, you cannot win?" Midnight watched as Ichigo defiantly placed another card onto his duel disk. "Oh, another summon?"
"I summon Final Shadow God Rage Demon in attack mode!" Ichigo watched as a bare-chested long-haired demon appeared on his field, snarling. (2000/0) "Here we go Midnight! I activate the magic card Penultimate Release!" His field started to grow darker, until his two monsters could no longer be seen. "I return one Penultimate Cyber and one Final Shadow God from my field to my hand to special summon the full-power version of that Final Shadow God!" Then an ear-drum shattering howl blew the darkness away, leaving a humanoid form standing amongst the cracked stone it had created through the power of its voice.
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"A powered up fusion?" Ryu grimaced. "That won't be enough…"
Rikuo smiled wryly. "I'm not so sure suddenly. Take a gander Jourgen, and tell me what you sense."
The dragon demon did so, and he realized his mistake. ("Interesting, that power seems much stronger than I gave it credit for. Ichigo…can you do it with the last of these Final Shadow Gods in its full strength form?")
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The monster on Ichigo's field was simply the Rage Demon, looking for the entire world like Splinter when he controlled Ichigo's body. However, something was obviously different. It was its slotted red eyes, which burned with a strength that only came with experience.
"So you just gave it a power-up?" Midnight scoffed. "Stupid boy, it won't be enough to defeat the power of Mutekitaiyouryu."
Ichigo glanced at his new monster, and then down at his deck. "When Penultimate Cyber is returned to my hand from my field I may draw a card." He did so, and seeing that it was another of the blank cards placed it at the back of his hand. "Now then, let me introduce the full power of Splinter's Avatar! Penultimate Avatar Rage Demon!" (3000/0)
"What can that sad creature do, besides give me minor poke damage?" Midnight crossed his arms across his chest. "Your last effort is futile, boy!"
"Penultimate Avatar Rage Demon, like all Penultimate Avatars, activate their effects only be sending one card on my field back to my deck." Ichigo's Double Shift card disappeared from the field. "Now, for every card in my hand it gains 300 attack points!" (4800/0)
A cold chill ran down Midnight's spine at that sight. ("That much attack power...in one turn from something other than a god?")
Ichigo pointed at Mutekitaiyouryu. "Rage Demon attacks with Blood Rage Fist!" He felt his blood pounding as his monster kicked the golden dragon in the head, and even though it didn't budge he watched Midnight go flying sideways in a crazy spin as if he had received the kick himself.
Ichigo- 1900
Midnight- 200
"I might be scared as all hell of your final God Card, Midnight." Ichigo pointed at the dark god, who was bleeding from the side of his head. "On the other hand, I'm not afraid of you in the slightest!" Inserting two cards into his disk, he could feel his fighting spirit returning. ("An invincible monster just means I have to take out the owner, not the monster itself.") "I place two cards face-down on my field. At the end phase of my turn the Rage Demon and Penultimate Cyber cards in my hand are shuffled into my deck. End turn." (3600/0)
Midnight felt his demonic blood boiling to the point of no return. "I will tear out your heart with my own two hands, brat!" A card appeared in the air above his field. "The card I have drawn is Spear Dragon, which I offer to Mutekitaiyouryu!" (4700/2500) The mighty Undefeated Sun Dragon grew even larger, its body glowing with nearly radioactive flames now. "Mutekitaiyouryu's special ability triggers now! When this monster in on my field and the opponent has more life points than I do, then I may destroy all magic and trap cards on his field once per game!"
Ichigo's eyes widened in terror as the dragon almost casually flew over to his field and dropped out of the air like a rock, two of its legs landing on his two set cards and blowing them to beyond nothing. ("Oh damn…") The giant creature's golden head tilted down to glare at his Rage Demon. ("Triple oh damn!") Then the dragon snorted, shooting a single little cloud of golden heat that fell over the Rage Demon and melted it down to nothing but bones in seconds.
Ichigo- 800
Midnight- 200
Midnight couldn't even see Ichigo, but knew those beautiful screams of pain, the pain of having one's flesh being boiled to the point of melting. "Yes, scream and cry like the little boy you are! This will be enough to satisfy my anger! Die Ichigo Pilkington, die like the…huh?" Why had the screams stopped so suddenly? Was he dead already?
Ichigo had been in pain beyond description, but suddenly it no longer hurt. In fact, he felt better than he had before.
"Wow, you almost died right there." The voice was male, and about his age. It was strangely warm though, soothing almost.
Opening his eyes, the half-demon blinked in complete surprise at what was standing over him. It was a teenager who couldn't have been any older than he was alright. He was wearing a red baseball cap, dark blue jacket, and…orange khaki pants? "Ummm…thank you?"
"Oh there's no need for thanks." The god-awfully dressed boy turned to look up at the snarling snout of Mutekitaiyouryu that was only a foot from his face. "You're still over here? Go back to your master's field already, nerd."
Ichigo turned ghostly white, and stared at the other boy like he had just pushed a button marked 'blow up the world'.
Midnight could have sworn he saw an actual view bulge up on the head of the mighty Undefeated Sun Dragon as opened its jaws. "I suppose the Game of the Gods ends here; will all of you being obliterated. If its actual attack is aimed at the ground, then this whole city will cease to be."
A cannonball-sized orb of gold light appeared in Mutekitaiyouryu's jaws, and that sphere was rapidly growing larger and larger as it drew in more and more power.
Ichigo covered his head and hit the floor, wishing he had the energy to stop the attack or at least buffer it enough to stop it from destroying New York City. ("I'm sorry everyone…")
The other boy watched the growing attack, which was nearly at point-blank range to his face, with a rather confused look. Right before the edge of it reached him, he reached up and poked the blast with a finger. It popped like a soap bubble, instantly negated.
This would be the first time ever that the dark dragon god Midnight, mighty demon general tactician Jourgen Politumas, and the eternally pissed-off demon general Rikuo Amero would, at the same time, all look completely and utterly stupefied when in viewable range of each other. After a few seconds, a huge sweat-drop appeared over Mutekitaiyouryu's head and the three of them voice the only thing going through their brains. "Huh?"
To be continued…