Name The Prize
It was another sunny day at Duel Academy. Everything was the same as usual, many students were attending classes, and other students were walking around on campus. Then there is the card shop. A couple of workmen, carrying boxes, entered to leave some new cards there, under the supervision of Ms. Dorothy.
"Okay boys, you put the booster packs there, and the starter decks there." She said as she directed them.
"Yes ma'am." The men replied. They went to the shelfs and placed the goods on them. Among those goods, a special ritual monster was placed there. It was a dark level 7 monster with 2500 attack points and 1400 defense points.
Later in the day, a certain ritual duelist was sitting at a desk in his dorm room. Shiori was looking at the cards he had laid out before him.
"Let's see, if I take away this card and add this one." He muttered while rearranging his deck. He was sitting there for a few minutes until he sighed and crossed his arms. "Hm, that's all well and good, but I think something's missing. But what?"
He sat there in silence, wondering what he should do to improve his deck. And then, a thought crossed his mind. "Oh, maybe I should head to the card shop and buy me some new cards." he gathered all the cards he had on his desk, put the deck in his holder and stood up while smiling. "Alright, here I come." He declared as he left the room.
At the sane time, someone in the Obelisk boys' dorm was looking at the cards he had on the desk in his dorm room. A certain dark duelist to be exact.
"Well, this looks promising." Michael said as he rearranged his deck. "But I need something to kick things up a little." He rubbed at his chin while figuring out what to do. After a few minutes of thinking, he smirked and snapped his fingers. "Maybe I can get some new cards from the shop." He gathered his cards and stood up. "Then let's see what they got there."
Meanwhile, Jaden, Syrus, Chumley and Andrew were walking in the hall.
"Seriously Jaden. Can't you get through one class without falling asleep?" Andrew asked.
"Hey, it's not my fault." Jaden whined. "The teacher's voice is just too boring."
"Whatever you say." Andrew rolled his eyes.
"To be fair, I wasn't paying attention either." Syrus admitted.
"Same here." Chumley added.
Jaden shrugged. "Yeah, whatever. So, how about we head toward the card shop?"
"Sure, why not? I could use some new cards to add in my deck." Andrew replied while the other two Slifers nodded in approval.
The group walked through the hallway for a bit, and arrived at their intended destination shortly. There were a few students there who were looking around. They noticed two familiar faces.
"Hey, Michael, Shiori." Andrew greeted.
The Obelisk and Ra boy turned to face the group.
"Yo, Andrew." Michael greeted.
"How's it going guys?" Shiori asked.
"We're all good." Jaden replied.
"And you?" Andrew asked.
"I'm fine." Shiori replied.
"Same here." Michael added.
"So what are you guys doing here?" Syrus asked.
"Well, I'm looking to add some new cards to my deck." Shiori said.
"Yeah, I need something to upgrade my deck as well." Michael added.
"That's cool." Jaden said.
With that said, the guys looked around, hoping to find something useful. The boys looked at the cards and booster packs on the shelfs to see if they could find something good. Shiori and Michael were looking through one of the shelfs and stopped when both of them saw something very interesting.
"Wow!" Shiori gasped.
"Cool." Michael said.
What they found was a ritual monster card. It was a level 7 dark attribute monster with 2500 attack points and 1400 defense points. The card had an image of a purple armored warlord with red eyes. It was wearing a white, fiendish mask and a golden medallion on its chest that was tied up with chains.
"That's Garlandolf, King of Destruction!" The ritual duelist exclaimed.
"A very rare and powerful monster card." The dark duelist said, being as amazed as Shiori.
"Okay…"
"No doubt about it…"
"This card is mine!" They said as they grabbed the card at the same time. They then turned to each other and had awkward expressions on their faces.
"Oh. Well, this…" Shiori said.
"Might be a problem." Michael filled in.
"What's wrong guys?" Andrew asked as he and the others approached them.
"We um... kinda found this very rare card." Shiori explained.
"And unfortunately, it seems we both want it." Michael added.
"That is a problem." Syrus remarked.
"No joke." Jaden agreed. "I mean, Shiori is a ritual duelist, so that card would be a sweet addition to his deck."
"And since it's a dark attribute monster, Michael would be able to use it as well." Andrew added.
"So what now?" Chumley asked.
Michael turned to Ms. Dorothy who happened to pass by. "Hey, Ms. Dorothy. Any chance you have another copy of this card for sale?"
The card shop owner gave the boys an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't have any. Of course, you might be able to get that card from one of the booster packs."
"But wether we get that card from a booster pack depends on our luck." Shiori said.
"So how are we supposed to solve this?" Andrew wondered.
The group stood there in silence for a moment. Shiori really wanted that card, but didn't want to make Michael disappointed by taking away his chance to get it. Michael felt the same thing.
But then, Jaden suddenly grinned when an idea crossed his mind. "Oh, I know!"
Everyone looked at him. "What is it, Jay?" Syrus asked.
"I know how to settle this. Since both Shiori and Michael want that card, well then... how about they duel for it?"
The Ra and Obelisk boy widened their eyes. "A duel?" They asked.
"Uh huh. I mean, that should be fair, right? One duel, and the winner takes all."
This made Michael place his hand at his shin while considering the idea. "Ya know, that's actually a good idea." He then smiled and glanced at Shiori. "What do you think?"
The ritual duelist stood there in silence for a moment. After almost 10 seconds of thinking, he smiled back. "I think it sounds good, but how about we make it more interesting?"
Michael raised an eyebrow. "What do you suggest?"
"It's simple; if we duel, not only the winner gets the card, but the loser will help by paying half of the money for it."
That caused Michael to give the blond a determined smirk. "Sounds great. Bring it on!"
Andrew nodded as he grabbed the ritual card. "Okay, if that's the case, then I'll take care of this card until the duel is over."
The students nearby overheard the conversation.
"Did you hear that?"
"Yeah, a duel with that ritual monster as the prize."
"Cool."
And so, Michael and Shiori went to a clear area where they could duel. Both them shuffled each others decks before getting started. Everyone else was watching on the sideline, waiting for the duel to start.
"Alright. This is gonna be sweet." Jaden said excited.
"I actually wanted to see those two duel each other for once." Andrew admitted.
"This is interesting." A feminine voice spoke up.
The boys turned around and saw Alexis and Jenny walk up to them.
"Hey, what's up girls?" The brown-haired Slifer greeted.
"We're doing fine." Jenny replied. "So, what's this all about?"
"Well, Michael and Shiori want to have this card." Andrew explained as he showed the card he was referring to. "And since only one of them can get it, they will settle this in a duel."
"That sounds fair enough." Alexis nodded with an understanding look. "I actually haven't seen Michael duel for a long time. The only time I saw him duel was when he faced Andrew."
"And that duel was very tough, that's for sure." The latter said.
"Yeah, no kidding." Jaden agreed. "He even put up a great fight when Syrus and I dueled him."
"Then let's see how he fair against Shiori." Jenny said.
After the duelists shuffled their decks, they gave them back to each and took their positions. Each of them inserted the deck into his duel disk.
"Okay, it's time to get this started." Shiori announced.
"And may the best duelist win." Michael added.
Both duelists activated their duel disks and drew their starting hands.
"LET'S DUEL!"
Shiori: 4000
Michael: 4000
"I think I'll start." Michael said before drawing a sixth card. from his deck. "First I'll summon Dark Crusader in attack mode." A red haired man, wearing a skeletal mask rose on the field. He wearing a pitch black armor from the neck down, wielding a long, wide black sword. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 200 LV: 4) "Then I'll activate his special ability. By discarding a dark attribute monster from my hand, I can increase his attack strength by 400 points." Michael discarded one of his cards, causing a dark purple aura surround the dark warrior. (ATK: 1600-2000) "And now I'll end my turn with a facedown card." A card appeared behind the crusader.
"My turn then." Shiori announced. "And I activate the spell card Ascending Soul." A continuous spell card appeared. "It works like this; once per turn, when a ritual monster is ritual summoned, I can take one of the monsters that was sacrificed for the ritual summon from my graveyard and add it to my hand."
"No way! So he can take back one of the monsters he sacrifices for a ritual summon?" Jaden asked.
"Yeah, it appears so." Andrew replied. "That's one handy card."
"For my next move, I summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands in attack mode." The grayish humanoid creature with many hands appeared in front of Shiori. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 1000 LV: 4) "And now I activate his special ability. After he's summoned, I'm allowed to take a ritual monster or spell card from my deck and add it to my hand. And I think I'll use it right away. Activate End of the World!" First the spell card appeared, and then, dark clouds materialized above the field.
"This lets me sacrifice monsters with a total level of 8 or higher in order to summon a certain ritual monster. So I sacrifice Manju on the field and Djinn Presider of Rituals from my hand in order to summon Ruin, Queen of Oblivion." A monster appeared next to Manju. It was a chubby fiend with lime green skin. It was wielding a round, bronze shield and a rapier with a skull hilt. It was wearing some kind of helmet, making it almost look like a gladiator. (ATK: 1800 DEF: 1400 LV: 4) The two monsters were struck by a lightning from the clouds. And then, the regal, feminine fairy type monster stood tall on Shiori's field, holding her scepter in one hand. (ATK: 2300 DEF: 2000 LV: 8)
"Ruin, huh?" Jaden mused. "I actually hoped I would get to see the other monster that can be summoned by that spell, whatever that monster is."
"Well, I never asked Shiori about it, so I don't know if he has that monster." Andrew replied.
"In any case, the monster he got now is at least strong enough to take down Dark Crusader." Jenny said.
"And don't forget, thanks to Ascending Soul, I can take back one of the monsters I sacrificed from my graveyard and add it to my hand. So I'll take back Manju." The named card ejected from the duel disk before Shiori placed it in his hand. "Now Ruin, attack with Blast of Oblivion!" The woman conjured a ball of energy with her scepter and blasted the dark armored warrior.
Michael: 4000-3700
"And since Ruin destroyed a monster in battle, the effect of Djinn Presider is activated."
Michael blinked at this. "Djinn Presider? The monster you sacrificed?"
"That's right. You see, since he was used for a ritual summon, he gave my ritual monster a special effect. Whenever it destroys a monster in battle, I get to draw one card from my deck." Shiori explained as he drew a card.
"Wait a minute. That sounds similar to that Djinn monster he used against you, Andrew." Jaden said.
"Yeah, you're right." The Ra Yellow boy replied. "The one he used against me made his ritual monster immune to trap cards. It seems that each of those Djinn monsters can grant a ritual monster a certain ability."
"Wow. I wonder what other Djinn monsters he got." Syrus said.
"Who knows?" Alexis asked.
"And this is just the beginning." Shiori continued. "Because now, Ruin's very own ability is activated. After destroying a monster in battle, she can attack a second time. Which means you are wide open for a direct attack." The woman prepared to launch another ball of energy...
"Not exactly." Michael replied. "Because I play my trap card, Call of the Haunted." His facedown card flipped up. "Now I can summon a monster from my graveyard in attack mode. And I choose Mystic Tomato." A giant tomato with a creepy face rose on the field. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 1100 LV: 4)
'That must have been the card he discarded earlier.' Shiori mused.
"In that case, I'll attack him instead." The woman blasted the tomato with her second energy ball.
Michael: 3700-2800
"And by destroying another another monster, Ruin lets me draw another card." The ritual duelist drew another card.
"I get something as well. Since Mystic Tomato was destroyed in battle, I'm allowed to summon a dark attribute monster with up to 1500 attack points from my deck. And I choose Legendary Fiend." A new monster appeared on Michael's field. It was a muscular blue-skinned creature with a black lower half and bat-like wings of the same color. It had four long pointy claws on each hand and two additional necks on either side of its head, both with another head at the end. (ATK: 1500 DEF: 1800 LV: 6)
"1500 attack points? That won't do so much against the Queen of Oblivion." Chumley commented.
"Actually, that Legendary Fiend is more powerful than you think." Alexis replied.
"What do you mean, Alexis?" Jaden asked.
"Just wait and see." Jenny said.
"I place two cards facedown and end my turn." Two facedown cards appeared at Shiori's feet.
"My move then." Michael drew a card and gave Shiori a smirk. "And now, my Legendary Fiend's special ability activates. During my standby phase, he gains 700 attack points." The blue-skinned creature was surrounded by an ominous, purple aura which granted it more power. (ATK: 1500-2200)
"Not bad, but I'm afraid your monster is a few points short." Shiori pointed out.
"That can be fixed, by playing the field spell, Mystic Plasma Zone." The moment Michael inserted his spell card into his duel disk, dark clouds materialized above the field. "Thanks to this, all dark monsters gain 500 attack points and loses 400 defense points." (ATK: 2200-2700 DEF: 1800-1400)
"Wow. Sweet moves." Jaden commented."
"Michael sure knows what he's doing." Andrew added while smiling.
"And for my next move, I summon Dark Hunter in attack mode." The monster that appeared next to the Legendary Fiend was a humanoid bird creature wearing a green and black armor with a dark cape. The creature was holding a knife in one hand. (ATK: 1600-2100 DEF: 400-0 LV: 4) "This monster has a special ability that changes depending on the number of dark attribute monsters in my graveyard. And right now, there are two monsters in there. And because of that, my Dark Hunter's special ability gives him 400 attack points." The creature was surrounded by an eerie green aura. (ATK: 2100-2500)
"Oh boy. That's not good." Shiori said nervously.
"Now I'll attack with my Dark Hunter. Take down his Queen of Oblivion!" The green and black creature dashed towards the woman and was about to slice her with the knife.
Shiori glanced at his facedown cards. 'Hm, I wish I could save Ruin, but only one of my cards can be used, and it can only stop one attack. I guess I better make the best out of it.' He watched as the fiend type monster slashed his ritual monster who cried out before shattering into pixels.
Shiori: 4000-3800
"And now Legendary Fiend, attack him directly." The multi-headed fiend roared before it ran toward Shiori.
"I play my trap, Draining Shield!" The trap card flipped and created a barrier, which blocked the clawing strike from Michael's monster. "This card stops your attack, and gives me life points equal to your monster's attack points." After the monster returned to Michael's field, the barrier disappeared, and Shiori was surrounded by a light-blue aura.
Shiori: 3800-6500
"Wow! Shiori's life points are very high." Syrus said. "That's insane."
Andrew glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. "You call that amount of life points insane? When I dueled Jenny, she raised her points much higher than that."
Syrus blinked twice before scratching his right cheek, with an embarrassed look on his face. "Oh, right."
"Okay, I'll just end my turn then." Michael said.
"Then it's my move." Shiori drew a card. When he saw what he got, he smiled. 'Yes, this is just what I needed. But first, I'll need another card, and I know exactly how I can get it.' He then took a certain card from his hand. "I summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands." The creature with many hands appeared once again. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 1000 LV: 4) "And as you know, I get to add a ritual monster or spell card to my hand. And I choose this spell card." He took the card he wanted and showed it to Michael. It had the picture of a giant, wooden ark with a sliver sail that had ancient marks on it. "Shinato's Ark. And I'll use it right away so I can summon my ritual monster.
The spectators watched in awe as the giant ark in the picture of the card appeared on the field.
"In order to summon my ritual monster, I must sacrifice monsters with a total level of 8 or higher. And I think I'll sacrifice my Manju and…" Shiori paused as a certain effect monster card ejected from his duel disk. "Djinn Presider of Rituals."
Michael gasped. "What!? How can you sacrifice a monster that is already in your graveyard?"
"Because of my Presider's second effect. Whenever I ritual summon a monster, I can take him from my graveyard and remove it from play. And in return, he becomes one of the sacrifices that I need for the ritual."
This revelation made the spectators gasp.
"What? So he can use that monster, even when it's in the graveyard?" Chumley asked.
"Wow. Shiori is becoming even better than before." Andrew said.
"Yeah, no kidding. Way to go, Shiori!" Jaden cheered.
The green-skinned fiend appeared next to Manju before the ark opened and absorbed them into it. Then, the whole ark glowed by a golden light and changed its form into some kind of creature. And then, when the golden glowing died down, everyone could see the true form of the new monster. "I summon Shinato, King of a Higher Plane!" It was a very tall, blue-skinned man wearing a white and golden royal gown and a golden celestial crown on his blue hair. From his back, four golden wings waved out and kept him aloft. (ATK: 3300 DEF: 3000 LV: 8)
"Whoa! 3300 attack points!?" Syrus gasped.
"That's pretty strong." Jaden added.
"And if used properly, that monster can be very dangerous." Jenny replied.
"What do you mean?" Andrew asked.
"I think you'll find out later."
Michael was actually amazed by Shiori's new monster. "Wow! That monster is impressive."
The ritual duelist smiled at the compliment. "Thank you. Just wait until you see him in action. But first, I'll use the effect of Ascending Soul to take back my Manju from the graveyard." Shiori took the named card from his graveyard and placed it in his hand. "Shinato, attack! Destroy his Legendary Fiend with Divine Ring!" The blue-skinned man raised his hands and created six purple orbs with different kanji on them. Suddenly, they spun around his hands and formed a light energy ring, quickly surrounded the fiend type monster and zapped it with its power. The multi-headed creature roared in pain before it shattered into pixels.
Michael: 2800-2200
"And don't forget, I used my Presider to summon Shinato, which means I get to draw a card from my deck." Shiori looked at the card he drew and placed it in his hand. "I end my turn."
"My turn." Michael announced drawing his next card. "First I play the spell card Allure of Darkness. This lets me draw two cards from my deck, but after that, I'm forced to either take a dark monster from my hand and remove it from play, or send my entire hand to the graveyard." Michael drew his two cards and smirked when he saw what he got. "This might be good. Okay, the monster I remove from play, is this one." He held up the monster card he chose. It had the picture of a familiar, metallic bird creature.
"Wait a minute. That's Dark Horus." Syrus pointed out. "Why would he remove that card from play?"
"I don't know. But I'm sure Michael has a good reason for that." Andrew replied.
After Michael put the monster card in is pocket, he took a card from his hand. "Now I'll place a card facedown on the field, then I'll switch Dark Hunter to defense mode and end my turn." A facedown card appeared behind the green armored creature that kneeled down.
"Then here goes." Shiori drew a card. "I activate the spell card Trade-In. By discarding a level 8 monster, I get to draw two cards from my deck. So I'll discard Tri-Horned Dragon." He discarded the named card and drew two new cards. He frowned at what he got. 'Hmm. Not really what I expected.' He then eyed at Michael's field. 'Of course, I could summon Manju again just to have a monster to destroy Dark Hunter and attack him directly with Shinato. But then again, he might be able to stop me with his facedown card, so maybe I should save the summoning for later.'
He placed the cards he drew in his hand before giving his ritual monster a command. "Shinato, attack his Dark Hunter!" The golden winged ritual monster used the Divine Ring to destroy the green armored creature. "And now you're about to witness the true power of Shinato. You see, when he destroys a monster in defense mode, you take damage equal to that monster's original attack points."
"Original attack points?" Chumley asked.
"That's right. And Dark Hunter's original attack points are 1600." Alexis confirmed.
"Then this is gonna hurt for Michael." Jaden stated.
The Divine Ring that destroyed the fiend type monster surrounded Michael, who winced when he was zapped by it.
Michael: 2200-0600
"And because Shinato destroyed a monster, I draw another card." Shiori drew a card. "I'll end my turn."
"My move." Michael drew a card. "I think it's time to kick things up a little." As soon as those words left his mouth, his facedown card flipped up. "So I'll play the trap card Escape from the Dark Dimension. This lets me summon one of my dark monsters that's been removed from play. And there's only one monster I've removed so far; Dark Horus!" A dark portal appeared, and out of it, came the large bird creature with its black, metallic body. (ATK: 3000 DEF: 1800 LV: 8) "And don't forget, my field spell is still in play, so my monster gets stronger." (ATK: 3000-3500 DEF: 1800-1400)
"So that's why he removed his Dark Horus from play." Jaden realized. "He was planning to summon it to the field with his trap card."
"That was a clever move." Jenny said smiling.
"And with that many attack points, Michael's monster can take down Shinato." Andrew added.
"Now for my next move, I summon Armageddon Knight attack mode." A black-haired warrior wearing black armor appeared. The warrior had a red cape and wielded a sleek sword. (ATK: 1400-1900 DEF: 1200-800 LV: 4) "And he's got a special ability. As soon as he's summoned, I can send a dark attribute monster from my deck to the graveyard." Michael looked through his deck, took the card he wanted and slid it in his graveyard slot. "And now I'll destroy your Shinato. Dark Horus attack his king with Dark Flame Breath!" The bird-like dragon spat out a torrent of black flames that destroyed Shiori's ritual monster.
Shiori: 6500-6300
"And now Armageddon Knight, attack him directly!" The warrior dashed towards Shiori and was about to stab him with his sword.
"I play my trap…" Shiori's facedown card flipped up. "Birthright! This lets me summon a normal monster from my graveyard. And I choose Tri-Horned Dragon." The warrior stopped when a pillar of light appeared in front of Shiori's trap card. And when it was gone, a blue dragon with three horns sprouting on its head and four spikes protruding its back rose on the field. (ATK: 2850 DEF: 2350 LV: 8) "And since my dragon is a dark attribute monster, he gets stronger thanks to your field spell." The dragon growled as it felt its power increase. (ATK: 2850-3350 DEF: 2350-1950)
Michael clicked his tongue. "Okay, then I'll just stop my attack." The warrior returned to Michael's field. "Then I'll end my turn by playing the spell card Veil of Darkness." A continuous spell card appeared.
"My turn." Shiori drew a card and glanced at it. He then smirked when saw what he got. 'Looks like I got something good. Of course, Michael doesn't have any facedown cards, so I should be able to attack.' He mused. "Tri-horned Dragon, attack his Armageddon Knight." The dragon let a stream of fire intending to burn the black-armored warrior to ashes. "It's over."
"Guess again." Michael said as he discarded a card from his hand. This caused a small furry creature appeared right in front of him. And what's so interesting about this creature is that it looked similar to a monster that Jaden have.
"Hey, it's a Kuriboh." The brown-haired Slifer pointed out.
"An original Kuriboh." Andrew added.
"By discarding this monster from my hand, all battle damage from your attack become zero." The flames engulfed Armageddon Knight, but Kuriboh was able to prevent the flames from getting closer to Michael.
"Whoa. Shiori was so close to defeat him." Chumley said, being astounded of the way Michael survived the attack.
"Well, Michael is not easily defeated." Alexis said.
"You said it. Way to go Michael!" Jaden cheered.
"That was a nice move, Michael." Shiori complimented.
"Thanks. You're really good yourself." Michael replied smiling.
"And you're great as well. I understand why Andrew fought so hard to defeat you. Anyway, I can't do anything more, I'll end my turn."
"Fine by me." Michael said and drew a card. "Now I activate the effect of Veil of Darkness. When I draw a dark attribute monster from my deck during my draw phase, I can reveal it and discard it in order to draw another card. And the card I drew is Mystic Tomato, so I'll discard it and draw another card." He discarded the card he revealed and drew a new card. He glanced at the card he drew and nodded. "Dark Horus, attack Tri-Horned Dragon!" He commanded as the metallic bird creature destroyed the blue dragon with another stream of black flames.
Shiori: 6300-6150
"And that's all for now."
"Well, here goes." Shiori announced as he drew a card. "I play Graceful Charity. This lets me draw three cards from my deck and discard two from my hand." He drew three cards and looked at them. He smiled at what he got and discarded the two cards he didn't need. "And next I activate the spell card Fulfillment of the Contract. First I'll pay 800 life points…"
Shiori: 6150-5350
"And then, I get to summon a ritual monster from my graveyard. So I'll bring back Shinato, King of a Higher Plane." The equip spell that appeared glowed brightly. And then, the blue-skinned angel returned to the field. (ATK: 3300 DEF: 3000 LV: 8)
"Sweet! Shiori got his best monster back!" Jaden said.
"But he's a little too weak to defeat Dark Horus." Syrus replied.
"No worries." Shiori said as if he heard what they said. "Because I got this." He inserted a card in his duel disk, causing a spell card appear on the field. "The spell card Book of Moon. This lets me choose a monster on the field and force it into facedown defense mode. And the monster I choose is Dark Horus."
Michael gasped as the bird creature disappeared and was replaced by a facedown card.
"This is it." Andrew said with widened eyes. "If Shiori's monster destroys Dark Horus, then Michael will take damage equal to its attack points."
"And Michael doesn't have enough life points to survive that." Jenny added.
"Then let's see if his attack will be successful."Alexis said.
"Okay, time to wrap this up. Shinato, attack his facedown monster with Divine Ring." The blue-skinned man created another energy ring and threw it at the facedown monster. But before it made contact, something got in its way. It was a warrior with long, white hair, wearing a red armor. He held up his arms defensively and took the hit of the energy ring.
Shiori widened his eyes. "Huh?"
He heard Michael chuckle while holding up a monster card with the picture of the warrior from earlier. "Nice try, but with my Necro Gardna in my graveyard, I can stop one of your attacks by removing him from play."
"Then that means…" Shiori said.
"My Dark Horus is safe." Michael filled in.
Shiori stood there in silence for a moment before he formed a serious expression on his face and took a card from his hand. "Okay, since that's the case, I play the spell card Ritual Cage." A spell card appeared and created a gollden cage around Shinato. "Due to its effect, any battle damage involving a ritual monster is reduced to zero. It also can't be targeted or destroyed by monster effects. Next I summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands in defense mode." The humanoid creature with many kneeled down on the field. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 1000 LV: 4) "And once again, I'll use his ability to add a ritual monster or spell card to my hand. And I choose this one…" He held up a ritual monster card with 2400 attack points and 2000 defense points. "Demise, King of Armageddon."
Michael widened his eyes. "No way."
"So he did have that card." Andrew said, getting the Slifer trio's attention.
"What do you mean?" Jaden asked.
"You know that End of the World can summon one of two specific ritual monsters and Ruin is one of them, right?" They nodded. "Well, the card Shiori just took out from his deck is the other one."
They then gasped.
"Aw man. So he really did have the both of them." Syrus said.
"So he he's going to summon it later." Chumley said.
"Then I'll end my turn with a facedown card." Shiori said as a card appeared behind Manju.
"Then it's my turn and once again, I'll use the effect of my Veil of Darkness." The card Michael drew was Pitch-Black Warwolf. He dicarded it and drew a new card. He looked at it and smirked. "Okay, now it's time to get down to business. First I activate the spell card Beginning of the End. If I have at least 7 dark attribute monsters in my graveyard, I can use this to remove 5 of them from play." Five of his cards ejected from his duel disk before he he put them in his pocket. "And then, in return, I get to draw three cards from my deck." He drew three cards and was pleased to see what he got.
"This is great. Because now I have exactly three dark monsters in my graveyard. And since that's the case, I'm allowed to summon my ace; Dark Armed Dragon!" The tall, muscular, black and silver dragon with spikes all over its body roared as it appeared on the field. (ATK: 2800-3300 DEF: 1000-600 LV: 7)
"Sweetness! He just pulled out his best monster." Jaden said, being excited.
"And if this goes well for him, this might be the end for Shiori." Andrew added.
"Next I'll flip up my Dark Horus." The bird-like creature appeared next to Dark Armed Dragon. (ATK: 3000-3500 DEF: 1800-1400 LV: 8) "Now I'll activate my Dark Armed Dragon's ability, which lets me remove a dark monster from my graveyard to destroy one of the cards on the field. From starters, I'll remove one card to destroy your Ritual Cage." The powerful dragon extended its tail and shot out a spike which destroyed the golden cage surrounding Shinato. "And without that card, your Shinato won't be safe from the next shot." Michael took another card from the graveyard, making the dragon to shot out another spike which destroyed the ritual monster. "Now I got one monster left in the graveyard, and since I don't trust your facedown card, I'll destroy it." After taking the last monster card from the graveyard, Michael let the dragon destroy Shiori's facedown card. He couldn't help but smirk. "Okay, looks like this is th…" He stopped at mid sentence when he saw a trap card appear in front of Shiori. "What the…?"
Now it was Shiori's turn to smirk. "Sorry, but you destroyed my Wild Tornado trap card. And that triggered its effect, which allows me to destroy one card on the field. So there goes for your Dark Armed Dragon." A tornado came into existence on the field and surrounded the named monster. The dragon roared in agony before it shattered into pixels.
"My dragon!" Michael exclaimed.
"No way! He destroyed Michael's best monster." Syrus said.
"But why didn't he destroy Dark Horus." Chumley asked. "That monster's got more attack points than Dark Armed Dragon."
"True, but if Shiori destroyed Dark Horus, then Michael could have used his dragon's ability again." Alexis replied. "So it was actually safer to destroy him instead of Dark Horus."
Michael snapped his fingers. "Oh shoot! I shouldn't have destroyed that card."
"Well, what's done is done." Shiori replied.
Michael then smirked confidently. "No biggie. I'll just take down your monster with my Dark Horus. But first, I'll activate the spell card Stop Defense, which lets me force your Manju to attack mode." The named monster stood up. "Now Dark Horus, attack with Dark Flame breath!" The monster with many hands fell victim to another fire stream from the bird-like creature. Shiori held up his arms defensively.
Shiori: 5350-3250
"Then I'll end my turn with a facedown card." A facedown card appeared at his feet.
Shiori lowered his arms and drew a card. "Okay, here goes. I activate Card of Demise. So now I can draw until I have 5 cards in my hand." He drew a number of new cards and glanced at them. "Perfect, for my next move, I activate the spell card Magical Stone Excavation. This lets discard two cards from my hand, and then I can take back a spell card from my graveyard." Shiori discarded two cards and took back a certain spell card from his graveyard. "So now I resurrect End of the World."
The spectators gasped at this.
"What? Again?" One student asked.
"Is he going to summon another ritual monster?" Another student asked.
Michael was as surprised as them. "No way. Are you going to do what I think you're going to do?"
Shiori smirked. "Got that right. I'm going to summon… Ruin's counterpart!"
"Does he mean…?" Jaden asked.
"No doubt about it." Andrew replied seriously.
"For my ritual summon, I sacrifice my level 8 monster Rabidragon." The monster that appeared was a massive, snowy white dragon with a gold underbelly and large rabbit like ears which did little to offset its ferociousness. (ATK: 2950 DEF: 2900 LV: 8) The dragon was then swallowed by blue flames. And then, a deep, scary growling was from within the flames. Everyone then watched as a new figure rose up from the blue flames which then died down. It was a tall, intimidating fiend with a skull-like face with black horns. It was dressed in a dark silver metal coat and wielded a massive axe. "There you have it, Michael. The almighty Demise, King of Armageddon." (ATK: 2400 DEF: 2000 LV: 8)
"Scary!" Syrus and Chumley exclaimed, very terrified by the monster's appearance.
"Whoa!" Jaden gasped.
Even Jenny couldn't help but shudder at the ritual monster's appearance. "Uwah."
"Incredible." Alexis added.
"Oh my god." Andrew said.
Michael stared at the monster in awe. "Dude, that is one terrifying monster you got there."
Shiori nodded in approval. "And what makes him more terrifying, is his special ability. First I'll pay 2000 life points…"
Shiori: 3250-1250
"And then, my King of Armageddon destroys all other cards on the field."
"What!?" Michael exclaimed.
"Now my Demise, unleash your Flames of Armageddon!" The fiend slammed his axe down and unleashed a wave of blue flames which destroyed everything around him on the field, including Dark Horus, who cried out in pain before shattering into pixels.
Michael held up his arms in protection until the flames died down. "Ugh, my monster…"
"Is gone." Shiori filled in. "And with nothing left on your field, you are wide open. Now, Demise, finish this!" The dark armored fiend charged toward Michael and held up his axe.
The spectators watched intensively as the monster got closer to the dark duelist. The fiend then swung his axe at Michael and...
CLANG!
Was blocked by something that appeared right in front of him. To everyone's surprise, it was the familiar, armored warrior known as...
"Necro Gardna?" Shiori asked. "But you already removed that monster from play."
Michael chuckled at what he said. "You are right. I did remove him from play earlier. And since he was removed, I was able to use this spell card." He held up a card that many recognized.
"Burial from a Different Dimension." Shiori said, realizing what Michael did.
The dark duelist nodded.
Flashback
The King of Armageddon slammed his axe down and unleashed a wave of blue flames which destroyed everything around him on the field.
But before the flames reached Michael's field, he activated his facedown card which was Burial from a Different Dimension.
"Thanks to this spell card, I was able to return up to three monsters that have been removed from the game to the graveyard. And I only needed one." He slid a certain monster card in the graveyard slot.
As soon as Demise tried to swung his axe at him, Michael took out that one monster card from the graveyard, making the red armored warrior appear in front of him. "Which means I had Necro Gardna in my graveyard, so I was prepared for your direct attack."
Flashback end
"Nice try, but no dice."
Shiori was stunned by this turn of events. Just when he thought the duel was over, Michael was one step ahead of him. After a moment, he smiled. "Wow Michael, that was impressive. I actually thought I got you there."
"Thank you. And to be honest, I was actually surprised by your monster's ability. You sure know how to strike your opponents real hard."
"And I wish I could strike you more. But I've got nothing left to do, so I'll end my turn."
"Then let's see how I'll get out of this." Michael announced as he drew a card. He looked at it and smirked. "Well Shiori, it's been fun. But I'm afraid this is the end."
"It is?" Shiori asked nervously.
"Yup, and I'll show you by doing this; Since I control no monsters, I can summon Kaiser Vorse Raider from my hand." An orc with blue skin and a studded double-sided axe appeared on the field. (ATK: 1900 DEF: 1200 LV: 5)
Shiori raised an eyebrow. "You know that monster is too weak to take down my king, right."
"You are right. But my next monster isn't; I summon Doomsday Horror." First, a formless shadow appeared. And then, it took the form of a winged demon with glowing blue eyes. (ATK: ? DEF: ? LV: 4)
"Undetermined?" The blond-haired Ra student asked, curious about the new monster's strength.
"That's right, and it's because of my monster's special ability. You see, his attack and defense points are the number of my dark attribute monsters that are removed from play and then multiplied by 300 points. And if my math is correct, there are 9 cards, which means my Doomsday Horror's attack and defense points are…" (ATK: ?-2700 DEF: ?-2700)
"2700!?"
"Aw man." Syrus gasped.
"That's totally a lot of points." Chumley gasped.
"More than enough to take down your Demise. Doomsday Horror, attack!" The shadow demon leapt up in the air and dove down at the skull-faced fiend, plowing through it.
Shiori: 1250-0950
"Now, Kaiser Vorse Raider, attack him directly!" The brutish orc leapt forward and slashed Shiori with its axe, making him wince and fall down to his knees.
Shiori: 0950-0000
The holograms disappeared, and it took the spectators for a moment before they applauded.
"Wow, that was a great duel." One student said.
"Awesome!" Another student added.
Shiori sat on the floor and looked up to see Michael approach him and hold out his hand.
"Do you need a hand?" He asked.
Shiori smiled and took his hand. "Thanks." He let Michael pull him up. "That was a great duel. You're really good."
"You're not so bad yourself. I almost thought you had me a few times." Michael replied while smiling back.
After they let go of each other, their friends approached.
"That was a sweet duel guys." Jaden said.
"No joke. Both of you did great." Alexis added.
"I actually couldn't tell which one of you was about to win." Andrew admitted.
"You guys were amazing. Well-played." Jenny praised.
"Thanks." The Ra and Obelisk boy said.
"And since Michael is the winner…" Andrew picked up the ritual card kept during the duel. "This card goes to him." He handed the card to him.
"Great." Michael said before turning to Shiori. "And you remember the deal, right?"
The ritual duelist nodded. "Of course I do. I lost, so I'll help you pay for that card."
And as promised, Shiori payed half of the money for the ritual card. After that, the group continued to look around for something else to buy. Eventually, the guys the shop with a few cards in their hands, and Shiori hummed a little happy.
"You seem to be in a good mood, Shiori." Jaden remarked.
"Well that's because of the cards I got. I may not have Garlandolf, but I got his counterpart." He replied while holding up a ritual monster card with the picture of a woman with hair pure as platinum and skin as pale as alabaster. she was wearing a dark purple dress, threaded with threads of gleaming red and gold and edged in red to match her long gloves. She was wielding a staff of gold, topped with an odd ornament.
"Wow. That card is sweet.
"And pretty, too." Syrus added while blushing a little due to the beauty of the woman in the picture.
"Garlandolf's counterpart, huh?" Andrew said. "That doesn't sound too bad."
"Got that right." The ritual duelist replied. "So this isn't a total loss."
"Well, I hope I get to see that monster in action someday. Maybe we can test that card in a duel someday." Jaden suggested.
"Sure, why not?"
"Alright! Then you better get your game on."
Andrew smiled at this. 'Well, I'm glad that everything was settled so well. Despite whoever won or lost, both duelists respect each other, and that's just the way like it.'
A new year and a new chapter. I hope you liked it. Until next time.
