Magician Showdown
It was early in the morning and the students were about to get ready for the new day. At the Obelisk Blue Boy's dorm, one student in particular was just waking up from his peaceful slumber. A boy with blonde hair, who was rubbing his brown eyes.
"(Yawn)" Kaito Sherman stood up and stretched his arms. "Time to get up!" At that, he went to the bathroom to take a shower. After that, he got dressed and headed to the dining hall. He sat at one of the tables and began eating his breakfast. While he was eating, someone approached him.
"Mind if I take a seat here?"
Kaito looked up and to his surprise, Zane Truesdale was standing before him. He quickly recovered from his shock and smiled. "Oh, hi Zane. Be my guest."
"Thanks." The Cyber duelist said before sitting at the table. "How's it feel to be back in class?"
"It actually feels great. I never thought I'd miss Dr. Crowler's 'lectures' and Professor Banner's alchemic demonstrations." Kaito smiled sheepishly. "I don't suppose anything crazy happened before me and the Shadow Riders attacked?"
Zane merely closed his eyes. "Not really... but sometimes it got strange."
Kaito blinked. "Did you just make a joke." He then smirked. "Zane Truesdale has a sense of humor."
The number one duelist didn't react to that comment. "So, any idea when your evaluation duel begins?"
"I'm not sure. It seems the teachers haven't chosen an opponent yet."
Zane nodded. "I'm sure you'll be fine, no matter who you'll face."
"Thanks." Kaito returned his smile.
At the same time, another Obelisk Blue boy was sitting at another table. He had black hair in brushed back hairstyle. He was more focused on a certain blonde Obelisk boy than the contents of his plate.
"Kaito Sherman, huh?" He gave the blonde boy a dirty look. "I don't understand why someone like him could be allowed to return to Obelisk Blue." Kaito seemed to notice him staring but ignored him.
Later that day, Andrew, Jaden, Syrus and Shiori were walking in the hall after just having finished with one of their classes. Jaden yawned while rubbing his left eye.
"Falling asleep again, huh?" Andrew said with a knowing smirk.
Jaden pouted. "It's not my fault. The teacher's voice was too boring."
"If it makes you feel better, I fell asleep as well." Syrus replied.
Shiori shook his head. "Is that supposed to be a good thing?"
"Falling asleep in class?"
"What else is new?"
The boys turned around and saw Alexis and Jenny walk over to them.
"It was just a history lecture, ya know." Alexis said.
"You call it history lecture. I call it hypnotic blabbering." Jaden complained.
Andrew scowled. "Don't diss history lectures."
Jenny giggled. "Anyway, do you know what we're doing in gym today?" The boys shrugged their shoulders in response. "Today, it will be..."
"Dancing?" Jaden and Syrus said in unison, developing horrorstruck expressions. Andrew and Shiori didn't seem to complain, but were admittedly slightly nervous. And so we were the rest of the male students, while the girls seemed to be quite okay with the idea.
After meeting the students at the gymnasium and explained everything to the students, Miss Fontaine, accompanied by an older Obelisk boy, went about dividing them into pairs. Meanwhile, Jenny and Clover were standing right next to each other. And both of them happened to have the very same thought in their minds. 'Will I get paired with Andrew?' Both of them looked embarrassed, not knowing what to do...
"Andrew, you'll be with Mindy." Miss Fontaine said.
The girl in question shrugged. "Works for me." She said as she approached him.
Meanwhile, Jenny and Clover hung their heads in a mix of depression and disappointment.
Shiori saw this and raised an eyebrow. "Were both of them hoping to dance with Andrew?" He muttered.
"Shiori, you'll be with Cynthia." Miss Fontaine.
"Okay." He replied, before it took him 5 seconds to let her words sink in. "Wait, what?"
The green-haired girl in question approached him. "Hey there."
Shiori's cheeks turned slightly pink. "H-hi."
Cynthia smiled. "Shiori, was it? I never had the chance to thank you for the flowers."
The ritual duelist scratched the back of his head and looked away. "Glad you liked them."
Cynthia giggled. "Speaking of which, how did you know yellow roses were my favorite?"
Shiori turned a little redder. "Actually, I didn't know about it at all. I just picked them."
"I see."
After a moment, every one of the students got a dancing partner. Jaden was somehow paired off with Alexis. Syrus ended up with a girl who was about six inches taller than him. Jenny ended up with Michael, and Xander became Clover's dancing partner.
Miss Fontaine and her partner demonstrated a few simple steps to begin with, then watched as the others attempted to imitate them. Some of them were successful, while many others made some clumsy moves, like accidentally stepping on their partner's feet.
Bastion, who was paired off with Mahiru, had some difficulty to do it right. "Those steps look simple, and yet, not easy to perform." He muttered.
"G-guess so." Mahiru replied almost silently, blushing slightly due to being so close to him.
A bit away, was another pair dancing. The boy who was dancing with the Obelisk girl, was the same black-haired guy who was staring at Kaito earlier. Speaking of whom, his eyes were focused on the blonde in question, who was nervously dancing with Jasmine. The venomous look that was aimed at the blonde, made the black-haired boy's dancing partner uncomfortable.
Kaito noticed the glare from the corner of his eye and frowned. 'What's his problem?'
While dancing with Jenny, Michael noticed the dirty look on the black-haired Obelisk's face. He then noted that he was focused on Kaito. 'That doesn't look good.'
This kept going until the bell rang, dismissing everyone from their class.
"Finally, it's over." Jaden said in relief.
Alexis giggled. "Come on, Jaden. You're acting like you've been through one of Crowler's lectures."
"To be honest, I had some problems with the dancing steps, as well." Andrew admitted.
"Nah, I think you did great." Mindy, who passed by with Jasmine, replied before giving him a playful wink. "Maybe one day, you might give a girl a good time." With that, the two of them walked away from the group.
Jenny pouted cutely at this, while Clover looked annoyed with a tick mark at her head.
Michael seemed to be in deep thought. Which Shiori noticed. "Is something wrong?"
The purple-haired Obelisk turned to him. "Oh, it's nothing. Don't worry." The ritual duelist shrugged it off and let him be. But Michael frowned while thinking about a certain. 'That guy who glared at Kaito looked like he had bone to pick with him or something. I'd better investigate.'
Now it was lunch time. And the Obelisk Blue boys were enjoying their meals in their dorm. And just like during breakfast, Kaito and Zane sat together at a table. Neither of them made too much of a conversation. As time went by, Kaito noticed the boy who glared at him all day. He couldn't help frown again.
Which Zane noticed. "Is something wrong?"
Kaito turned to the top duelist. "Well, I can't say it's something serious. But there is this Obelisk guy who's been glaring at me. I mean, he seriously looks like I crushed his phone or something."
Zane nodded. "I see. I may not any details, but if I have to guess, it's possible that he doesn't trust you because you were a Shadow Rider."
"And I'm afraid to confirm you that your guess is right." A voice spoke up. It belonged to Michael who suddenly showed up.
"Michael?" Kaito asked as the purple-haired Obelisk boy sat next to him.
"I noticed the glare that guy kept giving you, so I asked around about it. His name is Jeff Nachbauer. A first year Obelisk. And from what I've heard, it's just like Zane said. He doesn't like the fact that a former Shadow Rider would return to the school, just like that."
"Can't say I'm surprised. I mean, sure, Andrew managed to defeat me, but I gave him a real hard time. Not that I willingly signed up for the Shadow Rider business."
"Doesn't seem to matter to Jeff, though." Zane said.
"I guess there's nothing to do about..." Kaito stopped himself when he heard his PDA beeping. Pulling up the notification he'd just received, he found a message. After reading it, he smiled. "What do you know?"
"What is it?" Michael asked.
"Looks like the teachers finally found an opponent for my duel. And the duel will start right after the classes."
"Then I suggest you prepare yourself." Zane said. "For all we know, the opponent could be someone who might get your dueling skills off balance."
"Maybe. I just hope I'm not way too rusty by being controlled by the Shadow Riders."
Later on, Kaito was sitting on the sofa in his dorm room, rearranging his deck. While he did that, he grimaced as a memory flashed in his mind.
Flashback
Right after he came to his dorm, after being released from the nurse's office, Kaito went through his deck and he suddenly came across a card that made him shiver. "Dark Eradicator Warlock." The same spellcaster card he used when he dueled Andrew. He couldn't help but shiver by staring at it. "After what happened, I can't use that." He muttered. He walked over to his desk and hid the card inside one of the drawers.
Flashback end
"It may be a powerful card, but after everything that happened, I can't use that card. I need to think this through." He muttered while looking over his cards.
In the late afternoon, everyone gathered in the arena. They were all eager to see Kaito's match. The duelist in question was standing on the platform, waiting for his opponent. Jaden, Andrew, Syrus, Alexis, Jenny, Clover, Xander, Bastion, Shiori, Michael, Cynthia and Zane.
"So, it's about to begin." Shiori said.
"That's cool! I actually wanted to see Kaito's dueling skills." Jaden said enthusiastically.
"But where's Kaito's opponent?" Cynthia wondered.
"And who is his opponent?" Syrus added.
"No clue." Michael replied. "We just have to wait and see."
Kaito tapped his foot almost impatiently. "Where is he? Is it really that hard to get here in time?"
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Someone spoke up. When he turned to the source of the voice, his eye widened to see Jeff approach the platform with a dark expression. "I just needed to prepare myself for your defeat."
"It had to be that guy." Michael groaned.
"Who is he?" Xander asked.
"Jeff Nachbauer." Zane said.
"And that guy doesn't trust Kaito because he was a Shadow Rider." Michael added.
Clover frowned. "Now this sucks."
"Jeff Nachbauer, huh?" Bastion mused. "He's using a spellcaster deck, just like Kaito.
"What? Like Kaito? You mean he has his own Dark Magician?" Syrus asked worriedly.
"Not really. But from what I've heard, he does have a unique monster card in his deck."
"And what is it?" Jaden asked.
"Just wait and see."
"Can I have your attention, please?" Crowler spoke into the microphone. "Today's match will be between two of my students from Obelisk Blue! First, I give you Jeff Nachbauer!" A bunch of Obelisk students cheered for the black-haired boy as he raised the duel disk on his arm. "And His opponent, making a grand return from an unfortunate mishap that occurred in the past, Kaito Sherman!" Most of the second and third year students cheered extra loudly due to seeing one of the lost students pf the abandoned dorm making a comeback. The blonde Obelisk smiled and waved at them. "Alright gentlemen, shuffle your opponent's deck and get ready!"
The two duelists met each other in the middle of the platform to exchange and shuffle each others' decks. While shuffling, Jeff gave his opponent a glare. "Must be really nice. Returning to the Duel Academy after threatening it, huh? You really think you deserve to be here?"
"I get it. You don't like me because of the Shadow Rider thing." Kaito said, slightly annoyed by Jeff's words. "But I won't let your opinion affect me. I'm going to live my life, like the person I truly am, and I've got people who believe in me."
"Whatever." Jeff scoffed as he and Kaito took each others' decks back. "Doesn't mean I'll let you stay with the Obelisks." With that, each of them returned to his side of the field.
"Are both duelists ready?" Crowler asked.
"I'm ready!" Kaito announced.
"Let's get this over with!" Jeff said.
"Then let the duel begin!"
"GAME ON!"
Kaito: 4000
Jeff: 4000
"Alright Jeff. I'll start with this!" Kaito drew his sixth. "I summon Royal Magical Library in defense mode!" A stack of book shelves with several green magic spheres and robed figures appeared on the field. (ATK: 0 DEF 2000 LV: 4) "Then I'll end my turn with a facedown." A card appeared at Kaito's feet. "Now it's your turn."
Jeff scoffed. "You think you're so good with spellcasters, huh? But you're just a joke compared to me. Just watch!" He drew. "I activate the field spell, Magical Citadel of Endymion!" After he placed his card into his field spell tray, the surroundings changed into what looked a medieval town with a large tower in the center with strange runes engraved into the stone.
Kaito raised an eyebrow. "I've never seen this before."
Jeff smirked. "All I can tell you for now is that it's the key to your defeat."
"We'll see about that. But in the meantime, you should know about my library's special ability." One of the magic spheres glowed brighter than usual. "Whenever a spell card is activated, it gets a spell counter."
"Hmph. Not that you'll get the chance to use it, because now I summon Crusader of Endymion in attack mode!" A man in red clothes and covered in special blue armor appeared. (ATK: 1900 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "And now I activate the spell card, Double Summon!" The image of the named spell card appeared. "Thanks to this, I can normal summon a second time."
"Remember, with another spell card activated, my library gets another counter." Another magic sphere glowed brighter.
"I know that. But that's not all..." Jeff pointed at the tower. When Kaito looked at it, he noticed one of the runes lit up. "Just like your library, my tower gets a spell counter when a spell card is played."
"So he uses spell counters too?" Cynthia asked.
"Yes, and spell counters can be used for many things." Zane said.
"Wether it is to use a certain spell card or monster effect. I know from experience." Andrew added, remembering his duel against Death.
"Now then..." Jeff spoke up. "Time to use the effect of my spell card. The monster I choose for my second normal summon is... Crusader of Endymion!"
"What?" Syrus widened his eyes. "He's gonna play another one?"
Clover however looked grim. "Unless that Crusader is..."
"A gemini monster!" Kaito said in realization.
"That's right! Now my Crusader, Gemini Summon!" The blue armored man glowed white. "With that done, I activate his special ability. Once per turn, I can place a spell counter on a compatible card, like my field spell." Another rune on the tower lit up. "And here's the best part. After doing that, my Crusader gains 600 attack points for one turn!" The armored man glowed again. (ATK: 1900-2500) "Now my Crusader, attack his library!" The armored man formed a ball of red energy between his palms and threw it.
"I activate my trap! Spikeshield with Chain!" When Kaito's facedown flipped up, the robed figures clasped their hands and brought one of the books out of the shelves. It opened up and created a shield with an emblem resembling a horse face. It had a spike that came out of the horse's forehead and a chain with another spike attached to it. "I can equip this card to a monster and give it 500 extra attack points." (ATK: 0-500) "And, whenever the equipped monster is battling another monster, it gains defense points equal to its attack points." (DEF: 2000-2500) The shield blocked the energy ball with ease. (DEF: 2500-2000)
Jeff grumbled. "I end my turn with a facedown." A card appeared at his feet. (ATK: 2500-1900) "Make your move."
"Don't mind if I do." Kaito drew. "And I'll play Apprentice Magician in defense mode!" The purple clad, blonde man wielding his green staff appeared next to the book shelves. (ATK: 400 DEF: 800 LV: 2) "Now check out his special ability. As soon as he's summoned, one card on the field gets a spell counter. And I choose my library." The magician raised his staff as its tip glowed. And then, a third magic sphere glowed brighter. "And that's the limit of how many spell counters my library can have. But that won't be a problem since I can use its second effect." The three magic spheres were suddenly absorbed into Kaito's deck. "By removing all three of the spell counters, I get to draw an extra card from my deck." He drew.
"And then I activate the spell card, Arcane Barrier!" The named spell card appeared behind Apprentice Magician. At the same time, a third rune on the tower lit up, while a new magic sphere appeared in front of the book shelves. "And that's all for now."
"Pathetic." Jeff spat and drew his next card. "I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior!" The familiar red clad spellcaster with sword and shield appeared. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1000 LV: 4) "And since he was normal summoned, he gets a spell counter that gives him 300 extra attack points." The stone on the shield lit up. (ATK: 1600-1900)
"I had a feeling he would have that monster." Andrew muttered.
"Same here." Michael replied. "If Jeff removes Breaker's spell counter, he can destroy one spell or trap on the field. Which means he can get rid of Kaito's spikeshield."
"And since he can use Crusader's ability to give a card a spell counter, he can restore Breaker's strength." Alexis added.
Jeff chuckled darkly. "And now it's time to use the power of my Magical Citadel of Endymion."
Kaito's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
"Allow me to explain. Once per turn, whenever I use an effect that will cost me spell counters, I can use the spell counters on my field spell instead."
The gang, minus Zane, gasped.
"No way!" Clover said.
"Then that means..." Jenny trailed off.
"I can let Breaker use one of its spell counters, instead of his own. Now to break your annoying shield!" The light from one of the runes was absorbed into Breaker's sword. Then, by swinging it, he sent out an arc of energy that shattered spikeshield. "And since I don't want you to draw extra cards, I'll use Breaker's very own spell counter to destroy Arcane Barrier!" The light emitting from the stone on Breaker's shield was absorbed into his sword. And just like earlier, he swung it and sent an arc of energy and destroyed Kaito's spell card. (ATK: 1900-1600)
"Damn." Kaito cursed.
"And now I'll use Crusader's special ability to give Breaker a new spell counter." The named monster placed a hand on Breaker's shield, causing its stone to lit up again. (ATK: 1600-1900) "And of course, this gives Crusader some extra points again." (ATK: 1900-2500) "Now let's try this again! Crusader of Endymion, destroy Royal Magical Library!" The armored threw another energy ball. And this time, it hit and exploded, destroying the shelves and robed figures. When the smoke cleared, Kaito was surprised to see the library's magic sphere float in the air before being absorbed into the tower, causing one of its runes to lit up.
"What is this?"
"Oh, didn't you know?" Jeff asked. "When a card with spell counters is destroyed, each one of them is added to my field spell."
"No fair!" Syrus protested. "He can't just take Kaito's spell counter like that!"
"Unfortunately, Syrus, that's how the field spell works." Bastion said.
"And now Breaker, destroy Apprentice Magician!" The red clad spellcaster charged the blonde magician stabbed him with his sword, shattering him into pixels.
"When Apprentice Magician is destroyed in battle, I can take a level 2 or lower spellcaster monster from my deck and place it facedown!" A facedown monster appeared on Kaito's field.
"It's gonna take more than a weak monster to defeat me. I end my turn." (ATK: 2500-1900)
"You shouldn't be so quick to judge your opponent's cards." Kaito stated and drew his next card. "Especially since my facedown monster happens to be this guy." The facedown card flipped up and revealed a person in a blue business suit with a red cape. He was wearing a black hat and glasses and a mask the hid most of his face. He was also holding a briefcase. (ATK: 400 DEF: 400 LV: 2) "His name is Magical Undertaker, and due to his flip effect, I can summon a level 4 or lower spellcaster type monster from my graveyard. And I choose Royal Magical Library!" The stack of book shelves appeared again. (ATK: 0 DEF 2000 LV: 4)
"But that's not all. I sacrifice both of my monsters so I can summon my good old friend..." His two monsters disappeared. "Dark Magician!" In a flash of light, the powerful, bluish spellcaster rose up on Kaito's field. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 2100 LV: 7)
Most of the audience let out an 'ooh' due to seeing the most famous spellcaster being summoned.
"Whoa! That version of Yugi's ace monster is even cooler than I thought." Jaden commented.
"Looks like Kaito's got the upper hand now." Cynthia added.
Jeff growled at the sight of Kaito's monster. The blonde Obelisk held up a spell card. "Now I play Dark Magic Attack! Since I have Dark Magician on the field, this card lets me destroy all your spells and traps. Now my magician, show him what you've got!" The named spellcaster started to create a ball of magic energy from his staff.
Seeing this, Jeff smirked. "Reveal trap card! Pitch-Black Power Stone!" His facedown card flipped up and revealed a black orb bearing a symbol that resembled a golden triangle. Just then, the three points began to glow. "When this card is activated, three spell counters are automatically placed on it."
Kaito raised an eyebrow. "What good would that do? All your spells and traps will be destroyed anyway."
"Guess again." At that, the light of one of the runes on the tower intensified. And then, the light died down completely.
"What was that?" Kaito asked.
"Just another effect of my Magical Citadel of Endymion. In case it would be destroyed, I can save it by removing one of its spell counters."
Kaito's eyes widened. "Which means..."
"That you just messed up!" Jeff filled in as the Dark Magician fired the magic energy ball at his field and destroyed his trap card. "Since Pitch-Black Power Stone had spell counters when it was destroyed, those counters are added to my field spell. Plus it gets another one since you played a spell card."
Kaito grimaced as more of the tower's runes lit up, leaving a total of 6 runes glowing.
"Now that's just crazy." Shiori said. "Not only can he use spell counters from his field spell to use his cards and effects, but he can use them to prevent its destruction."
"And as long as there are ways to give it spell counters, it can't be stopped." Zane added.
"Now that is one powerful field spell." Xander commented.
"Maybe I can't get rid of your field spell, but I can destroy your monsters. Even if it means I have to use another spell card, like this one!" Kaito held up the card in question. "Diffusion Wave-Motion! First I must pay a thousand life points..."
Kaito: 4000-3000
"And then, if I have a spellcaster type monster that's at least level 7, I can give that monster the ability to attack all your monsters this turn. So that means my Dark Magician can take out both of your monsters!"
"Well, don't forget my Citadel's ability. You just gave it another spell counter." A seventh rune lit up.
"I know that! But you should be concerned about your monsters! Go, Dark Magician! Dark Magic Attack!" The magician fired a second energy ball at Jeff's field and destroyed both of his monsters in one blast.
Jeff: 4000-2800
Jeff winced by the explosion but smirked. "My Breaker had a spell counter, so that gives my field spell another one." An eight rune lit up.
"I end my turn with a facedown." Kaito concluded and inserted a card into his duel disk.
"You may have taken the lead. But it's about to change." Jeff muttered and drew his next card. "I activate Pot of Greed! Now I can draw two more cards."
A ninth rune lit up.
After drawing his extra cards, he looked at them and grinned evilly. "It's finally here."
"What is?" Kaito asked curiously.
"The card that's superior to your Dark Magician!" Six glowing orbs emerged from the tower, leaving three glowing runes behind. "I remove six of my spell counters to summon the most powerful monster in my deck! Endymion, the Master Magician!" The six orbs swirled around each other before colliding and created a large burst of light and energy. When it died away, there was a figure in black and gold robes with a long flowing purple cape on Jeff's field. In one of his hands was a long black staff with a gleaming silver scythe like blade with purple gems attached to it as well as a large purple orb attached to it. (ATK: 2700 DEF: 1700 LV: 7)
The audience gasped at the appearance of Jeff's new monster.
"So that's Endymion." Bastion commented. "I've heard of this monster. Truly impressive."
"Aren't we supposed to root for Kaito?" Michael questioned.
"Nah, it's cool." Jaden said. "Kaito may be in trouble now, but I'm sure he can turn this duel around."
"That's easier said than done, Jaden." Bastion replied. "That monster and that field spell make for a deadly combination."
Kaito stared at the new monster worriedly. Which Jeff noticed. "Are you scared of my new monster? You should be. Because since Endymion was summoned by his own ability, I'm allowed to take a spell card back from my graveyard." A card came out of his graveyard slot. "I resurrect my Pot of Greed, so I can use it again." Jeff drew two more cards, and a fourth rune on the tower lit up.
"And now I summon Mythical Beast Cerberus!" From a flash of light, a beast appeared next to Endymion. It had gold-trimmed, dark-blue armor along its body with some orange jewels here and there. Its fur was a mixture of pale blue, and violet. The beast was on all fours and had two heads. One of them looked like that of a lion with a violet mane, while the other looked like that of a wolf or a fox. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 1400 LV: 4) "And now I activate the spell card, Spell Power Grasp! This lets me place a spell counter on a card on the field. And I think I'll add it to my field spell, plus another one since I just played a spell card." Two more runes lit up.
"Not good." Kaito muttered.
"It gets worse. My Cerberus has a special ability." A glowing orb appeared in front of the named monster. "Whenever a spell card is activated, it gets a spell counter. And for every spell counter it has, it gains 500 attack points!" In one chomp, the lion head swallowed the glowing orb. (ATK: 1400-1900) "And finally, after Spell Power Grasp has been activated, I can take another copy of that card from my deck and add it to my hand." Jeff fanned out his deck and took the card in question.
"Great, so it's gonna be more spell counters." Kaito said.
"As much as I want to add more spell counters, I can't. I can only activate one Spell Power Grasp per turn." Jeff explained. He then smirked. "But that doesn't mean that's the only way I can use it." He then slid the card into his graveyard slot, much to Kaito's confusion.
But it was then he noticed the orb Endymion's staff glowing all of sudden. "What?"
"This is Endymion's special power. Once per turn, I can discard 1 spell card from my hand in order to destroy a card on the field." With that, Endymion pointed his staff at Kaito's facedown card and a burst of magic energy fired from it which struck said card, incinerating it.
"My trap card!" Kaito exclaimed.
"With that out of the way, you're about feel some pain! Endymion, destroy his Dark Magician! Magician's Judgment!" Endymion fired another burst of magic energy from his staff at Dark Magician, blasting him apart.
Kaito: 3000-2800
"Now Cerberus, attack him directly!" The beast charged at Kaito and struck him with its claws, making him cry out.
Kaito: 2800-0900
(ATK: 1900-1400) "After damage Calculation, my Cerberus loses all its spell counters. I end my turn."
"Aw man. Kaito's in trouble now." Syrus said.
"That would be an understatement." Clover replied. "He's got no monsters, spells or traps on the field. Not to mention he's facing two monsters, one of them able to destroy a card by simply discarding a spell card."
"Kaito needs to pull off something big. And do it fast." Andrew added.
"Look at you." Jeff sneered. "Down to mere 900 life points with nothing to protect you. And to think that they would let a pathetic traitor like you return to this school. You don't deserve to be here!"
Cynthia frowned. "Okay, that guy's got some serious issues."
"Tell me about it." Michael muttered.
Zane looked indifferent.
"Don't deserve to be here you say?" Kaito asked, his eyes full of determination, despite his situation. "Then let me show you how wrong you are. My move!" Kaito drew. "First I activate Pot of Greed!" He drew two more cards.
"You just gave my field spell another spell counter, and my Cerberus 500 more attack points." Another rune lit up, and a glowing orb appeared before being swallowed by the beast. (ATK: 1400-1900)
"I'm not worried, because now I play Monster Reborn, and use it to bring back my Dark Magician!" From a magic circle, Kaito's ace monster emerged. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 2100 LV: 7)
"And I get more spell counters." Cerberus swallowed another orb, while the tower was now up to 8 glowing runes. (ATK: 1900-2400)
"But I've got something as well. Defender, the Magical Knight! Defense mode!" A warrior similar to Breaker appeared, only this one wore blue and gold armor and purple cape. In one hand was a short sword. With the other hand, the warrior was wielding a blue and yellow shield with a red stone in the center that was almost as big as Defender himself. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 2000 LV: 4)
Jeff glared at the new monster. Kaito smirked at that. "Judging from your face, you probably know what this guy does. After being normal summoned, he gets a spell counter." The gem on the warrior's shield lit up. "And now I activate Magic Formula!" A spell card rose up behind Dark Magician. "Thanks to this equip spell, my Dark Magician gains 700 attack points." The spellcaster glowed with energy. (ATK: 2500-3200)
Jeff gritted his teeth. "That makes him stronger than both of my monsters, even with the extra spell counter my Cerberus gets." The beast swallowed another orb, and a ninth rune on the tower lit up. (ATK: 2400-2900)
"That's true, but your Endymion is the biggest threat here, so I'll start with him! Dark Magician, attack!" The named monster fired another ball of magic energy that obliterated Endymion.
Jeff: 2800-2300
"And that ends my turn. Look like you're in trouble now." Kaito commented.
Jeff lowered his head, completely silent. Kaito was about to say something but was interrupted by loud laughter from his opponent. "Trouble? Me? You idiot! There's no way you can get rid of Endymion!"
"What do you mean?" Kaito demanded.
"Oh, don't you remember? Then let me refresh your memory!" Jeff drew his next card. And then, six glowing orbs emerged from the tower, leaving three glowing runes behind.
Kaito was shocked. "No way!"
"Yes! As long as I have enough spell counters on my field spell, I can remove six of them and summon my Endymion, from my hand or the graveyard. Observe!" The orbs swirled around each other before colliding. And then, from the burst of light and energy, the magician in black and gold robes appeared again. (ATK: 2700 DEF: 1700 LV: 7)
"Unbelievable!" Alexis said. "So he can summon that monster from the hand or graveyard?"
"As long as Jeff has at least six counters on his field spell, then yes." Zane replied.
"As I have said. That monster and that field spell make a deadly combination." Bastion repeated.
"And as you know, I can take back a spell card from my graveyard after Endymion is summoned. And I'll be taking Spell Power Grasp!" The named spell card reappeared in Jeff's hand. "And now I'll use it to give Cerberus another spell counter, plus an extra, due to playing a spell card." Two orbs of light appeared before being swallowed by the beast. (ATK: 2900-3900) And a fourth rune on the tower lit up. "And due to the effect of my spell card, another Spell Power Grasp card goes from my deck to my hand." Jeff took the named card from his deck.
Kaito gritted his teeth. 'It's obvious what happens next.'
Jeff then gave him an evil grin. "And now I'll discard it so I can use Endymion's power and destroy one of your cards." He discarded his spell card as the orb on Endymion's staff lit up. "There goes your Magic Formula!" At that, the spell card behind Dark Magician glowed red before shattering into pixels. (ATK: 3200-2500) "Now you're finished! Once my Cerberus attacks, your life points are gone!"
"Not exactly." Kaito replied with a smirk, as a blue aura suddenly surrounded.
"What the hell is this?" Jeff questioned.
"This is the second of the Magic Formula. After it's sent from the field to the graveyard, I gain 1000 life points."
Kaito: 0900-1900
"You annoying pest." Jeff muttered in annoyance.
Kaito shrugged. "A magician is always full of tricks, you know."
"Trick this! Cerberus, destroy his Dark Magician!" The beast roared and leapt forward.
Kaito glanced at Defender. 'I could use Defender's effect to save Dark Magician from being destroyed. But if I do that, He could attack him again with Endymion, and damage my life points even more. Oh well...' The beast's two heads sank their fangs into the magician's shoulder, shattering into pixels.
Kaito: 1900-0500
"And now it's Defender's turn! Endymion, attack!" The named spellcaster fired another burst of magic energy from his staff.
"I activate Defender's special ability! Once per turn, I can remove a spell counter from my field and keep my monster from being destroyed!" The magical knight held up his and used it to block the attack. Once it was over, the light from the gem on his shield died down. (ATK. 3900-1400)
Jeff scowled. "You're only delaying the inevitable. There's nothing you can do to defeat me. I end my turn with a facedown." A card appeared at his feet. "Now, make your final move!" He grinned in his mind. 'Without a spell counter, his Defender will be useless during my next turn. And if even if that traitor would manage to play something strong enough to attack me, I have my Magic Cylinder ready. This duel is mine!'
"Kaito needs a miracle now." Cynthia said.
"Got that right." Clover agreed. "Besides Defender, he doesn't have anything on his field, or in his hand for that matter."
"It all comes down to the next card." Andrew added.
"Yeah. One card. That's all it takes to turn this duel around." Jaden said.
Kaito took a deep breath and exhaled.
"What's wrong? Are you worried about losing?" Jeff taunted.
"Not at all. In fact..." Kaito smirked. "I'm determined to wrap things up this turn."
Jeff scoffed. "You're crazy."
"We'll see about that!" Kaito drew his next card, looked at it and nodded. "Alright. Desperate times call for desperate moves." He held up the card he drew. "I play the spell card known as Card of Desperation. This lets me draw three cards." He drew his extra cards but looked grim. "However, this card comes with a heavy price. After drawing my three cards... I must send my entire deck to the graveyard.
The audience gasped at his words. Clearly, that move was very extreme.
Jeff just smirked as his opponent got rid of his deck. "You must be really desperate to play a card like that. Such an idiot. In any case, that spell card gives me some spell counters." Another rune on his tower lit up and Cerberus swallowed another orb of light. (ATK: 1400-1900)
"Maybe so..." Kaito glanced at his three cards and smiled. "But I'll take my chances. Especially since one of my new cards happens to be Pot of Avarice. This lets take 5 monster cards from my graveyard and shuffle them back into my deck." 5 cards came out from his graveyard slot. He then shuffled them before inserting him into his duel disk. "And after that, I can draw 2 cards." He drew.
Another rune lit up and Cerberus grew stronger. (ATK: 1900-2400)
Kaito smirked. "Perfect!"
"Huh?" Jeff raised an eyebrow.
"Now I play Magical Dimension!" The image of a spell card appeared and released a coffin with chains. "Since I have spellcaster on my field, I can sacrifice a monster and summon another one from my hand. So I sacrifice Defender to summon an old friend..." The coffin burst open and unleashed a section force that brought in Defender and closed shut. And then, the coffin emitted a blinding light causing everyone to cover their eyes. And when the light died down, the audience was amazed to see Dark Magician standing in the coffin's place. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 2100 LV: 7)
Zane smiled slightly. "Looks like Kaito got this."
"That pathetic monster again?" Jeff questioned. "You're just wasting cards!"
Kaito shook his head. "Again, you shouldn't be quick to judge your opponent's cards. And I'm surprised you didn't know about Magical Dimension's second effect."
"Second effect?"
"Yup and that effect lets me destroy a monster on the field. Time to make Endymion disappear!" Dark Magician fired a magic energy ball and destroyed Endymion."
Jeff just grinned. "You do realize I can summon him again during my next turn, right? And you just made Cerberus even stronger." (ATK: 2400-2900) Another rune lit up.
"Then it's a good thing I have a spell card named Thousand Knives!" At those words, the beast was surrounded by a big number of glowing knives. "Thanks to my Dark Magician, I can use this card to destroy your monster!" In the next moment, the beast roared in pain by being stabbed by the knives before it exploded. When the smoke cleared, three orbs of light were floating in its place. And then, they were absorbed into the tower. "And now to deal with you."
For the first time in the entire duel, Jeff started to get nervous. "You can't win! There's no way you can defeat me! You're just a traitor who doesn't belong here!"
"Believe what you wish." Kaito said firmly. "But no matter what opinion everyone's entitled to, I'm gonna live my own life, regardless of what happened in the past. And now that I've gotten that out of my chest, I'm gonna play one last card before wrapping things up. And I think you recognize this card." From a flash of light, a familiar, red clad figure with a sword and shield appeared next to Dark Magician. (ATK. 1600 DEF: 1000 LV: 4)
And the sight of that monster caused Jeff to pale. "Breaker!?"
"That's right. And you know what that means..." Breaker's sword was enveloped by glowing energy. (ATK: 1600-1900) "I can use his spell counter to destroy your facedown card!" Breaker swung his sword and sent out an arc of energy that tore Jeff's facedown card in half.
"It can't be!"
"Now on to the finale! Dark Magician! Dark Magic Attack!" The named spellcaster fired one more magic energy ball that struck Jeff head on. He screamed before falling to his knees.
Jeff: 2300-0000
The audience cheered as the holograms were turned off.
"Awesome!" Jaden cheered.
"Wow!" Syrus said in awe.
"Never thought he could pull off something like that." Alexis said.
"Clearly he always has a trick up in his sleeve." Andrew added.
"I'll say." Jenny said.
"And the winner of the match is..." Crowler announced over the cheers. "Kaito Sherman! Well done, my boy and welcome back to Obelisk Blue."
"Thank you. It's good to be back." Kaito said before walking away from arena while waving to audience who continued the applause.
Well, that's a wrap for Kaito's test. And I think you guys can guess what happens in the next chapter. I'll see you then.
