Chapter 23: Ego

Thoughts were rushing into Damian's head at a million miles per second. Why did Adrian come? Was he sent by The Light to eliminate Damian like Gagagigo was? Would Adrian really invoke a life threatening duel in public? Would the duel even be life threatening? If not, why did Adrian make a special request to challenge Damian?

"Adrian? What's he doing here?" Ghassan asked.

"Apparently, he transferred to Central Duel Academy over Winter Break." Bastion stated. "I suppose since Central Duel Academy is the most famous branch, he wanted to switch to here."

Crowler walked towards the duel field. "Adrian Gecko did a splendid job on the exams, and taking his grades in East Academy into account, he's already going to be promoted to Ra Yellow. Though if he defeats someone with your talents Mr Abunura, I believe I can get a word in to have him promote straight to Obelisk Blue."

Damian ignored Crowler. "I'm excited and all, but why make the request to me specifically Adrian? There's plenty of skilled duelists at the academy. Zane, Bastion, Jaden, my friend Scott."

Adrian put his deck inside his Duel Disk. "You were one of my only two options. Other than you and a student named Brier, other student at this Academy had their field exam last semester. I took more interest in you."

"Wait, what about Jaden? He and Syrus didn't have a Field Exam last semester either due to their suspensions. Couldn't you duel him as his make-up exam or something?"

"It was already decided that their 10 page report they wrote over their suspension would be the replacement for their mid-term exam." Crowler stated.

"Considering what he told us about his report, it looks like Jaden's getting an even worse grade on his mid-term exam than his other test scores." Scott said to Ghassan and Bastion. The three headed up to the upper stands.

"There's gotta be more to his reasoning." Ghassan whispered to Scott. "We'll ask him after the duel's over."

'I take it you ordered him to come to Duel Academy?' Scott asked The Light of Destruction.

'No. That was a choice of his own. I don't know why though.' The Light of Destruction replied.

"So, are you two ready to begin?" Crowler asked.

"I've been ready for about 15 minutes." Adrian said.

Damian put down his packpack, and opened it. 'Maybe this is just a test of my abilities or something since we both work for The Light. I'd prefer that over the first reason that came to my mind.' Damian picked out a deck, and put it in his Duel Disk. 'I think this deck will be my best shot against his Cloudian deck.' "I'm ready."

Crowler smiled, and walked off to a section of the upper stands exclusive to faculty. 'Humiliate him Gecko.'

In little time, Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley entered the gymnasium. "Sweet, we didn't miss anything. Looks like Damian's duel is just about to start." Jaden said.

Chumley was catching his breath. "You know...I wouldn't have minded missing some of the duel if it meant I wouldn't have to run." The three Slifers headed up the stairs, and stood by Ghassan, Scott, and Bastion. "Long time no see Bastion!"

Bastion smiled. "It's good to see you again Jaden."

"So, whose Damian dueling?"

"New transfer student, Adrian Gecko." Scott asnwered. "Apparently he made a special request to take every written exam, and to take a field exam. He did so well in the written exams, he's automatically getting placed to Ra Yellow. If he beats Damian, he's heading straight to Obelisk Blue."

"Whoa. I never saw anybody get promoted that quickly." Chumley said.

Adrian looked at where Jaden was standing. 'Jaden Yuki. It's a good thing these guys failed at getting you expelled. Otherwise, everything would go wrong.' Damian and Adrian activated their duel disks. (Damian 4000/ Adrian 4000) "I'll go first." Adrian drew a card. "I set two cards face down and summon a monster in defense mode." The holographic face downs materialized in front of Adrian. "I end my turn."

Damian drew. "I summon Superheavy Samurai Flutist (500/1000) in defense mode." A purple robot with a giant flute for a head appeared on Damian's side of the field.

"Huh. Haven't seen Damian bust that deck out in years." Scott said.

"I activate the effect of Flutist. I can tribute it to special summon one Superheavy Samurai from my hand. I special summon Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei (1000/3500) in defense mode!" The robotic Flutist played the instrument that was it's own head before disappearing. Taking it's place was a giant steam powered robot with orange and black plate armor. The monster was wielding a forked spear. "Next, I equip Big Benkei with the monster Superheavy Samurai Soulpiercer (1200/0)." A blue crossbow materialized in front of Big Benkei before being grabbed by the monster. "Soulpiercer can be treated as an equip card to a Superheavy Samurai I control. A monster equipped with Soulpiercer does piercing damage."

"And you decide to equip it to the monster that's in defense mode?" Adrian asked.

Crowler chuckled. "How could somebody make a mistake that big?"

Damian smiled. "Big Benkei's effect. All Superheavy Samurai monsters I control can attack while in defense mode, and use their defense points for damage calculation!"

Crowler gasped. "Impossible!"

Adrian raised an eyebrow. "Interesting."

"Big Benkei, attack Adrian's defense position monster!" Big Benkei fired a crossbow at Adrian's monster. A specter-like cloud briefly appeared before being shot through, causing the cloud to dissolve into mist.

"You just attacked my Cloudian-Ghost Fog. (0/0) Due to it's effect, neither of us take any battle damage from battles involving it. Along with that Fog Counters are distributed to all monsters on the field equal to the level of the monster that destroyed it."

"Big Benkei's a level 8." Damian said.

"Which means I'm placing 8 fog counters on it." The mist that was Ghost Fog enshrouded Big Benkei before 8 miniature clouds appeared around the monster.

"Alright. I end my turn."

"And with that, I activate my two face downs." Adrian declared. "I activate Diamond Dust Cyclone and Natural Disaster. With Diamond Dust Cyclone, I destroy a monster you control that has 4 or more fog counters on it. And with Natural Disaster, you take 400 points of damage every time a card of yours is destroyed and sent to the graveyard."

Unfortunately, the word 'target' didn't appear once in Diamond Dust Cyclone's description, so Damian couldn't use Flutist's effect to prevent Big Benkei from being affected. Natural Disaster would also prove to be a hassle. Unlike it's real life counterpart, where effect damage is dealt only if cthe opponents cards are destroyed by Cloudian monster effects, in the anime, it triggered as a result of any destruction. A cyclone appeared and sucked up Big Benkei, the winds harshly blasting Damian. (Damian 4000-3600) "Damn man. Not bad at all. But I activate the effect of my Soulpiercer. When it's sent to the graveyard, I get to add a Superheavy Samurai from my deck to my hand. I add my Superheavy Samurai Soulfire Suit to my hand."

"With Diamond Dust Cyclone's effect, I draw a card for every four Fog Counters the destroyed monster had. Your monster had eight, so I draw two." Adrian drew two cards from his deck. "Now it's my turn. I draw." Adrian drew a third card from his deck, put it in his hand, and got out another one. "I activate the Field Spell, Array of Revealing Light." On the ground below them, a glowing seal appeared. "When I activate this card, I get to declare one type of monster, and that monster type can't attack the same turn they're summoned. I choose Machine type."

Damian gritted his teeth. 'That's gonna be annoying. Every Superheavy Samurai is a machine monster. Gonna need to get rid of that card ASAP.'

Adrian smiled. 'Based off the decks The Light and Gagagigo told me about, your decks primarily consist of one type of monster. This field spell will definitely hinder you.' "Next I remove from play my Clodian-Ghost Fog to special summon my Cloudian-Storm Dragon (1000/0) in attack mode." A dragon made out of dark blue clouds appeared on Adrian's side of the field. "And now I normal summon my Cloudian-Cirrostratus (900/0) in attack mode." A group of clouds with kitten ears, tails, and eyes appeared. They were of various colors. "Cirrostratus gains one Fog Counter for every Cloudian on the field when it's summoned, itself included. In addition, Storm Dragon can put a Fog Counter on any card on the field once per turn, so I put a third counter on Cirrostratus." Three miniature clouds appeared around Cirrostratus. "Now, I attack directly with both of my Cloudians!"

From the mouth of the dragon-like cloud, a blast of ice was blasted at Damian, while the cat-like clouds all charged towards him. "I activate the effect of the Swift Scarecrow (0/0) in my hand. By discarding it, when a direct attack is declared, I can negate the attack and end the battle phase." The transparent image of a robotic scarecrow appeared in front of Damian. A barrier of light bursted from it, blasting away the ice breath and the cat-like clouds before the scarecrow disappeared.

"Alright then. I end my turn."

Damian drew a card, and smiled upon looking at it. He put it in his hand before getting out another card. "I summon my Superheavy Samurai Gigagloves (100/1000) in defense mode." A short red robot with large red gloves appeared. "Next, I equip it with the card I just drew, Superheavy Samurai Soulpeacemaker (0/0)." Robotic armor with four arms attached itself onto Gigagloves. "Now, I activate Soulpeacemaker's effect. By sacrificing a Superheavy Samurai equipped to it, I can special summon another one from my deck. I sacrifice my Gigagloves to special summon Superheavy Samurai Battleball!" (100/800) Gigagloves and Soulpeacemaker disappeared. In their place was a small ball-shaped armored robot wielding a tiny spear.

"All that for a little pipsqueak like that monster? This kid's nuts." An obelisk blue said from the upper stands.

"And when Giagloves is sent to the grave, if I have no spell or traps in my graveyard, I get to look at the top 5 cards in my deck and put them in any order." Damian drew 5 cards, re-ordered them, and put them on the top of his deck.

"I take it Battleball has a useful effect?" Adrian asked.

Damian nodded. "With Battleball, as long as I have no spell or trap cards in my graveyard, I can target a monster you control that has a level, and send both Battleball and the targeted monster to the graveyard. Then, I can special summon a Superheavy Samurai Synchro Monster whose level is equal to the original levels of the two monsters. I tune my level 2 Battleball to your level 4 Cloudian-Storm Dragon!"

Adrian's eyes widened. "A synchro summon with an opponent's monster?"

"I never heard of anything like that!" Syrus yelled.

Battleball transformed into two green circles. Cloudian Storm Dragon flew away from Adrian's side of the field, and through the circles, dissolving into light as it did. "Rise your roar cry divine ogre! Show yourself onto this battlefield of storm and light! Synchro summon!" A green flash emerged before a large, red, ogre-like robot with a spiked club appeared in defense mode. "Now depart for the front! Superheavy Samurai Ogre Shutendoji!" (500/2500)

Ghassan groaned. "Why does he insist on doing those stupid chants?"

"Shutendoji can attack while it's in defense mode, using it's defense points for damage calculation." Damian stated.

"Not this turn it can't. Don't you remember my field spell? Your machine monsters can't attack the turn they're summoned." Adrian pointed out.

Damian smiled. "I activate Shutendoji's effect. When it's special summoned, if I don't have any spell or trap cards in my graveyard, I can destroy all spell and trap cards on your side of the field!" Adrian gasped.

"Damian was really lucky. If he drew and used any spell or trap cards last turn, those effects of Battleball and Shutendoji would mean nothing." Chumley said.

"Well...yeah, but it's not exactly luck." Scott said.

"Plenty of Superheavy Samurai monsters have effects that require no spell or trap cards in the user's graveyard. Because of this, a lot of people who use Superheavy Samurai's, Damian included, don't use any spell or trap cards in their deck." Ghassan said.

"A deck with only monsters?" Syrus asked.

Scott nodded. "On paper that sounds like awful deck building, but in this case, it really helps out."

"Go Shutendoji!" The Superheavy Samurai smashed it's club against the ground, causing a miniature earthquake. The Natural Diaster on Adrian's side of the field shattered to pieces, and the Array of Revealing Light dissapeared from the field. "Now my machine monsters can attack. Ogre Shutendoji, attack Cirrostratus!" Without moving, Shutendoji swung it's club. It's spiked head flew off, attached to a chain to the stick of the club, and smashed the cat clouds, causing them to seperate into smaller pieces. (Adrian 4000-2400)

"Cirrostratus can't be destroyed by battle." Adrian stated. On cue, the cloud pieces came together, reforming the cat clouds.

"I end my turn." 'I know Adrian uses a good amount of continuous spells and traps, and a fair amount of monster destruction too. My Superheavy Samurai deck has the most spell and trap removal, along with a few cards to protect against destruction, so they should be a good counter. My only worry is that Eye of the Typhoon card of his. My Samurai's aren't too high on ATK points, so being switched into attack mode wouldn't be great.'

Adrian drew a card and put it in his hand. "I activate the effect of my Cloudian-Cirrostratus. By removing two fog counters from it, I can destroy one monster you control." Two of the clouds circling around Cirrostratus disappeared before the cat clouds spat out streams of snow towards Shutendoji.

"I activate the effect of my Superheavy Samurai Soulfire Suit (800/800) from my hand. By discarding it, I can lower the defense points of a Superheavy Samurai monster I control by 800 for the rest of the turn. In exchange, it can't be destroyed by battle or card effects until the end of this turn." The transparent image of a purple, flaming suit of armor appeared in front of Shutendoji. Flames erupted, preventing the snow from reaching the Ogre. (Superheavy Samurai Ogre Shutendoji 500/2500-1700)

"Tch. Fine then." Adrian got out the card he just drew. "I activate One Day of Peace. Both of us draw a card, and until the end of your next turn, neither of us take any battle damage." Adrian drew a card, as did Damian.

"Smart move. With several Cloudians being unable to be destroyed by battle, Adrian's field will likely be safe on Damian's turn, and Adrian won't take any battle damage." Bastion stated.

"In that case, couldn't he simply put Cirrostratus in defense mode?" Ghassan asked.

"A lot of Cloudians CAN'T be put in defense mode Ghassan. Not face up anyway. Otherwise, they'll be destroyed by their own effects." Scott replied. "Some like Poison Cloud or Sheep Cloud can be in defense mode, but others like Cirrostratus or Dragon will be automatically destroyed if they're in face up defense position."

Adrian looked at the card he drew. "I activate the continuous spell Cloudian Squall. During each of my standby phases, all face up monsters gain 1 Fog Counter. Next, I summon Cloudian Turbulence (800/0) in attack mode." A green cloud, shaped like a tornado with eyes, appeared on Adrian's side of the field. "Like Cirrostratus, when Turbulence is summoned, it gains a Fog Counter for every Cloudian on the field. I have 2 Cloudians, so naturally it gains two Fog Counters." Two miniature clouds circled around Turbulence. "Next, I activate it's ability. By removing a Fog Counter, I can special summon a Cloudian Smoke Ball (200/600) from my deck or graveyard. So, I'll remove two to special summon two Smoke Balls from my deck." The Fog Counters around Turbulence disappeared as two yellow baby-like clouds appeared on Adrian's side of the field.

"Setting up for a future tribute summon I take it?" Damian asked.

"I set a card face down and end my turn." Adrian stated.

Damian drew a card. "Now my Shutendoji's defense points go back to normal." (Superheavy Samurai Ogre Shutendoji 500/1700-2500) Damian looked at his hand containing three cards. 'Next turn, that Cirrostratus card will get another Fog Counter, and be able to destroy my Shutendoji.' Damian looked at the Effect Veiler he drew. 'I could use Effect Veiler, but if Adrian gets out Cloudian Eye of the Typhoon. No, I'll save Effect Veiler for that monster. So I need to find a way to get rid of that Cirrostratus card fast.'

"I summon Superheavy Samurai Damachi (1200/1800) in defense mode." A green robot with wheels carrying a cart filled with robotic gear appeared. "Like Shutendoji, Damachi can attack in defense mode. Both of you, destroy those Smoke Ball monsters!" Shutendoji destroyed one with it's club, while Damachi rolled over another. "Next, I activate Damachi's ability. I can switch it to attack mode, and if I do, I can add a Superheavy Samurai Soul monster to my hand. I choose a second copy of Peacemaker."

Adrian clenched his fist. "I take it you're going to use it to special summon a second copy of Battleball to get rid of my Cirrostratus?"

"You got that right. I equip Soul Peacemaker to Damachi before sacrificing them both to special summon another Superheavy Samurai Battleball (100/800)." A second copy of the tiny round robot appeared on Damian's side of the field. "Now, I tune my level 2 Battleball to your level 3 Cirrostratus!" Battleball transformed into two green circles, Cirrostratus flying through them and preceding to dissolve into light. "Wise swordsman with skill unpeered. Come forth upon this battlefield! Synchro summon!" A green flash emerged before a robot in blue, red, and black armor wielding two swords appeared. "I synchro summon the level 5 Superheavy Samurai Swordmaster Musashi (300/2300) in defense mode!"

"Nice. Now Adrian has far less monsters for tributing, AND he lost that Cirrostratus card." Scott stated.

"With Musashi's effect, I can add a Superheavy Samurai from my graveyard to my hand. I add my Superheavy Samurai Soulfire Suit. I end my turn.

Adrian drew. "First, due to my Cloudian Squall, all monsters on the field gains a Fog Counter." A small cloud circled around Cloudian Turbulence, and Damian's Superheavy Samurais. "After that, I activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards." Adrian drew two cards from his deck. "Now, I use my Cloudian Turbulence's effect to remove a Fog Counter and special summon a Cloudian Smoke Ball from my graveyard." A copy of the monster returned to Adrian's side of the field.

Damian clenched his fist. 'He's either gonna tribute for Nimbusman, or Eye of the Typhoon. I'm ready for it.'

"Next, I activate this quickplay spell from my hand. Fog Control. By sacrificing a Cloudian monster, I can put three Fog Counters on a face up card. I put them on your Shutendoji."

"Huh?" Was Damian's only reaction. 'Guess I was wrong about his next move.' Smoke Ball disappeared, and three more Fog Counters circled around Shutendoji.

"Now, I activate my trap card, Updraft. By removing all Fog Counters on the field, I deal 300 damage to you for each one. There's five Fog Counters on the field, so..."

"I can do the math. I take 1500 damage." Damian replied. The Fog Counters started to morph into a harsh wind, and blasted Damian. (Damian 3600-2100)

"I summon Tribe-Infecting Virus (1600/1000) in defense mode." A cloud of orange gas appeared on Adrian's side of the field. "With this monster's effect, by discarding a card in my hand, I can declare one type of monster, and all monsters of that type are destroyed!"

Damian gasped. "Then that means-"

Adrian sent a card from his hand to the graveyard. "I declare machine type monsters!" The cloud of gas headed towards Shutendoji and Musashi.

'Should I use Effect Veiler to save them? No. If I don't have it for when he gets out Eye of the Typhoon, I'm screwed.' "I discard my Soulfire Suit to prevent my Shutendoji from being destroyed."

Once again, Fire Suit's transparent image appeared, keeping the gas away from Shutendoji. However, Musashi slowly began to rust before crumbling apart entirely. In hindsight, it doesn't make much sense for a natural virus to infect mechanical things, but hey, card games. "I place two cards face down and end my turn." Adrian stated.

Damian drew a card. "I activate the spell card Sekka's Light. If I have no other spells or traps in my grave, I can draw two cards."

This took Ghassan and Scott by surprise. "I thought you said Damian didn't use spell or trap cards in his Superheavy Samurai deck." Jaden said.

"I thought that was the case too." Ghassan replied.

"It's been years since either of us dueled that deck. Maybe he made adjustments to it back in America." Scott wondered.

"So now, several of your monsters can't activate their effects." Adrian stated.

Damian smiled. "I activate the effect of Sekka's Light in my graveyard. By removing it from play, I can reveal a monster in my hand, shuffle it in the deck, and draw another card. I shuffle my Superheavy Samurai Big Magnet back into my deck." Damian did that, and drew another card.

"Clever. By including spells and traps that remove themselves from play, his deck won't be hindered then." Bastion said.

"Now, since I control no spells or traps in my grave, I can special summon Superheavy Samurai Trumpeter (300/600) from my hand!" A small robot wearing red armor, a pointy metal hat, and carrying a small trumpet appeared. "Next, I summon my Superheavy Samurai Scales (800/1800) in defense mode!" A green armored robot carrying a scale over it's back appeared. "When Scales is normal or special summoned, I get to special summon a Superheavy Samurai from my graveyard. I choose my Superheavy Battleball." (800/800) A flash of light occured before the flaming armor appeared on Damian's side of the field. "Now, I tune-"

"Before you do that, I activate my trap card, Just Desserts." Adrian interrupted. "For every monster you control, you take 500 points of damage."

Damian clenched his fist as sinister violet energy glowed around him. (Damian 2100-100)

"Alright Adrian! Kick his ass!" An obelisk blue in the crowd cheered.

"He's almost out of points!" Another yelled.

"Huh. What's their deal with Damian?" Jaden wondered.

"Damian's made it a habit of his to humiliate the Obelisk Blue dorm over the past several months." Ghassan answered. "As you can imagine, most of them don't like him."

"I tune my level 2 Battleball with your level 4 Tribe-Infecting Virus." Once again, Battleball transformed in two green circles, the orange gas cloud going through them before dissolving into light. "I synchro summon my second Shutendoji!" A second copy of the mechanical red ogre appeared. "And naturally, with Shutendoji's effect, I destroy all spell and trap cards you control when he's synchro summoned." Shutendoji striked the ground with it's club, causing a shockwave to head towards Adrian's Cloudian Squall, and his set card.

"Well before that happens, I activate my trap card Threatening Roar." A roar of energy shot out from the flipped card. "This prevents you from declaring an attack this turn. Looks like my life points are safe."

"Huh. I thought Adrian was history by then." Jaden said.

Damian smiled. "Your life points arent as safe as you think. Tme for another synchro summon! I tune my level 2 Trumpeter with one of my level 6 Shutendoji's and level 4 Scales."

"A level 12 Synchro monster?!" Bastion yelled in shock.

"What's so weird about that?" Ghassan asked.

"Umm...hello? There are barely any available level 12 monsters in the game!" Syrus replied.

Scott thought about it, and realized that the shock of the students was understandable. Prior to th 5D's era, the only level 12 monsters were Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Five-Headed Dragon, Divine Neos, Barbaroid the Ultimate Battle Machine, Dragon Master Knight, and Armityle the Chas Phantom. Take into account how Divine Neos and Armityle had yet to come into existance within the world of GX by this point, and how Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and Dragon Master Knight only had one copy, and that left a maximum of two level 12 monsters available to the public.

Trumpeter transformed into two green circles, Shutendoji and Scales going through them, dissolving into light as they did. "Steadfast oni gods, grasp tightly on my fist's resolve, now, become the fiend of iron and run across the battlefield! Synchro Summon! Now come before us!" A flash of green light occured, before a orange train with the face of a red oni appeared. "I summon the level 12 Superheavy Samurai Steam Train King (2000/4800) in defense mode!"

"You said that my life points aren't safe. I take it that has to do with the monster's effect?" Adrian asked.

Damian nodded. "Once per turn, I can remove from play all spells and trap cards in our graveyards, and my opponent takes 200 points of damage for each one." Adrian gritted his teeth.

"So, I lost count. How many spells and traps are in the grave?" Jaden asked.

"Not counting Sekka's Light since Damian already banished it, that leaves all the spells and traps Adrian played." Ghassan said.

"So that's Dust Cyclone, Natural Diaster, Array of Revealing Light, One Day of Peace, Cloudian Squall, Pot of Greed, Fog Control, Updraft, Just Desserts, and Threatening Roar." Bastion recalled. "That makes 10 spells and traps in total."

"So Adrian's gonna be taking 2000 points of damage." Scott said.

A cannon came out of the mouth of the oni face on the train, and fired a burst of flame at Adrian. (Adrian 2400-400)

Crowler gulped. "No no no no no. Come on Gecko, you can't lose this duel."

"Next, I activate the other effect of Steam Train King. I can discard up to two cards, and destroy that many cards you control. I discard my Superheavy Samurai Soulbang Cannon to destroy your Cloudian Turbulence!" Another blast was fired from Steam Train King's mouth, destroying Adrian's sole remaining card on the field. "I end my turn."

Adrian said nothing for a little while. "I'm curious about something. I heard that you've been making a mockery out of the Obelisk Blue dorm." Adrian took a look at several of the spectators who were urging Adrian to win, and hurling insults at Damian. "I'm just wondering why."

"It's not that I hate everybody in Obelisk Blue. But so many of them are egotistical snobs who act way more smug than they have the right to. There are a few Obelisks who can actually give me a tough time, or even beat me like Zane, Alexis, and Bastion. But most of the people in that dorm? I could beat them in my sleep. But they act so high and mighty because of the dorm they're in."

"I see. So the big difference between you and Obelisk Blue students is that you have the talent to back up your ego."

A lot of the cheering for Adrian stopped. Evidently, Adrian didn't hold the Obelisks in that high a regard either.

"Hey, my head isn't shoved up my ass anywhere near as much as these guys." Damian replied.

"Not very self aware are you? You really think actively flaunting your superiority over them makes you much better?"

"Hey man, I only do that to the Obelisks who act like high and mighty pricks. Not to everybody at the academy."

Adrian drew from his deck. "I activate Pot of Avarice. By shuffling 5 monsters from my graveyard to my deck, I can draw two cards. I shuffle 3 of my Smoke Balls, my Poison Cloud, and my Tribe-Infecting Virus." Adrian shuffled them back into the deck and drew two more cards, taking a look at them. "It's time to end this." He the put them in his hand, and got out another one. "Next, I summon my Cloudian - Sheep Cloud (0/0) in defense mode." A small cumulus cloud with open pores for eyes appeared on Adrian's side of the field.

"You're saying that it's time to end the duel eh? I take it you're gonna get out Eye of the Typhoon to attack my Superheavy Samurai's then?"

"That would be a good way to counter Damian's monsters." Bastion said.

"Why's that?" Jaden asked.

"Cloudian Eye of the Typhoon switches the battle positions of all monsters on the field when it attacks. From the looks of it, no Superheavy Samurai's have 3000 or more attack points, and rely on high defense points. All Adrian will need to do is attack with Eye of the Typhoon and he'll win the duel."

"Wait, if Damian knew about this Eye of the Typhoon monster, why'd he pick the Superheavy Samurai deck?" Chumley asked.

"He probably has a way to counter that monster then." Ghassan said.

Adrian just smiled. "This is exactly what I mean when I say you're egotistical. You think my only way to beat you is through my strongest monster? Think about it. Have I EVER damaged you through battle this whole duel so far?"

Damian's eyes widened. The only times Adrian damaged him were through card effects. And it was enough to bring Damian down to only 100 life points. "Wait a minute...so that means-?"

"You were so confident that you had this duel in the bag because you knew how to destroy my spells and traps, and because you were prepared for Typhoon. Let me guess, you have a card in your grave or your hand to either negate an attack, or a monster's effect, right? So you thought you'd be able to handle whatever I threw at you?"

Damian didn't respond, though Adrian wasn't exactly off the mark.

"All these predictions about what my next move will be, all your talk about sticking it to Obelisk Blues. Those are just other ways for you to show off, aren't they? I activate my spell card Thunder Crash. I destroy all monsters I control, and inflict 300 points of damage to you for each one!"

"Damian only has 100 points left!" Chumley pointed out.

"That means he's finished!" Syrus added.

Cloudian Sheep Cloud dissolved into light, before a bolt of lightning headed towards Damian. Damian smiled. "You did a really good job Adrian. Guess this duel isn't going to have a winner."

"What are you talking about?" Adrian asked.

"I activate the effect of Superheavy Samurai Soulbang Cannon (1000/1000) in my graveyard!" A round blue genrator with yellow thrusters appeared in front of Damian, absorbing the lightning bolt.

"What the-?!"

"When my opponent activates a card effect while I have a Superheavy Samurai in defense position, I can remove this monster from play if it's in my graveyard. I negate that effect, destroy all monsters on the field, and both of us take 1000 points of damage!"

Several people in the audience gasped. Soulbang Cannon began to overload with energy. "Since both of their life points are lower than 1000-" Ghassan began to say.

"The duel's a draw then." Scott finished. Soulbang Cannon exploded. A bright burst of light occured, obliterating Damian's monsters entirely and engulfing the Duel Field. The spectators and Crowler shielded their eyes from the flash.

"Heh heh. Maybe I should have sent Adrian after Damian instead of Giga Gagagigo. He would have pressured Damian into giving me control for sure." The Light of Destruction said inside Scott's head.

"Yeah yeah. But if you're going by this duel to base that theory of yours, Adrian wouldn't have beaten Damian, just tie." Scott replied.

"Think again."

"Huh?"

The light faded, and the dust built up by the holographic explosion faded away. When it did, the spectators saw Damian on his knees, while Adrian was standing, the holographic image of a quickplay spell being displayed. "Thanks to my Spell of Pain, all that effect damage that would have been dealt to me is negated. You also take all the damage that would have been dealt to me, but the damage dealt to yourself was enough to take you out."

(Damian 100-0) Damian deactivated his Duel Disk. "Heh. Gotta say, I wasn't expecting you to have a counter-measure for that."

Adrian deactivated his Duel Disk as well. "Of course you didn't. Because you view yourself as nigh-infallable."

Damian stood up. "Not really. I lost plenty of duels before."

Crowler's voice played over the speakers. "The winner, Adrian Gecko!"

There was an applause, though not quite as loud as expected. Knowing that Adrian also looked down on them made this victory a bitter-sweet one for the Obelisks.

"You know the difference between the duels you had before Duel Academy, and the ones you had during it." Adrian lowered his voice so that only Damian could hear him. "You're not special. You act like having a more advanced deck makes you the ruler of the world. But thanks to you being unable to think about consequences, Industrial Illusions is mass producing the cards from your dimension. And sooner or later, everybody's going to be using these more advanced cards in the future, leading to one of our biggest advantages going down the drain."

"I needed to make these cards more public so that we wouldn't arouse suspicion when we use them." Damian whispered back.

"And you couldn't have made due with a regular deck, and only use your real ones for duels important to your mission? Or was needing to come off as one of the best duelists at this school so important to you? You jeopardized your task and your secrecy all for your wish fufillment. For all that talk you give to the Obelisks about their need to validate their ego, you're just as guilty of it as they are, if not more so. The only difference between you and these arrogant Obelisks you talk down to on a regular basis is that you have the skills to backup your ego. And in time, when they start busting out these cards from your dimension regularly, whose to say that'll stick?"

Damian said nothing. He hid it, but he was frustrated. Frustrated that the Obelisks could use this as an opportunity to mock him. Frustrated that Crowler got what he wanted. But he was especially frustrated by Adrian's words. Especially since he knew they were true.

Adrian turned around. "Meet me at the beach with Ghassan and Scott at midnight. We have planning to do."


Took me a while to finish this chapter. I enjoyed writing this chapter, especially the end. Adrian calling out Damian for his ego and behavior was a ton of fun. Was expecting to cover more this chapter, but the duel between Adrian and Damian took longer than I thought.

Looks like next chapter, we'll be finding out exactly why Adrian transferred to Central Duel Academy, and maybe get a hint about what his plans are. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and are looking forward to the next one!