Chapter 120

The Shadow Court had sealed away all three Egyptian Gods to protect Egypt, but that had only been the beginning. Soon after, the Shadow Court had finally decided that the Shadow Magic was far too powerful to be left unchecked in Egypt. That was when the Millennium Items had been decided to be created.

Illidan only sighed, knowing that the creation of the Millennium Items had sparked much turmoil within Egypt, but in the end, it was for the best. He then decided he'd had enough remembering of the so called good old days and looked down at the table.

The three Egyptian God Cards were his for now, and he'd use them to save his friends. Illidan then decided it was time to eat and get ready for bed, seeing how he had another long day of dueling ahead.

In the morning, he woke up in a sweat as usual. He had dreamed about Marie again. This time he had dreamed of Marie being destroyed by his own hands. He had literally destroyed her by banishing her to the Shadow Realm. He shook this off and quickly took a shower and readied himself for his duel. He checked his deck first to make sure it was ready. Once satisfied, he ate some waffles for breakfast. He then quickly checked out the tournament site to see if anything had been said about the tournament. The only thing listed was he had a duel today against an associate. "Gee, thanks Gozaburo. Making sure I can't decide how to duel a person I guess." Deciding he wouldn't get anything else, he looked at the time quickly. It was already 7:30 A.M., so he had to get ready to go. Quickly sliding his Duel Disk on and putting his deck in it's holder, he headed towards the elevator.

Again, like before, no one was there. The tower was so eerie without anyone truly in it. Illidan decided to go on up to the top since no one was going to be around to ride up. He quickly rode up to the top.

Once there, he saw that Gozaburo and his associates were already there. A man with brownish hair and a mustache was in the dueling ring. "So, this is the next associate." The man also wore a business suit, but had a Duel Disk strapped to his arm.

Gozaburo smiled evilly with the arrival of Illidan. "Good to see you're early Illidan. I'd hate to see you lose all your friends due to being late." he said with a voice of sarcasm.

Illidan only glared at Gozaburo. "I'd worry more about what I'll do to you if you don't let my friends go." Illidan replied with a voice of cold steel.

Gozaburo only laughed and said "Well, we'll see about that. Let's begin this duel."

The judge then strode forward. He motioned for both Illidan and the associate to come forward. He gave his usual speech. Illidan and the associate then handed one another their decks. Each shuffled one another's decks and then returned them. Illidan then extended his hand, as did the associate.

As they shook hands, the associate said "I'll be taking you down Illidan. Count on that one!" he said with a laugh. Illidan ignored him and let go. He then moved back to his normal position.

"Mr. Stormrage, you have choice of going first or second." said the judge.

Illidan replied quickly with "I'll go second."

The judge nodded and said "Mr. Crump, you may go first then. Both of you activate your Duel Disks and call out your Deck Masters. Then draw your first five cards. Mr. Crump, you may begin then."

Both then unfolded their Duel Disks. They sparked to life and the life point counters lit up.

"It's time you meet my Nightmare Penguin (900/1800)!" A penguin with a top hat and a tuxedo then appeared. Illidan only smiled at the odd looking Deck Master.

"Come forth my Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning (3000/2500)!" Illidan's large soldier then appeared beside of him. His armor gleamed in the morning sun.

Both then drew their first five cards and said "Time to duel!"

Crump then drew his first card and laughed. "I'll soon enough beat you with my overwhelming numbers and be back on top as Mr. Kaiba's new accountant. Soon enough, I'll be counting the world's money, muwhaha!"

Illidan only grinned and replied "I wouldn't count on it my friend. Now make your move."

"Gladly. Now I summon Mucus Yolk (0/100) in defense mode." said Crump boldly. A pinkish-reddish blob then appeared on the field. It had a white center though, which seemed to be it's core.

"Next I set 2 cards face down and end my move. Let's see if you have the numbers to beat me." (Crump 8000, Illidan 8000)

Illidan only stood there confused. "Why play such a weak monster in defense mode? Possibly it has a special effect, or his face down cards are something I need to watch. Either one, it won't matter in a moment." Illidan then drew his card. Looking at his hand, he held Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Blade Knight, Magic Cylinder, D.D. Warrior Lady, Jinzo, and his newly drawn Cyber Harpie Lady. Smiling, he remembered how much Mai liked her Harpies.

"I summon Cyber Harpie Lady (1800/1300) in attack mode!" The bird like woman then appeared on the field, screeching at Crump.

"Now Cyber Harpie Lady, tear Crump's Mucus Yolk apart with Cyber Slash!" The Harpie then took off and flew straight at the blob.

As she neared, Crump smirked and said "You fell into my trap Illidan, muwhahaha! I activate my Crush Card Virus trap, which will now infect my Mucus Yolk!" Suddenly the blob became green, showing an infection.

"That's the card Seto uses!" declared Illidan in shock.

"Yes, it is Mr. Stormrage, and it's the same one that's just devastated you, muwhaha!" replied Crump.

Illidan watched in horror as his Cyber Harpie Lady slashed the blob with her talons. The blob instantly exploded, but threw bits of itself at Cyber Harpie Lady and at Illidan. The parts touched his hand and his deck. Suddenly the goop sparked. Cyber Harpie Lady screamed in pain and suddenly exploded.

"Now every monster with 1500 or more attack points on your side of the field, in your hand, and in your deck is sent to the Graveyard! Now sort out your deck and discard them!" demanded Crump.

Illidan growled and looked at his hand. He slowly sent his Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Blade Knight, D.D. Warrior Lady, and Jinzo to the Graveyard. Next he pulled his deck out. He looked at his deck. He slowly sorted through his deck, taking out monsters with 1500 or more attack points. He only had a handful of monsters that had less than 1500 attack points, which was rather bad. He now had most of his deck in his Graveyard.

He then saw the three Egyptian Gods. Obelisk was obviously infected, but then Illidan realized something. Neither Ra nor Slifer had the electrical sparks on them like all the other cards in his deck had. "That must mean they're uninfected, but how? Of course! They start with 0 attack and defense. They're points are gained once they're on the field. That means I might actually have a chance if I can get three monsters out and draw one of these two. I just hope I can." He finally sent all the monsters he had with 1500 or more attack points to the Graveyard. He then reshuffled his deck and reinserted it into his deck slot.

Crump only smirked at this movement. "You're in real trouble now my boy. Without your big number monsters, you're finished. Now hurry up your move so I can make my way back to the top!" cracked of Crump.

Illidan stared at the only card left in his hand. "I place one card face down and end my move." (Crump 8000, Illidan 8000)

"Now it's time to play the numbers game. I'll begin by playing A Legendary Ocean first!" A large body of water than poured down onto the field, taking the two into an underwater dueling arena.

"Next, I'll play Pot of Greed, allowing me to increase the odds for me to beat you. Now I'll play…"

"Wait Crump!" interrupted Gozaburo.

Both of them stared up at Gozaburo. "What now?"

"I think it's time I up the ante on this game for you two. Time for yet another Shadow Game!" Suddenly the tower went dark as the sphere of darkness covered the tower.

Illidan growled softly, knowing this couldn't be good. He then saw his friends reappearing on the walls. He slowly checked to see if everyone was there. Finally satisfied that they were, he looked up at Marie.

"I'd pay attention Illidan if I were you." called out Gozaburo.

Illidan turned towards the tyrant with a death glare.

"Now for the rules of this game. Once you lose life points, you will slowly be covered up in ice. As this duel continues, your body will slowly be covered. In the end, you'll be completely covered and frozen solid. You'll remain that way for all eternity within the Shadow Realm. Now continue!" declared Gozaburo.

Crump only grinned at this new news. "This works great for me seeing how I'm so cold blooded. Now, as I was saying, I'm about to teach you the evolution of business. You see, it starts out with weak numbers, but it gets better with time. And to represent my evolution chain, I'll summon Gigabyte (350/300) in attack mode!" A green reptile warrior then appeared on the field. He was a small monster, but had a strong will to fight.

"Now my Deck Master grants my new monster an additional 200 attack and defense points (550/500). As well, my Legendary Ocean grants another 200 attack and defense points (750/700). It's all about the numbers my boy!" squawked Crump. Gigobyte growled softly as his power grew.

"I'm far from done though Illidan, for I'm about to show you the next step in evolution. Now I activate the trap card known as Ultimate Offering! This trap allows me to give up a wise investment of 500 life points per an extra summon or set of a monster. I give up 500 life points in order to summon Gagagigo (1850/1000) in attack mode!" Another reptile warrior then appeared. He seemed like a larger version of Gigobyte, more than likely his adult form. The lizard roared at Illidan, trying to instill fear.

Suddenly, ice formed on one of Crump's feet. Crump only laughed at the freshly formed ice and said "Ah that feels much better. After all, what is better than a chunk of ice on yourself? Now my Gagagigo gains an additional 400 attack and defense points combined from my Nightmare Penguin and A Legendary Ocean (2250/1400)." The reptile warrior roared as it's strength increased, making it even more fierce.

"Don't count yourself so lucky yet Illidan, for I'm not done. Next I pay out another 500 life points in order to summon Giga Gagagigo (2450/1500)! And he gains an additional 400 points as well (2850/1900)!" Another reptile appeared on the field, but this one was quite different. This one was brown and green, but had more of an evil aura around him. It seemed that the goodness that had been in Gigobyte and Gagagigo was gone in this new creature.

About this time, Crump's other foot then froze over, causing him to laugh. "Well, I'd say the numbers speak for themselves Illidan. You're completely out gunned, and about to lose some major life points. You're about to fall faster than the temperature of the Antarctic. But before you start falling, I have one last card in my hand to play. I play the magic card known as Cold Wave!"

Suddenly ice formed over Illidan's face down card. Illidan was shocked at this latest development.

"What did you just do?" he asked curiously.

"Simple boy, I just froze all magic and trap cards on the field till my next turn. And since I froze all magic and trap cards, my own Ultimate Offering is froze over. Now it's time to show you how strong evolution of business is! Gigobyte, attack his life points directly with Claw Slash!" The smaller reptile leapt into action. He easily crossed the field and slashed Illidan with his claws, making Illidan slightly flinch with pain. Then ice began to form on both of Illidan's feet.

"Feeling a bit cold my boy?" asked Crump smartly.

Illidan only chuckled. "If you think this pitiful Shadow Game will beat me, you're sadly mistaken. I've dueled in a lot worse." replied Illidan with confidence.

Crump growled at Illidan's refusal to give in to fear and called out "Gagagigo, attack his life points directly with Tail Smash!" The older version of Gigobyte then leaped across the field and spun around. He then smacked Illidan hard with his tail, making Illidan slide back slightly. Then suddenly the ice formed further up Illidan's legs.

"Well, looks like you're becoming a bit stiff Illidan. Why the cold feet, muwhahaha!" joked Crump.

Illidan only laughed. "IS THAT ALL YOU GOT? I'VE FACED COLDER NIGHTS IN THE SARAHA WITH ONLY A SMALL CLOAK TO KEEP ME WARM!" called back Illidan.

Crump growled with frustration and yelled "Giga Gagagigo, attack him directly with Reconstructed Slash!" The large brown reptile leaped at Illidan and slashed him with a set of odd claws. Illidan slid back slightly again, but remained standing. He was breathing hard, but was standing at least. Then suddenly the ice began forming further up him. It completely covered him up to halfway up his chest.

"Well, how about that, you're nearly out of this duel. I end my move, but soon enough I'll be counting you down to 0 life points and be on my way to the top, muwhahaha!" declared Crump. (Crump 7000, Illidan 1750)

Illidan only chuckled at Crump.

"Something funny Illidan? I seem to have missed the joke, or have you gone insane? Perhaps you should just give up, cause your chances of winning this duel now are slim to none." stated Crump.

Up on the wall of the Shadow Realm, Marie only stared down at Illidan, hoping against all that he'd win.

"Come on Illidan, you can win. I know you can." she called down.

"I wouldn't worry Marie." Yugi said to her.

She looked over at the young man that had a half grin.

"Illidan will win, you'll see." he said to her.

She smiled, knowing she couldn't give up Illidan as well.

Further on the wall, Seto silently thought to himself about Illidan's position. "He's in a spot where he can't win. Without his Egyptian God Cards, he's finished. He won't win this duel."

Back on the field, Illidan continued to chuckle. Finally, he stared up at Crump. "Know what's so funny Crump?" he asked.

Crump only shrugged.

"It's the fact that even though you say it's hopeless, I know you're wrong. I'm going to win due that I have the support of my friends, a belief in the Heart of the Cards, and a belief in myself! I made a promise to save everyone, and I intend on keeping it. Now watch this move!"

He then drew his card in confidence. Looking at it, he smiled. "I set one monster in defense. Your move Crump." (Crump 7000, Illidan 1750)

Crump only chuckled. "Is that all you have Illidan? And here I thought after that heartwarming speech you'd try to take me down. Now watch a real move. I sacrifice both Gigobyte and Gagagigo in order to summon Gogiga Gagagigo (2950/2800)!" A red and white colored reptile monster then appeared on the field, roaring. This freaky monster looked like a Frankenstein like creature. The creature seemed so full of darkness and hatred, unlike the two that had been sacrificed.

"Like my other monsters, he now gains 200 points from Nightmare Penguin and 200 more points from my Legendary Ocean (3350/3200)!" The red skinned monster roared as it's power slowly rose.

"Now to crush you once and for all! Giga Gagagigo, attack his pitiful face down monster with Reconstructed Slash!"