Chapter 25: Dragon's Treasure

After saying goodbye to the maiden in distress, our heroes continued their search for answers, to no avail. They searched just about everywhere in the town, but found no clues. Presently, they were sitting in the shade of a tree just outside of the town.

"Man, this is pontless! We'll never find our way out of here."

"Now what kind of attitude is that, Syrus? We just need to have a little faith, is all. Although, I could do with something to eat..."

Everyone sighed. Jaden was always hungry, it seemed. Just then, they smelled something cooking nearby.

"Hey, you guys smell that?"

"Yeah, and it smells good!"

"Its coming from over there. Come on, let's check it out!"

Following the scent, they found a large cave. Carefully, the seven entered finding it packed to the brim with meats and spices, all cooking nicely.

"Sweet! We hit the motherload!"

"Let's dig in!"

"Wait, what if this is a-"

"So, more foolish humans have taken the bait!"

"Trap."

Turning around, they found a very hungry Luster Dragon staring at them, drooling as it eyed them. Nervously, Jaden approached.

"Oh, is this your cave? We were just-"

"Silence! I know why you're here, but you can forget it! Now unless you want to be an appetizer for my next meal, I suggest you beat it!"

"Do what he says Jaden, its not worth it!"

"Pipsqueak is right, slacker. Its not worth it!"

But Jaden grinned broadly.

"Alright, we'll leave...if you beat me in a duel! Winner gets all the food."

"Duel me? You must be joking. But if you wish to lose, I shall oblige!"

GAME ON!

Luster Dragon: 8000

Jaden: 8000

"Homefield advantage goes first. I summon Masked Dragon in attack mode (1400/1100) and end my turn with two cards face down. Your move, mortal."

"Not bad, now watch me! I summon Elemental Hero Wildheart (1500/1600) in attack mode! Take out his Dragon!"

With one swing of his sword, the wild hero fell the dragon in one swoop.

Luster Dragon: 7900

"Masked Dragon's effect activates, letting me summon Elemental Dragon (1500/1200) in its place."

"Alright, this is getting good! I set one card face down and end my turn."

"Humph, you won't feel that way for long. I activate my face down, Call of the Haunted to bring back Masked Dragon. And when there is a fire type monster on the field, Element Dragon gains 500 attack points (1500-2000). Next, I summon Spear Dragon (1900/0), and activate Creature Swap to trade you Masked Dragon for you Wildheart."

"Uh oh, this isn't good."

"Element Dragon, take out Masked Dragon!"

The small dragon let loose a fireball, taking out his former comrade and dealing Jaden a small amount of damage

Jaden: 7400

"And since Masked Dragon goes to my graveyard, I can summon Twin Headed Behemoth (1500/1200)! And when there's a wind monster on the field when Element Dragon destroys a monster in battle, he can attack again, so let him have it!"

"I don't think so! I activate The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh, letting me bring out Winged Kuriboh (300/200) to take the attack for me."

Jaden's spirit partner emerged, only to be cut down to size instantly

"Sorry pal, but thanks to your effect, I'm safe for now."

"No you're not! I activate the trap card Ceasefire, dealing you 500 points of damage for every effect monster on the field, and I count 4!"

Jaden screamed in pain as a red aura consumed him, draining his life points.

Jaden: 5400

"Jaden!"

"I'm...fine."

"You won't be for long. I end my turn there."

"You'll pay for that! For starters, I activate the spell card Owner's Seal, returning Wildheart to my field. Next, I activate the spell card Polymerization, fusing him with the Bladedge in my hand to fusion summon Elemental Hero Wildedge (2600/2300). And guess what? He can attack all of your monsters once each!"

"What?"

Before the dragon's very eyes, Jaden's monster tore through his entire field, leaving him with nothing.

Luster Dragon: 8000-7400-7700-6600

"And I'll end my turn with a face down. Your move, lizard breath!"

"Before you do, my Twin Headed Behemoth's effect activates. Once per duel, once the turn in which he was destroyed is completed, he returns, with his attack and defense lowered to 1000."

The twin headed dragon returned, considerably weaker (1500-1000/1200-1000).

"Now you've done it! No more Mr. Nice dragon! I sacrifice my Behemoth to summon the strongest monster in my deck, whose power rivals the Blue Eyes White Dragon herself: White Horned Dragon (2200/1400)!"

Everyone gasped as a large, red skinned dragon with a piercing horn swooped down onto the field majestically. They were considerably less impressed, however, with its attack points.

"2200 attack points? Really?"

"Yeah, for all that build up I expected something really strong."

"Looks can be deceiving. When my Dragon is normal or special summoned, I can banish up to five spell cards in your grave and give him 500 attack points for each one. You currently have 3, so he gains 900 attack points (2200-3100)!"

"That's not good."

"White Horned Dragon, attack his Wildedge!"

The large dragon shot a large bolt of lightning at Jaden's monster, disintegrating it.

Jaden: 4900

"Its a good thing I have my face down! Go, Hero Signal! And with it, I'll bring on out Elemental Hero Ocean (1500/1200)."

"Humph. I'll end my turn there."

"Then its my move, and thanks to Ocean's effect I'll add Bladedge back to my hand. Then, I use Foolish Burial to send Necroshade to my graveyard, and thanks to his effect I can summon Bladedge without tributing any monsters. Lastly, I'll play Miracle Fusion, banishing Wildheart and Necroshade to fusion summon Elemental Hero Necroid Shaman (1900/1800) in attack mode!"

"So what? None of them can come close to destroying my monster."

"Then it's a good thing my Shaman has a special effect. When he's Special Summoned, I can destroy one of your monsters and replace it with a weaker monster from your graveyard, like your Spear Dragon in defense mode!"

"What?"

Luster Dragon could only watch in horror as his ace disappeared in a shower of light, replacing itself with the long-nosed dragon in defense mode.

"Bladedge, attack his Spear Dragon!"

The armored hero charged, cutting the dragon to ribbons.

Luster Dragon: 4000

"Ocean, Necroid shaman, attack him directly!"

Luster Dragon: 600

"That about does it for me. Your go."

The dragon snarled, refusing to believe he could be beaten. But nothing in his hand could save him.

"I'll summon Infernal Dragon (2000/0) in attack mode. Attack his Ocean!"

The black dragon incinerated the water-dwelling hero with a blaze, causing Jaden to cringe.

Jaden: 4400

"I end my turn."

With that, Infernal Dragon exploded, taking any hope Luster Dragon had of winning with it.

"Necroid Shaman, finish him off!"

The wild hero slammed into the Dragon with its staff, sending it flying into a tree.

"That's game!"

Luster Dragon: 0000

Jaden wins!

Seeing that his opponent wasn't moving, Jaden walked over to check on him.

"Its alright, he's just out cold."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get out of here before he wakes up!"

Nodding, everyone grabbed a few pieces of meat and took their leave. The last thing they wanted was to be there when he woke up.