Yami no Game: Dark Saga

Chapter 38

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"Good. Just the words I wanted to hear. There is only room for one magic-themed duelist in the world so whoever wins this duel will earn the title Master of Magicians!" Pandora spoke. "This is truly an honor. But I'm afraid this room is much too cramped for our duel but I have looked ahead and prepared a duel arena for us both in the basement." he continued as he waved for Yami to follow as he went over to a set of stairs and walked down. "Mind the stairs." They made their way down and Pandora smirked. "Incidentally, Master Malik told me that you would be arriving so I prepared a special something for you so you wouldn't get bored. A demon of your caliber must get bored with simple dueling."

'Malik!' he thought in shocked and growled. "The leader of the Rare Hunters and the owner of the last Sennen item." he whispered before stopping in his tracks as he looked to Pandora's back. "You talked to Malik! Where is he?! Tell me!" he hissed. Pandora stopped as well and smirked. "Where is he now? He might be close, very close. Like right up here." he spoke as he pointed to his head, preferably his mind. 'That's right, Malik has control over his underlings and he can make them do whatever he wants whenever he wants to. Could he be watching right now?' Yami wondered and tsked in annoyance. They continued to walk until they came to a question mark door. "Ah, here we are. This is my underground arena." Pandora said before opening the door.

"Pandora's Room."

The room was decked out with occult and magic items from scary mask motifs to mystic boxes and blank mannequins. 'This room is like a bad dream.' Yami thought as he looked about before turning to look to Pandora as he began to speak. "A conjurer has many tricks, from simple card tricks to bring nightmares to life with the flick of a wrist. And now...I believe this room is a wonderful and worthy stage for Black Magicians to duel to see who's superior in the dark arts." he said, walking to the other side of the hexagram table, smirking all the while as he brought out his deck. "Now let's shuffle our decks and begin." he said as he shuffled his deck and Yami did the same. He watched as Pandora shuffled and snorted. "Shotgun shuffle will damage your cards."

"I'm used to it this way." Pandora commented as they set their decks on the table and pushed them to the opponent to cut. "You know, there's an old saying among gamblers that I know. 'Trust your friends, but always cut the cards'." he continued. Yami huffed as he cut Pandora's deck. "Friends, only few get to be friends with a demon and you're not one of them." he stated. "A pity but now that we are committed to the duel, I'd like to show you something that will prove we're blood brothers." Pandora whispered as he grinned. "A nightmare world with you as the star!" he exclaimed as he grabbed a chain hanging from the ceiling and pulled and before Yami could react, heavy metal shackles clamped around his ankles as the table lowered into the floor. Yami gave a roar of protest.

"Don't worry! You're not alone for I have them too so neither of us can escape! Now to witness the greatest show of the century! Pandora's Escape from the Jaws of Death!" he said as two large metal blades emerged and Yami hissed and snarled as he tried to force the shackles from his legs but they held fast. This alone shows that either Pandora or Malik himself knew of his strength and made sure that he couldn't escape so easily from the duel should Pandora have the skill to win against him. "Ah, did I scare the all mighty demon? Good! Fear this 100-tooth carbide tipped saw! The same used to saw women in half! As you guessed, this duel will use my house rules!" Pandora said with glee. "Now, let me point you to the numbers written on the saw's rails, those represent our life points."

'Shit, as we lose life points, the blade will get closer and closer until...' Yami thought. "…until chop! You'll be sawed in half! Even a demon can't survive being sawed through the middle, I'm sure!" he continued. "But don't worry, as you can see right underneath me is a box. You have one as well. This box is designed to open once your opponent's life points reach zero. The key inside will unlock the shackles around your ankles."

"This is insane!" Yami shouted. "I may be but if you know ancient history well, Greek mythology says that Pandora's Box was created by the gods to contain all the evils of the world. Then a woman named Pandora opened it and all the evils escaped, bringing pain, suffering and evil. But one thing remained in the box for she closed it too fast, leaving hope behind. And for us, the key that rest inside these boxes represent our hope for freedom." Pandora said before cackling and Yami growled, dark powers emerging. "You think playing with a life is fun for you? A battle that kills people...I ask you; do you think this is fun?"

"Why yes. Cause I know I'll win. And why do you question me when you yourself are a demon. Playing with lives should be nothing new." Pandora whispered. "That was my old self until my ways were cleansed by the warm light of my lover! Lowdown filthy scum! You will pay for this!" Yami growled. "I will bring you the edge of your life and we'll see how you like it! Rub me the wrong way and you may just lose it and it won't be by a saw!" he hissed and Pandora grinned at the thrill. "Fine by me!"

"Duel!"

"I'll begin!" Yami said as he drew his five cards and looked to his hand. Pandora did the same and smirked. 'Ah, and luck is on my side already for I have one of my Black Magicians in hand already! Of course, that wasn't luck.' he thought to himself as he kept the satisfied gleam in his eyes hidden from Yami. 'As a professional stage magician, I know more than my share of techniques to cheat at card games...it's simple to get just what you need! There are so many ways to distinguish a card just from the back. Sanding, waxing, cutout, edgework, spotting, pegging. And a variety of others. But for this particular duel, I decide on the simple stripping technique and did it not just to one but all my Black Magician cards. And I set it up so that Yami would bring my Black Magician up to the top. Now, I'll teach you that you can't outwit a conjurer!'

"Alright, I set one card face down and set Alpha the Magnet Warrior in defense and end my turn." he said as he looked to him. "Now make your move."

"Gladly." he said, drawing his card. "I'll send Legion the Fiend Jester out in defense as well." he said as the monster appeared on the field. "End turn." he whispered. 'Now, according to super expert rules, I just need one more monster then I can bring out the Black Magician!' Pandora thought. "Back to me!" Yami murmured as he drew his card. "Now, instead of playing another monster, I'm going to activate a spell card instead! Card Destruction!" he said as the card appeared onto the field and Pandora gasped in horror. "Now, we discard our hands! Go on now, Pandora." he hissed as he sent his hand to the graveyard and drew his new hand but Pandora was hesitating as he looked to his Black Magician that he has in hand. "I suppose by your expression that I was right to assume that you had Black Magician in your hand." Yami murmured and Pandora made a sound of surprise. "Only a fool would duel a conjurer without knowing their tricks. Any idiot who shotgun shuffles doesn't care for his cards. As such means that he altered his cards in some way. As for you, you thinned the edges of your Black Magicians to get easier access to them the moment I cut your deck." Yami explained.

"So...you knew about my trick and yet you still cut my deck anyway?" he whispered before snarling. "Shit!" Yami could only chuckle as he watched the other become flustered but discarded his hand to draw a new one. "But I'm not finished just yet. Now open face down, Brain Control!" The card flipped up and brought his jester onto his side. 'No, not Brain Control!' Pandora thought in horror. "Now I'll sacrifice them both to bring out the Black Magician!" he called as the two monsters were sacrificed to allow the purple clad magician to appear on the field, giving a glare to Pandora, knowing his master's anger towards the man. 'The...the Black Magician!'

"Time to show you the anger of the cards when you cut them." Yami hissed. "I'll play any game, no matter how dangerous they can get. My anger shows in my cards and they understand and fight to represent it. My dearest and loyal companion here will show you the anger of harming the soul of a card by altering it." he continued before nodding to the magician. "Go, Black Magic!" Mahaado raised his staff and unleashed a powerful blast to hit Pandora directly, knocking him down to 1500 in one hit. Pandora cried out in pain as the attack hit and the saw blade inched closer to the point he could feel the cutting wind from the spinning blade. "Looks like you'll be cut faster than you comprehend, conjurer. Let's see this 'show of the century' and try to escape your own trap." Yami whispered.

Pandora only screeched in terror and Yami smirked, showing sharp fangs. "Why so afraid, Pandora? You shaved your cards to get easy access to them so what's the harm of being 'shaved' by a blade. You might not feel a thing like you assumed your cards didn't as you trimmed them." he mocked. "But if you give up, I'll let you go with a warning to never cross me unless you truly wish to die." But the response wasn't one he expected as Pandora began to cackle. "This is wonderful! Such a rush when brought so close to death! The tension! The fission!" he gasped as he grinned and Yami's eyes narrowed. "Listen, Yami...I am a conjurer...I'm in control, not you! You are just the audience that will soon be extinguished by my superior skill! You shall soon see Pandora's Great Escape as you are sliced into ribbons!" he confirmed. 'I wouldn't be the magician I am today without having a few tricks up my sleeve...'

"I am the one who will escape...I am the one who will live. You will die here, demon! You and only you!" Pandora snarled and Yami gritted his teeth. "So much for audience sympathy. Don't expect me to give you that same respect. Let's continue on." Yami whispered. Pandora nodded as he drew his card. 'So, he brought out his magician before I could. I can't allow another direct hit or I'm done for. But soon, the clash of magicians will happen and his will die.' Pandora thought as he set a monster in defense and a face down before ending his turn. 'Just one more hit and I can end this nightmare and get out of here.' Yami thought, unaware that Pandora was waiting for his monster. 'Do it, demon. Bring out a monster. The moment you do, my Black Magician will be revived and destroy yours!'

"My turn!" Yami drew his card before picking one. "I summon Beta the Magnet Warrior!" he announced and Pandora grinned as he fell for his trap. "Ah! You fell for it! Activate trap! Coffin of Dark Resurrection!" Pandora claimed and Yami gasped. The coffin appeared onto the field before it opened, revealing a hole inside of it that began to suck Beta as well as his own monster in. When the two were sucked in completely, the coffin slammed shut. "The coffin will resurrect my magician for the sacrifice of two souls! One of yours and one of mine!" Pandora explained. "Now come to me, Black Magician!" he called as the coffin opened and smoke misted from the coffin before the red clad magician was revealed. Eyes of evil opened before he emerged from the coffin and glared at the opposing magician that shared his name. 'Now the real battle begins. Let's see whose magician will reign supreme.' Pandora thought.

'Two monsters with the same attack can't attack recklessly. If they both went in for the attack, they will only destroy each other in a stalemate.' Yami thought. 'Summoning another monster will be dangerous as well. According to the rules of this tournament, the duelist must decide during their battle phase of whether to put the monster into attack or defense. With such high-level monsters out, the first to summon a new one will be at a great disadvantage for having an easy target. And he knows this as well.' he contemplated before closing his eyes. 'The only out is to defeat the opponent with spells and traps.' Cerise eyes snapped open and glared at Pandora. "I'll play two cards face down and end my turn." Yami spoke as the two cards appeared on the field. 'Ah, so you're not entirely ignorant of the situation when dealing with Black Magician.' Pandora thought as he drew his card. "I'll follow your example and play two face downs then end my turn as well." Pandora spoke and Yami nodded. He drew his card and played another face down and Pandora did the same as his turn came around. Soon enough, the defensive plays left both of them with four face downs and two Black Magicians at the ready of their master's call.

Pandora growled at the defensive play and decided it was time to deal with the matter head on. "Enough waiting, I'm going to attack and be rid of your magician!" he snapped. "I activate the spell card, Mystic Guillotine!" The conjurer called as the card revealed itself, a guillotine appearing onto the field. Shackles shot out, wrapping around Mahaado's wrists, pulling him to lie flat on the guillotine with his neck positioned under the blade and he began to struggle.

"Now die!" The blade was released and Yami snorted. "Activating spell card, Magical Hats!" Yami called and a hat covered Mahaado just as the blade met with it, slicing it in half but Mahaado was safely hidden under another as three more appeared on the field beside the guillotine. 'Damn you! He got away!' Pandora thought. "You can't escape me! Reveal Thousand Knives!" Pandora called as a multitude of knives appeared around his Black Magician, a few more knives held between his fingers before he unleashed them on the hats. "Nice try! I use De-Spell to stop your attack." Yami countered and the knives disappeared into thin air, leaving Mahaado to reveal himself from the magic at Yami's call and Pandora growled in anger. "Fine then! So be it! Attack, my magician! Black Magic!"

"Counter!" Both magicians flew in, their wands clashing as they casted their spell and soon, both were destroyed in a stalemate. But the stalemate hadn't ended there as both Yami and Pandora activated Monster Reborn simultaneously, bringing back their magicians and Pandora's anger increase while Yami smirked at having him matched move for move. Pandora's Black Magician shared his sentiments, gritting his teeth as he glared at the opposing magician who only looked to him with a cold glare, much more composed than the other magician. 'Damn you, demon! You had a trump waiting for you too!' Pandora thought and knew he had to be rid of Yami's magician fast so that he could finish him off. "Seems our magicians are evenly matched. Not bad, conjurer." Yami complimented. 'But I evaded his attacks so far but what does he have up his sleeve now? But I have trust in my Black Magician and I know he won't fail me at any crucial moment. Now let's see who will keep the trust of his monsters and his cards longer.'

'The legends don't lie about your power, Yami. Your skills in the dark arts are astounding but don't you dare forget that I have the upper hand over you! I've prepared for this battle for the longest time! I knew that you used the Black Magician as your key many times before and so I've compiled a deck that would kill him, including the ultimate anti-spellcaster card...' Pandora thought. "Such a fierce exchange but the time for play is over. Only one shall reign supreme as a master of the Black Magician." Pandora spoke as he drew a card. "I'll play a face down card and end my turn."

"Back to me." Yami murmured as he drew his card. "I cover two cards and end my turn." Pandora grinned as he looked to the other. "Ready, Yami?" he asked softly before he drew his card and raised a hand. "Activate spell card, Beckon to the Dark!" Pandora called as the card flipped up and activated, thick smoke billowing above them before a giant monster claw reached down from the smoke for Mahaado who looked up in surprise along with Yami. "This hand will drag your monster down into the darkest layers of hell! Which means your Black Magician is finished!" Pandora claimed with a cackle. "Not likely! I will protect his life like he would mine! I activate the trap card, Mystical Rift Panel!" he called as the claw stopped before changing direction and aimed for Pandora's magician. But Pandora only chuckled. "Perfect, that was just a decoy to make you activate a trap to save your magician." he whispered and Yami sucked in a breath.

"Counter trap, Nightmare Chains!" A large iron grid appeared onto the field before chains snaked around Mahaado and brought him back against the grid and kept him fastened in place. Mahaado made a sound and struggled before looking down hopelessly to Yami. 'No...'

"Now, your magician can only watch as I torture you slowly to your death!" Pandora exclaimed and Yami growled. 'With him out of the way, he has direct access to my life points!' he thought before glaring at the man across from him. "Now, pay for your insolence. Go, slave Black Magician! Blast him to bits!" he called as the magician shot forward and casted his magic onto Yami, causing him to cry out in pain and knocking him down a hefty sum of life points. The saw blade moved closer to him and Mahaado looked down in horror at the danger his master was in. "Are you ready to die, Yami! Once your life points hit zero, my escape will be complete!" Pandora said with a grin. "And the curtain will be brought down upon you and stained with your blood! Now make your last move so you can die!"

'Damn it, I need to block his next attack or I'm done for and Yugi won't be happy to know that I died here.' Yami thought as he drew his card. "I summon Big Shield Guardna in defense mode!" he called as the heavy shield monster appeared on the field. 'Hopefully he can last me till next turn while I figure out a way how to get rid of his magician and free my own.' he thought as he ended his turn. "So, you play a wall monster in hopes to save yourself. I see...do you really think hiding behind that shield will save you? It won't work for next turn, you will be sawed in half!" Pandora said. "Let's see if you know the magic to keep yourself living with only half a body!"

Yami snarled in anger and wondered just what he had planned to get through his defenses. "But for now, I'll play a monster, Malice Doll of Demise." he said before grinning as he pulled another card from his hand. "Now for the spell card that will give me the win! A spell that affects the entire board...Ectoplasmer!" Pandora cackled as the spell card revealed. Yami gasped in horror, eyes wide that Pandora had such a cursed card on him. "Looks like you are aware of how dangerous this card is. This card can extract the ectoplasm, the soul energy, from a monster and use it as a weapon! And with no true form, it can easily pass your wall!"

'He's really planning on sacrificing his monsters' souls! How horrible that he has no respect for his monsters except for fodder for his spell card!' Pandora snickered softly. "So you guessed...of course, doing this will kill the monster..." he whispered but his magician heard and was in shock as he looked to his master. "But it's a small price to pay to bring in your head!" His Black Magician was stunned that he was to be sacrificed so easily and wondered if his power even meant anything to the conjurer. "Now, time for the final curtain call for you...my Black Magician and Doll of Demise will be converted to ectoplasm!" he said and Yami growled, claws balled into a fist as he watched the horror that was about to befall Pandora's monsters. "First, Doll of Demise! Ectoplasm Extraction!" The doll's eyes became lifeless as it collapsed into a heap on the field, the milky white ectoplasm rose from it. The doll's attack cut in half but will do well to serve its purpose. "And Ectoplasm Beam! Fire!" The ectoplasm shot forward and hit Yami directly, causing him to cry out but not out of pain.

/It hurts.../ A disembodied voice spoke and he gritted his teeth as he listened to doll's last cry as his life points decreased to 700 and the blade inched closer to him. 'No, one more hit and I'm dead...but the blade will not even be the least of my worries. The cry of his monster's soul hurts me more than any blade could.' Yami thought as Mahaado continued to watch the display and knew one way or another, he had to do something. Chains or not. "Now, Yami, do you know why you can't defeat me even with your dueling prowess? I'll tell you...you lack the ruthlessness, the iron fist, to become a true master of magicians! You care too much for your cards as if they can feel pain and have a soul! You can never win with such a trust in inanimate objects!" Pandora spoke, smirking as he pointed to his Black Magician.

"And look at the results of your coddling! You protected him so valiantly only for him to end up being tied to the grid and rendered useless to you! Monsters are nothing but pawns to be sacrificed!" he continued before looking up to his own magician. "Now, Black Magician, give me your life and end this duel and kill the demon! Your master commands you!" The magician gritted his teeth in anger, hand clenched tight around his wand as he near resisted the urge to give his life but since he was nothing but a pawn to Pandora, he only obeyed and his eyes whited out as his ectoplasm was extracted, its attack 1250 which was enough to finish off Yami. Yami watched the mistreatment of the other and no matter how evil he looked, he was still Black Magician and therefore held a special part in his heart. "Pandora…can you not hear him cry?" Yami whispered. "Shut up and die!" Pandora called. "Fire!"

The ectoplasm shot forward and Yami closed his eyes as he waited for it to hit. 'I can't believe it's over and from the pain of another monster...' Yami thought. 'I win!' Pandora thought in glee as the ectoplasm advanced at rapid speed at its target. /My master! I will not let you die here!/ A voice cried as Mahaado gave a cry of defiance as his ectoplasm was extracted out on its own and shot forward, the soul of Mahaado forming before Yami. The demon opened his eyes when he heard the call and looked up to see him blocking the ectoplasm of the other Black Magician. 'Black Magician...' Yami thought, surprised at the turnout but also felt pain as his monster sacrificed himself to keep him alive. 'No! His Black Magician protected him on his own volition! That isn't possible!' Pandora thought in shock.

"You sacrificed yourself for me..." Yami whispered as the two souls began to fade from the field in a stalemate. /I couldn't let you die...not here.../ Mahaado whispered before he was gone completely and a lone tear fell from Yami's eye. 'I see now...when I targeted my magician with my spell, his was affected as well...but he protected Yami on his own. Does that mean...' Pandora began, eyes wide behind the mask he wore.

A card...by its own will...will protect the player!

Molten cerise looked up at Pandora as Yami growled in anger, features slowly changing as scales covered his skin. "You don't need ruthlessness to win, Pandora but don't worry. For the souls of both magicians, I will give you no mercy! I will relay their pain onto you for such mistreatment!" he snarled, full demon form showing and Pandora flinched back at the dark power that covered the room like a blanket as he was about to learn firsthand the anger of a demon pushed too far.

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Zypher: -wipes tears- Oops, I think I made the end a little emotional but I had to convey the importance of the Black Magician to Yami and this is the best duel to show it. Break out the tissue folks cause you may shed a tear. Any who, staying up late again but this chapter had to be written for I has an announcement and what better way to say it but in an update. I have another poll up for I need to plan ahead and I've almost forgotten about this arc but this is an arc that may or may not have been read by many depending.

If you have heard/seen/read Yu-Gi-Oh! R, there is a poll up in my profile about the addition of it and the result of it by the end of the month will determine whether I add it in or not and if I do manage to end up adding it, it will change the ending of two others arcs for good reason to make this arc fit in properly. So send me your votes and I'll get to work on writing up another installment in between advanced chapter writing for future arcs. Now it's 6:25 a.m. where I am so bedtime for this writer. -collapses onto bed and sleeps, cuddling Black Magician plushie-