The two Duel Spirits whom we roughed up claimed that the general of their invasion force was Freed. I refused to believe them, thinking it had to be lie. I knew that a noble Duel Spirit like Freed the Matchless General would never work for Daala.
It seems I have to apologize to them. They were not lying. There is apparently another Duel Spirit named Freed. In fact, there seems to be another Duel Spirit named Freed who happens to be a general.
However, the general I'm now facing leads a demonic army, and serves a nation where Chaos is the ruler. He's the opposite of the noble soul that Freed is supposed to be.
I'm up against pure Evil… If ever I needed the new card in my deck, now was the time.
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CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
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The Other Side
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Kaibaland.
While Olga kept an eye on the Crass Clown and Dream Clown who had led them here, Nicholas looked in the small opening he had made in the fire escape door of the large stadium.
Sure enough, the place had been turned into a temporary base for Duel Spirits. Several of them were here, most of them strong Level Four Monsters. There were Blindly Loyal Goblins, Battle Oxes, Dark Assailants, Snake Hairs, and various other scary things. The one in charge – at the moment – seemed to be a Vorse Raider who was standing guard over what seemed to be a group of prisoners.
Nicholas took notice of the prisoners. They were duelists, most of them teenagers, who were shackled by their wrists and waists with heavy chains. Nicholas got angry just looking at them.
"Where's this general?" he said to the Clowns with a scowl.
The Clowns shrugged.
"Dunno," said Dream Clown. "He's the one in charge, you know… He does what he wants…"
Then they heard angry cursing. He looked again, and saw a Tiger Axe and a Wolf Axwielder drag two more teenagers in, a boy and a girl. The girl was trying to fight, but the Tiger Axe who was holding her was far too strong.
The Vorse Raider held up a card – it appeared to be Shadow Spell – and a set of chains appeared, latching onto the boy. This made the girl scream even more. Then the Vorse Raider held up the card again, and she got a set of her own.
Nicholas couldn't take it anymore, and neither could Olga. They kicked in the door and stormed in.
"That's enough, you barbarian!" shouted Olga. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"
The Vorse Raider turned and saw them. Then he smiled.
"That would certainly not be you, human," he replied.
The rest of the Monsters laughed, as everyone saw that it was true. He was a head taller than Olga was.
"You're gonna let these kids go right now…" threatened Olga, "or I'll…"
"You'll what?" asked the Beast-Warrior. "You think you can just barge into our base and make demands?
"Just how did the two of you intend to stop all of us? With your good looks?"
The Duel Spirits laughed again.
"In fact," said the Vorse Raider, "once our general finds out…"
"Where is your general?" interrupted Nicholas. "I want a word with him."
"He won't be bothered with worms like you," said the Vorse Raider. "We'll handle you ourselves…"
The Monsters surrounded the two duelists as he activated his Disk. Olga frowned and activated hers…
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Five minutes later…
The Vorse Raider stepped back in shock as Tualatin appeared, blowing his Legendary Fiend, Lesser Fiend, and Beast of Talwar to pieces.
"Who's laughing now?" asked Olga, drawing a card. "Tualatin, take him down!"
Tualatin blasted its energy triangle, and the Beast-Warrior screamed as his Life Points fell to zero.
He dissolved into grains of light.
"All right!" shouted Nicholas. "Who's next? Who wants to see just how tough a couple of 'worms' are?"
"I believe that honor belongs to me…" said an ominous voice from above.
The Duel Spirits stepped back, and Nicholas and Olga looked up, as a dark figure started to descend from the stadium seats. Clearly, he had been watching the whole time.
If you saw this Duel Spirit in very bad light, you might have mistaken him for Freed the Matchless General. His armor was the same style, more or less, and he had the same hair style and moustache…
But his armor was jet black, like that of some dark knight, and his skin was an ebony hue. His hands looked more like claws, and his eyes burned like fiery embers.
Nicholas looked at him nervously…
"Who?" he asked. "You can't be Freed…"
The Spirit smiled. It was a very unpleasant smile.
"Not quite…" he replied.
"You ever hear about how nature abhors imbalance, human? Whenever a powerful force exists for one philosophy, the opposing philosophy evens it out with a powerful force of its own.
"In the worlds of Duel Monsters, there are several powerful Spirits dedicated to Order and Good. The Dread Council was the response to this on the side of Chaos.
"I am the opposite of Freed… I am… Dark General Freed. The strategist and tactician of the armies of Xanadu, and a member of the Dread Council."
Dread Council? thought Nicholas. As in Dread Emperor? Is this guy connected to that demon lord that's after Yumi?
The Dark Warrior held up his left arm, and a Battle Ox quickly attached a Duel Disk to his gauntlet. It was made of black iron, and had sharp spokes between the slots on the tray.
"I've heard reports that you two troublemakers have been taking down my best men since my army arrived," said the General. "And now that you've had the gall to invade our base, I'll just have to deal with you myself… I might even enjoy this…"
"Bring it," said Nicholas. "That was my idea all along…"
The two Disks activated.
"Game on!" they both shouted.
(Nicholas: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Dark Freed: 8,000)
"Feel free to make the first move," said the General. "I doubt it matters. I haven't lost a duel since the beginning of my career, and I don't intend to. I'm preparing for my confrontation with my true enemy."
"That would be the real Freed, right?" asked Nicholas.
Dark Freed nodded.
"By defeating the original, I would gain the power he has accumulated over the years," said the General. "For once, the power would tip towards the side of Chaos."
"I thought you said that nature abhors imbalance," said Nicholas.
"And I'm glad it didn't when it created me," replied Freed. "But I really don't care if it abhors me causing it again. It was foolish to think we would preserve its idea."
Nicholas drew a card.
He placed a card on his Disk, and a defensive Monster appeared.
"That all?" asked the General. "I expected a little more."
He made his first draw.
"I'll start by playing the Spell Card, Lightning Crash."
"Lighting Vortex?" asked Nicholas, confused. He certainly had no face-up Monsters on the field.
"No, Lightning Crash," replied the General. "This lets me search my deck for any Thunder-Type Monster I desire."
The Spell Card materialized on his side of the field. He took his deck and chose a card from it.
"The catch is, I can't use it until next turn. Then, I'll set a Monster of my own, and end my turn."
A facedown Monster appeared on his side of the field.
Nicholas drew a card.
"First, I play the Spell Card, The Six Samurai United," he said.
The Continuous Spell Card appeared.
"Then, I summon Six Samurai – Irou!"
In a dark shadow, the blindfolded Samurai appeared, holding his katana. (1,700/1,200)
"Attack his Monster!" ordered Nicholas.
Irou leapt at the facedown card. A small frog with wings on its back appeared on it, and was cut down.
"A Treeborn Frog?" gasped Nicholas.
"That's trouble…" muttered Olga.
Nicholas looked at his hand.
"I set a facedown card," he said, "and then play the Field Spell, Shien's Castle of Mist."
A facedown card appeared, and then the whole stadium faded away, and was replaced by the dark castle courtyard, with the large shiro behind Nicholas.
"And I end my turn…"
Dark Freed drew a card.
"Since I have no Spells or Traps on the field," he said, "my Treeborn Frog comes back from the Graveyard."
In a burst of energy, Treeborn Frog appeared. (100/100)
"Next, I sacrifice it…"
Treeborn Frog vanished.
"To summon Zaborg the Thunder Monarch."
In an explosion of electrical energy, the exotically-garbed giant with the large electric orb for a cranium appeared. Electricity crackled around it. (2,400/1,000)
A Monarch Deck… thought Nicholas. Wonderful…
"Now, I activate Zaborg's effect," continued the General. "I think I'll destroy your facedown Monster."
Lightning struck the facedown Monster. Chamberlain of the Six Samurai was blown to pieces.
"Don't forget," said Nicholas, "in this Field, Monsters lose 500 Attack Points when they attack one of the Six Samurai."
"My Monarch is still strong enough to beat him," replied the General. "Zaborg, attack. Lightning strike."
Zaborg threw up his arms, and blasted a bolt of lightning at Irou, his Attack Score falling to 1,900. The Samurai screamed and was reduced to dust.
"Yeah!" shouted a Goblin. "Burn him!"
"Torch him!" laughed a Swordstalker.
"Hit him with a rock!" shouted a Mountain Warrior.
We don't seem to have much of a cheering section, thought Olga, looking at the tied up prisoners, who were watching quietly. They're apparently too scared to shout any support for Nicholas.
(N: 7,800) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 8,000)
"My move…" said Nicholas.
He drew a card.
"I summon Zanji!"
In a blast of light, the radiant Samurai holding his naginata appeared. (1,800/1,300)
"Since two Samurai have been summoned since I played my United card, I can ditch it to draw two cards."
The Spell Card vanished, and he made two draws. He looked at them, and added them to his hand.
"Now, I'm going to cut your Monarch down to size, with the Spell Card, Shrink!"
He played the card, and Zaborg was reduced to half his size, and an Attack Score of 1,200.
"Zanji, attack! Rising Sun Strike!"
Zanji slashed with his weapon, and the Thunder Monarch exploded into a blast of sparks.
(N: 7,800) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 7,400)
"Not bad…" said Dark Freed. "You destroyed one of my Monarchs… But there's more where he came from…"
He drew a card.
"I raise Treeborn Frog from the Graveyard again…"
Treeborn Frog appeared again. (100/100)
"Now, I set two facedown cards."
He fit two cards into his Disk, and they appeared facedown.
"Next, I sacrifice my Frog a second time…"
Treeborn Frog vanished again.
"For Mobius the Frost Monarch."
A blast of chilling wind blew over Shien's Castle, as another of the Monarchs, this one a giant sculpted out of pure ice wearing a cape, appeared. (2,400/1,000)
"With his arrival, I can destroy up to two Spell or Trap Cards. I could destroy your two cards…
"But… I think I'm going to destroy my own."
The two facedown cards he had just set iced over and shattered.
"You're likely wondering why I did that…"
Then two large frightening forms appeared to either side of Mobius. They looked like large serpents with claws wearing tutan masks. (1,000/1,000)
"Statue of the Wicked," muttered Nicholas. "Smart…"
"Mobius, attack his Monster," commanded Dark Freed. "Blizzard blight."
Mobius breathed a cone of frost at Zanji, and its Attack Score fell to 1,900 again. Zanji froze solid, and then shattered,
"Now, my two Wicked Tokens attack you directly."
The two Fiends exhaled blasts of flame from their jaws, and Nicholas screamed as he was hit by them.
(N: 5,700) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 7,400)
Man, thought Nicholas. Monarch Decks are among the strongest in the business… And with that Trap Card trick, he put a new spin on it. I gotta think of something fast…
"My move…" he muttered.
He made a draw.
"I play… Premature Burial," he said. "I'll give up 800 points to bring Zanji back from the Graveyard."
He glowed with a red aura as Zanji appeared again. (1,800/1,300)
"Next, I summon Six Samurai – Nisashi!"
In a gust of wind, the armored, double-blade wielding Samurai appeared. (1,400/700)
"Next," said Nicholas, taking a card from his hand, "I play Enemy Controller…"
He played the card, and the large video game control pad appeared over the field.
"Go! Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, and Start! Move Mobius to Defense Mode!"
Mobius knelt and shielded itself in Defense Position.
"Now Nisashi attacks, and since I have another Samurai on the field, he can attack twice. Go, Strike of the Driving Gale!"
Nisashi flew at the first Wicked Token, and with one slash of his sword, cut it in half. Then he made a second slash, and Mobius was blasted into ice cubes.
"Zanji, destroy the other Token!"
Zanji made a stab with his naginata, and the second Wicked Token exploded.
"Ergh…" groaned the General.
(N: 4,900) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 6,200)
"Well…" said Dark Freed. "Seems I underestimated you slightly… But only slightly…"
"It's your move…" said Nicholas.
The General drew a card.
Not bad, he thought, looking at the Spell Card. I can do some damage with this…
"I bring back my Frog again," he said. "In Attack Mode."
Treeborn Frog appeared again. (100/100)
"Next, I play the Spell Card, Creature Swap."
The Spell Card appeared on his side of the field.
"Not so fast!" shouted Nicholas.
His facedown card lifted, revealing a Quickplay Spell.
"I activate Cunning of the Six Samurai. "This lets me send a Samurai to the Graveyard to Special Summon one from it.
"So I send Nisashi to the Graveyard…"
Nisashi vanished into grains of light.
"…and summon my Chamberlain in Attack Mode."
In a flash of light, the cybernetically enhanced Warrior holding a katana appeared, standing up. (200/2000)
"Huh?" said Dark Freed.
"In response to your Creature Swap," said Nicholas, "you can have him."
The General scowled, as the Chamberlain and Treeborn Frog switched places.
"200 Attack Points is better than 100," said the General. "Attack the Frog."
Chamberlain made a slash with the katana, and Treeborn Frog was cut in half.
"It's your move…"
(N: 4,800) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 6,200)
Hang in there, Nicholas… thought Olga. So much is riding on this duel…
"I draw," said Nicholas, drawing a card.
"Then I attack with Zanji!"
Zanji charged at the Chamberlain, and his Attack Score fell to 1,300. He made a swipe, and the Chamberlain shattered into shards. The General grit his teeth.
(N: 4,800) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 5,100)
"That's all for me…" said Nicholas.
The General drew a card, and looked at it.
"First, I set a facedown card," he said, as a reversed card appeared. "Then, I'm going to do us both a favor. I activate Coins From Heaven."
The Spell Card appeared, and the sky above the Castle lit up, and coins fell from the sky. He drew three cards, while Nicholas got the better deal out of it with four.
"Next, I play a second facedown card," he said, as a facedown card appeared. "Then I activate this one…"
The facedown Spell Card he had just set lifted up.
"I play Soul Exchange. I have to skip my Battle Phase this round, but I get to summon a Monster by sacrificing yours."
Nicholas frowned as Zanji vanished into grains of light.
"I summon Granmarg the Rock Monarch," continued Dark Freed.
In a burst of dirt and dust, the hulking giant made entirely of stone with a blue cape appeared. (2,400/1,000)
"By summoning this Monarch, I get to destroy one facedown card."
"Sorry, General," said Nicholas, with a chuckle. "I don't have any. You're gonna have to destroy your own."
"That was the idea," said the General.
Granmarg punched the facedown card he had just set, smashing it to pieces.
"The facedown card I just destroyed is called Dormant Volcano. Like Statue of the Wicked, it must be destroyed for it to be activated. When that happens, you get burned for 300 points of damage."
"Huh?" said Nicholas.
Then he screamed as an explosion of fire surrounded him.
He gasped for breath.
"I'm guessing you have Dark Coffin in that deck somewhere too…" he muttered.
"That is for me to know and you to find out," said Dark Freed. "You see, human, there are differences between a good duelist and a great duelist. A great duelist looks at every little detail. He sees every possibility towards using his cards' effects. Anyone can use Mobius or Granmarg to destroy their opponent's cards, but you can benefit from that effect in so many other ways, if you look hard enough.
"Anyway, Dormant Volcano has another effect as well, but we'll have to wait until my next turn for that to happen. In the meantime, I'll end this turn."
(N: 4,500) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 5,100)
Nicholas drew a card.
He looked hard at the seven cards in his hand.
"I set a Monster, and a facedown card," he said, "and I end my turn."
A facedown card and a facedown Monster appeared.
The General quickly made a draw.
"Now that it's my turn again," he said, taking his deck from the holder, "the other effect of Dormant Volcano activates, and both players may search their decks for any Fire-Attribute Monster they desire."
"Really?" said Nicholas, taking his deck.
"Then I choose this guy."
He held Six Samurai – Kamon forward.
"He's pathetic compared to Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch," said the General, taking a card from his own deck.
"Now, I bring my Treeborn Frog back once more."
"Not again…" said Olga.
The Frog appeared again. (100/100)
"Now I sacrifice it to summon Thestalos."
The Frog vanished again, and in a burst of flames, the fiery giant in plate armor with burning hands appeared. (2,400/1,000)
Two Monarchs at once? thought Olga. This is too much!
"Now, one card in your hand is destroyed," continued the General.
The images of six cards appeared in front of Nicholas, their backs to Dark Freed. Thestalos threw a fireball at one of them. It turned, revealing itself to be Yariza, before it was burned to ashes.
"Since that was a Level Three Monster, you lose 300 Life Points."
Nicholas groaned as a fiery aura surrounded him.
"All right!" said the General, getting excited for the first time. "Granmarg, smash his Monster! Monolith smash!"
Granmarg lumbered forward, towards the facedown Monster. Shien's Footsoldier appeared on the card, and was crushed.
"I use my Footsoldier's effect!" shouted Nicholas. "I summon Yaichi from my deck!"
In a burst of watery energy, the Samurai archer appeared, kneeling in Defense Mode. (1,300/800)
"Thestalos, attack!" shouted the General. "Fire blaze!"
Thestalos threw a burning bolt of flame at Yaichi.
"Not so fast!" shouted Nicholas. "I activate… Negate Attack!"
His facedown card flipped up, and a forcefield materialized around his whole side of the field. The flames glanced off it.
"I place three reversed cards," said the General, as three facedown cards appeared. "Then, I play the Spell Card, Fiend's Sanctuary."
The Spell Card appeared, and a Metal Fiend Token materialized on his side of the field.
"Finally," he said, playing his last card, "I activate Mirage of Nightmare."
The infamous Mirage card appeared.
"And I end my turn."
"Didn't miss a beat…" mumbled Nicholas.
(N: 4,200) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 5,100)
He drew a card.
"Thanks to my Mirage card, I now get to draw four times," said the General.
He made four draws.
"Then, I activate Emergency Provisions, to dispose of Mirage of Nightmare."
One of his facedown cards flipped up, and a large set of fanged jaws appeared, devouring the Mirage card. Nicholas flinched a little.
Nicholas looked at the cards in his hand.
"I move Yaichi to Attack Mode," he said.
Yaichi stood up, and aimed his bow.
"Then, I summon Kamon."
He played the card, and in a burst of fire, the Samurai armed to the teeth with explosives appeared. (1,500/1,000)
"Now, I activate Yaichi's effect," continued Nicholas. "If I forfeit his attack, he can destroy one facedown Spell or Trap Card.
"Yaichi, the one on the left!"
Yaichi fired an arrow from his bow, and the facedown card.
"Chain!" shouted the General. "Jar of Greed!"
The red, grinning vase appeared in front of him, and he drew one card.
"Next," said Nicholas, playing another card, "I can Special Summon Grandmaster of the Six Samurai."
In a burst of energy, the elderly Grandmaster appeared. (2,100/800)
"And then, I can Special Summon Great Shogun Shien!"
An inferno erupted on Nicholas's side of the field, and in a flourish, the mighty Shogun stepped out of it. He dramatically drew his katana, and uttered a battlecry. (2,500/2,400)
For the first time, Dark Freed looked a little nervous.
"Okay…" he muttered. "Nothing I can't handle…"
"Now, I play The A. Forces!" exclaimed Nicholas, as a Continuous Spell Card appeared. "This Spell Card…"
"I know what it does!" interrupted Freed. "I'm a Warrior Spirit myself, in case you didn't notice. You don't need to tell me what a Warrior Support card does!"
"So what does it do, boss?" asked a Bio Plant.
Then the Attack Scores of all four of Nicholas's Warriors went up. Yaichi went up to 2,100, Kamon to 2,300, Grandmaster to 2,900, and Shien to 3,300.
"Oh, I see…"
Dark Freed growled…
"Grandmaster," ordered Nicholas, "destroy Granmarg!"
The Grandmaster lifted his longsword, and leapt at the huge giant. There was a sound like steel against stone, and the Rock Monarch shuddered as cracks formed all over its hide. Then it burst into a pile of inert stones.
"Shien, attack Thestalos! Sword of burning pride!"
Great Shogun Shien dashed across the field, leaving a trail of flames in his wake. The Firestorm Monarch screamed as he made a swipe with his blade, and then it burst into an explosion of soot and smoke.
(N: 4,200) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 4,700)
"Yeah!" cheered a voice. "Get him! You can beat this creep!"
Nicholas turned to see who it was. It was one of the prisoners, the girl who had most recently been brought in. Somehow, she had found the courage to cheer for Nicholas.
Then she yelped as a Battle Steer spanked her on the buttocks with the blunt of his trident.
"Be quiet!" he warned. "Or I'll use the prongs next time!"
"Never mind them!" ordered Dark Freed. "This human just got on my bad side… I've never seen a human duelist with skill like this…
"Who are you, anyway? What sort of name do you have?"
"You can call me Nicholas," replied Nicholas.
The General's eyes opened wide.
"Nicholas Algernon?" he asked. "As in, Yumi Mouto's boyfriend?"
"You've heard of me?" asked Nicholas.
Dark Freed chuckled.
"Daala told me to be on the lookout for you," said the general. "She said you might be useful as a hostage in the final stages of her plan… Seems I lucked out…
"Of course, I didn't expect you to be so good with a Disk. But… You and these Samurai… This is a challenge I can finally sink my teeth into…"
He grinned broadly, showing small fangs.
"It's your move," said Nicholas. "And with Shien on the field, you're only allowed to use one Spell or Trap Card per turn."
Dark Freed drew a card.
"I don't even need one to dispose of him," he replied. "I pay 1,000 Life Points to keep my Metal Fiend Token.
"Then I sacrifice it…"
The Token vanished.
"…to summon Raiza the Storm Monarch!"
A fierce wind blew through the Castle of Mists, and yet another Monarch appeared. This one had green armor, a green cape, and a helmet of a bird-like design. (2,400/1,000)
"They say Raiza is the most powerful Monarch, and with good reason," said the General. "When it's summoned, I can send any card on the field to the top of the owner's deck."
An even fiercer wind started to blow, and Shien shielded himself. Then he vanished.
"You can't possibly destroy more than one of my Samurai," replied Nicholas. "You've already summoned for this round. That means I'll be able to summon him again next round."
"Not when I have this," replied the General, as his facedown card lifted up. "It's a Trap called Simultaneous Loss. Now, we each send the top card on our decks to the Graveyard."
"You're not gonna get away with this…" grumbled Nicholas, as he discarded Shien.
The General took the top card from his deck and looked at it. He smirked, and then discarded it.
"Now that he's gone," he said, taking another card in his hand, "I play Heavy Storm!"
An even more ferocious windstorm erupted over the field. The three Samurai braced themselves as The A. Forces was blown to bits, and Shien's Castle was reduced to a pile of rubble. The scene returned to the stadium.
"Raiza," commanded the General, "destroy Samurai Yaichi with foul winds!"
Raiza's eyes glowed, and a chilling gale started to blow in Yaichi's direction…
"Kamon!" shouted Nicholas. "Defend Yaichi!"
Kamon threw himself in the path of the vile wind, and he shattered into bits.
"I used the effect that all the Samurai share," muttered Nicholas. "When one of them would be destroyed, another one can take the fall for him."
"Indeed," said the General. "I have no Spells or Traps on the field again, so I summon Treeborn Frog in Defense Mode."
Treeborn Frog appeared, crouching in Defense. (100/100)
"Finally," he said, holding up another card, "I play the Spell Card, The Shallow Grave. Now, we each must each Special Summon a Monster in facedown Defense Mode."
The Spell Card appeared, and a facedown Monster appeared. Another one appeared on Nicholas's side of the field.
"I'll set two cards facedown, and end my turn."
He played two cards, and two facedown cards appeared.
"It's your move…"
(N: 3,100) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 3,700)
Nicholas drew a card.
Just who I needed, he thought.
"Yaichi, destroy the facedown card on the left again!"
Yaichi fired his bow, and skewered the facedown card, which was revealed to be Mirror Force. The general growled.
"Now I summon… Hand of the Six Samurai!"
A smaller fire appeared on his side of the field, and two feminine eyes appeared in it…
When the fire died down, the Monster that appeared was a comely female, dressed in a long, silken robe, with a shawl covering her head. She carried a sharp dagger. She looked at Dark Freed and Raiza with a look that suggested she was upset… Maybe even a little pissed.
"Now, I don't know what you're planning to do with that facedown Monster," he continued, as his own facedown Monster started to turn upright, "but it's not gonna work. I Flip-Summon… Irou!"
In a flash, the blindfolded, katana-wielding Samurai appeared again. (1,700/1,200)
"Eh?" asked Dark Freed. "You didn't bring back Shien?"
"Irou is better in this situation," said Nicholas. "When Irou attacks a Monster that's in facedown Defense Mode, and I have another Samurai on the field, that Monster is automatically destroyed, and its effect is negated."
Dark Freed growled again.
"Irou, attack his mystery Monster!" shouted Nicholas. "Setting Sun Strike!"
Irou charged at the facedown Monster.
"I had hoped to use this on Shien," growled the General, "but you leave me no choice…"
His facedown card lifted.
"Activate, Draining Shield!"
A shimmering plane of force appeared in front of the facedown card. Irou's sword slammed into it, and energy flowed into the evil General.
Nicholas paused for a second.
I can't waste the Hand's effect on that facedown Monster… he thought. I have to use her for Raiza… And I can't sacrifice Irou too, he's too valuable.
Oh well… He didn't have any Flip-Effect Monsters in his Graveyard anyway…
"Hand, take out that Frog!" shouted Nicholas. "Stabbing hand!"
The Hand dove at Treeborn Frog, slashing with her dagger, and blowing it to shards.
"Next, my Grandmaster is going to handle your mystery Monster…"
Grandmaster leapt at the facedown Monster. A large, wrinkled orb appeared on the card and exploded into a cloud of green gas.
Nicholas started to choke.
"A Giant Germ?" he gasped. "When the heck was that in your Graveyard?"
"I discarded it when I played Simultaneous Loss," said Freed. "At first I wasn't going to use The Shallow Grave, because I figured you might use it to bring back Shien. But the chance was too good to pass up.
"So you lose 500 Life Points, and I get to summon two more Germs."
Two more Giant Germs appeared. (1,000/100 x2)
(N: 2,600) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 5,400)
"Seems you're only hurting yourself…" said the General.
"Yeah?" asked Nicholas, "well, here's something that's gonna hurt you… I activate the Hand's effect. When she's on the field with another Six Samurai Monster, I can sacrifice one of them to destroy a Monster. So, I'll sacrifice the Hand herself to destroy your Storm Monarch!"
The Hand vanished into grains of light. Then she appeared behind Raiza in spiritual form. She drove her dagger between the huge creature's shoulder blades, and it screamed. It collapsed, and then shattered into pixels.
Dark Freed glared at Nicholas again.
"My move…" he growled.
He drew a card. He looked at it.
He gestured, and Treeborn Frog appeared in Defense Mode again. (100/100) Then he placed the card in his Disk, and it appeared facedown. Then, he turned the cards on his Disk, and the two Giant Germs switched to Defense Mode.
He looked at Nicholas.
Nicholas drew a card.
"I set one Monster, and two facedown cards," he said, as a set Monster and a two reversed cards appeared.
"Then I use Yaichi's effect, to destroy your facedown card!"
Yaichi aimed his bow.
"I chain it," replied the General, as it lifted. "Dark Spirit Art – Greed. Now, by sacrificing a Dark Monster, I get to draw two cards."
One of the two Giant Germs vanished.
"Of course, you can stop me if you show me a Spell Card in your hand…"
Nicholas growled. He had no cards in his hand right now.
Dark Freed made two draws.
"Irou, attack the last Giant Germ!" shouted Nicholas.
Irou swung his katana at the large amoeba, and it burst into another cloud of gas. Nicholas coughed again.
"Grandmaster, attack…" started Nicholas.
He paused.
"Oh, what good would it do?" he muttered. "I end my turn…"
"Nicholas, stop talking like that!" shouted Olga. "You can still beat this guy! He's almost out of Monarchs!"
"Maybe so," said the General, drawing another card, "but I know how to use what I have…
(N: 2,100) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 5,400)
"I play Monster Reborn!"
The holy ankh appeared on his side of the field. Raiza appeared once again. (2,400/1,000)
"Next, I summon my Dimensional Alchemist."
In a twinkling aura of energy, a new Monster appeared. It looked like a knight in shimmering armor with a cape, wearing a Guy Fawkes mask over his face. (1,300/200)
"Now I activate my Alchemist's effect," he continued, as he took a card from his deck. "By removing the top card from my deck from play, it gains 500 Attack Points."
Dimensional Alchemist glowed with eerie energy. (1,800/200)
"Attack Yaichi! Warp blast!"
The Alchemist formed a sphere of multicolored energy in its hands, and hurled it at the archer. Yaichi burst into an explosion of pixels.
"Now that he's taken care of, Raiza is going to take care of your Grandmaster."
Raiza blew its foul wind again, and Grandmaster staggered against it. He shattered into shards.
(N: 1,300) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 5,400)
"I set another card facedown, and end my turn," he said, as a facedown card appeared. "That means my Dimensional Alchemist's Attack Score goes back down to 1,300. It's your move."
"I draw one card…" said Nicholas, making a draw.
He looked at it.
"I flip my Morphing Jar into Attack Mode!" he shouted.
His facedown Monster flipped up, and the laughing creature in the jar appeared. They both discarded the one card they had, and drew five cards.
I'm getting awfully sick of that damn Frog, thought Nicholas. I wonder…
One of his two facedown cards lifted.
"I activate Capture Summon!"
"Huh?" said the General. "Capture Summon?"
"Now, I get to look at your hand," explained Nicholas. "And it there's a Monster there that I can Normal Summon, I get to Normal Summon it to my side of the field."
Dark Freed frowned. He turned his hand of cards forward. There was only one Monster there, but it was just the one that Nicholas had wanted.
Nicholas smiled as he stepped forward and took it.
"Thanks!" he said. "I kinda figured you had this guy somewhere in your deck…
"Now, then… I sacrifice my Morphing Jar, to summon Caius the Shadow Monarch!"
The Jar vanished, and the sixth Monarch appeared. It was a dark, fiendish giant in black armor, with a head with features like a large bat. (2,400/1,000)
"Now, I can remove one card on the field from play," said Nicholas. "And I choose your Treeborn Frog!"
The prisoners started to cheer as the small Frog vanished into ripples of light.
"Curses…" growled Dark Freed.
He smirked.
"Going to attack my Alchemist, huh? By the way, Caius's attack's name is 'demon shadow blast'."
"I don't need to give it any fancy name!" replied Nicholas. "Caius, attack his Dimensional Alchemist!"
The Shadow Monarch formed an aura of dark energy in its hands. It hurled the darkness at the Alchemist, and the Fairy exploded into shards.
"Ergh…" muttered the General.
(N: 1,300) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 4,300)
"Seems I now have a choice to make," said Dark Freed.
"Huh?" said Nicholas.
"Dimensional Alchemist has another effect," said the General. "When it's destroyed, I get to recover a Monster that's been removed from play."
"You're going to get that blasted Frog back!" shouted Olga.
"Or, I can get back the Monster I removed to activate its effect," replied Dark Freed. "It all depends on which one would be more useful at this point…"
He pondered for a second.
"I think that the Frog has served its purpose," he said. "I'll go with the latter."
A card appeared in his hand.
"It's still my turn," said Nicholas.
His other facedown card lifted up.
"I play Double Summon. Now, I can summon Command Knight to the field."
In a burst of fire, Command Knight appeared, holding her sword aloft. (1,200/1,900) –) (1,600/1,900) Irou rose to an Attack Score of 2,100.
"Irou, move to Defense Mode."
Irou sheathed his katana, and knelt in defense.
"And I end my turn."
Dark Freed drew a card. He looked at it, and nodded.
"Raiza, attack Caius," he ordered.
"Huh?" gasped Nicholas. "They'll kill each other!"
"Exactly," said the General.
The two Monarchs blasted their bolts of elemental energy towards each other. Both of them exploded into pixels.
"Moving to my second Main Phase," he said, "since you now control two Monsters, and I control none, I can Special Summon my Cyber Dragon."
In a flash of light, the huge, serpentine Machine appeared. (2,100/1,600)
First Monarchs, now Cyber Dragons? thought Nicholas.
"Then," continued the General, "I activate my facedown card."
His facedown Spell Card lifted.
"It's a Spell Card called Star Level Shuffle. Now, I get to send my Monster to the Graveyard, to Special Summon a Monster from it that's the same Level. Most Monarchs are Level Six, but for some reason, Zaborg is Level Five. So, I'll get rid of Cyber Dragon, who's also Level Five, and bring back Zaborg."
Cyber Dragon vanished into grains of light. The Thunder Monarch appeared again. (2,400/1,000)
"I set a Monster in Defense Mode, then one facedown card."
A facedown Monster and a reversed card appeared.
"And I end my turn."
Nicholas looked at the facedown card. Since he had clearly gotten Cyber Dragon with his draw that turn or with Dimensional Alchemist's effect, he knew it was likely Bottomless Trap Hole. He had seen it in Dark Freed's hand when he had played Capture Summon. If he summoned anything with 1,500 Attack Points or more, it would wipe it out.
Unless…
As he reached for his deck, he felt a sudden surge of energy.
He paused.
It was finally the time.
He drew. The card glowed with radiance.
"Time to bring out my ace Monster!" he shouted. "I could simply Normal Summon him right now, since I have two Monsters to sacrifice… But when Yaichi, Kamon, Nisashi, Yariza, Zanji, and Irou are all on the field and in my Graveyard, his true power can be unleashed!
"I Special Summon… The True Master!"
Lightning flashed, and the arena went dark. The form of a great serpentine dragon made of fire started to form behind Nicholas. It roared, and then vanished, as a Warrior started to materialize.
He was an elderly man, with a white moustache and a short beard. He was dressed in a white, tight-fitting martial arts gi, and wore a straw collie hat.
With a flourish, he drew a gleaming katana from his hip, and it shone with brilliant light. (2,800/2,500)
"Whoa…" said Olga.
"Sorry I have to ruin your plans," said the General. "Activate… Bottomless Trap Hole!"
His facedown card lifted. A large pit started to form under The True Master…
But then he leapt clear of it, and rolled out of the way.
"Huh?" said Dark Freed. "It didn't work?"
"When The True Master is summoned using his effect," explained Nicholas, "he can't be destroyed by card effects. And since he's a Warrior, he gains 400 more Attack Points from Command Knight."
The True Master rose to (3,200/2,500).
Irou stood up, assuming an offensive position.
"Also," continued Nicholas, "he has three different effects, and I can use one of them every round. By sending Nisashi and Yariza back to my deck and reshuffling, he can attack you directly."
"WHAT?" shouted the General.
The two Samurai slipped out of his discard slot, and he quickly shuffled them into his deck.
"So… Attack the General directly! Leaping Dragon Strike!"
The True Master leapt up, aiming his weapon at the evil General. He made a savage slash with the katana, and Dark Freed toppled over on his back. The prisoners all cheered, their fear quite gone by now.
"No way!" gasped the Mountain Warrior.
"He just struck the General!" gasped a Snake Hair.
(N: 1,300) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 1,100)
Dark General Freed slowly got up, his eyes burning with absolute fury.
"You, my foolish human friend," he said through his teeth, "have just signed your own death warrant…"
"Irou, attack his facedown Monster!" shouted Nicholas.
The blind Samurai rushed for the facedown Monster.
Spirit Reaper appeared on the card, and parried the blow with its scythe. (300/200)
Darn, thought Nicholas. Irou's effect only works if there's another Samurai on the field, and the Master doesn't count.
"Make your move…" said Nicholas.
Dark Freed drew.
"I play Nightmare's Steelcage!" he exclaimed.
He played the card, and the iron bars formed around Nicholas and his three Monsters.
"Next, I move Zaborg to Defense Mode, and that will end my turn…"
Zaborg knelt, and crossed its arms in a defensive position.
Nicholas drew a card.
"I activate another of The Master's effects," he said. "I send Yaichi and Kamon back to my deck, in order to destroy all Spell and Trap Cards on the field."
He returned the two cards to his deck, and The True Master made a slash with his weapon, forming a wave of energy. The Steelcage was blown to dust.
The General grit his teeth, and fire appeared in his eyes.
"Now, my True Master attacks Zaborg!" shouted Nicholas. "Go! Leaping Dragon Strike!"
The sensei leapt at the Thunder Monarch, and cut deep with his weapon. Zaborg exploded into shards.
"All right…" said Nicholas, "I can't get by your Reaper yet, so I end my turn…"
Dark Freed was now very nervous. He looked at his deck. He drew a card.
"I summon Reflect Bounder in Attack Mode!" he shouted.
He played the card, and the streamlined android perched on a spire appeared. (1,700/1,000)
"If you attack that, your Monster's Attack Score will be dealt to you in damage," said Dark Freed. "I'll still defeat you. Make your move…"
"No you won't," said Nicholas, as he drew a card. "You forget, my True Master still has one move. But before he uses it, I summon Marauding Captain in Attack Mode."
He played the card, and the battle-worn veteran appeared. (1,200/400) –) (1,600/400)
"Now," he said, "by sending Zanji and Irou back to my deck, I can destroy all of your face-up Monsters."
Irou vanished, and Zanji slipped out of his discard slot. He shuffled the two cards into his deck, and The True Master slashed with his weapon again. A blade of energy tore across the field, and Reflect Bounder and Spirit Reaper were ripped in half.
"I have to skip my Battle Phase if I do that, so you're lucky," continued Nicholas. "I set one card facedown, and end my turn…"
A reversed card appeared.
Dark Freed looked frightened for the first time. He sweat as he drew a card.
Then he grinned wickedly. He laughed out loud.
"I couldn't have asked for a better draw…" he said with a sinister voice.
He played a Spell Card.
"I play Requiem of Monarchs. I can only use this card when I have six different Monarchs in my Graveyard. Then I get to recover three of them."
Raiza, Thestalos, and Granmarg slipped out of his discard slot.
"Then, I have to remove the other three from play."
He took Zaborg, Caius, and Mobius from the slot as well, and placed them in a pouch on his belt.
So that's what that card does… thought Nicholas. It was in his hand when I used Capture Summon… But… Why didn't he use it last round? He could have sacrificed Spirit Reaper to summon Raiza or Caius, and used either effect to defeat the Master…
"There is one other catch," said Dark Freed, as if he knew what Nicholas was thinking. "If I summon any of them, their effects are rendered invalid."
"Then what's the point?" asked Nicholas.
"I'll show you," continued Dark Freed. "One, two, three…"
He threw the three Monarchs into his discard slot again.
"By sending them all to the Graveyard again, I can Special Summon… THIS!"
He threw his last card on his Disk, and an explosion erupted behind him. A huge, grey-scaled Dragon with vast wings and three hideous heads appeared over him.
"Meet a beast that Daala gave to me as a gift," said Dark Freed. "The Montage Dragon!
"And if you want to know how many Attack Points it has, we add up the Levels of those three Monsters I sent to the Graveyard, and then multiply by 300!"
Montage Dragon roared… (5,400/0)
"Good lord…" said Nicholas. "This is one time I'm sorry I aced math…"
"Looks like it's curtains for your Master…" chuckled Dark Freed.
"Don't forget, pal," said Nicholas. "The True Master is a Warrior. That means you can't attack him until my Marauding Captain is gone."
Dark Freed looked at Nicholas.
"Gee, that's right…" he muttered. "Humph… I had hoped to win this duel by crushing your best Monster… Doing so by attacking such a common card would be… anticlimactic…
"Ah, well… If anyone asks, I'll lie.
"Montage Dragon… Attack Marauding Captain with Power Collage!"
Montage Dragon's eyes glowed, and it breathed three streams of lethal energy at the Warrior.
"I activate… Covering Fire!" shouted Nicholas, as his Trap Card lifted. "Now, I can add the Attack Score of my True Master to that of Marauding Captain! That means my Captain gains 3,200 more Attack Points!"
Marauding Captain rose to an Attack Score of 4,800.
"It isn't enough to beat your beast, but at least I won't lose the duel."
Nicholas reeled as an explosion incinerated Marauding Captain.
He caught his breath as he watched Marauding Captain's card fall into the Graveyard.
Thanks, pal… he thought.
"Well…" said Dark Freed. "At least I can crush your Master next round. I end my turn…"
(N: 700) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 1,100)
Nicholas drew a card. It was Zanji.
He looked at another card in his hand.
Okay… he thought. I hoped it would never have to come to this… But he leaves me with no choice…
"I summon Zanji once again," he said.
He played the card, and Zanji appeared for the second time. (1,800/1,300) –) (2,200/1,300)
"Summon all the Warriors you want," replied Dark Freed. "It won't be enough to take down a Monster with this much firepower."
"We'll see about that," said Nicholas. "I play the Spell Card, Brave Attack!"
The Spell Card appeared on his side of the field.
"Huh?" said the General. "What does that do?"
"I'll show you," said Nicholas. "Zanji, attack!"
"What?" gasped the General. "That's suicide!"
Nonetheless, Zanji leapt at Montage Dragon, and slammed his weapon into the great beast's torso.
Then Zanji fell backwards, with his naginata broken, out cold.
Dark Freed laughed.
"Seems I win!" he exclaimed. "Looks like… Huh?"
He noticed that Nicholas's Life Points had not gone down.
"Command Knight, attack!" shouted Nicholas.
Command Knight screamed a war cry, and leapt at the huge Dragon, slamming her sword into it.
Then she fell backwards and collapsed, just as Zanji had.
"What's going on?!" shouted Dark Freed.
Then he looked at his Dragon. It was groaning, and two burning wounds were cut across its chest.
"Brave Attack is a powerful Spell Card that lets my Monsters attack as a team," said Nicholas. "They won't survive this assault, but when my True Master attacks, he'll have both Zanji and Command Knight's power to back him up!"
"Wait a second…" said the General. "That adds up to…"
"7,000 Attack Points," said Olga. "More than enough to end this duel."
"Go!" shouted Nicholas. "Destroy his Dragon!"
The True Master let out a scream, and leapt at the giant Monster. He made a slash with his katana, making a slice right down the middle. Montage Dragon roared in death throes… Then it burst in multiple explosions, and shattered into pieces.
Dark General Freed fell to his knees.
"This can't be…" he gasped. "I can't lose…"
"Can't lose?" asked Nicholas. "Let me spell it out for you. My Monster had 7,000 Attack Points when he attacked, your Monster had 5,400. You lost 1,600 Life Points from that attack, when you only had 1,100 left. That means your Life Points are zero, meaning you lose."
(N: 700) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 0)
Dark Freed slowly got up. A look of anger slowly crossed his face.
"That may be true…" he said. "But too much is at stake for us to be stopped now!"
He drew his sword, and pointed it at Nicholas…
Then, his sword flew from his hand.
Dark Freed stepped back. The True Master was standing in front of him.
"No…" said the General.
Then he screamed as the sensei stabbed through the seams of his armor with his weapon. The evil General burst into globs of darkness.
"They're too powerful!" shouted the Swordstalker. "Retreat!"
A dark portal opened, and the General's men started to run through it. As they did, the chains holding the prisoners crumbled into dust. They fell to the ground, very stiff and sore. Nicholas and Olga ran up to them.
"Call the police, Olga," said Nicholas. "Tell them we found the abductees… Tell them we might need trauma counselors… Although, I really don't know how we're gonna explain this…"
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
At the portal leading to the Core of Xanadu…
Yumi woke up from a sleep full of nightmares. She felt like she had been turned inside out and then had her insides taken out, rearranged, and then put back in again.
She noticed her clothing had changed.
She was wearing a fancy dark blue outfit with pink trim, one with a very short skirt which showed a great deal of thigh and cleavage. She had fancy boots and odd wristbands. Then she realized that she had gained curves that she hadn't had before. She had gotten a figure that would have taken hundreds of millions of yen worth of cosmetic surgery to acquire.
She felt her head. She was wearing an odd hat.
The realization came to her quickly…
She was Dark Magician Girl.
She slowly got up. Her eyes were still seeing things a little blurry. The shock hadn't set in completely yet.
"Ren? Chelsea?" she called. "Where are you?"
"We're here, Yumi," said Ren's voice. "At least, we think we are…"
Yumi turned, and saw Mataza the Zapper helping a Vampire Lady to her feet.
"Ren?" gasped Yumi. "Chelsea?"
"Afraid so," said the Vampire Lady, in Chelsea's voice.
She made a sad sigh.
"It's finally happened," she said, almost crying. "What happened to Penelope has happened to me now…"
She didn't know how this could have happened… Dreams and subconscious desires? Did some part of her want to be a vampire temptress?
"Calm down, Chelsea, calm down!" said Ren, holding her. "You're still beautiful in my eyes. And if it turns out that I have to become undead too once we take care of Daala…"
"Where's Sam and Erik?" asked Yumi.
"Over here," said Sam's voice.
They looked, and saw a Shadow Tamer and what appeared to be Warrior Dai Grepher.
The Shadow Tamer looked at herself.
"Kind of… makes sense in an odd way," she said with a nervous chuckle.
She looked at the whip that was strapped to her belt.
"At least I'm not Infernalqueen…"
"Why Warrior Dai Grepher?" asked Ren.
"Well, uhm," said Erik, looking at himself. "That card was in the first deck I used… Kind of symbolic…"
He looked at the sword on his belt, and drew it slightly from the sheath.
"Indeed," said Dark Necrofear's voice.
They all turned towards the Fiend, who they had forgotten about.
"The appearance of a second Warrior Dai Grepher surprises even me," she said. "After the first one's hunger for power led him to make a deal with the Archfiends and turn himself into Dark Lucius, his name has only been spoken of in whispers in the Twelve Dimensions.
"I wonder, Erik… Will the same offer ever be available for you?"
Erik shuddered.
"Don't listen to her, Erik," said Sam, hugging him. "I don't know what tempted Grepher, but he was obviously weak. You're strong."
"Well, people," said Yumi, "we made our choice, and it could have been worse. We all can pass for humans… Not normal humans, granted, but we aren't inhuman. At least we still have hands, and we can still duel. Now we'd best see what's behind that portal."
"One thing you should know," said Dark Necrofear. "As Duel Spirits, you must serve as your own Deck Lords from now on. But fear not… You do not have to start at the beginning. Your old Deck Lords have transferred all their powers to you. I'd say it was very generous of them."
"We never gave them any reason to hate us," said Ren.
"By the way," continued Dark Necrofear, "some folks I remembered were down this way earlier. I remembered them because they were also recipients of my power. I gave it to them some time after I gave it to the Big Five."
"Of course…" said Yumi. "Daala gave the Devil's Fruit to the Big Five so they could have real bodies again… Bodies of Duel Spirits, but they preferred those anyway…"
"Who are these other guys?" asked Sam.
"I don't know their names," said Dark Necrofear, "but they were given more power by Daala than the Big Five had. I believe they know you folks in some way.
"My work here is done… Good luck…"
She slunk back into the dark alcove.
"You'll need it…"
Yumi looked at the portal.
"You sure you guys are all right?" she asked.
"We'll be fine," said Chelsea. "I don't have any cravings for blood, at least not yet…"
"Then let's go…" said Yumi. "The final leg of our journey is at hand…"
They all started running, and ran through the portal.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
LIGHTNING CRASH (Spell Card)
Normal Spell
Image: A city street at night with lightning flashing overhead.
Card Description: Choose one Thunder-Type Monster from your deck and add it to your hand. Then, shuffle your deck. You may not summon or set the chosen Monster on the turn you use this card.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DORMANT VOLCANO (Trap Card)
Normal Trap
Image: An ominous looking volcano with snow on the top.
Card Description: This card is activated when it is destroyed by a card effect while facedown on your side of the field. Inflict 300 points of direct damage to your opponent's Life Points. Then, on your next Standby Phase, both you and your opponent may search your respective decks for one FIRE Monster and add them to your respective hands.
Note: "Lightning Crash" and "Dormant Volcano" were first used by T-Bone in the "Yu-Gi-Oh GX" episode "J-Dawg and T-Bone". Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
STAR LEVEL SHUFFLE (Spell Card)
Normal Spell
Image: A knight in white armor and a knight in black armor struggling among broken ground.
Card Description: Send one Monster you control to the Graveyard. Special Summon from your Graveyard one Monster with the same Level as the Monster sent to the Graveyard.
Note: "Star Level Shuffle" was first used by Yakou Tenma in the "Yu-Gi-Oh R" issue "Double Lapse!! And…" Creative credit goes to the writers.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
REQUIEM OF MONARCHS (Spell Card)
Normal Spell
Image: Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch on his knees with his head bowed and his armor broken, with a dark shadow looming above him.
Card Description: You may activate this card when you have at least six different "Monarch" Monsters in your Graveyard. Select three of those Monsters and add them to your hand. Then, remove all remaining "Monarch" Monsters in your Graveyard from play. If you Normal Summon the Monsters recovered with this effect, their effects are negated.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CAPTURE SUMMON (Spell Card)
Normal Spell
Image: A duelist grinning as he takes a card from his opponent's hand.
Card Description: Look at your opponent's hand, and select one Monster from it that can be Normal Summoned. Normal Summon the selected Monster to your side of the field. (This counts as your Normal Summon for your turn.)
Note: "Capture Summon" was first used by Joey in the "Yu-Gi-Oh R" issue "Jounouchi Counterattacks!!". Creative credit goes to the writers.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
BRAVE ATTACK (Spell Card)
Normal Spell
Image: A Swamp Battleguard holding a huge sword below the following three Monster Cards: "Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts", "Obnoxious Celtic Guard", and "Buster Blader".
Card Description: Target one Monster on your side of the field. This turn, only the targeted Monster may attack. Add the Attack Scores of all other face-up Monsters you control to the Attack Score of the targeted Monster. When the targeted Monster attacks, destroy all face-up Monsters you control after damage calculation.
Note: "Brave Attack" was first used by Yugi in the original anime episode "A New Evil (Part Two)". Creative credit goes to the writers.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
THE TRUE MASTER (Spell Card)
Card Specs
Type: Warrior/Effect
Attribute: Light
Level: 8
ATK: 2,800
DEF: 2,500
Card Description: You may Special Summon this card from your hand if you have six different "Six Samurai" Monsters on your side of the field and/or in your Graveyard whose names collectively include the words "Zanji", "Irou", "Kamon", "Yariza", "Yaichi", and "Nisashi". If this card is Special Summoned via its own effect, it cannot be destroyed by card effects. If this card is Special Summoned via its own effect, once per round, you may activate one of the following effects by moving the following Monsters from your side of the field or Graveyard to your deck and reshuffling:
"The Six Samurai – Zanji" and "The Six Samurai – Irou": Destroy all face-up opposing Monsters. Skip your Battle Phase this round.
"The Six Samurai – Yaichi" and "The Six Samurai – Kamon": Destroy all Spell and Trap Cards on the field.
"The Six Samurai – Nisashi" and "The Six Samurai – Yariza": This card may attack directly.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lords of Chaos
Obox-Ob, the Lost Prince
Long ago, Obox-Ob was one of the mightiest forces of Chaos. He held the title of Prince of Demons when the obyrith ruled the Abyss. He was also the Prince of Vermin, and ruled an empire of not only obyrith, but of demonic insects and arachnid, creatures of filth and disease that humans would come to despise.
When the Queen of Chaos rallied the obyrith lords against the Wind Dukes of Aaqa, Obox-Ob was one of several who refused her call. His pride was so great, he refused to acknowledge any other demon as a superior. The Queen proved him wrong when she killed him, personally, and granted his title to her consort, Miska the Wolf Spider.
But although Obox-Ob's true body had been slain, his most powerful avatar survived, and fled to a remote realm of the Abyss, where the environment was so hazardous that even most demons feared to go. Only one like him who could adapt like the vermin he ruled could survive. Eventually, the avatar became his new body, albeit one with only a small fraction of his former power. He hid for centuries, but eventually, he got bored, and decided to take a chance. He returned to the more populated areas of the Abyss, only to find that the obyriths were close to extinction, a new race of demons now dominated the Abyss, and a member of this new race, the terrible Demogorgon, held the title that was once his.
Possessing nowhere near the level of power he once had, Obox-Ob refused to submit to a life of servitude as most surviving obyriths had. He now had goals… Very, very big ones. He sought nothing less than to murder Demogorgon and take back his title, and once he had done that, cleanse the Abyss of this interloper race and return it to obyrith rule. He holds these goals to this day, but before he can even start step one of these grandiose plans, he must regain the power that he once had.
This presents a problem. The best way for a demon lord, even an exiled one, to gain power, is with mortal followers. That is hard for the Prince of Vermin. One of his nature does not attract many human worshippers, even those who usually deal with demons. Not many are very interested in worshipping lice and fleas. So Obox-Ob has devised another way to gain this power: stealing it.
Special obyrith spawned by his experiments have worked their way into the courts of several powerful demon lords. These creatures attract no more attention than a cockroach. By simply being close to the lords, these parasites siphon off a tiny part of the divine energy they receive, and transfer it to their master. They only take a tiny bit so that the demon lord never misses it – perhaps one half of one percent – but there are many demon lords, and Obox-Ob has these parasites hiding in many of their demonic courts. Several small doses of power, he hopes, will add up to a large amount.
The Wind Dukes are aware of Obox-Ob's plan, but they are content to leave him alone for now. He isn't hurting anyone but other demons at the moment, and if by some miracle he manages to inflict lasting harm against Demogorgon, a demon who is far too powerful for them to handle, it is for their benefit. But they watch Obox-Ob with a careful eye, and the moment his plans include a move against any innocent targets, they are ready to deal with him.
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Coming up next:
Daala has prepared for the heroes' final assault, and next chapter, her next plan to oppose them begins, as her mysterious inner circle comes forward to face them. Ren faces one of these upper-class Duel Spirits, and the funny thing is, it seems to be someone he knows. The past starts to come back to assault the heroes, and then some. "Primary Colors" is coming up next.