Chapter Five: Huge Revolution
The sun was low in the sky when the cruiser came into view on the horizon. Yoshi turned off the boat's autopilot and started turning away from it. He was in New Asukan territory by now, and knew they wouldn't react kindly to his intrusion.
No need to worry about them. You are now under the protection of both myself and Saphrine; they cannot harm you here, where you are surrounded by water and wind. In fact, they might prove useful in our quest.
"So you want me to go towards them?" Now that he was essentially alone, Yoshi didn't mind addressing Diamair by talking aloud.
I think that would be wise.
"If you say so." Yoshi brought them back on course to intercept the larger ship and pushed down on the gas full throttle. Within a few minutes, the cruiser was looming before them, and now Yoshi could see the words "Coast Guard" clearly imprinted upon its side.
"Attention incoming vessel," came an electronically amplified voice. "You are entering the sovereign territory of King Daichi of New Asuka. Power down your vehicle immediately and prepare to be boarded."
Yoshi complied with the instructions and tried to steady his hands as two uniformed men threw a rope ladder over the side of the cruiser and climbed down into his small motorboat. Two others peered over the railing above, but it was too dark to see whether or not they were armed.
"Who are you and what is your purpose?" said the first man down the ladder.
Not for the first time, Yoshi felt as if Diamair was speaking through him. "My name is Yoshi Hiroko, and I wish to speak with your leader. I come to seek his assistance and to offer my own."
"Offer your assistance how?"
"Surely you witnessed this morning's duel between Champion Takuni and Prince Jimu. I know what really happened during that duel, information that your king needs to hear if he is to stop Jimu from conquering New Asuka."
"We can take you to our commanding officer, and you may present your information to him." The first man gave a sideways nod to the second, who moved forward to search Yoshi. With a flash of thought, Diamair told him how to react.
"No." Yoshi took a step backward and pulled his new Saphrine card from his pocket, prompting both men to draw pistols and aim them at his chest.
"Hey! No sudden moves."
"Sorry, but you need to see this." Yoshi closed his eyes and asked Saphrine to activate her powers now.
These men are not your enemies, entered Saphrine's voice into his mind, similar to Diamair's but even softer and more soothing. I will do nothing to harm them.
And Yoshi was not asking her to. He only wanted to show these men that his offer was legitimate by demonstrating her abilities.
Listen to Yoshi, dear sister. It was Diamair talking now. Only with the help of King Daichi can we bring peace to these war-torn lands.
Yoshi felt a cold shiver run through his body and heard a wall of water rising above him. The color drained from the faces of the two men and they lowered their weapons.
"As I said before, there is much I might offer your King. Now take me to him before it is too late."
The eyes of both men were open in wide-eyed shock, one gazing at the rising column of water, the other staring at the Saphrine card in Yoshi's hands.
"That's the card Champion Takuni used in his duel. But how did it come to be in your possession?"
"It was taken by Prince Jimu after their duel. I then won it from one of his servants."
The first man seemed to have finally recovered from the shock of Saphrine's demonstration. "How do we know you aren't secretly working for Jimu?"
"Because Prince Jimu murdered my father thirteen years ago." Yoshi still didn't know if this was true, but now that the Prince had kidnapped Kira, Yoshi realized that his former hero was probably capable of murder. "Other than that, you have only my word."
They stared at him silently for a few moments. Then the second said, "You are very fortunate, boy. Because we recently receive orders that anyone bearing a card with 'Crystal Dragon' in its name is to be taken to the capital immediately, and your Saphrine qualifies."
That is an extremely odd order, unless…
Yoshi arrived at the exact same conclusion. King Daichi must've been in the possession of one of the remaining Crystal Dragon cards, if not both. Now, more than ever, they were going to need his help to defeat Jimu.
"That is very fortunate indeed. Now let us not waste any more time."
And so they did not. It took only a few hours for Yoshi to reach the capital city, traveling first by ship and then by a specially arranged plane. He was surrounded by security at all times during the short trip, though none dared to get within two feet of him, probably out of fear of the magic of his cards.
The plane took him straight into the royal palace, where he was then escorted to a private meeting chamber. A large wooden table dominated most of the room and standing at one end was a man who had to be King Daichi.
The New Asukan ruler looked nothing at all like his nephew. Whereas Jimu made most of his public appearances wearing black battle armor and a flowing cape to match, Daichi was wearing a very luxurious indigo and maroon robe, emblazoned with the royal crest. He was a plump man, but tall, with a long grey beard and eyes that conveyed a great deal of hidden wisdom.
"Greetings, child, and welcome to New Asuka." The King's voice was rough and quiet, as if his very words might be enough to split the earth beneath them. "I am told that you are the new owner of Saphrine, the Blue Crystal Dragon."
"Yes. My name is Yoshi Hiroko, and I also carry Diamair, the White Crystal Dragon. I've come here to warn you that Prince Jimu's mind has been warped by the spirit of Obsidiusk, and I fear he will use his new powers to destroy your country."
"I could not agree more. Since you have revealed to me your second Crystal Dragon card without my asking, I shall return the favor. I have with me both Hematera, the Green Crystal Dragon, and Rubustion, the Red Crystal Dragon. That leaves only Ambriliant unaccounted for."
"My sister took it with her to defeat Prince Jimu."
"Then I fear your sister has failed, for I recently received a message from the Prince. He is on his way here even as we speak, intent on a duel with me. I can only assume the worst: he defeated your sister and now has two dragons in his possession, and now he aims to acquire the other four. We must prevent that, at all costs. Will you help me?"
Be cautious when treating with this one, said Diamair. Hematera is the goddess of stability, and as such she will wish to stop Jimu from conquering New Asuka, but Rubustion is the god of destruction. He wishes to destroy his enemies, and anyone else in his way, without regard to alternative. Daichi seems to still be in control, but if one of my siblings were to take over, we could be in great danger. Rubustion's limitless temerity is second only to the controlled fury of Obsidiusk himself.
Yoshi took her warning to heart. "I will help you as best I am able. What do you propose?"
"Prince Jimu has challenged me to a duel, and it is a challenge I must accept. The reigning champions of both Old and New Asuka have now fallen to him; if I cannot defeat Jimu in a duel, no one can. I was the one who taught him to play Duel Monsters and I have defeated no less than twenty-seven national champions during my years on this earth, most of whom I trained personally. Even so, my victory over my nephew will not come easily. I will need every powerful card I can muster, and I feel my chances of winning will be best with all four of our crystal dragons in my deck. I alone have the experience necessary to build a deck around these four virtually unstoppable monsters, and use it to overpower whatever Jimu brings against me."
"You expect me to just give you my two dragons? I am sorry, but I cannot do that. Perhaps we should duel him one at a time, so that he'll have to win two duels to obtain all six dragons."
"No. For once he defeated one of us, Jimu would have four Crystal Dragons and that would give him an unsurmountable advantage in the final duel. We must, quite literally, play all our cards at once. The duel between Jimu and myself will be publicly televised, so that every citizen of Asuka, both Old and New, can witness our match. The winner of this duel will also be the winner of the ancient war between our two countries."
We cannot allow that to happen. If any mortal comes into control of all six dragons, their combined might will be too powerful to restrain. A fury will be unleashed upon the world unlike any that has been seen since ancient times. I want to change this world more than anyone, but not like this. We must find a way to prevent both Daichi and Jimu from attaining every Crystal Dragon card.
Yoshi had an idea. "You said that, even with four crystal dragons, you would be the only person capable of defeating Jimu in a duel. But what if that's not true?"
Daichi interlaced his fingers. "Explain."
"I imagine it will take some time for the Prince to fly here all the way from Old Asuka. That gives us just enough time to conduct a duel of our own. Naturally, the superior duelist will emerge the victor, and shall inherent the others' cards. Then, with all four of our dragons, one of us will face off against Jimu, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.
Excellent thinking, my child. If you can win these two duels, all six cards will be in our possession. And because you are loyal to neither side in this conflict, you will be able to use our powers without bias, to bring an end to this war through peace, not destruction of one side or the other.
Of course, the big catch was the Yoshi would have to defeat two of the most powerful duelists in history, one right after the other. It would be an enormous challenge, but with Diamair and Saphrine at his back, and with the fate of his sister and the entire world on the line, he knew he would be up to it.
"If this is the only way for me to acquire your two cards, then so be it. Follow me to the dueling arena. I say this with no offense intended, but defeating you should not take very long."
"We shall see."
The King led Yoshi higher and higher through the upper floors of the grand palace, until at last they emerged on the roof itself, situated a thousand feet above the capital of New Asuka. A dueling arena had already been readied and it seemed fitting that here, above the entire world, its fate would be decided.
Yoshi mounted one podium while Daichi mounted the other. Both raised up fifty feet as the duelists inserted their decks into the automatic shufflers and the holoprojectors hummed to life.
"May I go first?" Yoshi asked, remembering what his sister had told him.
"No. But you may call the flip." The King took out a coin from his pocket, threw it into the air, caught it in his left hand and slammed it down on the back of his right.
Choose whichever you'd like. My siblings under his command are preventing Saphrine and I from influencing the outcome, just as we are preventing them from doing the same. This duel will be played with complete fairness.
Yoshi wouldn't have it any other way. "I call heads."
Daichi lifted his hand. "Tails, my move." He drew a card from his deck. "I'll just start by setting two cards face-down on the field. Your turn."
That's an unusual move. Perhaps he got an unlucky starting hand.
Perhaps. Perhaps not. Yoshi looked at his starting hand. He had drawn Heart of the Underdog and five monsters, including Diamair. If he could summon her, the duel would be off to a great start.
"I activate the spell card Heart of the Underdog, then summon Gemini Elf in attack mode." The 1900 attack twin elves appeared on the field below.
I would advise you against attacking quite yet, at least until you build up your defenses. Destroying a few of his lifepoints isn't worth risking your only monster.
Yoshi decided to go with Diamair's advice and ended his turn.
"Then I'll just set one card face-down. Your turn again."
Yoshi drew Dark Bribe, a countertrap card that allowed him to negate one of Daichi's spells or traps. But since Dark Bribe was a trap card itself, he couldn't activate it the same turn he set it on the field.
"I'll set a card as well, and then summon Giant Soldier of Stone to the field. I end my turn without attacking."
"Hm… afraid of my trap cards? You're smart, kid. But not smart enough. This turn, I think I'll just set one monster face-down."
"About time." Yoshi drew Huge Revolution, a card which had never, ever worked for him before. He set it on the field anyway, hoping Daichi might assume it to be a more powerful trap. "I summon Thunder Kid, and now I'll attack your face-down monster with Gemini Elf."
"And in response, I activate my Magic Cylinder trap. This card used to be quite popular back in my day. The attack of your Gemini elf is now directed away from my monster and back towards your life points."
"It would be, if I didn't have," Yoshi flipped over one of his traps, "Dark Bribe. This negates the effect of your Magic Cylinders."
Daichi didn't seem to mind. "So it does. But it also allows me to draw one more card." Daichi did so, while Gemini Elf finally finished its attack. "Very good. You've just destroyed my Magical Merchant, activating his special ability. I now pick up cards from my deck until I get a trap or spell card, then I send the other cards to my graveyard." He drew the first card and showed it to Yoshi before discarding it: Jurak Monolov, a Fire-attribute dinosaur that Yoshi didn't recognize. Then Daichi drew the spell card Jurassic World and added it to his hand.
He seems to be using a dinosaur-themed deck. I would not have expected this.
Yoshi couldn't agree more. Dinosaur monsters had some of the highest attack points in the game, and Yoshi had used quite a few of them before, but due to their weak effects, they were rarely used by competitive duelists.
"It's still my turn," Yoshi said. "Now I attack you directly with Giant Solider of Stone and Thunder Kid, reducing your lifepoints to 6000. Your move."
"I'll start by summoning Destroyersaurus." The small, skinny dinosaur appeared on the field below. It only had 1800 attack points, but Yoshi knew what his opponent had planned. "Then I activate a field spell card. Yoshi, may I be the first to welcome you to Jurassic World!"
As he placed the card on the field, the landscape around the monsters changed, encapsulating them in a world of palm trees, sheer cliffs, and smoking volcanoes. This was a card Yoshi knew well, because he had once used a dinosaur deck as a kid: it increased the power of all dinasuar-type monsters by 300 points, raising Destroyersaurus' attack to 2100.
"Now Destroyersaurus, attack his Gemeni Elf." The beast charged forward with its razor sharp head, shattering Yoshi's monster. At last, things were beginning to get interesting.
Yoshi drew Sabersaurus, a dinosaur-monster he had retained in his current deck. "I'll reveal the monster I just drew to activate Heart of the Underdog's effect, allowing me to draw another card." Now he drew Advanced Ritual Art, which could allow him to summon any ritual monster from his hand to the field. In other words, for now, it was completely useless.
"I summon Sabersaurus to the field. He, too, gets a power bonus from Jurassic World, making him even stronger than your Destroyersaurus. Now I'll use my newly summoned monster to destroy the only monseter you have, and I'll attack your life points again with Thunder Kid and Giant Soldier of Stone."
Daichi had now lost more than half of his lifepoints. "I summon Jurak Vello and use him to destroy your Giant Solider of Stone. That's all for now."
Something's very wrong here. For one of the greatest duelists in the world, he's not playing all that well.
Yoshi hoped that Daichi was merely going easy on him, though that seemed unlikely. But whatever Daichi was up to, he wouldn't be up to it for long. Even with Jurassic World's bonus, Jurak Vello was still weaker than Sabersaurus. Yoshi drew Mystical Space Typhoon. "Alright Sabersaurus, take care of his Jurak Vello."
Daichi's lifepoints fell by 200 more. "Not bad, although now that you've destroyed Jurak Vello, I'm allowed to summon another weaker Jurak monster from my deck. I select Jurak Protopus, who is too powerful for your Thunder Kid to destroy."
That was a little more like it, but still… it felt like Daichi was merely stalling for time. But what was he waiting for?
"Before ending my turn, I'm using Mystical Space Typhoon to blow away your Jurassic World, and then I'll set one more monster on the field." Now, with three monsters on the field, Yoshi's life points would be safe for the time being.
Daichi drew. "I summon Jurak Monolov to the field, a level three tuner monster. Now, by combining his power with that of my Jurak Protopus, I synchro summon Jurak Giganot. Due to his effect, Jurak Giganot gains 200 attack points for each Jurak monster in my graveyard, and I have four. Now my monster shall destroy your Sabersaurus."
Yoshi's monster was no match for Giganot's 2900 attack points. Still, Yoshi had 6100 life points left; he just had to find a way to get rid of Daichi's fiery dinosaur.
He drew the monster United Resistance and showed it to Daichi, allowing him to draw another card, DNA Transplant. This trap card allowed him to change the attribute of all face-up monsters on the field. If he used it to change all monsters into Wind monsters, he would soon be able to summon Diamair. But until next turn, he had no way of getting rid of Daichi's Jurak Giganot.
"I'll set another monster and switch Thunder Kid to defense mode. Do your worst."
"Not to worry, Yoshi, I will. I summon Babycerasaurus and then tribute it to activate the spell card Big Evolution Pill. For three more turns, this allows me to summon dinasuar monsters without tributes. But of course, since I've already summoned one monster this turn, I'll have to wait until next turn to use it. Until then, I'll destroy one of your set monsters with Jurak Giganot."
Yoshi's Charcoal Inpachi was sent to the graveyard, leaving him with only two monsters on the field. He would just have to draw one in order to summon Diamair.
Yoshi's hand trembled as he picked up the top card from his deck. It was a monster card: Great Angus!
Don't forget to activate Heart of the Underdog. The duel isn't won just yet.
Of course. Yoshi revealed Great Angus to Daichi and drew another monster, Mad Lobster. He repeated the process, this time obtaining Sword of the Soul-Eater. "I summon Great Angus. Then I'll activate my-"
Not yet. Look at your hand again. You don't need my help to destroy Jurak Giganot.
It was true; the spell card Yoshi had just drawn was a second possibility. But he worried that if he didn't summon Diamair now, he might not get another chance.
We must bide our time. Daichi has so far played this game with extreme caution; summoning me too soon might prompt him to redouble his efforts. You would do better to wait until he has revealed his strategy, relying on me as a measure of last resort. Besides, I want to see how you fair against the King without using my power.
Yoshi disagreed with Diamair's advice, but he would not go against it. "Alright, I flip over my United Resistance monster card, and equip it with Sword of the Soul-Eater. Now, by sacrificing my other two monsters, I increase United Resistance's attack by 2000 points, for a grand total of 3000. Now, United Resistance, attack!"
The holographic mob rushed forward, bringing their pitchforks and tortches against Daichi's Giganot and inflicting 100 damage to his life points. "Let's see what you can do against a monster this strong."
"Let's see," Dachi echoed, conducting his draw phase. "I summon the level nine Jurak Titan, which I can do thanks to my Big Evolutionary Pill spell card. Jurak Titan has an attack of 3000 attack points, equal to that of your pitiful Resistance, but I'm not finished yet. By removing from play one Jurak monster in my graveyard, I can temporarily increase my Titan's attack to an overwhelming 4000. Consider your monster finished."
Like something out of an old horror movie, the mob about-faced and ran as the enormous dinosaur trampled them down. As his life points dropped to 5100, Yoshi wished he had gone ahead and summoned Diamair.
You have only two Wind-attribute monsters in your graveyard, meaning that even I would not have been powerful enough to survive an attack from his Jurak Titan, not yet. My advice was sound.
She was right. Yoshi just had to remain calm. There were still plenty of ways to turn this duel in his favor.
He drew Nightmare Steelcage. At least this would buy him some time. "I summon Mad Lobster and then activate the spell Nightmare Steelcage, preventing any monster from attacking for two turns."
"So be it. I'll activate the effect of Big Evolution Pill a second time, this time summoning my mighty Jurak Tyrannus. That is all."
Yoshi drew his Cyber-Tech Alligator and hoped that was a sign of good things to come. At least Cyber-Tech Alligator had the same attack as Jurak Tyrannus, even though it was still no match for Jurak Titan. "I drew Cyber-Tech Alligator, so I'll use Heart of the Underdog to draw again." He received Gift of the Martyr, which could come in useful once his Nightmare Steelcage wore off. "I'll tribute Mad Lobster to summon Cyber-Tech Alligator. Your turn."
"This is the final turn I can use Big Evolutionary Pill, so I might as well make good use of it. Meet Jurak Spinos. No need to fear him though; he won't be around for now. Because now I sacrifice Jurak Titan, Tyrannus, and Spinos to special summon Rubustion, the Red Crystal Dragon!"
Like a pillar of flame, the mighty dragon arrived on the field, a hovering mass of bright red scales with wings and eyes made a charred glass. Sacrificing three powerful monsters to summon just one was normally a very bad move, but if that monster was Rubustion, it was well worth it. "In case you haven't noticed, I've been sending Fire monsters to my graveyard all game. Rubustion gains 300 attack for each of them, giving him a total of 5100 attack points. I still can't attack this turn due to your Nightmare Steelcage, but that won't last much longer."
Daichi was right. Nightmare Steelcage's time limit was up and now there was nothing standing between the two players, save for Yoshi's Cyber-Tech Alligator and Daichi's great dragon.
Yoshi drew. "This is Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress. I draw again." It was Cu Chulainn the Awakened, a card Kira had given him for his fourteenth birthday, and just the card he needed to defeat Rubustion. He had placed all his faith in his cards, and they had come through. Now it was his turn to use them well.
"I summon Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress. Now I activate the ritual spell Advanced Ritual Art. By sending Acrobat Monkey and Oppressed People from my deck to my graveyard, I can summon Cu Chulainn the Awakened from my hand."
Now Yoshi had three monsters on the field: his Cyber-Tech Alligator with 2500 attack points, Winged Dragon with 1400, and Cu Chulainn, with just 500. Luckily, she had a very powerful special ability. But there was one other thing he had to do first. "I'm activating my Gift of the Martyr spell card. By sacrificing my Cyber-Tech Alligator, I can add its attack points to Cu Chulainn, bring its total to 3000. Now I activate her special ability, removing one normal monster from my graveyard so that I can add its attack power to hers. And I choose to remove the Cyber-Tech Alligator I just sent there. That makes her attack power an unprecedented 5500, enough to destroy even Rubustion. Now, Cu Chulainn the Awakened, attack!"
Daichi was, as always, unfazed. "Wait. Or did you forget about the two cards I set face-down at the start of this duel? I'm actually rather disappointed, Yoshi; I thought you would force me to use them long before now. I prepared this deck to defeat duelists who relied too heavily on effect monsters, which seems like pretty much every duelist these days. Your use of normal monsters took me off guard."
"Where are you going with this, King?"
"My point is that the trap I laid isn't totally useless after all. I activate Skill Drain, which negates the effects of all monsters on the field at the cost of 1000 of my life points. That means your Cu Chulainn loses the attack boost it just gained."
"True enough, but she still has 3000 attack thanks to Gift of the Martyr. And because of Skill Drain, Rubustion also has 3000 attack points, which means both monsters are destroyed, leaving my Winged Dragon free to attack your life points directly."
"A very accurate assessment of the situation. But I still have 1200 life points left, so unless you have anything else to do…"
The only card left in Yoshi's hand was Diamair. "No. It's your turn."
"Excellent. In that case, I'll special summon my Gilasaurus from my hand. This allows you to summon one monster from your graveyard."
"Alright, I choose United Resistance in defense mode."
"Perfect. Because special summoning a monster to your side of the field sets off my other trap card, Hunting Instinct, which lets me summon a dinosaur-type monster from my hand. I choose Sauropod Brachion. Finally, I'll summon Black Stego, and sacrifice all three to summon my second crystal dragon, Hematera!"
Like a fierce, exaggerated incarnation of Mother Nature, Hematera appeared on the battlefield, her scales the color of leaves in the morning sun, her claws and horns as dark as the earth's mantle.
But, strangely enough, Yoshi was not afraid. "Not so fast. I activate the trap card DNA Transplant, which lets me change all monsters on the field to any attribute of my choosing, and I select Wind. Because your three monsters are no longer Earth-type, you can't summon Hematera."
"Incorrect. You've activated your trap card too late; I've already summoned her, as you can clearly see."
Yoshi couldn't believe his opponent had made such an amateurish mistake. "Sorry, Daichi, but you're mistaken this time. By activating my trap card, I've started what expert duelists call a chain. And in a chain of cards, the effect of the last card activated is the first to be resolved. In other words, my DNA Transplant works before you summon Hematera."
Upon hearing this, Daichi actually chuckled. "No, Yoshi. I have been a dueling champion since before you parents were born and I have taught the best duelists in the world everything they know. I've memorized every rulebook ever written, so I assure you, I know what I'm talking about. You are correct about chains, however you should also know that chains only begin when a card effect is activated. While you may start a chain in reaction to an attack or a summoning, the summoning of my Hematera is not itself part of that chain. Her summoning already happened before your trap took effect. Ergo, my dragon remains in play."
Apparently the dueling computer agreed with Yoshi, because the holograms of his three tribute monsters didn't appear, nor did Hematera disappear. Well, at least it had been worth a shot.
Daichi may know everything there is to know about Duel Monsters, but you have one thing he does not: heart. Trust in your deck, Yoshi. It has not yet failed you.
"Now, Hematera, destroy his Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress. It's your turn, Yoshi, probably your last."
"Then I'd better use it well." He drew the monster People Running About and showed it to Daichi. "I draw another card with Heart of the Underdog's effect." It was Silent Doom, which allowed him to summon one monster from his graveyard, but that monster couldn't attack, making it useless.
No card is useless, Yoshi. You of all people should know that. Look again.
And he did look again, at every card in his graveyard, in his hand, on the field, but nothing made itself clear. He needed some kind of hint.
I already gave you a hint. I want you to do the rest.
Yoshi thought about what she had said. No card was useless. Well, his face-down Huge Revolution was living proof against that…
Yoshi couldn't help but laugh as he realized what he had to do. "Alright, King Daichi. Prepare for the most impressive defeat of your lifetime."
Daichi smiled kindly, as if amused by his courage but not impressed. He waved a wrinkled hand. "Go ahead."
"I summon People Running About to the field. Now I activate Silent Doom, reviving the Oppressed People card I sent to my graveyard a few turns back. And, thanks to your last move, I already have United Resistance on the field. Tell me Daichi, do you know what Oppressed People, People Running Around, and United Resistance come together to create?"
Daichi appeared to age ten years in that moment. His face fell, his hands gripped onto the podium railing and he sighed, "No."
Yoshi flipped over his face-down card. "A Huge Revolution!" Yoshi's three monsters charged forward, overpowering and destroying every card on Daichi's side of the field, even his traps. Normally, Hematera would be immune to Huge Revolution, but thanks to Daichi's own Skill Drain, its protective ability was negated.
"And that, King, leaves you wide open for a direct attack."
He nodded solemnly. "So it does. But even together, your two monsters can only deal 700 damage, which isn't enough to defeat me. And of course, because it was revived with Silent Doom, your United Resistance can't attack."
"No. But it can still be sacrificed. And thanks to my DNA Transplant, all three of my monsters are treated as Wind-types, allowing me to bring forth Diamair, the White Cyrstal Dragon!"
At last, his old friend materialized on the battlefield, more beautiful than all her siblings combined. Her crystalline scales were a white so pure that light itself seemed unable to touch her, a creature more radiant than any other in the world.
You have done exceedingly well, my young friend. Now allow me to finish this.
"Be my guest. Diamair, reduce his life points to-"
Stop! Saphrine's voice pounded into his mind. You must know, Yoshi, that if you command my sister to attack she will not only destroy Daichi's life points, but his own life as well. No mortal can survive a direct attack by a Crystal Dragon.
Yoshi hesitated as he ran the scenarios through his mind. He could win this duel right now, moving him one step closer to defeating Prince Diachi and saving the world… but at what cost? Daichi may have been one of the men responsible for the war, but he had fought honorably and seemed a wise and courageous king. Yoshi would not kill him unless there was no other way, and as of yet, that was not the case. He had one hope left, one last idea to try.
"King Daichi, I have a proposition to make."
"I'm listening," his opponent growled.
"I could end this duel right now by attacking with my White Crystal Dragon, but doing so would put your life in great danger. I'm giving you a chance to save yourself by quitting the duel right now. If you don't, I'll have no choice but to attack you. That's my offer. Take it or leave it."
The King chewed on his lip for nearly a minute. "I am grateful for your kindness, Yoshi, which is why it pains me to say that I will have to take advantage of it. Understand that I am not fighting for myself, but for my country. In order to save New Asuka, in order to win this war, I must defeat Prince Jimu, and to do that, I must first defeat you."
"Your majesty, I beg you to reconsider. If you don't quit now-"
"You'll destroy me, I know. But for all your talk, I don't think you're actually going to go through with your threat. I have always been extremely good at reading people, and you don't strike me as someone willing to murder an old man to get what he wants."
Daichi was right. Yoshi had hoped that his bluff might lead to a win-win situation, but he knew the king wouldn't back down now. He was back to his original decision; there was no easy way out. He would just have to end his turn and hope that Daichi didn't draw something that would turn the duel in his favor.
Child, listen to me. You are needlessly wagering billions of lives on the draw of a card. Is this a risk you really want to take? The world is on a course to complete annihilation, and if you wish to change that course, you must be willing to make the necessary sacrifices.
Perhaps. But for now, Yoshi he decided he would take his chances. After all, if, like Diamair claimed, it was his destiny to change the world, then he would win this duel, with or without her power.
So be it. Your logic is sound, and though I do not agree with your decision, I will adhere to it nonetheless. Finish this duel in whichever way you believe is best.
Yoshi silently thanked his friend and told Daichi, "I end my turn without attacking."
Daichi took a deep breath and drew his final card. He smiled and hung his head. "I'm afraid your kindness paid off. I drew another Jurassic World, which will do nothing to save me, so I end my turn."
Now Yoshi drew. It was a normal monster, but there was no reason to activate Heart of the Underdog again at this stage in the duel. "I summon Luster Dragon to the field and use it to attack your life points directly. I win."
Well done, child. In this instance, your gambit paid off. Let us hope for all our sakes that you will not have to make another.
Daichi's life point counter reflected Yoshi's statement. The King had stood tall and strong through the duel, but the effort seemed to have exhausted him, for he now collapsed upon the top of his podium as it began lowering to the ground.
Yoshi's own podium followed suit, and he ran immediately to the King's side. "Your majesty, are you alright?"
With the help of two aides, Daichi made it to his feet. "My reputation may never recover from that, but yes, I am alright. In fact, that was the most spectacular duel I've ever had, Yoshi. If I had to lose, I am glad it was to good old-fashioned monsters, and not to all the fancy tricks duelists tend to use to win these days. These are rightfully yours, and I want to include another as well."
He handed Yoshi three cards: Hematera, Rubustion, and his Magic Cylinders trap. "This is my oldest card, and one that I've included in every deck I've ever owned. It may not be up to standards with the more powerful cards around nowadays, but I like to think it still brings me a bit of luck when I need it."
Yoshi accepted the gift with a bow. "I'll put all three of these cards to good use, I promise."
King Daichi's head jerked and he raised an ear to the sky. "You may have to fulfill that promise sooner than you think. Do you hear that?"
Yoshi didn't need to hear it, he could see them quite clearly, the starlight reflecting off their glossy black surfaces: three military helicopters heading their way, all bearing the emblem of Prince Jimu.