Disclaimer: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.
Author's Note: I apologize for the lateness in posting this latest chapter; I've been busy with exams, summative projects, other projects, social ventures; and on top of that, I've been suffering from fatigue and writer's block, which got me behind on my writing. Without further a due, let us continue with C'est LaVie.
Chapter 26 – Connect the Past and Future! Target: Mutou Yugi
Standing opposite Lucciano in the blue Infinity seal, Yubel looked at her five cards with a very confident expression. She then reached for her Deck and declared, "I draw," nonchalantly, placing the card into her hand without another word.
"Well?" Lucciano asked impatiently. "Are you going to make your move, or are you simply too afraid of my Machine Emperor (ATK: 3200, LV: 1)?"
"I have made my move," Yubel replied. "I choose to end my turn without playing a single card." This statement jot a surprised look from Kyojo and Jack, but a confident smile from Judai matching Yubel's as e realized what she was doing.
"Have you lost your mind?" Lucciano then inquired forcefully, closing her fist as Yubel simply stared back calmly and in a reserved manner. "Or is your Deck simply so bad that your hand isn't playable?" After a few seconds Yubel had not changed her expression or answered, so Lucciano snapped, "Answer me!"
"I don't have to," Yubel replied, cool as a cucumber despite her opponent's taunting. "I declare the end of my turn. Do as you wish."
Standing opposite her, a maliciously smiling Lucciano reached for her own Deck, grabbing a card and yelling, "Very well! Draw!" Then, she pointed her card straight at Yubel and declared, "Battle! I attack your Life Points with Skiel!"
Screeching, the mechanical creature began to collect energy in the giant cannon on the underside of its body, giving Lucciano the sense that she had won. This feeling was reinforced when the beam fired itself straight at Yubel; however, it faded when a large eye with a yellow sclera, red iris and black pupil opened in front of Yubel, taking the brunt of the assault.
"What kind of cheap trick is this?" Lucciano asked accusingly as Yubel crossed her arms and closed her eyes, smirking. "You had a turn and chose not to play any cards; thus, you shouldn't have been able to stop my attack!"
"Is that so?" Yubel inquired as a blue aura formed around her, immediately followed by the appearance of a transparent card. "Due to the effect of Chaos Gardna, I make the damage from a direct attack 0 and add the power of the attacking monster to my score." This statement got an incredibly irate glare from Lucciano, and a look of understanding from Judai's comrades.
Yubel: LP 3250
Lucciano: LP 1100
"Yubel just turned the duel around in a single move," Kyojo realized, adjusting his shades. "Her strategies are usually based around self-regeneration, using Trap Cards to strengthen herself so she has enough longevity to summon her best monsters."
"And in this case," Jack added on, "she was able to use Lucciano's power against her, strengthening her Life Points to almost triple Lucciano's."
"You may have saved yourself this turn," Lucciano said in annoyance, "but it does you no good! I set one card and change to Defence Position: Skiel Top 3 (DEF: 300, LV: 1), Skiel Attack 3 (DEF: 300, LV: 1), and Skiel Carrier (DEF: 300, LV: 1). With that my turn is finished!"
"Then I guess I draw," Yubel stated calmly, pulling her card from her Deck and spinning it around. "I activate the Magic Card, Angel's Gift." Pulling 3 cards from her Deck in one motion, Yubel then took two cards in her hand and threw them into the Cemetery before stating, "Next, I Summon Phantom Demon Avatar (ATK: 0, LV: 1)."
From a black cloud of smoke appeared a tall, grey-skinned demonic creature with a black cape extended from a skeletal wing frame, black robes framed with dull yellow and red skeletal pieces, and a face hidden inside a black bison skull. On its chest were three orbs in a triangle formation; one navy, one crimson and one gold. "Next, I set one card and end my turn."
"Draw!" Lucciano yelled out, snapping up her card and then adding it to her hand. "Battle! I direct attack Yubel with Machine Emperor Skiel!" Once again the monster in front of her formed a charge in its cannon and shot that power at Yubel; this time, Yubel snapped her fingers and her set card flipped up.
"Permanent Trap Open: Delta Barrier. When this card activates, I activate 2 Delta Barrier Cards from my Cemetery. When all 3 are on the field, once per turn, I make the battle damage to both players and any monsters 0." With that identical copies of the card appeared on either side of the existing one; then, the blast simply diffused into floating particles, drifting aimlessly before fading out.
"I set another card and end my turn," Lucciano said bitterly, now more so than ever. "Only Skiel can attack each turn, which will stop me from ever dealing battle damage while those cards exist. Unless I destroy them, I can't win; Yubel could simply stall until I deck out. Which I may, since I went through my Deck so much last Duel."
"You may think I want to Deck you out," Yubel suddenly stated, getting Lucciano's attention. "But I assure you, you'll be dead long before that. Draw!" AS Yubel pulled her card, the red orb on her monster's chest began to glow; and then Yubel declared, "I set one card and end my turn."
"Such bland moves," Lucciano lamented. "Draw!" Seeing the card which she had drawn and smiling, she spun it around and declared, "I activate the Instant Magic, Cyclone!"
"Don't try it!" Yubel challenged. "Permanent Trap Open: Customs of the Imperial Court! Permanent Trap Cards now cannot be destroyed by card effects."
"Then I have no choice but to end my turn," Lucciano said softly, her own situation starting to seem more and more hopeless.
"Draw," Yubel declared, her monster's gold orb lighting up as well before she placed her card face-down and stated, "I end my turn by setting one card."
"Does she intend to stall until that thing's three orbs light up?" Lucciano asked herself. "Draw!" Seeing the card and being disappointed she said, "I set one card and end my turn."
"Then let the real show begin," Yubel declared with a confident smile. "I draw!" When she drew her last card, the navy orb finally lit up and she informed, "Now that Phantom Demon Avatar has 3 Phantom Demon Counters, I send it to the Cemetery and add a Phantom Demon to my hand for each Counter."
"That means!" Kyojo realized, gasping as the monster's body changed into black smoke except for the three orbs, which floated in midair for a few seconds. Then, they shot over to Yubel's claw as streams and changed into the Three Phantom Demons' cards, which she then proceeded to place into her hand.
"Now let me show you the Godspeed Summon," Yubel stated, shifting her arm to face her three Delta Barrier cards as they all burst into flames. Within seconds they merged together into a fireball and then shot up into a stream of fire, which then snaked around and solidified into the form of the red serpent demon. Looking down at Lucciano with its glowing yellow eyes, the monster growled as it saw its next victim tremble.
"Phantom Demon number one: God Flame Emperor Uria (ATK: 3000, LV: 10)," Yubel declared before pulling another card from her hand and declaring, "I activate Magic Planter. Due to this card, I send Customs of the Imperial Court to the Cemetery and draw 2 cards." Yubel then slid the card into her Cemetery and pulled two cards, causing her monster's power to rise (ATK: 4000)."
"Next I activate the effect of Uria: Trap Incineration!" Roaring, the monster opened its mouth and shot a fireball at Lucciano's far left card, revealed as Holy Barrier – Mirror Force, and causing it to burn to ash in a second. "But I'm far from done; Permanent Magic, Triangle Force!"
"Yubel wasn't kidding when she declared a Godspeed Summon," Kyojo observed while Yubel's card appeared on her field, followed by two identical copies due to its own effect. "She's set up her second Demon's summoning already."
"I send my three Triangle Force cards to the Cemetery, and summon Phantom Demon number two: Descending Thunder Emperor Hamon (ATK: 4000, LV: 10)!" With that her three cards changed into ice and shattered, changing into a crystal rosette that was struck by lightning and revealed the second monster, the dull yellow skeleton dragon, with a loud booming growl.
"Thanks to Triangle Force," Yubel stated, "I can't Normal Summon this turn; however, I do still have summons left. I activate a Magic Card: Class Changer. With this, I select a monster in Deck and send it to the Cemetery. In return, its level goes to an opposing monster. Thus, I give Skiel the Level of Yubel – Das Extremer Traurig Drachen (LV: 12)." Sneering, Yubel placed the card into the Cemetery and watched as Lucciano's monster increased its level to the max.
"Next, I activate Blood Note!" Yubel declared. "Since your monster is Level 12, I gain 3 Blood Tokens [(ATK: 0, LV: 1)x3]." All of a sudden three monsters made out of a congealed red liquid formed themselves in front of Yubel's towering monsters, causing Lucciano to gasp in shock. "Now I sacrifice these Tokens and call out my last monster: Phantom Demon Emperor Ravel (ATK: 4000, LV: 10)!"
As soon as she said this, Yubel placed the navy-bordered card into the tray, creating a storm of blue sparks on her Duel Disc and from the ground. Between the two existing Demons then appeared a blue column of energy which erupted fro the ground like a geyser, spawning the massive roaring form of the blue and purple-bodied demon with chiselled form, long wings and tail, and horn-like headdress.
"All three Demons in a single turn?" Lucciano suddenly blurted in terror, the combined presence of the Three Demons kicking up massive winds within the alleys and rustling the hair of every single human in the region, as well as Yubel's. Staring back darkly, Yubel was smiling as her monsters growled out demonically, eying Lucciano's monsters hungrily.
"I activate the effect of Uria, Lord of Searing Flames!" Yubel declared, pointing at Lucciano's far right set card. "Trap Incineration!" With a dark screech the red serpent threw a fireball at the card with its jaws, burning it to ash in a second. After this all the winds died down and Lucciano was able to get a solid footing, her remaining cards all leaving her with mixed feelings of security.
"Your mistake was believing that you would be able to defeat the Mistress of the Darkness of Justice," Yubel declared accusingly, pointing at Lucciano with her clawed talon. "Such hubris will cost you in the long run, assuming your survive this next move!"
"You're bluffing!" Lucciano retorted, attempting and failing to sound equally as strong. "You can only use Uria's effect once per turn, and I still have set cards on my field after that!"
"But none of those cards can save you now!" Yubel shouted, taking a card from her hand and putting it into play. "I activate the Instant Magic, Turn Jump! With this card, I may change the current Phase of the turn to the start of my corresponding Phase a random number of turns later!"
As Yubel sneered, the entire atmosphere surrounding the duel warped like a desert mirage, only stopping after about thirty seconds and leaving Yubel ready to respond. "I play my Magic Card, Cold Wave!" Watching in horror, Lucciano saw all of her set cards become covered in a layer of frost; the she looked back up and saw the three powerful demons staring down upon her, eager to feed.
"Disappear into your own Darkness," Yubel hissed. "Uria, attack Machine Emperor Skiel! Hyperblaze!" Rearing back its head, the red serpent shot a huge blast of flames straight at the Infinity symbol of the opposing machine monster, which deflected the flames onto Lucciano and made her scream out in pain.
"Finish this, Ravel! Nightmare Scathe!" Rearing back, the tall blue and purple demon turned its right talons a glowing white colour and shoved them straight into the Infinity Symbol of the machine dragon, creating a huge explosion which consumed Lucciano and finally resulted in the explosion of the monster.
Yubel: LP 3250
Lucciano: LP 0
When the Three Demons had finished with their attacks, each one of them dissolved into fog of their own colour and black, dispersing quickly and leaving no evidence. Opposite her, Lucciano's Infinity Patch over her left eye suddenly began to crack and eventually shattered, causing her blue aura to leap off of her and disappear. With that Lucciano fell forward onto her knees and then collapsed on her face, her Duel Disc falling off.
Before any of the crew could begin congratulating, though, the sound of clapping was heard from a fire escape on one of the nearby buildings, causing everyone to suddenly look up. Everyone then scowled when they saw Placido standing there, his own Infinity Symbol glowing its string green and revealing his face to the gang for the first time. The malice look on his face stood in defiance of the tone he had used previous, and his red eye stared at the group with a determined glare.
"I must hand it to you," he finally said to Yubel, pointing at her. "I never thought you would have been able to defeat an Infinity Series, even with the power of the Three Demons. However, you victory here has done nothing to settle my plans." Before anyone had the chance to respond, he waved his hand in a sweeping motion and the cards from Lucciano's Deck all glowed green, shooting out of the Deck and into Placido's hand.
"What do you mean?" Jack inquired hostilely. "One of your allies has just fallen in battle, and you think it matters not? Do you intend to recover her, even if Infinity has left her?"
"She can rot in Hell for all I care now," was the incredibly cold and uncaring reply, shocking everyone to the bone instantly. "What matters is that now, I have everything I need to secure the greatest power source in existence!" Placido then answered everyone's unasked question by pointing his hand at Sherry's body, causing the Z-ONE card to shoot up into his grasp and show itself.
"Hey, what in tarnation to you think you're doing?" Kyojo barked. "We had a deal! We won, so you don't get to just take our cards Willy-Nilly! Give that sucker back!"
"The deal you reached was with Lucciano, not with me. And now that she is gone, I am free to do as I please!" Holding up the card, a white beacon of light was created from the card that completely consumed the man, blinding everyone instantly as the light consumed the whole alleyway. By the time it had passed, Placido had vanished and all others had passed out on their backs.
Approximately 15 years earlier (or, as perceived by the alternate timeline, 27), it had been a bright, sunny day which for everyone in Domino City had been a cause for cheer. It was the opening day of the Kaiba Corporation's Battle City V2, a Tournament which gave everyone the chance to duel the Duel King himself.
Standing in the centre of Domino Square, in front of a clock that read 12:00 pm, the Duel King himself, Mutou Yugi, stood with his Duel Disc on his arm and his Deck in his hand, smiling at the man standing opposite him. Replying was his opponent, none other than his best friend Katsuya Jonouchi picked up his Deck and placed it in his Duel Disc's Deck slot.
"You ready for a white-knuckle duel, Yugi?" Jonouchi then asked confidently, his Duel Disc's blade coming together in front of his Deck and folding around to the side. Opposite him, Yugi nodded and also inserted his Deck into his Duel Disc, making its blade to the same and causing both players to draw five cards from their Decks.
"What say I take the first try?" Jonouchi then asked, reaching for his Deck and grabbing onto a card. Just as he was about to snap it up, though, a strong white light burst out behind Jonouchi that forced Yugi to cover his eyes with his Duel Disc and Jonouchi to have a predictable nervous over-reaction.
"What the hell is going on?" one of Yugi's other friends Honda Hiroto asked, also covering his eyes with his arm as Mazaki Anzu did the same. Both people then were completely surprised when they saw the light die down and a white-robed figure appear behind Jonouchi, his face hidden by shadow except for the glowing green Infinity symbol glowing out.
"Jou! Watch out!" Yugi yelled, giving Jonouchi enough time to spin around before the white-robed figure grabbed him by the collar and picked him up, throwing him into a nearby bench and making Anzu and Honda run to him.
"Are you alright?" Anzu then yelled to her friend in worry. In reply, Jou managed to pull himself up to his feet off the arm of the bench, which allowed him to see the man better. The man had on his arm a strange-looking Duel Disc with a similar Infinity Symbol on it to his eyepatch; hen, he shifted his face slightly and revealed his red left eye with a scar underneath and black bangs.
"Mutou Yugi, King of Duellists," the figure said to Yugi in his monotone voice, "My name is Placido and I have come to you because of a threat to our very existence which will destroy us all unless you help me. I am afraid that I cannot accept any refusal; the stakes are simply too high."
"Why would I bother helping you out?" Yugi asked forcefully. "If you cared so much, you would not have thrown Jou aside so rudely just to tell me that. What's your real angle?"
"If you don't trust my word, why don't you ask the Legendary Nameless Pharaoh whose spirit dwells within your Millennium Puzzle?" This question got an incredibly shocked reaction from all three of Yugi's friends, as well as a stern look from Yugi himself. Beside him then appeared the spirit form of his taller, more serious-looking counterpart, who also bore a dark expression.
"I don't know what you think you know," Yugi confronted of Placido as his Puzzle's Wdjat eye began to glow with golden light. Before he could say anything else, the eye also appeared on his forehead and the light completely consumed him; then, when it died down, he had been replaced by the taller Pharaoh, who then completed his sentence. "What I do know is that we need more than your word to follow. Prove to me that you are trustworthy!"
"How can I do anything less for the Great Pharaoh of Egypt, master of the Legendary Gods?" Placido asked, his Duel Disc's tray extending out and his Life Point meter activating. "Then I will Duel you, and if you find me trustworthy we will get down to business."
"Then let's go, Placido!" the Pharaoh challenged, prompting Placido to draw a full hand of five cards and look down at them. The Pharaoh then did the same with his own hand, and so both players yelled,
"DUEL!"
Yugi/Pharaoh: LP 4000
Placido: LP 4000
"As the challenger, I allot the first turn to you My Pharaoh," Placido insisted, pointing at the man opposite him with what appeared to be an insincere smile.
"Then I draw," the Pharaoh yelled, reaching for his Deck and snapping up a card right away. "I Summon Retrained Elvin Swordsman (DEF: 1200, LV: 4)!" Placing the card onto the tray, his Duel Disc's blade glowed a rainbow pattern and the card appeared horizontally. Then, the form of a Medieval-looking warrior with a cape, sword and green helmet appeared, taking up a crouching pose.
"Next, I shall place one card face-down and end my turn," he added, creating a reversed card before himself and pointing at Placido. "Now, show me your cards."
"By all means," was Placido's submissive reply, pulling a card from his Deck. He then sneered and extended his Field Magic Zone and placed a card on it, saying, "I activate the Field Magic Card, Z-ONE!" When the card was placed down, the Zone closed and the Duel Disc produced a white glow that consumed the field, shutting the Pharaoh out from his friends. When the glow was gone, both Placido and the Pharaoh had disappeared, leaving his friends dumbfounded.
Looking at the screen of his computer, Paradox saw a huge power surge at the top of the Momentum's Duel Platform, which to him meant that the plan had moved forward. Up at the top of this structure, the Pharaoh and Placido were surrounded by a field of white fog that just barely made their position visible, which created an angry expression in him.
"What is the meaning of this?" he then asked scathingly. "You told me that the future was in peril, not that you would be taking me away from my friends for this destruction!"
"But you see, My Pharaoh," Placido responded politely, "The only way to truly make you believe is to show you for yourself. I will return you after this duel, if that is what you so request; but should you lose, you will be trapped here until someone else finds you the way back."
"But what about my friends?" he then asked. "They'll be completely distraught."
"The past is not moving forward in time," Placido answered "For that day, time is frozen and cannot go anywhere. When I return you, it will be as though none of it happened; but that is only if you can defeat me."
"Very well; but know this, it is not simply me with whom you must contend!" Pointing his left hand at Placido aggressively, the Pharaoh then ordered, "Now continue with your turn, so I can show you the true power I possess."
"I am fully aware of this Pharaoh," Placido then though confidently. "Your Egyptian Gods will no doubt appear very soon; and when they do, they will charge this arena with then energy we need. All you need to do is produce enough fighting spirit and determination to summon them."
"To Continue with my turn, I Summon Wise Core (ATK: 0, LV: 1)," Placido stated, holding up his card and producing the egg-like white metal object. The Pharaoh then looked on at this card in shock, not knowing of its existence and being even more confused when it became encased in a green aura and its metal shell began to crumble.
"What's happening Placido?" the Pharaoh asked of a smug-looking Placido, who had closed his eye. Cluing in, the Pharaoh snarled and yelled, "This is the effect of your Field Card, isn't it?"
"Indeed it is," Placido explained. "Due to Z-ONE, I may destroy any Core Monster I Summon. And then, the best part can occur." When the entire shell of the monster was gone, all that remained was the green glowing sphere at its core, which floated up and down for a few seconds before it erupted vertically into a column of green light.
"That Core… it must have some kind of effect that activates," the Pharaoh then thought in surprise, looking up and seeing the silhouette of a monster inside the aura, "…when destroyed."
"When Wise Core is destroyed by a card effect," Placido explained, "I Special Summon Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity (ATK: 0, LV: 1), Wisel Top (DEF: 0, LV: 1), Wisel Attack (DEF: 0, LV: 1), Wisel Guard (DEF: 1200, LV: 1) and Wisel Carrier (DEF: 600, LV: 1) from my Deck!"
"Five Monsters at once!" The Pharaoh's confusion was only added to when he saw the creature appear from its green glow. A similarly-white metal monster, with a shield on its right arm and a blade its left, leg-like structures with boosters on them, and a cobra-like head with a glowing face (ATK: 2500, LV: 1). "And yet…they're treated as a single monster."
"Wisel Infinity absorbs the power of its other pieces," Placido explained, "but it also prevents them from attacking; so you are correct, it essentially works as a single unit." Reaching into his hand, he pulled out a new card and stated, "I activate the Instant Magic, After-Effect of Impact. Due to this, until the End Phase, one Machine-Type Monster I control inflicts Penetration Damage."
"This isn't good," the Pharaoh realized as the bladed left arm of the creature shot straight at his warrior. Though his smaller creature managed to hold back the assault with its sword, he knew that his own Life Points would not fare so well.
Yugi/Pharaoh: LP 2700
Placido: LP 4000
"Due to its own effect," the Pharaoh then explained, "a Monster with 1900 or more ATK cannot destroy Retrained Elvin Swordsman in battle."
"Then I shall place one card face-down and end my turn," Placido responded, looking rather pleased with his efforts. "But that's far from the end; his ext move will shock us to the core."
"I draw!" the Pharaoh declared, reaching for his Deck and gripping the top card. When he did, he felt a sudden surge of energy that he knew only as one thing; and when he saw the card, his suspicions were confirmed. Also sensing this, Yugi appeared beside him in spirit form and smiled at the draw, just as the Pharaoh was doing.
"I activate the Magic Card, Bonds of Kinsmen," the Pharaoh declared. "Now, in return for 1000 Life Points, I Special Summon from my Deck in Defence Position: Big Shield Gardna (DEF: 2600, LV: 4) and Queen's Knight (DEF: 1600, LV: 4)!" As he said this, the Pharaoh fanned through his Deck and grabbed the cards he had called, placing them onto the tray.
Yugi/Pharaoh: LP 1700
Placido: LP 4000
First to appear was a muscular warrior with black hair, red eyes and drab clothes who appeared behind a shield the size of his own body. Second appeared a red-clad female warrior covered in various diamonds, clubs, hearts and spades, holding a sword and shield and wearing a pointed hat.
"Next, I sacrifice all three of my monsters," the Pharaoh declared, causing each and ever one of them to disappear as vertical columns of energy. "Now, I use their power and call forth an ancient creature of unparalleled power. Rise, my Mighty Egyptian God, the Giant God Soldier of the Obelisk (ATK: 4000, LV: 1)!" With that the Pharaoh placed the card onto the tray, creating a huge shower of sparks and a massive spike in energy.
Then, a low, guttural growl began to echo out from nowhere as the points of three massive horns began to jut out from the ground, rising. These were soon shown as the headdress of a massive blue human-like monster with red eyes and exposed teeth, with horns on the sides of its head and a spiked chin.
Next came its main body, with padded shoulders each bearing 2 spikes, a pair of thin polygonal wings, and a highly muscular body with chiselled features. By the time the creature had finished rising, it was only visibly above its knees and yet it towered over Placido's monster, completely engulfing his side with its shadow.
"You may be more powerful than some of my creatures," the Pharaoh challenged, "but this is one beast you will not trump. Go, God Hand Crusher!" Raising its spiked hand, the giant god swung its fist straight at the smaller machine monster; this creature put up its left arm and blocked the blow, deflecting it but still costing Placido Life Points.
Yugi/Pharaoh: LP 1700
Placido: LP 3500
"Sorry Pharaoh," Placido responded, "but my Wisel Guard is able to intercept any attack on a Wisel Monster; and next, due to Z-ONE's own effect, I pay 500 Life Points to negate the destruction, by battle or card effect, of a Wisel Monster I control."
"You can protect your monster is you wish; I'll simply chisel away your Life Points with my God," the Pharaoh stated, grabbing two cards in his hand and throwing the fame-down. "I end my turn."
"Then allow me!" Placido responded, drawing a card and turning it around instantly. "I activate Wise Wave, and I evolve my Wisel Parts to Wisel Top 3 (DEF: 100, LV: 3), Wisel Attack 3 (DEF: 100, LV: 3), Wisel Guard 3 (DEF: 2000, LV: 3) and Wisel Carrier 3 (DEF: 600, LV: 3)!"
With a quickly flash of green light, the limbs and head of the machine monster were all suddenly changed. Its head became a larger, more rounded object with more red lines and a platen neck; its bladed arm changed to one with axe blades and a sword; its arm changed to a thicker one with a bigger shield, and its legs became longer and jointed.
"Next, I activate the third effect of Z-ONE," Placido added, pointing at the Pharaoh's Deck. "I skip my Battle Phase, and I return I send one card to your Cemetery for each Wisel I control." Growling, the Pharaoh took the five top cards of his Deck and threw them away; to Placido's surprise, though, a dark red and light blue demon suddenly appeared behind his monster, gripping its torso.
"One of the cards you sent to the Cemetery was my Gilfer Daemon," the Pharaoh explained. "With that card sent to the Cemetery, I equip it to a monster on the field and lower its power by 500; I choose Wisel Infinity (ATK: 3000, LV: 1)."
"I end my turn," Placido said calmly. "Let's see what you do this turn."
"Very well, I draw." When he pulled his card, he looked at the one in his hand and grabbed it, placing it face-down. "I set one card, and then I Summon Gale Dark Knight Gaia (ATK: 2300, LV: 7)!" With that a dark-coloured knight holding two red lances and sitting atop a purple horse appeared beside him, its mount neighing viciously. "Now, I attack Wisel Attack 3 with Gaia!"
"I activate the effect of my Wisel Guard 3!" Placido declared. "Once per turn, I negate an attack on a Wisel Monster!" Instead of jumping as they had been hold, the warrior and his horse simply stayed where they were, awaiting another command.
"Then I attack your Wisel Infinity with my Obelisk! God Hand Crusher!" Raising his hand, the Pharaoh ordered his gigantic monster to strike; and so it swung its giant fist straight into the Infinity Symbol on the monster's chest, creating a massive shockwave that struck Placido. Though it did nothing to the monster, his Life Points fell dramatically with this latest assault.
Yugi/Pharaoh: LP 1700
Placido: LP 2000
"Eve if you can save your monster," the Pharaoh realized, "you will still take damage with that card. I end my turn."
"Then I draw," Placido declared, not even looking at his card. "And I attack you Gaia with Wisel Infinity!" the robot monster then raised its left arm and shot straight at the horse and rider; and in reply to this, the Pharaoh flipped up a card.
"I activate my Trap Card, Ground Erosion!" the Pharaoh declared, revealing the card he had just recently set. "For each turn this card was face-down, my opponent's monster loses 500 ATK. Therefore, Wisel's power drops to 2500!" With the monster weakened, the Pharaoh and his monster took a lesser blow than they would have; then, the Pharaoh flipped another card.
"I activate Bond of Soul," he added. "When a Monster is destroyed by battle, I pay 1000 Life Points to Summon one Level 4 Monster from my Deck. Come, Black Forest Witch (DEF: 1200, LV: 4)." To the Pharaoh's right then appeared a black-robed female with long hair and an eye-like gem on her forehead, which Placido knew to be trouble for him.
Yugi/Pharaoh: LP 500
Placido: LP 2000
"I set one card and end my turn," Placido then said unhappily. "If he draws what I think he will, this duel looks very bad for me indeed."
"I draw!" Looking at his card for all of a split second, the Pharaoh revealed it and said, "I activate Treasures of Heaven, so we both draw until we hold 6 cards in our hands!" With this card the Pharaoh reached for his Deck and pulled 6 cards, feeling yet another energy surge as he did; then, opposite him, Placido pulled 4 cards of his own.
"Now I activate my Trap Card from turn one," the Pharaoh declared. "I activate Summoning Clock! By sacrificing one of my monsters, I Special Summon one monster from my Deck for every turn this card was set. I sacrifice my Witch!" In a flash of energy, his monster disappeared and created a huge vortex, through which the glowing eyes of creature could be seen.
"Every monster I summon must have fewer points than the monster I sacrificed," the Pharaoh explained, "but that's now hard. I Summon Critter (ATK: 1000, LV: 3), Holy Elf (ATK: 800, LV: 4) and Catapult Turtle (ATK: 1000, LV: 5)!" Once by one then appeared a small furry creature with three eyes and long green arms, a blue-skinned female in a green-yellow dress, and a mechanical-looking turtle with a launcher on its back.
"Due to my Witch's effect," the Pharaoh declared, "I add a monster with 150 or fewer Defence Strength from my Deck to my hand; and my choice is King's Knight." When he had shown the card and placed it in his hand, he grabbed another one and said, "Next I shall sacrifice all Three of my Monsters!"
"Another Egyptian God," Placido realized, looking on as all three summoned monsters also disappeared into light.
"Come forth, The Sky Dragon of Osiris (ATK: X000, LV: 10)!" The Pharaoh then held his card to the sky and dark clouds began to swirl above his head, Lightning striking behind him. After one particular bolt the form of a seemingly endless red dragon with a white and black striped underbelly, spikes down its back, two-clawed wings and two mouths on its long head appeared from this, snarling at Placido and kicking up winds.
"Because I sacrificed Critter," the Pharaoh then added, "I add Kuriboh from my Deck to my hand. Next, the power of Osiris becomes 1000 for every card in my hand; and as of right now, I have 7 cards in my hand (ATK: 7000)." As he held up the card and added it to his hand, the Pharaoh shifted his right hand out fully while his Dragon let out an eagle-like screech over his head.
"My Pharaoh, it is the dream of any Duellist to experience the power of the Three Phantom Gods," Placido quibbled, looking at the Pharaoh with a certain look. "Few even have the honour to see one; and now, you have given me the opportunity to see two of them. I feel honoured."
"If you had wanted to see my Gods to badly," the Pharaoh countered, "then all you needed to do was challenge me! There was no need for this folly!"
"Still refusing to believe, are we?" Placido questioned musingly, his expression changing to a sneering glare. "You will learn the truth in time."
"You'll tell me the truth soon enough," the Pharaoh shot back, growing more and more irritated. "No more beating about the bush, just the straight-out truth!" Pointing at Placido's monsters, he then added, "Battle! Obelisk, attack his Wisel Top! God Hand Crusher!"
"I activate the effect of Wisel Guard 3," Placido countered, snapping his fingers and causing the blue monster not to even move. "And with that, your God's attack is sealed."
"That maybe," the Pharaoh yelled, "but I refuse to end things there! Battle! Osiris, attack Machine Emperor Wisel! Thunder Force!" Growling with great might, the red dragon began to build a golden-yellow ball of energy in its jaws that was sparking with electricity. In a few seconds, this blast shot straight at the Infinity monster; but with a dark sneer, Placido waved his arm and flipped a card.
"Instant Magic Open: Limiter Removal! I double the ATK of every Machine I control (ATK: 5000) (ATK: 3200) (ATK: 2200) (ATK: 2800) (ATK: 0)! But there's more; because my Parts increased in power, Wisel inherits another 3500 points on top of its doubled strength (ATK: 8500)!"
"What?" The Pharaoh looked on while the monster on Placido's field began to glow with an intense green aura; then, its Infinity Symbol fired a shot of energy back up and locked with the God Dragon's, causing the latter to began retracting to its monster.
"Your monster's power is useless Pharaoh," Placido sneered. "This duel will end in my victory. What the likes of Kaiba Seto and Malik Ishtar could not do, I have now done; I have dethroned the Duel King!"
"Don't get ahead of yourself!" the Pharaoh countered, pulling out a card from his hand. "Instant Magic: Treasure of Sacrifice! I select a monster I control, and draw one card for each Sacrifice it took to Sacrifice Summon it! Both of my Gods required three sacrifices, and that brings my hand to 9 cards (ATK: 9000)!"
"What?" Placido then spat, realizing how badly his plan was failing. The golden shot from the dragon then pushed back against the green blast, shooting with ease straight into the monster; and even though it stood, Placido received a massive blast from the monster and his Life fell.
Yugi/Pharaoh: LP 500
Placido: LP 1000
"Your monster has survived the power of the Gods," the Pharaoh observed. "That is impressive; however, your Life Points have been eroded. Soon you will have none left. In my Main Phase 2, I activate the Magic Card Shallow Grave! Both players may now Special Summon a monster from the Cemetery! Be reborn, Queen's Knight (DEF: 1600, LV: 4)!"
On the right side of the Pharaoh then re-emerged the crouching form of the female red-armoured knight, sword crossed over shield and card underneath. "I now set 2 cards, leaving my hand at the 6-card Limit (ATK: 6000). As such, I declare the end of my turn."
"Then in the End Phase," Placido declared, "I pay 500 Life Points to negate Limiter Removal's destruction effect. Then, its power wears off (ATK: 2500)." As he said these words, the green aura around his monster disappeared and his Life Points fell a little bit more.
Yugi/Pharaoh: LP 500
Placido: LP 500
"With that you and I are tied," the Pharaoh noted. "And since you have only 500 Life Points, you cannot activate Z-ONE's effect again to save your monster."
"Perhaps," Placido admitted, "but that no longer matters. This duel is done anyway. Draw!" Looking at his card only a few moments, he declared, "I change Wisel to Defence Position (DEF: 2800)." With that the entire robot took up a crouching position, the five horizontal cards appearing below it.
"Next, due to Z-ONE's third effect, I have you discard 5 more cards from your Deck." Growling slightly, the Pharaoh reached for his Deck and pulled 5 cards from it, inserting them into his Duel Disc. As he did so, he felt another strong presence and realized what had happened; then, he looked back at a sneering Placido with a flustered growl.
"With that I end my turn," Placido said simply, closing his eyes and folding his arms. "Come, Pharaoh; show me your power."
As he said this, Paradox was looking at the screen of the monitor with his eyes intent on the signals, observing the energy output from above. His energy censors had begun to give readings well beyond anything he had seen previous, and the ring's power was capturing so much energy that the lines on the Momentum glowed continuously.
"Very soon Placido will have forced out the Pharaoh's third, final, and more powerful God," he realized, sneering at himself as he saw his reflecting in the screen. "When that happens, the energy output will become massive, and it may be enough to complete the project. Otherwise, I may simply need to… raise the stakes."
While his thoughts continued, the growling in the back of his mind began again, this time louder, stronger and deeper than ever. The world around him faded out into his purple starry Sin World, and then he turned to face the titanic silhouette of a new dragon. Its red eyes shone down upon him as its dark growl carried in his mind, and in a few seconds a golden aura began to form around both it and him.
"There is no reason to hold back any longer," he mused, pulling out the black card from earlier. Its form was already starting to change from energy exposure; the black border had changed into a purple border, darker than a Fusion Monster's but similar; and 12 Level Stars had appeared across its top. No image or text were on it yet, but it continued to glow golden in his hand just as he and the dragon did while he stared at it.
"On the day that my entire world crumbled into its own foundation," he recalled darkly, "the darkness within my heart became a reality. My continued despair and rage continued to feed and expand it, until it was a force more powerful than myself." Looking up at the dragon silhouette, it encircled him with its massive wings and he added, "and now, the time has come to unleash it upon the world."
By the time he had thought this, his world and his dragon faded back away and he was left before the screen of his monitor, still watching the duel between Placido and the Pharaoh. "And now, let the true test commence."
Card of the Week – Placido
Z-ONE
Field Magic Card
Effect: When a player normal Summons a "Core" Monster, after that summon resolves they may destroy that monster. Once per turn, activate my skipping your Battle Phase. Send 1 card from your opponent's Deck to the Cemetery for each "Wisel", "Skiel" or "?" monster you control. If a "Wisel", "Skiel" or "?" Monster(s) would be destroyed, activate by paying 500 Life Points. That monster is not destroyed.
*The conclusion to the Battle coming soon. Review if you wish.*