Chapter 73: Alexis's Resolve
When Hassleberry came to, he was back in the locker room, surrounded by his friends.
"Ugh, what happened?"
"You lost your duel with Zane and got knocked out. How are you feeling?"
Hassleberry groaned, accepting a towel from Alexis.
"I've been better. Sorry, private. I tried to knock some sense into your brother, but I guess he knocked some into me."
Syrus nodded sympathetically.
"That's alright, thanks for trying."
"Hey guys, Alexis's duel is about to start!"
Alexis made her way to the duel arena, where her opponent was waiting. But her mind was on something else other than the duel.
Don't worry, Atticus. I'll set you free, just you wait.
Her opponent, Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands, eyed her curiously.
"So you're the human my brother told me about. Well, you may have bested him, but you'll find that I will not fall so easily!"
"Yeah, like I haven't heard that one before."
GAME ON!
Manju: 8000
Alexis: 8000
"I'll begin with my spell card, Gold Sarcophagus! By removing Dark Master- Zorc from my deck from play, I can add him to my hand in 2 turns. Next, I summon myself, Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands (1400/1000) to the field in attack mode! And with his effect I'll add Contract with the Abyss to my hand. Next, I'll activate it! By tributing the Gene Warped Werewolf in my hand and the Manju on my field, I can call forth The Masked Beast (3200/1800)! I'll end my turn there."
"Is that all? I'll start by summoning Cybe Petit Angel (300/200) in defense mode! And when she's summoned, I can add Cyber Angel Benten from my deck to my hand. Next, I'll activate Cyber Angel Ritual, tributing Petit Angel and Cyber Gymnast in order to summon Cyber Angel Benten!"
"Impressive, but your monster is far too weak!"
"Then it's a good thing I have Ritual Weapon to give her a boost (1800-3300)!"
"Oh no."
"Cyber Angel Benten, attack The Masked Beast!"
Manju: 7900
"And don't forget her effect! When she destroys a monster by battle, you take damage equal to your monster's defense points!"
"What?"
Manju: 6100
"I'll set one card face down and end my turn."
The duel spirit growled when he saw what cards he had. Nothing that could help him.
"I summon Sonic Bird (1400/1000) in defense mode, and with his effect I'll add Advanced Ritual Art from my deck to my hand. I'll set one card face down and end my turn."
"Not so tough now, are you? I'll start with my trap card, Meteorain! Now when my monsters attack a defense position monsters with less defense points than them this turn, you take the difference."
"Goody."
"Next, I'll summon Etoile Cyber in attack mode! Benten, destroy Sonic Bird!"
Manju: 6100-3800-2800
"Now Etoile Cyber, attack him directly!"
Manju: 1100
"I'll set one card face down and end my turn."
"Alright, that does it! Now that two turns have passed, I can add Dark Master- Zorc to my hand. Next, I'll activate Advanced Ritual Art! By sending Blue Eyes White Dragon from my deck to the grave, I can call forth my Dark Master!"
"Big whoop. My Benten has more attack points!"
And even if he does attack Etoile Cyber, my Double Passe will make it a direct attack! I'll take some damage, but then Etoile Cyber will attack him and finish this duel.
"I'll activate Zorc's effect! I'll roll a six sided die, and the effect I get depends on the number rolled. If its a 1 or 2, all of your monsters are destroyed. If it's a 3, 4, or 5, only one of your monsters is destroyed. But If I get a 6, all of my monsters are destroyed."
"So you're betting it all on a dice roll?"
"Big risks, big rewards!"
The die spun round and round for a moment before landing on…
"6! Go, Super Critical!"
Zorc created a huge fireball in his hand before hurling it at Alexis's field where it exploded, taking all of her monsters with it.
"That's not good."
"And it's about to get even worse, because now I activate the trap card Birthright! This allows me to special summon Blue Eyes White Dragon Back from the grave. Attack her directly, my monsters!"
Alexis: 2300
"I end my turn. Are you ready to give up, yet?"
"Never! Because unlike you, I have something to fight for."
"Cute. Then show me your true power!"
"Gladly! First, I activate Card of Demise to refill my hand. Next, I activate The Warrior Returning Alive to bring back Etoile Cyber to my hand. Next, I activate Polymerization to fuse Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater together to form Cyber Blader! And since you have two monsters on your field, her attack points are doubled!"
"But that means-"
"That's right, this duel is over! Cyber Blader, take out his Dark Master!"
Her opponent could only watch helplessly as Cyber Blader jumped up and did a spinning kick right into his ace's chest, destroying him effortlessly while his life points dropped to zero.
Manju: 0000
After her duel wrapped up, the next one quickly got underway. It was between Airknight Parshath and…
"Atticus?"
Atticus, or rather Nightshroud, strolled confidently into the duel arena, coldly staring down his opponent. Parshath, however, was not afraid.
"I recognize you. You're one of those travelers I arrested."
"The boy you talk about no longer exists. I am Nightshroud, and I am all that remains."
"Well then, Nightshroud, prepare to lose!"
DUEL!
AP: 8000
Nightshroud: 8000
I'll begin this duel with one monster face down, and two cards face down. I end my turn."
"Is that all? Pathetic. First, I summon Spear Dragon (1900/0) in attack mode! Attack his monster!"
The long nosed dragon took flight, jabbing its beak into a Marshmallon, which tanked the attack while sending out shockwaves towards Nightshroud.
Nightshroud: 7000
AP: 6600
"After Spear Dragon attacks, it's forced into defense mode. I'll end my turn with one card face down. Your move."
"I'll start by tributing Marshmallon in order to summon myself (1900/1400) in attack mode. Next, I activate my trap card, Zoma the Spirit! Lastly, I'll activate the field spell Luminous Spark! In exchange for 400 defense points, my field spell gives my light monsters 500 attack points (1900-2400/1400-1000). Now my Parshath, attack his Spear Dragon!"
Nightshroud:4600
"Now Zoma, attack him directly!"
Nightshroud: 2800
"I activate my trap card, Damage Condenser. By discarding a card, I can special summon my Red Eyes Black Dragon!"
"I'll end my turn."
"Not bad, that almost tickled. Now to show you how weak you truly are! First, I activate Infernal Fire Blast! By giving up Red Eyes's attack this turn, I can inflict damage to you equal to his attack points!"
AP: 4200
"Next, by tributing Red Eyes Black Dragon, I can call forth Red Eyes Darkness Dragon (2400-3300)! Next, I'll summon Luster Dragon in attack mode. Next, I'll use Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your field spell (2400-1900/1000-1400). Darkness Dragon, attack his Parshath!"
AP: 3300
"Now Luster Dragon, attack his Zoma!"
A small fireball dissipated the ghost, but not before it launched itself at Nightshroud, biting down on him and draining his life points, not that he reacted to it.
AP: 3200
Nightshroud: 900
"Fool! You should have known about my Zoma's effect."
"Actually, I did. I just didn't care. I end my turn."
This enraged his opponent, feeling that he wasn't being taken seriously.
"I'll teach you to fool around! I summon Majestic Mech- Ohka! Attack his Luster Dragon!"
Nightshroud: 400
"I'll end my turn with one card face down. Since I summoned Ohka without tributing a monster, it goes to my graveyard."
He might think he'll be able to finish me off, but my Mirror Force will take care of that. After that, I just need to summon a monster on my next turn and he's finished!"
"I activate the spell card, Heavy Storm!"
"No!"
"Finish him off!"
AP: 0000
Nightshroud scoffed and walked away, ignoring his opponent who was in need of serious medical attention.
"Pathetic."
