AN: Hello, I have the next chapter here. I am now back for the final stretch of chapters in this series. With it, we are heading into the remainder of the tournament's members in their duels for survival on this island. The first match-up, well, things are about to get intense. I might be slower in between chapters here, but it is because I want to make sure I am making the best possible story I can here. Hope you enjoy this chapter, leave a review with your comments and questions, and have a nice day.
See Datasheet Chapter for cover art details.
Chapter 69 – The Eradication of Shadows
Making their way down the cave's corridors, Yang led the group toward the chasm. In looking at the two paths, she called out into the shadows, "RUBY! JADEN! ZWEI! ANYONE!" She called out as Weiss and Blake approached from behind with Jesse and Zane.
While silence was all that responded for a few moments, a faint bark was heard from across the chasm. Emerging on the other side was the small corgi panting, "Arf!" Zwei barked with a joyful smile.
"There you are!" Yang responded with a smile, turning back to the others, "Given me some space. I'm gonna jump it." She said while backing up as the others went towards hugged their backs to the walls.
However, as she touched the wall, Blake examined the rocks, "These are warmer than ones closer to the entrance." She spoke.
"And they're smoother." Zane added, "It's almost like they were super-heated by something."
Suddenly, both had a look of panic as they turned to Yang. Before they could warn her, the blond Ra Yellow sprinted and jumped over the chasm. She landed near Zwei, but as touched the smoothened rocks, her footing slipped, and she looked like she was about to fall. The others were about to scream in panic, but Yang's metallic arm grabbed the edge of the chasm, the fingers digging into the rock to keep her stationary. She pulled herself up with a turn to the others, "Nailed it." Yang said with a smile as the others sighed in relief. However, she smiled as she realized something, "Wait, where's Jaden?" She asked Zwei, who was whimpering while looking down the dark pit, "No, you don't mean-"
"Yang, someone needs to look go down to check." Weiss spoke in a serious tone before looking down the chasm, "I'll do it."
"You can't go down there alone." Blake responded, "And…What if he's-"
"I'll go with her." Jesse interrupted, "I think I'm recovered enough for some rock climbing." He then turns to Weiss, "Besides, you and I are the ones with a guide in the dark." He said as Ruby Carbuncle appeared on his right shoulder, its tail glowing in a red light.
"Thank you," Weiss said to Jesse before looking to the others, "The rest of you get to Ruby and save her. We'll catch up with you once we find Jaden." She spoke before kneeling at the edge of the chasm. While the rocks were warm as well, they formed edges that were still grabbable for scaling.
"Good luck," Zane said.
"Don't worry, we'll be fine." Jesse responded to the others, "And Jaden will be fine as well. I have a feeling he's still alive."
"Yeah, I got the same feeling," Yang spoke up before waiting for the two to scale down far enough. She then looked to Blake and Zane, "Now the two of you jump across and I'll catch you."
Blake saw Zane about to go first, but as saw him clench his heart in agony. The shadowy Obelisk Blue then turned to Yang, "Neither of us can make it across right now, go on without us." She said with Yang having a look of worry in her eyes, "Ruby needs you; we'll be fine here."
"…Okay, I'll be right back with her soon!" Yang begrudgingly agreed before turning around and running down the rest of the cave.
"Arf!" Zwei barked before following Yang.
Blake had a hopeful smile on her face before seeing Zane convulse in pain, gripping his chest while panting. "Come on, you need to rest now." She said while helping him walk to a wall, "That shadow duel dealt more physical damage than I think your heart could take."
"It'll be fine, I can still-" Zane said before flinching in pain, causing him to kneel before Blake helped him sit down.
"You know, a friend taught me that I can't keep pushing myself beyond my body's limit." Blake spoke while glancing back down the cave where the blond Ra Yellow ran, "That it's okay to ask for help from friends." She said before looking back to Zane, "And that it's not a weakness, it's a strength that takes a lot to admit you can't do everything by yourself."
"Heh, you have made a lot of good friends here," Zane responded as he saw her smile. I silence fell between them, but as the shadowy Obelisk Blue rested her head on his right shoulder, the cyber pro duelist's face went slightly red, "Listen, Blake, there's something I wanted to tell you." Zane spoke as he looked back to the shadowy Obelisk Blue, but she was asleep. He had a slight smile before holding her left hand with his right, "I'll tell you when this is all over." Zane spoke before he closed his eyes as well.
Sometime later.
Blake continued to sleep until her eyes twitched, reacting to light. However, it was more of a violet flash she felt, followed by her body shifting down the wall, "Huh?" she said before almost falling on her left side, then realized someone was missing, "Zane? Zane where are you?" she called out before hearing a sinister laugh from the cave pathway she came from. She then saw the sadistic Obelisk Blue standing with a card in his right hand.
"Hahaha, well, that was a lot easier than I thought." Yuri spoke, then looked at the card in his hand, "I was looking forward to dueling him to test my new deck build, but it seems he's already out of the tournament." He spoke before turning the card to Blake, showing an image of a sleeping Zane, "I guess I have you to thank for the newest addition to my collection." Blake's had a horrified gasp, but it soon turned to a look of rage. Her fangs grit as she stood up, "Hold on, you wouldn't want me to tear this new card in half, would you?" Yuri said as he held the Zane card in both hands, "And don't think you can scream to alert the others." He said with a sinister smile, "It's only me and you now."
"Yuri," Blake spoke as she clenched her fists, "Change him back," she said before readying her duel disk.
"Oh, you want to fight for him?" Yuri commented, "Very well, but dueling here is a bit cramp." He said before walking to one of the cave walks, pressing a hidden stone. Suddenly, the walk cracked as a new pathway opened, "Follow me." he said as he entered this new pathway.
"…" Blake followed in silence as she walked through the hallway as well.
"You know, I found you to be the most interesting of the Obelisk Blues here." Yuri commented, "Your last name is Belladonna, correct? Where I'm from, it would roughly translate to beautiful woman. However, I like to associate it more with the deadly nightshade. It can be confused with something sweet like berries, but is actually poisonous. One small mistake could end their life for simply trusting in it as safe." He said before turning back to Blake as they walked, "Tell me, which definition do you prefer?"
"…" Blake did not respond as she scowled at him.
"What's wrong?" Yuri responded with a smirk, "Cat got your tongue?" he said before chucking as he walked. The two eventually left the cave hallway and made it to an opening. There, a second hallway was seen, "That leads to a shortcut to where Ruby is being held." Yuri pointed, then stood in front of the corridor, "If you want to save her, then you just have to get past me." He said before readying his duel disk, but showed Zane's card again before putting it away, "I'll even let you take him back if you win."
"If that's all I have to do, then I'll make this quick." Blake responded as she prepared her duel disk, "But you will still suffer for everything you've done!"
"Oh, touchy now, aren't we?" Yuri spoke with a smile, "Very well." he said with his eyes closed, "Che il tuo ultimo ballo abbia inizio."
"Duel!" Both said as the battle in the hidden cave had begun.
Blake: 4000 Life Points
Yuri: 4000 Life Points
"I'll go first," Yuri said as he drew, playing the card instantly. "I summon Predaplant Chlamydosundew." He said a green plant-like lizard was seen with a fanned neck, (600 ATK / 200 DEF). "With its effect, I can now fusion summon using this monster on the field and my Predaplant Byblisp in my hand. All without a fusion spell card." He said as the vortex appeared behind him, causing him to clap his hand, "I fusion summon the level seven Predaplant Chimerafflesia!" he said as a massive corpse flower emerged from the ground between him and Blake with chomping vines, (2500 ATK / 2000 DEF). "Thanks to Byblisp, I can now add a Predaplant monster from my deck to my hand." He said as a card ejected. As he placed it in his hand, he then picked a different one to set in his dual disk, "I'll end with this card facedown."
"I draw!" Blake said, but as she did Yuri smirked.
"And now, I reveal my trap card." Yuri responded, "For it, I must tribute my Chimerafflesia."
"What?" Blake commented before the corpse flower exploded, emitting a purple mist. The shadowy obelisk Blue coughed, but once she opened her eyes, she noticed a few cards in her hand were covered in a type of bacteria in the shape of a skull with the dark attribute symbol on it, "What is this!?"
"Hehehehe, Eradicator Epidemic Virus." Yuri clarified, "For the cost of one monster with 2500 or more attacks, I can infect a virus into either your spell or trap cards." He said before pointing, "But since you are a fusion deck as well, I'll pick spell cards. Now, send all of those in your hand to the grave, including what you have and may draw for the next three turns."
Blake gasped as she looked at her hand, seeing two of them were spell cards. She also now saw what she drew, seeing it as the card Yang gave her, "Tsk." She grits her teeth before discarding Lunalight Fusion, Reload, and Fire Formation – Tenki. "Where did you even get a card like that?"
"I found it in the deck of a duelist who played a lot of dark monsters with exactly 2500 attack points." Yuri responded, "After our duel, he had no problems with me adding this card to my arsenal." The sadistic Obelisk Blue smirked, "Don't worry, I'm sure this duel will be over before the end of your third turn." Suddenly, a card ejected from his deck, "Now in the standby phase, I can use Chimerafflesia in the grave to add a Polymerization spell from my deck to my hand." He said before laughing, "It's funny, Lexie had to do much to prevent you from fusion summoning, but in the end couldn't stop you that way. When all I needed to do was a simple combo like this to shut you down."
"I'm not done yet!" Blake said as she took one of the cards in her hand, "I summon Lunalight Blue Cat in attack mode!" she said as the short-haired blue feline ballerina was seen with flared claws and a hiss, (1600 ATK / 1200 DEF). "Your field is completely void of cards, so I attack you directly!" she said as her monster dashed in for a clawed strike.
"My field is empty, but unlike you, I still have plenty of cards in my hand." Yuri said as he pulled one card out, "Including the one Byblisp let me add last turn. Predaplant Sarraceniant now appeared on the field in defense mode!" he said as a glowing pink and green weed appeared in Blue Cat's path, (100 ATK / 600 DEF). Blue Cat slashed the monster to bits, but its remains radiated a toxic aura as the feline ballerina began to choke, "Since our monsters' battles, yours is destroyed alongside mine." He said as Lunalight Blue Cat exploded, causing him to grin, "Now, my monster lets me add another Preda card to my hand." Yuri said as a card ejected, but realized the battle phase was not over. As he look back, in the smoke he saw another silhouette of a monster, "Huh?"
"If Blue Cat is destroyed, I can summon another Lunalight from my deck." Blake said as the smoke began to clear, "I pick Lunalight Wolf, who now attacks you directly!" she said as the purple canine dancer was seen, (2000 ATK / 1800 DEF). Wolf rushed in and delivered a right knee strike into Yuri's stomach, knocking the wind out of him as he was launched backward onto the ground.
Yuri: 4000 – 2000 = 2000 Life Points
"That one was for Zane, and the next one will be for Ruby." Blake said she took one card out of her hand, "I end with this card face down."
"Gah!" Yuri caught his breath as he started to stand back up again, "I forgot how versatile those Lunalight monsters are." Yuri said as he stood up, glaring at Blake, who scowled back, "You know, at my school, I defeated everyone I went up against." He spoke his eyes closed, "However, I heard of a duelist who did the same thing, but she was a Slifer Red." He then looked at Blake with a smile, "You remind me of her. Not only did she play Lunalight cards, she also had a childish bow in her hair." Slowly the smile faded, "You two have that same look in your eyes. One who's silently judging others, thinking they're so much better because they had to fight a little harder than most to get to where they're at." The sadistic Obelisk Blue spoke with a slight seething rage in his voice building, "But all you want is for people to pity you so you can build off that, like a victim of their imagination."
"You don't know a thing about me," Blake responded, "And chances are you don't know anything about that girl as well."
"Well, I never really got to meet her, let alone have a duel." Yuri said with a chuckle and his smile back, "So I'm thankful for this match. As it lets me say something I never got to say to her before leaving." Yuri spoke before his smile changed to a sudden scowl, "Nature does not care for victims, it only cares about the strong devouring the weak." He then placed his fingers on his deck, "It's my turn, I draw!" the sadistic Obelisk Blue said before putting the card in his hand and taking a different one to play, "First, I'll set one card. Then I'll summon the monster I added to my hand during your turn, my Predaplant Ophrys Scorpio." He said as a plantlike scorpion with a red stinger was summoned, (1200 ATK / 800 DEF). "Now, by sending a monster from my hand to the graveyard, I can special summon Predaplant Darlingtonia Cobra from my deck," Yuri said as a card ejected from his deck. When played, a twin-headed plant snake was summoned, (1000 ATK / 1500 DEF). "And with this one, I can add Polymerization from my deck to my hand." He said as another card eject from his deck, this time a spell, "But I won't play it just yet, I first activate this spell. Predapruning, allowing me to bring back the monster I just discarded. My Predaplant Spinodionaea." He said as a raptor-like plant was seen with a Venus fly trap back, (1800 ATK / 0 DEF). "When summoned, this one places a Predator counter on your Wolf."
"What is he up to?" Blake thought as a bud appears on the back of her monster's neck.
"Now, I activate the fusion spell, Polymerization, to merge all three of my Predaplant monsters." He said as the vortex absorbed all three of his monsters, causing him to clasp his hands, "I fusion summon, the level nine Predaplant Triphyoverutum!" From the vortex emerged the purple-winged, three, headed, dragon-plant monstrosity, (3000 ATK / 3000 DEF). "And since your monster has a Preplant counter on it, mine gains 2000 more attack points!" he said as Triphyoverutum gained a darker aura, (3000 + 2000 = 5000 ATK), "Now, attack Wolf with Carnivorous Blast!" Yuri declared as his monster unleashed a toxic stream of corrosion from all three mouths, melting Lunalight Wolf before it exploded, sending Blake back in agony.
"AAAAAAAA!" Blake recoiled before slamming into the back wall, barely moving as she struggled to get up.
Blake: 4000 – 3000 = 1000 Life Points
"I…I'm…I'm not giving up." Blake said as pushed herself partway up, pressing a button on her duel disk, "I reveal my facedown, Lunalight Reincarnation Dance." She said as had gotten up fully, searching her deck, "I can now add two Lunalight monsters to my hand."
"Hm, go ahead. Since you now lost that monster, Triphyoverutum's attack returns to normal." Yuri said as his monster lost its dark aura, (5000 – 2000 = 3000 ATK). "It's your move."
"I…draw!" Blake said as her vision was blurry, but she saw the virus infect the card she drew. Upon focusing, she saw it was the card Zane gifted her, Future Fusion, "Tsk." She discarded it before Yuri chuckled.
"Hahaha, you thought that card would have helped you?" Yuri commented, "Even if you could fusion summon now, my Triphyoverutum can eliminate it with ease." He crossed his arms, "Face it, you've already lost and will be turned into a card like Zane was."
"No, you're wrong." Blake responded, "I will not fall here and be turned into a card, I'll be the one to take you down!" she said before summoning a monster, "I play Lunalight Emerald Bird in attack mode." She said as the feathered dancer was seen, (1200 ATK / 1000 DEF). "Now, I can send a Lunalight from my hand to the graveyard to draw one card." She said before doing so, but as she drew, the card was infected with the virus as well.
"Heh, that seemed to backfire," Yuri said before Blake discarded the card, but saw her with a faint smile forming, causing him to scowl. He then saw his fusion monster whaling with a crimson aura, "What's happening?"
"I sent Lunalight Crimson Fox to the grave with Emerald Bird, and her effect allows me to make one of your monster's attacks become zero this turn," Blake said as Yuri's monster knelt in its strength vanishing, (3000 – 3000 = 0 ATK). "And now, I active a spell card."
"What!?" Yuri turned back to her, "How can you, my virus destroys all spells and send them to the graveyard before you have a chance to play them."
"That's the thing, I'm activating a spell from my graveyard." Blake said as she took out the card she just discarded now, "I activate Luna Light Perfume. By banishing itself, this allows me to discard another card to add a new Lunalight monster from my deck to my hand." She said as she sent the trap Lunalight Serenade Dance to the grave, then had a card eject from her deck, "Lunalight Purple Butterfly, which I can now discard to give Emerald Bird 1000 more attack points." He said the feathered dancer gained a purple aura, (1200 + 1000 = 2200 ATK).
"You!" Yuri said in a mix of anger and fear, "This can't be!"
"It is," Blake said before pointing, "Emerald Bird, attack his Triphyoverutum and end this duel!" she said as her monster soared in to attack the massive fusion monster.
"Have…Have I …. lost... Hahahaha," Yuri began to laugh like a madman as the attack was about to collide, "HAHAHAHA…Nah." He said before a bolt of lightning struck between the two monsters.
"What!?" Blake responded, "What are you-"
"Do you recall the fusion spell I added with Chimerafflesia?" Yuri interrupted, with Blake recalling the moment, now remembering a small spark as he added that card to his hand before. On his second turn, she remembered seeing that spark as well with his set card, "Well, I'll reveal it now." He said with his arms extended, and face down emerged, "My Super Polymerization."
"Super Polymerization?" Blake asked, "But I thought Jaden had the only copy?"
"You thought wrong, just like how you thought you could win." Yuri spoke, his eyes emanating a purple light, "By discarding one card, I can fuse both our dark monsters." he said as both monsters were flung into the storm clouds above, "And while you have nothing left, no cards can react to this effect resolving." The sadistic Obelisk Blue then clasped his hands together, "I fusion summon, the level eight, Starving Venom Fusion Dragon!" he said as the clouds parted with the ravenous plant-like dragon appeared with a roar, (2800 ATK / 2000 DEF).
"It's…It's over," Blake said in dread as she had no cards left to play, her turn ends.
"You think?" Yuri sarcastically responded as he drew, but didn't even need to look at it, just pointing. "Starving Venom attacks you directly!" he declared as his fusion monster unleashed a rainfall of teal blast of energy from its body, obliterating Blake's side of the cave opening.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Blake screamed in agony as her body was overwhelmed by the blasts, a smoke cloud filling the area as she lost her life points.
Blake: 1000 – 2800 = 0 Life Points
Yuri waited for the smoke to settle, his arms behind him, "I told you, not even making it to the end of your third turn." He then walked forward towards Blake, who remained on the ground in an unmoving state, her eyes closed, "In the end, you did serve as a decent test for my new cards, especially my most desired one." He said as his eyes lost their purple aura, but maintained their sadistic gaze, "Now, to victory go the spoils." He said as he held out his duel disk, which started to radiate a purple light, "But, I should ask you something." Suddenly, as the light faded and Yuri turned his head, "Did you think this would fool me?" In doing so, he was now looking at Blake, who was near the cave pathway he blocked.
Blake stopped herself as a line of sweat ran from her forehead, "You knew," she responded, "How could you-"
"Only a fool would fall for this shadow." Yuri spoke the as the Blake on the ground faded away, only leaving the duel disk with a flickering light on its hologram function, "I was only humoring you for a second. Think of that as a consolation prize from me."
"You bastard," Blake said as she gritted her teeth, then thought. Despite her weak state, she could rush down the hall and make it to where Ruby was being held. Or she could rush Yuri now to get Zane back before doing so.
"Oh, I should point out something to you." Yuri spoke, "While your hologram faded," he said with his head tilted and a smile, "What about mine?"
"Huh?" Blake said before a drop of saliva hit the top of her head. She looked up in dread and horror as the Starving Venom Dragon looked down, "What in the world!?"
"RRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAA!" The Venom dragon roared before Blake tried to run down the cave pathway. However, the fusions monster's tail whipped her back out and into the opening.
"AAAAAA!" Blake cried in pain as she was flung into the air. Suddenly, the fusion dragon's right cernuous mouth on its back extended with a vine, biting down onto her midsection, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"Well, it looks like you were right on one thing," Yuri spoke as Blake looked at him, "You aren't going to be turned into a card like the others."
"No," Blake spoke as tears formed in her eyes, causing her to scream, "PLEASE, SOMEONE HELP ME!" she screamed as loud as she could, while the starving dragon tossed its prey into the air, "PLEASE, I DON'T WANT TO D-!" Before she could finish her last words, a loud chomp was heard that echoed through the area.
"RRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAA!" The fusion dragon retracted its secondary mouth to it back again before roaring, then faded away.
Yuri simply looked on with a smile, his hands behind his back as he walked down the cave pathway, "I forti divorano I deboli." He spoke while exiting the aura, leaving only a dead silence in the room.
Fluttering in the air was a single black ribbon. As it landed on the duel disk of the shadowy Obelisk Blue, the flickering light faded and turned off.
AN: There you go, I think Yuri might be going a bit too far now. Ironically, this duel was probably the most topical of all the duels I have written so far due to the use of EEV. If you played Master Duel ranked recently or heard of the tournament duel finals that got this card emergence ban listed, you know that it is a very powerful card. With the context here, Yuri got that card from Titan when he was searching through their deck after the offscreen duel, (which Summoned Skull is a good target for that card). It helps that this card can combo super well with Chimerafflesia. Blake really was doomed as soon as this trap was played but managed to fight back until Yuri's new spell let him end all of her hopes. Also, I got to reference Celina here, who is in Duel Links now if you still play it. In the end, the black cat fell short of the top ten mark and met with a terrible fate. Who will be next on Yuri's path of destruction? That is all for now, thanks for reading, and hope to see you in the next chapter.
Now, time to answer some questions. Two archetypes that got announced after the last chapter are the Horus Archetype, which I wish was more for the LV version of Horus in the game but is still neat. The other one was the Memento Archetype, which is basically old vanilla monsters coming back with a vengeance, which I think is awesome. If I could say a monster that I wish got added to that archetype, I agree with the consensus that it should have Beaver Warrior. Also, as this might be a question asked, Yuri was speaking Italian a couple of times here. In this continuity, he technically is from Venice, so I thought it would be neat, especially with Blake and her name trivia. As for what he said, they loosely mean: Let your last dance begin and The strong devour the weak. Very fitting for what was happening in those moments. Those were all the questions I had, feel free to ask more, and I will answer them in the next chapter.