A plume of hot air blew past Konami's face as he gazed at the dragon.
'Magnificent,' he thought, unable to hold back his smirk at the sight.
Tyrant Dragon - LV8 - FIRE - Dragon - (3900/2500)
"You talked a big game, runt," Rex said, standing opposite him with a wide grin, "but don't think you can smash your way into the Pro League by relying on nuthin' but brute strength! You need skill! Strategy! Tactics that can stop OTKs! And from what I can see, you ain't got 'em, which is why you're going to lose!"
Grinning wider, the spiky-haired man threw a two-fingered salute toward him. "Thanks for the easy win, scrub! Tyrant Dragon, attack!"
Konami grimaced as Tyrant Dragon's roar shook the field, releasing terrible vibrations that had him raising his arms in resistance.
'This is it. This is the feeling I've been searching for all this time!' Konami thought. 'Those losers back at the academy really are nothing compared to this thrill!'
As if spurred on by his thoughts, Tyrant Dragon suddenly lunged. Its massive claw stretched out, talons gleaming as it went for the kill!
SKRRREEEEEEK! GAAAARH!
A thunderous boom cracked through the stadium's speakers as it crashed against White Night Dragon, hot and cold mixing together to form a frenzied steam. The dragons' roars filled the arena as their silhouettes crashed into each other. Konami grimaced, knowing the result well before it occurred.
Ordinarily, White Night Dragon would easily take Tyrant Dragon, but Rex's Spell, Uradora of Fate, had buffed Tyrant Dragon considerably. An extra thousand Attack Points was enough to turn the tide in almost any battle, and Konami was certain it would do it here.
He was proven right far too soon.
With an angry roar, Tyrant Dragon clamped its jaws around White Night's throat, heaving the ice dragon off of the floor before throwing it onto the ground. Konami screamed as his body was thrown back by the force of the collision. A second later, he heard a hum as a threatening red glow filled the air.
"Eat it, nerd!" Rex boomed, grinning as the glow shone brighter. "It might not be as cool as my Dinos' attacks, but no one holds a candle to Blast Light!"
As he said the name, Tyrant Dragon dropped its head toward White Night Dragon, releasing a torrent of flame from its jaws that consumed the ice dragon whole.
Konami screamed as the heat from the blast swept over his body again, emitting a noise from his Duel Disk as his Life Points depleted.
RED HAT - 3100 LP
REX - 3000 LP
"Heh, now that I've got you feelin' the burn, it's time I turned up the heat," Rex continued. "Since my Tyrant Dragon just destroyed a monster, I can use Uradora of Fate's next effect! Now, listen close boys and girls, 'cause this one's a real mouthful!"
"Then spare us the drama and get to the point," Konami retorted as he stood.
Rex twitched. "Whaddaya think I'm doin'?!" he snapped, shaking his fist. "Aw, forget it! No point gettin' upset when you're 'bout to lose! See, Uradora activates again when I destroy a monster! If I do, then I can reveal the bottom card of my Deck! If it's a Dinosaur, Dragon, Sea Serpent, or Wyrm-type monster, then I get to draw a card for every thousand Attack Points the revealed card has! And that's not even the best part!" Rex continues as he reaches for his Deck, "'cause if I draw, then I also gain a thousand Life Points for every card!"
"What?!" Konami gasped.
"Heh. Not what you expected from the Minor Leagues, was it?" Rex asked. "Well, let this be a wake-up call. 'Round here, we throw down for real!"
With a ferocious yell, Rex grinned and drew out the bottom card of his Deck. He lifted it up, revealing it to himself and the rest of the audience.
Their eyes went wide.
"Oh, yeah! Now, that's what I'm talkin' bout, baby!" he roared, for in his hand, was none other than the Mighty Dino King Rex.
"Thirty-two hundred Attack Points, baby! That's an extra three cards for me!" Rex said, drawing. "And don't forget, that means I gain three thousand Life Points, too!"
Konami winced as he heard Rex's Duel Disk acknowledge Uradora's effect. A reverse chirping sound filled the air as Rex suddenly took the lead.
REX - 6000 LP
RED HAT - 3100 LP
"And now that that's finished, I can put the revealed card on the top or bottom of my Deck!" Rex said. His eyes gleamed as he smirked at Konami. "I'm choosin' the bottom, of course. After all… I'll be needin' it again after usin' Tyrant Dragon's effect!"
"Oh, great!"
"If you still control a monster after he's attacked you once this turn," Rex said, "then that means, this lucky bastard gets to attack you again!"
He threw his hand out, gesturing forward, toward Konami's Pandemic Dragon.
"Go, Tyrant Dragon! Tear him apart with your Double Flare!"
"Gwaaaaaaaaaaaagh!" Konami screamed as a second stream of fire enveloped his field, roasting his second dragon to ash in a display of the tyrant king's wrath. His Duel Disk beeped wildly as it took in the difference in strength, reducing his Life Points while his body crashed against the floor with enough force to bounce.
REX - 6000 LP
RED HAT - 1700 LP
"And since Tyrant Dragon destroyed a monster, Uradora activates again!" Rex laughed. "And since we both know the bottom card is, I'll just go ahead and draw three more cards."
'Which means he gains another three thousand Life Points…' Konami thought with a grimace. As the chirping filled the air, a wretched smile crossed his lips. 'This is the best…!'
REX - 9000 LP
RED HAT - 1700 LP
"OH MAH GOOOOOOOOD!" the MC yelled through the speakers in the wake of Rex's move. "I can't believe it, ladies and gentlemen! His Life Points…. They're OVER NINE THOUUSAAAAAAAAAAAAND!"
"-Erm, ackshuly, they're right at nine thousand-"
"Shut up, intern! No one cares!" MC yelled.
Konami chuckled. "Awesome… You really were a good choice, Rex…! Making me face such an incredible challenge… is what the Pro Leagues are about! But don't think for a second that I'm gonna go down without swinging! You just destroyed my Pandemic Dragon, which means I can use its effect!"
"Wha-?!"
"When Pandemic Dragon's destroyed by battle, all monsters on the field lose a thousand Attack Points!"
"Wha-?! You-!" Rex grimaced as a dark pulse swept through the arena. Covering the entire field with poison, it sank into the remaining monsters, infecting them with a cruel pandemic that brought them down on all fours. Rex's two monsters hissed and groaned as their bodies reeked of the virus.
Tyrant Dragon - LV8 - FIRE - Dragon - (2900/2500)
Frostosaurus - LV6 - WATER - Dinosaur - (1900/1700)
Still, as he gazed upon the stats of his two great beasts, Rex couldn't help but chuckle a little.
"Is that all ya got for me, squirt?" he asked. "Not bad… is what I would say if it actually damaged my combo! But in case you've forgotten, you only have seventeen hundred Life Points left! And with no more monsters protectin' your hide, my next attack is on you! And Frostosaurus has just enough power to get over you and defeat you!"
"Seriously?!" the MC cried. "Who knew Rex Raptor was THIS good?! Where was this skill when he was dueling Weevil?! There's no way in hell he'd have lost!"
"Shut up, ya jerk!" Rex snapped at the speakers, shaking his fist at the jumbo screen. "I was just havin' a bad day, that's all! But that's all changin' today! From now on, everyone will know that Rex ain't a chump, ya got that?! The Raptor might've been fallin' behind, but I'll climb back up soon enough!" his eyes flashed. "And I'll start by munchin' on chumps like you, Red Hat! This is the end for you! Go back to the Underground, nerd! Frostosaurus!"
Rex's hand swung out for the final attack.
"END HIM! Unleash your Dino Strength with Extinction Ray!"
"Go, Sakuretsu Armor!"
Rex's dino shattered into pieces.
Rex froze, his grin still on his face as his monster collapsed.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"W-Wha-"
"Sakurestu Armor," Konami explained, standing up with a smirk. "It's a Trap that activates when an opponent's monster declares an attack. When it does, I get to target the attacking monster and destroy it!"
"Shaddap, blockhead! I know what it does!" Rex snarled. "Guh…! Darn it!"
"Kukuku…" Konami smirked and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "What's the matter? You didn't think I'd be beaten that easily, did you?"
"All you did was buy yourself a turn!"
"Fufufu… Against someone of your caliber, that's all I'll need."
"What?! Why you…! I'll teach you not to look down on Rex Raptor! I'll set two cards… and then activate this, my Lost World Field Spell! It reduces the ATK of all non-Dinos on the Field by five hundred points!"
"...That includes your Tyrant Dragon, you know?"
"Shaddap! You don't have any dinos! I do! It's Dino Country! That means I've got the advantage!"
"We'll see about that," Konami replied, clenching his fist as he stared at the weakening dragon.
'I'm talking tough, but Rex really has me in a bind here,' he thought. 'Nine thousand Life Points is no small task, and I'm down to seventeen hundred! If I'm not careful, I'll lose in a heartbeat, and everyone will think I'm a chump! It will be… just like before.'
He thought of what happened in the North.
'I came so far since then,' he then. 'And I'm finally standing on a stage… but I won't be satisfied by this alone. I can't be if I'm to succeed. If I want to become a real monster… then I have to push even deeper…! That's right… Because I promised myself… That I… would never lose again!'
He thought of his time at the academy, of all the schemes he'd needed to climb to the top. Only to nearly lose it all because of the whims of a spirit. He thought of Titan and Professor Mackenzie, and all that the future entailed.
'It can't end here. It won't end here. Because I'm…'
The Kodoku King.
He closed his eyes, falling beneath his clothes. Beneath his skin. Into the bones, heart, and cells that made up his mortal body. There, in the core of himself, he found the unsleeping dragon. Always watching. Always waiting. Waiting to bare its dark fangs.
"Let's go, Tyrant Dragon," he whispered under his breath.
The envy-eyed dragon roared in his face, and then, swallowed him whole.
-GX-
"...?!"
"?!"
A strange sensation pierced through Jasmine and Kami, their eyes remaining fixed on the screen even as Konami stood still.
"W-What's this?" Kami asked.
"Konami…?" Jasmine asked. 'Somehow, I feel like something's changed…'
Back in the arena, just outside the view of the onlooking audience, Wisteria Fujiwara touched the glass as she watched her project stand tall.
"Aha…! Konami-kun…. That's it…! Show them our power…!"
As she spoke, a ferocious heat rose from the depths of his body. An invisible flame that burned away unnecessary thoughts and feelings burst from his chest. It wrapped around him like an invisible fog, opening his eyes to the truth.
All that mattered was winning this Duel. No matter the cost. Or the methods.
"Kukukuku… that's right. I don't need that trauma," he clenched his fists with an evil grin. "All that matters… is winning!" a green glint gleamed in his eyes.
"Ore no Turn! Draw!" he roared.
A confident smirk appeared on his lips as he eyed the card in his hand.
"That's right. In order to win this game, I need more. So… Give them to me. I cast Pot of Greed."
Rex scowled as the beloved green pot rose on Konami's field.
"Tryin' to refill your wasted hand, huh? Go ahead! It won't matter!"
"Is that what you think?" Konami retorted. "If it is, you're as dumb as you look. With these two cards… I'll bring about the darkness leading to your destruction."
"What'd you just say?!"
"Hmhmhm… I see. You don't believe me? Very well, then. Allow me to show you its power… The power of darkness!" Konami reached into his hand, grabbing one of his newly drawn cards. "I cast… Red-Eyes Fusion!"
"What?! Red-Eyes Fusion?!" Rex gasped.
"That's right. Red-Eyes Fusion," Konami repeated sinisterly. "A card that lets me fuse using my hand, field, or Deck. In exchange for summoning no other monsters the turn it's used, this power will allow me to fusion summon a monster requiring Red-Eyes."
"Red-Eyes…!" Rex grimaced, tightening his fist at the thought. "Damn it… What are you, a Wheeler fanboy?! Red-Eyes is so overrated!"
"Hahahaha, Red-Eyes Black Dragon means nothing to me. But its name allows me to invoke far stronger monsters." Konami's eyes flashed. "That's why… I'll cast it into the Grave with this!" he revealed a card in his hand - Rex's eyes widened.
"The Dark - Hex-Sealed Fusion?!"
"By sending the Dark - Hex-Sealed Fusion in my hand to the Grave…" Konami said, "...along with the hateful Red-Eyes B. Dragon slumbering in my Deck… I invoke the powers of darkness to bring forth a new monster!"
A swirling torrent of darkness erupted in the Monster Zone before Konami, creating gushing winds that pushed even Rex back a few feet.
"W-What is it? Black Skull Dragon?! Archfiend Black Skull Dragon?!"
"Naive," Konami said with a smirk. "You said it yourself, is it not? You need more than a high ATK to make it far in this world, which is why… I'll break you down with the ultimate Red-Eyes card!"
One he'd first encountered in a Duel where it was used against him.
He still couldn't bear to gaze at the black-scaled creature that cost him so much… but if it was something that wore its skin….
He smirked.
He could do that just fine.
"Come forth, wretched servant!" he roared into the abyss. "With armor black as death itself… Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon!"
"HAH!" an echoing roar cut through the darkness alongside a sword, piercing the typhoon and revealing the tanned skin of the Dark Magician. Silver hair flowed from his head down onto his shoulders, upon which sat an armor crafted from the corpse of a fallen Red-Eyes.
Landing with an eerie thud, the magician smirked at Rex maliciously. He then rose to his feet, posing imperiously as if ushering in chaos.
Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon - LV8 - DARK - Spellcaster - (2500/2000)
"I-Imposssible! T-That card… it's super rare! How'd you get it?!"
"When you have the right connections… nearly any card is obtainable."
'Or so I say, but that damned Franz still couldn't get a Blue-Eyes White Dragon,' he thought.
Murmurs echoed through the crowd.
"Dark Dragoon…"
"Never thought I'd see it in person…"
"Yugi's looks cooler…"
"Well, I like it! And that Dark Magician seems familiar…"
"Now, Rex," Konami laughed, pointing at the man villainously. "I'm going to cast you into the depths of despair! I activate… Dragoon's effect!"
END