Previously on Yu-Gi-Oh: Corrupted Links
"Mythical Beast Cerberus, attack his monster!"
The multi-headed creature leapt high into the air, magical energy forming between its mouths until the gathered energy was larger than the creatures entire body. Silence engulfed the room as if the building energy was sucking it from the very air. With a resounding VROOOM Cerberus unleashed its attack, the beam of magical energy slamming into its opponent with such force that the massive monster was slammed into the ground at the foot of the stairs to the throne. Within moments the magical energy engulfed the monster, burning away everything until just a pile of ash remained before dematerializing and leaving the boss unprotected.
Great Maju Garzett - 4300
Wyo - 7400
A deep, rumbling laugh reverberated around the room as Great Maju Garzett finally stood from his throne. Stepping towards the edge of the top step he smiled down at Wyo with glee in his dark eyes.
"Good, GOOD! Not many have gotten this far in a duel against me. It's always so invigorating to be backed into a corner."
"You're f*ed up, you know that?" Wyo spat. "Anyways, my Cerberus loses all of its spell counters after every battle it's in, meaning its attack returns to fourteen hundred. Luckily for you I'll end my turn there."
"My turn then," Great Maju Garzett grinned wickedly. With a cackle that caused the hairs on Wyo's neck to stand on end, he added, "I activate my skill, Draw Sense: Earth."
Wyo shook her head, unsure she had heard Great Maju Garzett correctly. She looked back at her friends who looked just as confused as she was, Ranger even shrugging his shoulders while at a loss for words. Turning back to Great Maju Garzett, Wyo eyed his suspiciously.
"What kind of trick are you trying to pull?"
"No trick," he replied with a creepy grin that seemed to distort his already mangled-looking face. "It's part of the game, or it will be if you somehow manage to defeat me. Every duelist will develop skills that range in abilities. Mine is rather simple in nature yet powerful if used correctly. Every time my life points drop by fifteen hundred I am allowed to add a random earth-attribute monster from my deck to my hand in place of my normal draw phase."
"I didn't think a boss like you would leave a duel up to chance," Wyo said, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.
"I wouldn't. You see, my deck only has three earth-types in total and all three are the same monster." Great Maju Garzett held his hand in front of his deck as a single card slid from the center of his deck to his awaiting fingers. Pulling the card free he held the card up, the back facing Wyo teasingly as it hid the monster from her sight. "Tell me, little girl, do you know the history behind this area's name?"
"No. What does it have to do with this duel?"
"This area, Montage Canyon, got its namesake from a powerful monster. One that just so happens to be this very card."
Behind her, Wyo could hear Hela mumbling as she mentally ran through a list of monsters, trying desperately to figure out what the creature could be.
"Earth-attribute... "Montage" or "Canyon" in the name... what could it be?"
"I'll save you the trouble of figuring it out. I send three Blue Eyes White Dragons from my hand as tribute to special summon my monster, Montage Dragon!"
Hela gasped behind Wyo before cursing so rapidly that the censor had trouble bleeping out everything. Wyo couldn't blame her. She HAD heard of this monstrosity. Normally ridiculed for causing a minus four hand count just to summon, Wyo found herself at a loss for words as the three headed dragon roared loudly as it materialized onto the field.
"I see at least two of you have heard of this beast," Great Maju Garzett said as he eyed a clueless yet horrified Ranger. "Allow me to fill in the gaps for the young man. Montage Dragon can only be special summoned from my hand by sending three monsters in my hand to the graveyard. My dragon's attack is equal to three hundred multiplied by the total combined levels of the monsters used as sacrifice. Three Blue Eyes White Dragons have a combined total of twenty-four levels."
Ranger quickly started counting on his fingers, trying to calculate the dragon's strength. Hela rolled her eyes, leaning over to whisper in his ear. His eyes bulged as he slowly looked back up at the dragon.
"Seven... Seventy-two hundred?! That's insane! Taking out the last monster was hard enough, how is she even going to topple this one?!"
"Shut up," Hela hissed through her teeth. "That deck has plenty of countermeasures, it's just slow to start is all."
"Something I hope to fix after I win this duel," Wyo laughed nervously. The coming attack was going to hit like a ton of bricks, that much she knew, but looking at her nearly bare field and currently useless cards in her hand she couldn't keep her fingers from trembling no matter how hard she tried. Doing her best to steel herself, she glared at Great Maju Garzett and his three-headed dragon. "What are you waiting for, an invitation? If you're going to attack then just get it over with already."
"As you wish," his fanged smile gleamed in the torchlight. "Montage Dragon, attack her pathetic pup!"
His dragon raised its heads, flames gathering in all three giant maws. Three flaming streams erupted forth, combining into a single massive inferno before engulfing Mythical Beast Cerberus in its blaze. The smell of burning fur mixed with the horrific whines of her creature made Wyo's stomach churn uncomfortably. Had this been the real world she was certain she'd have heaved up her most recent meal.
Great Maju Garzett - 4300
Wyo - 1600
"Just how my dragon likes it, extra well done. I'll end my turn."
Wyo's teeth grinded against one another as her anger threatened to boil over. Drawing her card, a small spark of hope surged within her.
"I hope your dragon got its fill, because it won't be sticking around for long. I activate the spell card Dark Magic Curtain! At the cost of half my life points I can special summon a Dark Magician from my deck to my field." Wyo's life points dropped before her two Spell Absorbtions activated, restoring more life points than she had lost. Meanwhile, a skeletal figure with a massive black cloak appeared on the field. It ripped its cloak open, revealing a creature that stepped out into the light.
Great Maju Garzett - 4300
Wyo - 1800
"Another one?" Great Maju Garzett groaned, his oil black eyes appearing to roll as if annoyed. "Your last one couldn't compete with my Great Maju Garzett. What makes you think that this one would fare better against my dragon?"
"Because of this. I activate another spell card, Thousand Knives. I can only activate it when Dark Magician is on my field, and it allows me to target one of your monsters and destroy it. Say goodbye to your dragon!"
Great Maju Garzett - 4300
Wyo - 2800
"No!"
"Yes," Wyo countered as a multitude of magical knives began floating around her Dark Magician. With a wave of his hand, the spellcaster flung all of them towards Montage Dragon, skewering it until it looked like a violent porcupine. A cry of victory erupted from Hela and Ranger as the impaled monster erupted into digital shards and disappeared from the field. "Now, Dark Magician, attack him directly!"
A blast of dark magic shot from Dark Magician's staff, slamming into Great Maju Garzett and knocking him over backwards onto the steps. With a vicious snarl he pushed himself back to his feet, his fangs bared at Wyo as if he were a bear that she had just poked with stick.
Great Maju Garzett - 1800
Wyo - 2800
"I'll end my turn. What's the matter, master magician got your tongue? Not so talkative now that you're on the losing end, huh?"
"Cocky b! ," he growled as he drew his next card. "I'll set a monster face-down before activating Swords of Revealing Light. Now, I get three turns of reprieve before you can try attacking again. I'll end my turn."
Great Maju Garzett - 1800
Wyo - 3800
Wyo couldn't help but smile as she realized Great Maju Garzett no longer had any cards in his hand and was practically up against the ropes. His ability had only helped him for a turn and now his ace monster was no more. She could almost see the end of the duel in sight as she drew her next card.
'Royal Magical Library,' she thought to herself. 'It's better than nothing. Might as well build my field presence just in case.'
"I set a monster face-down in defense position and set another card face-down before ending my turn."
Great Maju Garzett drew a card, scowling as he studied it. Waving a hand forward, his face-down monster flipped face up.
"I flip summon Morphing Jar. Now, we each discard our entire hand and draw until we each have five new cards."
"Someone's desperate!" Hela sang loudly, much to Ranger's enjoyment.
Wyo agreed, but her gut twisted. Something felt off. Especially once she saw Great Maju Garzett's face twist in a demented form of glee.
"I discard three more monsters from my hand-."
"Oh f&{," Wyo groaned.
"Oh, and these aren't just any three NORMAL creatures," Great Maju Garzett chuckled. Flipping the three monsters around Wyo felt her heart stop. "I am discarding Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Sky Dragon, and The Winged Dragon of Ra!"
"Ten levels each...," Hela hissed behind Wyo. "Thirty total levels..."
"Nine thousand attack," Ranger whispered shakily, not needing to count on his fingers this time.
"I special summon a second Montage Dragon!"
"Your champion is about to be dragon food."
The virus scowled at the comment as it looked on with concern.
"You were created to be helpful, not a pain in my digital a... okay, that censor seriously needs to be removed," the virus snapped back. "Where are the other three? I figured they'd want to watch this duel as well."
"You know them, always scheming. Probably out looking for their own champions. I doubt they'd want to be shown up by Dad."
"I told you NOT to call me that," the virus hissed. "What about you? Still looking for a champion?"
"Of course not, Dad. I've had mine picked out since the very beginning."
"Reckless. Regardless, I wouldn't count my champion out yet. She is VERY tenacious. She is very much like the cards she uses."
"She can use magic?"
The virus couldn't help but laugh in amusement.
"No, no. She always has an ace... a trick... up her sleeve. I'm just curious what that will be in this duel."
"Montage Dragon, attack her magician and end this duel once and for all!"
A fireball engulfed most of the vast room, its heat sucking the oxygen from the area as it barreled towards Dark Magician. Gasping for air, Wyo waved her arm forward, praying that her card activated in time.
Dark Magician shattered into digital shards before they burned away to nothing. As the heat died down and the flames dissipated, Wyo coughed as she breathed in fresh oxygen.
Great Maju Garzett - 1800
Wyo - 6300
"What the... What sort of trickery is this?" Great Maju Garzett demanded as Wyo remained standing, now with even more life points than before the attack happened.
"I gave my Dark Magician a new magic staff." She pointed to her now face-up trap card and smiled. "Enchanted Javelin. It gives me life points equal to your monster's attack, but doesn't protect my monster or my life points from its attack. A small trade off when it comes to survival, don't you think?"
"What I think is that you are by far the MOST annoying duelist I'll have the pleasure of defeating. I end my turn once more."
Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Wyo looked down at her hand. Her five new cards from Morphing Jar weren't much help in this situation. Nothing to change the dragon to defense mode where all but her weakest monsters could defeat it. Nothing to destroy it with an effect. Nothing to remove it from the field or bypass it. Nothing, nothing, NOTHING! The only real useful card was Monster Reborn to bring back one of her monsters, but that would only delay the inevitable. She DID have an equip card, but it would only raise the equipped monster's attack by three hundred. Not near enough to take on nine thousand attack. Looking at her field, her shoulders slumped. She still had the two Spell Absorptions, so she'd gain one thousand life points for each spell activated, but she'd need to play NINE spells just to survive a direct attack. Her only monster, a face-down Royal Magical Library, made for excellent fodder, and could offer some draw abilities if she could play three spells first, but looking at her hand once more she realized that wouldn't be possible.
The equip spell...
The thought echoed in her mind as if summoned unbidden. Looking at it once more she read the text thoroughly.
'Not bad,' she thought to herself, 'but it's still useless right now.'
Drawing her card to start her turn she couldn't help but laugh hysterically. Gearfried the Iron Knight, the ONLY warrior-type card in her entire deck. How was he supposed to help?! What had Hela been thinking putting him in her deck? She couldn't even use her worthless equip card on him due to his stupid effect...
'Wait...,' her mind raced as she read through each card effect once more.
"Any day now," Great Maju Garzett demanded. "If you make me wait any longer I will invoke a timer to force you to make a move."
A smile crept over Wyo's face before she erupted into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. Ranger looked between Wyo, Hela, and Great Maju Garzett, confusion spreading across his face as Wyo's laughter caused the hairs on his arm to stand on end.
"Am I missing something?" He asked.
"You won't be for long," Hela replied, her own wicked smile breaking out across her face. "You're about to see WHY there ever was a Forbidden Card list."
Back in the duel Great Maju Garzett growled angrily.
"I'm enforcing the timer. Make a move in one minute or your turn will be passed."
"As you wish," Wyo replied. "I'll start by playing Monster Reborn, using it's power to bring back Mythical Beast Cerberus from my graveyard in attack position. Next, I'll flip summon Royal Magical Library. And for my final monster, I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight!"
"What are you planning?" Great Maju Garzett asked curiously, his eyes darting from monster to monster.
"Only the greatest magic trick of all time. I'm going to draw out my entire deck, gain an absurd amount of life points, make your dragon look like a tiny lizard, and win this duel all in a single turn."
"Impossible."
"Nothing is impossible when it comes to magic. I activate the equip spell card, Butterfly Dagger - Elma."
"You'll have to elaborate," Great Maju Garzett said.
"Just sit back and watch the magic happen. I equip Butterfly Dagger - Elma to Gearfried the Iron Knight. Next, Gearfried's ability destroys my equip card due to his effect, sending my dagger to the graveyard. My Spell Absorptions activate, giving me a thousand life points. Also, Royal Magical Library gains a single spell counter. Once it gets three I get to draw a card by discarding the spell counters. Finally, Mythical Beast Cerberus gains a spell counter, boosting its attack by five hundred points."
"All of that for so little? What's the catch?" Great Maju Garzett asked.
"I'm so glad you asked. When my Butterfly Dagger - Elma is destroyed while equipped to a monster its effect activates and it returns to my hand. Now the whole process can be repeated."
"...WHAT?!" Roared Great Maju Garzett as realization dawned on him.
"Here, I'll do it two more times for you." With a massive grin on her face, Wyo repeated the combo two more times. "Now that Royal Magical Library has three spell counters on it I can activate its ability. By removing all three get to draw a card. So let's see, that's three thousand more life points, fifteen hundred more attack for Cerberus, and one of the remaining cards from my deck."
"This can't be happening."
"Oh it is. I'll keep doing this combo over and over again until I draw out my deck." Within a few minutes Wyo had the remaining cards of her deck in her hand. "Finally, I'll activate Butterfly Dagger - Elma a bunch more times until it's more than powerful enough to destroy you with a single attack. How about... an infinite amount of times?"
Great Maju Garzett - 1800
Wyo - infinity
Great Maju Garzett backtracked, fear filling his face as Mythical Beast Cerberus's attack rose to the point that it became the symbol for infinity. A glint of light caught his attention and a smirk crept onto his face. Standing straighter he gave a quick laugh.
"That all IS rather amazing, but you've forgotten one thing. My Swords of Revealing Light spell card is still active. Even if you wanted to attack, you can't. And since you've drawn out your entire deck you'll lose next turn as soon as you go to draw your card. So much for your big play."
"It's a shame I don't have any spell and trap removal in this deck... oh wait, what's this?" Wyo's sarcasm was thick in her voice as she pulled a card from her small stack of a hand. "I activate the spell card Mystical Space Typhoon. With this card I can destroy any spell or trap card on the field. How about we get rid of that pesky spell of yours."
A sudden squall of wind blasted the swords, shattering them and freeing Wyo's creatures up to attack.
"H-Hold on," Great Maju Garzett begged as his only defense was removed. "Don't do this."
"Tell me, did any of the duelists you defeated earlier beg for their lives like that? Did you spare any of them?" When he refused to answer, Wyo nodded. "I thought not. You eradicated them all as if they were insects with no regard for their lives. I bet you even laughed at their misery. You make me sick. You and the virus that perverted this game. I'll delete you AND the virus if it's the last thing I do. Mythical Beast Cerberus, attack his Montage Dragon and end this nightmare once and for all!"
The shockwave of the attack shook the cavern, sending rocks falling from the ceiling. Crashing chuncks of the ceiling quickly drowned out Great Maju Garzett's dying screams as Cerberus's magical flames consumed him. Wyo turned to her friends, ready to rush out of the room before any of them became duelist pancakes when a heavy thud at the back of her head sent the world before her eyes spinning before everything went black.
Just before she blacked out Wyo heard the now familiar robotic voice come on loud and clear, even down in the cavern.
"FIRST FLOOR BOSS ELIMINATED. "
Light slowly broke through the darkness as Wyo struggled to open her eyes. Her head was pounding as she felt Hela under one arm doing her best to drag her limp body up the stairs. Head flopping to the other side, Wyo found Ranger under her other arm, straining under her weight. As the light strengthened in intensity and warmth embraced her entire body, Wyo felt her friends lay her down on soft grass. The pounding in her head only intensified as a rushing sound assaulted her.
Only when she heard her name over the deafening sound did she realize it was the gathered duelists who had been too scared to attempt to take on the boss. Struggling to open her eyes, Wyo held her hand up to try blocking out the sunlight. It didn't help much, especially when someone gripped her hand and lifted her up to her feet.
"You absolute beast!" A familiar voice cried out. Eyes finally adjusting to the bright light, Wyo found Beast standing before her, a stupidly huge grin plastered on his face.
Looking around, she noticed all of the duelists cheering her on, chanting her name as most celebrated happily.
"How did-."
"The announcement came on up here saying that the first floor boss had been beaten," Beast replied quickly. "If you think THIS is loud then you should have heard everyone when the announcement went off. I think I might have gone deaf in one ear. Now come on, it's time to celebrate!"
"So, Dad, your champion won!"
The virus smiled a sad smile as the screen before him fizzled out.
"Yes, she did. I guess that means it's time to change things up a little. Gotta follow my programming after all." Turning to the female figure next to him the virus added, "Notify your siblings. Tell them to start preparing the update. I want it ready before the players make it to the second floor."
"Will do, Dad," the female program replied with an exaggerated salute.
"Oh, and Epinoia?"
"Yes, Dad?"
"If you ever call me "Dad" again, I'll delete you."
"Yes, sir."