Yu-Gi-Oh! CHRONIXII Chapter 13: 1-13: Torture Game Duel, Part 1, a yu-gi-oh fanfic

"Well, it's about time you woke up!" Karamar sniggered at the seemingly helpless Homanu.

Previously, Homanu witnessed his drugged friends being abducted by members of the Devil's Hand before being knocked unconscious himself. Then he was transported to this 'Jocotitlan Crater' place, where he underwent a duel he was required to go through in order to rescue his friends. Now, he found himself in some abandoned gymnasium, chained to the floor and wearing whatever device was on his chest, for reasons he had yet to discover.

"KARAMAR, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Homanu screamed, struggling to break free after piecing together the previous events. "Where are Mira and Kero?!"

"They're right here!" Karamar devilishly replied.

With a snap of his fingers, two spotlights shone on the same part of the gymnasium that was close to the boxing ring. Underneath the spotlights were Mira, Kero, and the two Devil's Hand members that captured them. This included the thuggish girl who previously impersonated the waitress, now donning black denim shorts, dark gray kneesocks, black high-top sneakers, a black fingerless glove on the right hand with small silver spikes on the knuckles, and a dark blue crop top with the Devil's Hand logo embroidered on the front. Each of the gang members held a pistol dangerously close to the heads of Mira and Kero, both of whom were kneeling with their hands tightly tied behind them. Obviously, the victims were terrified, although Kero's horror was more evident.

"Mira! Kero!" the aghast Homanu cried. Glaring at Karamar, he snarled, "You'd better not have done anything to them!"

"Oh, we're not gonna do anything to your friends… yet," Karamar said sinisterly. "Besides, I wanna give 'em an up-close experience… as we engage in a Torture Game Duel!" Hearing this sent a shiver down Homanu's spine. He had never heard of this 'Torture Game Duel' before, but there was no doubt it sounded much more dangerous than one would think.

YU-GI-OH! CHRONIXII

LEVEL 1-13
TORTURE GAME DUEL, PART 1

"A… 'Torture… Game Duel'?" Homanu asked, almost breathlessly.

"You heard damn right!" Karamar said maniacally. "What better way to get revenge than to put you in one of the deadliest duels in existence? And the special equipment we're wearing are definitely gonna help!"

"I've heard about them, and they're not good!" Mira worriedly said. "Those are the same things used in Underground Duels before they got banned – every time a duelist wearing them takes damage, they immediately get zapped! I've heard that some people actually died in those duels!"

"All the more reason to use 'em now!" the thuggish girl cackled, much to the horrors of both Mira and Kero.

Homanu was horrified as well upon overhearing this exposition. "First a completely new deck, and now these?!" he asked himself. Angrily glaring at Karamar, he demanded, "Alright, I wanna know where you're getting this stuff, and I wanna know NOW!"

"If you're asking about where those shock devices came from," a deep male voice spoke from presumably out of nowhere, "you have me to thank."

Emerging from the nearby shadows was another thuggish man, this one of African descent with intimidating hazel eyes and black corn rows on his otherwise bald head. He was slightly taller than both Homanu and Karamar, and certainly more muscular. His attire was a metallic onyx vest over a black undershirt, purple baggy pants, black fingerless gloves with small silver spikes on the knuckles, and black combat boots. The Devil's Hand logo was embroidered on the back of his vest. "Welcome back, traitor," he bitterly greeted Homanu.

"Diablo…" Homanu hissed at the thug. "It figures you'd be a part of this, too!"

"And why wouldn't I be?!" Diablo snapped. "All of Devil's Hand will never forgive you for betraying us when you quit our gang!"

"Betraying you?!" Homanu shouted in disgust. "I had every right to quit this filthy gang!"

"Yeah – when we 'started to attack the weak and defenseless,'" Karamar mockingly quoted with a scoff of annoyance. "We've heard that shit over a million times even before you quit!"

"None of that matters now," Diablo said calmly but ominously. "We've got you right where we want you: in a Torture Game Duel, so that the Devil's Hand can exact its revenge!"

"And I'm just the guy to do it!" Karamar sniggered, punching a fist into his palm, and cracking the knuckles.

Homanu defiantly glared at Karamar, trying his hardest to not show any fear. But this was interrupted when a streak of crimson and light red pixels shot out of his Disk's touchscreen and appeared beside Homanu. In a flash, the pixels transformed into Punkie. "'Ello, Homanu!" she eagerly greeted him, completely oblivious to Homanu's current dilemma. "How's it hangin' since we left Jocotitlan Crater?"

Homanu was horrified at Punkie's presence, especially considering the situation at hand. "What the hell are you doing here?!" he asked in no more than a harsh whisper. "Actually… how are you here?!"

"Well," Punkie brightly explained, "I can tell you that when you awakened your Iroa, I hopped right inside your Duel Disk in the nick o' time! 'Sides, Karim did say that I'm your essential companion, so I hafta be with you whenever you need me!"

"Well, I don't need you now!" Homanu argued. "You gotta get outta here, before someone sees you!"

"Oh, relax!" Punkie said, playfully rolling her eyes. "You're the only one who can see and hear me!"

Those words rung in Homanu's head. He had seen a situation like this before, but when? After a few seconds of contemplating, his eyes widened as he realized… it was almost the same way Mira behaved since her victory against Hawk! That could only mean one thing. "Mira really does have a 'pink thing' beside her?!" he cried.

"Hey, that's my friend you're talking about, mister!" the insulted Punkie snapped.

"I'm sorry, it's just… forget it," Homanu said, dropping his shoulders. Now that he realized that Mira truly did have a 'pink thing' as her companion all this time, he felt even more ashamed of the way he overprotected her.

"C'mon, you can tell me!" Punkie said.

"I can't now!" Homanu argued. "I gotta get through this Torture Game Duel if I wanna save Mira and Kero!"

"A 'Torture Game Duel'? What's that?" Punkie asked.

"I dunno," said Homanu, looking down at the device attached to his chest, "but something tells me that this won't exactly be a cakewalk…"

Throughout the course of their conversation, Mira saw Punkie floating beside Homanu, and was surprised that she was able to. 'That girl almost looks like Pinkie!' the astonished Mira thought. 'That means… Homanu must be a Wielder, too!' Her expression shifted from surprised to deep concern as she thought, 'Please, Homanu… take down that bastard and save us!'

"Hey, shitface!" Karamar shouted, breaking Homanu's concentration. "If you're done talking to yourself, we've got a Torture Game Duel to play!" He held up his Disk.

"Fine – let's go!" Homanu shouted, holding up his Disk.

A Game Duel Field moved up to the center of both Disks' touchscreens. The card's artwork depicted a steel cage shrouded in sinister green electricity, with the silhouettes of two duelists wearing the same shock collars fighting each other. A virtual screen was displayed beside both duelists – it had a black background and 'LEVEL 1' written in a red digital font. "Now activating Game Duel Field: Game World, Torture Battlegrounds," the female voice spoke during this sequence. Upon the card's activation, the electrodes' small red lights lit up.

"Here's how this card works," Karamar sinisterly explained. "We each start with zero points of damage, and we'll be playing under Torture Level One! And during the end of each of your turns, the Torture Level will increase by one!" The same black screen pictured on the card popped open beside both duelists, complete with the red 'LEVEL 1'.

"And every time our monsters are destroyed, will take a certain amount of damage for each one destroyed! This damage will be two hundred when the duel begins, but it'll be doubled every time the Torture Level goes up! And now, comes the fun part: once it's the end of your turn after Level Five, the winner will be whichever one of us took the least amount of damage!"

"So basically, this duel won't be over until ten turns have passed?" Homanu bluntly asked.

"Exactly!" Karamar defiantly beamed. "Of course, I'm already gonna have some fun watching you suffer with those shock collars you're wearing!"

As he and Diablo cackled at their enemy's expense, Homanu gritted his teeth as an angry realization entered his mind, specifically Giichi creating Game Duels with its share of unconventionality. 'I know that Giichi was batshit insane when he first came up with this,' he frustratingly thought, 'but would he actually go this far?!'

"So Homanu has to go through all that just to save us?!" Kero whimpered. "Why couldn't these guys just shoot us, while they had the chance?!"

"Kero!" Mira loudly scolded her friend.

"What?! I'm just saying!" Kero yelped.

"We actually were thinking of shooting you on the spot," the thuggish girl remarked, "but then we figured that a better way to torture you is to make you watch your friend die in one of these duels, first!"

"And then we get to shoot you!" the thug with the goatee added in an Irish accent. Both he and the thuggish girl cackled, much to the fear and frustration of their captives.

"Homanu, welcome to the corner of payback!" Karamar shouted, raising his Disk high to project its red blade. Homanu said nothing, but defiantly projected his Disk's yellow-orange blade.

"TORTURE GAME DUEL LEVEL ONE TO COMMENCE," a different female voice announced. The text on the black screen beside both duelists illuminated.

"Game start!" Karamar and Homanu shouted.

KARAMAR: 0 DMG / HOMANU: 0 DMG

"I'm going first!" Karamar snarled, viciously drawing his five cards. "I summon a monster you might find familiar: Cybernaut Troll!" After slapping the card onto one of his blade's floating zones, a red portal appeared, and the black-armored mechanical troll wielding the spiked metal club leapt out of it. [ATK: 1600]

"Then I'll inflict the first blood of this duel by activating the Spell Card, Cybernaut Sneak Attack!" He viciously took the card and swiped it through one of his blade's horizontal slots. A DEMON MAGIC Spell Card materialized on his field, its artwork depicting Cybernaut Troll roaring as it was about to swing its club.

"This card immediately inflicts you with damage equal to Cybernaut Troll's original Attack Points, which is a whopping sixteen hundred! Now go!" The mechanical troll charged directly at Homanu and swung its club at him. This caused Homanu's chest device to activate, zapping him with red electricity. [DMG: 0 – 1600]

"Homanu!" Mira and Kero wailed upon witnessing the horror.

"After I use this card, Cybernaut Troll automatically goes into Defense Mode," Karamar resumed as the mechanical troll knelt. [DEF: 0] "I'll place two cards face-down, and end my turn!" After viciously swiping the cards into his blade's horizontal slots, two cards materialized behind the troll before disappearing.

"It's my turn!" Homanu shouted, slightly struggling to get himself up. Regardless, he was able to draw his opening hand of five cards. After examining both his opening hand and his opponent's field, he cautiously thought, 'Karamar's a lot stronger than before, thanks to that new deck of his. And this 'Torture Game Duel's' really gonna be tough, especially with these friggin' shock collars… But I'm not gonna let all of that get in the way of rescuing my friends!'

"Yo, Homanu!" Punkie impatiently spoke, breaking Homanu's concentration. "Are ya gonna duel, or are ya just gonna stand there like a loony and do something?!"

"Of course I'm gonna do something!" Homanu discreetly argued. Looking back at his hand, he resumed, "And I think I know what!"

Grabbing a card, he shouted, "I summon Nitro Sniper in Attack Mode!" After slapping the card onto one of his blade's floating zones, a yellow-orange portal appeared. Leaping out of it was a black-haired warrior clad in a red jumpsuit with black cybernetic armor attached to his shoulders and calves. His main weapons were laser sniper rifles attached to each of its arms. [ATK: 1400]

"I activate Nitro Sniper's effect! By sending the top three cards of my deck to the Graveyard, he'll gain four hundred Attack Points and can inflict you with piercing damage this turn!" Three cards shot out of his ring's red-slotted ridge before dissipating into yellow-orange pixels. Afterwards, a dim blue light began to shine in each of the warrior's sniper rifles. [ATK: 1400 – 1800]

"Yes!" Kero cheered. "Now Nitro Sniper'll be able to inflict massive damage to Karamar!"

"Don't get too excited, twerp," the thuggish girl taunted, poking at the side of Kero's head with her pistol. "Your little friend hasn't attacked yet! Besides – Karamar's got two face-down cards! You don't want Homanu to be reckless, do you?" Realizing this, Kero whimpered while Mira silently fumed through her nostrils.

Homanu hadn't forgotten about Karamar's two face-down cards. But his determination remained intact as he grabbed another card in his hand. "I sacrifice Nitro Sniper to summon my Nitro Battlehorn!" The sniper-equipped warrior dissipated into pixels. Afterwards, another yellow-orange portal appeared, and the robotic rhinoceros leapt out of it. [ATK: 2000]

"I activate Battlehorn's effect! By returning up to five FIRE-Attribute cards in my Graveyard back into my deck, Battlehorn will gain one hundred Attack Points for each one returned! Plus, it'll be capable of inflicting you with piercing battle damage! I return three of the four FIRE-Attribute cards currently in my Graveyard!" Three streaks of yellow-orange light shot out of his ring's green-slotted ridge and into the rhinoceros's laser horn. [ATK: 2000 – 2300]

"Next, I'll place these two cards face-down!" he continued, swiping two cards from his hand into his blade's horizontal slots. Two cards materialized on Homanu's field before disappearing.

"Here I go, Karamar! Nitro Battlehorn, attack his Cybernaut Troll!" Battlehorn fired a lustrous red laser from his horn, which headed directly towards the kneeling mechanical troll.

"If this attack hits, Karamar's gonna get a taste of his own medicine!" Kero laughed. Mira, however, wasn't so sure.

Seeing the incoming attack, Karamar shouted, "I activate the Trap Card, Cybernaut Counterattack!" With a wave of his arm, a DEMON MAGIC Trap Card materialized. Its artwork depicted Cybernaut Troll intimidating a comically frightened Sevens Road Magician that was about to attack the troll. "When you attack one of my Cybernauts in Defense Mode, it immediately goes into Attack Mode! Plus, your monster will lose five hundred Attack Points, and Cybernaut Troll will gain the same amount!"

"You're kidding!" Homanu cried. To his dismay, the mechanical troll rose to an offensive position as the laser suddenly got less powerful. [ATK: 2300 – 1800] [ATK: 1600 – 2100] After disintegrating the laser by swatting at it with its club, the troll slammed its club at the robotic rhino, shattering it into pixels. This caused the device to once again zap Homanu with red electricity. [DMG: 1600 – 1900]

"And you're gonna take two hundred more points of damage from the Torture Game Duel we're in!" Karamar cackled as Homanu was zapped once again. [DMG: 1900 – 2100]

"Homanu, what the hell are ya doing?!" Punkie argued. "Are you trying to lose here?!"

"Believe me, that's not my intention," Homanu groaned. "Especially not when my friends' lives are at stake!"

"Well, ya gotta do something!" Punkie shouted. "You've already taken over two thousand points of damage, while Karamar has squat!"

"I know," Homanu said to his seemingly invisible partner. "But I'll find a way to turn this duel around… somehow…!" To Karamar, he announced, "I end my turn." [ATK: 2100 – 1600]

"LEVEL ONE COMPLETE," the female voice from earlier announced. "TORTURE GAME DUEL LEVEL TWO TO COMMENCE." The number on the black screen beside both duelists changed to '2'.

"Now four hundred points of damage will be inflicted when a monster's destroyed!" the goateed thug laughed. "Hope the poor boy can handle it!"

"I'm sure he's been through a lot worse!" Mira growled, trying to keep her cool. Still, she worriedly thought, 'C'mon, Homanu…!'

"Then it's back to me!" Karamar cackled as he drew four cards. "I summon Cybernaut Claw in Attack Mode!" Another red portal appeared, and another mechanical troll in black armor leapt out of it. Its most noticeable feature was its right claw that had elongated, razor-sharp silver nails. [ATK: 1300]

"I also summon a monster you might find familiar: Cybernaut Mage!" Another red portal appeared, and the mechanical troll mage appeared in between the other two mechanical trolls. [ATK: 800]

"Hope you haven't forgotten about Cybernaut Mage's effect! All of my DEMON MAGIC-Attribute, Cyborg-Type monsters gain four hundred Attack Points, including itself! Plus, you're only allowed to attack my monster of that Type and Attribute that has the highest Attack Points!" Homanu hadn't forgotten, and he gritted his teeth to that bit of exposition. The mechanical troll mage, meanwhile, raised its staff, unleashing the sinister violet aura that shrouded both itself and the two other mechanical trolls next to it. [ATK: 1300 – 1700] [ATK: 800 – 1200] [ATK: 1600 – 2000]

"Hope you're ready, Ishako!" Karamar cackled as he swiped two more cards from his hand through one his blade's horizontal slots. After two more cards appeared, he commanded, "Cybernaut Troll, attack Homanu directly!" The club-wielding mechanical troll roared as it charged directly towards Homanu.

"Homanu!" Mira and Kero cried.

"Don't just stand there, ya bloke! Do something!" Punkie shouted.

"I am!" Homanu shouted. With a wave of his arm, he shouted, "I activate the Trap Card, Fire Spirit's Protection!" A FIRE Trap Card picturing a Spirit of Flames emerging in front of a male duelist in distress materialized. "When you're about to attack me, I get to resurrect a Level Four or lower FIRE-Attribute monster from my Graveyard! Return, Nitro Sniper!" A small pillar of fire shot up, and the sniper-equipped warrior leapt out of it, kneeling defensively. [DEF: 400]

"I've had just about enough of your fucking cheap tricks!" Karamar snarled through his gnashed teeth. "Take him out, Cybernaut Troll!" The mechanical troll swung its club down on the sniper-equipped warrior, shattering it into pixels.

"Now you take damage from this Torture Game Duel – four hundred, to be exact!" Once again, Homanu's device activated as he was zapped with red electricity. [DMG: 2100 – 2500] "And don't forget, I still have two monsters to attack you with!"

"Not before I activate my other face-down card: Fireheart's Penance!" Homanu interrupted. The FIRE Trap Card picturing Devil's Hand Wanderer Fireheart struggling through the scorching desert wasteland materialized. "When you destroy my Level Five or lower FIRE-Attribute monster in battle, I first send a number of cards from the top of my deck to the Graveyard equal to Nitro Sniper's Level, which is four!" Four cards shot out of his ring's red-slotted ridge, each one dissipating into yellow-orange pixels.

"But after that, I can Special Summon the last card in my hand: Devil's Hand Wanderer, Fireheart!" He grabbed the last card from his hand and slapped it onto his blade's centermost floating zone. Another yellow-orange portal appeared, and the warrior resembling Homanu in his previous gang days leapt out of it, kneeling defensively. [DEF: 0] "What's more, Wanderer Fireheart can't be destroyed this turn, so don't even think about trying to attack it!"

"Big mistake, Ishako!" Karamar snarled. "Cybernaut Claw, attack Wanderer Fireheart!" The clawed mechanical troll leapt up and proceeded to land directly at Wanderer Fireheart.

"Weren't you listening?!" Homanu argued. "Wanderer Fireheart can't be destroyed this turn!"

"I know, but apparently you're not aware of Cybernaut Claw's effect!" Karamar harshly corrected him. "When it attacks your monster that's in Defense Mode, the difference between my monster's Attack Points and your monster's Defense Points is dealt as damage to you!"

Homanu heavily gasped in response. But before he could say or do anything else, the mechanical troll with the giant claw slashed at Wanderer Fireheart. Wanderer Fireheart survived, but Homanu screamed in pain as he was zapped by the device once again. [DMG: 2500 – 4200]

"Don't… forget…" Homanu groaned, heavily gasping as he struggled to recover, "your monsters… go into Defense Mode… after they attack…!" Indeed, the mechanical troll wielding the club, and the one with the giant claw knelt. [DEF: 0] [DEF: 0] "At least I'll be able to destroy one of them next turn!"

"I beg to differ!" Karamar cackled. "I activate the Trap Card, Cybernaut Onslaught!" A DEMON MAGIC Trap Card materialized, its artwork depicting Cybernaut Troll unleashing a battle cry at the sky from an overhead perspective. "When my DEMON MAGIC-Attribute, Cyborg-Type monster goes into Defense Mode, this card changes all of my monsters of the same Type and Attribute to Attack Mode!" The mechanical trolls that knelt immediately rose. [ATK: 1700] [ATK: 2000] "Don't think I didn't come unprepared!"

"Jesus, is Homanu ever gonna get a break?!" Kero complained. "He's already taken over four thousand points of damage, and Karamar still has squat!" Mira still said nothing, still worried about Homanu's safety.

Meanwhile, Homanu was breathing heavily as he struggled to stand. "Before I go…" he said, "I just wanna ask one thing… You were able to inflict me… with over four thousand points of damage… so why couldn't we have just had a regular Game Duel… where it would've finished much quicker… instead of taking this long to duel?"

Karamar chuckled, but then replied, "You're right – I could have taken the easy way out. But what better way to exact my revenge by watching you suffer every time you take damage? I wanna savor every single moment of this!"

He began to cackle maniacally at Homanu's misfortune. But both this laughing and the thought of his friends potentially being harmed made Homanu regain his strength. Clenching his fists in anger, he loudly vowed, "I'm gonna make you regret all of this, Karamar!" With this bold declaration, five stacked cards materialized in front of his ring's red-slotted ridge, and he valiantly drew the cards.

"Ooh, he's mad now!" Punkie taunted.

"First, I switch Wanderer Fireheart to Attack Mode!" Wanderer Fireheart rose to an offensive position. [ATK: 1200]

"Then I summon Nitro Excavator in Attack Mode!" A yellow-orange portal appeared next to Wanderer Fireheart, and the top-like drilling machine appeared. [ATK: 0]

"Next, I activate the Spell Card, Fireheart's Redemption!" After swiping the card through one of his blade's horizontal slots, the FIRE Spell Card depicting Wanderer Fireheart looking up at the sunbeam in the alley materialized. "By sending my two FIRE-Attribute monsters on my field to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon a certain monster from my hand!" Both Wanderer Fireheart and the drill machine were engulfed in red-orange flames, which merged into a single pillar. During this sequence, Homanu chanted:

"Lost and misguided Wanderer Fireheart has finally seen the error of his ways! With his purification and his new devotion to protecting the weak, his fiery eyes have truly opened!

"Special Summon! Burn – NITRO AVENGER FIREHEART!"

The pillar of flames diminished, and in its place was none other than Nitro Avenger Fireheart, who struck a pose upon his emergence. [ATK: 2400]

"And when I summon Avenger Fireheart with Fireheart's Redemption, he gains six hundred Attack Points this turn!" Avenger Fireheart was briefly shrouded by a fiery red-orange veil. [ATK: 2400 – 3000] "Not only that, but since I sent Wanderer Fireheart to the Graveyard to activate this card, I also get to take two different FIRE-Attribute cards in my Graveyard, and add them to my hand!" Two streaks of yellow-orange digital light shot out of his ring's green-slotted ridge, which transformed into cards in his hand.

"And I think it's pretty clear what he's gonna use those two cards for!" Mira said with hope.

"Go get 'im, Homanu!" Kero loudly cheered.

"I activate Avenger Fireheart's effect!" Homanu boldly resumed. Two cards materialized in front of Homanu. He swiped across them with his fingertips, causing the cards to transform into yellow-orange pixels that transferred to Fireheart's fists, in turn transforming into fireballs. "By sending two FIRE-Attribute cards in my hand to the Graveyard, all monsters on your field whose original Attack Points are twenty-four hundred or below automatically get destroyed!"

Karamar took a step back in fear, knowing that there was nothing he could do to protect his monsters. And sure enough, Fireheart flung the fireballs directly at Karamar's field, incinerating all three of his mechanical trolls.

"Now it's time for a taste of your own medicine! This Torture Game Duel inflicts us with a certain amount of damage… for every one of our monsters that gets destroyed! Right now, the damage is four hundred – but since three of your monsters were destroyed, you're gonna take three times the amount, which is twelve hundred!" Karamar's own device activated, zapping him with the red electricity. [DMG: 0 – 1200]

"I'm far from done!" Homanu continued as another card materialized in his hand. "I equip Avenger Fireheart with Nitro Weapon Amplifier!" The silvery white miniature cobra robot with two sniper rifles appeared beside Fireheart. "This card gives the equipped monster two hundred extra Attack Points! But since the equipped monster's Fireheart himself, he'll also gain Attack Points equal to his Level, multiplied by two hundred! That means Fireheart will gain a total of sixteen hundred extra Attack Points!" The cobra robot flew up and attached itself to Fireheart's back, the sniper rifles now attached to Fireheart's shoulders. [ATK: 3000 – 4600]

"Battle! Nitro Avenger Fireheart, attack Karamar directly!" he commanded, viciously pointing at the agape Karamar. Fireheart attacked Karamar with a burst of yellow-orange fire, followed by lustrous blue lasers shooting out of his shoulder's sniper rifles. Both attacks struck at Karamar, who screamed in agony as he was zapped by his device before falling backwards. [DMG: 1200 – 5800]

"All right!" Mira cheered. "Just when Karamar thought he had Homanu on the ropes, Homanu made a comeback!"

"And how!" Kero excitedly added.

"Don't get your hopes up, you two," the thuggish girl grumbled. "We still got two more levels to go after this!"

"And who knows what's gonna happen, lass!" the goateed thug taunted.

Back at the duel, Homanu said to his fallen opponent, "How's it feel to be zapped by your own device? Shocking, ain't it?"

"Haha, good one!" Punkie laughed, giving Homanu a friendly punch across the shoulder.

Karamar seethed in anger as he struggled to get himself up. "Cheap tricks will only get you so far… and so will bullshit puns like that!" he snarled. He wickedly grinned as he continued, "But I'm glad you attacked me like that!"

"You… you are?" the uneasy Homanu asked.

"Oh, of course!" Karamar laughed. "Because by doing so, you just activated my Trap Card: Dark Ruler's Fury!" A DEMON MAGIC Trap Card materialized in front of Karamar. Its artwork depicted a wounded and infuriated Dark Ruler Ha Des viciously roaring in front of an army led by Marauding Captain.

"Since I took at least two thousand points of damage from your monster's attack, I can now Normal Summon a DEMON MAGIC-Attribute monster from my hand without making any sacrifices! And I know just the one!" His wicked grin stretched beyond the boundaries of his face as he said this.

"No… you can't possibly…!" Homanu gasped.

"I FUCKIN' DO!" Karamar shrieked. He viciously revealed the sole card in his hand to Homanu, which was the same Upgrade Monster he previously used against him – an Upgrade Monster Homanu was afraid he would use. And as Karamar slapped the card onto his blade's centermost floating zone, a pillar of sinister violet light shot up from behind Karamar.

"I SUMMON THE UPGRADE MONSTER – CYBERNAUT BEHEMOTH, DESTROYER RAMARAK!"

Emerging out of the pillar was the hulking mechanical demon with the horned draconic face and the razor-sharp claws. The mechanical demon violently roared upon its emergence, with Karamar cackling all the while. [BAST ATK: 2000 / GRADE: BASE] Mira and Kero were horrified at the monster's emergence. But Homanu was the most aghast, for he had a sickening feeling that there was more trouble to come.

FEATURED CARD – LEVEL 1-13

Game World – Torture Battlegrounds
Game Duel Field
PLAYER 1: 0 DMG / PLAYER 2: 0 DMG
TERRAIN: Normal
When the Game Duel begins, this card becomes Torture Level 1. If a PLAYER would pay LP to activate a card or effect, they take that much DMG instead. If a PLAYER would gain LP, they lose that much DMG instead. During the End Phase of every other turn, starting on the 2nd turn, the Torture Level will increase by 1. If a monster(s) is destroyed, its controller takes damage for each destroyed monster they controlled. This damage starts at 200, and is doubled every time the Torture Level increases. During the End Phase of the next turn after the Game Duel is played under Torture Level 5, the PLAYER with less DMG wins the Game Duel. Any other case results in a DRAW.

GIICHI CORPORATION CARD DATABASE

Cybernaut Sneak Attack
DEMON MAGIC/Spell Card
REQUIREMENT If you have not activated "Cybernaut Sneak Attack" this turn, change 1 Attack Position Level 4 DEMON MAGIC Attribute Cyborg Type monster on your field to Defense Position.
EFFECT Inflict damage to your opponent equal to [that monster's original ATK]. For the rest of this turn, the monster changed to Defense Position for this requirement cannot change its battle position, except with a card effect, and it cannot declare an attack.

Nitro Sniper
FIRE/Pyro – Effect/4/1400/400
REQUIREMENT Send the top 3 cards of your Deck to the Graveyard.
EFFECT This card gains 400 ATK until the end of this turn, also if it attacks a Defense Position monster this turn, inflict piercing battle damage (if the ATK of the attacking monster is higher than the DEF of the attack target, inflict the difference).

Cybernaut Counterattack
DEMON MAGIC/Trap Card
REQUIREMENT When a Defense Position DEMON MAGIC Attribute Cyborg Type monster on your field is attacked by an opponent's monster.
EFFECT Change the attack target to Attack Position. Then, the attacking monster loses 500 ATK, also the attack target gains 500 ATK, until the end of this turn.

Cybernaut Claw
DEMON MAGIC/Cyborg – Effect/4/1300/0
REQUIREMENT None
CONTINUOUS EFFECT If this card attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing battle damage (if the ATK of the attacking monster exceeds the DEF of the attack target, inflict the difference). If this card attacks, it is changed to Defense Position after the battle, and its battle position cannot be changed until the end of your next turn, except with a card effect.

Fire Spirit's Protection
FIRE/Trap Card
REQUIREMENT When an opponent's monster declares an attack, while you have no monsters on your field.
EFFECT Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower FIRE Attribute monster from your Graveyard face-up to your field, but destroy it during the End Phase.

Cybernaut Onslaught
DEMON MAGIC/Trap Card
REQUIREMENT When an Attack Position DEMON MAGIC Attribute Cyborg Type monster on your field is changed to Defense Position.
EFFECT Change all Defense Position DEMON MAGIC Attribute Cyborg Type monsters on your field to Attack Position.

Dark Ruler's Fury
DEMON MAGIC/Trap Card
REQUIREMENT When you take 2000 or more damage from an opponent's attack, while you have no monsters on your field.
EFFECT Normal Summon 1 DEMON MAGIC Attribute monster from your hand. Tributes are not required for Level 5 or higher monsters, or for Upgrade Monsters that require 1 or more Tributes to be Normal Summoned.

Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! CHRONIXII…

The heated Torture Game Duel between Homanu and Karamar continues. But just as Homanu is pushed into a corner by Karamar's newest Upgrade Summon, a miracle turns this duel around, which comes from both Homanu and a mysterious ally! Who will come out as the victor? Find out in Level 1-14: Torture Game Duel, Part 2! Game Duel, game start!