Chapter 26: To Defy a God
Cary rolled her eyes when she saw Matt get up and change seats. Originally he was seated in the front of the auditorium on Cary's side of the stage, as if he were there to support his friend. But as he shifted toward the other side of the stage, Cary knew without doubt that he was trying to get a better view of Lucy's body. He was convinced that she had large breasts underneath her green jacket, which was two sizes too big. Of course, he was correct—Cary could tell that much just because of where Lucy's jacket was loose and where it was tight. Hard to hide from the shadows sometimes. But Matt most likely didn't understand that Lucy's body was probably big enough to support heavy breasts. If he preferred skinny girls, he was barking up the wrong tree.
She did have a pretty face, though. Cary didn't think it was fair for Lucy to be well endowed and pretty and hold Obelisk the Tormentor. At least there was a chance for her to change one of those features today. She had watched all the replays she could find of Lucy's past duels to figure out her deck and her favorite combos.
Even Erica offered some advice. Earlier in the week, Kasumi had asked Cary to help her convince Erica to be her mentor. Cary had thought that was a ridiculous notion. The classroom professors were literally there to teach everyone how to duel at the professional level, so what was the point to finding a student to do the same thing but with less experience? But Cary was happy to bring them together because, even though Kasumi and Erica had met before, they weren't close. Not as close as Erica had forced Cary to be, considering she treated Cary like her own baby cousin.
But while Cary had been trying to ignore the discussion while Erica mentored Kasumi in reading the opponent, she accidentally snorted and drew attention. "It's ironic that you have such a rudimentary understanding of how to read people's facial expressions considering that's your primary method of communication," she had said to Cary.
"I'm doing fine," she retorted.
But Erica wasn't convinced. "I won't force you to listen to someone else's advice, but you should consider watching those replays and paying attention to the player's body language and facial expressions." After Cary groaned, Erica continued giving that advice to Kasumi. "The annoying thing will be that everyone's different. For example, Justin might wince after he draws a bad card, but then Andy might wince after he draws a good card. It's all about the player. Justin is only ever prepared for good cards, so bad cards break his concentration. Andy is always prepared for the worst, so a good card gets him excited, and he doesn't hide it well."
As much as Cary tried to ignore the discussion, she did end up watching Lucy during several of those replays. Lucy was usually a "two turns ahead"-type duelist, who prepared cards multiple turns before she would use them, so any hint of excitement she betrayed wasn't likely to be for that same turn. So Cary had prepared her deck with as many interruptions as she could manage.
When both Duel Disks were set up, Dr. Lankford announced the duel. "In this area duel, Cary Strickland has challenged Lucy Mercer by offering her gold-print Card Destruction as ante." He winced as he said it. Cary almost agreed: Card Destruction was an old card that had been reprinted so many times that Lucy had to own a dozen copies of it by now. But that's the card she wanted, and Cary didn't mind. "Lucy accepted the offer and provided a mystery counteroffer." Not really such a mystery anymore, but the faculty still acted as if the existence of the god cards weren't public knowledge. At least giving off the image that Duel Academy wasn't treating them as if they were regular dueling cards, perhaps.
Lucy extended her hand first, and Cary accepted it. "I'm excited about this duel. You're already an amazing member of Team OTK. You're still young but you're building up the CV of a Guardian."
"Thank you for accepting my challenge."
"Don't give me too much credit. By the time Dr. Lankford and Dr. Aseel agree to allow a challenger to duel one of us, it's basically forbidden to decline. But I would have accepted anyway. Dave warned us you were gunning for a god card, but even he didn't know which one. He thought you wanted Slifer."
"I never told him my plan, just in case he tried to prepare any of you. But I tend to empty my hand, so Slifer wouldn't be too useful."
"As Dave's cousin, I expect you've planned for every combo I've ever played."
With a short nod, Cary said, "Dave thinks you're a mystery. I think I figured you out."
"This'll be great, then!"
Cary's luck stayed with her, granting her the first turn in this duel. That was perfect because she wanted to avoid letting Lucy set up all her Obelisk combos or letting her set traps that would disrupt the Dragunity combos. On top of that, she had almost the same hand as when she played her practice duel against Lei, which meant there would be a field full of high-attack monsters ready to go before Lucy could summon Obelisk.
She started off with Dragon Shrine. As spires shaped like dragon tails sprouted from the ground, Dragunity Phalanx went straight from the deck to the Graveyard. Summoning Dragunity Dux (4: 1500|1000) let her pull Dragunity Phalanx (2: 500|1100) out of the Graveyard, first as an Equip card, then as a separate monster. The crystalline horns on Phalanx (2) began to ring, creating resonance with Dux (4) until they took a new shape: a muscled dragon donning red armor, matching the armor of its rider: Dragunity Knight - Gae Dearg (6: 2400|800).
Gae Dearg's effect targeted Mist Valley Baby Roc (2: 400|600), which moved to Cary's hand, then Graveyard, then field as it summoned itself. Baby Roc (2) began warbling, synchronizing with Gae Dearg (6) until the two transformed into Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon (8: 3000|2500). Her biggest dragon yet was covered in blue crystals, with claws that could dig out the hardest ore.
Cary knew there was risk involved with lowering her own LP during this duel, but she also knew that a full Dragunity army was better preparation against Obelisk. She activated Soul Charge: At the cost of 1000 LP per monster, she summoned Dragunity Phalanx, Dragunity Dux, and Dragunity Knight - Gae Dearg from the Graveyard. Gae Dearg's effect activated again to send Blackwing - Zephyros the Elite to the hand and then Graveyard. Phalanx (2) and Dux (4) synchronized again, but into the form of a different dragon rider: Dragunity Knight - Vajrayana (6: 1900|1200). Her second dragon rider Vajrayana's effect equipped Phalanx from the Graveyard, then Phalanx's effect summoned itself as a separate monster.
The two Dragunity Knights disappeared as Cary overlaid their cards to summon Hieratic Dragon King of Atum (6: 2400|2100), a black dragon adorned in gold. By detaching one of its dragon riders, Atum's effect brought Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon (10: 0|0) straight to the field from Cary's deck. The dragon might be weaker than normal in points, but its effect was still active: Red-Eyes Darkness was able to summon Dragunity Knight - Gae Dearg (6: 2400|800) back from the Graveyard.
From the Graveyard, Blackwing - Zephyros the Elite (4: 1600|1000) summoned itself at the cost of 400 points of damage and one of Cary's monsters returning to her hand; she pulled Red-Eyes Darkness back off the field. Phalanx (2) began to resonate again, this time with Zephyros (4) to form another copy of Dragunity Knight - Vajrayana (6: 1900|1200). As soon as it hit the field, Vajrayana pulled Dragunity Phalanx out of the Graveyard as an equip card, but Phalanx summoned itself as a monster instead.
Phalanx (2) resonated with Vajrayana (6) until their energy transformed them into the brilliant Stardust Dragon (8: 2500|2000). Gae Dearg's effect activated again, ending up with another copy of Mist Valley Baby Roc (2: 400|600) on the field. Baby Roc (2) synchronized again with Gae Dearg (6) to summon a second Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon (8: 3000|2500).
At this point, Cary still only had two monsters with 3000 attack points. Atum was the weakest so far, so she sent it to the Graveyard to summon Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon (10: 2800|2400) at full strength. With its effect, Red-Eyes Darkness pulled Dragunity Knight - Gae Dearg (6: 2400|800) back out of the Graveyard. Gae Dearg's effect let Cary take Garuda the Wind Spirit from her deck to her hand and then discard it to the Graveyard. Finally, she equipped Gae Dearg (+3000) with Dragunity Divine Lance for a few extra points, some Trap immunity, and to equip Phalanx to Gae Dearg.
Cary motioned with her hand as she triggered her End Phase from her Duel Disk.
Cary: 4600 LP, 1 card
Lucy: 8000 LP, 5 cards
Smiling and shaking her head, Lucy said, "Dragunity decks are so amazing with combos. I'm jealous that you can think six steps ahead like that. It's amazing."
"It's what Dragunitys do. If I couldn't play combos, I couldn't play Dragunitys."
"Exactly! My combos tend not to be that long. But I don't actually have any combos in my hand right now, so I'll use Magical Mallet to put all my cards back into the deck and draw new ones." A red hammer with wings appeared to slam itself down on Lucy's deck, reattaching her hand to the deck and then releasing new cards in their place. Lucy had a whole new hand, minus one card for Magical Mallet.
Making a face, she said, "A little better. I'll set three cards and end my turn." The image of three flat, defensive cards hovered by her feet.
Cary: 4600 LP, 1 card
Lucy: 8000 LP, 2 cards
Cary furrowed her brow. Her field was filled with enough attack points to end the duel twice, and Lucy didn't even place a monster in defense mode? Anyone could see that her face-down cards were Trap Cards. Maybe she was banking on Mirror Force to destroy Cary's monsters as soon as they tried to attack? It was a basic strategy, and it wouldn't work.
Except that's not the trap that Lucy played: Cary no sooner touched her deck during her Draw Phase than Lucy chained Good Goblin Housekeeping and Threatening Roar. First a rotund goblin placed its hand on Lucy's deck and pointed at her. But while the goblin negotiated payment, shock waves rattled the entire field. The roar wasn't quite deafening—the area duel stage had supporting sound hooked up but stopped short of causing inner ear damage—but it was so intense that Cary felt it in her bones. Her monsters did, too.
"What roar was that?" asked Cary. Normally either Manticore of Darkness or Behemoth the King of All Animals loosed it, but this one sounded different. It was even more frightening, not for volume but for how it resonated within her imagination, as if it found her deepest nightmare and brought it to the surface.
Lucy either mocked her or didn't hear the same roar. "It's just a generic card effect. But it means you can't attack at all this turn." She was right. Even Dragunity Divine Lance didn't make a difference this time because it wasn't her monsters who were affected by the Trap: Threatening Roar targeted Cary as the duelist.
Finally, the goblin gave Lucy one card from her deck but demanded a card in trade. It took a card out of her hand and placed it on the bottom of the deck, then it disappeared.
"Still your turn," said Lucy.
But Cary's field was full. Not only that, she couldn't attack anyway. "I guess I have no other moves this turn," she conceded.
Cary: 4600 LP, 2 cards
Lucy: 8000 LP, 2 cards
"Nice. I finally have a useful card. I'll play Reasoning." A man appeared on the field beside her. He pointed at Cary and demanded, "Declare a monster level from 1 to 12." His voice boomed eerily with the sound system, but it didn't rattle her the same way the roar had.
Cary knew the card. It was a really old card, but even so, she had watched Matt's recent tournament duel where both he and Ash Staotar played it. Lucy wanted to burn through her deck to find Obelisk the Tormentor. Or what if she already had it in her hand? There was one card she held pretty tightly ever since playing Magical Mallet. Her face-down card could be Inferno Reckless Summon, and she was counting on it to multiply whatever card she summoned from his play. Cary had seen Lucy's videos where she played a similar combo. What was the monster she summoned? Something Disciple? One of the cards that served absolutely no purpose except for the three people in the world who held an Egyptian God Card.
"Level 4," said Cary. Whatever the disciple name was, the monster was definitely Level 4. If that's what Lucy drew, she wouldn't be able to summon it, at least not with Reasoning's effect.
The holograms couldn't process all of the cards Lucy excavated for her effect, but she stepped to the center of the stage so both Cary and Dr. Lankford could watch what she picked up. Spell Card after Spell Card with the occasional Trap Card to add color.
When she finally picked up Wulf, Lightsworn Beast, Cary got excited and pointed. But Dr. Lankford shook his head. "Reasoning only applies to monsters that can be Normal Summoned, and Wulf can't be."
Lucy continued through her deck—all the way down to her last six cards. That's when she finally excavated Obelisk the Tormentor (10). "Wow. He was buried really far down there," she said.
Dr. Lankford said, "Level 10, not Level 4. You may summon it."
Cary stepped back aghast as Obelisk the Tormentor (10: 4000|4000) took the field without even having Tributes. The god cards were immune to most effects, but Reasoning was yet another card that skirted that rule in a way that benefited Lucy—because it wasn't on the field yet to become immune. And Obelisk was stronger than all of the monsters Cary had assembled, but not by a lot. Cary just needed to endure one major attack, then Obelisk would destroy itself—the result of being summoned without Tributes.
"Looks like I also summon three copies of Wulf, Lightsworn Beast (4: 2100|300)." Lucy's hulking god card was accompanied by identical wolf-men, each as muscular as the god they supported. That was bad news: Obelisk could drain the energy from two of them and wipe the field clean. Cary would have no defense left, and even though Obelisk would be unable to attack, the third Wulf still could.
But again, Lucy didn't go that way. "I'll play United We Stand and equip it to Obelisk (+7200)." The three Wulf monsters positioned themselves as Obelisk's backup, ready to aid his attacks and strengthen him using their power, specifically by 800 points per monster on the field. "If my math is right, one attack against Stardust Dragon (2500) should end this duel." Obelisk's fist was large from a distance, but it was even larger as it rained down right in front of Cary's face and obliterated her monster.
Cary: 0 LP, 2 cards
Lucy: 8000 LP, 1 card
The holograms faded, returning the stage to its original form. Cary said, "You never played that combo before."
"Yeah, it's new. You were studying me to do whatever it takes to counter every play I've ever made before. That's why I came up with a whole new idea to use for this duel. It was fast and I like it, but it's so stressful dumping so much of my deck into the Graveyard. I'm not sure I have the guts to try it again."
Just like that, all of Cary's studying and preparation for this duel meant nothing. Lucy had commented that she wasn't good at thinking six steps ahead, but she still managed to stay even one step ahead throughout the duel, and in the end, that was all she needed.
Cary would have walked right past Erica. After losing soundly, she wanted some time alone with her thoughts. But she made the mistake of making eye contact, and Erica signaled her at that exact moment. Cary couldn't just pretend that she never noticed Erica there, and ignoring her then might make Erica reconsider their mentorship. So Cary swallowed her pride and sat down.
"That was a fantastic first turn," said Erica.
"Not good enough, though."
"You had more than 13,000 attack points out there, plus Stardust and Crystal Wing would have protected you if Obelisk used its destruction effect. And obviously, Crystal Wing would win in a straight battle against Obelisk. The weakness in your field was small, and Lucy happened to find it."
"My second turn was useless."
"Why?"
Cary shrugged. "Because I couldn't do anything. Lucy stopped me from attacking and my field was full of monsters with no ability to move any of them around. I didn't have any Spells or Traps ready for her next turn."
"What would you have done if you knew how to be prepared?"
"Mystical Space Typhoon would be nice. Or Twin Twisters, or something."
"Would that help?"
Cary sighed. In reality, neither card would have made a difference. They couldn't negate effects, only destroy cards. Threatening Roar would have prevented attacks either way.
Erica shook her head. "Never mind. We both know those cards wouldn't help. Instead, think about how you could unblock yourself. You had a fantastic attack force ready with some defensive maneuvers. You can't be prepared for every possible scenario all the time. In that same situation against any other duelist, you'd win ninety-nine times out of a hundred."
"How do I get to a hundred out of a hundred?"
She laughed. "When you figure that out, let me know. The truth is that last percent will be almost impossible to figure out, but that's what you're here to study for. You can always challenge her again."
No, there was no need for Cary to challenge Lucy again. Not officially, at least. She firmly believed that the universe spoke through the first duel any two people had. Unless she completed some major transformation between her deck and her own dueling prowess, the result would likely be the same. The odds of Lucy running that Reasoning-Obelisk deck again were slim.
"I don't actually want a god card," said Cary.
Erica said, "You just wanted the prestige."
She nodded. "The cards themselves wouldn't fit into my deck, and I don't really want to build a new deck just to keep holding a specific card."
"You definitely have to make the god cards the central pillar of your deck. But you wouldn't be able to take over as OTK leader if you joined the Guardians. And isn't that your real goal?"
"It is."
"Then take the lessons from this duel, but don't fret the result. You're already on the right track. There's no need to hit the switch just yet."
As soon as Bryan started tearing through his tray of grilled cheese, chicken nuggets, and enough spinach to pretend he was keeping a balanced diet, he was struck with a revelation that deserved to be spoken aloud. "I definitely prefer Tuesday-Thursday schedule."
"Why is that?" asked Lucy. She had smaller portion on her plate, mostly a salad with several different vegetables and eggs, but even she couldn't resist the temptation of a grilled cheese sandwich with pan cheese pouring over the bread.
"Because lunch period happens before area duels. I'm starving less often that way."
Jack had a lunch more similar to Bryan's, just with smaller portions. "Lunch is at the same time every day. Just that Monday-Wednesday-Friday our morning session is shorter so we can do area duels before lunch. Classes are longer on Tuesday-Thursday, so shouldn't that make you hungrier?"
"I prefer to eat before sitting down for an hour to watch duels," said Bryan.
Matt smirked as he finished downing a bite of sandwich that comprised chicken nuggets in between two grilled cheeses. "It's so much more comfortable when you're full. Plus, a guy your size has to slump down in those stadium seats so you don't block the view for everyone behind you. And then they turn the lights off. Luckily the duels are always so exciting that it's damn near impossible to doze off."
Bryan stared back blankly. "Thank you for defending my opinion, kinda. And I only fell asleep three times."
Lucy overreacted, pressing her hand over her mouth in shame. "Oh, no! You sleep through area duels?"
"How can you blame me when they turn the lights down low?" He sat up straighter as he added, "Especially when people just duel fast and play obscure cards so I don't really know what's going on. They don't like it when we look at our phones, either, so it's not like I can figure out some of the longer or more complex effects."
Jack said, "I thought you just asked Matt to explain everything to you."
He blushed. "Sometimes. But I think Matt wants me to start taking responsibility for my own education."
Lucy looked from Matt to Bryan. "Did he say that?"
Matt just smirked while Bryan explained. "No, the exact words he used were 'If you Tribute two monsters, Obelisk fills you with loathing and self-doubt.'"
Lucy laughed as she looked to Matt. "That's not what it does. Everyone knows that Obelisk's effect destroys all monsters on the opponent's field."
Shaking his head, Matt said, "You'd think I would remember something like that."
Bryan said, "Yeah, yeah. My point is that he started making up answers. I only remember that one because it was obviously not a real effect that a card could do. Who knows how many other times he lied to me." His inflection put that comment out as a sardonic statement, but he also subtly wanted an answer to the question.
Unfortunately, Matt was incapable of giving straight answers. "It's a mystery," he said.
Waving his hand in Matt's direction, Bryan said, "That's why I get lost. If the duel isn't flashy enough and I can't tell what's going on because the duelists aren't explaining their card effects, then sometimes I fall into a confused slumber. But only for a minute."
Matt said, "Yeah! It's not like he snores."
Again, Lucy laughed. "That was you?"
"One time!" insisted Bryan. "I hadn't been sleeping well because of the tide plus the stress of finals and the excitement of going to Italy. It was a bad week."
"Even you couldn't sleep through Lucy's duel, though," said Jack. Bryan noticed the way Matt's ears perked up and his eyes pulled sideways so he could see Jack without craning his neck. "I've never seen such an insane strategy pay off so perfectly. You are easily the smartest duel tactician I've ever seen." Matt's expression first flashed amusement, but it faded to mild annoyance.
Lucy took the compliment completely in stride. Without blushing at all, she said, "No, you're right about the strategy being insane. I mostly got lucky. Another year here and Cary will be dueling rings around me."
"So that she can get behind you and see your cards?" said Matt.
With a laugh, Lucy said, "It's an expression. She'll be better than I am." Matt exaggerated his expression to pretend that he didn't already know about that idiom or what it meant.
"No way," said Jack. "She's good, and she'll get better, but that strategy you used was so perfect. You turned that whole duel around in a single turn despite how near-perfectly Cary had set up her field. She's smart, and you were even smarter. Holding Obelisk basically makes you a goddess yourself. I can't picture her ever getting one over on you."
Even Bryan felt that approach was too heavy-handed. He and Matt made eye contact and shared a single, psychic, sarcastic thought: "Subtle."
"Thank you," said Lucy. Again, she accepted the compliment gracefully. "But how about you guys? Is it your turn to try for a god card?"
Bryan fake-laughed, loud and hard. "Hah! I think I should wait until I can win at least two duels in a row before I try taking on the top duelists in the school."
"No, don't say that," said Lucy. "You know, I wasn't in the top ranks when I won Obelisk. I was closer to the middle of my class."
"And I'm closer to the bottom," said Bryan.
"But working your way up," said Jack. "I mean, we all struggle, but your area duel record is still close to ten percent, right? Considering there are four dorms, and we gain up to three years of experience here, then when you compare yourself against twelve groups, you're statistically ahead of a big chunk of the student body."
That might have been the nicest compliment Jack ever gave him. Jack looked to Matt and Lucy to support his comment, with his gaze lingering on Lucy just a bit too long. Bryan knew he wanted to date her, which led him to the idea that Jack was sucking up: playing nice to her other friends so she could see how encouraging and uplifting he was as a person.
Matt wasn't that type of person. From the look on his face, he was ready to make some brilliant comment that would embarrass Jack. "I wouldn't want a god card, myself." Wait, that wasn't mean. What the hell?
But maybe he was a genius after all. Lucy immediately turned to him, more interested in that conversation. "Why not?"
He smirked at her. "It's not personal. Bragging rights are nice, but your deck is inflexible. You always have to build it around a single monster. It was a fun thought experiment to build a Slifer deck one time in Italy, but I couldn't imagine being forced to play only that deck for the rest of my time here."
Lucy grinned. "You think you'd keep it forever?"
"Absolutely. I mean, I rarely say I'm certain, but there's a non-zero probability that I would lose once I had a god card in my deck." He added a gentle smile to show that he was being humorous. Lucy seemed to buy it, even if Bryan was sure that confidence was 100% real and 0% joking.
Apparently Jack figured out what topic Lucy preferred to discuss. He said, "I could go for a god card."
"Really?" asked Lucy.
He responded with a gesture as if he were shot in the chest. "Ouch!"
She put her hand up as if to distance herself from that comment. "That's not what I meant. I'm sure you could win a duel against one of the Guardians if you trained hard enough for it. But which god card would you go for?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. Which one do you think would be right for me?" Nice try to act like she was the expert, but that was a game Lucy didn't want to play.
"Oh, it's not up to me at all. You have to synchronize with the gods before you can be a Guardian Dueler."
Bryan asked, "What does that mean? Like when you hold the card and make it shimmer?"
"That's a sign, yes. It's like the god cards choose their holder. You have to be on the right wavelength or something."
"Your spiritual energies have to align," said Matt. Bryan rolled his eyes at Matt throwing back to the discussion with Leona Moxley, but Lucy agreed with him. "It's hard to explain in physical terms. Like when you're able to make eye contact with someone and know what they're thinking."
He looked to Lucy, who responded in a way Bryan never expected. "Exactly like that."
Bryan decided to break up the moment by asking, "Isn't that what Andy told you?"
Matt smiled back. "Something similar, I think." Lucy laughed and shook her head at Matt, then she smiled at Bryan as thanks for calling him out.
Rounding out the conversation, Bryan said, "I don't even know which god card I could possibly handle even if it did synchronize with me."
"Uria," said Matt.
Everyone was surprised by that outburst. "Really?" said Jack. "Doesn't that card rely on Traps?" Lucy confirmed that it does.
"Vision Heroes fit that bill. Bryan's been collecting a few of them, so if he were likely to align with any god card, it would be Uria."
"Maybe," said Lucy. She sounded like she didn't want to call Matt an idiot, but she definitely had her doubts. "Any of the Wicked Gods could be good options. They're all pretty stable with their power, like Obelisk is."
Bryan said, "Which we've established is untouchable because it's guarded by a goddess."
"Hey, shut up," Jack said while laughing. Lucy smiled at the callback.
Matt said, "Definitely not Slifer because your combos use up a lot of cards. Not Hamon because you have no need for Continuous Spells. Not Raviel because you have no fiend monsters. Everyone else is really tough because you need three Tributes to summon them, and you're just not a field flooder. Uria is the only one that might mesh."
"I don't use a lot of Vision Heroes right now," said Bryan.
"But you could. You have the cards, and you're still testing out deck strategies to find what works best for you. I mean, maybe you could even start going for Evil Heroes so you have the fiends you need for Raviel, if you feel like dueling against Justin."
That made Bryan laugh. "You know what? When you mention who the Guardians actually are, suddenly my chances of winning a god card seem even lower than they already were."
"Don't say that. We're all human, too," said Lucy.
Matt said, "Not at all. You're clearly a goddess."
Jack nodded. "Very funny. What if I decided to challenge Andy for Ra? Would you be willing to help me prepare for that?"
He clearly meant the question for Lucy, but Matt's the one who answered. "I've already got four other people I'm tutoring in statistics. I don't have time to build a Ra deck out of Hieratics for you. You should ask for Lucy's help instead."
Jack made a face. "Thanks for the suggestion." Looking at Lucy, he asked again, using her name this time to be clear. "Lucy, would you help prep me for a duel against Andy?"
She shrugged. "I can give some pointers, maybe. I'm not well versed with Hieratics, so I don't think I would be much help with building that deck."
"Even play testing would be helpful, maybe against Obelisk? Just so I can know what it's like to duel against a god card. And maybe we figure out that Hieratics aren't for me." Bryan thought he was sounding desperate to spend time with Lucy. Maybe even too desperate.
Especially because… "Aren't you pretty much forbidden from using the god cards outside of official duels?" Lucy nodded.
As they were wrapping up their meals, an Obelisk student walked up to their table, his eye on Lucy as he approached from behind. His jacket was unzipped to show a black t-shirt underneath, but he must have been cold nonetheless as he wore a gray scarf around his collar. Instead of nice shoes, he wore blue and black boots that rose past his ankles. Bryan never realized until that moment that footwear never really varied among the students, so it was strange to see the extra color in his.
"Lucy Mercer," said the kid. His voice made him sound slightly older, maybe a junior, even though he was only slightly taller than Matt.
She turned to see who it was. "Hi, Kai." The name rang a bell: Kai Jackson, maybe? The only guy on campus with a Blue-Eyes deck.
"You still haven't accepted my challenge."
She forced a smile. "Yeah. Dr. Lankford is to blame for that. There are always so many challenges to the Guardian Duelers, and he's trying to make sure other people get lots of time in the area duels, too."
"I don't need an area duel," said Kai. "Any opportunity is fine to win back what's mine."
While Bryan exchanged baffled glances with Jack and Matt, Lucy looked annoyed. "Win back," she quoted sarcastically. "Obelisk was never yours to begin with."
"All I need is one duel to prove it's mine," he insisted.
She sighed. "Take it up with—"
"Me!" said Matt, stepping over Dr. Lankford's responsibilities there. "You have to defeat me if you want to duel against Lucy."
Kai made a big show of evaluating Matt from head to toe. "A guardian for the Guardian?"
"Exactly. What do you say? No, wait." He placed his hand in front of Lucy as if he were offering her a tray of snacks. "What do you say? I'm not trying to step on your fight here." Bryan felt jealous that Matt was a strong enough duelist to come to someone else's defense, especially against a Blue-Eyes deck. Maybe they were also some of the oldest cards ever created—and rare, to boot—but they were still among the most powerful Normal Monsters ever printed. Plus Kai was an Obelisk duelist. If Bryan dueled against him, he was sure to lose.
Lucy's expression wasn't quite one of excitement, but she seemed grateful enough to have Matt step in. She waved her hand in front of herself. "Go ahead."
"Great," said Matt. "When I win, you leave Lucy alone."
"Then when I win, she has to accept my challenge for Obelisk."
Matt shrugged. "I mean, she's a literal goddess and can't possibly be beaten…" Jack rolled his eyes and slumped in his seat. "…but sure, I'll let Dr. Lankford know that this is the ante we're using."
"Why wait for an area duel?" asked Kai. He pointed toward the front door. "There are duel stations right outside."
Bryan shivered even thinking about dueling outdoors today. And it was windy on top of the cold, and that was a terrible condition for card games. Considering the overcast sky, it might rain at any time, too.
Luckily, Matt had a counterpoint that sounded less avoidant than complaining about the weather: "Don't you think a matchup of Dark Magician versus the Blue-Eyes White Dragon deserves an audience?"
Apparently that comment struck Kai right in the ego. He let out a laugh before saying, "You're right. I'll submit the challenge form today. Since it's coming from an Obelisk to a Slifer, it'll get expedited. Make sure you respond immediately."
Matt nodded. "Wouldn't want you to lose your nerve."
Kai narrowed his eyes and then walked away without another word.
Turning back to the table, Matt asked, "Is he well?"
Jack said, "He sounded just a touch like an anime villain. Is that an illness?"
Lucy shook her head. "Maybe it's not my place to spread possible falsehoods, but the rumor is that Kai thinks he's related to Seto Kaiba. Maybe even his reincarnation."
"Really!" A look of pure glee plastered across Matt's face. It was an eerie and terrifying thing to see.
Bryan said, "Oh, no. I know that look. Matt has a new mystery to look into."
"Not at all. I'm just gonna ignore a guy who thinks that Seto Kaiba was real and that he's Kaiba reincarnated." Well, clearly that was sarcastic.
Marcus was probably the Slifer who Bryan had spent the least amount of time with. That was because Marcus didn't spend much time hanging out in the dorm. He was always at the Ra dorm or the Duel Academy building with his teammates from the Duel Dragonists. They were a strong dueling team, and Marcus was no slouch despite being the only Slifer this year. Nonetheless, Bryan had accepted his area duel challenge, partly because he always accepted Slifer challenges, assuming they'd be the most likely for him to win. Also, Dr. Lankford hinted that he had to accept one for this week. The punishment for not accepting was unclear, but Bryan didn't want to reduce his own image, if he could help it.
"I have Shiranui Solitaire (4: 500|0)," said Marcus. A man wearing baggy, samurai-like clothing appeared on the field with a sage's staff in hand. Based on his skin, he looked more like a zombie than a dragon. "I'll send him to the Graveyard to summon Uni-Zombie (3: 1300|0)." This monster was actually two monsters clinging tightly to each other as they sang a silent duet, like two drunk, dead guys in a karaoke bar.
Bryan nodded to himself. "Definitely zombies because neither has any defense points." He had forgotten that tidbit until he saw the second card.
"Uni-Zombie (+4) lets me discard a card so this guy gains a level." He dropped a card into the discard slot on his Duel Disk as his dual zombie sang bigger musical notes. "Now I can banish Mezuki from my Graveyard to revive Shiranui Solitaire (4: 500|0)." His first zombie came back to the field. Bryan noticed immediately that both monsters had the same level now: prime for summoning an Xyz monster.
Except Marcus didn't play for an Xyz team. Duel Dragonists were Synchro duelists. As Uni-Zombie's singing grew bigger, "Uni-Zombie and Shiranui Solitaire tune into PSY-Framelord Omega (8: 2800|2200)." As the monster appeared, Bryan couldn't even tell what he was looking at—some kind of armored, robot-alien guy wearing big gloves connected by an electrocuted coat hanger and riding a thin, gold scooter that didn't have any wheels on it. But he could tell it was dangerous, though it wasn't a Synchro dragon.
"That's good enough for now," said Marcus.
Marcus: 8000 LP, 3 cards
Bryan: 8000 LP, 5 cards
Bryan liked his opening hand. But Marcus had a move during the Standby Phase. "Omega's effect moves my banished Mezuki into the Graveyard."
"Got it. Well, I'll start with Summoner Monk (4: 800|1600)." The blue-skinned old man walked onto the field in attack position, but he promptly squatted into a meditative pose, resembling defense mode. "I discard one Spell Card, and Summoner Monk calls a Level 4 monster from my deck." He considered his options for just a moment. Shadow Mist was a favorite card lately because it pulled Mask Change cards to his hand. But he already held two, so he decided, "I'll pick Elemental Hero Blazeman (4: 1200|1800)." Fire Heroes were always fun because summoning them was flashy, what with the bright orange flames wisping off of red armor. "Summoning him puts Polymerization in my hand."
He grabbed a Polymerization card from the deck before he reloaded, which caused the Duel Disk to alarm. Apparently he was supposed to take only Blazeman, let the Duel Disk shuffle his cards, then activate Blazeman's effect, then let the Duel Disk shuffle the deck again. It was painstaking and tedious, and it really extended the length of the duel more than was necessary. Duel stations didn't have that problem.
Marcus asked, "Are you new to this game?" Bryan didn't know him well enough to know whether he was being mean or lighthearted.
"Not exactly. I just figured…" He let the thought die because further explanation wouldn't help anyone. "Never mind. I'll activate Polymerization now to fuse—"
"I'll banish Omega and target… that card in your hand." Dr. Lankford confirmed the card that Marcus targeted and pulled it from Bryan's hand. He was forced to banish a copy of Mask Change.
Bryan nodded. "That's a bummer, but it's okay, I guess. Do I get to resolve my Spell now?" Dr. Lankford nodded. "I'll fuse Summoner Monk with Elemental Hero Wildheart in my hand to summon Elemental Hero Escuridao (8: +2600|2000)." This Hero appeared to be cloaked in living shadows, holding a vaguely humanoid shape among the amorphous energy. It gained 100 points from the Hero in the Graveyard.
The thought occurred to Bryan right then that Marcus's field was empty. Maybe that was a misplay? Regardless, he was going to load the field and punish Marcus for his mistake. "Miracle Fusion lets me further fuse Blazeman on the field and Wildheart in the Graveyard into Elemental Hero Nova Master (8: 2600|2100)." Like Blazeman before him, Nova Master hit the field in an explosion of heat and flame. His armor looked badass with the double spikes on each shoulder and the flowing red cape.
"Time to attack." Escuridao (-2500) didn't move his body much, but the darkness became extended scythes that reached across the field and reaped straight through Marcus's Life Points. Nova Master (2600) did attack physically by leaping into the air and shooting back down like a meteorite.
"And that's not all," said Bryan. "I'll play Mask Change to swap Escuridao for Masked Hero Anki (8: 2800|1200)." Escuridao appeared to remove his mask only to change completely into a Hero wearing lizard-like armor: a horn on his head, two claws on each foot, and spikes everywhere. "It's still my Battle Phase, too." Anki (2800) leaped across the field and landed a devastating jump kick into Marcus… or through him, since it was just a hologram.
Bryan looked at the Life Point counter and realized he didn't quite win the duel. Damn! If only Escuridao hadn't lost his attack points when Wildheart was banished.
Marcus: 100 LP, 3 cards
Bryan: 8000 LP, 0 cards
Marcus let out a sigh when his turn started. "That was close. Fats was right about you."
As soon as he drew, PSY-Framelord Omega (2800) returned to the field, and Mask Change returned to Bryan's hand. "I'll summon Shiranui Spiritmaster (4: 1500|0)." This zombie was wore baggy, Japanese-style clothes and enough makeup to hide his zombie status. He cast some kind of spiritual spell that summoned a flaming sword. "When he's summoned, he also summons Shiranui Solitaire (4: 500|0) from the Graveyard." The zombie sage from Marcus's first turn returned to the field. "This time, I'll overlay my monsters to summon Number 101: Silent Honor Ark (4: 2100|1000)."
The fun part about Xyz monsters is that they don't combine pieces like Fusion monsters do, and they're not evolved forms of the same card like Ritual monsters often are. Even Synchro monsters usually have a tuner monster that clearly resembles one of its components. But Silent Honor Ark was no zombie: It was a large, very pointy ship that floated through the air as if sailing on water. "Number 101 loses both of its overlay units to absorb Masked Hero Anki." Bryan's strongest monster disappeared, drawn below deck within the ark.
"Now, Mezuki activates in my Graveyard so I can revive Uni-Zombie (3: 1300|0)." The karaoke zombies were back. Just like last time, they started singing louder. "When I discard a card, Uni-Zombie (+4) gains a level. And the card I discarded was another Mezuki: I'll banish that one to revive Shiranui Spiritmaster (4: 1500|0)." The zombie with the floating fire sword reappeared. He seemed to appreciate the music as he disappeared with the karaoke twins. "These two tune into Void Ogre Dragon (8: 3000|3000)."
Finally, he summoned the giant Synchro dragon that Bryan expected to see. Void Ogre Dragon was covered in black scales. Claws and spikes too large to be practical shimmered on its hands, feet, and face. Rubies dotted every major joint on its body. Though too sleek for effective flight, its wingspan doubled its already impressive girth.
"Now it's my turn to attack." Void Ogre Dragon (3000) eviscerated Anki (2800), PSY-Framelord Omega (2800) smashed Nova Master (2600), and Silent Honor Ark (2100) blasted Bryan for a direct attack. "I'll set one card in the backfield, and that ends my turn."
Marcus: 100 LP, 0 cards
Bryan: 5500 LP, 1 card
Bryan was sweating bullets as his turn began. Marcus cleared his field completely. His only chance was to draw and summon a Hero card and then evolve it with Mask Change. He crossed his fingers, then made a fist before anyone could see it. He uncrossed his fingers and pulled the top card from his deck. Sparkman! That was exactly what he needed. He had a couple of Light-based Masked Heroes. They probably weren't strong enough to beat Void Ogre Dragon, but if he could deal enough damage to Silent Honor Ark, the duel was over.
"I'll summon Elemental Hero Sparkman (4: 1600|1000)…" He had to wait for the animation of Sparkman appearing on the field in a flash of lightning. "…and then I'll play Mask Change."
"No, you won't," said Marcus. Void Ogre Dragon's rubies began to shine. Several burst of energy flashed, and the Mask Change card vanished. "Void Ogre's effect negates your Spell Card."
Bryan gasped. That was all he had left. With no other cards in his hand or on the field, there was nothing else he could do.
Marcus: 100 LP, 0 cards
Bryan: 5500 LP, 0 cards
"Not much I need to do, is there?" asked Marcus. Void Ogre Dragon (3000) shredded Sparkman (1600), then PSY-Framelord Omega (2800) and Silent Honor Ark (2100) squashed and blasted the rest of his Life Points.
Marcus: 100 LP, 1 card
Bryan: 0 LP, 0 cards
Internally, Bryan was devastated. He came So. Damn. Close. But even though he nearly had an OTK, he just couldn't pull it off. But he forced himself to wear a friendly smile as he shook Marcus's hand. "That was awesome, dude."
"You came really close," said Marcus. "The new deck at least seems better than last semester. Keep studying."
"Hey, you mentioned that Tamah said something about me?"
"Tamah? Oh, Fats." Marcus smirked. "That you have some skill but you can't deliver." Ouch. Tamah hitting him right where it hurts. Of course, he was kind of right, which was the worst part.
As Marcus walked away, Dr. Lankford had a forced smile on his face. If that same look had been on Matt's face, Bryan would assume he was being set up for heavy insults. Dr. Lankford so rarely smiled that Bryan just assumed he wasn't good at it.
"Is that six consecutive losses for you in area duels only five weeks into the semester?" he asked.
That question hurt. It was one thing when another student mocked Bryan for not being the best duelist, but hearing it straight from the Obelisk professor was a level of shame he hadn't prepared for.
"Yes, sir."
"How are you feeling about your tournament championship?"
Bryan hesitated. Maybe Dr. Lankford didn't mean it that way, but it felt like he was picking on Bryan, maybe just because he thought the Denkard championship was undeserved. Bryan had always deferred to the luck aspect when another student challenged his worth, usually out of fear that a student could duel against him and prove his worthlessness anytime. So he was as surprised as anyone when he defended himself against a professor.
"It was a different format. My opponents were experienced but not experts, just like me. Traditional deck strategies didn't matter in that tournament."
The fake smile grew wider but the look in Dr. Lankford's eye grew emptier. "You think outside the box, do you?"
"Maybe so. I also had the benefit of unlimited card selection."
"Got it. So all you need to start winning these duels is better cards?"
"That's not what I mean."
Before he could explain any further, Dr. Lankford said, "I saw that you challenged Yul Tan. Think you can take Uria, Lord of Searing Flame off of him?"
He waited a beat before answering. Bryan's heart pounded in his ears, muting the rest of the arena. He could barely even hear himself speak anymore. "It's a challenge. You always encourage us to battle against our classmates who are better than we are because we have the most to learn from those duels."
"After six straight losses, I'm curious how much you're actually learning," Bryan's heart sank as he heard those words. Clearly Dr. Lankford doubted that Bryan even deserved to be a student at Duel Academy anymore. "Why not make it seven?" he asked.
Bryan's mind went blank for a second. He had to forcibly remind himself what the professor just said to him. "Sir?"
"You want to take a god card, right?"
"Well, I know you have strict requirements before someone can even challenge a Guardian Dueler. Something about making sure I would match with the god card."
"I've already approved the request. You and Yul duel on Friday. Don't even need to wait for him to accept. There's no one among the Guardian Duelers who would reject a challenge. Now's your chance to show the rest of the school how to 'think outside the box'."
Bryan couldn't decide how to react. On the one hand: Awesome? He would have the chance to duel for a god card: an honor that few students ever earned. But on the other hand, why would Dr. Lankford approve him to challenge one of the top-ranked duelists in the school when he couldn't even win against the other Slifers? Bryan was showing no signs of improvement almost a third of the way into his second semester. Watching him fail against a god card might just be the cherry on top of a mockery sundae. Maybe it was time to reconsider his dueling career… again.
That line about Yu-Gi-Oh! card effects that "fill you with loathing and self-doubt" was something my best friend and I always said to each other in college when we played with real cards. (I was an almost decent player in the past.) We came up with that around the time of that the anime arc with the Seal of Orichacalcos came out. The idea that a card effect—and not the Shadow Games—meant the loser would lose their soul was funny to us. "Now that's an effect!" we would joke.
Incidentally, that expression "filled with loathing and self-doubt" was a reference to the song Albuquerque by Weird Al Yankovic.
As always, thanks to everyone who reads, follows, and comments. I won't beg for reviews because I imagine most of you are introverted like I am and don't really have anything to say at the end of a chapter, and that's perfectly fine. I'm mostly writing because I enjoy telling this story, but it's all bonus that anyone else likes it, too. But just know that all extra comments will feed my motivation and help to ensure that I don't quit until the story is actually finished this time. 80)
* Jack Hansbury...(I didn't realize until today that the site's auto-formatting keeps deleting this username. It's just the character's name with a period instead of a space.)
* Kai Jackson...SketchyWolf
* Tamah "Fats" Fatu...Vstriker