KING OF GAMES (3)
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"Warmup's over, huh?"
Kaiba's words hung in the air both like a statement, and as a challenge.
Yugi grinned in return. "So, three God cards weren't enough for you?"
"I didn't come into this duel expecting to face them," retorted Kaiba. "It was a nice surprise, and I'm glad they stuck around… But I know that's not the extent of what you're really capable of, Yugi. I won't be satisfied until you show me the skill and strength you used to beat the Pharaoh."
"I'll try not to disappoint you then," chuckled his opponent. He then raised his empty hands. "As you can see, it's going to have to wait though because I'm out of cards here after taking down Ra, so that ends my turn."
The audience had just about calmed down in time for Kaiba to draw, increasing his hand size to three and taking the duel into its next phase.
"I summon Dragon Knight of Creation (1800/600)," he announced.
A knight clad in a golden helmet and armor across his upper body along with white trousers materialized onto Kaiba's field. He clutched a large broadsword in both hands that glinted in the now waning sunlight.
"Now, I'll have him attack your life-points directly!"
The soldier rushed across the field, drawing the sword back as he went.
"Not so fast," shot back Yugi. "I activate Defense Draw, which reduces all damage done to me to zero, and then lets us both draw one card."
The blade swung and hit an invisible shield before Yugi. With that, the knight returned to the other side of the field.
Kaiba smirked. "Well done, Yugi. I wouldn't have expected any different: there was no way you would overcommit like that to defeat Ra without having some kind of backup plan."
He then glanced at his now three card hand. "That does it for me."
Yugi drew, his expression betraying nothing as he looked from one card to the other.
"I set one monster facedown in defense mode and one more card facedown. That ends my turn, Kaiba."
Kaiba drew and looked over at his opponent's field furtively. "I'm in control right now but it's precarious. I can't let him bait me. As much as I'd like to go big again right away, I can't rush in and overcommit without having something to fall back on."
With his short-term plan decided, Kaiba pointed at the horizontal facedown. "Dragon Knight of Creation attacks."
The knight charged forward again, bringing his broadsword down again. At the last minute, the card flipped over and revealed a young female mage with long pink hair, purple robes and a yellow belt, who held a long golden staff with a crescent moon at the top of the staff. As expected, she crumbled into pixels as soon as the blow landed.
"That was Magician of Faith (300/400)," informed Yugi. "Her flip effect allows me to add one spell card from my graveyard to my hand… And I choose Card of Sanctity."
Kaiba cursed under his breath. Once again, now Yugi could make the gap in their resources disappear and get back into the duel. In that case, there was no sense in playing it safe any longer.
"Since Dragon Knight of Creation destroyed a monster of yours in battle, I can now activate its effect," declared Kaiba. "By discarding one card from my hand and also sacrificing my Knight itself, I can then summon one level seven or eight dragon from my graveyard… No prizes guessing which."
He smirked as the knight disappeared, and the ever-familiar gleaming white scales of his Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500) appeared on the field once again.
Yugi rolled his eyes; facing the Blue-Eyes for the umpteenth time in this duel was hardly a surprise at this point.
"Don't forget that it's still my battle phase, Yugi," hissed Kaiba. "You won't benefit from drawing all those cards if I end the duel right now. Attack directly with White Lightning!"
The beast of legend parted its jaws, spitting out another frothing wave of white energy, only for Yugi's swift reaction to come.
"I won't go down that easy, Kaiba! I activate Compulsory Evacuation Device, sending Blue-Eyes back to your hand!"
A burst of pink energy exploded from under the Blue-Eyes, causing it to vanish, taking its attack with it. Kaiba grunted in frustration, but not excessively so. Having one of his prized monsters back in his hand instead of in the graveyard was still sure to pay dividends.
He looked over his hand once more, before stating, "I move to my end phase, during which I can activate the effect of the card I discarded as a cost for Dragon Knight of Creation: The White Stone of the Ancients (600/500). Since it was sent to the graveyard this turn, I can summon one Blue-Eyes monster from my deck… And I choose Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon (3000/0)!"
Materializing in the center of Kaiba's field was another white dragon, but one unlike any that had come before it. It had a similar overall look to the standard Blue-Eyes, but true to its name, it was clearly… a jet. It did, in fact, resemble Kaiba's real-life Blue-Eyes White Jet quite a bit, down to the glass cockpit in its head; the only difference being Kaiba's jet was blue.
Yugi raised an eyebrow. This was another new Blue-Eyes card he was seeing for the first time. Then he smiled faintly, imagining what Joey and Tristan were saying in the crowd. "He made a jet based on the monster, and now has another monster based on the jet?!"
Kaiba seemed completely oblivious to any amusement his newest monster may have generated, either from Yugi or the audience.
"That ends my turn," he declared grandly.
Yugi couldn't help but chuckle slightly as he drew for turn.
"You're always full of surprises, Kaiba," he commented, before sliding a card into his Duel Disk. "Then again, as you're going to see, so am I… I activate the Card of Sanctity I got back last turn."
It was a calculated risk and one Yugi had to take to flip the momentum of the duel. He drew four cards, while Kaiba drew two.
Yugi brightened immediately upon seeing what he had just pulled.
"All right, Kaiba, it's time I introduced you to my Silent Magician LV4 (1000/1000)!"
A white-haired female magician with blue eyes and boots appeared on the field. She held a thin, white staff, which arched up towards the top, upon which sat a dark-turquoise orb. The magician's white clothes had the symbol of an Egyptian cross around her neck, with a blue, jewel-like object on the front of her hat.
Kaiba raised an eyebrow, thinking back to that fateful day in Egypt during which he had witnessed Atem finally lose a duel and then depart for the afterlife. This had been the monster Yugi had used to win that duel with.
"Well, I did ask you to show me the power you used to defeat the Pharaoh," he observed with a smile.
Yugi grinned back. "Well, hold your horses Kaiba because there's plenty more to come. I activate Level Up! This allows me to sacrifice my Silent Magician LV4 to special summon Silent Magician LV8 (3500/1000) right away from my deck!"
As he spoke, Silent Magician glowed and grew at least twice her regular height. Her attire and staff had remained the same, though the two blue orbs on her hat and staff had now ignited with magic. Her spikey white hair grew longer as well, waving out behind her.
He pointed at Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon.
"Now your dragon is through, Kaiba! Silent Magic Attack!"
The white-robed magician leapt into the air, pointing its staff downward and firing out a shining bluish-white orb at its mechanical target.
Kaiba simply smiled faintly as the draconic airplane glowed. Suddenly, a pair of laser cannons appeared out of its wings and fired out precise white beams that cut through the oncoming attack, striking the mage and sending her rather comically soaring into the sky, past the point of visibility.
"What's this?!" exclaimed Yugi.
"Only my Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon's effect," retorted Kaiba. "Whenever it engages in a battle, I can send one card on your field back to your hand, and I of course targeted your Silent Magician with that."
Yugi frowned, but only slightly.
"Well, I'm not through Kaiba! Now I'm sure you remember this considering it's your card: Spell Sanctuary is still in play, and it means I can activate all spell cards as quick-plays, meaning I can stay in the battle phase while I activate this next card… Super Soldier Ritual!"
A glowing blue circle appeared on Yugi's field, seemingly marked with hieroglyphics. On either side of it was a flaming torch, and in the center was a small purple platform that gave off a green glow. In the center of it was the astral form of Yugi's Silent Magician LV8.
"Now, by sacrificing the Silent Magician you just sent back to my hand, I can summon Black Luster Soldier – Legendary Swordsman (3000/2500)!"
The mage vanished into the green glow, which shone even more intensely for a moment. Then, from within it began to emerge the foreboding figure of a knight. On the surface, it looked quite a bit like the original Black Luster Soldier, but there were a few key differences. For one, its armor was more ornate and seemed to be made of solid gold instead of a pale green. Its shoulder and knee pads in particular were much larger and razor sharp to boot. Additionally, it had a pair of glowing red rubies set into either boot.
Just the same as the original, however, it held an enormous curved scimitar in both hands.
"A lot of effort for a monster no stronger than my dragon, that I can once again easily bounce back," commented Kaiba.
"Just wait," retorted Yugi. "Next up is Mage Power! This gives my Soldier five hundred attack and defense points for every spell or trap I control… including itself!"
The newly summoned ritual monster glowed as he spoke (3500/3000). "And now that he's powerful enough to do so… I'll have my Black Luster Soldier – Legendary Swordsman attack your dragon, Kaiba!"
The knight darted forward, brandishing its blade as it went.
"You're smarter than that, Yugi," retorted Kaiba. "My Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon is going to send it back to your hand, and ensure all those resources were wasted…!"
As he spoke, the robotic Blue-Eyes unsealed the two laser cannons on its wings again.
"You're right, Kaiba, I am," chuckled Yugi. "Which is why I'm only doing this because my Black Luster Soldier negates any of your card effects during the battle phase!"
Kaiba's eyes widened as his dragon fired out another pair of thin red laser beams, which Yugi's knight deftly avoided, bringing his blade down and cleaving his target in two. The two halves remained suspended on the field momentarily before exploding.
(Kaiba: 1800, Yugi: 1900)
"That ends my turn," stated Yugi smoothly.
Kaiba drew, still internally wincing from how quickly the balance of the duel had shifted against him once again.
Looking over his hand, he could start to see the beginnings of a counterstrategy forming, but he would need to stall for a little while to fully realize it.
"Not too long though," he thought to himself, glancing down at the deck slot on his Duel Disk. Both him and Yugi had depleted over two-thirds of their decks. This duel was entering the home stretch, and any mistake at this point by either duelist would be heavily punished.
"I set one monster facedown in defense mode and one more card facedown. That ends my turn," stated the CEO, as first a horizontal and then a vertical card materialized onto his field, to join the one that had already been there for a while now.
Yugi drew, increasing his hand size back to two. He was also aware of his rapidly thinning deck. Having invested a lot of resources into the summoning of Black Luster Soldier – Legendary Swordsman, he knew that if he saw even a sliver of a chance to go for the win, he had to take it. If Kaiba managed to take back the initiative, which was easily conceivable given the resource gap, he might not relinquish it again.
And unfortunately, Yugi hadn't drawn a monster that could guarantee a win this turn, so that would have to wait.
"Black Luster Soldier, attack his facedown monster," commanded the spikey-haired duelist.
Once again, the majestic warrior crossed the field, slashing downward as it approached the facedown. It flipped up to reveal a smaller, black dragon with a sharp-tipped tail and spikes running across its back. It let out a brief screech before it was sliced in half, and just like the Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon before it, the two pieces lingered momentarily before exploding into pixels.
"That was Pitch-Dark Dragon (900/600)," informed Kaiba, clearly not very bothered by losing it.
Yugi nodded. "Fine, that ends my turn."
Kaiba drew, and his eyes glinted. "Yes, almost there."
"I activate One Day of Peace. We both draw one card, and until the end of your next turn neither of us take damage," he declared.
Yugi frowned. Every turn he was unable to press the advantage was another for Kaiba to get back in the duel. And at this stage, extra draws had the double-edged sword of bringing him closer to the end of his deck.
Both duelists drew, and then Kaiba nodded to indicate he was passing.
Yugi slid the top card off his deck once more. "I set one card facedown and end my turn," he muttered. (Black Luster Soldier – Legendary Swordsman: 4000/3500)
It was now Kaiba's turn. He glanced at his newest card, and smirked.
"Brace yourself, Yugi. I activate the effect of Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon (3000/2500) from my hand… I can special summon it by revealing the Blue-Eyes White Dragon you were kind enough to bounce back to my hand two turns ago!"
Yugi's expression remained unreadable as another white dragon materialized onto Kaiba's field. As one would expect from its name, it was almost identical to the standard Blue-Eyes, with the exception of sharper looking scales and spines running down its spine, from neck to tail.
"Now, once per turn, my Alternative Dragon can skip its attack in exchange for destroying one monster on your field… And as it stands, I see only one target," smirked Kaiba.
As he finished speaking, the dragon unsealed its jaws and spat out a frothing sphere of white energy at Yugi's knight.
"Not so fast, Kaiba," retorted Yugi, tapping a button on his Duel Disk. "I activate my counter trap Recall! At the cost of allowing you to draw one card, I can negate your monster's effect and destroy it!"
Just as the sphere reached the Black Luster Soldier, it was blocked and then reflected by the curved scimitar, launching back across the field and colliding with the dragon that had created it in the first place, causing it to explode into a pile of pixels. (Black Luster Soldier – Legendary Swordsman: 3500/3000)
Kaiba looked momentarily frustrated, but upon drawing, the smirk returned to his face.
"Smart play protecting your monster, Yugi, but I'm just getting started. First, I activate the effect of The White Stone of Ancients I sent to the graveyard earlier: by banishing it, I can add one Blue-Eyes monster from my graveyard to my hand. I choose Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon: and since it's a fusion monster, it goes back to my fusion deck!"
Yugi finally allowed himself to frown a little as Kaiba continued.
"Then, I'll activate Awakening from Beyond. This allows me to add one monster from my graveyard to my hand, while you draw two cards. I choose my Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
Yugi began to feel even more panic set in. "He's got two now, but he still needs a third as well as a way to fuse them…!" Not to mention that his own deck was into single digits now, and drawing two cards, which under most other circumstances would be a welcome outcome, was cutting quite heavily into that.
Kaiba seemed to read his mind. "Oh, don't worry about decking out, Yugi. This duel is going to be over well before that becomes a possibility," he stated smugly, then plucking the latest card he had drawn out of his hand.
"Next, I'll summon The Light – Hex-Sealed Fusion (1000/1600) in attack mode!"
Materializing onto Kaiba's field in the spot directly opposite the Black Luster Soldier was a lumpy yellowish boulder. It was hemispheric in shape with a number of glowing white orbs spotted all over its rounded surface. Out of one side on the bottom of the rock a thick reptilian leg had sprouted out.
"Well, that only leaves…" thought Yugi expectantly.
"And finally, I activate Fusion Substitute," finished Kaiba. "It functions exactly as its name suggests: just a replacement Polymerization. Which means I can fuse the two Blue-Eyes White Dragons in my hand with The Light – Hex-Sealed Fusion, which I'll have substitute for a third... To once again summon my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (4500/3800)!"
The spectral forms of two white dragons materialized on either side of the floating rock, before each of them was consumed by a column of light, all three of which once again merged into a singular larger one, from within which emerged the three-headed titan that had slain an Egyptian God on its last appearance in the duel.
"Your Black Luster Soldier is history, Yugi," announced Kaiba. "Attack now, Neutron Blast!"
The trio of heads all unleashed a multifaceted wave of energy which melded into one destructive column, right before slamming into Yugi's knight. There was no resistance, with the target being reduced to nothingness as the attack carried on past Yugi into the distance.
(Kaiba: 1800, Yugi: 900)
"That ends my turn," declared Kaiba in a restrained tone. He knew that however good it looked, he couldn't declare victory yet. After all, using Awakening from Beyond was a gamble by allowing Yugi to replenish his resources, but one he had to take at this point in the duel given that he didn't have a way to take out the Black Luster Soldier without simply overpowering it.
Yugi drew, increasing his hand to six cards. At this point, this wasn't much more than was left his deck. He glanced at it and then back to the dragon across from him that had pushed him and Atem to the brink so many times before.
He had the makings of a strategy to prevail over it once again, but it hinged entirely on his next draw.
He exhaled, plucking a card out of his hand. "I place one monster facedown in defense mode and one more card facedown. That ends my turn, Kaiba."
The CEO drew, briefly glancing at the card before pointing at Yugi's facedown.
"My Ultimate Dragon, wipe that monster out!" he commanded.
Once more, the three heads spat out a frothing white blast. As it bore down towards Yugi's field, it flipped over to reveal a white and pink, gooey looking monster, barely a foot high and seemingly shaped like a marshmallow, but with an upside-down face. The attack collided, resulting in another sizable explosion, before the smoke cleared to reveal the creature had not been destroyed.
"What the-…" began Kaiba, before Yugi chuckled and interrupting by saying, "That is Marshmallon (300/500), Kaiba. He cannot be destroyed in battle, and when he's flipped face-up you're also dealt one thousand points of damage."
(Kaiba: 800, Yugi: 900)
His opponent had a look of frustration flit across his face, before it morphed back into a smirk.
"Well played, Yugi. But there's no free lunches in this duel. I'll move to my second main phase, and by lowering my life-points below yours once again, you just enabled me to equip my Ultimate Dragon with this: Megamorph!"
The fusion let out an earth-shattering roar as it glowed briefly and began to grow, continuing to do so until it was now larger than any monster that had been summoned in the duel so far, divine or not (9000/3800).
"I end my turn… But don't get too comfortable, Yugi, I'll find a way to destroy your creampuff sooner or later," stated Kaiba confidently. "And in the meantime, even the God cards can't help you take down my Ultimate Dragon."
Yugi paused before drawing again, aware that this was essentially Kaiba bringing all his force out to bear. Win or lose, he had to admit he had never been pushed like this in a duel. Everything he had tried, his opponent had had an answer. Even Atem hadn't countered every strategy so perfectly.
If Yugi did manage to pull off the win here, he hoped that Kaiba had indeed changed enough to still appreciate what they had achieved here today as a duo.
With that, he pulled the top card off his deck, looked at it and then grinned.
"It hasn't taken a God card to beat your Ultimate Dragon in the past, Kaiba, and that isn't about to change now," he declared, tapping a button on his Duel Disk.
One of his facedown cards flipped up, and a sandstone tablet materialized before it, floating in mid-air. Carved into its face was the image of a robed man that looked suspiciously like a certain spellcaster that Yugi had already summoned multiple times throughout the duel.
"I activate Eternal Soul!" declared Yugi. "This is a continuous trap card that has multiple effects I can choose from each turn… And I'll choose the one that allows me to summon Dark Magician (2500/2100) from my graveyard!"
The etching on the tablet glowed blue, shooting out an orb of light from within which the purple-clad wizard appeared once again, snapping his staff out and glaring at the three-headed dragon across the field from him.
"Him again?" drawled Kaiba mockingly.
"Not just him, Kaiba," retorted Yugi. "I activate Polymerization, fusing Dark Magician with the Buster Blader in my hand to summon a monster I'm sure that you have no trouble remembering… the one and only Dark Paladin (2900/2400)!"
Kaiba's expression froze as the astral image of a knight clad in purple armor and brandishing a broadsword materialized next to the Dark Magician, before they were both sucked into a spinning purple and orange vortex behind them. From within it emerged a new form in the monster zone directly opposite the gigantic Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon.
It was human, dressed in dark teal armor that had lines of ivory blazing through it, interlaced with gold at times as well as emeralds that were set in its elbows, knees, and chest. Pale skin and thin gray hair were framed by a ridiculously elaborate wizard hat, which itself was flanked by sharp shoulder pads sticking out to either side. In its right hand, the new arrival loosely held a bladed staff, which itself was covered in patterns similar to the armor.
Kaiba simply stared at it.
This was it. The monster that the Pharaoh had used to defeat him at Battle City, and send him down the path that had ended in the space elevator.
The monster had had haunted his dreams for a long time after he lost.
Despite all that it represented, Kaiba felt a small smile growing across his face.
He had put all that behind him… or was in the process of doing so at least. He didn't need to defeat the Dark Paladin to slay his demons, he had long since realized that was not something that happened in the dueling arena.
That being said, it would still be satisfying to overcome the monster that was almost specifically designed to counter his deck, purely as a duelist. And as the math currently held, he saw no reason that he wouldn't.
"Nice little throwback, Yugi," he called out. "And it may well have given you the same result as last time if you hadn't gotten cute with Marshmallon. Because you see, as it stands, I have eleven dragons in my graveyard and one on my field. Since your Dark Paladin gains five hundred attack points for each, he's up six thousand, meaning he's still not powerful enough to defeat my Ultimate Dragon with Megamorph: which I wouldn't have been able to play if you hadn't lowered my life-points below yours with that lump of sugar." (Dark Paladin: 8900/2400)
Yugi nodded, the grin not leaving his face either.
"Your math is correct, Kaiba," he agreed. "I can change that particular calculation, however, by activating this…"
He slid a card into his Duel Disk, and a gravestone materialized on Yugi's field.
Kaiba's expression dropped as he recognized it.
"It's Foolish Burial, which allows me to send one monster from my deck to my graveyard," informed Yugi. He leafed through the handful of cards that remained in his deck slot, and finally held up one of them.
It was Gandora the Dragon of Destruction.
"So with a total of thirteen dragons now between our fields and graveyards, that strengthens my Dark Paladin just enough to edge out your Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, even with Megamorph," announced the spikey-haired duelist. As if to punctuate his point, the fusion let out a low growl as it glowed with purple energy (9400/2400).
Yugi pointed triumphantly at his opponent's monster.
"Dark Paladin, attack his Ultimate Dragon! Dragon Scepter Blade!"
The staff went up, and a crackling orb of lightning began to form around the bladed portion. One would have been forgiven for expecting the Paladin to then slash downward and in doing so fire the ball at the intended target, but this did not happen.
Instead, the orb continued to vibrate more and more, with shockwaves beginning to arc through the air off it. One of these waves, then another, sliced through the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, drawing a pained roar before its enormous heads began to fall to the ground, before it all exploded into pixels.
(Kaiba: 400, Yugi: 900)
The crowd was on their feet once again, seemingly of the opinion now that surely, surely the momentum in this duel had shifted for the last time.
Kaiba had blocked it all out. The stress of the moment was not reflected on his visage; his expression was clearly unreadable.
"Is there anything else?" he asked, his tone imperceptible.
Yugi glanced at his hand once more, having been somewhat caught up in the adrenaline of the moment himself.
"No, that'll be it for me."
Kaiba drew slowly, increasing his hand size to four. He glanced up at the looming Dark Paladin across the field, and in his mind's eye he saw a similar scene… One that had taken place at Battle City two years ago now, also with Dark Paladin across from him, but with the Pharaoh Atem standing behind it. The words, "I told you, your hatred and your lust for power would never prevail," left his mouth.
Kaiba blinked and looked down at his hand again.
Atem had been right, he thought. It had been a process, but he was clearly no longer that person, and had no desire to return to being such either.
Did that mean he would win the duel this time?
"This duel is not a measure of my ability to rise above my past," he said to himself firmly, checking that line of thought. "Even if I lose, it won't be because of I'm being driven by the wrong things. The result will be a measure of my skill, nothing more or less… And unfortunately, a little bit of luck too."
He looked up sourly at the crowd at that last part and saw Wheeler's head poking through, which then drew another wry smile from him.
Making a mental note to bring this moment of doubt up at his next appointment with Dr Watanabe, he pulled two cards out of his hand.
"All right, Yugi. I place these two cards facedown and end my turn."
Yugi drew, and in that moment, he noticed how dry his mouth was. The stress of the moment was an odd thing, because dueling on a stage like this when the fate of the world wasn't at stake, and instead was really just about the competition for its own sake, was quite an alien feeling.
"I wonder how Atem would react to a situation like this," he mused, gazing out at his opponent and the three facedown cards before him.
Normally, attacking into a back row of that size was always going to be a risky proposition… But the way Yugi saw it, he didn't have much of a choice. He was down to the last cards in his deck, meaning if he didn't go for the win now, he might not get another chance.
What was more, one of Kaiba's facedowns had already been on the field the last turn, and he hadn't activated it to protect his Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon… So it likely wasn't a danger now. As for the other two, well, if they were spells, Dark Paladin could negate them.
And even if they were traps that could destroy Dark Paladin, well, Yugi still had Eternal Soul didn't he?
Yes, it was still a risk, but one he knew he didn't have the option of not taking.
Mind made up, he pointed at Kaiba and fiercely exclaimed, "Dark Paladin… attack his life-points directly!"
The blade went up again, another ball of lightning forming around it. This time, however, Kaiba reacted.
"Not so fast, Yugi! I activate my facedown Attack Guidance Armor… This'll redirect your Dark Paladin's attack to Marshmallon!"
As he spoke, a large, mask-shaped metal piece of armor appeared out of nowhere, and fitted itself onto the puffy little monster. The eyes of the mask then glowed and it shot upward into mid-air, positioning itself in between Kaiba and the oncoming shockwave.
"That won't save you for more than one turn, Marshmallon can't be destroyed in battle and is in defense mode anyway," retorted Yugi.
"I don't need more than one turn," stated Kaiba smugly, tapping another button on his Duel Disk. "I'll also chain one more facedown… Defense Paralysis!"
Yugi's eyes widened as the card that Kaiba had set what felt like over half a dozen turns ago flipped face-up. It was a purple-bordered card depicting a knight holding up a shield, with a large white X over it. He immediately thought back to his last duel with Kaiba at Duelist Kingdom, and what this card's effect had been.
"That means-…"
"That all your face-up defense mode monsters are switched to attack mode, and you're now about to take over nine thousand points of damage," finished Kaiba swiftly. "Ergo… I win."
With the first shockwave literally a fraction of a second from reaching the captured Marshmallon, Yugi slid a card into his Duel Disk.
"It's not over yet, Kaiba!" he cried. "I activate Illusion Magic from my hand! This lets me sacrifice one spellcaster on my field in order to add up to two copies of Dark Magician from my graveyard or deck to my hand… And I'll tribute Dark Paladin to do this!"
As he spoke, the fusion winked out of existence, and with it the shockwaves generated by its attack, the first of which had just about reached its target and caused the armored mask to crack, which allowed Marshmallon to float back over to Yugi's field.
"With Dark Paladin gone from the field, there was no attack remaining for Attack Guidance Armor to be used for, meaning this duel is still going," stated Yugi.
A brief look of frustration crossed Kaiba's face, but then he closed his eyes and smiled as well as he said, "That was a similar combo to the one I used to bring down a certain God, and you still had an out. Impressively done."
"Thanks, Kaiba," chuckled his opponent. "And if you liked that, you're going to love this: I still have Eternal Soul active, and I can use its effect to summon Dark Magician (2500/2100) from my hand once again!"
Once again, the purple-robed wizard appeared on Yugi's field, his staff at the ready.
"And since it's still my battle phase, I can attack directly… I'm sorry, Kaiba, that was a brilliant move to make me get rid of my own Dark Paladin, but I still win… Dark Magic Attack!"
The mage raised his staff, purple energy growing at the tip, when Kaiba tapped a button on his Duel Disk again.
"Not happening! I activate my facedown trap Birthright! This is effectively Call of the Haunted but only for normal monsters… And I'll use it to once again summon my Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500) from the graveyard!"
Directly opposite its eternal rival once again appeared the timeless dragon, causing the Dark Magician to lower his staff and glance at Yugi questioningly, who frowned.
"All right. I'll go to my second main phase, where I switch Marshmallon to defense mode. That ends my turn."
Kaiba drew, bringing his hand size to three, which even for him was not that much fewer than the cards remaining in his deck, despite having drawn fewer cards than Yugi outside of his draw phases.
"I'll place one card facedown," he stated simply, then pointed at Yugi's mage.
"Blue-Eyes, attack his Dark Magician… White Lightning!"
Just as they had for five thousand years, the dragon and the wizard prepared to do battle once more. Blazing white energy left the former's jaws, washing over the latter and almost immediately completely consuming it, leaving Yugi's field bare but for Marshmallon, now looking even more out of place alone on the field with Blue-Eyes.
(Kaiba: 400, Yugi: 400)
"I end my turn," finished the CEO, his heartbeat quickening, aware that this duel was very likely to end soon, one way or another.
Yugi felt the same way as he drew one of the last cards in his deck, the adrenaline in his veins now surging once again. He glanced at his latest card and immediately looked up to meet his opponent's gaze.
"All right, Kaiba… You asked me to show you everything I had, well, here it is."
Kaiba cocked a half-smirk. "Well then, don't keep me waiting."
"Very well, then. First, I'll use Eternal Soul one more time to bring back my Dark Magician (2500/2100)!"
Once again, his greatest monster reappeared, standing in the same spot opposite its eternal rival as if it had never left.
"Then, I sacrifice Marshmallon to summon my one and only Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700)!"
The puffy creature vanished, and in its place appeared a young woman with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She was wearing a somewhat revealing blue and pink mage's dress and hat, while clutching a yellow staff in her right hand. She glanced over at the Dark Magician and smiled brightly, who in turn gave her a reassuring nod.
Kaiba simply looked, clenching his free hand so tightly it was a wonder he wasn't drawing blood.
"And Kaiba, here is my final card… and the one that's going to end this duel no matter what…! Ragnarok!"
If the crowd had been any closer, both duelists would have heard audible gasps from anyone who had been at attendance at the Battle City finals.
"Kaiba, I doubt you've forgotten what this card does," declared Yugi, as both Dark Magician and Dark Magician girl raised their respective staffs. It just so happened that the sun was about to set, meaning the duel was now taking place against a brilliant backdrop of an orangish-crimson sky that was also reflected in the ocean around them.
"When Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl are both on my field, I must then banish every monster in my hand, deck or graveyard in order to destroy every monster on your side of the field," he continued, as every monster he had played in the duel materialized on the field.
There were dozens: from King's, Queen's and Jack's Knights, to the various Gadgets, to Black Luster Soldier – Legendary Swordsman… and yes, even Slifer, Obelisk and Ra, their giant forms casting shadows once again over the rest of the field.
It was quite a sight, with a veritable army now arrayed on Yugi's field against the lone Blue-Eyes White Dragon on the other side.
"Ragnarok can't be negated and affects all monsters regardless of their immunities… Don't forget that it took down the Winged Dragon of Ra… Kaiba, it's over," Yugi finished definitively.
With that, Obelisk took a threatening step forward, and the collection of monsters took a step to follow him, with Dark Magician and his apprentice remaining on Yugi's side of the field.
Kaiba had been silent this whole time, his expression impervious. Finally, he broke out into a smirk, stating, "You're forgetting something, Yugi."
"What's that?" retorted Yugi suspiciously.
The army had now almost across the field, the Gods still at the helm. Obelisk had drawn his fist back…
"I still have Spell Sanctuary active," announced Kaiba. "Which means I can activate this facedown normal spell during your turn…"
He tapped a button on his Duel Disk, and Yugi's eyes widened as he saw the one facedown on Kaiba's field flip up.
Burst Stream of Destruction.
"I can only activate this when I have a Blue-Eyes White Dragon on the field, and at the cost of sacrificing its attack for the turn I can destroy all monsters on your field… I might not be able to negate Ragnarok directly, but by destroying your Magicians, I can ensure that its effect can no longer be fulfilled all the same!"
A mere second before Obelisk's fist was about to reach it, the Blue-Eyes parted its jaws, revealing a glowing ball of energy had been building up the whole time. With a roar, it fired not just a beam, but a wave of pure destructive power that blanketed the entirety of Yugi's field and covering every last one of the monsters brought out by Ragnarok.
Everything was obscured by this attack and the following explosion. It took a very tense moment until visibility was finally restored, which revealed a rather surprising result: one monster still remained on Yugi's field.
It was Dark Magician.
Kaiba raised a questioning eyebrow.
"Eternal Soul protects Dark Magician from any of your card effects," explained Yugi with a small smile.
Kaiba nodded, then waited expectantly. Yugi still had a card in his hand, after all.
Yet, he did… nothing. The two duelists just stood there in silence for a moment, the crowd waiting with baited breath as well.
Yugi's smile grew. "Well, that ends my turn, Kaiba."
That threw the CEO for a loop.
Yugi had no facedown cards, one card in his hand and only Dark Magician in play. He had already used Kuriboh too.
Why was he smiling?
"I think this duel fulfilled everyone's expectations and then some… and result aside, as a Duel Monsters fan first and foremost it's been an honor to be a part of it," said Yugi softly.
It began to dawn on Kaiba… Was this it?
"It's your move, Kaiba," finished his opponent.
He slowly drew, barely glancing at his newest card before gazing down the field back at his opponent and the Dark Magician.
The sun was still hanging on, if only barely. Dusk had well and truly set in.
The crowd was still silent. One could have heard a pin drop.
Finally, Kaiba called out the words, trying to keep his voice steady.
"Blue-Eyes, attack his Dark Magician."
The jaws parted one more time, and a final stream of energy was fired out across the field. The wizard raised his staff in one last attempt at defending himself, but it was for naught. The attack washed over him, causing a minor explosion and reducing him to nothingness one last time.
(Kaiba: 400, Yugi: 0)
Some in the crowd began to get to their feet, but no one seemed to dare to cheer yet. It seemed Yugi's reputation as a duelist was such that many refused to believe he had lost even with his life-points at zero.
This didn't change until Pegasus finally stood up and spoke into a mic.
"Ladies and gentleman… I believe we have a new King of Games."
What followed, to say the least, was bedlam.
The two duelists slowly made their way back to the beach with the crowd cheering at deafening levels. Upon arriving there, their respective supporters were waiting for them.
Mokuba practically bounded up to his brother, hugging him and crowing with happiness.
Yugi, meanwhile, got practically mobbed by his own friends, with Tea getting there first. She flung her arms around him and held on tight for a moment, before whispering in his ear, "That was incredible… You were incredible. I'm sorry it didn't go your way, but you've got nothing to be ashamed of."
Once she let go enough for Yugi to get some air, he just shook his head and smiled. "Tea, it's fine. We both gave it our all, he was just a little better today… And it's not like the fate of the world was at stake. Today was really just about the card game." He gestured first at her, and then broadly at everyone around them. "Besides, I'd like to think I've already won."
Tea welled up at this and pulled him into another tight embrace, which lasted until Joey got there as well and demanded she release his best friend.
Kaiba, meanwhile, was still somewhat dazed. He could vaguely hear Mokuba's chattering animatedly next to him, but he really wasn't processing it.
He realized Pegasus had walked up to him with an outstretched hand and a smile on his face. He took it, and heard the soft and sincere words, "My heartiest congratulations, Kaiba-boy. Very well deserved."
All of this was taking place against the backdrop of the crowd chanting, "Kaiba! Kaiba! Kaiba!"
The moment was unlike any Kaiba had experienced before. Genuine adulation was a new feeling to him, and he wasn't sure how it made him feel. A part of him was uncomfortable and just wanted to remove himself from the situation, but he simply continued to stand there a bit awkwardly, his face unreadable as Mokuba continued to practically bounce around him.
A few feet away, the crowd around Yugi had parted, and he walked over, smiling at the man that had just defeated him.
He held a hand out as well, and in that moment Kaiba seemed to come back to his senses and focus again.
Once more, the two didn't shake hands but instead clasped each other by the forearm as they had a few months ago before Kaiba had gone to confront Apep.
"He'd be proud of you," Yugi said simply.
Before Kaiba could respond, Pegasus had interrupted by speaking into a mic, announcing that he was hosting a post-tournament banquet back at the castle, and everyone with an invite should start making their way over.
"But before that, can we please get a picture with the finalists, their friends, and family?" he inquired, as a man with a camera and a tri-pod set up next to him.
Since Yugi and Kaiba were already standing next to each other, they remained in place in the middle. Tea drew up next to the former, grasping his hand, while Solomon and Tristan stood next to her. Mokuba was right next to his brother, with a smiling Serenity by his side. Joey had one arm around his sister, and the other on Mai's shoulder, both wearing easy smiles. Yugi beckoned over Pegasus, who seemed hesitant at first but finally took position next to Tristan.
Kaiba's face remained stoic, but at the last second allowed himself a small smile.
The shutter snapped...
And the image was immortalized.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
True to his word, Pegasus hosted most of the competitors from the round of thirty-two onwards, along with their friends and family, for dinner and drinks back at the castle. A few, such as Zigfried von Schroeder, chose not to attend, but that was a presence that few would miss.
Purely social events like this weren't something Kaiba really ever did in the past, but with Mokuba seemingly swept up in the moment, the CEO didn't have the heart to deny his brother.
In between courses, Pegasus made some extravagant toasts to the finalists that had Kaiba rolling his eyes. The older man was waxing lyrical about the legacy and future of Duel Monsters, and even made a somewhat hushed announcement about some upcoming monster type called Synchros that he asked all present to keep to themselves for now.
Kaiba had no idea what that was about. He was barely paying attention.
With the duel over, his mind was back on the foundation. Mokuba had twice caught him looking at emails under the table.
After a while, Kaiba couldn't take the combination of Pegasus' crooning words and just being in a room of these many chattering people any longer. He excused himself and left the banquet hall, walking out onto a nearby balcony.
Gazing out over the now moonlit ocean, he allowed himself to reflect on the events of the day and what it really meant to him.
The win felt good, of course, but he found himself wondering how he would have reacted to a loss. Certainly, better than in the past, but it was something worth discussing with Dr Watanabe.
Before he could get too deep into thought, he heard a soft voice call out behind him, "Excuse me, Mr Kaiba…"
He turned around, somewhat annoyed that his stolen moment of peace had been interrupt, to see a middle-aged man with black hair down to the base of his neck. He was dressed in a black leather jacket and beaten blue jeans.
"Yes?" growled the CEO.
"I'm sorry to intrude, I simply wanted to congratulate you on this victory."
"Well, thank you," grunted Kaiba in response, beginning to turn back around to signal the conversation was already over.
"And, if I may… I'm not just referring to the duel."
"What do you mean?"
"I want to congratulate you on your victory over everything that's held you back since you were a child. There may still be some work to do, but I'm confident you will get all the way there… And you already know this, but your parents would be proud of the man you've become," the man stated kindly.
Kaiba faced him fully. If anyone else besides Mokuba had ever brought up their parents, he would have exploded in anger. A part of him wanted to grab the man by the collar and demand to know who the hell he was, and what the hell gave him the right to comment on Kaiba's personal life and his dead parents.
Yet, there was another part of him that actually felt a bit drawn to the man. Those words seemed to have activated something inside him that made him feel like they had actually known each other a long time, and it was perfectly appropriate for the man to have some insight into the journey that life had taken him on.
Kaiba couldn't explain it at all. He couldn't place him at all, but something about the man's words just felt right. It was like he was hearing them from a grandfather he had never known.
His mouth moved on its own as he muttered, "Well, I don't know who you are or how you know my parents, but again, thank you I suppose, Mr…?"
"Takahashi. Kazuki Takahashi."
Kaiba glanced back at the reflection of the moon in the ocean, and began to speak, "Well, Mr Takahashi, I suppose-…"
And then, when he looked back, the man was gone.
Kaiba glanced around to see if he had retreated into a corner, and even walked back to check the indoors. Still nothing.
At that point, he simply just chuckled to himself. A few months ago he had fought a serpent God on the roof of his company's headquarters over the fate of the world: and his brother. Old men making mysterious statements to him and then disappearing was positively normal in comparison.
In that moment, Mokuba walked out of the hall too.
"Seto! What are you doing out here?"
"Just needed a break from Pegasus' nonsense," grunted Kaiba. "I'll be good soon."
"Well, come on back in then," chuckled Mokuba. "Our friends are waiting for you. Joey and Tea are having an argument about whether he or Yugi gave you a harder duel, and I think you're about the only one who can settle it."
Kaiba rolled his eyes but nodded. "Yeah, go on ahead. I'll be right behind you."
Mokuba began to walk away, but then called out over his shoulder in a mischievous tone, "So, you don't object?"
"Object to what?"
"Calling them friends."
"Shut up, little brother," growled Kaiba. This just drew a laugh from Mokuba as he walked back into the room.
Kaiba stood by the balcony, taking one more look out at the ocean before turning back around and following his brother back into the party with a smile.
No… No, he didn't object at all.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Rest in Peace, Kazuki Takahashi (1961-2022) and Akira Toriyama (1955-2024). Two heroes from our childhood who were taken too soon, but left us all with memories and lessons to last a lifetime.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Well, as you may have guessed, that really (finally!) is the end.
It gives me no shortage of amusement that I could've ended it at least three times before this, but it's finally time.
This final chapter is being uploaded almost exactly three years and three months to the day I started this story. It ended up taking a lot longer than I expected, but I think that helped in terms of quality, so it's a trade-off that I think everyone else will take too.
And the fact that I was able to make it fall on this particular date is pretty special too. I watched my first YuGiOh episode on December 26 2002… So, I'm really coming full circle in a lot of ways by finishing what I've always intended to be the definitive conclusion to the original series exactly 22 years later to the day.
It's the first story I've completed since 2008, so this is really quite emotional for me. As I've said, this story is a tribute to the entire original series as well as my childhood and the period of my life I invested so heavily into writing almost a million words on this site.
I've been on quite a personal journey these last few years and writing this has been a notable part of it. So writing these final words today was immensely satisfying.
Is this definitively the end of my fanfiction career?
Well, never say never, because if you told me in 2020 that I'd come back and write almost 30 chapters of YuGiOh again I'd call you crazy.
But if I ever do come back, I will need a serious itch to do so, and at the time of writing this I don't see that happening anytime soon, as I really did feel like I have said all I need to say with this story.
Any future writing also likely will not be hosted on this site given the way it seems to be breaking down. I have some ideas for Dragon Ball, which some of you know is even more important to me than YuGiOh, and if I ever pursue that I may try my hand at doing so on YouTube. Who knows, maybe I could become the next MasakoX.
I will, of course, reach out to my regulars if I ever host any works somewhere else and let you guys know about it. I will also obviously still maintain the account and check PMs regularly, so if anyone has questions or just wants to talk, I'm not going anywhere.
Now, as for this chapter itself, like I said, the outline of the duel had been in my head since 2012. I obviously updated it somewhat with newer cards, but the end was always going to come down to the iconic cards. In fact, I changed the final move three times in the process of writing.
At first, was going to have Dark Paladin as Yugi's final monster, and have Kaiba kill it with Crush Card before attacking directly with Blue-Eyes for game.
Then, I changed my mind to using Ragnarok, because I think the ending involving Blue-Eyes, Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl was something I just couldn't pass up, and the imagery surrounding Ragnarok's effect is just so cool. Still was gonna have Kaiba use Crush Card though.
Finally, changed it to Kaiba's final counter being Burst Stream because I just didn't think Crush Card fit the moment as well, as well as that he first used it during a duel that was a part of one of the worst moments of his life.
Oh, and the final life-point count was planned to. Given the first ever Yugi-Kaiba duel ended with the victor having 400 life-points left, I wanted this to end with the same scores, just reversed.
I do hope you guys were satisfied though. The final duel was easily the longest of the story at fifty-one turns. Not as long as some of my old Advent/Nightrise duels but I think it was still better than any of them.
As for the character stuff, I also wanted to show that Kaiba is changed and much more comfortable with himself, but it's still a work in progress, and you don't undo a lifetime worth of baggage with a few months of therapy. That being said, he will get there, and is already happier than he's likely ever been.
I halfway considered adding a final scene with a Kisara reincarnation, but I don't think that would have fit, and would've taken away from that last exchange between Mokuba and Seto that I thought of, frankly, years ago.
So yes, I suppose that really is all of it. Like I said, if you would like anything clarified, please reach out to me and I will happily answer.
Now, to review responses:
ChroniclerDL: Well, I hope you didn't actually put money on the result somewhere XD. I will admit I did halfway toy with letting Yugi sneak a win, but in the end, Kaiba winning was the outcome I envisioned over a decade ago, and I think he deserves it. Besides, I think he was still able to show character development: he enjoyed the win but in a very different way than he would have in the past. Thank you so much for sticking with this story from the start, and I hope the ending lived up to your expectations!
rivia10: You are correct, my friend, in that skill is a huge part of the game and it's not just about powerful cards. I made it a point to try and carry that over to this duel and I'm glad you were able to see it in my writing! You're right, they were very evenly matched, so it makes sense that the duel was very back and forth all the way through the end. You were also right that the end was going to be Dark Magician/Blue-Eyes focused haha, and I don't think anyone would've had it any other way.
Sincere thanks, once again, my friend, for the effort you've been putting into these reviews. Your passion really made it easier to finish this story.
Well, that is about it I suppose. We really are at the end, and there isn't much else left to say.
Thank you to all my readers, even the lurkers, for sticking with me through this journey.
Thank you to 7th Librarian for helping me flesh out the initial idea for the story before I started. If you guys want to read a good ongoing YuGiOh story on this site, he's your guy.
The journey is over, my friends. I hope you all had a blessed Christmas, and I wish you all the happiest 2025 ahead.
Ardee out.