Chapter 11.5
"Magic vs Machine"
It was still night out in the vast expanse of Death Valley. Twilight knew Yugi had to face the challenge laid out before him in the form of a message from one of the Swordsmen, Rafael, but had a bad feeling that it wouldn't end well. 'Please be careful, Yugi.' she thought. Suddenly, she saw a figure off in the distance. Knowing that the other girls who stayed behind to look after Professor Hawkins were inside the camper, she decided to investigate alone.
She followed the figure out to an open area and saw he was wearing a Chaos Disk on his arm. "Are you one of the Swordsmen?" she asked, suspiciously. The figure removed his hoodie and she saw, to her surprise, that it was Bandit Keith. "Glad to see you decided to follow me out here, princess." he said. "What's this about, Keith? Why do you have a Chaos Disk on your arm?" Twilight asked. "To be honest, I was hoping to duel against Joey, since me and that punk have a little grudge to settle from Duelist Kingdom, but I figured you might do. After all, Dartz is paying me well to bring in souls." Keith answered.
Twilight was shocked. "You're working with Dartz?! Since when did you become the attack dog for man who steals souls to feed a giant monster like the Great Leviathan?" she asked. "Only reason was because he saw that I was looking to get back at Joey. I saw him drive off with some other friends of his and yours, so I figured a little practice run might do me some good." Keith responded before activating his Chaos Disk.
"We don't have to do this." Twilight said, hoping to change Keith's mind. "Sorry, but I have a paycheck to bring in, whether or not its Joey's soul that covers it." Keith replied with a smirk. "If that's how you want it..." Twilight said before activating her Duel Disk. Soon, both players inserted their decks and their life points set to 4000. And with an equally determined 'Let's duel!' the game began.
"First turn honors are mine." Keith said before drawing. "I'll set a monster in defense mode and end my turn." he added. 'He's up to something, guess I'll find out soon enough.' Twilight thought before she drew. "I summon the Horn Imp in attack mode!" she declared before her creature appeared. "Attack his defensive monster!" she commanded. The attack landed, but it revealed the Cyber Jar. "Figured you'd fall for that one, you destroyed Cyber Jar, but it's gonna take your imp with it." Keith said before Cyber Jar exploded, taking Horn Imp down as well.
"Now we have to draw five cards and summon any level four or lower monster we draw." he added before they drew. "I summon Gradius and Oni Tank T-34 in attack mode!" he shouted before his new machines appeared. "In that case, Mystical Elf, Queen's Knight and Water Omotics in defense mode." Twilight replied before her three female defenders appeared. "I'll end my turn by setting this face down." she concluded. "Typical, using some magical beings instead of the raw power of future tech and robotics." Keith said before drawing.
"Well, time for me to give some REAL magic for a test run. I play, the Seal of Orichaclcos!" he shouted, bringing a look of shock to Twilight's face. "No!" she shouted, but it was no used as the seal quickly appeared on the field and encircled them. Soon, Bandit Keith's bandana flew off before the seal appeared on his forehead. "Dartz told me you might be familiar with this thing, so watch as my machines kick into a new gear!" Keith declared as Gradius' attack points increased to 1700 and Oni Tank's increased to 1900. "Next I'll activate the Mystical Space Typhoon!" he shouted a whirlwind came down and destroyed Twilight's set card, which was the Spellbinding Circle.
"Clever, you could've weakened either of my machines with that trap, but looks like that's not gonna happen. I tribute both Gradius and Oni Tank to summon Perfect Machine King!" he stated before his new robot appeared. "Thanks to my mechanical king's special ability, he gains not just 500 extra points from the Seal of Orichalcos, but it'll get an extra 500 for every other machine monster I summon to the field." he added before his machine king's attack points increased to 3200. "Now, Perfectly Ultimate Machine King, attack her Mystical Elf!" he commanded. With one rocket punch, the elf was destroyed.
"I'll end my turn there. But soon, my Machine King will be so strong, it can take you out with just one punch!" Keith concluded. 'I need to turn this around, fast!' Twilight thought before looking at her deck, tapping into the Heart of the Cards, and drawing just what she needed. "I'm afraid you'll have to put those plans on hold, Keith. I activate Swords of Revealing Light!" she shouted before the swords appeared and surrounded him and Perfect Machine King. "Now that you can't attack for three turns, I'll be able to boost my forces by summoning King's Knight!" she declared before her second Card Knight appeared.
"And I'm sure you might know this, since you seem like the gambling type, but when Queen's Knight and King's Knight are on the field, that allows me to automatically summon the third Card Knight to the field, Jack's Knight!" she added before her final Card Knight graced the battlefield. "I'll end my turn there for now." she concluded. "Three nights and a water girl, big deal." Keith said, unimpressed, before drawing.
"I summon Cyber Falcon!" he declared before the robotic bird appeared, now with 1900 points thanks to the Seal of Orichalcos. "And don't forget, now that my robotic pet bird is on the field, my Perfect Machine King gains 500 extra points." Keith pointed out before his machine king's attack points increased to 3700. "Only two more turns before the swords go away, then I can put you through the disassembly line!" he concluded.
'It's a classic battle of magic vs technology. Only this time technology is seen as evil, only because Keith is using a field spell that has the power to steal the soul of the loser.' Twilight thought before drawing. "I play the Zera Ritual spell card!" she declared. "What?! You can't be serious!" Keith shouted. "You might not be familiar, but you once had this kind of power, but allow me to remind you how it works. I offer both my Queen's Knight and King's Knight!" Twilight replied before her two Card Knights vanished.
"The offering has been accepted, and that allows me to summon forth, Zera the Mant!" she declared before her new, more powerful creature, appeared. "Next I'll summon Sangan to the field in defense mode to end my turn." she concluded before her three-eyed fur ball appeared. 'She has one of the more powerful ritual monsters in the game! No matter, I can't let her see me sweat.' Keith thought before drawing. "I summon Ground Attacker Bugroth!" he said aloud before his new machine appeared, now with 2000 attack points. "One more machine added to my arsenal, means 500 more attack points added to my Perfect Machine King!" he declared before his machine king's attack points increased to 4200.
"I'll end my turn there, but you'll be history in my next two turns." he concluded. "I wouldn't be so sure." Twilight replied before drawing. "I tribute Jack's Knight and Water Omotics to summon the ever famous and ever faithful, Dark Magician!" she declared before her ace monster appeared. "I'll end my turn with a face down." she concluded. "My move, then." Keith said before drawing. "Every king needs a knight, so I summon the Robotic Knight!" he declared before the Robotic Knight took to the battlefield, now with 2100 attack points.
"That's the final power boost my Perfect Machine King will ever need." he added before his machine king's attack points increased one last time, to 4700. "And now that my turn is done, your swords are also done." Keith added as the swords disappeared. 'Well, this is it. So here goes, well, everything.' Twilight thought before drawing. "I summon the Hysteric Fairy in defense mode!" she said aloud before her new monster appeared, ready to protect her. "That ends my turn." she concluded.
"Oh, that's more than the end of your turn, princess. It's the end for you!" Keith declared before drawing. "One attack from my machine king, and your soul will belong to Dartz." he added, but Twilight seemed ready. "Time to get paid. Perfect Machine King, attack the Dark Magician with Rocket Punch!" he commanded. But as the attack fired, Twilight smirked, catching Keith off-guard. "You sealed your own fate, Keith. You never should've played the Seal of Orichalcos." she said. "What are you talking about?!" Keith asked, a bit worried.
"Your attack activated this!" Twilight replied before it was revealed that she set a trap for him. "No! It can't be!" Keith shouted. "Yes, it can. My Magic Cylinder will save my Dark Magician by sending your Perfect Machine King's attack right back at you!" Twilight replied before the flying fist entered one cylinder and came out the other before striking a screaming Bandit Keith, who immediately lost ALL of his life points, ending the game in one powerful strike.
"No...impossible! How could I have been beaten by a girl?!" Keith shouted. "You underestimate what you're up against, Keith. And you gotten in WAY over your head when you signed up with Dartz." Twilight replied before the Seal closed in around Keith. "What?! No!" he shouted as he tried to get out of the seal, but the barrier prevented him. And so, Bandit Keith's soul was taken away, ripped from his body as he screamed in horror.
"You had your chance, Bandit Keith." Twilight said as she propped up his body and set him up against a rock wall. "But now you see that things often don't go right when you meddle in things that you don't understand." she added before walking away. 'I wonder, what's going on in Equestria right now?' she thought as she walked back. Suddenly, she stopped and saw what looked to be Princess Luna speaking to her as a face on the moon.
"Princess Luna?" she said, curiously. "Twilight, I have an urgent message for you from my sisters. Those tablets, they're glowing." Luna said. Twilight was puzzled. "Is anything coming out of them?" she asked. "Partly transparent creatures, creatures you know in the world you're currently in as Duel Monsters." Luna answered. "Oh, no. This could be the doing of the Great Leviathan." Twilight said, worried. "Great what?" Luna asked.
"A creature that absorbs the souls of both humans and Duel Monsters." Twilight explained. "If that's what you've been battling against, I fear that if this Great Leviathan senses the presence of Duel Monsters in our world, he'll come and start to attack, absorbing the souls of both the monsters and possibly all the ponies of Equestria. In the meantime, me, Candice and my sister will try to figure out what to do about these Duel Monsters. They currently show no signs of hostility, but I'm not sure how long that will last." Luna replied.
"Please, be safe, Luna. You, Celestia, my sister-in-law, everyone." Twilight said. "We will, Twilight. Same to you and your friends, and good luck." Luna replied before fading away. 'Is this really the doing of the Great Leviathan? Or is it someone else, like that strange hooded figure me and Fluttershy saw in that vision of Egypt from when Yami was alive?' Twilight wondered, unsure of what fate would befall her home land and the world she was in at that moment.