Hey everyone.
Been a stressful month, I must say – for obvious reasons, I guess. So, I put a lot of effort into this next chapter. As I've said before, this writing is something that has long kept me from going off the deep end.
Still, I'm doing well, considering. Some friends of mine are planning to come over and watch 80s horror movies on Halloween, a holiday I always hope to get through without gaining weight.
So, here's the next chapter. Everyone stay warm, and stay safe.
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Chapter Fifteen
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He Saw Room to Expand
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Right now, my record in this tournament was… perfect, actually. Three wins, no losses, and three Blockbuster cards collected. So, I guess it was my fault for getting overconfident in this one.
My opponent - whose name I hadn't gotten yet - seemed to be using Charmers, an unorthodox and outdated deck strategy, but he had somehow managed to perfect it.
I currently had White Dragon Wyverburster in set Defense Mode - it wasn't a monster you commonly set. In fact, it was impossible for me to set it myself, he had used his Sol and Luna Trap Card to flip it into set position while flipping his Dark Charmer into face up position (1,500 DEF), using its effect to seize control of my Tri-Horned Dragon! (2,850 ATK)
I still had the Tricky, however (2,000 ATK), and it was still my Battle Phase, so I had one other option.
(Terone: 8,000) - - - - - - (? ? ?: 6,650)
"Attack Dharc the Dark Charmer! Spheroid Spiral!"
If I remembered correctly, a Charmer's control over a brainwashed monster only lasted so long as the Charmer remained on the field. The Tricky nodded to me, and held his hands forward, shooting spiraling, colored ribbons from the palms towards Dharc. Unfortunately, while Dharc recoiled from the foam that drenched him, it seemed ineffective otherwise.
"Unpossessed also prevents Charmers from being destroyed by battle."
"Of…. course." I took one more card from my hand, setting it behind the Tricky. Focus, Terone, focus, I thought to myself. "That's my turn. Go on."
"Then I draw one card, and then flip Familiar-Possessed Aussa."
The card he had indicated was the one he had gained the turn he had activated that Unpossessed card - I couldn't quite remember, which Attribute was Aussa?
Then she appeared, and I remembered, she was Earth. A young bespectacled girl with short, light green hair, a loose shirt of the same color, brown shorts, boots, and a cloak. Kind of what Harry Potter might have looked like if he was a she, now that I think about it. Hovering behind her was her Familiar, an odd animal that combined the features of a bat and a large squirrel - the Nefarious Archfiend Eater of Nefariousness. (1,850 ATK)
Does that mean it's an Archfiend, or that it eats Archfiends? I thought. Or both?
I didn't get time to consider that, as he was summoning another monster. "I call to the field, Magical Exemplar."
It was yet another Spellcaster, a grim-looking young woman with long, straight hair, a golden tiara and matching necklace, and a lime-green long coat covered with odd magical sigils. (1,700 ATK)
"Any reason why all of your monsters are girls?"
"What are you implying?"
"Ah, nothing…"
He nodded to Aussa, who adjusted her glasses, and then brandished her staff as she started charging up her magic.
"Aussa now attacks your set White Dragon Wyverburster, and due to the final effect of Unpossessed, all Charmers gain 800 Attack Points during my Battle Phase."
Damn, that Trap is a Charmer's Swiss army knife!
Aussa swung downward, and a tremor crashed towards my side, her Score rising to 2,650, right before sharp stalagmites thrust out of the ground and impaled Wyverbuster's card.
"And now, Tri-Horned Dragon… Destroy the Tricky!"
"That's my cue!" I shouted. "Tricky Spell 4!"
As my Quickplay Spell went up, Tricky formed a fist with his right hand and started hitting the palm of his left. "One potato," he chanted. "Two potato, three potato… FOUR!"
With the fourth punch, he burst into stars and moons, and then four duplicates of himself appeared, all four kneeling in Defense Mode. (1,200 DEF x4)
"Four Trickys?"
"Tricky Tokens, actually, this Spell lets me summon one for every monster you have, and that's four."
"Four times the laughs, four times the fun!" said all four of them in unison.
Of course, this didn't stop Tri-Horned Dragon's attack, its claws rending through one of the Tokens and tearing it in half. Magical Exemplar went next, her eyes glowing as she pointed upward, and a bolt of lightning crashed down, vaporizing a second one.
"Seems half of your defense is gone. I set two cards facedown, and it is your move."
"In that case, tough guy." I drew, then played a card. "I'll just have to go on offense, with the Tuner Monster, Magna Drago!"
A small, red, fiery, almost cute Dragon, about the size of a large dog leapt onto the field. It made a playful hooting noise, coughing up a ball of smoke. (1,200 ATK)
"So, I'll Tune together a Level 5 Tricky Token with my Level 2 Magna Drago…"
"With burning breath hotter napalm and a bellow that hits like a wrecking ball, a Dragon that mows down everything in its path with the force of thousand pounds of TNT! A destructive wave of pure force appears!"
The Dragon and Spellcaster flew upward, to the top of the chamber, fading into seven glowing stars that spiraled into a ring.
"I Synchro Summon… Exploder Dragonwing!"
The Dragon appearing this time had gray, pebbly skin and bat-like, leathery wings. It stood upright, but hunched over, with large, clawed hands on skeletal-thin arms. (2,400 ATK)
"When this monster makes an attack, I can forego the damage step, so long as its Attack Score is higher."
"Then that means –"
"You got it, this doesn't count as destroyed by battle, so let's try this again."
I pointed to Dharc, and flames started to burn in Exploder Dragonwing's mouth. However, it seemed this guy was still full of surprises.
"I activate the Trap Card, Spiritual Dark Art." A magic circle formed around Tri-Horned Dragon, and it growled a little, an odd symbol (kanji for "Dark", I believe) appeared on its chest, and it dissolved into shadowy pixels. "By sacrificing a Dark Monster, I can draw twice – unless you reveal a Spell from your hand."
Boy, this guy is good. I didn't have any, so I just shook my head, and he made his two draws. But… Because this had caused a replay, I now had another option here…
"Change of plans! Attack Familiar-Possessed Aussa!"
I had actually only used this Synchro once before, and Exploder Dragonwing exhaled a superheated stream of fire mixed with acid, and Aussa screamed. My opponent finally reacted, covering himself as the explosion shook the whole room. Her staff and broken glasses, both smoldering, were left, but they slowly disintegrated.
"Uh, uhm…" I continued, "like I said, no Damage Step, but it deals damage equal to the destroyed monster's Attack Points."
(T: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (? ? ?: 4,800)
"You are indeed quite skilled."
"Uhm, thank you."
"Be that as it may, the other effect Unpossessed activates no matter how a monster is destroyed."
Damn, I thought. I assumed he was going to use that effect to set another copy of Dharc, and there was nothing I could do right now except end my turn…
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Seems I must now reluctantly lapse into something that writers call an "expository flashback". (Hey, I'm on the clock here!)
Way back when I was in the middle of that duel with Monty (I believe it was three days previous to this one) Hunter (whom you've met already) was in the middle of his first duel of the tournament. I don't believe this was the first duel of the tournament overall, he'd have definitely let me know if it had been, but he did have a far larger audience than my first duel had, being in the center of Lambeth Marsh.
His opponent was someone who would likely stand out in such a venue. Lorenzo was a tall man with a boyish face, a pompadour hairstyle (he likely went through about three cans of hairspray a week) with skinny jeans and a leather jacket with no shirt. He has quite a lot of chest hair (a lot of folks who knew him claimed he used spray on that too) and gold chains (probably not real gold). Again, I can't hold all that against him, but for the moment, he wasn't doing very well.
"DAMMIT!" he shouted, cowering as an assault from Hunter's monster - a female Warrior in an overcoat, armed with the Fusion Sword Murasame Blade - cut through his largest one, causing it to burst into slime that splattered on his outfit. "Oh, gross."
"Next, I activate… Shrink!" declared Hunter. Using the card caused one of Lorenzo's other two monsters - Nanobreaker- to reduce in size, and Dark Scorpion - Chick the Yellow followed through with the next assault, smashing her to bits with his mallet.
"Chick's effect activates when he deals damage and sends one of your cards from the field to your hand."
"Crap not again…" Lorenzo looked up at his last monster, B.E.S. Covered Core; Chick pointed to it, and it was drawn into a vortex and disappeared.
Hunter still had one monster left; Meanae the Thorn made a leap, slashing her whip downward and knocking Lorenzo over; it was only 1,000 Life Points worth, but that was all he had.
"Ugh." He rubbed his head and looked up, Hunter's monsters fading away.
"Guess that's Game Over, Lorenzo," said Hunter.
"Yeah, yeah, rub it in, why dontcha." He took the card from his Duel Disk's Graveyard and tossed it to Hunter. "Was crampin' my style anyway."
Lorenzo really shouldn't have boasted about what this card could do where Hunter could hear him, as Hunter was certain it wouldn't cramp his…
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My opponent drew once, and then I nervously watched him flip the newly set monster into Attack Mode.
"I flip-summon Lyna the Light Charmer."
Say what?
This was, indeed, Lyna, another young girl, far cheerier than the sullen Dharc. She had a mop of short, white hair, a blouse and short-skirt combination, and the same cloak, boots, and belts as the others. Her familiar was the Happy Lover, a smiling golden ball with feathered wings. (500 ATK)
"Then, I activate the Trap Card, Spiritual Light Art," he continued, and Lyna vanished. "By sacrificing a Light Monster, I can Special Summon a banished monster, unless you can reveal a Trap Card from your hand."
Again, I shook my head, as I didn't have one of those either. I was annoyed, however, to see that he summoned Chaos Witch (as in, my Chaos Witch) who knelt in Defense Mode. (1,500 DEF) Magical Exemplar knelt in Defense Mode too. "I will end with one card facedown. You may proceed, Mr. Brickman."
I drew - Damn, now I get a Spell Card, I thought. But at least it was a very useful one. In fact, it was the same one that had made a big difference in that duel with Cindy and was still useful now.
The Pot of Extravagance appeared again, and absorbed Iron Chain Dragon, Metal Dragoon, Kachi Kochi Dragon, Darkfire Dragon, Coral Dragon, and Black Brutdrago. In my gut, I figured I would regret this, but not using it would be more of a risk. I put the banished cards in my coat jacket, and then took the two cards from the Pot's golden face.
…no regrets whatsoever.
"Starry, starry night…
"Paint your palette blue and gray
"Look out on a summer's day…
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul…
"Shadows on the hills…
Sketch the trees and the daffodils…
Catch the breeze and the winter chills…
In colors on the snowy linen land…
"What are you blathering about?"
"Uh, it's a song. It -"
"I know it's a song, this is hardly the time or the place."
"Uh, it's called 'setting the mood'." My Trap Card, Call of the Haunted activated,
I activated my facedown card, Call of the Haunted, and Sangan appeared, chittering happily. (1,000 ATK)
"I'll show you - I'll sacrifice Sangan and my last Tricky Token -"
"And AWAY we go!" said the Tricky. He made a dramatic bow, then disappeared along with Sangan.
"First, I'll use his effect to gain a monster with a low Attack Score, and then, I can summon… Starry Night, Starry Dragon!"
Playing the card bathed the whole chamber in soft light, the walls and ceiling falling away to a night sky with the full moon overhead. A beautiful Dragon sculpted out of moonbeams with silver scales that shimmered with starshine. (2,500 ATK)
"Simply by summoning him, I can destroy one card on the field, so… My apologies, Chaos Witch."
She didn't respond but turned to my opponent with a dirty look - then she was vaporized by a bolt of energy from Starry Dragon."
"I can still make a normal attack with him, but before we get to that… Exploder Dragonwing, destroy Exemplar Magician!"
Again, the Dragon's powerful attack caused the duelist behind her to cringe and shield himself with his arm from the explosion as Exemplar was eradicated.
(T: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (? ? ?: 3,100)
"Now it's time for Starry Night, Starry Dragon to strut his stuff, and the first time he attacks a monster, he banishes it until the end of the turn."
"Then that means…"
"That's right, it doesn't count as destroyed, and the best part is, after doing that, he can attack a second time!
"So, attack! Shimmering Star Strike!"
Starry Dragon focused on the Dark Charmer, and a powerful blast of moonlight shot from its jaws. Dharc covered his eyes, and was overwhelmed by the light, disappearing without a trace.
"And now… Attack Directly! Surging Star Strike!"
"I activate the Trap Card, Dimensional Wall."
"Huh, you -"
Before I could even start to figure out what this meant, his Trap lifted, and a dark portal opened in front of him, absorbing the blast from Starry Dragon, and then a second portal opened above him, and the same blast came out of it - in the opposite direction.
"GAH!"
(T: 5,500) - - - - - - - - - - (? ? ?: 3,100)
"Cheap shot…" I muttered. "I'll… I'll end there."
Dharc reappeared in the same spot (1,500 DEF) but at least he was down to one monster - I could win this on my next turn, barring any weird surprises.
"Indeed." He drew. "I activate the Spell Card, Magicalized Fusion."
First weird surprise. I had never heard of that Spell Card. I was about to ask, but he gave me the answer before I could.
"This Spell enables a summon of a Spellcaster Monster by banishing the materials from my field or Graveyard."
"So, it's like Dragon's Mirror for Spellcasters?"
"Indeed, and for this Fusion Summon, I must fuse five Spellcasters with different names."
Now it made perfect sense why he didn't use that effect last time to summon a second Dharc. As I struggled to think of a Fusion Monster with such a requirement, four Spellcasters - Aussa, Lyna, Eda, and Exemplar - appeared, two to each side of him, and then they and Dharc dissolved into multicolored orbs, that arranged into a circle, spun around a few times, and then lay flat on the floor, turning into a pentagram of blue flames.
As a shadowy shape started to rise out of the pentagram, I assumed this was going to be the nastiest - and most awesome - Spellcaster I had ever seen. And as painful as it would be, it didn't disappoint on both.
This Spellcaster seemed to be what the famed Dark Magician would be if he were a… "jock", that's the best word I could think of. He was a little over six feet tall and built, far more muscular than the ace card of the King of Games. He had long blonde hair, and his face looked "fugly", much tougher and more menacing than the Dark Magician's gentle face. The outfit was a similar style, except the hat was shorter, and the outfit more form fitting. Still, despite the deviation from the norm, the aura of magic around him was unmistakable - he reeked of it. He produced a staff topped with a spindle-shaped emerald and dramatically pointed it forward, and four rings of magical energy, each etched with runes, appeared in the air around him. (4,500 ATK)
"Forty-five hundred?" This was as strong as Kaiba's Ultimate Dragon!
"Not only is Quintet Magician unmatched in raw power among Spellcasters but summoning him destroys every card you control!"
Oh, shit…
"Eldritch Conflagration!"
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Hey, expository flashback time again, but only about six hours this time.
For someone so fond of video games as I am, you would think I'd heard of Five Nights at Freddy's. Truth is, I hadn't heard about that franchise until someone mentioned it about three years ago. He told me it was what Resident Evil would be like if it took place in a Wacky Warehouse. (For those in the States who've never heard of that, it's the same idea as Chuck-E-Cheese.) He didn't have to say more, seeing as I thought Wacky Warehouse was evil enough without monsters in it.
If you are a parent or someone who works as a babysitter, you know what places like this are like, fun for the typical hyperactive ten-year-old, but absolute Hell for adults. These are indoor entertainment systems that include video games and carnival-style booths, all of which make a lot of noise, plus really bad pizza, hamburgers, and other kid-friendly food.
Pandora's Box was a chain of fast food restaurants that had risen over the past few decades that had recently expanded and opened a few places like this; the one in Heathrow had gone even further than most, the attractions including a bowling alley, air hockey, and karaoke. The food available showed more variety than most places like this, having stuff like fish and chips and sushi, but still not very good.
The biggest draw, however, was the video games. I do not believe the arcade games like these are easy to find outside of Japan, but it seemed many of them were new takes on old classics, with VR holographic technology very similar to that of KaibaCorp. (If Kaiba did own whatever company made them, I wouldn't put it past him.) Games like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and even Space Invaders had been upgraded into 3D first person multiplayer or POV and beyond, available for any young partygoers whose parents had a major credit card and a lot of patience.
Not that it was difficult for some adults to become addicted to them too, though Lorenzo had been hooked on them long before the place had opened. Especially Gradius.
Right now, the game he was playing was called Gradius: Hyperwave, a three-dimensional cockpit game reenactment of the famous side-scroller. The player had to maneuver over a wide variety of alien terrains, avoiding obstacles while fighting familiar enemies (like the Moai and the fire serpents), eventually fighting a huge boss at the end of each level. It was his way of blowing off steam.
At least I can still kick ass here, he thought.
"Lorenzo Carbonni?" said a voice.
"Who wants to…" he started. Then he stopped when he saw the woman who had spoken. "...know?"
The sound of an explosion on the screen in front of him indicated his craft had slammed into a mountain.
"DAMMIT!" he shouted. While he was upset that it happened, he was even more upset (and embarrassed) that he had made a rookie mistake. Regardless, the 'Game Over' message was on the screen, along with a countdown that indicated he had thirty seconds to continue the game - well, more like twenty now.
As he went to his pockets, Hephzibah leaned over and said, "My apologies, allow me" and did it for him, placing a coin in the slot.
Lorenzo was shocked. Of all the times he had come here, nobody had ever offered to give him a credit. He was even more surprised to see he now had three credits - that had been a £2 coin. He looked at her for a minute, wondering why they'd even let her in a place like this dressed like were kids around, after all.
Well, usually there were. The place did seem kind of empty today…
He resumed playing, trying to keep an eye on the strange woman as best he could. After she silently watched him for a minute or so, she took a seat on the console next to his, and said, "Mind if I join you?"
"Uh, sure, sure, sure," he said. "That's uh, that's what it's there for…"
He didn't know how to answer such a request - nobody in this place ever asked permission to enter a multiplayer game; he didn't know anyone who would object. Hephzibah only took a few seconds to select her character, and her choice - the Jade Knight craft - seemed just as surprising to Lorenzo. The shiny green fighter craft was the "Magikarp" of this game; a player using it could potentially collect enough Options to have the most powerful fighter, but it started out as the weakest.
"I saw your duel with Mr. Rian," she said. "It was… interesting."
"You cannot be serious, lady, everyone else said it was terrible."
"It was. But it was still interesting." She went quiet again for a minute or so. Jade Knight tore through a large mob of Moai interceptors, grabbing an Option.
"In fact, I'd say it wasn't your best duel, but then, it comes awfully close. It does seem you're in something of a slump lately."
Lorenzo rolled his eyes. "Okay, who put you up to this?"
"We have a colleague in common."
"Oh really?" Lorenzo was a little annoyed now, as he quickly made a guess on who she meant. "Listen lady, you can tell Old Fred that if he wants to tell me something he can come here and tell it to my - Aw, crap!" Again, the sound of an explosion on the screen indicated he had just lost one of those three bonus turns.
"You know, Mr. Carbonni, I understand the allure of these games. Everyone who has had a hard day at work knows how gratifying it is to come home, get behind the controls of a jet fighter and blast the living hell out of these space monsters. Acts of simulated genocide do wonders for stress."
He didn't know if she was being sarcastic or not, but he wasn't going to argue. She was right after all.
"Still, not much reward for it. Defeat one boss, and there's always another behind it, and then another, in a game that rarely even has much plot to it. It gets to the point where you continue simply because you want to see which level and which enemy comes after the strongest that you bested, and then the strongest after that."
The Jade Knight grabbed two more Options, dodging past two more Moai, and the music from the game changed to an ominous tone as the boss of the level, a huge mud-monster, rose out of the swampy surface. She shifted her grip on the controller, switching to the secondary fire button, and the craft switched from its small bullets to larger missiles. The missiles were slower than the bullets had been, but upon striking the enormous monster, they did far more damage. Eventually, hitting the left shoulder enough tore the creature's arm off, and then a second barrage did the same to the right. Several more missiles hit the center of the goliath's torso, causing it to crash and explode.
Stage Three Clear
Bonus: 7,500,000
Lorenzo couldn't believe it. The bonus points rapidly counted down, adding to Hephzibah's total score, which at the moment was higher for that stage than it was for his cumulative three stages.
"Problem is, once you get to the end of the game, assuming there is one, there isn't much left other than getting to put your name on the high score board for everyone to see. I suppose that's the goal of everyone who becomes enthralled by these devices, the reason they feed it coins until they are broke."
"Is there a point to all this?"
"I have gone over your career, Mr. Lorenzo. About the extracurricular activities you went through at the Duel Academy… Unorthodox religious studies and tarot cards, I believe."
"Always someone to remind you about the dumb things you did when you were young," he said under his breath.
"All about recognition and prestige, it's all you folks strive for, isn't it?"
"Look lady, I appreciate the effort here, but if this is your attempt to give me a pep talk, it ain't going to work. The Blockbuster thing was… a bust, so I'm heading out of town this weekend, thinking about going to the NFX expo in Copenhagen. Stick with what you're good at, I always say."
"Oh yes, the world premiere of Crimson Chaos: Dark Ascension. Assuming they decided to stay with the working title. You intend to break your contract and buy an airline ticket in order to apply for a tournament focusing on a multiplayer fighting game that has not yet been released to the public on the assumption you might be good at it? Not the best career path I would say."
Lorenzo looked a little sullen. That has crossed his mind once or twice.
"To answer your question, I didn't mean your boss, I meant his boss. Someone who thinks you might have more potential. All you needed was the right card, which that card was not."
"Hey, you ain't going to get much argument from me there lady, that card he gave me was nothing but eye candy. But you know what they say. Beggars can't be choosers."
"Then perhaps your deck would do better with something with more nutritional value…"
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"WHAT?"
"Uhm…" I said. Quintet Magician's effect could best be compared to a very small nuke. It seemed the whole chamber had been engulfed in a blast furnace. But… While Exploder Dragonwing was gone, Starry Dragon had somehow survived. It looked at me with a sullen smirk.
"I, uh…" I started. "Oh, did I mention this monster can't be destroyed by Dark monsters? Heh… Silly me."
"You show quite a bit of resourcefulness as a player, Mr. Brickman. Either that or quite a bit of dumb luck. I set one card, and then my monster attacks!"
The hulking Spellcaster lifted his staff and more of those odd rings appeared. He pointed forward, and the rings turned into razor sharp rotary blades, plowing into Starry Dragon. He withstood it, but I was in much worse shape.
(T: 3,500) - - - - - - - - - - (? ? ?: 3,100)
"It is your move."
I wasn't about to tell him, but it had been far more a case of luck than "resourcefulness".
I drew a card, then looked at the monster I had drawn. I thought for a minute. This wasn't the strongest monster I had, but its Attack Score was at least higher than 600. I could Normal Summon it, make an attack with Starry Dragon, use the effect to banish Quintet Magician, and let him have it with both attacks…
I looked at it again. A gnawing feeling in my gut was telling me that maybe it was time to be "resourceful". I set it instead, and then…
"Starry Dragon, attack Quintet Magician!"
"I activate the Spell Card, Book of Moon!"
Seemed my gut had the right idea there, and this wasn't unexpected, given how many Flip Monsters he had. The card's effect caused Starry Dragon to disappear, replaced by a set card.
"End," I said, sullenly.
He drew, then announced, "I summon Familiar-Possessed Hiita!"
This one I had seen before, as the card was far more common among pros, and one of the few attack-oriented low-Level Fire monsters. Hiita was a tall girl with fiery red hair, her familiar being a vicious, flaming fox. (1,850 ATK)
"Don't forget, Mr. Brickman, my Trap Card grants Charmers an 800 point bonus to their Score. ATTACK! Destroy him! Flaming Purge!"
Hiita spun her staff in a circular arc, with flames surrounding her as her eyes became fiery red. She thrust forward, causing a flaming whammy to home in on the now-set Starry Night Starry Dragon, who appeared in a defensive stance before shattering like glass.
It had been hard to watch, but at least I was safe for now. Quintet Magician powered up his attack, aiming at the monster I had intentionally set…
But it wasn't what he expected. An elf-warrior in a green jacket and helmet appeared, and with a swing of his weapon, swatted aside the spinning magical projectiles.
"What…"
"Obnoxious Celtic Guardian," I said, smugly. (1,200 DEF) "He may not be all too strong, but he can't be destroyed by attacks from monsters that have 1,900 Attack Points or more. Your monster is over twice that strong!"
"Take… your… turn…" he growled, sounding angry now.
I did so and set one more monster.
"Go on…" I said, cajoling him. He made a draw, and I could see his frustration. "That 800 point boost for your Charmers doesn't seem like such a boon now, does it?"
"You know, Mr. Brickman, you are starting to annoy me."
"Then I'm doing a good job there, Tinkerbell."
"The name is Burt, for your information, and furthermore, I… What's so funny?"
"Ah, nothing, nothing!"
Truthfully, I thought the name "Burt" was rather… lame, but I wasn't going to say anything while trolling your opponent in this game was accepted - and often encouraged - there were limits.
"Quintet Magician can still attack your other monster!"
Unfortunately for him, that is what I wanted him to do. As the Spellcaster readied his powerful attack, the monster appeared on the set card, a gypsy fortune teller with crimson robes and a turban, a blue cape, sash, and veil. Briefly, her right eye twinkled, and then the powerful Spell blew her to shards.
"Crystal Seer has a Flip Effect too. I get to take the first two cards from my deck, then take one."
I quickly excavated the two cards - it seemed I wasn't out of luck yet. Making my choice quickly, I said, "Anything else?"
"Yes. I activate the Spell Card, Trade-In. I will discard this Level 8 monster and then draw twice."
I wasn't exactly sure right now what the card he discarded was, though it reminded me of Prophecy Destroyer, a card I used occasionally when I used the Spellbook deck. Didn't think much of it at the time.
He set one card, and said, "I am done for now."
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The Gradius cabinet was back on the demo screen. This may have been the first time in his life he decided not to finish a game, but this was too much to wait.
The card Hephzibah had given him certainly did seem like it would fit his deck more than that last one. But still, this was very suspicious.
"So, you're giving me a second one? Ain't that cheatin'?"
No, it's favoritism, if you must put it in such a prosaic term.
That he could understand. He had known a lot of duelists who were given favoritism by the folks at the top, who had bent the rules in their favor. Still, it usually (well, always) wasn't given to him.
"Gotta be a catch. You want me to duel someone right?"
"Correct. Two people in fact. And the first…" She lifted her right arm, and a Duel Disk - which Lorenzo could swear was not there a minute ago, "...is me…"
As suspicious as he was about this strange woman, Lorenzo wasn't the type to back down, and like any pro worthy of that title, he always had his Duel Disk at hand.
Hephzibah nodded. "Consider this a personal training seminar," she purred.
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I drew a new card, then put it and two others in my Spell Zone. Then, I played one of my remaining two, and Bandit Dragon appeared next to Obnoxious Celtic Guardian. (1,600 ATK)
I had one card left, and this was the coup de grace. "I Special Summon… Trap Eater! Give you one guess what his favorite snack food is."
To Burt's surprise, a purple demon with a big mouth and… Well, mostly it was a big mouth. Sure, it had big, pale eyes and short horns, but it was hard to notice anything other than its huge mouth. With a loud "CHOMP!" It bit down on the Unpossessed card and swallowed it. It looked at Burt with a big grin, and then flew back to my side of the field. (1,900 ATK)
That was one problem out of my way, but I was hardly done. "Okay everyone, time to bring them all together."
They nodded to me, and the Overlay Network opened, the Dragon, Warrior, and Fiend turning into orbs of light that spiraled into the vortex above. A flash of light followed, and Link, Guardian of Hyrule leapt from the portal, brandishing his shimmering blade. (2,300 ATK)
"Impressive. But it won't work."
"Oh, I'm just getting to the good part. I'll use his effect, and equip… The Moon Mirror Shield!"
I discarded Trap Eater's card, and Link lifted his left arm, his crest-shaped shield disappearing and then replaced by a disk-shaped shield that seemed made of gold, surrounded by a silver, ridged frame.
"This Equip Spell makes Link unbeatable in a head-to-head battle, literally, because it will change his Attack Score to 100 more than whoever he's battling. I'll admit, your monster is a lot handsomer than old Ganondorf…" Link leapt at Quintet Magician, drawing his sword in mid-air. "...but he's going down now!"
The Guardian of Hyrule's Attack Score soared, all the way up to 4,600, and made a powerful swipe, clear across Quintet Magician's torso. As he landed, the Fused Spellcaster collapsed to his knees, and finally burst into an explosion of multicolored flames.
(T: 3,500) - - - - - - - - - - (Burt: 3,000)
"Seems it worked to me! High five!" Link did a backflip back to my side of the field, and by now, it seemed perfectly normal for him to comply, responding to my open hand with a slap of victory.
"I activate the Trap Card, Axiomatic Retribution!"
"Wait, huh… What does… what does that do?"
"I did not say your Warrior could not defeat Quintet Magician, I told you his attack would not work. The Spell Card Axiomatic Retribution activates when my high-Level Spellcaster, Warrior, or Fiend is destroyed. I can then banish that monster from my Graveyard and sacrifice one of the same Type from the field -" I looked over towards Hiita; she crossed her arms, bowed her head, and then vanished in a plume of fire and smoke. "-and then summon a high-Level monster of one of the other two Types from the Graveyard."
Suddenly, I remembered something… Prophecy Destroyer is a Level 6 monster…
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And… We'll end it there.
Next chapter, the conclusion of Terone's duel against Burt – the mysterious duelist with a lame name – plus we'll see just what Burt's Blockbuster card is, and what on Earth is behind that door he's guarding.
Buckle in, this is going to be a wild ride.
Oh, and if anyone reading happens to be named Burt, no offense intended. Lol.
Finally, I would like to tell every American reading, Election Day is the 5th of November, so VOTE. It's your right and responsibility to do so.
Because if you don't, you have no right to complain.