Since Blackheart is possessing John, we never get to see John fight him. This duel between Christopher and Blackheart, seeing how Christopher is fairly equal in strength to John, is really the closest we get to seeing that duel happen. And Christopher tried super hard, you guys, he really did.
Chapter EightBlackheart vs. The King of Swift Attacks,
Christopher Johnson!
I watched Christopher Johnson’s Duel Energy burn around him, and I smiled, reveling in the excitement of facing such a strong opponent. “I start this off,” he declared, “with ‘Graceful Charity’. I draw and then discard two copies of ‘Polarity Dragon’. This allows me to send ‘Freezing Beast’ and ‘Burning Beast’ from my hand to the Graveyard to activate their effects. You take one thousand damage, and you must send one card from your hand to the Graveyard.”
Quite happily I chose a card from my hand and discarded it. Meanwhile, the ghostly image of the dragon appeared behind Christopher, breathing fire on me, burning away my Life. It hurt, but I’d been through far worse. The pain literally didn’t faze me in the slightest.
“I finish my turn,” Christopher concluded, eying me as he took his time and prepped his strategy, “by setting one monster and setting a card.”
I watched with anticipation as a creature appeared in the Shadows, his hidden set monster. Did he mean for me to fear it and pass my attack? Did he want me to destroy it so that he could gain some effect? It didn’t matter. No matter what he had planned, I would crush it, because even though I was still weakened I knew that this boy was no match for my power. Still, I felt a jolt of thrill. This Christopher Johnson was the first Duelist since the girl, Karen, the first Duelist ever who didn’t wield a Soul, to pose even the slightest threat to my power. It was exciting.
“I draw,” I declared, “and I play my own hand enhancement card, ‘Allure of Darkness’! And alluring it is, as it allows me to draw two cards, as long as I then remove one Dark monster in my hand from play.”
I dismissed a card from my hand, adding it to my host’s deck case, which he wore at his (now my) waste.
“I summon,” I continued, choosing a monster that I’d taken from the Card Takers’ stash of stolen rare cards, “‘Armageddon Knight’, a Dark monster that allows me to discard another Dark monster from my deck.”
I fanned out what was formerly my host’s deck, modified to suit my unique personality, and chose a card, the Machine-type ‘Blowback Dragon’, sending it to the Graveyard. My knight appeared. He wore goggles and cobbled-together armor and carried a jagged sword (ATK: 1400).
“My monster slaughters your hidden beast,” I declared, and my monster rushed into the unknown, following my command without question as I knew all mortals soon would (until I killed them), cutting down the monster that was revealed as the blue-furred ‘Mother Grizzly’.”
“When my monster is destroyed,” Christopher declared with apprehension, as if he were springing a trap that he hoped wouldn’t fail, “I summon a Water monster from my deck. The monster I choose,” he selected a card from his deck and placed it, a young woman in a Japanese-style dress appearing at his side (ATK: 1500), “the Gemini monster ‘Aquarian Alessa’.”
Interesting, I thought. This fool can’t really be expecting to fight me with this weak monster. That means that setting the bear was just a means of keeping a monster on the field for a Tribute. I expected something more clever from this one.
“Then I set two cards,” I said, sounding somewhere between expectant and sadistic, eliciting a mildly disturbed look from my opponent that made me smile.
“Come on, Christopher Johnson,” I said, “entertain me.”
“You won’t find this very entertaining,” Christopher scowled, “but I might. I tribute ‘Alessa’ for another Gemini monster,” the man made of fire from his previous battle took the place of the girl, “my ‘King Pyron’ (ATK: 1500), and I reveal ‘Ultimate Offering’, paying five hundred Life (8000-500=7500), Second Summoning him and activating his effect, dealing you one thousand damage.”
‘King Pyron’ threw a fireball at me. Before it could hit, I raised my hand toward it and, with a flash of the stolen Soul of Darkness, dispersed it, smiling wide. I still took damage, but I didn’t get burned (7000-1000=6000). I looked at my opponent in time to see his reaction before he could hide it. He was afraid.
I laughed under my breath, As you should be.
“But my turn isn’t over yet,” Christopher continued, feigning confidence in the face of what he could no doubt sense was a superior power. “I remove the discarded ‘Freezing Beast’ and ‘Burning Beast’ from play to Special Summon ‘Spirit of the Flame’ and ‘Aqua Spirit’.”
A pillar of flames and a pillar of sea foam appeared to either side of my opponent. From the sea foam, a blue-skinned woman with pointy ears emerged (ATK: 1600). From the flames emerged a red-skinned man with horns (ATK: 1700).
“During my own Battle Phase,” Christopher explained, “‘Spirit of the Flame’ gains three hundred Attack (1700+300=2000). I attack and destroy your ‘Knight’!”
‘Spirit of the Flame’ summoned fire into his hands and struck the knight, shattering his armor and burning him up in an instant (6000+1400-2000=5400). I laughed at the irony that, even though my monster had lost, it had still stood a better chance against his monster that he stood against me.
“Now I attack directly with ‘Aqua Spirit’ and ‘King Pyron’,” Christopher declared.
I’ve let him have his fun, I thought, but now it’s time to get serious.
“Reveal,” I said, channeling my confidence into my words, “my ‘Call of the Haunted’ and ‘Escape from the Dark Dimension’, summoning my discarded ‘Blowback Dragon’, and ‘Barrel Dragon’ that was removed from play via my ‘Allure of Darkness’.”
I smiled darkly as two gun-headed mechanical dragons appeared behind me and to either side. Christopher Johnson scowled, “I halt my attack and set a card to end my turn.”
I snickered, “Well then, I draw, and I activate the effect of my ‘Blowback Dragon’.”
My weaker dragon, a monster with a giant pistol for a head, roared at the utterance of its name (ATK: 2300).
“In a normal game of Duel Monsters,” I explained, “‘Blowback Dragon’’s effect relies on a coin toss, but in case you hadn’t noticed, this isn’t a normal game.”
“Yeah,” Christopher said, looking around at the darkness that swirled around us, “I had noticed something different. A Shadow Game, right? Magic makes our monsters and Spell cards real, and things really hurt us? I fought in one once before. I don’t like ‘em much, but I’ve got no problem fighting in one if it means getting rid of something like you.”
The way he said the last three words it was obvious that he hadn’t been exaggerating when he said he could sense how evil I was. That made me smile. This youth really was interesting. He thought he was protecting people by fighting me. He was some kind of wannabe hero, and there’s no one more entertaining that a wannabe hero who simply isn’t in your league.
“That’s right,” I replied, “and in a Shadow Game, things are a bit more real. For example, ‘Blowback Dragon’ generates a new clip of bullets every so often, about once a turn, but the chamber isn’t fully loaded. So ‘Blowback Dragon’ fires off his clip, and if he’s got enough shots to destroy his target, well, I think that one’s self-explanatory.”
With a simple gesture, my dragon fired off shot after shot, piercing Christopher’s face-down card through several times until it dissolved into smoke. I smiled, “Looks like my effect was a success!”
I watched as Christopher Johnson halfheartedly placed his ‘Mirror Force’ card in his Graveyard.
“I could use the power of my ‘Barrel Dragon’ to take a shot at blasting one of your monsters,” I told Christopher, gesturing at my second monster, a dragon with six-shooters for a head and arms, “but I simply don’t need to against someone of your level. I attack your ‘Spirit of the Flame’ and ‘King Pyron’.”
My monsters fired at the two fiery targets, blasting them apart, dealing Christopher his first hit of the duel (8000+1700+1500-2300-2600=6800). I watched gleefully as he fell to one knee, his eyes wide with pain. He choked back a cough and struggled to his feet.
“Hurts,” I asked, “doesn’t it? It’s going to hurt a lot more very soon. But for now I simply pass.”
“Don’t underestimate me,” Christopher said, quite seriously considering just how funny his statement was. He drew and smiled, “I play my key card, ‘Card of Sanctity’. We each draw until we hold six cards.”
He drew again, and I followed suit, smiling a bit as I saw my hand. Christopher’s smile widened, “I set a card, change ‘Aqua Spirit’ to defense, and end my turn.”
He has a plan, I thought, how cute!
I drew my next card, “I’m impressed by your resilience, but as much as it pains me, good things only last so long. I attack your final monster with my ‘Barrel Dragon’, Three-Barrel Shot!”
My monster fired all three of his guns at the blue-skinned sprite. I can’t say I was surprised when the shots were deflected by an energy barrier, or when three priests in robes appeared within the barrier, chanting to keep it solid.
“Reveal ‘Waboku’,” Christopher declared with determination, as if his ridiculous little play mattered.
I laughed, “Alright, then I’ll just activate my ‘Barrel Dragon’’s effect, blasting right through your barrier to kill the ‘Spirit’.”
The three chambers of my monster’s three guns clicked into place, and my monster fired all three at once. One shot was a dud, but the others went off successfully. The two massive bullets pierced the barrier, and the sprite. She screamed as she dissolved into the darkness. Christopher didn’t look happy, but there was still hope in his eyes, so my work wasn’t done.
“I set three cards,” I concluded, “and I pass. Come on, entertain me some more. Keep me from getting bored and I might let you live longer.”
Christopher drew his next card, “I’m not here to entertain you, but I will destroy you. I start out with ‘Monster Reborn’ to revive ‘King Pyron’.”
The fiery monster reappeared, his arms crossed defiantly (ATK: 1500).
“I Second Summon ‘Pyron’,” Christopher continued, “and activate his effect to attack you for one thousand damage.”
‘Pyron’ threw a fireball at me. I waved my hand and my Soul flashed, and the flames veered to the side. I smiled as the flames exploded around me, enjoying the pain (5400-1000=4400).
“I pay five hundred Life to activate ‘Ultimate Offering’ (6800-500=6300)," Christopher declared, "and I tribute ‘King Pyron’ to summon a second ‘King Pyron’!”
‘Pyron’ was engulfed in flames, and when the flames dispersed, another identical monster stood in his place.
“I pay another five hundred Life,” Christopher announced (6300-500=5800), “to Second Summon my new monster and attack again!”
The new ‘King Pyron’ threw a fireball at me. I pointed at it, and it split, veering to either side (4400-1000=3400).
“Come on,” I taunted, “you can do better than that.”
“You’re right,” Christopher replied. “I can, and I will. I play ‘Attribute Exchange’, tributing the Level Five, Fire attribute ‘King Pyron’ to return the Level Five, Water attribute ‘Polarity Dragon’ from my Graveyard to my hand, and I discard him to activate ‘Spears of Ice’, inflicting damage to your Life equal to two hundred times his Level.”
A barrage of icy spears appeared in the air above Christopher and rained down toward me and my entire field. I let this one hit. I didn’t even have to brace myself (3400-1000=2400).
“My Spell has an additional effect,” Christopher explained. “It also freezes over every monster you control, reducing their Attack by an amount equal to the damage you took until the end of the turn.”
I watched with amusement as ice crept over my dragons (ATK: 2600-1000=1600/2300-1000=1300).
“I remove ‘King Pyron’ in my Graveyard from play to activate ‘Polarity Dragon’’s effect,” a ghostly image of the dragon appeared and pelted me with searing flames (2400-1000=1400).
“Finally,” Christopher concluded, “I remove from play in my Graveyard two Water monsters and one Fire monster to Special Summon my ultimate card, ‘Frost and Flame Dragon’!”
A pillar of fire and a pillar of water erupted from the ground behind Christopher and swirled together. The water froze, and the fire and ice took form, becoming a silver dragon with one frozen head and one flaming head. The two heads roared in unison (ATK: 2300). I noticed that Christopher was breathing heavily. The Shadow Game was beginning to take its toll.
“You look a bit tired,” I said. “Need to take a break?”
Christopher ignored me, “I send ‘Fire Princess’ from my hand to the Graveyard to activate my monster’s special attack, Burning Ice Breath, destroying you ‘Barrel Dragon’!”
The two-headed monster breathed flaming ice from its two mouths, piercing my strongest monster through, and it fell to scrap.
“And I attack ‘Blowback Dragon’," Christopher declared, "with Frozen Fire!”
‘Frost and Flame Dragon’ breathed cold from one head and fire from the other, flash-freezing my second monster and then melting him in an instant. The flames carried through, burning me (1400+1300-2300=400).
“Do you see now, monster?” Christopher asked. “Do you see now that you don’t stand a chance against me? I am going to win. Duel Monsters is my life. I’ve been playing for years. I’ve only been defeated twice. I’m an expert, and Shadow Game or no, my skill is unrivaled. That’s why you’re going to fail. That’s why I’m going to win!”
I smiled, “Fascinating speech. Now let me tell you why you’re wrong. Let me tell you why I’m going to win. Let me explain by telling you who I am.
"Do you remember," I asked patronizingly, "when you were a child and you would look into the darkness, and you would be afraid because you knew something was there? Do you remember as you grew up waiting for the day that your fear of the dark would go away, but it never did, because no matter what reason told you, you knew that there was something there, waiting and watching?”
I smiled wickedly, “I am the thing in the dark, and I am even more horrible than you ever could have imagined. I am Blackheart, and I will see this world burn!”
I drew a card, “Activate ‘Overload Fusion’, removing from play both of my fallen dragons to Fusion Summon their combined form,” parts of ‘Barrel Dragon’ and ‘Blowback Dragon’ came together, forming a new monster with a Gatling gun for a head and for each arm, “my ‘Gatling Dragon’!”
My monster roared (ATK: 2600).
“Next I summon ‘Twin-Barrel Dragon’,” I declared, a smaller mechanical dragon formed from two guns appearing at my side (ATK: 1700).
“I reveal,” I continued, “the Trap card ‘Return from the Different Dimension’ (400/2=200), “summoning my ‘Gatling Dragon’’s component parts. Return to me, ‘Barrel Dragon’ and ‘Blowback Dragon’!”
The two machines emerged from the darkness with a roar.
“Reveal,” I continued, “the Spell card ‘Limiter Removal’, doubling the Attack of all of my monsters, and I attack with all of them together!”
The four dragons fired at once piercing the ‘Frost and Flame Dragon’ clear through, their shells exploding, the shockwave sending Christopher Johnson tumbling through the air, unconscious, the Shadows falling away from us quite dramatically, which is just how I like it.
I smiled, “Burn Christopher Johnson, burn.”
Christopher Johnson fell to the ground heavily, and I moved to stand over him.
“Penalty Game,” I said, “What’s Yours Is Mine!”
I smiled as Christopher’s Duel Energy poured into my stolen Soul.
“Don’t worry, Christopher Johnson,” I told him, “as I said before, I won’t kill you yet. You’re interesting. I hope that one day, once I’ve killed everyone else with a little power, that you might rise to oppose me so that we can do this again.”
And without another word, I dissolved into the darkness, ready to move against my real enemy, the Duel Force.
Max
I was teamed up with Kris (which is short for something that I never bothered to ask about), the girl who uses machines. I had never actually seen her duel in person, but I knew that she was strong. Just like every member of the Duel Force, she knew all of the ins and outs of the deck that she had chosen for herself. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that this time that might not be enough. Blackheart was a great unknown. His power was something that we could only guess at.
We were a couple hours into our search when we found him. When we found Blackheart. Or I should say he found us.
“I see,” he said from behind. “Do you really think that pairing up will help you beat me?”
I turned toward Blackheart. “You!” I spat, my voice filled with hatred. I may not show it much, but I care about my friends, and I don’t like it when they’re threatened.
“Let John go,” Kris demanded simply.
“Of course,” said Blackheart, “but only if you can beat me first.”
And as he laughed forebodingly, the most one-sided duel of my life began.
Card of the Day:
Polarity Dragon
Played by: Christopher
Original Cards in This Chapter:
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