And with that, Monty's journey is over, for this book at least. We get a pretty good duel, and an appearance by Little Yugi, who I portray as being something between the slightly meek Little Yugi of the canon series who is only really confident around his friends, and Atemu, who was confident around everyone about everything. I figure this is something like fifteen years after the canon series now, Yugi will have grown as a person, and since Atemu always seemed like a more mature, more confident version of Little Yugi, I always figured that as he got older Little Yugi would develop Atemu-like traits.
Next up next week is Lawrence's story, which happens at the same time as this in a different part of the world. Lawrence's situation is similar to Monty's, but a lot more serious, with higher stakes, and will be a lot more exciting, I think. Check in next week to see which dragon master will win, because Kaiba isn't Yugi. My characters are allowed to beat him.
Chapter Ten
Master Versus Apprentice
My ‘Magician’ summoned up an orb of pure magic energy and
sent it flying at the ‘Magician’ at Yugi’s side. A hit would destroy Yugi’s
monster, but Yugi himself was completely unconcerned.
“Reveal,” Yugi countered casually, “my ‘Magical Hats’,
hiding your target.”
An oversized silk top hat appeared around Yugi’s ‘Dark
Magician’ and then split into four hats. My attack hit one, causing it to
explode open, exposing empty air inside. The watching crowd grew excited again,
cheering for this famous combo.
“In that case,” I said, “I pass.”
I smiled. I’d known that Yugi had that card, and that he was
likely to use it, but I’d been unable to do anything about it because, unlike
Yugi, who’d had something left to set after summoning his ‘Dark Magician’, it
had taken everything I had to summon mine. It summed up the gap in mine and
Yugi’s power perfectly.
“I draw,” Yugi declared, “and I tip the scales in my favor
by summoning a monster that is too strong to be affected by your ‘Kishido
Spirit’. But first I bring my ‘Magician’ out of hiding.”
The ‘Magical Hat’ on Yugi’s far right opened up, the ‘Dark
Magician’ emerged, and the remaining hats faded away.
“Next,” Yugi continued, “I play ‘Bond Between Teacher and
Student’ to summon the ‘Dark Magician Girl’ from my deck.”
In a flash of pink light, the ‘Dark Magician’’s female
counterpart appeared at her master’s side, tipping her hat to me (DEF: 1700).
“And I tribute ‘Dark Magician’,” Yugi declared, “and ‘Dark
Magician Girl’, merging their magics together, to summon,” the two magicians
merged together and became the ‘Dark Magician’ wearing all black, armored gauntlets,
and a cape, and carrying a much more ornate staff, “the ‘Sorcerer of Dark Magic’
(ATK: 3200), a monster capable of stopping the activation of any Trap cards
that I choose.”
My situation had just grown so much worse, but I couldn’t seem
to stop smiling. Just the fact that I’d brought Yugi to the point of needing to
summon such a powerful monster excited me.
“As much as I don’t want to,” Yugi said, “in order to defeat
you, I have to destroy the monster that I gave you. ‘Sorcerer’, attack the ‘Dark
Magician’ with Celestial Black Burning!”
The ‘Sorcerer’ unleashed a wave of magic that mowed over my ‘Dark
Magician’ as easily as the reflected Dark Magic Attack had mowed over Yugi’s ‘Watapon’
earlier in the duel (5300 -> 4600). Yugi stood there stoically in the wake
of his attack which had so easily wiped out the monster which had, for many
years, been my strongest. I felt my resolve about to crumble.
“I end my turn,” Yugi announced. I went to draw, and I found
that I was shaking. I was fighting a casual duel with no stakes, and Yugi had
me shaking. I almost burst out laughing right there, but I restrained myself
and looked out over the field, at the hopeless situation that I faced.
I realized that I actually enjoyed this. I enjoyed being on
the losing side, clawing my way to victory against a superior opponent. It was
why it had taken me so long to grow. But in that moment I realized that I could
feel that same thrill without handicapping myself. It was exactly the lesson
that I’d needed to learn. My hands stopped shaking, I drew my next card, and I
felt the sense of excitement intensify. Against all odds I’d drawn the one card
that could dig me out of the hole that I’d fallen into. With it, I could turn
the duel around, and maybe even win it.
“It’s a shame that you destroyed my ‘Dark Magician’,” I
said, “but in the end it’s okay, because there is another monster that I hold
dear, and as luck has it, she’s the one monster in my deck who can beat yours.”
I placed a card from my hand onto my Duel Disk and declared,
“I summon my Soul,” A young female witch in a white hat and robes appeared,
wand in hand, “my ‘Silent Magician’. And I increase her power with the Spell
card ‘Card of Sanctity’. We each draw six cards, and for each card you draw, my
‘Silent Magician’ levels up. She levels up five times, and she reaches her
ultimate power.”
Yugi and I both refilled our hands, and my monster changed.
She matured, growing tall and statuesque, with long hair that flowed down the
length of her back. Her wand extended to the length of a staff. Even though
this wasn’t a Shadow Game, I could feel my monster’s presence at my side (ATK:
3500).
“Not only is my monster stronger than yours, Yugi,” I
declared, “I’ve also drawn exactly the cards I needed to finish this duel right
here and now. First my monster attacks you directly for two hundred points of
damage with the Spell card ‘Magical Blast’.”
My ‘Magician’ summoned power from herself into a swirling
ball of energy at the tip of her staff and launched it at Yugi, past his
monster, hitting him directly. He didn’t even flinch (4000 -> 3800).
“Now,” I continued, “I attack ‘Sorcerer of Dark Magic’ with
the ‘Silent Magician’, Silent Magical Blast!”
Without making a sound, my monster conjured up a magical
explosion which washed over the ‘Sorcerer’, erasing him from the field (3800
-> 3500), leaving Yugi wide open, without even a face-down card to protect
him.
“Next,” I announced, “I play ‘Level Down?!’,” In a flash of
white light, my monster reverted to her younger self (ATK: 1000), “allowing her
to attack again.”
The ‘Silent Magician’ conjured a chain of flashing sparks
that exploded around Yugi, striking him directly (3500 -> 2500). Just like
before, he didn’t even falter. But I didn’t either.
“And finally,” I announced, “I play ‘Magical Dimension’,
tributing a monster that I control to summon a Spellcaster from my hand.”
A coffin-like box suspended by chains in a metal frame, like
something that an illusionist might use for an escape trick or a shock gag
appeared, and my ‘Magician’ stepping into it. It closed behind her.
“You see, Yugi,” I said, “I’ve surpassed you in at least one
way. Where you only have one ‘Dark Magician’, I have two. I tribute ‘Silent
Magician LV4’ to summon,” the coffin opened, and from within it emerged a
sorcerer in purple with red trim, with emerald skin, carrying a blue and red
staff, “my second ‘Dark Magician’, and I finish this duel, Dark Magic Attack!”
My monster raised his staff up over his head and conjured up
a giant swirling dark magic orb, like something out of Dragonball, and launched
it at Yugi. With no means of defending himself, Yugi would take twenty-five
hundred damage, exactly enough to defeat him. The attack exploded against my
opponent, and I gasped. I’d actually done it, I’d beaten Yugi! I’d beaten the
greatest Duelist of all time! I looked around. The onlookers were just as awestruck
as I was, stuck somewhere between disbelief and excitement. Some even cheered
me on.
But then I realized something. ‘Dark Magician’ was still
with me, at my side. The duel wasn’t over, and I knew how. I smiled. As the
blast from my attack cleared away, behind it stood Yugi, unharmed, behind a
wall of little brown floating fur balls.
“Sorry,” said Yugi, his arms crossed, smirking across the field at me, “but
this duel isn’t over yet. You see, when you played ‘Card of Sanctity’ to force
me to draw cards, I re-drew my ‘Kuriboh’, which I was able to discard from my
hand to summon up the ‘Kuriboh’ Defense Wall and protect myself from one
attack.”
It wasn’t just a few of the onlookers who cheered now, it
was all of them.
“Alright then,” I told Yugi,” I’ll stand against you with ‘Dark
Magician’ at my side. I set two cards and end my turn.”
Yugi drew and the last of his ‘Kuribohs’ faded from the
field. He paused to examine his hand, and then looked my right in the eyes and
said, “Sorry, but this duel is really
over this time.”
I didn’t argue. I didn’t deny it in any way. I knew that he
was right. Even with two of my strongest Traps in waiting, I knew that Yugi
wouldn’t declare his victory unless he was sure. This duel was as good as over,
so I wasn’t at all surprised by what happened next.
“I summon,” Yugi declared, “my ‘Skilled Blue Magician’.”
A blue-robed and armored sorcerer appeared at Yugi’s side,
carrying a lance with a crystal in it.
“Next,” Yugi continued, “I play ‘Wall of Weakness’ to summon
‘Kuriboh’ and ‘Watapon’ back from my Graveyard in defense mode.”
The two fur balls, ‘Kuriboh’ and ‘Watapon’, appeared as well
to either side of his other monster.
“This activates one of my ‘Skilled Blue Magician’’s Spell
Counters,” Yugi explained, as a crystal on the warrior sorcerer’s left pauldron
lit up, “And I activate the second with the Spell card ‘Multiply’, turning one ‘Kuriboh’
into three.”
As he spoke, the ‘Kuriboh’ split off two duplicates of
itself, and a second crystal on the ‘Magician’’s right pauldron lit up as well.
I knew then what Yugi was planning.
“Now with three ‘Kuribohs’ on the board,” Yugi explained, I
can play ‘Detonate’, sending the ‘Kuribohs’ to attack your ‘Dark Magician’ and
your face-down cards, exploding on contact and taking all three of your cards
with them.”
The ‘Kuribohs’ flew forward, and fur balls turned to fire
balls. When those fore balls cleared, ‘Dark Magician’ and my ‘Mirror Force’ and ‘Magic
Cylinder’ cards were gone almost as quickly as they’d been played.
“This activates my ‘Skilled Blue Magician’’s final Spell
Counter,” Yugi explained, as a crystal in the chest of the warrior sorcerer’s
curias began to shine, and all three flashed in unison, and the monster
disappeared, replaced by a warrior in blue, aback a purple steed, a lance in
each hand, “which lets me tribute him to summon ‘Gaia the Fierce Knight’ from
my deck (ATK: 2300).”
With a smirk Yugi declared, “’Gaia’ attacks, and I activate
one final spell, “Spell Sword Fusion’, removing the Spellcaster-type ‘Dark
Magician’ in my Graveyard from play to increase the Attack of the Warrior-type ‘Gaia’
by twenty-five hundred during the Battle Phase this turn. I finish this with
Dark Magic Spiral Attack!”
‘Gaia’’s right lance was spun in the green light of the ‘Dark
Magician’’s attack, which swirled around his lance, caught up in a whirlwind.
He lunged forward and thrust his lance, assaulting me with wind and magic
powerful enough that it instantly reduced my Life Points to zero. ‘Gaia’
disappeared from the field, and our Duel Disks deactivated.
The crowd cheered, praising their hero’s latest victory. I
smiled and said, “Thanks Yugi. I learned what I came here to learn. Now I know
why I’m having trouble breaking my limits, and I know how to grow even
stronger. Maybe I’ll even beat you one day.”
Yugi returned my smile, “You’re welcome to try.”
I stepped forward and shook my mentor’s hand. Then I looked
around at the crowd and cheekily said, “Well, good luck with these guys.”
I felt my Soul of Knowledge reach out and connect with
Lawrence’s Soul of Power, and I dropped a smoke bomb, one of the many illusions
that I’d been working on. When the smoke cleared, I was gone, leaving Yugi
alone to deal with the pressures of his own celebrity.
Card of the Day
Spell Sword Fusion
Played by: Yugi Muto
Another original card that I created for Yugi, this isn't the first time that this card has cropped up in one of my stories. It has a very slightly different effect this time, but is mostly the same card. You could say that it is a work in progress. Regardless of the slight difference to the effect, which is so slight that you probably won't even notice, this is really the perfect card for Yugi, who, by the end of the canon series, had a deck made up almost entirely of Spellcaster and Warrior monsters.
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