Re: Yu-Gi-Oh! Soul of Silicon
The two Duel Spirits whom we roughed up claimed that the general of their invasion force was Freed. I refused to believe them, thinking it had to be lie. I knew that a noble Duel Spirit like Freed the Matchless General would never work for Daala.
It seems I have to apologize to them. They were not lying. There is apparently another Duel Spirit named Freed. In fact, there seems to be another Duel Spirit named Freed who happens to be a general.
However, the general I’m now facing leads a demonic army, and serves a nation where Chaos is the ruler. He’s the opposite of the noble soul that Freed is supposed to be.
I’m up against pure Evil… If ever I needed the new card in my deck, now was the time.
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
The Other Side
Kaibaland.
While Olga kept an eye on the Crass Clown and Dream Clown who had led them here, Nicholas looked in the small opening he had made in the fire escape door of the large stadium.
Sure enough, the place had been turned into a temporary base for Duel Spirits. Several of them were here, most of them strong Level Four Monsters. There were Blindly Loyal Goblins, Battle Oxes, Dark Assailants, Snake Hairs, and various other scary things. The one in charge – at the moment – seemed to be a Vorse Raider who was standing guard over what seemed to be a group of prisoners.
Nicholas took notice of the prisoners. They were duelists, most of them teenagers, who were shackled by their wrists and waists with heavy chains. Nicholas got angry just looking at them.
“Where’s this general?” he said to the Clowns with a scowl.
The Clowns shrugged.
“Dunno,” said Dream Clown. “He’s the one in charge, you know… He does what he wants…”
Then they heard angry cursing. He looked again, and saw a Tiger Axe and a Wolf Axwielder drag two more teenagers in, a boy and a girl. The girl was trying to fight, but the Tiger Axe who was holding her was far too strong.
The Vorse Raider held up a card – it appeared to be Shadow Spell – and a set of chains appeared, latching onto the boy. This made the girl scream even more. Then the Vorse Raider held up the card again, and she got a set of her own.
Nicholas couldn’t take it anymore, and neither could Olga. They kicked in the door and stormed in.
“That’s enough, you barbarian!” shouted Olga. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?”
The Vorse Raider turned and saw them. Then he smiled.
“That would certainly not be you, human,” he replied.
The rest of the Monsters laughed, as everyone saw that it was true. He was a head taller than Olga was.
“You’re gonna let these kids go right now…” threatened Olga, “or I’ll…”
“You’ll what?” asked the Beast-Warrior. “You think you can just barge into our base and make demands?
“Just how did the two of you intend to stop all of us? With your good looks?”
The Duel Spirits laughed again.
“In fact,” said the Vorse Raider, “once our general finds out…”
“Where is your general?” interrupted Nicholas. “I want a word with him.”
“He won’t be bothered with worms like you,” said the Vorse Raider. “We’ll handle you ourselves…”
The Monsters surrounded the two duelists as he activated his Disk. Olga frowned and activated hers…
* * * * * * * * * *
Five minutes later…
The Vorse Raider stepped back in shock as Tualatin appeared, blowing his Legendary Fiend, Lesser Fiend, and Beast of Talwar to pieces.
“Who’s laughing now?” asked Olga, drawing a card. “Tualatin, take him down!”
Tualatin blasted its energy triangle, and the Beast-Warrior screamed as his Life Points fell to zero.
He dissolved into grains of light.
“All right!” shouted Nicholas. “Who’s next? Who wants to see just how tough a couple of ‘worms’ are?”
“I believe that honor belongs to me…” said an ominous voice from above.
The Duel Spirits stepped back, and Nicholas and Olga looked up, as a dark figure started to descend from the stadium seats. Clearly, he had been watching the whole time.
If you saw this Duel Spirit in very bad light, you might have mistaken him for Freed the Matchless General. His armor was the same style, more or less, and he had the same hair style and moustache…
But his armor was jet black, like that of some dark knight, and his skin was an ebony hue. His hands looked more like claws, and his eyes burned like fiery embers.
Nicholas looked at him nervously…
“Who?” he asked. “You can’t be Freed…”
The Spirit smiled. It was a very unpleasant smile.
“Not quite…” he replied.
“You ever hear about how nature abhors imbalance, human? Whenever a powerful force exists for one philosophy, the opposing philosophy evens it out with a powerful force of its own.
“In the worlds of Duel Monsters, there are several powerful Spirits dedicated to Order and Good. The Dread Council was the response to this on the side of Chaos.
“I am the opposite of Freed… I am… Dark General Freed. The strategist and tactician of the armies of Xanadu, and a member of the Dread Council.”
Dread Council? thought Nicholas. As in Dread Emperor? Is this guy connected to that demon lord that’s after Yumi?
The Dark Warrior held up his left arm, and a Battle Ox quickly attached a Duel Disk to his gauntlet. It was made of black iron, and had sharp spokes between the slots on the tray.
“I’ve heard reports that you two troublemakers have been taking down my best men since my army arrived,” said the General. “And now that you’ve had the gall to invade our base, I’ll just have to deal with you myself… I might even enjoy this…”
“Bring it,” said Nicholas. “That was my idea all along…”
The two Disks activated.
“Game on!” they both shouted.
(Nicholas: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Dark Freed: 8,000)
“Feel free to make the first move,” said the General. “I doubt it matters. I haven’t lost a duel since the beginning of my career, and I don’t intend to. I’m preparing for my confrontation with my true enemy.”
“That would be the real Freed, right?” asked Nicholas.
Dark Freed nodded.
“By defeating the original, I would gain the power he has accumulated over the years,” said the General. “For once, the power would tip towards the side of Chaos.”
“I thought you said that nature abhors imbalance,” said Nicholas.
“And I’m glad it didn’t when it created me,” replied Freed. “But I really don’t care if it abhors me causing it again. It was foolish to think we would preserve its idea.”
Nicholas drew a card.
He placed a card on his Disk, and a defensive Monster appeared.
“That all?” asked the General. “I expected a little more.”
He made his first draw.
“I’ll start by playing the Spell Card, Lightning Crash.”
“Lighting Vortex?” asked Nicholas, confused. He certainly had no face-up Monsters on the field.
“No, Lightning Crash,” replied the General. “This lets me search my deck for any Thunder-Type Monster I desire.”
The Spell Card materialized on his side of the field. He took his deck and chose a card from it.
“The catch is, I can’t use it until next turn. Then, I’ll set a Monster of my own, and end my turn.”
A facedown Monster appeared on his side of the field.
Nicholas drew a card.
“First, I play the Spell Card, The Six Samurai United,” he said.
The Continuous Spell Card appeared.
“Then, I summon Six Samurai – Irou!”
In a dark shadow, the blindfolded Samurai appeared, holding his katana. (1,700/1,200)
“Attack his Monster!” ordered Nicholas.
Irou leapt at the facedown card. A small frog with wings on its back appeared on it, and was cut down.
“A Treeborn Frog?” gasped Nicholas.
“That’s trouble…” muttered Olga.
Nicholas looked at his hand.
“I set a facedown card,” he said, “and then play the Field Spell, Shien’s Castle of Mist.”
A facedown card appeared, and then the whole stadium faded away, and was replaced by the dark castle courtyard, with the large shiro behind Nicholas.
“And I end my turn…”
Dark Freed drew a card.
“Since I have no Spells or Traps on the field,” he said, “my Treeborn Frog comes back from the Graveyard.”
In a burst of energy, Treeborn Frog appeared. (100/100)
“Next, I sacrifice it…”
Treeborn Frog vanished.
“To summon Zaborg the Thunder Monarch.”
In an explosion of electrical energy, the exotically-garbed giant with the large electric orb for a cranium appeared. Electricity crackled around it. (2,400/1,000)
A Monarch Deck… thought Nicholas. Wonderful…
“Now, I activate Zaborg’s effect,” continued the General. “I think I’ll destroy your facedown Monster.”
Lightning struck the facedown Monster. Chamberlain of the Six Samurai was blown to pieces.
“Don’t forget,” said Nicholas, “in this Field, Monsters lose 500 Attack Points when they attack one of the Six Samurai.”
“My Monarch is still strong enough to beat him,” replied the General. “Zaborg, attack. Lightning strike.”
Zaborg threw up his arms, and blasted a bolt of lightning at Irou, his Attack Score falling to 1,900. The Samurai screamed and was reduced to dust.
“Yeah!” shouted a Goblin. “Burn him!”
“Torch him!” laughed a Swordstalker.
“Hit him with a rock!” shouted a Mountain Warrior.
We don’t seem to have much of a cheering section, thought Olga, looking at the tied up prisoners, who were watching quietly. They’re apparently too scared to shout any support for Nicholas.
(N: 7,800) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 8,000)
“My move…” said Nicholas.
He drew a card.
“I summon Zanji!”
In a blast of light, the radiant Samurai holding his naginata appeared. (1,800/1,300)
“Since two Samurai have been summoned since I played my United card, I can ditch it to draw two cards.”
The Spell Card vanished, and he made two draws. He looked at them, and added them to his hand.
“Now, I’m going to cut your Monarch down to size, with the Spell Card, Shrink!”
He played the card, and Zaborg was reduced to half his size, and an Attack Score of 1,200.
“Zanji, attack! Rising Sun Strike!”
Zanji slashed with his weapon, and the Thunder Monarch exploded into a blast of sparks.
(N: 7,800) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 7,400)
“Not bad…” said Dark Freed. “You destroyed one of my Monarchs… But there’s more where he came from…”
He drew a card.
“I raise Treeborn Frog from the Graveyard again…”
Treeborn Frog appeared again. (100/100)
“Now, I set two facedown cards.”
He fit two cards into his Disk, and they appeared facedown.
“Next, I sacrifice my Frog a second time…”
Treeborn Frog vanished again.
“For Mobius the Frost Monarch.”
A blast of chilling wind blew over Shien’s Castle, as another of the Monarchs, this one a giant sculpted out of pure ice wearing a cape, appeared. (2,400/1,000)
“With his arrival, I can destroy up to two Spell or Trap Cards. I could destroy your two cards…
“But… I think I’m going to destroy my own.”
The two facedown cards he had just set iced over and shattered.
“You’re likely wondering why I did that…”
Then two large frightening forms appeared to either side of Mobius. They looked like large serpents with claws wearing tutan masks. (1,000/1,000)
“Statue of the Wicked,” muttered Nicholas. “Smart…”
“Mobius, attack his Monster,” commanded Dark Freed. “Blizzard blight.”
Mobius breathed a cone of frost at Zanji, and its Attack Score fell to 1,900 again. Zanji froze solid, and then shattered,
“Now, my two Wicked Tokens attack you directly.”
The two Fiends exhaled blasts of flame from their jaws, and Nicholas screamed as he was hit by them.
(N: 5,700) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 7,400)
Man… thought Nicholas. Monarch Decks are among the strongest in the business… And with that Trap Card trick, he put a new spin on it. I gotta think of something fast…
“My move…” he muttered.
He made a draw.
“I play… Premature Burial,” he said. “I’ll give up 800 points to bring Zanji back from the Graveyard.”
He glowed with a red aura as Zanji appeared again. (1,800/1,300)
“Next, I summon Six Samurai – Nisashi!”
In a gust of wind, the armored, double-blade wielding Samurai appeared. (1,400/700)
“Next,” said Nicholas, taking a card from his hand, “I play Enemy Controller…”
He played the card, and the large video game control pad appeared over the field.
“Go! Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, and Start! Move Mobius to Defense Mode!”
Mobius knelt and shielded itself in Defense Position.
“Now Nisashi attacks, and since I have another Samurai on the field, he can attack twice. Go, Strike of the Driving Gale!”
Nisashi flew at the first Wicked Token, and with one slash of his sword, cut it in half. Then he made a second slash, and Mobius was blasted into ice cubes.
“Zanji, destroy the other Token!”
Zanji made a stab with his naginata, and the second Wicked Token exploded.
“Ergh…” groaned the General.
(N: 4,900) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 6,200)
“Well…” said Dark Freed. “Seems I underestimated you slightly… But only slightly…”
“It’s your move…” said Nicholas.
The General drew a card.
Not bad, he thought, looking at the Spell Card. I can do some damage with this…
“I bring back my Frog again,” he said. “In Attack Mode.”
Treeborn Frog appeared again. (100/100)
“Next, I play the Spell Card, Creature Swap.”
The Spell Card appeared on his side of the field.
“Not so fast!” shouted Nicholas.
His facedown card lifted, revealing a Quickplay Spell.
“I activate Cunning of the Six Samurai. “This lets me send a Samurai to the Graveyard to Special Summon one from it.
“So I send Nisashi to the Graveyard…”
Nisashi vanished into grains of light.
“…and summon my Chamberlain in Attack Mode.”
In a flash of light, the cybernetically enhanced Warrior holding a katana appeared, standing up. (200/2000)
“Huh?” said Dark Freed.
“In response to your Creature Swap,” said Nicholas, “you can have him.”
The General scowled, as the Chamberlain and Treeborn Frog switched places.
“200 Attack Points is better than 100,” said the General. “Attack the Frog.”
Chamberlain made a slash with the katana, and Treeborn Frog was cut in half.
“It’s your move…”
(N: 4,800) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 6,200)
Hang in there, Nicholas… thought Olga. So much is riding on this duel…
“I draw,” said Nicholas, drawing a card.
“Then I attack with Zanji!”
Zanji charged at the Chamberlain, and his Attack Score fell to 1,300. He made a swipe, and the Chamberlain shattered into shards. The General grit his teeth.
(N: 4,800) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 5,100)
“That’s all for me…” said Nicholas.
The General drew a card, and looked at it.
“First, I set a facedown card,” he said, as a reversed card appeared. “Then, I’m going to do us both a favor. I activate Coins From Heaven.”
The Spell Card appeared, and the sky above the Castle lit up, and coins fell from the sky. He drew three cards, while Nicholas got the better deal out of it with four.
“Next, I play a second facedown card,” he said, as a facedown card appeared. “Then I activate this one…”
The facedown Spell Card he had just set lifted up.
“I play Soul Exchange. I have to skip my Battle Phase this round, but I get to summon a Monster by sacrificing yours.”
Nicholas frowned as Zanji vanished into grains of light.
“I summon Granmarg the Rock Monarch,” continued Dark Freed.
In a burst of dirt and dust, the hulking giant made entirely of stone with a blue cape appeared. (2,400/1,000)
“By summoning this Monarch, I get to destroy one facedown card.”
“Sorry, General,” said Nicholas, with a chuckle. “I don’t have any. You’re gonna have to destroy your own.”
“That was the idea,” said the General.
Granmarg punched the facedown card he had just set, smashing it to pieces.
“The facedown card I just destroyed is called Dormant Volcano. Like Statue of the Wicked, it must be destroyed for it to be activated. When that happens, you get burned for 300 points of damage.”
“Huh?” said Nicholas.
Then he screamed as an explosion of fire surrounded him.
He gasped for breath.
“I’m guessing you have Dark Coffin in that deck somewhere too…” he muttered.
“That is for me to know and you to find out,” said Dark Freed. “You see, human, there are differences between a good duelist and a great duelist. A great duelist looks at every little detail. He sees every possibility towards using his cards’ effects. Anyone can use Mobius or Granmarg to destroy their opponent’s cards, but you can benefit from that effect in so many other ways, if you look hard enough.
“Anyway, Dormant Volcano has another effect as well, but we’ll have to wait until my next turn for that to happen. In the meantime, I’ll end this turn.”
(N: 4,500) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 5,100)
Nicholas drew a card.
He looked hard at the seven cards in his hand.
“I set a Monster, and a facedown card,” he said, “and I end my turn.”
A facedown card and a facedown Monster appeared.
The General quickly made a draw.
“Now that it’s my turn again,” he said, taking his deck from the holder, “the other effect of Dormant Volcano activates, and both players may search their decks for any Fire-Attribute Monster they desire.”
“Really?” said Nicholas, taking his deck.
“Then I choose this guy.”
He held Six Samurai – Kamon forward.
“He’s pathetic compared to Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch,” said the General, taking a card from his own deck.
“Now, I bring my Treeborn Frog back once more.”
“Not again…” said Olga.
The Frog appeared again. (100/100)
“Now I sacrifice it to summon Thestalos.”
The Frog vanished again, and in a burst of flames, the fiery giant in plate armor with burning hands appeared. (2,400/1,000)
Two Monarchs at once? thought Olga. This is too much!
“Now, one card in your hand is destroyed,” continued the General.
The images of six cards appeared in front of Nicholas, their backs to Dark Freed. Thestalos threw a fireball at one of them. It turned, revealing itself to be Yariza, before it was burned to ashes.
“Since that was a Level Three Monster, you lose 300 Life Points.”
Nicholas groaned as a fiery aura surrounded him.
“All right!” said the General, getting excited for the first time. “Granmarg, smash his Monster! Monolith smash!”
Granmarg lumbered forward, towards the facedown Monster. Shien’s Footsoldier appeared on the card, and was crushed.
“I use my Footsoldier’s effect!” shouted Nicholas. “I summon Yaichi from my deck!”
In a burst of watery energy, the Samurai archer appeared, kneeling in Defense Mode. (1,300/800)
“Thestalos, attack!” shouted the General. “Fire blaze!”
Thestalos threw a burning bolt of flame at Yaichi.
“Not so fast!” shouted Nicholas. “I activate… Negate Attack!”
His facedown card flipped up, and a forcefield materialized around his whole side of the field. The flames glanced off it.
“I place three reversed cards,” said the General, as three facedown cards appeared. “Then, I play the Spell Card, Fiend’s Sanctuary.”
The Spell Card appeared, and a Metal Fiend Token materialized on his side of the field.
“Finally,” he said, playing his last card, “I activate Mirage of Nightmare.”
The infamous Mirage card appeared.
“And I end my turn.”
“Didn’t miss a beat…” mumbled Nicholas.
(N: 4,200) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 5,100)
He drew a card.
“Thanks to my Mirage card, I now get to draw four times,” said the General.
He made four draws.
“Then, I activate Emergency Provisions, to dispose of Mirage of Nightmare.”
One of his facedown cards flipped up, and a large set of fanged jaws appeared, devouring the Mirage card. Nicholas flinched a little.
Nicholas looked at the cards in his hand.
“I move Yaichi to Attack Mode,” he said.
Yaichi stood up, and aimed his bow.
“Then, I summon Kamon.”
He played the card, and in a burst of fire, the Samurai armed to the teeth with explosives appeared. (1,500/1,000)
“Now, I activate Yaichi’s effect,” continued Nicholas. “If I forfeit his attack, he can destroy one facedown Spell or Trap Card.
“Yaichi, the one on the left!”
Yaichi fired an arrow from his bow, and the facedown card.
“Chain!” shouted the General. “Jar of Greed!”
The red, grinning vase appeared in front of him, and he drew one card.
“Next,” said Nicholas, playing another card, “I can Special Summon Grandmaster of the Six Samurai.”
In a burst of energy, the elderly Grandmaster appeared. (2,100/800)
“And then, I can Special Summon Great Shogun Shien!”
An inferno erupted on Nicholas’s side of the field, and in a flourish, the mighty Shogun stepped out of it. He dramatically drew his katana, and uttered a battlecry. (2,500/2,400)
For the first time, Dark Freed looked a little nervous.
“Okay…” he muttered. “Nothing I can’t handle…”
“Now, I play The A. Forces!” exclaimed Nicholas, as a Continuous Spell Card appeared. “This Spell Card…”
“I know what it does!” interrupted Freed. “I’m a Warrior Spirit myself, in case you didn’t notice. You don’t need to tell me what a Warrior Support card does!”
“So what does it do, boss?” asked a Bio Plant.
Then the Attack Scores of all four of Nicholas’s Warriors went up. Yaichi went up to 2,100, Kamon to 2,300, Grandmaster to 2,900, and Shien to 3,300.
“Oh, I see…”
Dark Freed growled…
“Grandmaster,” ordered Nicholas, “destroy Granmarg!”
The Grandmaster lifted his longsword, and leapt at the huge giant. There was a sound like steel against stone, and the Rock Monarch shuddered as cracks formed all over its hide. Then it burst into a pile of inert stones.
“Shien, attack Thestalos! Sword of burning pride!”
Great Shogun Shien dashed across the field, leaving a trail of flames in his wake. The Firestorm Monarch screamed as he made a swipe with his blade, and then it burst into an explosion of soot and smoke.
(N: 4,200) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 4,700)
“Yeah!” cheered a voice. “Get him! You can beat this creep!”
Nicholas turned to see who it was. It was one of the prisoners, the girl who had most recently been brought in. Somehow, she had found the courage to cheer for Nicholas.
Then she yelped as a Battle Steer spanked her on the buttocks with the blunt of his trident.
“Be quiet!” he warned. “Or I’ll use the prongs next time!”
“Never mind them!” ordered Dark Freed. “This human just got on my bad side… I’ve never seen a human duelist with skill like this…
“Who are you, anyway? What sort of name do you have?”
“You can call me Nicholas,” replied Nicholas.
The General’s eyes opened wide.
“Nicholas Algernon?” he asked. “As in, Yumi Mouto’s boyfriend?”
“You’ve heard of me?” asked Nicholas.
Dark Freed chuckled.
“Daala told me to be on the lookout for you,” said the general. “She said you might be useful as a hostage in the final stages of her plan… Seems I lucked out…
“Of course, I didn’t expect you to be so good with a Disk. But… You and these Samurai… This is a challenge I can finally sink my teeth into…”
He grinned broadly, showing small fangs.
“It’s your move,” said Nicholas. “And with Shien on the field, you’re only allowed to use one Spell or Trap Card per turn.”
Dark Freed drew a card.
“I don’t even need one to dispose of him,” he replied. “I pay 1,000 Life Points to keep my Metal Fiend Token.
“Then I sacrifice it…”
The Token vanished.
“…to summon Raiza the Storm Monarch!”
A fierce wind blew through the Castle of Mists, and yet another Monarch appeared. This one had green armor, a green cape, and a helmet of a bird-like design. (2,400/1,000)
“They say Raiza is the most powerful Monarch, and with good reason,” said the General. “When it’s summoned, I can send any card on the field to the top of the owner’s deck.”
An even fiercer wind started to blow, and Shien shielded himself. Then he vanished.
“You can’t possibly destroy more than one of my Samurai,” replied Nicholas. “You’ve already summoned for this round. That means I’ll be able to summon him again next round.”
“Not when I have this,” replied the General, as his facedown card lifted up. “It’s a Trap called Simultaneous Loss. Now, we each send the top card on our decks to the Graveyard.”
“You’re not gonna get away with this…” grumbled Nicholas, as he discarded Shien.
The General took the top card from his deck and looked at it. He smirked, and then discarded it.
“Now that he’s gone,” he said, taking another card in his hand, “I play Heavy Storm!”
An even more ferocious windstorm erupted over the field. The three Samurai braced themselves as The A. Forces was blown to bits, and Shien’s Castle was reduced to a pile of rubble. The scene returned to the stadium.
“Raiza,” commanded the General, “destroy Samurai Yaichi with foul winds!”
Raiza’s eyes glowed, and a chilling gale started to blow in Yaichi’s direction…
“Kamon!” shouted Nicholas. “Defend Yaichi!”
Kamon threw himself in the path of the vile wind, and he shattered into bits.
“I used the effect that all the Samurai share,” muttered Nicholas. “When one of them would be destroyed, another one can take the fall for him.”
“Indeed,” said the General. “I have no Spells or Traps on the field again, so I summon Treeborn Frog in Defense Mode.”
Treeborn Frog appeared, crouching in Defense. (100/100)
“Finally,” he said, holding up another card, “I play the Spell Card, The Shallow Grave. Now, we each must each Special Summon a Monster in facedown Defense Mode.”
The Spell Card appeared, and a facedown Monster appeared. Another one appeared on Nicholas’s side of the field.
“I’ll set two cards facedown, and end my turn.”
He played two cards, and two facedown cards appeared.
“It’s your move…”
(N: 3,100) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 3,700)
Nicholas drew a card.
Just who I needed, he thought.
“Yaichi, destroy the facedown card on the left again!”
Yaichi fired his bow, and skewered the facedown card, which was revealed to be Mirror Force. The general growled.
“Now I summon… Hand of the Six Samurai!”
A smaller fire appeared on his side of the field, and two feminine eyes appeared in it…
When the fire died down, the Monster that appeared was a comely female, dressed in a long, silken robe, with a shawl covering her head. She carried a sharp dagger. She looked at Dark Freed and Raiza with a look that suggested she was upset… Maybe even a little pissed.
“Now, I don’t know what you’re planning to do with that facedown Monster,” he continued, as his own facedown Monster started to turn upright, “but it’s not gonna work. I Flip-Summon… Irou!”
In a flash, the blindfolded, katana-wielding Samurai appeared again. (1,700/1,200)
“Eh?” asked Dark Freed. “You didn’t bring back Shien?”
“Irou is better in this situation,” said Nicholas. “When Irou attacks a Monster that’s in facedown Defense Mode, and I have another Samurai on the field, that Monster is automatically destroyed, and its effect is negated.”
Dark Freed growled again.
“Irou, attack his mystery Monster!” shouted Nicholas. “Setting Sun Strike!”
Irou charged at the facedown Monster.
“I had hoped to use this on Shien,” growled the General, “but you leave me no choice…”
His facedown card lifted.
“Activate, Draining Shield!”
A shimmering plane of force appeared in front of the facedown card. Irou’s sword slammed into it, and energy flowed into the evil General.
Nicholas paused for a second.
I can’t waste the Hand’s effect on that facedown Monster… he thought. I have to use her for Raiza… And I can’t sacrifice Irou too, he’s too valuable.
Oh well… He didn’t have any Flip-Effect Monsters in his Graveyard anyway…
“Hand, take out that Frog!” shouted Nicholas. “Stabbing hand!”
The Hand dove at Treeborn Frog, slashing with her dagger, and blowing it to shards.
“Next, my Grandmaster is going to handle your mystery Monster…”
Grandmaster leapt at the facedown Monster. A large, wrinkled orb appeared on the card and exploded into a cloud of green gas.
Nicholas started to choke.
“A Giant Germ?” he gasped. “When the heck was that in your Graveyard?”
“I discarded it when I played Simultaneous Loss,” said Freed. “At first I wasn’t going to use The Shallow Grave, because I figured you might use it to bring back Shien. But the chance was too good to pass up.
“So you lose 500 Life Points, and I get to summon two more Germs.”
Two more Giant Germs appeared. (1,000/100 x2)
(N: 2,600) - - - - - - - - - - (DF: 5,400)
“Seems you’re only hurting yourself…” said the General.
“Yeah?” asked Nicholas, “well, here’s something that’s gonna hurt you… I activate the Hand’s effect. When she’s on the field with another Six Samurai Monster, I can sacrifice one of them to destroy a Monster. So, I’ll sacrifice the Hand herself to destroy your Storm Monarch!”
The Hand vanished into grains of light. Then she appeared behind Raiza in spiritual form. She drove her dagger between the huge creature’s shoulder blades, and it screamed. It collapsed, and then shattered into pixels.
Dark Freed glared at Nicholas again.
“My move…” he growled.
Continued…
Originally Posted by Zorak
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