Chapter 56: Battle Between True Rivals (2)

Hey Guys, here's the second part of the fight. Sorry about the numerous mistakes in the last chapter; I was pretty tired.

Anyway, the main change that should be noted was Yugi's life points are 1300 instead of 2300 because I forgot to pay for the cost of Soul Rope.

Unfortunately, the next chapter may be delayed because of the big battle between Yuna and Marik. Also, I'm on a three-week vacation and won't focus on writing, so I will probably write on the next week.

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[3rd POV]

Seto smirked and glimpsed at his Obelisk, the Tormentor, on the field. Now, the real battle will begin!

"Upon summoning your Egyptian God, you have triggered Slifer the Sky Dragon's second effect, and now Obelisk the Tormentor will lose two thousand attacks this turn!"

[Obelisk the Tormentor: 4000 -> 2000 Attack, 4000 -> 2000 Defence]

"Then I will end my turn, and Obelisk the Tormentor's attacks will return to normal," Seto spoke begrudgingly.

[Obelisk the Tormentor: 2000 -> 4000 Attack, 2000 -> 4000 Defence]

[Slifer the Sky Dragon: 2000 -> 3000 Attack, 2000 -> 3000 Defence]

"My move; I will activate my set card, Pot of Greed and draw two cards from my deck!" Yami Yugi explained: "With this, Slifer the Sky Dragon will gain an additional two thousand attacks!".

[Slifer the Sky Dragon: 3000 -> 5000 Attack, 3000 -> 5000 Defence]

"Now, Slifer the Sky Dragon, defeat Obelisk the Tormentor!!" Yami Yugi yelled, and the God eagerly charged towards his opponent.

"I won't allow this!" Seto bellowed: "I activate Negate Attack to stop your Egyptian Card and immediately end the battle phase."

Before Slifer the Sky Dragon reached Obelisk, the dragon faltered and retreated to Yami Yugi's side. Staring at the trap card that Seto had just activated, Yami Yugi chuckled with a wry smile.

"Negate Attack? That card felt familiar." He commented.

"Hmph," Seto smirked: "I can say the same for your Waboku..."

Simultaneously, the two duellists chuckled at the thought of a certain girl who gave them the idea of using these cards: "I heard she gave you a card in the past." Seto commented

"That's right," Yami Yugi smiled and glanced at the activated Eternal Soul: "It's so useful that I can't believe I have never known of it."

"Yes," Seto closed his eyes and thought about the girl in question. With every battle, Yuna would never use the same cards, and every time, there would be new cards he had never heard of. It was like she was a being that evolved and adapted after every fight.

This forces Seto to always be on his toes, or else he will be overwhelmed. However, despite this setback, in Seto's opinion, it was what made duelling her so enjoyable...

'That's why I must win,' He clenched his fist: 'I will duel you again, no matter what!'

"Enough small talk, let's continue," Seto ordered, and the fight resumed as the moment's relaxing atmosphere was consumed by the pressure emitting from the two men standing across from each other.

"Since the battle phase has ended, I will set two cards and end my turn."

[Slifer the Sky Dragon: 5000 -> 3000 Attack, 5000 -> 3000 Defence]

[Life Shaver Counter: 1 -> 2]

"Draw!" Seto shouted, and Yami Yugi immediately activated his set cards.

"During your main phase, I will play Card Destruction! Both of us discard our entire hands and draw the same number of cards!"

"Following that, I will also activate Disgraceful Charity (Anime) to add the cards we discarded this turn back into our hands!"

[Slifer the Sky Dragon: 3000 -> 6000 Attack, 3000 -> 6000 Defence]

Seto: "It's useless! I will play Thirst for Compensation (anime)! I can activate this card only when you add a card(s) to your hand by a card effect, and I can special summon two level-four monsters from my hand!" Seto explained and showed Yami Yugi two cards in his hand: "I will summon Blade Knight and Sword of Soul!"

[Blade Knight: 1600 Attack, 1000 Defence]

[Sword of Soul: 0 Attack, 1900 Defence]

"When Sword of Soul and Blade Knight are summoned, Slifer the Sky Dragon will destroy these two monsters because their attack is lower than two thousand!" Yami Yugi yelled.

"That won't be happening!" Seto shouted: "I will play Card Guard (anime) to discard one card, and my monsters can't be destroyed by card effects this turn!"

"Tsk..." Yami Yugi clicked his teeth.

"With these two monsters, I will activate the effect of Obelisk the Tormentor, tributing these two monsters and destroying all monsters you control! Then I will be able to inflict four thousand damage to your life points directly!"

Obelisk the Tormentor smashed his fist onto the field. Slifer the Sky Dragon was able to dodge the attack, but Dark Magician wasn't so fortunate. But to Seto's Shock, Yami Yugi's Eternal Soul reacted and generated a wide blue barrier to protect the mage.

"While Eternal Soul is on the field, any card with the name Dark Magician is unaffected by my opponent's effect!"

"There's an ability like that as well..." Seto mumbled: "Well, no matter, four thousand damage will still be inflicted on you! It's over, Yugi!"

"Unfortunately, it's not!" Yami Yugi countered: "I will reveal Kuriboh in my hand! Reducing the damage being inflicted on me to zero!"

[Slifer the Sky Dragon: 6000 -> 5000 Attack, 6000 -> 5000 Defence]

"Tsk…" Seto clicked his teeth: "Since I have activated Obelisk the Tormentor's effect, I can no longer attack, so I will set a card and end my turn."

[Slifer the Sky Dragon: 5000 -> 6000 Attack, 5000 -> 6000 Defence]

"I will immediately enter my battle phase. Slifer the Sky Dragon, attack!"

"Not so fast! I will activate my set card, Power Balance! Once I have no cards in my hand, you must discard half of your entire hand, and I can draw cards equal to the amount of cards you discarded! (Definitely Anime)."

With reluctance, Yami Yugi dumped three cards into the graveyard, significantly weakening his Egyptian God.

[Slifer the Sky Dragon: 6000 -> 3000 Attack, 6000 -> 3000 Defence]

"Fortunately, the cards I discarded included my electromagnetic turtle, and its effect was activated during the battle phase. If this card was sent to the graveyard, I can immediately end the battle phase!" Yami Yugi shouted, tension oozing from his voice.

"I set two cards, changed Dark Magician to defence position, and ended my turn..."

[Slifer the Sky Dragon: 3000 -> 1000 Attack, 3000 -> 1000 Defence]

[Life Shaver Counter: 2 -> 3]

"Now it's my chance!" Seto's eyes gleamed: "Obelisk the Tormentor, OBLITERATE!!"

"I won't let you do as you wish!" Yami Yugi frowned: "I will play my set card, Magical Hats. This card allows me to discard my entire hand and draw a card. If it's a spell, I can play it immediately!"

'Heart of the cards guide me!' He exclaimed and anxiously drew a card. Staring at the spell card in his hand, Yami Yugi's eyes widened: "I will play Card of Sanctity, and both of us will draw until we have six cards!"

[Slifer the Sky Dragon: 1000 -> 6000 Attack, 1000 -> 6000 Defence]

"You think that will stop me?!" Seto exclaimed: "I will activate Life Shaver's effect by sending the trap to the graveyard. You must discard cards equal to the number of counters that are currently on the card!"

[Slifer the Sky Dragon: 6000 -> 3000 Attack, 6000 -> 3000 Defence]

BOOOOOOOM

Obelisk, the Tormentor's fist, slammed into Slifer's body, and the dragon was knocked to the ground. Before it could recover, Obelisk brought down his second fist, this time fatally wounding the Egyptian God.

[Yugi Mutou: 1300 LP -> 300 LP]

"It's the end!!" Seto shouted with delight: "Your God is dead while mine remain! Next, I will also summon Lord of D in defence position!"

[Lord of D: 1200 Attack, 1100 Defence]

"Then I will play the Flute of Summoning Dragons, and we can both special-summon up to two dragon monsters from our hand. I will summon two of my Blue Eyes White Dragons!"

[Blue Eyes White Dragon: 3000 Attack, 2500 Defence]

"Then I will summon Red Eyes Black Dragon in defence position!" Yami Yugi declared.

[Red Eyes Black Dragon: 2400 Attack, 2100 Defence]

Seto stared at his three new monsters, and the smile on his face widened. With this, it's more than enough to activate Obelisk's effect once more and entirely end the duel...

"I will activate Obelisk the Tormentor's effect to tribute my Lord of D and Blue Eyes White Dragon to destroy your Red Eyes Black Dragon and deal four thousand damage to you directly!"

"In response to that, I will play Monster Reincarnation to add one monster card back to my hand!" Yami Yugi shouted: "The card I added is my Kuriboh! Then I will be able to discard Kuriboh, and the damage I would receive from Obelisk the Tormentor will be zero."[1]

Although Red Eyes Black Dragon was destroyed, Yami Yugi was thankfully able to survive. However, Seto knew that his opponent was running out of miracles.

"Fine, I will play Dragon's Mirror, banishing the Blue Eyes White Dragon on the field and the two Blue-Eyes White Dragons from the graveyard to fusion summon Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!!"

GUOOOOO

A loud howl could be heard as a wide, flat mirror magically appeared on Seto's field. Gradually, a prominent figure slowly emerged, spreading its wings. The monster's three separate heads roared in unison and created an intimidating sound.

[Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon: 4500 Attack, 3800 Defence]

"Now, I activate Quick Attack, Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, destroy Dark Magician!!"

The three heads opened their mouth and fired a white beam that destroyed everything in its path. Dark Magician hurriedly raised its arms but unfortunately perished in the blast.

"I will set a card and end my turn here." He said, trying to keep calm: "On my next turn, I will discard my entire hand due to the effect of Card of Demise." But since there were no cards in Seto's hand, it was never really a significant loss.

'There must be something I can do!' Yami Yugi bit his lips: 'This next turn may very well decide the outcome of this duel.'

"DRAW!" He yelled louder than usual as the Millennium Puzzle by his chest glowed. In the corner of his vision, Yami Yugi glanced at the new card in his right hand as a revelation struck him.

This was just the exact thing he needed!

"First, I will use Eternal Soul's effect to revive Dark Magician from the Graveyard!"

[Dark Magician: 2500 Attack, 2100 Defence]

"Next, I will play Double Spell!" Yami Yugi's clear voice swept through the field: " I can select any number of Spell Cards you activated this and last turn and activate their effects as if they were mine!"

"What!" Seto exclaimed.

Ignoring his cry, Yami Yugi continued: "I will play my set card, Polymerisation! Fusing Dark Magician and Buster Blader to summon Dark Paladin!!"

Dark Magician suddenly spread his arms, summoning a set of majestic black armour. The armour wrapped around his already existing robe, and a commanding presence swept through the field. The staff in his hand had now transformed into a beautiful sword that shined brilliantly under the sun.

[Dark Paladin: 2900 Attack, 2400 Defence]

"With Dark Paladin's effect, he will gain five hundred attacks for each dragon monster on the field or in the graveyard!"

[Dark Paladin: 2900 -> 3900 Attack, 2400 Defence]

"Now, with Double Spell, I will also activate Quick Attack, allowing Dark Paladin to attack this turn!!"

Boldly, the mage, now warrior, charged and leapt into the air. Obelisk the Tormentor lashed out with his fists, and Dark Paladin brandished his blade, ready to confront the god.

"You fool! Dark Paladin is still weaker than my Egyptian God!" Seto couldn't help but shout.

"That may be true, but I will also activate the spell, De-Fusion, splitting your Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!!"

In midair, Dark Paladin pointed his weapon at the dragon beside Obelisk. Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon's body radiated a bright white hue, shrinking and separating into three figures.

[Blue Eyes White Dragon: 3000 Attack, 2500 Defence]

[Blue Eyes White Dragon: 3000 Attack, 2500 Defence] [2]

"Thus, Dark Paladin's attack will increase!!"

[Dark Paladin: 3900 -> 4900 Attack, 2400 Defence]

"Now, Dark Paladin is stronger than your god!"

"I won't allow this!!" Seto bellowed: "I play Energy Dragin to reduce your Dark Paladin's attack to zero and draw one card! (A N I M E)"

[Dark Paladin: 5400 -> 0 Attack, 2400 Defence]

"It's over!!" Seto yelled eagerly, but Yami Yugi's smile instantly made a crack on his smirking face.

"Yes, for you!" He said: "I will activate Dark Paladin's effect. I can discard a card and negate one of your spell cards! I will negate your Energy Drain!"

[Dark Paladin: 0 -> 5400 Attack, 2400 Defence]

Seto couldn't believe his eyes as the two entities came in contact. Dark Paladin's sword easily sliced through Obelisk's massive fists. The mage sprinted along the Egyptian God's arm, and with a heavy swing, Dark Paladin decapitated Obelisk the Tormentor's head.

Seto stared at the scene as his surroundings had gone silent. As if in slow motion, his pupils tracked Obelisk's head, which was falling to the floor.

'I... lost....' The realisation has finally donned on him, and he subconsciously turns his head, locking eyes on the girl he wanted to defeat the most.

'Kaiba....' Seto saw her mouthing the word, and a disgusting feeling welled up from his chest. Averting his gaze, Seto glared at the floor as he could not meet her eyes, and he finally understood what the emotion was.

It was the feeling of unbearable shame...

[Seto Kaiba: 1100 LP -> 0 LP]

[Yuna's POV]

"So, Big Brother lost in the end," Mokuba muttered: "He was so close as well..."

Nodding to Mokuba's words, I observed Kaiba with a frown. Currently, he was still standing on the field in a daze, seemingly in disbelief at what had just happened. What finally snapped him back to reality was the sound of his Duel Disk shutting off and Yami Yugi's footsteps approaching him.

"It was a good battle, Kaiba." Yami Yugi said with respect.

Gazing at Yugi, he quietly reached for Obelisk, the Tormentor still resting on his duel disk and dropped the card onto the floor. Unable to utter a single word, he left the field.

"Seto," Mokuba ran up to his brother. However, as if lost in his world, Kaiba gently brushed past Mokuba's shoulders and swiftly entered the elevator.

Big brother, wait!" he yelled, but it was too late as the elevator door shut right in front of him. Staring at the elevator in shock, we both couldn't comprehend what just happened and were unsure how to act.

"Big sister..." he turned to me, at a loss.

My face also slightly stiffened at this dilemma. For my entire time watching the show, Seto Kaiba has never behaved this way...

"Will... talk to him..." I said, deciding to sacrifice myself for the greater good.

Mokuba nodded, seemingly reassured: "Okay... I will talk to Roland so the time before your match can be extended." I waited patiently as Mokuba approached the referee, and after I was given the thumbs up, I hurriedly chased after Kaiba and went down the elevator.

Five minutes later...

"Huff... Huff... Where is he?" I groaned with exhaustion while running around the island.

Sensing a vibration in my pocket, I quickly answered the call and was relieved to hear Mokuba's voice from the other side: "Big sister, one of the workers told me that brother was last seen entering the airship."

I stopped and lowered my arm before collapsing onto my knees in frustration. That's all the way on the opposite side of the island!!

Holding back my tears, I shakily stood up and began jogging back towards the direction of the airship. Screw talking to him! How about I gave him a piece of my mind?!

Fifteen minutes later...

After walking for who knows how long, I finally arrived back at the airship. Upon entering, I was immediately greeted by Noah, who had a face as if he had just eaten dog poop.

"Hey, you're looking for that guy, right?" He spoke with a scowl

Seeing me nod, he sighed tiredly: "Well, he's in his room; whatever happened up there must have driven him insane. I tried to talk some sense into him, but he destroyed the television like a rabid animal. It was so unprofessional..."

Thanking Noah, I hightailed towards Kaiba's room and in the hallway, I could hear the sound of things being knocked over and items crashing against each other...

Nervously, I knocked on the door: ".... Kaiba?"

"F*ck.... off..." A voice croaked from inside the room, and I instinctively frowned.

Hesitantly, I turned the doorknob, and the door swung open as the corridor light shone into the darkness, revealing the chaos inside.

Curtains covering the windows were torn to shred, a desk was thrown across the room, the mirror in the bathroom was shattered, and the entire bed was flipped over. If you told me that this was the room of what happens after a drug deal goes wrong, I would have one hundred percent believed you, no questions asked, but the room of a young billionaire?

Turning my head, I glanced at the perpetrator of this mess sitting against the wall with his head lowered. Slowly raising his head, Kaiba glared at me with rage: "I told you to leave,"

"Kaiba..." I muttered worriedly.

I carefully pushed away the shards of glass and sat down beside him. It was very dark, and I wanted to turn on the light, but it would probably annoy Kaiba even more.

'How should I comfort him?' I pondered: 'This is Kaiba we're talking about after all...'

Realising that my Ten Tricks to Please Mokuba/Serenity wouldn't work, I quietly sat beside him and hoped that he would calm down enough for us to talk.

As I counted the two hundred and fourth sheep in my head, Kaiba finally opened his mouth: "Am I weak?" He asked, his gaze pleading for me to make a response.

"What makes... you say that..." I uttered in surprise.

Kaiba clicked his teeth with pure frustration: "For so long, I imagined myself to be the strongest, someone who's undefeatable. But that day, the duel with you was a wake-up call."

"You're... welcome?" I blurted out, and he chuckled wistfully.

"After that, I slowly began to realise the limit of my capabilities..." He continued: "Because of that, I have accepted you as another mountain I have to conquer."

"And... you did..." I commented: "I lost..."

"Yet for me, that is not a victory," Kaiba growled and clenched his fist. I shrugged, unable to refute. If that's what Kaiba think, then it's not my right to judge.

"I trained without rest, gradually gathering strength so I could match your level." Kaiba spoke with a hint of pride: "Just when I believed that I had caught up... He bested me...."

His face contorted into anger as he picked up a part of the broken desk and hurled it across the room. Burying his face into his knees, I couldn't see Kaiba's expression. However, I could tell that he was really disappointed in himself.

Sitting in silence, I observed him and contemplated what I should say, "Not weak..." I spoke up after some time: "You're... strong..."

Kaiba scoffed as if he couldn't believe what I just said: "Stop messing with me."

"You... are!" I insisted, and Kaiba grumbled.

Despite how much I praised him, Kaiba's mood seemed to become grumpier and grumpier. Eventually, I gave up and decided on a new approach, one that would surely get some reaction.

"Give up?" I asked, and Kaiba's eyes widened.

"What are you sprouting this time?!" He growled, obviously agitated.

"You lost... to Yugi..." I pointed out: "Are you... giving up?"

"Who do you think I am!" Kaiba suddenly jumped to his feet.

Following him, I also stood up and held my ground as he glared at me: "Then tell me..." I pressed on.

"You..." Kaiba snarled, enraged. He stepped forward, and I subconsciously placed my back against the wall: "Do you think all my hard work and all the time I spent is just a joke?!"

"No." I denied it and shook my head fervently.

"Then...."

"Kaiba..." I spoke as sternly as possible: "I always..... believed... you won't.... give up..."

As a fan of the show, it was already well known that Seto Kaiba was someone who didn't know how to quit. Even when Atem returns to the afterlife, Kaiba creates technology to bring himself there and duel him.

"What makes you think that you know everything about me?" He growled.

"I... just do..." I answered vaguely.

Immediately, I became embarrassed by how cringe that sounded, and I felt my face heating up. As Kaiba tried to gauge my thoughts, I hurriedly avoided his gaze while nervously thinking that he may think of me as a stalker.

Kaiba clicked his teeth and leaned his head towards me: "Why aren't you looking at me?"

'What kind of question was that!?' My face subconsciously stiffened: 'Haven't you learned a thing about personal space?!'

"Look at me." He ordered, his tone heavier than before.

We were so close that I could hear his breathing, and I felt my brain about to explode. Taking a loud audible gulp, I nervously turned my head. In silence, we stared at each other, both unable to form words.

"Um..." I made an awkward sound and rubbed my shoulder as I became more and more anxious with each passing second: "K... Kaiba..."

However, he was seemingly stuck in a trance, and my body squirmed uncomfortably. With my back against the wall, there was no way I could escape.

'What in the world is this romance drama development here!' I screamed internally: 'And why do they have to make Kaiba this handsome!'

"Kaiba!" Unable to handle it anymore, I finally snapped.

I weakly pushed him away, and he stared at me in shock. Almost instantly, an awkward silence hung over us.

"Too... beautiful?" I smiled stiffly and joked to lighten the mood.

Kaiba:.....

'Please respond with your usual snarky comment!' I begged: 'You're making it sound like you're actually into me here!'

Suddenly, I froze, and a faint blush appeared on my cheeks: 'Hold on, what if he actually likes me!!!!!' Just thinking about it made me feel embarrassed.

"Ahem..." We suddenly heard Noah's voice projecting from one of the speakers at the end of the hallway: "If you two are done in there, that guy with the glasses looked a bit annoyed and kept asking when you're ready for the next duel."

Taking Noah's words as a sense of salvation, I ducked under Kaiba's arm and quickly moved to the door. Remembering Kaiba, I swiftly turned around and mustered a slight smile: "You're strong... don't give up..."

"Yeah...." Kaiba stammered.

"Oh..." I suddenly clapped and stared at him playfully: "Kaiba.... three favours... remember?" Watching him nod slowly, I felt my grin widen with relief: "Will.... use one... now...."

[3rd POV]

Without looking back, Yuna ran out of the room. Seto stared at the opened door quietly and sighed at the chaotic emotions coursing through his mind. Stepping out of the room, Seto turned to the maids patiently waiting in the hallways: "Clean up the mess."

"Right away, Master Kaiba," The maid in front bowed courteously as they silently ushered in.

"Master Kaiba," Suddenly one of the maids called out to him and approached the door; in her hand was a single Duel Monster card: "We found this on the floor. Have you lost it?"

Grabbing the card, Seto turned to the front image and subconsciously gasped: "This..." He stared at the card with a complicated gaze.

"Yes, it's mine." Managing his astonishment, he answered, and the maid bowed before returning to her duties.

Seto sighed as he couldn't control the smile forming on his face. Turning his head towards the mirror in the corridor, he touched his face with wonder. For the first time after a while, he genuinely smiled.

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I hope you enjoy it!

[1] For those confused, Kuriboh can't be used as chained link 2+ because its effect will be resolved before the damage is even dealt, and the card's effect will really come into play during the damage calculation. Thus, it can be used.

[2] For De-fusion, it wasn't really explained whether the monster that was banished for fusion material could come back. But since they have only used polymerisation and nothing else, with the additional fact that De-fusion's description was so vague, I believe it's possible.