Episode 19. - Mark of A Genuine Champion

The end of Yodaz's match with Shinji was met with applause for Yodaz, who seemed to return to his usual self once the press hounds started to pay more attention to him. Shinji retreated calmly to the refreshments area. The final match no longer needed to be announced. The two duelists that would be participating in the fourth quarterfinal match were already taking up their positions on opposite ends of the same dueling table. Ieri and Shu were whispering to each other, no doubt concerning possible strategies for the darkness duelist to use, to quickly pick up on his opponent's strategies.

Pikaye was in a similar situation. He was going into this without any idea what to expect, other than that his opponent used Darkness creatures, and therefore he would have at least the field advantage.

"Pikaye will go first," the official announced, since neither of the duelists had indicated a preference. They both nodded now in acceptance of this, each viewing it as advantageous to himself. Ryoma found himself to be the only one of the top eight remaining to watch this particular duel. Even Ieri moved on, apparently not having any further interest in the clash. Shu inhaled deeply, then deployed his shields and drew his cards when Pikaye did the same.

Then the room went quiet, as the two powerhouses began. Pikaye charged light mana first, instantly making Shu wary. Eyeing his opponent suspiciously, Shu Lon drew his card and put one of his Terror Pits into his own mana zone. Gene Kirricort smiled most enthusiastically now.

"This is phenomenal. Even I can feel it now..." he smirked. The thoughts streamed through his head, but not of the clash in front of him, but rather of how much this would boost tournament attendance and sales.

Pikaye's eyes grew wide with surprise as Shu's influence began to press into his psyche. The shadows of his mind seemed to become almost tangible. He placed water mana into his manapool and drove back those shadows with Sarius, Vizier of Suppression. Shu smirked at the move. Early blocker summons usually indicated a great confidence in one's deck, or a great lack of experience. Given the situation, he would assume the former, but his response would be no different. He charged more darkness mana of his own.

"Critical Blade."
The shockwave from the dark blade slashing through the Initiate tore through Pikaye's mind, instantly making it clear to him that his opponent meant this to be no simple card game. For some reason, Shu seemed even more serious than Yodaz had been, albeit in a different way. The dark duelist ended his turn now, and Pikaye quickly returned his mind to its normal state. He charged mana, and no more. His turn ended also.

It was at this point that Shu Lon decided, for some reason, to converse with his opponent.
"So what is your excuse? I charge mana, and summon Gigazoul. End turn."

Pikaye gave Shu a perplexed look as he drew his card and noted what it was before adding it to his hand. He was not happy about the early appearance of the Chimera. Its presence was unnerving him. The mental image of it writhing before him was not comforting at all. He charged more water mana and summoned Magris, Vizier of Magnetism.
"Excuse? What do you mean? End turn."

Shu charged more mana now.
"Your excuse for not using your own deck. Forgive me if I misjudge you, but wasn't your deck built with the intention of winning the tournament? Is this truly the deck you normally play? Your spirit does not behave as if it is... Locomotiver. End turn."

Shu had an interesting visualization for the Locomotiver's effect. The smoke billowing from the train surrounded Pikaye. When it cleared, Pikaye had lost, from his hand, Aeris, Flight Elemental. The first of his primary defenses against Darkness was gone.

The Japanese champion drew his card, and was faced with his first serious decision for the duel. Summon Mist Rias and risk the danger of Shu's evolution ability, or summon Miele and negate that threat. He admitted to Shu then, that he could not say that the deck was 'his' in the sense that the Dark Dragon meant.
"This is not 'my' deck. I do not have a deck, I build counter decks. I charge Mist Rias to mana and summon Miele, Vizier of Lightning, to tap your Gigazoul. Magris, ikei!"

Within a few seconds, the Initiate and Chimera were locked in mortal combat. Though Miele made it impossible for the Gigazoul to escape without being attacked, the rings of light in no way weakened the creature. Soon, it writhed in its death throes, but it had also dismantled the unfortunate Magris in the process. Both of their main strategies had been temporarily disabled preemptively. Now it would become a matter of who could rebuild their plans faster. Shu drew his card.

"A counter deck? That is what you are about? But a counter to who, or what? If you wanted to counter things, you would build a deck like our American champion, wouldn't you? His deck supposedly has no equal, and can counter everything. So then..."

Pikaye answered as he noticed that Shu apparently had no intention of charging any mana this turn.
"All decks have their strengths and weaknesses. Simply because the player does not believe that the weaknesses are there does not remove their existence. As for my own deck, it is a counter to your American champion's deck. I have studied it in detail, and I have built the deck to counter it, although--"

"You are unsure," Shu noted, summoning his Shadow Moon, Cursed Shade, "I can sense that. There are strategies that he could use that you overlooked, or he has better 'luck' than you thought, or perhaps you were basing your practice matches against him on the way Japanese players would use such a deck. But in some way, you have made an error, haven't you? Locomotiver, break his shield. Ikei."

The train rumbled forward to crash into Pikaye's defenses, shaking them. The situation in his mind would have seemed dire to most duelists, but not to one as experienced as Pikaye. He was in control as much as he needed to be. Light was not an easily overpowered civilization.

"I admit that it no longer appears to be as effective a counter as I once thought it was," Pikaye said in his professional English as he picked up his shield, "However I am still confident that if I defeat you I will do well."

"So you are the hero of the Orient today? Come to reclaim the world champion title and return it to Japan? I'm not sure if I consider such a wish to be arrogant and selfish, or noble and foolish. You may win the tournament, but it will mean no more than the title. It will just be another victory in your battle to counter things. That deck you win with will not last long, will it?"

Pikaye smirked slightly.
"That's where you are wrong. You underestimate both myself and my deck. I did put a small 'part of myself' in it, as I do with them all. It is part of the reason why I do not play a deck like your champion's. I do have something I believe in above 'winning'."

Shu looked skeptical as he watched Pikaye charge more light mana.
"Oh? Will you be showing me this 'something', then?"

Pikaye's smirk widened into a genuine smile.
"Indeed I will. Now would be a most opportune time to do so. Miele, evolve into Craze Valkyrie, the Drastic!"

The beams of light trapped both the dark ones, banishing the shadows around the Ghost for that instant, leaving both Shu's creatures completely vulnerable. Pikaye's Kaijudo magnified itself in such a way as to make it clear to those around, and most definitely to Shu, that this, of all cards, was his avatar.

"Valkyrie, destroy the Shadow Moon. Ikei!"
The whips of light sliced through the ghost, returning its ethereal form to nothingness. Shu did not seem concerned. He simply waited until Pikaye officially ended his turn, drew a card, then ended his own, passing the advantage back to the Japanese champion. Pikaye drew his card, and decided to press that advantage whilst he had it.

"I summon Mist Rias, Sonic Guardian. End turn, no attack."
He had no intention of risking shield breaking at this point. The field advantage was more important. Shu knew this as well, and though Pikaye was the one whose avatar was dominating the battle zone, Shu did not seem too intimidated yet. In fact, he smiled as he drew his card.

"Such a bittersweet feeling. You did what I was counting on by not attacking, but you also made my decision harder by what you chose to summon. Very well. I charge mana and play Death Smoke on your Craze Valkyrie."

Pikaye felt the smoke wrap around him and his avatar. The mental influence was strong enough to cause him to hold back a cough. His body seemed to be convinced that it needed to expel noxious fumes from its lungs. When it was over, his Valkyrie was gone, and his Kaijudo significantly diminished. Down, but not out. Shu ended his turn, disappointed about the situation he was now in, regardless of the fact that the large threat was gone. The Sonic Guardian could create an endless supply of the forces for Pikaye if it was not eliminated, and soon.

Pikaye decided to do exactly that, as soon as possible. He drew his card, but charged no mana.
"I summon Sarius, Vizier of Suppression--" now he drew another card, "--Mist Rias, ikei!"

The light yet again dispersed the shadows that had been lingering around Pikaye since the casting of the Death Smoke. When the Sonic Guardian blasted the shield, there was no trigger activated. Shu looked at the card he picked up, then back at the battle zone, and sighed. Thwarted. Power given, yet also prevented from reaching its true usefulness. He charged more mana.
"Shadow Moon, Cursed Shade, summoned. Locomotiver, attack Mist Rias. Ikei."

"Sarius, suppress the assault," Pikaye responded, tapping the card, and his mind erected its barrier. The train crashed into the block-like Initiate with enough force to cause them both to be destroyed on impact. Shu sighed aloud now. Another turn's wait. This was going to be bad. He indicated the end of his turn.

Pikaye drew his card and nodded knowingly to himself. The duel was well in hand now. His opponent only had one creature and was about to have none. He did not need to play mana this time.
"Corile."

"Urk!"
Shu Lon's reaction was surprising even unto himself. There had been no significant change in Pikaye's Kaijudo. Not the way that it would have been with Yodaz, for whom Corile served as avatar. It was rather a matter of the reduction of his own. With the top of his deck locked into the Shadow Moon, it was almost like being robbed of his cards the same way he tended to do to others. But as he had told Yodaz a long time ago, it also took his hope away. Even moreso when he remembered that summoning the Cyber Lord had allowed Pikaye to draw a card of his own.

"Mist Rias, ikei."

There was some hope now, as Shu tried to push back the feeling of impending doom, picking up his shield. His Kaijudo faltered again. Snake Attack. A card he had so few of, and now it would probably be no help. Pikaye ended his turn. Shu seemed to instantly accept defeat, or perhaps his Kaijudo just did that odd thing that was somehow common in Darkness duelists, the change to a nonchalance about their victory.

Ryoma understood instantly what the shift was. He remembered what Shu had said about facing Yodaz, and for some reason he seemed to have chosen to apply the same principle to Pikaye. Was it because of Corile? He would have to watch this duel more carefully now.

Shu's nonchalance was easily shown in his next move. Rather than summoning anything, he simply placed the Snake Attack into his mana zone, and cast Death Smoke on the Corile. Another contrast between Pikaye and Yodaz became immediately clear at this point. There was no drop in Kaijudo at all over the loss of the Cyber Lord. Pikaye merely continued as normal.

"I summon Magris, Vizier of Magnetism. So now I draw two cards. Mist Rias, break his third shield. Ikei."
The Sonic Guardian made its third attack on the defenses of the Chimera duelist, and triggered no response. Pikaye ended his turn.

Shu could feel the balance shifting. The battle zone was becoming brighter and brighter, each shadow less and less defined. The shield that had been broken was a Gigazoul. So far, none of his shields had been triggers, and he was hoping that at least one of the other two was, since he had drawn so few of those triggers himself so far. It was always toughest in single matches, where your own bad luck could crush you. He charged more mana.

"I summon Gigazoul, and cast Proclamation of Death."

It was at this point that Pikaye again did the unexpected. The slow moving death spell was impossible to avoid, but was not fast enough to target anything specific. Pikaye made his choice, and surprisingly, it was the Sonic Guardian that took the brunt of the spell and was dissolved into nothingness, returning the battlefield to somewhat darker conditions. Shu did not quite understand, and was immediately wary of the possibility of another Craze Valkyrie appearing. However, now he ended his turn, unable to do anything further.

Pikaye had drawn the card for the Gigazoul summon, and now he drew for his turn. He charged another Mist Rias to mana. Shu seemed even more wary than before. Whatever Pikaye was up to, he was sure he was not going to like it.

"I summon Emeral, and Corile."
The two Cyber Lords swirled onto the field together, and for some reason, their presence filled Shu with a cold anger. Pikaye felt it instantly, as did most others around. Ryoma looked up from the battle zone to look into Shu's eyes, even though he could sense their duel and 'see' the imagery already, something prompted him to try to understand what it was that Shu was so upset about.

"What is it?" Pikaye asked.

Shu did his best to regain his composure as he placed his Gigazoul back on top of his deck.
"Nothing. I have just been seeing those cards far too much today..."

Pikaye nodded, returning to his mild cheerfulness, assuming that Shu had just been upset about being set back yet again.
"Yes, they are indeed very good cards."

Shu's voice was raspy and venomous as he answered the Japanese champion.
"Indeed..."

Pikaye felt a chill, and a strange determination from Shu. He was sure he already had the duel well in hand, yet something was making him feel nervous even in the face of almost sure victory. He did his best not to focus on it for the time being, and to focus on pressing his growing advantage.
"Magris, ikei."

The shield was broken by the electroblast. There was no trigger to it. Shu looked at the Gigargon in his hand. Close to useless. Also, no trigger. It was too far gone now. No blockers, no triggers, no 'next card'. Nothing. He smiled slightly.

"Hopelessness is such an interesting emotion, don't you think? It is like desperation, only painful."

Pikaye looked confused. He understood what Shu had said, on the linguistic level, but somehow the emotion with which the duelist had said it, seemed not to match with the words. He ended his turn. Shu placed the Gigargon in his mana zone.
"But of course... I should not simply roll over and die, now should I... I summon Gigazoul, and evolve it into the Phantasmal Horror Gigazald! Gigazald, devour Magris! Ikei!"

Pikaye could do nothing to prevent this, but he had not been counting on Magris to bring him his victory. He watched as the Chimera brought down his Initiate, and Shu ended his turn. He charged yet another Sonic Guardian to his mana zone.
"I summon Dia Nork, Moonlight Guardian, and an Aqua Hulcus. Emeral, ikei--" Shu's final shield did not trigger either, "Corile, todomeda!"

Pikaye's final attack did not deliver the jolt that Shu was used to. It was rather like being washed over by a wave. As if he were simply another obstacle in the path to the Japanese champion's true goal. He growled slightly, trying to figure out if such a feeling offended him or not. After the initial applause for Pikaye, and the mob of questioning players and media people, Pikaye managed to extricate himself from the crowd to speak directly to his now-eliminated opponent.

"You played well--"

"I did not," Shu responded curtly, "I saw the signs of the Corile and I disregarded them. I played as if it were not the card that would defeat me. I played as if I was fighting a light deck. I did not play as if I were facing Corile."

Pikaye looked a bit irritated now.
"My deck is not totally dependent on it. You would have had to face many difficulties even if I had not had it."

"As would you have," Shu replied coldly, "You are right, Corile is simply another weapon, but it is the most dangerous weapon, and therefore I should have played as if it, not all those Light cards you threw in to support it, was my enemy. I'm a fool."

Pikaye found himself speechless. Here was an opponent who seemed to think that Corile was the only thing that made his deck successful, and given the outcome of the last duel, there was no way to outright deny that. In any normal, friendly situation, he would have asked for a rematch, to show his skill, to show that his deck was not reliant upon it, but this was a tournament. He would not duel this one again. It was possible that he would never duel Shu again. Mostly, it was possible for Shu to leave this place thinking that he had not been defeated by the Japanese champion of constructed play Duel Masters, but merely defeated by a Corile.

"In the end, I suppose enough Corile solves anything," Shu smirked, putting his deck away.

"No!" Pikaye insisted, "It isn't like that. Please, just let me--"

Shu regarded him with clear and potent disdain.
"Let you what? Prove it? Why? You have won. Take your victory and go with it. Take your title and go with it, if you can take it from Yodaz. It makes no difference to me. In the end of all this, it is Corile that is the champion of Duel Masters. I know this. We all know this. To disregard or debase that card's power is pointless and foolish. Your victory does not bother me as much as you think it does. I had no intention of winning this tournament, and I was quite surprised that I got as far as I did. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go."

Pikaye made a strange face. Those watching could not tell if his expression was pained or angry. Ryoma came up beside him now and asked him in their mother tongue: "Hey, are you all right?"

Pikaye's voice was determined as he gave his answer.
"Yes, I'm fine. I came here to defeat Yodaz, and that is what I'm going to do. I don't have time to be worrying about the words of a bitter defeated duelist."

Ryoma shrugged. He did not understand the feeling. He did not play with the card that Yodaz and Pikaye did, and though he had faced it quite often, he did not understand what Shu was so upset about either.
"Perhaps he just had bad luck in his duel and was upset. It was a darkness duel with no kill triggers, after all. It was probably taxing on him."

Pikaye no longer seemed concerned. He had turned back to intently watch Yodaz. The American champion was looking at him also. There was no enmity in Yodaz's eyes. In fact, it was unclear exactly what Yodaz was looking at him for, in the first place. Even the small pulsation of Kaijudo that rippled through the room did not give any clue as to what Yodaz was thinking about. Pikaye sighed. This was an opponent who, unlike Shu, seemed to know quite well how to guard their emotions. How to keep up their 'poker face'. He would learn nothing new about Yodaz until the duel began. For now, he would have to be content with having watched the duel between Yodaz and Shinji, and gleaned what little he could from there.

Ryoma took his look around the room, contemplating all the odd duelists. The quarterfinals were over. The Guardian duelist still sat, looking at his deck, obviously either confused or depressed. Bernadette seemed to have forgotten the whole thing, and was taking care of her sons again. Blood was busy reading some article in one of the Duel Masters magazines that had been available, apparently oblivious to the theatrics between Shu and Pikaye. Pikaye and Yodaz had now stopped their little staring contest and had returned to looking at their decks, probably mentally playing out possibilities against varying opponents, in their heads. Shu had joined Ieri at the snack bar, and seemed to be calming down due to the influence of the pizza. As for himself, he realized that he, too, was getting a bit hungry, but also considered that it might be better to wait until after at least the next match, to snack on anything. Interruptions whilst eating, especially to duel, were always awkward.

Gene Kirricort was now briefing the officials on the procedures for the semifinals. The camera crews were checking and rechecking their equipment. The show would go on. All in all, Gene was pleased. Each duel had been more dramatic than the last. At this rate, even those uninterested in the game might be at least drawn in when the next set was released, a date which was fast approaching. He smiled. Everything was going according to plan.