Episode 6. - Dark Hand, Shadow Of Illusion

"Ghost Touch!" cried the enraged Ieri, as he played his card. The darkness reached out toward Yodaz's mind and robbed him of his Rumbling Terahorn. Ieri smiled darkly at his opponent. His brother Pai would be avenged. He would defeat Yodaz, and discard him as they did with all those who opposed them.

Yodaz was not the slightest bit intimidated. He had come this far, and easily defeated Pai Lon. Ieri did not seem any more advanced, and so far, his deck had not shown any particular special capability. However, the duel was still in its infancy, and Yodaz was willing to put the young 'dragon' to the test. He drew his card and confidently charged water mana, then summoned a Hunter Fish. Ieri drew his card, smiling at what he considered to be an amateurish mistake, and played another Ghost Touch. Yodaz blinked a bit to clear his now-blurred vision.

"So you do have some Kaijudo skill after all," Yodaz smirked, charging nature mana, "Let's take it slowly then, since you seem to be intent on taking my options away. I end turn."

Ieri scowled. Yodaz had, so far, not actually directed any of his Kaijudo at all. He just seemed to let it swirl around, affecting Ieri's mind, but not with any particular intention. He summoned a Horrid Worm, and left it at that. Yodaz responded by calmly playing a Phantom Fish, not bothering to charge mana that turn. He simply smiled piteously at Ieri. Ieri drew his card, and closed his eyes to focus. The decisions would be difficult. Yodaz had destroyed the synergy of Pai's deck before the younger Lon had been able to get started. Ieri had to tread carefully to avoid the same. He charged mana. A Shadow Moon. Yodaz raised an eyebrow, then smirked again.

"I summon Mudman, and end my turn."

"Disgusting sludge," Yodaz noted, "How fitting. But only proving my point. Such a useless card. It has no summon effect, no attack effect... just how do you expect to win with such a card? Sheer 'power'? Don't make me laugh."

Ieri felt a sensation much like fatigue creep over him as Yodaz drew his card and summoned his Emeral.
"I must not lose concentration..." he murmured to himself, "I will not let him get away with what he did to Pai..."

"What was that?" Yodaz taunted, "I didn't hear that one."

"You... will pay!" Ieri snarled, drawing his card, "I summon Shadow Moon, Cursed Shade. Mudman, ikei!" --Yodaz lifted the card-- "Now Horrid Worm, ikei!" --and discarded it, but this time, he tapped the Phantom Fish to block the attack, destroying both the Worm and his own Fish. He scowled at Ieri. Ieri merely looked at the card that now barely peeked out from under the Phantom Fish, in Yodaz's graveyard pile. Corile.

"So your precious Cyber Lord isn't so knowledgeable after all. You shouldn't have blocked my attack. Now your advantage has fallen out from under you."

Yodaz scoffed yet again as he drew his card and charged fire mana.
"Oh, please. I'm just getting started. Corile was not the Cyber Lord I was depending on this time, and you did not manage to stop my true plan. I summon Illusionary Merfolk."

Ieri instantly braced himself for the rush of psychic waves from Yodaz. His mind was instantly filled with derisive laughter. Yodaz drew his three cards, and with each one, his Kaijudo seemed to grow overwhelmingly stronger. When he drew the last, he could not help but smile, and his Kaijudo flooded Ieri's mind, streaming into every corner of the darkness duelist's consciousness. Ieri fought back bravely, but he really could not feel any relief until he drew his next card. Again, without playing any mana, he summoned it. Locomotiver. Yodaz discarded an Illusionary Merfolk, and his influence dropped rather drastically. Ieri exhaled, relieved, and declared another attack on Yodaz's shields with his Mudman. There was no retaliatory Shield Trigger card. Yodaz frowned, and charged darkness mana, then summoned a Bronze-Arm Tribe and ended his turn.

"It seems that your keepaway tactics do not work as well on me, hm?" Ieri postulated, "In fact, I think they're beginning to threaten your plans." The dark duelist played no mana, but he did play Ghost Touch, sending Yodaz's Mana Nexus card to his graveyard. Ieri weighed his options, and ended his turn. It had not been an offensive card. So Yodaz's chances of getting one now, were higher.

A screeching sound outside did not even distract the two. The light from outside seemed to have been swallowed up now, whereas Ieri and Yodaz were quite intently focused even without any such illumination. Ieri rubbed his arm. He was beginning to feel cold...

Yodaz drew his card, and played a Hunter Fish. This one was even more of a fool than the last. Surviving against him with only four mana would be impossible.

"Do not underestimate him. He knows the same tricks as the Shtra girl...."

Yodaz nodded almost grudgingly to the purple shape in his mind. He had already been forced to do without one of them so far, and, though it was only a minor setback, it was still annoying. He would have to do something about that.

Ieri did not intend to give him the chance. He drew his card, and cast Dark Reversal. Having only recently started using the card itself, Yodaz was surprised to see Junkatz's spirit rise out of the 'ground' and return to Ieri, seeming to hover in front of his forehead before being absorbed again, but only for a moment, before the darkness duelist resummoned it, and declared another attack with the Mudman. Again, nothing untoward came of this, and it left Ieri with what seemed to be a steadily increasing advantage. Ieri shuddered slightly. Still cold.

"Time to see what happens when you set that sludge of yours on fire," Yodaz smiled. It was a disturbing smile. Ieri braced himself and prepared his mind for the worst.
"I summon Twin-Cannon Skyterror. To attack and obliterate your Mudman! Following that, Merfolk, ikei!"

Ieri picked up the shield, desperately hoping it was some form of trigger. No such luck. Merely a Writhing Bone Ghoul. Nothing seemed to be working. He could not even pinpoint when Yodaz had managed to get the advantage over him. Cards discarded, battles fought... Ieri now held his head in pain. The strain was quickly becoming too much for him.

"How... how is he doing this? I am playing my best... he hasn't searched for anything... have those three cards truly turned this duel completely around?" Ieri fixated his attention now on the Merfolk, a vile anger now pulsing within him. A hatred for the Cyber Lords' helper.
"I cast Proclamation of Death," --to Ieri's surprise, Yodaz placed his Hunter Fish in the grave, "And attack your Merfolk with Junkatz!"

Yodaz calmly played, but to Ieri, the Hunter Fish swooped in front of the Merfolk to take the blow. Somehow, he had known that the Merfolk would take priority. He leaned on the table a bit to steady himself. Yodaz stood confidently. Almost taunting. Ieri found this even more infuriating.
"Locomotiver, breaking shield. Ikei."

Yodaz grinned from ear to ear as he took up the card. Ieri suddenly felt his arms pricked by dozens of tiny thorns. In front of him, his Shadow Moon was engulfed in unfriendly looking vines, and the greenery dragged the ghost away. Natural Snare.

"Everything... is falling apart..."

"Yes, it is," Yodaz nodded, drawing his card and charging nature mana, "Because you simply cannot stand against me. I play Meteosaur! Burn, Junkatz!"

Ieri's previous feeling of being chilled quickly changed at that moment. Scorching mental pain. He growled and grit his teeth in his endeavour to bear it, forcing his eyes open again to watch Yodaz summon the Aqua Hulcus that would be accompanying the Meteosaur. The enemy advantage was growing. Junkatz was gone.

"Twin-Cannon Skyterror, ikei," --Ieri picked up the cards. Marrow Ooze, the Twister, and another Mudman-- "Bronze-Arm Tribe, ikei..."

"Shield Trigger. Locomotiver." Yodaz's body jerked sideways at that moment. As if he truly had been struck by the possessed train. He laughed it off, letting his Kaijudo swamp Ieri as he prepared for the final attack. He then blinked, slightly perplexed. Ieri's Kaijudo was matching his at every turn. For someone about to lose a duel, he was still confident. Not in the resigned way that Libra or Maze had been, either. Almost a laughing kind of confident.

"What's so funny?" Yodaz finally asked, peering intently to see if Ieri was indeed smiling.

"You are, of course. Can't you see what is in the battle zone?"

Yodaz took another look. Nothing dangerous that he could see. Two Locomotiver. One tapped.
"What are you talking about?"

"Our final shields will decide this duel. You will lose if mine is a Terror Pit."

This realization dawned on Yodaz all too clearly now. His shield could possibly protect him also, but there was no guarantee of that.
"The chances of that are too small. You can't expect that sort of good luck at this point and consider it a sign of your skill. You've lost. I don't even have to attack your shield."

Ieri looked at the cards in his own hand, and pressed his own psychic energy against Yodaz's in a mighty clash.
"I would advise you to attack that shield. You never know how a duel can turn around if you do not."

For once, something told Yodaz to take his opponent's word for it. He would 'have' to attack, though he could not understand why. Even the floating purple one in his mind agreed. Judging from Ieri's confidence, they would have to risk the attack and finish the duel now. First, he would have to overwhelm Ieri's Kaijudo, however, or there would be no real victory.

"Your pathetic confidence is based on only one card. What kind of foolish delusion are you trying to give yourself? You know as well as I do that your last shield is not a Terror Pit. You have been defeated. Accept it!"

Ieri stretched now, totally poised and calm.
"I am defeated because a card that I actually have four of, may not be where I need it to be? I would think that would mean that I am unlucky, not unskilled."

Yodaz sneered, attempting to magnify his own Kaijudo yet again. It still had no effect. Ieri blinked solemnly at him, with no change in his own demeanor at all.
"If you were skilled, you wouldn't be relying on your last shield to save you after all, would you?"

Ieri was becoming quite intrigued by this exchange of opinions. He was also beginning to see more and more of Yodaz's intent, something that he was beginning to find amusing.
"But if my last shield is a Terror Pit, and you attack it now, then you will be the one relying on your last shield, will you not? Does that mean, therefore, that you are not skilled either?"

Yodaz inwardly frowned. There seemed to be no way past his opponent's mental defenses. Perhaps if he tried on an emotional level...
"So you've failed to achieve the 'vengeance' that you desired to wreak upon me for your brother, then, if that card isn't what you need it to be. You can't beat me."

Ieri rested his hand of cards on the table. He could already tell that Yodaz was going to attack. He would not need the cards in his hand to decide this duel. His action irritated Yodaz even more. The champ was tempted to simply attack the Locomotiver, and force Ieri to use what was in his hand, but again, he felt a strong alert within himself not to do so. Even if Ieri was bluffing, he would not be able to defeat the dark duelist's Kaijudo if he did not attack now.

Ieri looked Yodaz up and down disdainfully, sensing his thoughts.
"Go ahead. Attack the Locomotiver. Hope you draw your Corile. You know how ineffective you are without it."

For an instant, Yodaz felt Ieri's Kaijudo surpass his own. He had never had this argument with another Kaijudo wielder before. Many players had chastised his use of Corile, but never one that practically stood as his equal. He gave the same counter-argument in this case, however, as he always did.
"Only fools choose not to play with the most effective cards in the game."

"Interesting, how many fools play this game, then..." Ieri quipped, "Can you even play without that card?"

"That's never going to be an issue, since I don't have to play without it," Yodaz said, "Your silly hypothetical situations don't change the outcome of this duel. You've lost, and your so-called vengeance on me will never happen!"

Ieri shrugged.
"Shu will defeat you with little effort. He can take 'vengeance' for both Pai and myself, though I doubt you will manage to do to me what you did to Pai. You don't seem to be the one in charge over there."

This statement did actually puzzle Yodaz. He didn't ask for any explanation, but Ieri seemed inclined to offer it anyway. As Ieri spoke, Yodaz found himself losing control of his own Kaijudo, as it swirled angrily around him.

"You didn't build that deck. That deck built itself. You are merely its vessel. A means to an end. You cannot change what it is, because if it fails, you must change it back."

Yodaz fumed now: "Of course you take out the cards that don't work. All decks do that. You're just spouting nonsense now. Your delusions won't protect you for much longer, neither in this duel, nor in the world." He reached out to tap his card for the penultimate attack, but as he did so, he felt his own Kaijudo dip. The purple one wanted this person crushed for his arrogance. He was a disruption. It had to be clear, that even if that card was Terror Pit, that he had still lost. He drew his hand back slowly, and spoke again.

"So you're trying to convince me that you are more skilled than I am?"

Ieri's eyebrows raised.
"Hm? Of course not. It is obvious, by now, that you are more skilled than I. However, you have in no way proven that I am unskilled, or that I need to start using the cards you use. Is that not your intent? To show me how helpless and feeble my deck is? You have not done that at all..."

Yodaz felt his Kaijudo become even more furious. This one was flat-out resisting him, putting power behind that shaky argument that other weak duelists used when they were defeated due to their substandard deckbuilding.
"All I know is that at the end of all this, my name will be remembered. You will be nothing more than an afterthought in the footnotes of that history book that no one reads!"

Yodaz felt his Kaijudo whip totally out of control now as Ieri began to laugh, and it seemed almost as if his Locomotivers were laughing too. Mocking him. They all knew. They could run right over him easily if by some freak chance, that was indeed the Terror Pit Ieri was hoping it was. He would lose. What would that mean? He had nearly never lost against a duelist that did not use Corile. Certainly not against a mono. This was unacceptable.

"Wait... unacceptable? What exactly does that mean?" he thought to himself. The response came in thought shapes, from his purple companion. It could not be allowed to happen. This delusional duelist should not be allowed to walk away from the table without understanding the all powerful truth that was Corile. Disrespect for perfection would not be tolerated.

"Destroy him!" came the clear command. Yodaz cringed a bit. Something felt wrong here. His own Kaijudo was beyond his own control. He could feel no outside influence. Pai was currently defeated, and he could feel nothing substantial from the other duelist in the cap. Indeed, Shu had not even bothered to watch the latter half of the duel between Ieri and himself. Shu was too busy looking through his own deck. An unnerving duelist. He certainly would not want to go up against the 'dragon' that the other two claimed to be better than him, riding on a loss to Ieri, even if it were an unlucky loss.

"It won't be Terror Pit," he insisted, pulling his Kaijudo back under rein.

"Who are you trying to convince?" Ieri shrugged, "I certainly don't expect it to be. I'm content in the knowledge that it could be. So why don't you just attack and let's see? If it is, you can consider it your bad luck..."

The Cyber Lord in the battle zone in their linked minds swirled furiously now, eager to send the Merfolk into the attack, and crush the whelp that taunted them. It was willing to risk being dragged into the unlikely Terror Pit, if only it would shut the young man up.

Ieri walked away from the table now, back towards where he had left Pai. He did not break the mental link, but he apparently did not need to be near his cards to use his Kaijudo even at this point. The two Locomotiver still grinned menacingly at Yodaz's last shield.

"Where are you going! Finish the duel!"

Ieri picked up the slice of pizza, and ruffled Pai's hair with his other hand, then called back to Yodaz.
"I haven't given up. It's your turn, remember? I don't mind if you touch my cards. Just attack and flip the card over. If it is Terror Pit, flip your own shield over. It is a simple process. Whoever has the trumping shield wins."

Yodaz scowled again, and waited until Ieri was biting into the pizza to declare his attack with the Merfolk, spiking his Kaijudo and nearly causing Ieri to bite his tongue. The darkness duelist growled a bit, and slowly made his way back to the table, where Yodaz was reaching for his last shield...

Something was holding him back.

Yodaz's fingers hovered barely two inches away from Ieri's shield. Almost ready to flip it. Almost ready to claim victory, or, in the most unlikely of cases, suffer defeat. His mind began to calculate the numbers. There had been no Terror Pit so far. None in shield zone. None in mana. Certainly none played. Ieri's deck looked like it had about twenty three cards left in it. This would be the twenty fourth card. He had said there were four Terror Pit in the deck. Chances of four in twenty four. One in six. Ieri only had a one in six chance of winning. But one in six wasn't totally horrible odds either. Could there be any other type of nasty surprise? No. Proclamation of Death could not stop him, and there was no other darkness shield trigger capable of destroying his Cyber Lord. One in six. This was--

His thoughts were abruptly cut short when Ieri reached the table, and without so much as a flinch, flipped over his card. Death Smoke.

"See, you're fine. You win."

The duelist began to gather his cards, and his dark Kaijudo faded. Yodaz had not realized before, how fast his heart had been beating. He had not been afraid, had he? No... something else. Something he could not quite place or describe. Not fear. Something... different.

"Good game, eh?" Ieri congratulated, "It isn't often I have a duel like that. Shu normally just walks over me, and most other duelists can't handle me that easily. I'd shake your hand, but mine are both full, as you can see."

Yodaz stared at his opponent in shock and disbelief. Ieri had recovered from whatever effect Yodaz had managed to have during the beginning of the duel. He was jovial now. Completely unaffected by Yodaz's Kaijudo. In the champ's mind, the two Locomotiver where the last to vanish, as Ieri picked up their representative cards. They were still grinning. Still mocking... still--

"TODOMEDA!"

Ieri blinked as the massive Kaijudo surge swept over him. He looked around, half expecting to find his surroundings decimated by the force that had engulfed his perception.

"Whew. That was interesting. Would it not have been better to save all that energy for Shu, though? You're going to need it if you want to walk out of here in one piece."

The purple one in Yodaz's mind was furious. Absolutely no effect. Not even the slightest twinge of self-doubt or realization. Truly a delusional mind. One so delusional that he could not see that even if the duel had stretched on longer, even if Yodaz had destroyed the Locomotiver instead of attacking the shield, that he would still have been brutally defeated.

"His hand!" came the thought. Unfortunately, it was too late. Ieri had already put his deck away. There was no way to know what his last few cards had been. Surely, whatever those few cards were, they would not have been enough to stop the onslaught...

"Shu. You're up," Ieri called out to his cousin, who seemed to finally have found whatever he was looking for in his deck, and was staring at the card almost lovingly. Shu quickly shuffled the card back into the deck, and crossed over to where Yodaz was collecting his own cards in preparation for the final duel.

"Do you care if he remembers this meeting?" Shu asked quietly.

Ieri shrugged noncommittally.
"It doesn't matter to me. He's interesting, but not that interesting. He doesn't have anything to offer our students, so we don't need him around. Dispose of him however you prefer."

Shu nodded, and turned to Yodaz, giving him a small smile: "Let's begin..."