Quarterfinal Elimination Match One: Game versus Dark Bakura!
Two afternoons ago, around four or five, I discussed the release schedule with the editor in charge. Yesterday evening, around six or seven, the VIP chapter channel was opened, so all five chapters today were written overnight. I am not asking you to subscribe to the chapters that come after; I only hope that readers who have added this book to their favorites will subscribe to today’s five chapters and give it an initial first order. Thank you.
“From now on, we will begin the draw to assign the players for the semifinal elimination matches!”
Jingye stepped up to the bingo machine and addressed everyone.
“Each of your ID cards bears a number. That number represents the duelist’s match number. Inside this bingo machine are eight balls numbered from one to eight.”
At his words, the crowd took out their ID cards and looked. Sure enough, in the upper left corner of each card was a bold black number.
Looking again at the balls in the bingo machine, they could clearly see that several of the balls facing them also bore large black numbers.
“The opponents for each duel will be selected by this bingo machine. Two balls will be drawn for each match, and the duelist represented by the numbers on those balls will be the players in that battle!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the bingo machine beside Jingye began to turn.
Duelist ranking: number one, Kaiba; number two, Youyi; number three, Yugi; number four, Jonouchi; number five, Mai; number six, Marik; number seven, Bakura; number eight, Ishizu.
As the first ball emerged, the pairings for all four elimination matches were finally decided:
First match: Yugi versus Bakura;
Second match: Youyi versus Dark Marik;
Third match: Jonouchi versus Mai;
Fourth match: Kaiba versus Ishizu.
Apart from the first and last matches, which were the same as in the original anime, the two middle matches had been arranged differently. Youyi had spoken to Jingye in advance and told him that when the middle pairings were drawn, he should activate the tampering that had been prepared for the bingo machine, placing him and Dark Marik in the same group, while Jonouchi would face Mai.
“Oh-ho.”
Seeing the final pairings Jingye produced, Dark Marik let out a low exclamation, then turned to look at Youyi, licking his lips as he smiled at him.
“I never thought that in these four elimination matches, I’d be paired up with the chairman so soon!”
Looking at Dark Marik licking his lips, Youyi smiled back and said,
“Yes. Among the eight duelists here, only you and I possess the cards of the gods. Since we’ve been matched in the elimination rounds, it means everyone will get to witness the clash between the three gods ahead of time!”
At Youyi’s words, Dark Marik remembered the scene before boarding the airship, when the power of souls had split off from Sky Dragon and the Giant Soldier of Stone in Youyi’s hands, effortlessly dealing with the copy of the Sun God. His smile vanished at once, and he glared at Youyi with a face written all over in gloom.
So that’s how it is, chairman? Enjoy your moment while you can. When the duel begins, I’ll show you the true power of the highest-ranking of the three gods—the Sun God! By then, all three divine cards will be mine! And with them, I’ll be able to toy with the nameless Pharaoh to my heart’s content!
Ahahahahaha!
With a head full of thoughts, Dark Marik kept a gloomy face on the surface and, ignoring everyone, returned to his room.
The semifinal elimination duels would not officially begin until tomorrow morning.
...
The next morning.
On the specially made arena of the Duel Airship—the Sky Duel Arena!
At this moment, Yugi and Bakura were standing in their respective duel positions, each with a strap tied around the waist, the other end fastened to the floor behind them.
“Right now, the Duel Airship is at an altitude of one thousand meters! Duelists standing on the Sky Duel Arena will suffer the pain of their bodies being cut by blades of high-altitude wind! The elimination rounds are being held under such harsh conditions!”
Kaiba said with an expressionless face. It was his suggestion, exactly as in the original anime—so ruthless he could turn the blade on himself.
“However, in order to prevent the strong winds from blowing the contestants off the arena, or even out of the airship, safety measures have been attached to every duelist!”
To ease everyone’s worries, Youyi played the role of the softer voice. As the organizer, he had to ensure other people’s safety no matter what.
Though it was only a strap, it had been specially made from unique materials, with toughness comparable to one of the miraculous props from the next-door death-of-the-weekend detective set: the extendable harness.
“In addition, there are a few warm clothes here. If you feel cold, you can put them on.”
Of course, that was directed at those who were only wearing one or two layers, especially girls like Shizuka and Anzu.
“Thanks, Youyi!”
With a smile and a wave, Youyi then turned his gaze to the small television hanging above the duel arena ahead, which would broadcast the battles on the rising platform in real time.
He did not know, now that the world line had already shifted because of his intervention, whether this first elimination match—Yugi versus Bakura—would still be as exciting as in the anime!
“Duel!”
Yugi: 4000 LP
Dark Bakura: 4000 LP
“I go first, then? In that case... draw!”
No matter what the other personality within Bakura’s body—let’s call him Dark Bakura for now—intended to do, Yugi would not fall here. He would advance to the semifinals, and at the same time find a way to drive Dark Bakura’s personality out of Bakura’s body!
“My turn. First, I summon Magician’s Rod in attack position!”
A brand-new Spellcaster monster, its overall appearance resembling a phantom magical energy form constructed from Yugi’s ace monster, Dark Magician.
“At this moment, Magician’s Rod’s effect activates! When it is successfully summoned, I can add one Spell or Trap card that mentions ‘Dark Magician’ in its text from my Deck to my hand.”
As he spoke, Yugi extended his right hand toward the Duel Disk’s Deck slot, and a card with a purple frame instantly sprang from the Deck, landing between his two fingers.
“By this effect, I add the Trap Card Magical Circle of the Magician to my hand, then activate the Spell Card Polymerization! I fuse Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts with Baphomet from my hand!”
With 1600 ATK, Magician’s Rod was neither especially high nor especially low. Combined with the fact that Fusion Summoning was a Special Summon and did not use the Normal Summon for the turn, Yugi chose to bring out two monsters right from the start.
“Fusion Summon—Winged Chimera!”
Yugi’s signature Fusion Monster, Chimera, was a creature often referred to by fans of the original city arc as the classic “three-for-one card loss” Fusion Monster. Perhaps many people did not know that although Chimera’s ATK was a pitiful 2100, it possessed a death effect upon destruction:
Whether destroyed by a card effect or by battle, whether sent to the Graveyard or banished, before leaving the field it can revive one of its Fusion Materials, Gazelle or Baphomet, onto the field.
A textbook example of a monster that dies and still leaves its owner with another wall, or materials for future plays next turn.
“Then I activate the Spell Card Pot of Greed... and finally set two cards. Turn end.”
With the projections of the two Spell/Trap cards appearing, including the searched Magical Circle, Yugi’s first turn came to an end.
“Whoa! As expected of Yugi! He got out two pretty solid monsters on the very first turn!”
From beneath the duel arena, Jonouchi could not help but exclaim in admiration at the layout on Yugi’s field.
“A Spellcaster that searches a Trap from the Deck, and a Chimera that can pull materials from the Graveyard when destroyed... Hmph, worthy of being an opponent I acknowledge!”
As usual, Kaiba the company president wore his tsundere pride on his sleeve, but even he gave Yugi’s setup a nod. With such a dream opening, it would be hard to lose!