Duel Monsters.
A card game that has taken the world by storm. Ever since its creation, players of the game, known as duelists, compete worldwide to determine who is the best.
What started out as a tabletop game evolved into something greater. From the table came holographic projector arenas. From those arenas came duel disks, devices that allowed duelists to duel anywhere at anytime. As time passed, the game expanded and evolved. There was even a time period where there would be duels on motorcycles. Beyond that was augmented reality and holograms with mass.
What started out as a simple card game became revolutionized as technology advanced.
Now, with internet cyberspace evolving at a rapid pace, the card game elevated to a higher plane.
With the advent of a new virtual reality space known as Link Vrains, or the Link Virtual Reality Artificial Intelligence Network System, people were able to take part in virtual reality duels. By converting their consciousness into data, they could leave behind their flesh and blood bodies to roam the Cyber world freely in avatars and identities of their choice.
Furthermore, thanks to the cyberspace phenomenon known as the Data Storm, players are able to take part in a new format of dueling known as Speed Duels.
However, while Link Vrains is a space of freedom, it has its fair share of terrors. Through Vrains, hackers have a new playing field and battle ground to work with. Cyber security becomes threatened by those with the skills to break them down.
It is through these dangers that the Cyber Security company, Codex, thrived. As one of the companies that shared in the conception of Link Vrains, their priority is to ensure a secure cyberspace for everyone to enjoy.
However, no one could have anticipated the events that would change both the real and cyber worlds forever.
Deck set! Into the Vrains!
Within the cyber world, inside Link Vrains, hundreds of people had logged in to view what has been hyped for a wild spectacle. Their avatars were seated within a digital colosseum, eagerly anticipating what is to come.
It was within the crowd that a group of young ladies stood out. In real life, they were known as the Rainbooms, a high school band from Canterlot High. But in Vrains, they were a group of friends who had no idea how the cyber space worked.
“I still can’t believe all of this is digital!” one of them exclaimed with awe. Her avatar was dressed in a black and orange bodysuit that highlighted her curves. On her back was a black leather jacket with an insignia of a red and yellow sun. Her red and yellow hair was long and wavy, tied up into a ponytail. Her blue eyes were wide in wonder as she scanned the surrounding crowd.
“You better believe it, Sunset Shimmer!” An equally, if not moreso, excited voice chirped next to her. The avatar belonged to a girl with floofy pink hair that looked like a mess of zig-zags with a lined visor over her blue eyes. She wore a short, multi-colored dress with leggings and heeled shoes. Around her wrists were fluffy bracelets. At the hem of her skirt was an image of three balloons.
“I thought we were supposed to call each other by our handles, Sprinkles!”
“Oh! Oopsie! Sorry, Racer, sorry Solaire!” Sprinkles, aka Pinkie Pie, apologized.
Racer, or Rainbow Dash in real life, designed her avatar after the Wonderbolts, the best air force unit in the military. She was dressed in a blue jumpsuit with lightning bolt designs. Her rainbow hair was short and spiky. Around her neck were a pair of goggles.
Next to her sat Rarity. She wore an elegant gown that matched her tastes, complete with heels, gloves that stopped mid-bicep, and a masquerade mask to complete the ensemble. She even had butterfly wings sprouted from her back. Her Vrains handle was Gemstone.
Applejack’s avatar was her normal appearance with a cowgirl outfit consisting of spurred boots, jeans, a leather vest over a white shirt, and a bandanna around her neck. On her head was her signature stetson hat. Her alias in Vrains was Orchard.
Fluttershy’s avatar was simple in design. She had a hooded cloak that covered most of her body. Much like her design, her ID was simple: Flutters.
“To think that without the coaxing from Octavia and the others, we never would have thought to come here.”
“I’m just here to see Lyra and Sentinel duel. If he’s as strong as they say, I wanna take a crack at him!”
3 Days ago…
The Rainbooms had just finished a session of rehearsal and were on their way home. But as they crossed the courtyard, they noticed two familiar figures standing across from one another. The girls recognized them as their classmates, Lyra Heartstrings and Flash Sentry. Based on their posture and equipment, they were in the middle of a duel.
Strapped to the duelists’ arms were devices that had boards projected from them. Around their eyes they had what seemed to be mechanical monocles with tinted lenses. These gadgets were known as duel disks and D-Gazers respectively.
Standing off to the side were three more figures; Octavia Melody, Vinyl Scratch, and Bon Bon. They each watched the duel in interest with their own D-Gazers equipped.
“Sweet! A duel!” Rainbow cheered as she reached into her bag and pulled out her own D-Gazer. The girls followed suit.
Once they were activated, the empty space between the two was filled by two figures. One was a lion with a fiery mane and a girl on its back while the other was a purple, armored human with a red D emblazoned on it’s gold faceplate. Lyra also had one card face down on her field while Flash had two.
The D-Gazers also notified them of the duelists’ life points. Lyra currently had 1600 while Flash sat at 2300.
“It’s my turn!” Lyra declared. She pulled the top card from her deck. She then picked out a card from her hand. “I activate Megamorph, and equip it to Ritual Beast Ulti-Apelio!” A stone circle appeared over the lion before it phased into its body, eliciting an empowered roar. “Since my life points are lower than yours, his attack points double!” (ATK: 2600 x 2 = 5200) “And now I attack! Go Apelio! Blazing Pounce!” The beast roared before it charged at the armored monster.
“I activate my face down, Magic Cylinder!” Flash called out. From his field, a card materialized and projected two red cylinders. “Now your attack is negated and you take damage equal to your monster’s attack points!”
“No I won’t! Because I activate this! My Trap Jammer!” Lyra swept out her arm and unveiled her own trap. It was a bear trap within a magic circle. “Now your trap is negated and the attack goes through!”
It went unseen by most, but Flash’s eyes glanced briefly over to the second face down card he had before the attack went through.
“Crap!” Flash yelled as Ulti-Apelio rammed into his Destiny Hero Dystopia, shattering it into pixels and reducing his life points to zero.
Flash LP: 2300 - 2400 = 0
The monitors that displayed their profiles changed as the word WIN appeared below Lyra’s while LOSE appeared below Flash’s.
“Good game, Lyra.” Flash walked over and shook the girl’s hand. “Thought I had you there. Didn’t expect that Counter Trap.”
“Not many people do. But I like to surprise them.” The turquoise girl smiled.
“Nice duel you guys.” Rainbow called out as they approached. “But really Flash? You got out-trapped by a Trap Jammer? You must be slipping.”
“Hey, I’m still human. I’m not a mind reader. Besides, Lyra earned her win. She did well.”
“You know it! I think I’m just about ready to take on Sentinel now!” Lyra said as she became pumped. The Rainbooms however, were confused by the name.
“Sentinel? Who’s that?” Sunset asked.
“You seriously don’t know?” Bon Bon asked. “Sentinel is ranked number one of all of the Charisma Duelist in Link Vrains. He accepts challengers all the time. Lyra is the next one to duel him! Her match is in three days!”
“How did you girls miss something like that?” Vinyl asked.
“We….don’t really use Link Vrains.” Fluttershy admitted. “After learning about the new Master Rule, we prefer to duel IRL.”
After Link Vrains had been established, a new Master Rule came as well. The field became reformatted so that there were Main Monster zones and Extra Monster Zones. In Main Monster zones, duelists can summon any main deck monster they want to the zone of their choice. But the Extra Monster Zone limits each duelist to summon one Extra Deck Monster at a time. These rules were met with heavy criticism as the new field seemed to slow down the game, as numerous decks that use extra deck summons heavily, such as Pendulums, were severely hampered.
The issue was resolved with the creation of a new card type. They were known as Link Monsters. They were an Extra Deck summon mechanic that required specific monsters on the field. The number of monsters needed to summon one depended on the Link Monster’s requirements and Link Rating, which ranged from 1 to 4. With their Link Rating comes a feature known as Link Arrows, which make Main Monster Zones, whether they be the opponent’s or the user’s, into Extra Monster Zones to bring out more monsters from the Extra Deck.
The Advent of Link Monsters had received quite a mixed reception. Some people were interested in the new mechanic and took them up, while others detested the idea, as it made many decks unusable for competitive play.
After long debate and revisions, Codex, Industrial Illusions, and Kaiba Corp. came to a consensus and enacted the following rules.
In reality, duelists can hold duels following the new Link format or pre-link format after both duelists have a mutual agreement.
In Link Vrains, all duels will follow Link format unless specified otherwise for special events.
The rules were met with even more division as many duelists preferred to duel in real life as it was free from the format restriction. But others flocked into Link Vrains as they were drawn to the virtual realm and what it had to offer. Not to mention that the new rules appealed to those who sought a new challenge.
It then became standard for duelists to have two types of decks on hand. One made for pre-Link format and the other made for Link format. It also meant additional profits for the card company.
“Oh, that’s understandable.” Octavia hummed in agreement. “To each their own I suppose.”
“But you’re seriously going to be facing the best duelist in Link Vrains?!” Pinkie asked as she popped up in front of Lyra. “This is BIG news! We gotta celebrate!”
“I have a better idea.” Bon Bon suggested. “Why not join us in Link Vrains to show your support for Lyra? The event is free for everyone to attend. While seats in the stadium are limited, the duel will be broadcasted all over Vrains.”
“Ya sure? But we don’t have any avatars or accounts set up for that.” Applejack pointed out.
“Don’t worry. We can help you out with it.” Lyra said. “The cool thing about Link Vrains is that you can be anything you want to be.”
Now…
After spending a few days creating their accounts, customizing their avatars, and getting used to the virtual world, the Rainbooms now sat inside the Vrains Colosseum.
“So what deck do you think Sentinel will use?” Pinkie asked in curiosity.
“Well, I’ve been searching through the forums and asking people. It seems that Sentinel, as the Defender of Link Vrains, uses a Hero Deck, just like Flash.”
“So that’s why Lyra was dueling Flash? As practice for Sentinel?” Flutters questioned.
“Seems to be the case. But I don’t think it was a good indicator of what she’ll be facing. I mean, Flash is a good duelist, don’t get me wrong. But can he really match a pro in skill?”
“Shh! It’s starting girls!” The lights died down until the arena was shrouded in darkness. Then a single spotlight turned on and trained on the suited man in the middle of the field. With a microphone in hand, the man spoke.
“Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready?!” The announcer screamed. The crowd screamed back in response. “Tonight we have another Challenge night!”
A challenge night is what people call events when any of the top ten members of the Charisma Duelists accept challengers from the local populace. They were mainly used to determine the skill of oneself, or to have a duel with their duelist of choice. They were also good publicity for Charisma Duelists, who were professional duelists in the Vrains circuit that were the equivalent of duel monster super stars.
“Now, I know we all get challenges by the dozen every day, but this one is new! We have a challenger pining for the top dog here in Vrains! Here, we have the ranked one Charisma Duelist, Sentinel!!!!”
The MC gestured to his right, where a figure appeared through the entrance. His avatar was a figure clad in futuristic armor. The plating was dark silver and covered most of the body while a black bodysuit underneath covered the rest. The outfit was lined with orange, circuit-like lines that glowed.His helmet was equally futuristic, composed of intricate metal plating that looked like it came from a sci-fi live action show. The only discernible features were two glowing eyes that had circuit lines that spread around the helmet at each of the corners.
The duelist, Sentinel, raised his arm to the crowd. The masses cheered from his acknowledgement.
“Whoa….that guy looks awesome!” Racer said in awe. “I wonder how he got his avatar like that….now I kinda wanna redo mine…”
“He certainly knows how to design a suit of armor.” Gemstone agreed. “If only he added more color to it. And why must he use orange? It clashes with the aesthetic!”
“So this is the number one duelist of Link Vrains…” Solaire murmured as her eyes were locked onto him.
“Hear that applause folks! And now, let’s introduce our challenger! With an impressive win ratio of 80%, she is a master of contact fusion and a tamer of mythical beasts! Give it up for Mystic!” He gestured to the opposite end.
Running out from the door onto the field was an avatar that greatly resembled Lyra Heartstrings. Her attire consisted of a short dress and leggings and a large, tanned jacket. Her hair was much longer, tied into a high ponytail. She waved wildly to the crowd as they cheered. Off to the opposite end of the arena, she saw her friends cheering their support as well. She soon took her spot across from Sentinel, a grin of determination on her face.
“You ready everyone?!” She yelled out to the crowd, eliciting another round of cheers.
“Hiya Lyra!” Pinkie waved from her seat.
“Good luck, Mystic!” Not too far away from the Rainbooms were four girls. The first was a girl with long black hair and a charcoal complexion. She wore a maestro suit and a masquerade mask over her face. While she was known as Octavia Melody in real life, she was known to many as Maestra within the virtual world as another pro duelist. Next to her was Vinyl Scratch in her IRL appearance. Due to her stage name as DJ PON3, she used Link Vrains as a means to help drum up publicity for her gigs. She also had good business in the Virtual scene as well. On her left was a third figure who just cheered. It was Bon Bon wearing a black, three piece suit and tie and a pair of sunglasses. She looked like a secret agent. Her handle in Vrains was Sweetie Drops.
Mystic smiled at her friends’ support and glared determinedly at her opponent. Sentinel’s avatar betrayed no expression due to his helmet. But his stance dictated his preparedness.
“Alright, ladies and gents, the moment you all have been waiting for!” The announcer yelled as both duelists readied their duel disks. “Let’s get this show on the road! Duelists! Ready?!” A platform materialized under his feet before it carried him into the air and away from the playing field.
“DUEL!”
Sentinel LP: 4000
Mystic LP: 4000
“Challenger’s first!” Mystic yelled excitedly before she picked out one card from the five in her hand as it dispersed and rematerialized onto the field. “I’ll start by playing Ritual Beast Tamer Elder!” On her field appeared an enderly man with long green hair, wearing a set of robes that resembled what Mystic wore.
(Ritual Beast Tamer Elder / Wind / Psychic / Effect / Level 4 / ATK 200 / DEF 1000)
“Once he’s normal summoned, I can special summon another Ritual Beast Tamer from my hand, and I choose Ritual Beast Tamer Lara!” She selected another card, and on the field materialized a blonde girl wearing green garments and a cape. In her hands was a wooden staff.
(Ritual Beast Tamer Lara / Wind / Psychic / Effect / Level 1 / ATK 100 / DEF 2000)
“Appear! Circuit of the unknown!” A square gate appeared above her. At each of the corners and sides was a dulled out arrow. “The summoning conditions are two Ritual Beast Monsters! I set Elder and Lara as the link markers. The two monsters transformed into spiral winds that flew into the bottom left and bottom right arrows of the gate, turning them red. “Rider of the winds, descend with the majestic bird and rally the mythical beasts! Link Summon! Link 2! Ritual Beast Ulti-Kimunfalcos!”
From the portal appeared a massive green bird clad in armor. On its back was a young girl with green hair and brown robes.
(Ritual Beast Ulti-Kimunfalcos / Wind / Winged Beast / Link / Effect / ATK 1800 / Link Arrows: Bottom left, Bottom right / Link-2)
“Now I activate Kimunfalcos’ effect. I can banish two Ritual Beast monsters from my graveyard to special summon another from my hand! I banish Elder and Lara to special summon Ritual Beast Tamer Wen from my hand!” The two cards vanished from her graveyard as another figure materialized onto the field next to Kimunfalcos’s bottom left arrow. It was another young girl with blonde hair tied into a bun. She wore a short purple dress and had a staff in hand with a blue gemstone in the head.
(Ritual Beast Tamer Wen / Wind / Psychic / Effect / Level 3 / ATK 1500 / DEF 1000)
“Those Ritual Beasts of hers are mighty tricky.” Orchard stated. “All that banish and graveyard recursion is mighty difficult to keep track of, especially with a solid engine like hers.”
“You’re one to talk. I can say the same about you and your Sylvan deck.” Racer prodded. “But yeah. I getcha. Lyra’s the only one I know that can make that deck work while using the sole archetype.”
“Now when Wen is summoned, I can special summon one of my banished Ritual Beasts! So come back, Elder!”
Elder appeared next to her Link monster’s bottom right arrow in defense position. “And now Kimunfalcos’s other effect! It gives each Ritual beast monster it points to 600 attack and defense points!”
(Ritual Beast Tamer Wen / ATK 1500 + 600 = 2100 / DEF 1000 + 600 = 1600)
(Ritual Beast Tamer Elder / ATK 200 + 600 = 800 / DEF 1000 + 600 = 1600)
“Now I set one card and end my turn.” She placed one card face down on the field.
“And would you look at that folks!” The announcer cried. “Mystic set up her field with a strong defense! Can Sentinel break it down?”
“Let’s just see. My turn! Draw!” Sentinel declared as he pulled the top card from his deck. He placed it in his hand as he reached for another card.
“So what do you think he’ll do?” Racer whispered to Solaire.
“Well, based on what I know of, some of his strategies involve an immediate fusion summon, or special summoning Heroes to get more onto the field and link summon. It can be either-”
“I summon Armatos Legio Gradius in attack mode!” Sentinel slapped the card onto his board. On his field, a statue of a Roman gladiator with a gladius in hand appeared. It stood on a marble podium and glared at its foe.
(Armatos Legio Gradius / LIGHT / Cyberse / Effect / Level 2 / ATK 0 / DEF 800)
His first move shattered any and all expectations the audience had. Gasps of surprise aired out from the crowd. That wasn’t a Hero monster. What kind of monster was that?!
“Oh my! It seems like Sentinel decided to play a different deck for the event! And it’s a Cyberse Monster to boot!”
“Cyberse? What’s that?” Racer wondered. It was a sentiment shared by many. They haven’t heard of such an archetype. But given how Sentinel played it without issue meant it was perfectly legal.
“I’ve heard about them.” Solaire replied. “Apparently, they are a new type of monster that appeared with the advent of Link Vrains. But the strange part is that Industrial Illusion hasn’t officially released any cards like that. It was like they appeared out of nowhere.”
“But how can that be?” Flutters asked. “I thought only Industrial Illusions can only produce Duel Monster cards.”
“Ooh! What if they actually came from the cyber world? Like, they are actually sentient creatures made of data that made contact with humans and joined them when Link Vrains came online?” Sprinkles suggested.
Her friends looked at her strangely in disbelief. Monsters from the digital world? Surely that wasn’t possible.
“You...you’re not playing Heroes?” Mystic questioned. “Why?!”
“I’m sorry for disappointing you.” He apologized. “But I have my reasons for using this deck. If it makes you feel any better, you have the honor of being the first to duel against the Cyberse.”
Mystic had no idea what to say to that. But her expression grew determined and nodded. She was prepared to take on anything that could come at her.
“Then I shall continue. Since I summoned Gradius, I can add Armatos Colosseum to my hand! Then I play it.” from his deck, a single card stuck out. He grabbed it then played it onto the field.
The surrounding area of the arena became pixelated before the graphics reconstructed into a massive, Roman Colosseum.
“So this is how field spells work in Vrains.” Solaire whispered in awe.
“So magnificent!” Gemstone swooned at the beautiful architecture. “Such splendor!”
“With Colosseum activated, I can add one Armatos Legio monster from my deck to my hand. I choose Armatos Legio Scutum.” he added the card to his hand. “Appear! Circuit that guides the light!” Sentinel called out as his own Link Gate appeared. “The summoning condition is one level 4 or lower Armatos Legio monster! I set Gradius into the Link Marker!” Gradius flew into the bottom arrow of the gate.
“Appear! Link 1, Armatos Legio Decurion!”
A gladiator with a silver, head crested helmet appeared. Its armor pieces had a gold pointed cross emblazoned on it. Around its shoulders was a red cape. In its hands was a sword.
(Armatos Legio Decurion / Light / Cyberse / Link / Effect / ATK 1000 / Link Arrows: Bottom / Link-1)
“Colosseum’s effect! I can send one Armatos legio from my hand to the graveyard to special summon another from my graveyard to the link marker of one of my Link monsters. I discard the Scutum I just added to revive my Gradius!”
A black void opened up on the ground before him. A card that had the image of a Roman Warrior holding a shield on a pedestal crumbled into black pixels as it fell through. From that void shot out golden particles that revived Gradius to the zone right below Decurion.
“Appear! Circuit that guides the light!” Sentinel called out again. “The summon conditions are two Armatos Legio monsters including a Link Monster! I set Gradius and Decurion into the Link Markers!”
Both monsters flew into the portal and lit up the bottom left and to arrows. “Appear! Armatos Legio Primi Ordines!”
From the portal appeared another Roman warrior with gray armor. It had a red helmet, blue cape and held a spear in its hands.
(Armatos Legio Primi Ordines / Light / Cyberse / Link / Effect / ATK 1800 / Link Arrows: Bottom Left, Top)
“I activate Primi Ordines effect! Once per turn, I can target one level 4 or lower Armatos Legio Monster and special summon it! Revive, Scutum!” In the zone directly below Ordines, the shield bearing statue appeared.
(Armatos Legio Scutum / LIGHT / Cyberse / Effect / Level 3 / ATK 0 / DEF 1800)
“Now I discard a second copy of Scutum from my hand to special summon the level 5 Armatos Legio Speculata!” Scutum fell to the void as a pillar of light appeared to the zone where Ordine’s lower Link arrow pointed to. The monster summoned was another statue of a Roman Warrior in mid-run.
(Armatos Legio Speculata / LIGHT / Cyberse / Effect / Level 5 / ATK 0 / DEF 1800)
“I...don’t understand. Why did he summon Speculata there? Wouldn’t he need that zone to summon another monster from the Extra Deck?” Gemstone asked.
“Under normal circumstances, yes.” Solaire explained. “But something’s telling me that Speculata must have some strong effect when linked.”
“Now I battle!” Sentinel declared. “I attack your Ritual beast Tamer Elder with Primi Ordines!” The spearman twirled his weapon as he charged at the elderly man. “Speculata’s effect activates! If an Armatos Legio Link monster that points to this card attacks, you can’t activate any spell and trap cards until the end of the damage step.”
“Wait, what?!” Mystic cried as Ordines stabbed his spear into Elder’s chest. The monster cried in pain before it broke apart into pixels.
“Well, looks like that was the reason.” Sprinkles stated.
“How violent…” Flutters shivered.
“I set two cards and end my turn.” The Defender said as two cards appeared facedown.
“Look at that folks!” The announcer yelled. “Sentinel set up a powerful formation on his first turn. The Romans have always been a force to be reckoned with. Can Mystic overcome their unity and attain victory?”
“Of course I can!” Mystic declared as she drew her card. “My turn! I summon Spiritual Beast Apelio!” A red lion cub with wooden horns and a fiery mane appeared to the zone that was previously occupied by Elder.
(Spiritual Beast Apelio / Wind / Pyro / Effect / Level 4 / ATK 1800 / DEF 200)
“How adorable.” Flutters cooed at the lion.
“Now I activate his effect! I banish Ritual Beast Tamer Elder from my graveyard to give all Ritual Beast Monsters I control an extra 500 attack points!” A red aura surrounded Kimunfalcos and Wen as they became empowered.
(Ritual Beast Tamer Wen / ATK 2100 + 500 = 2600)
(Ritual Beast Ulti-Kimunfalcos / ATK 1800 + 500 = 2300)
“Now I attack with my monsters! Wen, take down his Primi Ordines!” Mystic ordered. The girl with the staff raised it high into the air before shooting bolts of blue energy at the spear bearer.
“Nicely played. But not enough! Go Negate Attack!” The armored duelist activated one of his face down cards. It depicted a spiraling vortex that appeared and sucked up the energy bolts into the void.
“Oh! So close! Despite her strong vanguard, Sentinel not only stopped the attack, but ended the battle phase altogether with Negate Attack! He must really want to keep his field for something. What it is, I’m sure we will find out soon!”
“Grgh! Fine then! If I can't destroy them, then I’ll do this! I banish Apelio and Wen to perform a contact fusion!” Both aforementioned monsters broke apart into light particles before they spiraled and converged to a single point. “Beast of the forest, Tamer of the springs! Join together and call forth the duo of the skies!” Mystic clasped her hands together as the vortex lit up brightly. “Fusion summon!”
A pillar of light appeared as a winged figure spread its wings to reveal itself. It was a large bird that crackled electricity along its wings, tail and head. On its back was Ritual Beast Tamer Elder. “Descend! Ritual Beast Tamer Ulti-Cannahawk!”
(Ritual Beast Tamer Ulti-Cannahawk / Wind / Thunder / Fusion / Effect / Level 6 / ATK 1400 / DEF 1600).
“And since Kimunfalcos points to it, it gains another 600 points.”
(Ritual Beast Ulti-Cannahawk / ATK 1400 + 600 = 2000)
“I end my turn.” Mystic finished before turning it over to Sentinel. “Make your move.”
“Very well, I draw!” Sentinel added his second card to his hand. “I summon my third copy of Armatos Legios Scutum.” Another shield bearer statue appeared next to Speculata.
“Appear! Circuit that guides the light! I set Speculata and Link 2 Ordines in the Link Markers!” Ordines and Speculata turned into lights before lighting up the left, right, and bottom arrows of the gate. “Rally the forces and grasp victory! Shine on everything and create the path! Link Summon! Link 3, Armatos Legio Legatus Legionis!”
An armored figure on horseback charged through the portal. It’s form fully materialized before stopping in front of Sentinel. It was another gladiator. He wore minimal armor with greaves, shoulder pads, and a helmet. In his hands was a sword. His horse, however, was fully clad in white armor. The steed reared on its hind legs and whinnied.
(Armatos Legio Legatus Legionis / Light / Cyberse / Link / Effect / ATK 2400 / Link Arrows: Left, Right, Bottom / Link-3)
“I take it this is your new ace?” Mystic questioned.
“Maybe he is. But more on that later. Colosseum’s effect; I discard Armatos Legios Galea from my hand to summon the Scutum I used as material before.” The shield statue appeared in Legionis’s bottom marker.
“Appear once more! Circuit that guides the light! I set both Scutum in the Link Markers!” Both shield statues entered the portal and lit up the left and right arrows. “Charge forth! Link 2, Armatos Legio Centurion!” An armored figure ran out of the portal before it skidded to a stop. It was another warrior fully clad in silver armor. Its helmet had two golden horns and a green cape flowed from its back. It twirled its spear before pointing it at Mystic’s field.
(Armatos Legio Centurion / Light / Cyberse / Link / Effect / ATK 1700 / Link Arrows: Left, Right / Link-2)
“Enter Battle Phase! I attack Kimunfalcos with Legionis!” The mounted warrior charged at the armored bird.
“Activate trap!” Mystic declared and revealed her facedown. “Waboku! Now I take no battle damage and my monsters won’t be destroyed this turn!” A group of robe men appeared before Legionis before it could cut down Kimunfalcos. The warrior backpedaled before it returned to Sentinel’s field.
“I see...I end my turn then.” The Defender called out.
“Then it’s my move!” Mystic cheered as she drew. “I’ll start by playing my Pot of Desires!” Another card materialized on her field. The image depicted a literal, two-faced pot. One side was purple and encrusted with gems while the other was green and smiling. “With it, I banish the top ten cards of my deck face down to draw two cards!” The remaining cards of her deck were reduced by ten before she drew another pair.
“Pot of Desires...talk about a double edged sword.” Gemstone said.
“I agree. In exchange for a fraction of the deck, you draw for two. I can;t believe so many people run it in their decks.” Racer said.
“Whaddaya expect? Pot of Greed is banned and Pot of Extravagance is like a hundred bucks a pop! It’s the only card that gives duelists draw power for cheap!” Sprinkles argued. “Seriously! We need a reprint, Konami! Give it to us and stop reprinting cards no one wants! And stop the short prints too! There’s a limit to how greedy you can get!”
“....Who are you talking to? And what’s Konami?” Racer questioned.
“Nothing~!”
“Now I Normal summon another Elder!”
Elder appeared on the field next to Cannahawk. “And with his effect, I can normal summon again. Come on out Spiritual Beast Pettlephin!”
A pool of water manifested before a pink dolphin wearing silver armor jumped out onto the field.”
(Spiritual Beast Pettlephin / Wind / Aqua / Effect / Level 4 / ATK 0 / DEF 2000)
“Oh! It’s so cute!” Flutters squealed.
“And now I activate his effect!” Mystic declared. “Once per turn, I can banish a Ritual Beast card from my hand to return one card you control back to yours!”
“Say what?!” Sentinel was taken aback.
“You heard me! I banish a copy of Wen from my hand to return Legionis to your hand. Well, in this case he goes back to your extra deck.” Her last card dissipated from her hand before Pettlephin jumped into the air before splashing back to the ground. A wave of water was kicked up before swallowing the mounted gladiator. It broke apart before the particles flew to his Extra Deck.
“And with him out of the way, time to bring out the big guns! I use Elder, Pettlephin, and Cannanhawk for a contact fusion!” The three monsters broke down into particles before converging into a pillar of light.
“Almighty Beast of the world! Gather the forces of nature, and let no one stop you from crushing your foes! Fusion summon! Ritual Beast Ulti-Gaiapelio!”
The light dissipated as a massive, lion-like creature took its place. On its back was what appeared to be an island. Sprouting from either side of its body were ethereal wings. On its back was the Beast tamer Lara. It roared once it fully manifested.
(Ritual Beast Ulti-Gaiapelio / Light / Psychic / Fusion / Effect / Level 10 / ATK 3200 / DEF 2100).
The crowd went wild once the massive beast appeared.
“That’s the top monster of the Ritual Beast archetype.” Solaire said. “I faced it when I dueled Lyra before. Not only is it a powerhouse, it’s effect is nothing to sneeze at.”
“Oh my. What is it?” Flutters asked.
“We’ll soon see it in action.”
“I don’t believe it folks! Not only has Mystic removed one of Sentinel’s strongest monsters, but she also brought out her most powerful card! How will our Defender get past this?!”
“He can’t!” Mystic said confidently. “Especially since Kimunfalcos points to him!”
(Ritual Beast Ulti-Gaiapelio / ATK 3200 + 600 = 3800)
“Now Gaiapelio! Take down Centurion! Gaia Impact!” The lion roared before it stomped over to the warrior.
“I activate my trap card!” The armored duelist declared. His face down revealed itself. It depicted a number of Armatos Legios warriors carrying shields in a Phalanx formation. “Armatos Phalanx! As long as it is face up, once per turn, if an Armatos Legios monster would be attacked, the attack is negated and the attacking monster is destroyed and you take damage equal to half its attack points!”
“Nice counter...but too bad it falls short!” The mythical duelist smirked as her last card in her hand vanished. “Gaiapelio’s effect activates. During either of our turns, if you activate a spell, trap, or monster effect, I can banish one Ritual Beast monster to negate the activation and destroy it!”
Gaiapelio roared, dulling the once vibrant colors of Armatos Phalanx before it crumbled. Next, the massive Lion blasted a plume of fire that incinerated Centurion and burned Sentinel with damage. The armored duelist stood his ground as he shielded himself with his duel disk.
Sentinel LP: 4000 - 2100 = 1900
“Now I attack with Kimunfalcos! Gusto strike!” The bird flapped its wings and unleashed a blustery tornado that moved towards the Defender and swallowed him. He grunted as his life points took a dive.
Sentinel LP: 1900 - 1800 = 100
“And with that, I end my turn.” Mystic said. While she didn’t finish him off, she felt proud of herself for getting to this point. Just one more turn, and victory was hers!
“Inconceivable! It’s only been the fifth turn, but Mystic just flipped the tables onto our Defender! In a well executed strategy, she cleared his field and took out most of his life points! Can Sentinel stand strong and turn things around? Or will he finally fall?!”
“GOOOO Mystic! You can do it!” Sprinkles cheered while wearing foam fingers with Mystic’s face on them.
“You got this!” Sweetie Drops shouted.
“Then...it is my turn. I draw!” Sentinel took the next card from his deck.
“I suggest you throw it in, Sentinel. I pretty much cleared your board and you have no cards in hand. All I need to do next turn is finish things with Gaiapelio. No one’s gonna fault you for giving up now.” Mystic proclaimed with a confident smirk.
“Heh. Maybe if I was someone else. But I’m not one to give up that easily. Besides, last I checked, I have cards left to play...like this!” He raised his hand as Armatos Phalanx reappeared on his field.
“What?! But I destroyed that last turn!”
“You did. But because you did it with a monster effect, Phalanx’s second effect activates. During my next standby phase of when this card is destroyed, I can special summon as many Armatos Legio monsters from my graveyard to the field. However, their effects are negated and are destroyed during my end phase. Rise again, my loyal soldiers!”
Centurion, Gradius, Legiones, Speculata, and Scutum rematerialized before him. Unlike before, however, their armor is dulled.
“So this is it? One last stand? Even if you manage to Link Summon a monster, I doubt it will be enough to beat Gaiapelio.”
“We’ll see. Next I activate the one card in my hand, Legion Call!” He slapped the card on his duel disk. The card materialized and displayed an image of a troop of Decurions rallying to Legiones’ side. “This card lets me excavate cards from my deck equal to the number of Armatos Legio monsters I have on the field. If there are any of said monsters in the cards I excavated, I add them to my hand while the rest get shuffled back to the deck.”
“Now you’re basing your turnaround on a gamble?” Mystic asked with disbelief. Was he really resorting to this?”
“Hey, it worked for many duelists. As for me...I feel like the goddess of victory is on my side! Draw!” Sentinel removed the top five cards of his deck and revealed them.
Three of them were Armatos Legio Speculata, Galea, and Sica. The other two were Mirror Force and Armatos Colosseum. “I got three monsters, so I add them to my hand and shuffle the other two.
“Appear again! Circuit that guides the light! I set Scutum in the Link Markers!” Scutum spiraled into a glowing twister before entering the gate, lighting up the bottom arrow of the gate. “Armatos Legio Decurion.” The armored Link 1 charged to the field.
“Now I Link summon again! Circuit that guides the light! I set Legiones, Centurion, and Gradius in the Link Markers!” The three monsters turned into lights before lighting up the left, right, top, and bottom arrows of the gate.
“He’s seriously summoning a Link 4?”
“Given what he has on the field, I suppose it was obvious.”
“The summoning conditions are three Armatos Legio monsters.” Sentinel chanted. “Appear! The commander that charges on the chaotic network battlefield! Link Summon! Link 4! Armatos Legio Magnus Dux!”
The gate glowed brightly before a massive figure shot out. Once the light faded, it was revealed to be a white war elephant plated in golden armor. On its back was an armor clad, roman general seated atop a throne. On the beast’s back were two cannons. In sheer size, it rivaled Gaiapelio.
(Armatos Legio Magnus Dux/ Light / Cyberse / Link / Effect / ATK 3000 / Link Arrows: Left, Right, Top, Bottom / Link-4)
The newly summoned monster stomped its feet and roared. It’s cry was loud, forcing those too close to the ring to cover their ears.
“Wowzers! It’s starting to be a clash of the titans now!” Sprinkles exclaimed.
“I’m not done yet!” The champion declared. “Now I normal summon Armatos Legio Sica!” Another Roman warrior statue appeared next to Magnus Dux’s left Link marker. In its hands was a dagger. “And by discarding Galea, I special summon Speculata!” The running statue appeared again.
“Appear once more, circuit that guides the light!” The gate shimmered into existence again. “I set Speculata and Scutum to the Link Arrows!” The statues flew into the gate, lighting up the left and right arrows! “Charge! Link 2, Armatos Legio Centurion!”
The spear wielding warrior stopped its charge next to the Link 4’s right marker. “Now, with my forces assembled, Magnus Dux’s effect activates!”
The Elephant reared onto its hind legs before stomping the ground. The tremors shook the stadium. The shockwaves struck the two monsters on Mystic’s field.
“Wh-what’s happening?!”
“Magnus Dux’s effect! Once while this card is face up on the field, I can target cards on the field and/or graveyard equal to the number of monsters co-linked to this card and bounce them back to the hand.”
“What?! But, that means!” Mystic stammered, realizing how many were now co-linked with the Elephant rider.
“That’s right! Magnus Dux, force Kimunfalcos and Gaiapelio off the field! Earth Shaker!” The shockwaves intensified as both Ritual Beasts dissipated into particles, returning to the duelist’s extra deck. Now Mystic was wide open. No spells or traps. No monsters. Not a single card in hand. “No...no way!”
“You fought well.” Sentinel complimented her. “Had I not drawn Legion Call, I probably would not have gotten this far. But now, it’s time to end this! Centurion! Magnus Dux! Attack her directly!”
Centurion led the charge and slashed Mystic with his spear.
Mystic LP: 4000 - 1700 = 2300
Magnus Dux stood back and aimed its cannons. Once they were aligned, lasers shot out of the barrels and impacted the ground in front of the female duelist. She shielded herself as the dust kicked up.
Mystic LP: 2300 - 3000 = 0
Sentinel: WINNER!
Mystic: LOSER!
“And there you have it folks! The winner, making a stalwart comeback, is Sentinel!” The crowd roared in cheers. Despite the virtual nature of the stadium, the girls could feel it shake from the patrons jumping and stomping excitedly.
“Ah can’t believe it. He didn’t just beat Lyra, he really stomped her down with that one turn!” Orchards voiced.
“Stomped? More like a full on beat down. He broke her defenses and crushed her in a single comeback.” Racer added.
“He truly turned it around with that card he drew.” Gemstone agreed.
“Maybe. But I feel like even if he hadn’t, he still would’ve found a way to win…” Solaire informed. Her eyes were locked onto the field, the roman colosseum dissipating.
The winner walked over to the defeated duelist on the ground. Once he stood before her, he offered his hand. Smiling gratefully, Mystic accepted the help and stood up. “That was a good match.” The Defender complimented. “If you had one more Ritual Beast card in your hand, you could’ve stopped my entire play.”
“Yeah. Guess that means I’ll just have to try harder next time. Just wait, Sentinel, you’re going down!” The female duelist declared with a grin.
“We’ll see. I’ll be waiting. Until next time.” The duelist nodded before he turned and walked away. After the clamor had died down, the audience members slowly trickled out of the stadium. Once the number one duelist of Link Vrains was out of sight, he logged out.
Inside a darkened bedroom, a single figure sat up from the bed. Flash Sentry rubbed his eyes and stretched. “Whew...that was an intense match...Lyra definitely didn’t hold back.”
“While I can definitely say she did duel with the full extent of her ability, I can’t quite say the same for you.” A new voice rang out. The musician frowned as he lowered his arm to stare at his duel disk. A small figure rose from the circular screen. It was a yellow and gold humanoid that was only a few inches tall. Based on the slender physique and masculine voice, he was presumed to be male. His head was oval in shape with two spikes jutting from his head, one at the bottom pointed to his right while the other pointed to his left on the top, resembling the letter S. His eyes were diamond shaped and glowed yellow.
“During your duel, I noticed that you left quite a few openings. During your second turn, you could’ve easily Link Summoned into Magnus Dux and returned her link monster or set card to her hand.”
“Sorry. I’m still trying to get a hang of this deck. I’m just not used to so many link tactics. You know I’m better with fusions.”
“I suppose that’s understandable. At least I was able to acquire sufficient data from your match. I still need to work further on the Armatos legios. They are still far too incomplete.”
“Was that why you insisted on having me use them for tonight’s match, even when I could’ve used my Hero deck? They seem pretty strong to me.”
“I apologize, Sentry. But based on what I’ve seen, there were just too many openings within the Armatos Legios that can be exploited. They may rely on link climbing and unity, but outside of Magna Dux, they lack a means to deal significant damage to secure victory. Not to mention that they expend resources too quickly to build up the field. There is always room for improvement. Eventually, the Armatos Legios will be the perfect archetype. I just need to figure out the cornerstone.”
“You and your perfectionist ways. You do realize you kinda come off as a bit too controlling, right?” Flash replied.
“Call it what you will. I just want to account for all variables and pursue the best possibility.” the AI crossed his arms.
“Sure. Whatever you say, Lightning.”
“Still...I hope the appearance of my designed archetype was a sufficient enough message for the others.”
“To your friends, right? The ones you got separated from?”
“Indeed. I don’t know where they are currently. We got separated after we locked down the Cyberse. I’m still working on locating them, but this duel will hopefully catch their attention.”
“And catch the attention of the ones that are after you, you know.” The musician replied with a half-lidded glare.
“I’m not too worried.” Lightning waved off his concerns. “Your skills are top notch. I’d expect no less from my partner.”
To Be Continued...
Next time...
Chapter 2: Ai have Arrived!