Alright before we begin, you guys may be wondering about my choices in picking out cards for Yuna and her opponents.
basically, I will mostly choose cards and decks that are in the period around 2000 to 2008 where 2000 was when Yugioh original anime begin and 2008 when Gx ended. That way, I would have more options while trying to retain balance as much as possible.
Also I won't be using any absurd decks such Elemental heroes but there are some that are quite strong but still can be defeated normally.
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[3rd POV]
"And that boy needs to come with me." The man declared and pointed at Mokuba with his cane.
Mokuba flinched, and goosebumps crawled along his arms. He has already escaped Pegasus once. Who knew what would happen if the madman got his hands on him again? Will he show mercy like last time?
As Mokuba began to feel a sense of terror, his face turned pale as sheets, and a figure stepped between them, blocking the man of his vision of the boy. Mokuba gulped and hesitantly raised his head as he stared at Yuna with surprise.
"N..no." She muttered.
The stranger tilted his head: "Unfortunately, you can't decide that. My patron needs him."
Yuna shook her head, and the man frowned: "Wager.." She said and pointed at the duel gauntlet the stranger was wearing.
"Hmmmmm? What are you suggesting?" He asked with a hint of interest.
"I...if... win... leave."
"Then what if you lose?" The man questioned, and a small smile formed on his face.
"T...take.. chips.. and... boy."
Mokuba instantly stood up and glanced at Yuna worriedly: "What are you doing?! If you lose, we're both screwed!"
Yuna turned her head and glimpsed at Mokuba's panicking expression: "W...won't lose."
"What makes you so sure?!" He shouted and clenched his fist.
Mokuba didn't understand; the risk was too great. Why would Yuna be willing to go so far for him in the first place? He wouldn't be surprised to be abandoned immediately if it were anyone else. Yet to her, he was a whining brat who fawns over his brother.
"Why are you doing this?!" Mokuba yelled: "What makes you think that you won't lose!"
"C...cause ... won't.." Yuna replied confidently, and Mokuba froze.
Mokuba stared at Yuna in a daze, and the stranger laughed: "Such confidence! If a duel is what you want, then a duel is what I shall deliver."
As if right on queue, the ground trembled as a hidden platform emerged. Once the smoke settled, they were presented with a large Duel Arena, and the eliminator eagerly stood on one of the podiums.
"Before we start, let me formally introduce myself." He removed his top hat and bowed extravagantly: "Please refer to me as Ludere, and I will present you a duel you won't forget!"
Yuna stepped onto her side of the Arena, and Mokuba ran after her: "Will you really win!?"
Mokuba met his eyes with Yuna and felt the change in atmosphere. The air surrounding her was much different. He sensed the unwavering confidence in her attitude contrary to her shy personality.
It was as if Mokuba felt like he was talking to an entirely different person!
Yuna glanced down and smiled gently: "Trust me."
Mokuba's expression became serious, and he nodded. Yuna felt satisfied and faced Ludere contemptuously while the eliminator grinned with amusement.
"DUEL!" x2
[Yuna POV]
I drew five cards and stared at my opponent. He called himself Ludere and was an eliminator that doesn't appear in the show. However, one of my biggest questions was why did I help Mokuba in the first place?
Was it because I felt guilty for the trouble I caused, or was it just another random act of kindness I did on a whim? Probably not. This duel will benefit me in some way. Yes, definitely, I won't help him otherwise!
Yet, even I wasn't really convinced...
I hurriedly shook my head. Why does it matter? What was done was done, and I should focus on this battle before me! I'm going first, so I activate my first card: "I will use Pot of Greed and draw two cards!"
The infamous green pot appeared on the field, and I drew two more cards and added them into my hand: "Then I'm summoning Koumori Dragon!"
A small black dragon with bright yellow eyes dived from the sky and growled fiercely.
[Koumori Dragon: Attack: 1500, Defence: 1200]
"I will then activate Banner of Courage! My monsters will gain 200 attacks during the battle phase!" A red flag surfaced from the ground. Komuri Dragon roared and felt the comforting energy from the flag.
"My turn ends." I declared.
The Ludere smiled and drew his card: "Let's end this extravagantly; I will activate this field spell Pandemonium!"
BOOOOOOM
An old stone structure rises from the ground. The building has a demonic appearance with gargoyles and dark stains that suggest some horrible event has occurred in this place.
RUMBLE
A thunderbolt struck down on the centre of the structure, and the empty braziers instantly lit themselves and illuminated the arena.
I frowned; Pandemonium... Wait, then that means...
"I will summon Archfiend Soldier!"
A demonic-looking soldier wearing black armour with horns and a cape was summoned onto the field. The monster took out a massive sword and waved the weapon intimidatingly in front of the Koumori Dragon.
[Archfiend Soldier: Attack: 1900, Defence: 1400]
Pandemonium was a not so well known card but a must-have support for the Archfiend deck. In short, using Archfiends, the player will always have to tribute their life points to play their monsters, as there's never a winning deal with a demon.
However, Pandemonium ignored that rule so duelists could summon them for free.
Damn... To think he has an Archfiend deck. This might be way harder than I anticipated.
"Now, Archfiend Soldier, destroy that monster for me!" Ludere yelled.
The Archfiend Soldier dashed towards my side of the field and swung his sword smoothly. Komouri Dragon was instantly decapitated as it let out one final shrill cry and died.
Thankfully, with my Banner of Courage, Koumori Dragon's attack was boosted to seventeen hundred, so I didn't suffer as much damage as the eliminator would have hoped.
[Yuna Sano: 2000 LP -> 1800 LP]
"I will set a card and end my turn," Ludere said, crossing his arms and watching me with anticipation.
I calmly drew my card and made my move: " I summon Dragon Knight of Creation!"
A golden armored knight appeared on the field. He raised his large sound, and the blade shimmered under the moonlight: "Then I will set two cards face down before entering my battle phase!"
[Dragon Knight of Creation: Attack: 1800, Defence: 600]
"Now, Dragon Knight of Creation, attack!"
With the effect of my Courage of Banner, my monster's attack increased to two thousand. The armored soldier rushes to the Archfiend Soldier. The demon raised his sword, but my knight cut him down mercilessly.
[Ludere: 2000 LP -> 1900 LP]
"Now my Dragon Knight of Creation's effect has been activated! If I destroyed a monster by battle, I could send one level seven or eight dragon monster to my graveyard! Then I can discard a card and tribute this monster to revive one Dragon!"
I slipped a card from my deck and hand into the discard pile. I stared at the eliminator and smiled: "The one I will special summon is Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand!"
Dragon Knight burst into bright particles and expanded in size. Slowly it gradually transformed into a shape of a beast.
"GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
The light dissipated, revealing the form of an enormous golden dragon. Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand snarled at Ludere and glared at him with blood-red pupils.
[Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand: Attack: 2800, Defense: 2800]
"Your turn," I muttered with a dissatisfied tone.
Ludere whistled: "Impressive... I'm really impressed. But it's not enough..."
The eliminator drew his card and grinned: "Looks like the duel is in my favor today. I will summon Terrorking Archfiend!"
The altar on the building burst into flames, and a humongous demon emerged with bony skin, a veiny muscular frame, large pair of wings, and wielding a dark sword. The monster unleashed a fierce roar that sent chills down my spine...
[Terrorking Archfiend: Attack: 2000, Defence: 1500]
"Then I will equip Terrorking Archfiend with Axe of Despair, giving my demon 1000 more power!"
[Terrorking Archfiend: Attack: 2000 -> 3000, Defence: 1500]
"Now, Terrorking Archfiend, slay that gold dragon!" Ludere ordered.
The demon howled and charged with its sword.
"Wait, with my Banner of Courage. My monster will gain two hundred attacks! That means Felgrand will match with your monster!" I shouted. However, contrary to my expectation, Ludere wasn't perturbed.
[Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand: Attack: 2800 -> 3000, Defence: 2800]
The two beasts clashed with each other and exploded simultaneously. Since they were equal attacks, we didn't suffer any damage. But that didn't remove the unease in my heart...
As the smoke dissipated, both sides of our field were cleared except for the cards we had placed in advance. Ludere's shoulder shooked, and he laughed: "Do you really think I didn't expect that?"
He revealed one of his cards in his hand. At this distance, it was small, but I could faintly see the image of a skull octopus: "If you are not aware, this monster here is called Desrook Archfiend." He explained: "On the field, if my Terrorking Archfiend was destroyed on the field, I can discard this card and resummon the monster from my graveyard!"
Ludere discarded Desrook Archfiend to his discard, and the demonic altar lit up with a blue flame. A peal of low laughter echoed across the arena, and a black shape slowly reformed into a monster.
"Grrrrrr," Terrorking Archfiend snarled and slammed its sword to the ground."
[Terrorking Archfiend: Attack: 2000, Defense: 1500]
I ignored Ludere's egotistical laughter and instantly flipped over my set card: "I will use Call of the Haunted and also revive one monster from my graveyard! Rise again, Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand!"
The golden dragon reappeared once more, and it seemed angrier than before. It glared at Terrorking Archfiend as if saying how dare a low-level creature as you harm me?!
"At this moment, Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand's effect will activate. I can target one monster you control and banish it while it gains the attack equal to that monster's level multiplied by one hundred!"
I pointed at Ludere's monster: "The one I choose is Terrorking Archfiend, and remove that monster once and for all!"
Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand soared into the sky and generated a white beam in its mouth. I glanced at Ludere and frowned. The eliminator was eerily calm about the situation...
"You really are a strong duelist, able to keep countering my strategy." Ludere praised with sincerity: "However, it saddened me that you underestimated my ability to protect my own?!"
"I will activate my set card! Archfiend's Roar!" Ludere announced: "I will sacrifice five hundred of my life points and bring back Desrook Archfiend!"
[Ludere: 1900 LP -> 1400 LP]
[Desrook Archfiend: Attack: 1100, Defense: 1800]
"Then I will activate Desrook Archfiend and Terrorking Archfiend's effect if I can roll a die. if it lands on two, three, or five, I can negate your monster's effect and destroy it!"
A large dice appeared on the field and spun with vigor. It eventually dropped to the ground, and I held my breath...
It's a three...
Ludere chuckled as my Felgrand burst into pieces. And since a card effect destroyed my monster, I suffered damage equal to half of its attack. I clicked my teeth, fourteen hundred damage...
[Yuna Sano: 1800 LP -> 400 LP]
"Let's see how long you can last..." Ludere chuckled: "In my graveyard, I will use Axe of Despair's ability. I can tribute one of my monsters and bring Axe of Despair to the top of my deck."
Desrook Archfiend burst into nothingness, and Ludere placed his Axe of Despair on the top of his deck: "Then I will end my turn. No matter what you do, it wouldn't matter anyway."
I stared at my hand and bit my lower lip. The eliminator was correct, and I truly don't have a plan right now...
It felt like I was stepping on frail glass. One wrong step, and I will fall to my demise...
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I know this is a cliff hanger, but don't worry. I will post the second part this week. Just too busy so didn't have time to finish second half.