"I draw!" Akia started the duel.
Everyone held their breath in, waiting for the first move. The tension could be felt in the air. Both Yugi and Akia were amazing duelists and their aura was almost palpable. Akia was about to play the first turn. She looked at her hand, carefully planning what was the best way she could play her first move. She had to be careful. She wasn't facing her brother this time, but the spirit of the puzzle. This was going to be the most difficult duel yet.
"I'll put a card facedown and a monster card in facedown defence position. I'll end my turn at that," Akia concluded before pondering on how she would proceed. "It wouldn't be smart to start off with an offensive. I should protect my life points for the time being."
The other Yugi then reached for his deck and drew his card.
"Man, we're not even past the second turn and I'm getting all worked up watching this," Jounouchi expressed.
"They both aren't just any ordinary duelists. Even I can't predict the outcome," Mai said.
The other Yugi quickly scanned through the cards in his hand and decided on his first move, "I'll also lay a facedown. I'll then summon the Feral Imp in attack mode. With it, I will attack your facedown defence monster."
The other Yugi knew that it was risky to attack, but he wanted to test the grounds. His Feral Imp attacked Akia's monster, which was revealed to be Ancient Jar (400/200). Due to its weak defence, it was instantly destroyed by Yugi's monster and sent to the graveyard. Akia was actually a bit surprised by Yugi's boldness. The Yugi she was used to duelling was always very passive and defensive until the right moment. This one's play style was way more aggressive.
"I'll end my turn," Yami Yugi concluded.
"I draw!" Akia looked at her hand and contemplated her next move. She had to be careful, but she also had to match her opponent's aggressiveness, "I summon Armoured Lizard (1500/1200) in attack position. I'll attack your Feral Imp with my monster!"
"Not so fast! I activate Horn of the Unicorn, which boosts my monster's attack by 700 points, making it strong enough to counterattack," the one possessing her brother's body countered.
Akia frowned. It was too late for her to take back her attack. She reached for her facedown, even though she wasn't planning on using it this early, "I won't let that happen. I activate Reinforcements! This trap card gives my monster 500 attack points."
"Now the two monsters have equal attacks of 2000!" Anzu exclaimed.
As a result, when the two monsters clashed, they destroyed each other, resulting in both of them being sent to the graveyard and no Life Points were lost.
"The two of them are equally matched," Mai commented.
Both Yugi and Akia's fields were completely empty. The girl proceeded with her turn, "I'll put two cards facedown. I will then play hand destruction! We both discard all of the cards in our hand to the graveyard and draw the same number of discarded cards from our graveyard."
Akia discarded the two cards in her hand and drew two cards from her deck. Yugi did the same with his four cards, then drew four more from his deck.
"I need to get one of my key monsters to hurry up and start removing cards from play. Even with hand destruction, I still didn't get what I need. I'll have to wait for the next turn," the red-eyed girl thought to herself before concluding, "I'll end my turn with that."
"I draw!" The other Yugi, without much hesitation, reached for one of the cards in his hand after drawing. "First, I'll activate the spell card: Heavy Storm."
"No way! I didn't know you had that!" Akia exclaimed.
Jounouchi looked at Mai with a confused face, "Heavy Storm?"
Mai sighed, "Don't tell me you never heard of it. It's a rare card that most duelists dream of having. It's very similar to Harpy's Feather Duster. It's a spell card that destroys all spell and trap cards on the field."
Just as Mai said, Akia's two facedown cards are destroyed and sent to the field.
"Great... He destroyed my Sakuretsu Armour and my D.D. Dynamite," Akia pouted. She was planning on using the same strategy that she used against Keith, but Yugi outsmarted her.
"I knew you'd be more of a challenge if I didn't use my most powerful cards in this duel. I'll place a monster in defence position and place a card facedown. I end my turn," the Spirit of the Puzzle concluded.
"I draw. I use the spell card: Graceful Charity. This card allows me to draw three cards, then discard two cards," Akia was hoping that, in those three cards she would draw, that one of the Banishers would be there. Sure enough, she finally ended up drawing the Banisher of the Light. Her face then instantly lit up. "Lucky! I'll summon my Banisher of the Light (100/2000) in defence position! I'll also place a card facedown. Then, I'll activate the spell card: Nobleman of Crossout. This spell card allows me to destroy a facedown monster and remove it from play! I choose your facedown monster!"
Yugi's monster, Sangan (1000/600) is destroyed and removed from play. As a result of its destruction, Yugi lost half its attack points, 500 points, from his Life Points. This brought them down to 1500 points.
"Nicely done," Yami Yugi complimented her.
"You still haven't seen what I've got planned for you. I end my turn for now," Akia replied playfully.
Yugi smirked. He was thoroughly enjoying this duel. Even after observing Akia play for so long from her brother's point of view, she was still unpredictable.
"I draw. I'll summon Curse of Dragon (2000/1500)! I'll then end my turn," Akia's opponent concluded.
Since Curse of Dragon's attack was the same as the Banisher of the Light's defence, Yugi didn't attack.
"My turn; I draw. I'll summon my D.D. Warrior (1200/1000) in attack position!" The black-haired girl started her turn and then thought about her next move. "This will be risky... But I have to get rid of his Curse of Dragon before he can power it up."
"I'll attack your Curse of Dragon with my D.D. Warrior!" Akia proceeded.
"What?! Her monster is so much weaker than Yugi's! Is she losing it?" Jounouchi exclaimed.
"Didn't that card of hers have a special effect? I'm sure Akia is thinking smartly about this," Bakura noted. The Spirit of the Ring, watching from his host's subconsciousness, just couldn't help but root for Akia's victory.
Just as Akia's D.D. Warrior was about to clash, Yugi reached for his facedown, "I know what you're up to, and I won't let you. I use my trap card: Spellbinding Circle!"
A ritual-like circle envelops Akia's monster and immobilizes it.
"No...!" Akia exclaimed. She had a feeling that the facedown card that Yugi had was important, but she chose to ignore her instincts and attack. If she had something in her hand, she would've destroyed that facedown first, but she didn't have any card that would help. She also didn't want to risk waiting, in case Yugi got a card that was strong enough to destroy her Banisher.
"You were planning on removing my monster from play, along with your monster. You didn't mind taking a bit of damage, as long as you got my Curse of Dragon. This rashness led to your undoing. Now, your D.D. Warrior is immobilized. It can't attack, or change its battle position. In addition to this, it loses 700 attack points, bringing them down to 500," the Puzzle's Spirit explained.
"Damn..." Akia cursed herself for being so careless, "I knew I should've been more careful..."
Akia looked at the only card in her hand. She knew that it would be risky if she left her D.D. Warrior defenceless, "I'll put a card facedown and end my turn."
"I thought you would be much more careful than this. I draw. This might be the end of this duel. I summon Gaia The Fierce Knight (2300/2100) in attack position! I will then use Polymerization to fuse Curse of Dragon with Gaia!"
Akia watched as both of Yugi's monsters fused together.
"Say hello to Gaia the Dragon Champion (2600/2100)," Yugi announced.
Akia knew what Yugi was about to do. He was going to attack her weakened D.D. Warrior and end the duel in one attack.
"You probably guessed what I'm about to do. I'll attack your D.D. Warrior and end this duel. Gaia, attack!" He declared.
"No way am I going to let this duel end so fast! I activate my trap card: Waboku! This card prevents any battle damage dealt to me during this turn. In other words, my D.D. Warrior is safe," Akia intercepted.
"But that's not all, is it..."
"Yup. Remember its effect? It still applies since there was a battle between it and another monster. In other words, both your Gaia the Dragon Champion and my D.D. Warrior are removed from play."
The other Yugi looked a bit shocked for the first time in the duel. "I see you're not done fighting."
"The duel isn't over until one person loses. I won't ever give up in a duel."
Yugi then reached for the only card left in his hand, "for now, I'll play Swords of Revealing Lights, preventing you from attacking for three turns. I end my turn."
"Alright, I draw! I'll just skip my turn for now," Akia said
Yugi drew a card as well and ended his turn without playing any card.
"This is killing me! Why do they both keep skipping their turn like that?!" Jounouchi exclaimed.
"Well, both of them didn't really have any cards left in their hands. I'm sure they each have a strategy that they're just waiting for," Mai replied.
Once more, during her turn, Akia drew a card and didn't play anything.
"I draw. I play Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two more cards from my deck," Yugi said.
After a brief moment to look at his cards, Yugi took one of them and put it facedown on the field and ended his turn.
"I draw! Time to finally play something. I activate my spell card: Hand Destruction. This card forces us both to discard two cards from our hand and draw two other cards from our respective decks," Akia played her move.
Since both of them had only two cards in their hands, they discarded their hand and drew two cards from their deck.
"I'll then also play Pot of Greed!" Akia then drew two cards from her deck. "I'll put a monster in facedown defence position." She then reached for yet another card in her hand. "Alright, this is the last thing for this turn. I play the spell card: Soul Release!"
"Soul Release? Isn't her D.D. Dynamite gone? What good will removing Yugi's cards do?" Jounouchi asked.
"Wow, you actually paid attention during the duel," Honda observed.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Jounouchi retorted.
"Shh, this is getting interesting!" Mai interrupted them.
Bringing their attention back to the duel, they observed what Akia was about to do with Soul Release. "Using Soul Release, I'll remove from play five cards from my own graveyard. Finally, I'll summon my very dear Gren Maju Da Eiza (?/?)! It gains attack and defence equal to the number of my cards that were removed from play multiplied by 400. Since I have thirteen cards that were removed from play, it gains 5200 attack and defence points! I'll then end my turn with that."
"5200?! That could completely wipe out Yugi's Life Points with one attack!" Jounouchi exclaimed.
When Akia ended her turn, the Swords of Revealing Light disappeared from the field.
"I guess it's finally time to go all out. I draw. I summon Black Magician (2500/2000) in attack mode!" Yugi played his signature card.
"There it is! Yugi's Black Magician!" Jounouchi yelled out in excitement.
Yugi only had one card left in his hand. The odds were completely against him, but he knew that there still was one way to get through this, "I play the spell card: Fissure. This destroys the monster on your side of the field that has the least defence, namely your Banisher of the Light."
A hand came out of the field's ground and dragged Akia's monster down with it. This caused Akia to lose 50 Life Points, which was equal to Banisher of the Light's attack points. This brought her Life Points down to 1950.
"Now you don't have anything left in your hand. Is this really your plan?" She questioned her opponent.
"You still have a facedown monster card. I have a feeling I know what monster that is. I will attack it with my Black Magician!" Yami Yugi replied.
"Man, you're way too clever. Now I regret summoning this monster..." Akia sighed in resignation.
The monster was revealed to be Morphing Jar.
"According to your Morphing Jar's flip effect, both players discard their whole hand, then draw five cards from their deck. I guess now both our hands are replenished," Yugi declared.
Both Yugi and Akia drew five cards from their decks.
"How did he know that?!" Honda inquired.
"It was a risky gamble, but those two really know each other well. I think Yugi just knew that that would be what Akia would play," Jounouchi perceived.
"I play Mystic Box! This is one of my favourite magic tricks," the Puzzle's inhabitant informed his host's sister.
A box with a door sectioned into three parts appeared. The Black Magician then went inside of it, and swords pierced through the box. However, when the box opened, it wasn't the Black Magician inside of it anymore.
"Man! I always was freaked out by these kind of tricks! My Gren Maju Da Eiza..." Akia whined.
"And that's not all. Since your monster is now destroyed, you lose half of its attack points. In other words, 2600 points, which are more than enough to make you lose the game..." Yugi explained before exclaiming in surprise, "what?!"
Instead of Akia's Life Points dropping to 0, they went up to 3350.
"Hehe, did that surprise you? I wasn't going to let myself go all defenceless like that. I played this card here," Akia snickered cockily and then showed a trap card to Yugi.
"Nutrient Z? Since when do you have that?" Her brother's other self questioned.
"Since forever... I just never had the opportunity to use it. Let me tell you just how cool its effect is. If I'm about to receive 2000 points of damage or more, 4000 points are added to my Life Points before the damage calculation. Do the math, and I end up with 3350 Life Points," the red-eyed girl replied.
"Hm, you're a real challenge, aren't you... However, my turn is still not done. I play Monster Reborn! I'll use it to bring back your Gren Maju Da Eiza to my side of the field. Its attack and defence points go up according to my cards that were removed from play, bringing them up to 4000. I'll end my turn with that."
"Using my own monster against me? You're so cruel... Oh well, I draw. First, I'll destroy that facedown card of yours with my Mystical Space Typhoon spell card. I don't want to take any more risks."
The destroyed card turned out to be the trap card Mirror Force.
"Oh my, good thing I destroyed that! Alright, now say hello to my brand new monster: Golden Homunculus (1500/1500)!" Akia exclaimed.
A golden rock giant materializes on Akia's side of the field.
"Isn't that too... weak? Wait...! What is happening?!" Jounouchi remarked.
"Its attack and defence points are going up!" Anzu stated.
Indeed, Akia's monster's stats were going up at an alarming rate.
"Let me explain just how awesome this monster is," Akia started, "I was actually saving it for the final duel against Pegasus, but you just put me in a pinch here. This monster has a similar effect to Gren Maju Da Eiza. It gains 300 points for both attack and defence times the number of my cards that are removed from play. This adds up on top of its 1500 points, unlike Gren Maju Da Eiza, that starts off with no stats. My Golden Homunculus now has 5400 attack and defence points!"
Yugi was speechless for a bit, but then smiled in defeat, "You really are an exceptional duelist."
"Thanks, it means a lot coming from you," Akia smiled gratefully before unleashing her final strike, "I'll attack your Black Magician with my Golden Homunculus!"
With a blinding light, Yugi's Black Magician was destroyed, and Yugi's Life points dropped to 0. Akia sighed heavily. This was the most challenging duel she'd ever played. She really doubted that she could win. If she hadn't drawn the right cards at the right time, she would've lost for sure. She also knew that what was waiting ahead was going to be even tougher. She would have to face the creator of Duel Monsters. Not only that, but he could also read her mind. She needed to be fully prepared for this.
"Well that concludes this round. The winner is Mutou Akia. Mutou Yugi will therefore receive the cash reward, and Akia will advance and challenge me for the title of Queen of games. I suggest you prepare thoroughly for this challenge," Pegasus advised the remaining finalist.
Yugi and Akia then got up back to their friends.
"Man that was tough," Akia sighed in relief.
"That's my girl. You were amazing out there. No offence, Yugi," Mai cheered her friend on.
Yugi was now back to his usual self, "haha, she really deserved that win."
Bakura, still possessed by the Spirit of the Ring, just gave her a nod, not wanting to display too much affection in front of the others.
"That duel was intense... It was sometimes difficult to follow what was going on," Jounouchi stated.
"If Mai didn't explain every single thing to you, you wouldn't have gotten a single thing," Honda called his friend out.
"Speak for yourself!" The blond teen retorted.
"Now, you have to prepare for the duel against Pegasus..." Anzu addressed Akia.
The latter nodded, determined more than ever. She had to win this duel and save her grandfather. "I'm going to go to my room and prepare for the duel. I can't afford to lose this."
"You're right. I'll come with you. I think our best bet is to find the strongest cards in both our collections and make a deck out of that," Yugi offered.
"That's a great idea, Yugi! Now I have more confidence about winning this," his sister exclaimed.
Yugi and Akia then headed for her room and started preparing for the final duel.