Chapter 54. No More Luck

2,400 Rakki ---- 2,200 Nightshroud

Nightshroud clicked his tongue, but a smirk slowly grew. “Heh… We’ve done our research on you Rakki! We watched all the matches you’ve had! And there was always one thing that stood out!” I frowned at him, wondering where he was going with this. “You’ve only had good effects happen in one turn!” My frown turned into a scowl, I had come to a loose understanding of my strange luck, but I didn’t imagine that someone else would make the connection this soon. “You’ve run all out of luck! Now you have nothing left!”

Alexis, after hearing the explanation, suddenly had all of the strange particularities of Rakki’s luck matchup. She had figured that the Spirits he was close to, helped change the odds for him a little, but there was always a lingering feeling that something was missing. He had only gotten lucky streaks on one turn. One turn was all he had to change his luck for the better. After that, he would be dead in the water. Alexis felt her stomach sink at that realization as she watched his scowl.

“Either place down a trap, or end your turn!” I yelled, causing Nightshroud to chuckle, while placing down two cards in his back row. “Go ahead, there isn’t much else you can do now.” I drew a card, and grit my teeth. “I summon, Roulette Barrel! In Defense Position!” When I did, a small rocket launching platform appeared, with what looked to be some sort of death laser mounted at the top.

Roulette Barrel/Machine/Effect/Level 4/ Atk:1000 Def:2000 Roulette Barrel

“And I’ll activate his effect! I get to roll two dice, and pick one result! Then a monster with the same level as that result is destroyed!” The base of the contraception then opened a door, and two dice rolled out onto the field, both landing on one. I let out a groan as Nightshroud laughed. “Hahah! Just as foretold! You have nothing anymore!” I scowled at him, and at my own luck. “That’s why I always try to have a back-up plan.” I muttered, hoping he couldn’t stop me with his traps on the field.

“I activate Archfiend’s Roar!!” As I revealed my trap card, a heinous howling came from my graveyard. “At the cost of 500 life points, I get to summon an Archfiend monster from my graveyard, but send him back by the end!” “But you don’t have any-” Nightshroud yelled, but paused at his realization. I smirked at him with a nod. “Yea, that monster I sent to the Graveyard earlier… Now! I call upon the Guardian of the Lord of Thunder!” The air was electrifying as dark clouds loomed above us, blocking all light from the stars, leaving only the hot red light from hell to illuminate us from underneath.

1,900 Rakki ---- 2,200 Nightshroud

The blue card of ritual slowly revealed itself from my graveyard, and I slapped it down on my Duel Disk while he heeded his lord’s call. “Awaken!! Archfiend of Summoned Skull!!” With a bolt of lightning, the Archfiend’s Awakening appeared before me on his knee in servitude. A card that appeared from nowhere, but Zorc said he was a loyal follower, so I shrugged and kept him. His skeleton-like body was covered only by purple muscles, and clothed in electricity that sparked in danger.

Archfiend’s Awakening/Fiend/Ritual/Effect/Level 6/ Atk:2500 Def:1200 Archfiend's Awakening

I gave an affirmative nod to him, and he turned around towards his opponent. “Now, I’ll activate my other trap card! Next to be lost!” I explained while taking a look in my deck for the card I was looking for. “This allows me to take a monster on my field, and send another monster in my deck with the same name to the grave! Like my Summoned Skull here!” I showcased the summoned Skull I had ever since noticing my Archfiend’s Awakening, and placed it in my grave.

“That’s not the same name!!” Nightshroud yelled at me, claiming I was cheating. I scoffed at him, and shook my head. “Archfiend’s Awakening is treated as a Summoned Skull while on the field! Speaking of that, I’ll now attack your mirage Dragon!” My Archfiend started to gather all of the electricity he had dormant inside of him, but was stopped by Nightshroud. “Not so fast! I activate my trap! Burst Breath!! By sacrificing a Dragon Monster, I can destroy all monsters you control with less Defense points than the tributed monster’s Attack Points!”

Just as he activated his trap, his Mirage Dragon let out a scream as it was taken into his flipped trap card, but bright, almost golden colored flames erupted from the card, destroying my Archfiend. Just as it did, I scoffed. “Thanks. I’ll activate Archfiend’s effect! When he is destroyed, I get to bring back a Summoned Skull from my graveyard! So look who’s already back!” I smiled at the similar looking loyal guard. Taking the spot of his fallen brother.

Summoned Skull/Fiend/Normal/Level 6/ Atk:2500 Def:1200 Summoned Skull

“But since I can’t attack with him, I’ll end my turn.” I shrugged while letting him go. “I Draw” He yelled with a scowl, but he soon began laughing. “Finally! Now I have the card of your demise! First! I’ll summon Red-Eyes B. Chick!” When he did, a tiny black dragon looked cutely from it’s half broken shell.

Red-Eyes B. Chick/Dragon/Effect/Level 1/ Atk:800 Def:500 Red-Eyes B. Chick

I frowned knowing exactly where he was going with this. But Blair sounded confused. “That’s, what’s going to win?” She asked, causing Nightshroud to chuckle in response. “No, I’m going to use his effect to summon the true bringer of destruction! Red-Eyes Black Dragon!!” The baby dragon erupted into flame, and the flame grew massive, taking in some of the lava from underneath us before transforming into his adult form. Red Eyes screeched at us, causing the glass barrier to shake in response, almost as if it would break under the pressure of just his screaming.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon/Dragon/Normal/Level 7/ Atk:2400 Def:2000 Red-Eyes Black Dragon

“Now I’ll use my spell card, Inferno Fire Blast!!” As soon as he said those words, Red-Eyes started to open his mouth, a massive fireball was welling in his throat. “This allows my Red-Eyes to deal damage to your life points directly! Say goodbye to your key and your soul!!” He laughed as Red-Eyes blasted fire directly past my monsters.

When the smoke cleared his laughing paused from the sight of my life points, still untouched. “What the hell!?” He screamed as the image of a giant blue spinning ring that finally slowed to a stop before disappearing. I was gasping for air, the heat from that fireblast was still around, even if it was mostly dispersed from the spinning Ring of Defense. ‘But my Life Points are still ok…’ I finally sighed, before Nightshroud clicked his tongue, and set down a card. “You’ve bought yourself one more turn.”

I sighed and drew a card. I glanced at it, and grit my teeth, a spell card I couldn’t fulfill the conditions to use. “I’ll set this card face down, and attack your Red-Eyes with my Summoned Skull!” I announced, letting Summoned Skull charge up electricity in his paws, before striking Red-Eyes with bolts of lighting, destroying it as it cried out in pain.

1,900 Rakki ---- 2,100 Nightshroud

“I Draw!” Nightshroud looked at his card with a massive smile. “It seems like luck really wasn’t on your side today! First I’ll use my trap card! Red-Eyes Spirit! Allowing me to bring back my Red-Eyes from the Graveyard!!” His Red-Eyes immediately formed amongst the flames and lava again, roaring in anger of his last defeat. “Now I’ll tribute him, to summon Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon!!” Red-Eyes shrieked as his body started to reform into a more, almost mechanical version of himself. His scales became more unified, and red glowing lines appeared all down his wings and body. With a triumphant yell he was reborn. “And since I have 3 other Dragon’s in my grave! Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon gains 300 Attack points for each one! Giving him a total of 3,300 Attack points!!”

Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon/Dragon/Level 9/ Atk:3300 Def:2000 Red-Eyes Darkness

“Now!! Destroy his summoned Skull!!” With his command, Red-Eyes took off into flight towards my Summoned Skull. “AAHH!!” I barked while my trap card flipped up. “Bark of Dark Ruler!! I’ll sacrifice 1,000 of my life points, for your monster to lose 1,000 attack and defense points!!” “What!!?” Just as I explained, Nightshroud yelled in disbelief, as his Red-Eyes started to wane in strength just as much as I did. My Summoned Skull, now stronger than his Red-Eyes, quickly swatted it down, electrifying the Dragon into submission in the process.

900 Rakki ---- 2,000 Nightshroud

I was grasping at my chest, and felt unsteady on my feet. The pain of having my life sucked from me felt even more harsh using that card for some reason. But I was dead-set on finishing this. “My turn…Draw!” I drew a card, not that it mattered, with an open field, I was clear to finish him off. “Summoned Skull, finish it.” He nodded in response as Nightshroud screamed that his loss was impossible. I wasn’t feeling it, so I let it all in one ear and out the other.

900 Rakki ---- 0 Nightshroud