"Battle!"
Mantis destroyed Skelgon with slashes from it's dual blades, and Caller destroyed the facedown. "Goblin Zombie allows me to add a Zombie monster with low Defense from my deck to my hand when he's sent to the graveyard, so I choose the Spirit Reaper!" Seth knew he would use it as a shield next turn. "I end my turn." Caleb drew a card. "Okay, I set a monster facedown and end my turn." Seth knew it was most likely Spirit Reaper. "I draw, and set a card facedown. Now, Mantis, attack the facedown!" The Spirit Reaper could not be destroyed by battle. Caleb laughed as he drew his next card. "I activate the field Spell Fusion Gate! A large, swirling purple portal appeared behind Caleb. "By banishing the Spirit Reaper on my field, and the Nightmare Horse in my hand, I Fusion summon, Reaper On The Nightmare! He can attack directly, and can't be destroyed by battle! Attack Seth directly!" Seth's LP fell to 2200, when he noticed he was missing a card. "My Mystic Tomato!" Caleb laughed. "When Reaper deals battle damage to you, you discard 1 card! Now, I set a card facedown and end my turn!" Seth drew. He had to get rid of Reaper quickly, and he had just the card to do it. "I activate the trap Infestation Wave! By returning Mantis to my hand, I can destroy your Reaper On The Nightmare!" The Reaper was obliterated by the red beam. "Combo time! Now, by tributing Caller I can summon Mantis again! I lower my LP to 1200 to use his effect, reviving Caller, and Caller's effect activates, special summoning Steelswarm Scout from my deck! Finally, when I Tribute summon while I control Gatekeeper, I can normal summon again! I normal summon Steelswarm Sentinel!" All five of his monsters stood in attack position, ready to battle. "Attack!" Caleb laughed, flipping up his trap. "Mirror Force!" Seth could only watch as all of his monsters were destroyed. "I... end my turn." This was bad. He had no monsters and 1200 LP! Caleb drew his next card, an evil grin appearing across his face. "Using Fusion Gate, I banish the Red Eyes Zombie Dragon and the Dragon Zombie in my hand, to Fusion Summon the ultimate Zombie Dragon! Dragonecro Nethersoul Dragon!" The huge 3000 ATK monster towered over Seth, preparing to attack him directly. "Attack!"
Seth cut in. "Not so fast! By paying 500 LP, I can activate the trap, Steelswarm Ripples! I'll revive my Steelswarm Gatekeeper in Defense position!" Gatekeeper absorbed the attack, somehow not being destroyed. Seth smiled. "And Dragonecro cannot destroy monsters by battle." Caleb laughed maniacally as a dark Wisp appeared suddenly in Defense position, taking the form and stats of Gatekeeper. "But whenever he battles a monster, I can summon a Dark Soul Token copy of that monster! Now, I'll end my turn!" With only 700 LP, all seemed lost for Seth. That was when he drew it. His ace monster, and his father's most prized card. He had been aching to summon it, and it had finally came to him exactly when he needed it most. Seth looked Caleb in the eyes defiantly. "I can Special summon Steelswarm Scout from my grave as I control no spells or traps! Next, I activate the spell Supremacy Berry, healing me by 2000 to 2700 lifepoints! Now, by tributing Gatekeeper and Scout, I Tribute summon the obliterating firepower I need right now! Level 8, Steelswarm Caucastag!" The towering, armoured, almost regal monstrosity emerged from the blue flames of the Tribute summon. "When I Tribute summon him by using 2 Steelswarm monsters, I can choose to destroy either all spells and traps or all other monsters! Go, Monster Cleansing!" Caucastag raised one clawed hand, emitting a red pulse that obliterated Dragonecro and the Token on impact. "Now! Attack him directly! Tribute Flare!" Caucastag raised his other hand, unleashing the blue flames of the Tribute summon all around Caleb, burning him for 2800 damage. With only Fusion Gate, there was no way he could come back!
Caleb drew his final card, his voice taking a more somber tone. "I activate Foolish Burial, sending Mezuki from my deck to the graveyard. By banishing him, I revive Reaper On The Nightmare in defense position. Now I end my turn." It was clear he was trying to make a shield, as Reaper could not be destroyed by battle. But Seth had his ways. He drew his next card, and his eyes lit up at the sign of the Tribute monster, Steelswarm Moth. "I revive Steelswarm Scout with his effect again! I Tribute him, to Tribute summon Level 6, Steelswarm Moth! By paying 1000 LP, I can return Fusion Gate and Reaper to your hand!" The laser tail blast bounced the swirling purple vortex and Caleb's final monster away. "Now, Caucastag! Attack with Tribute Flare for 2800 damage! It's game over for you and your little operation Caleb!" Caleb was engulfed in the blue flames, his lifepoint counter falling to 0.
As Seth approached the defeated Caleb, he was surprised to see him looking down to the floor, holding a stack of money in his hand. "Take it." Seth took the cash, and Caleb left the Abandoned Dorm, heading through the the woods to who knows where. Reuben was just half-asleep, leaning against the wall. Seth couldn't blame him, it was already nighttime. However, Eli seemed to feel differently. "You were awesome dude!" Seth walked over to Eli, handing the money to him. "You should take this." Eli's eyes lit up, grinning gleefully at the money. "You don't even know what I could build with all this." "It's not even that much." Reuben interjected sleepily. The three students left through the woods, Seth splitting up with Eli and Reuben to head back to his dorm for the night. The first day at Duel Academy may have been over, but there was far more to come.
Mantis destroyed Skelgon with slashes from it's dual blades, and Caller destroyed the facedown. "Goblin Zombie allows me to add a Zombie monster with low Defense from my deck to my hand when he's sent to the graveyard, so I choose the Spirit Reaper!" Seth knew he would use it as a shield next turn. "I end my turn." Caleb drew a card. "Okay, I set a monster facedown and end my turn." Seth knew it was most likely Spirit Reaper. "I draw, and set a card facedown. Now, Mantis, attack the facedown!" The Spirit Reaper could not be destroyed by battle. Caleb laughed as he drew his next card. "I activate the field Spell Fusion Gate! A large, swirling purple portal appeared behind Caleb. "By banishing the Spirit Reaper on my field, and the Nightmare Horse in my hand, I Fusion summon, Reaper On The Nightmare! He can attack directly, and can't be destroyed by battle! Attack Seth directly!" Seth's LP fell to 2200, when he noticed he was missing a card. "My Mystic Tomato!" Caleb laughed. "When Reaper deals battle damage to you, you discard 1 card! Now, I set a card facedown and end my turn!" Seth drew. He had to get rid of Reaper quickly, and he had just the card to do it. "I activate the trap Infestation Wave! By returning Mantis to my hand, I can destroy your Reaper On The Nightmare!" The Reaper was obliterated by the red beam. "Combo time! Now, by tributing Caller I can summon Mantis again! I lower my LP to 1200 to use his effect, reviving Caller, and Caller's effect activates, special summoning Steelswarm Scout from my deck! Finally, when I Tribute summon while I control Gatekeeper, I can normal summon again! I normal summon Steelswarm Sentinel!" All five of his monsters stood in attack position, ready to battle. "Attack!" Caleb laughed, flipping up his trap. "Mirror Force!" Seth could only watch as all of his monsters were destroyed. "I... end my turn." This was bad. He had no monsters and 1200 LP! Caleb drew his next card, an evil grin appearing across his face. "Using Fusion Gate, I banish the Red Eyes Zombie Dragon and the Dragon Zombie in my hand, to Fusion Summon the ultimate Zombie Dragon! Dragonecro Nethersoul Dragon!" The huge 3000 ATK monster towered over Seth, preparing to attack him directly. "Attack!"
Seth cut in. "Not so fast! By paying 500 LP, I can activate the trap, Steelswarm Ripples! I'll revive my Steelswarm Gatekeeper in Defense position!" Gatekeeper absorbed the attack, somehow not being destroyed. Seth smiled. "And Dragonecro cannot destroy monsters by battle." Caleb laughed maniacally as a dark Wisp appeared suddenly in Defense position, taking the form and stats of Gatekeeper. "But whenever he battles a monster, I can summon a Dark Soul Token copy of that monster! Now, I'll end my turn!" With only 700 LP, all seemed lost for Seth. That was when he drew it. His ace monster, and his father's most prized card. He had been aching to summon it, and it had finally came to him exactly when he needed it most. Seth looked Caleb in the eyes defiantly. "I can Special summon Steelswarm Scout from my grave as I control no spells or traps! Next, I activate the spell Supremacy Berry, healing me by 2000 to 2700 lifepoints! Now, by tributing Gatekeeper and Scout, I Tribute summon the obliterating firepower I need right now! Level 8, Steelswarm Caucastag!" The towering, armoured, almost regal monstrosity emerged from the blue flames of the Tribute summon. "When I Tribute summon him by using 2 Steelswarm monsters, I can choose to destroy either all spells and traps or all other monsters! Go, Monster Cleansing!" Caucastag raised one clawed hand, emitting a red pulse that obliterated Dragonecro and the Token on impact. "Now! Attack him directly! Tribute Flare!" Caucastag raised his other hand, unleashing the blue flames of the Tribute summon all around Caleb, burning him for 2800 damage. With only Fusion Gate, there was no way he could come back!
Caleb drew his final card, his voice taking a more somber tone. "I activate Foolish Burial, sending Mezuki from my deck to the graveyard. By banishing him, I revive Reaper On The Nightmare in defense position. Now I end my turn." It was clear he was trying to make a shield, as Reaper could not be destroyed by battle. But Seth had his ways. He drew his next card, and his eyes lit up at the sign of the Tribute monster, Steelswarm Moth. "I revive Steelswarm Scout with his effect again! I Tribute him, to Tribute summon Level 6, Steelswarm Moth! By paying 1000 LP, I can return Fusion Gate and Reaper to your hand!" The laser tail blast bounced the swirling purple vortex and Caleb's final monster away. "Now, Caucastag! Attack with Tribute Flare for 2800 damage! It's game over for you and your little operation Caleb!" Caleb was engulfed in the blue flames, his lifepoint counter falling to 0.
As Seth approached the defeated Caleb, he was surprised to see him looking down to the floor, holding a stack of money in his hand. "Take it." Seth took the cash, and Caleb left the Abandoned Dorm, heading through the the woods to who knows where. Reuben was just half-asleep, leaning against the wall. Seth couldn't blame him, it was already nighttime. However, Eli seemed to feel differently. "You were awesome dude!" Seth walked over to Eli, handing the money to him. "You should take this." Eli's eyes lit up, grinning gleefully at the money. "You don't even know what I could build with all this." "It's not even that much." Reuben interjected sleepily. The three students left through the woods, Seth splitting up with Eli and Reuben to head back to his dorm for the night. The first day at Duel Academy may have been over, but there was far more to come.