-Chapter 46-

Rising Dead

"Battle! Superheavy Samurai Blooming Sakura attacks your Life Points directly!" The owner of the pink samurai monster declared. Her monster used its katana and drained her opponent's Life Points to zero in a single slash of attack.

"We have our winner! This match goes to Go from Miami City!" Vivi announced, making the spectators go wild and cheered for the victor.

"Wow, Go has gotten really strong since the last time I saw her," Mike said. He sat alongside with Hannah and Cody Hackin.

"So, that person is Go that you talked about. The one who forced to duel you at the famous Steadfast Dueling Dojo, right?" Hannah asked.

"Um-hmf. That's right," Mike nodded.

"According to my data, she is a direct descendant to the famous duelist of Steadfast Dueling, Gogenzaka, who is her great grandfather. It appears that her great grandfather innovated Steadfast Dueling with the techniques of Synchro Summoning, and that he was also a friend to the legendary Duel King, Yuya Sakaki," Cody explained.

"Well, another great grandkid of legendary duelist. That makes it three; her, Director Akaba who is Reiji Akaba's great granddaughter, and the current Duel King, Yuta Sakaki!" Hannah counted with her fingers.

"Go…Director Akaba…and Yuta Sakaki. These three are very fearsome. I better be prepare if I ever face one of them," Mike pondered.

"Next up, let's give a round of applaud to our next competitors! First we have a resident of our fine city, please welcome…Muiko!" Vivi announced.

"Hey, Muiko is up next!" Hannah exclaimed, accidentally pushing Mike, who almost hit a popcorn man. "Yeah Muiko!"

The said girl entered the arena as all the spectators cheered loudly as they can be.

"And at the other side, we have another local duelist who works as your friendly neighbor grave keeper, please welcome, Jeff!" The very light-skinned man came into the arena as the crowds cheered.

"Hey, I remember that creep! He's that first Duelist you dueled with, Mike!" Hannah pointed out.

"I guess he made it pass the preliminary rounds," Mike said.

The said man didn't say anything at all, only giving a cold and emotionless stare at Muiko. She felt a bit suspicious and uneasy about the way he looked at her, but ignored it for now and just focused on the moment.

"Alright, let's see what kind of Duel we will see this time!" Vivi stated excitedly as the system did the roulette system. The computer system picked good, old Action Duel.

"The system has chosen Action Duel! Action Field, on!" The arena transformed into a new kind of dueling arena.

The surrounding area transformed into a dark mansion setting. There was a full moon shining brightly above the sky, shadows of the mansion reflecting on the ground by the moonlight, and some gravestones popped out on the ground in both front yard and backyard. The place where the Duelists stood was just outside the mansion's fence; they stood on a hard, red brick road while the black fence gate guarded the front entrance of the mansion

"Action Field selected! Dark Mansion, on!" Both Duel Disks stated in computerized voice.

"Duelists locked in battle!" Vivi started the oath.

"Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monster," Jeff said in a soft tone.

"They storm through the field!" Muiko followed up.

"Behold! This is the newest, greatest evolution of Dueling!" Vivi stated.

"Action…DUEL!" The spectators said the rest.

Muiko vs. Jeff: 4000 LPs

"And so, our dueling system chooses Muiko to go and make the first turn," Vivi said.

"Very well, I will go first!" Muiko drew her first five cards. She looked at them and already thought up how she wants to start. "I'll start by Special Summoning Elemental Beast Copper Bull since I control no other monsters on field currently! However, its ATK is reduced by half."

Her first monster, a copper-colored bull, appeared as it roared with great might. However, its ATK reduced from 1600 to 800.

While the spectators watched for fun entertainment, Director Akaba and her officers were watching discreetly and seriously in a private security room.

"Keep a special eye on this Duel. Muiko is a Muikai Duelist, and if by chance she summons her Muikai Monster, stop the Duel immediately," Director Akaba ordered.

"Yes maim!" All the officers exclaimed.

Yuta, who watches from a private VIP room, mused quietly to himself when a monster he never seen before appeared, while she continued her turn. "And next, since I summoned a monster successfully this turn, I Special Summon Elemental Beast Iron Hammerhead in defense position from my hand!"

Her second monster, a hammerhead shark with a body of shiny, strong iron appeared onto the field. It roared horrifically with its 800 ATK and 2000 DEF.

"And since it was summoned through its effect, I can activate its other ability: when it was Special Summoned by its own effect, it can inflict damage to you equal to its ATK! Iron Hammerhead's ATK is 800; therefore you take 800 points of damage! Take the first bite in this battle, Iron Hammerhead!" She declared.

Iron Hammearhead soared through the air before opening its jaws and biting Jeff's dark purple duel disk. He just shrugged it off very easily from his duel disk, but still took some damage from it.

Jeff's LP: 3200

"They're all the same Level. Does that she means she will…?" Ace said as he was watching the duel in the male duelists' chamber.

"She's going to Xyz Summon," Mr. Griffon stated as he watched the duel from his own VIP room.

"And now, my field is set. With my Level Four Copper Bull and Iron Hammerhead, I now build the Overlay Network!" Her two mentioned monsters each glowed their respective color, swirling and then diving straight down into a black hole on the ground. From the center of the black hole, a burst of light came out.

"The king of beasts that dwells in the beautiful ocean full of minerals, come out and show all foes your mighty fang and bite them with power! I Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 4! Elemental Beast Chlorine White Shark!"

The new Elemental Beast monster was a huge shark. Its body was smooth, shiny white skin with the top backside was all yellow, including its dorsal fin. Its eyes were sharp and yellow while its mouth revealed rows of razor, sharp teeth. It roared strongly, showing off its wide-opening mouth and 2800 ATK.

Elemental Beast Chlorine White Shark-Rank 4, WATER, Fish/Xyz/Effect, 2800 ATK, 1000 DEF.

"I set a card and end my turn," she finished as she placed one face-down card. "Now, let's see what this guy can do."

"My turn. I draw." Jeff said in emotionless tone, drawing his card. "I Normal Summon Curse Dead Knight from my hand!"

Suddenly, a dark, purple arm popped out of the field's ground. Then, the rest of the body came out. It wore a ragged soldier uniform with a protective helmet that had a dent on the side, no eyeballs, and rotten teeth. It carried a single sword, and then it picked up one of the gravestones and used it as its shield.

"Uuuggaaah!" It moaned, showing off 0 ATK and 1000 DEF.

Curse Dead Knight-Level 4, DARK, Zombie/Effect, 0 ATK, 1000 DEF.

"I end my turn here," Jeff finished, surprising everyone.

"What?" Muiko gasped.

"Huh!?" Hannah exclaimed. "That's it!?"

"Interesting. That man, Jeff only summoned 1 monster! There got to be some kind of reason," Cody said.

"That's strange. He never used that monster when I faced him in the preliminary," Mike pondered.

While the spectators watching the duel, Drake, Minnie, and a short, young girl watched the duel.

"Uuuh! I wonder how she will handle this," Minnie teased.

"This is so exciting! This will be my first time seeing how she duels," the girl said excitedly.

"Me too!" Minnie nodded.

"Now, now, ladies, please calm down. We will see what Muiko can do," Drake stated.

"And, I assume that you are the one who sabotage this duel, didn't you?" Minnie asked with a sly look.

"Hmm, let just watch and enjoy ourselves," Drake suggested.

"Why won't he summon just one monster? He must be planning something, so I better be cautious for this one," Muiko thought. "If that is all you can do, then I will just start my turn! I draw!"

She drew her card and looked at it briefly before she conducted her turn. "I declare to battle! Chlorine White Shark, destroy his Curse Dead Knight! Raging Bite!"

The giant white shark, the size of a great white shark, soared through the air, opening its big jaw, and then chewed off the zombie monster.

"I activate Curse Dead Knight's monster effect!" Jeff pointed up his finger. "When it destroyed by battle, I don't gain any battle damage from that battle! Also, I can Special Summon Curse Dead monster from my hand. I Special Summon my second Curse Dead Knight from my hand!"

"Another one?" Muiko noticed as another one appeared. This one looked exactly the same one, except that the handle for its sword was blue.

"Then, I activate my second Curse Dead Knight's effect! When it is Special Summoned via a card effect, I can Special Summon 1 Zombie-Type monster from my Graveyard. I bring back my first Curse Dead Knight! Arise from death!" His first one came back alive, standing next to the second one.

"He has another one!?" Mike asked aloud.

"Even so, your Life Point is not fully protected this turn!" Muiko resisted. "I activate Elemental Beast Chlorine White Shark's effect! By detaching one overlay unit, it can inflict 500 damages for each monster my opponent controls per turn! Since you control two monsters, you take 1000 points of damage!"

The behemoth-sized shark soared through the air again, and opened its wide jaw to bite Jeff. Jeff jumped to the side, dodging the bite, but his Life Points still reduced by the effect damage.

Jeff's LP: 3000

Muiko then noticed something his hand. "Is that a…?"

"I play Action Card! Bats Attack!" He revealed the card, which showed a bunch of bats attacking a silhouette figure that was panicking. "When I receive damage by card effect, the same damage applies to my opponent, too!"

Suddenly, a horde of bats appeared and swoop down on Muiko, attacking her. She protected herself with her arms as she took damage.

Muiko's LP: 3000

"Tch! This does not matter me much. I set a monster and end my turn," she said, placing one monster face-downed as a blue orb with red eyes appeared, symbolizing the face-down monster.

"My turn, I draw." Jeff drew his card. "Let's begin the real fun."

Jeff ran away and opened the gate, entering the front yard of the mansion as he headed to the mansion.

"What is he up?" Muiko questioned, decided to follow after the man.

"Well, folks, it looks like this duel began with a tie so far! I just wonder who will win out of this," Vivi commented.

Muiko entered the mansion, and looked around to see where opponent went. Like a real haunted mansion, there were two empty knight armors standing on either side of another, yet large door. There were also two stairways that went to the second floor on either side, couples of portraits of people hanging on the wall, making the atmosphere a bit creepy.

"Hmmm…" Muiko hummed, deciding to which way she should go. She quickly decided to go and open the first door she sees. When she did, there was a long hallway with more doors on both sides as well as more knight armors standing still on each side. It was as if the armors were here, being a guard or something.

"Come out and show yourself!" Muiko yelled, seeing if she could catch Jeff's attention. Of course, nobody responded.

She walked down the hallway while the hallway's lights flashed couples of time, almost on the brink of dying. While she was walking, one of the armors moved, swinging its arm with its sword at her. It made a clank sound it moved its feet.

She heard the sound, so she ducked down just in time.

"Think you can catch me?" Muiko asked. The moving knight revealed to be a new monster.

A single green eye revealed through the helmet. A strange, blue wavy aura surrounded the body.

"I Normal Summoned Curse Dead Armor Knight in Attack mode! And I activated its effect!" Jeff's voice echoed as Muiko noticed. "While I control another Zombie-Type monster, it can attack your Life Points directly!"

Curse Dead Armor Knight-Level 4, DARK, Zombie/Effect, 500 ATK, 1000 DEF.

The moving knight pushed Muiko to the wall with its arm. Muiko gasped painfully, struggling to get out, but the knight's gauntlet was very hard to loose off.

"I can now clearly see this was a trap," Muiko grimaced.

Muiko's LP: 2500

She looked around to find a way to get out of her current situation. She noticed an Action Card, sticking out in the crack of the wall. She reached for it with her right arm. She successfully got it, and placed it immediately on her duel disk.

"I play the Action Spell: Monster's Rage!" It showed an angry monster that looked like Frankenstein's monster, attacking some screaming people. "When I receive damage by card effect or battle, I can destroy one monster my opponent controls and inflict damage equals to that monster's original ATK!"

Suddenly, her Xyz monster crashed through the floor, and took a bite of Curse Dead Armor Knight, helping Muiko from its grip.

Jeff's LP: 2000

"Thanks, Chlorine White Shark." She thanked the monster as the shark monster responded with a growl.

She continued walking down until she reached the end. She opened another door, and entered another room.

It looked like a library. It had bookcases all over the wall, fire place that was burning with fire, and a single sofa chair with stacks of book next to it and one tabletop with a lamp.

"Where are you? Are you we continuing this hide-and-seek game or are we continuing our duel?" Muiko asked aloud.

It was quiet at first. As she looked around and stayed still, one book floated behind her, opening up itself and flipping pages by itself until it turned into a row of sharp teeth. It soared through the air, with its "mouth" wide opened, heading toward her…until she kicked it down with her foot.

However, her action angered the other books, causing it to come out of the shelves and strike back at her.

"What the heck!?" She gasped as she punched and kicked some of them while a horde of books twirled around her.

The specators watched the action on huge monitors.

"What is going on in there!? The books are literally attacking her!" Hannah exclaimed.

"It is an effect of Action Card!" Cody Hackin stated.

"I activated the Action Spell; Haunted Brain Food!" Jeff announced. "You receive 300 damage equals to the number of monster I control and in exchange, I receive Life Points equal to the same amount of damage you receive. Since I control two, I gain 600!"

Muiko's LP: 1900

Jeff's LP: 2600

"Damn it! I got to get out of here!" Muiko escaped from the library, but the horde of books chased after her. She got out of the mansion, and shut doors behind her, so that the books won't come after her.

"And, now, I think it is time to start the real fun," Jeff said sinisterly. "I offer my two Curse Dead Knights as Muikai Materials!"

"Say what!?" Muiko gasped.

"What did he say!?" Hannah exclaimed.

"No way!" Mike surprised.

Suddenly, strange purple lights glowed through the mansion's glass windows.

"When the cursed spirit never leaves their house, their house becomes their vessel! I Muikai Summon! Show what true horror is! Level 8! Curse Dead Haunted Mansion!"

Suddenly, the mansion of the Action Field grew four tree trunks, acting as its feet. Muiko got off the porch just before it moved out of the ground. The windows distorted into a way that angry eyes look. The chimney erupted with fire coming out of it. Jeff stood on the rooftop. The mansion roared in screeching, terrifying noise, making the spectators and her close her ears.

Curse Dead Haunted Mansion-Level 8, DARK, Zombie/Muikai/Effect, 2900 ATK, 2500 DEF.

"You're…a Muikai Duelist!?" Muiko yelled.

Meanwhile, in the security control room, the computer system was buzzing loudly as the officers scrambled everywhere.

"Stop the duel immediately!" Director Akaba ordered.

"We're trying to do that, maim, but our system, it is not responding! It won't stop the duel!" One of the officers stated.

"What!? That's impossible!" Director Akaba looked disbelieved.

"Well, look at that!" The girl pointed out. "It's a monster house, literally!"

"Indeed. Now, I wonder how Muiko would counter this," said Drake, pondering.

"Oh my god! That guy is a Muikai Duelist!" "This is bad, real bad!" "I think I might wet my pants!" "We're all gonna be cursed as long as that monster is on the field!" The spectators panicked and sceamed.

"I activate Curse Dead Hanunted Mansion's effect!" Jeff yelled, showing a strong emotion while dark aura enveloped his body. "When this monster is Muikai Summoned, I can Special Summon any numbers of Zombie-Type monsters from my Graveyard. I bring back my two Curse Dead Knight and Curse Dead Armor Knight! Rise from graves once again!"

Two Knights and Armor Knight reappeared on his field. "Since it is my turn still, I declare to battle! Haunted Mansion, destroy her Chlorine White Shark! Void Home!"

The haunted mansion opened its door mouth, swallowing Chlorine White Shark. It growled agonizingly as it tried to swim away from it, but with no effect. It got swallowed into the dark abyss and the mansion monster munched and chewed the shark.

"Chlorine!" Muiko exclaimed.

Muiko's LP: 1800

"And now, I declare Armor Knight attack your face-down monster!" Jeff declared as his knight jumped into the air with its sword out.

"Your target is revealed to be Elemental Beast Zinc Tortoise!" The orb turned into a tortoise with shiny gray shell made of zinc. It blocked the attack with its defensive 2200 DEF.

"Tch! Thanks to Armor Knight's effect, I don't receive any damage if it attacks a monster with higher DEF," Jeff said. "I set two cards and end my turn!"

"My, oh my! What a turn of events! Jeff performed a Muikai Summon, which is illegal! So, why the system will not stop the duel!?" Vivi concerned.

"How could this happen!? That guy, Jeff, is not supposed to be a Muikai Duelist when I faced him!" Mike exclaimed.

"I guess that was his secret maybe! He is a creep, after all," Hannah claimed.

"He may be a creep, but this does not make sense at all! I know that he really isn't a Muikai Duelist! Something is wrong here…" Mike looked worry at Muiko.

"I guess it is a good time to use this now," Muiko mumbled as she draws her card. "I activate my Quick-Play Spell: Elemental Beast Draw!"

The mentioned spell showed Elemental Beast Sulfur Leopard on the left, Fluorine Cheetah on the right, and Krypton Dog in the center, roaring or howling up into the sky while a single card floated in the sky with a shining light behind it.

"When this card is activated, I get to draw a number of cards equal to the number of Elemental Beast monster I control on the field! Since I only control Zinc Tortoise, I draw only one card." She drew a card and looked at it before she added it to her hand.

"Now, I normal summon Mythical Grove Chestnut Paladin!" A female paladin appeared. She looked very humanoid, with a tan, brown skin, green eyes revealed through the opening of her helmet that was a literal chestnut, and shiny, green armor. She held a shiny sword with sliver handle and green color for the blade that gave off some discharge, and a shield made of woods with Kanji symbol for "nature".

Mythical Grove Chestnut Paladin-Level 4, Scale 3, WIND, Warrior/Pendulum/Effect, 1400 ATK, 800 DEF.

"Battle! I declare Chestnut Paladin to strike down one your Haunted Mansion!" Muiko straightened her arm up.

"What!? But it has higher ATK than your monster!" Vivi exclaimed.

"Chestnut Paladin's effect allows it to destroy my opponent's monster with the highest attack during the Battle Phase!" Muiko stated.

"Foolish girl! I activate Haunted Mansion's other effect! If it would be destroyed by battle or card effect, one of my Curse Dead monsters is destroyed instead!" Chestnut Paladin changed its course, and strike down one of Curse Dead Knights instead.

"And, thanks to Curse Dead Knight's effect, my Life Point is untouched and I can Special Summon another one from my hand and use my summoned Dead Knight's effect to bring back the other one that was destroyed!" Three Dead Knights assembled on his side as he smirked.

Muiko twitched her eyes in frustration. "Damn it. I only made you summon another one!"

"Also to add to your nightmare, I activate Continuous Trap: Curse of the Dead!" It showed ghostly spirits of Curse Dead Knights haunting a single, crying Cyber Tutu. "White this card remains face-up on the field, each time my Curse Dead is destroyed by battle or card effect, my opponent receives 500 damages!"

"What!?" Muiko gasped while a ghostly spirit of Curse Dead Knight appeared and swooned through her body, causing her to feel pain. "Grrrgh!"

Muiko's LP: 1300

"But, wait! That is not all! I also activate the Continuous Spell: Muikai Seal!" This said card showed Golden Angel Dragon inside a magical seal while three hooded spellcaster encircled around the dragon. "I target one Muikai monster on my side of the field, and that monster cannot be destroyed by the effect of Spell, Trap, and monster's cards!"

"No way!" Hannah couldn't believe her eyes. "It became even more invincible than it should be!"

"Muiko…" Mike mumbled worryingly.

"I…end my turn." She didn't have a choice.

"Fear more pain in your endless nightmare!" Jeff smiled maniacally as he drew his card. "Haunted Mansion shall destroy your Mythical Grove Chestnut Paladin and end this duel!"

"Not so fast!" She objected. "I activate Zinc Tortoise's monster effect! I switch your monster's target to Zine Tortoise instead!"

Haunted Mansion opened its mouth and swallowed the poor tortoise in.

"Grrr!" Jeff growled. "Fine! I will just end my turn here, but here is a thing: I activate Curse of Dead's second effect! During my End Phase, I can sacrifice one Curse Dead monster I control on the field and inflict damage equals to its ATK. I offer my Armor Knight to do my bidding!"

Armor Knight transformed into a howling spirit of itself. It soared through the air, and swooned into Muiko, giving her another round of pain.

"Aaaarrr!" She screamed as her Life Points drained down.

Muiko's LP: 800

"Muiko!" Her friends screamed.

"This is doom, man! Doom!" "There is no way that girl could win!" "Why won't the officers do something!?"

Other competitors, especially Ace, Go, and the Synchro Duelist, Ray looked worry for her.

"Muiko…" Ace mumbled.

"Hmmm..." Go hummed, looking serious with her arms crossed together.

"Well, this isn't good. If I were her, I wouldn't have Xyz Summoned on the first turn," Ray criticized as he taking a drink from his water bottle.

She held the spot where the ghost went through her. "What I am going to do? Should I Muikai Summon my ace to stop this guy? No, there won't be any point!"

Suddenly, a light shined from her deck. She glanced at it, and sensed that it was her ace monster was the cause.

"Golden Angel Dragon, are you…trying to say to me not give up?" She asked.

She heard its roar, saying exactly what it saying to her. "You're right. For every duel, it will all be determined by one last draw."

Muiko placed her fingers on the top of her deck, closing her eyes, ready to draw. "Believe in the heart of my card."

"I DRAW!" She drew her card, creating an arc of light. She slowly opened her eyes and then took a glance at the card she drew.

Her eyes widened. "I play the Spell Card Monster Reborn! I resurrect my Elemental Beast Chlorine White Shark from my Graveyard!" Her tortoise roared, although no actually roar came out of its mouth even if it did.

"Ha! How can bringing back that tortoise be any use to you?" Jeff mocked her.

"You will see," she replied. "And then, I play the Quick-Play Spell: Rank-Up Magic Primordial Evolution!" The said card showed E.B. Fluorine Cheetah evolving or transforming into Elemental Prebeast Fluoridactyl while a silhouette of Gold King Tyrano appears in the background

"A Rank-Up!?" Jeff exclaimed.

"Huh!?" Both Minnie and Alice gasped.

"Ho…" Drake awed.

Ray spitted out all of his water when he saw that move.

"With this card, I can target 1 Elemental Beast monster I control and use it to Xyz Summon an Elemental Prebeast monster with 1 Rank higher! I construct the Overlay Network with my Chlorine White Shark!"

Chlorine White Shark roared before it turned into a blue energy, then diving into the black hole and finally, a burst of light erupted out of the black hole.

"Ancient beast of the seas, hear my prayer and show the world why you were the all mighty ruler of the ancient ocean! Rank Up, Xyz Change! Appear, Rank 5! Elemental Prebeast Mega-Chlorilodon!"

Suddenly, a bigger version of Elemental Beast Chlorine White Shark appeared. It was twice the size of the original one. Its shiny, golden eyes gave a scary glare that tells any foes to not mess with it. A periodic symbol for Chlorine imprinted on its sharp tail fin. The dorsal fin on the top was purely black, and it was black for the upper half of its body, from the tip of its tail to the tip of its nose. It revealed its rows of razor sharp, white teeth.

Elemental Prebeast Mega-Chlorilodon-Rank 5, WATER, Fish/Xyz/Effect, 3300 ATK, 1500 DEF.

"Whooaa!" All the spectators awed at the gigantic shark.

"Nice…!" Yuta exclaimed. "Now, the fun has just begun!"

"Even though it has higher ATK than Haunted Mansion, you still can't destroy my monster nor even touch it!" Jeff reminded.

"You think so?" Muiko asked. "I activate Chlorilodon's effect! By detaching any numbers of its overlay units, I can destroy a number of cards equal the number of overlay unit I used. I detach its only one unit to destroy your Spell Card!"

"Say what!?" Jeff gasped as his Spell Card turned into sparkles of light. "Even so, my monster is still protected, thanks to its own effect! As long as my zombie minions, Curse Dead Knights are on my field, my Muikai monster cannot be targeted for an attack!"

"There won't be any! I activate my monster's second effect!" Jeff's eyes widened, looking very concerned. "If one of its Xyz Materials used to summon this monster was E.B. monster with 'Chlorine' in its name, then it can destroy all monsters with Level less than or equal to its Rank, regardless of its effect!"

"No way!" Jeff gasped.

"Mega-Chlorilodon! Destroy all of his Curse Dead Knight! Feast Rampage!" She pointed out.

Her shark monster soared through the air, and gobbled each of his Knight and chewed them up, right in front of his eyes.

"No…This can't be possible!" Jeff screamed.

"Also to add, for each monster it destroyed through this effect, you receive 500 points of damage!" As it chowed down on his monsters, Jeff's Life Points affected.

Jeff's LP: 1100

"Battle! I declare my Xyz to destroy your Haunted Mansion! Mega Bite!" Her Xyz monster crunched the living mansion into bits and pieces.

"No, no, no! I…I got to find some Action cards!" He ran off while his monster was being chowed down.

Jeff's LP: 700

Jeff saw one Action card laid on top of the gravestone. "Yes, there it is! Action Card!"

He jumped in to grab it, but Mega-Chiloridon, despites its massive size, swan past him very quickly and blocked his way.

"Aaah!" He gasped. He looked up at the monster's face as it growled, revealing its sharp, razor teeth.

"Eeek!" He shrieked.

"There is no way to escape from this now! Mythical Grove Chestnut Paladin will finish you off here!" Muiko declared.

Her paladin of nature's warriors gave a final slash on Jeff, making him fall on his back and causing the dark aura around him faded away.

Jeff's LP: 0

Muiko WINS

The field faded away, along with the monsters. Every spectators stared in blank space.

"Muiko…She won!" Hannah screamed cheerfully, making everyone else to rise up and cheered loudly into the air.

The Enforcer officers came to the arena, and arrested Jeff, who was unconscious, on the spot. They put him on a portable bed, and rolled him to somewhere else.

"What a spectacular duel! By far, that was probably the best duel ever! Not only she won, but also saved everyone here when she destroyed that horrible Muikai monster! Let's give our victor, Muiko another round of cheer!" Vivi exclaimed as the crowds of spectators cheered again.

Right after that, Muiko went to the break room.

"Phew, that was close for comfort," she said, looking tired.

"Muiko!" She raised her head to see Mike, Hannah, and Cody running up to her. "Are you alright? You're not hurt, right?" Mike asked.

She blinked at him before she smirked. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"That was very intense duel! I collected a lot of data from it!" Cody exclaimed.

"Really was, but I still couldn't believe that Jeff guy used a Muikai monster! What a horror!" Hannah stated.

"Yeah…I have a feeling that this tournament may become dangerous," Muiko said.

"Say what!? That's horrible! What should we do?" Mike panicked.

"Calm down, Mike. As long as Muiko is in the tournament, including you, then we should all be fine!" Hannah said confidently.

"I…guess so," Mike said, although he looked little unsure.

"Well done, Muiko…" They turned around to see a familiar blue-haired boy with edgy hair style. "I never expected that you could also do Rank-Up. You hold a lot of surprises."

"Ray." Muiko greeted.

"What do you want, Ray?" Hannah snapped.

"Hannah, remember your manners!" Mike whispered behind her.

"You know, I am getting the feeling that you are really more of Xyz Duelist. I am looking forward to duel you, if you make it through, that is." Ray mocked.

"Ray!" Someone yelled at him. Ray turned around to see his childhood friend with short, white hair approached him. "There you are! Don't be so rude to Muiko!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let's get the hell out of here. I'm hungry, anyway." He mumbled, walking away.

"I am so sorry for his behavior," Shizune apologized before she ran after Ray.

"That guy is such a jerk! I still won't forgive for what he did to Ace!" Hannah grumbled.

"Next up…" The announcement speaker spoke. "It is the local pro duelist, Ace versus his opponent from far away country!"

"Speaking of the devil, Ace is going to duel," Cody said. "Come on. Let's go see his duel."

Meanwhile, Minnie, Alice, and Drake talked with each other somewhere privately.

"Damn it!" Minnie punched the wall. "That damn girl, Muiko defeated that stupid, possessed lackey of ours! She did even without her Muikai Monster, nonetheless used Rank-Up! So annoying."

"Yeah! It's no fair!" Alice puffed her cheeks in anger, although it only served her to make her look cuter.

"Patient, Minnie and Alice. Jeff was just one of our possessed lackeys. We still have more in this tournament. Just stick to our plan and everything will be fine." Drake stated. "Besides, it is time to see our new member's duel."

New Cards Cheat Sheet

Elemental Beast Chlorine White Shark-Rank 4, WATER, Fish/Xyz/Effect, 2800 ATK, 1000 DEF. Effect: 2 Level 4 Monsters. Once per turn: Detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; inflicts 500 damages for each monster your opponent controls.

Curse Dead Knight-Level 4, DARK, Zombie/Effect, 0 ATK, 1000 DEF. Effect: When this card is destroyed by battle, you don't gain any damage from that battle. When it is destroyed: You can Special Summon 1 "Curse Dead Knight" from your hand.

Bats Attack-Type: Action Spell, Effect: When you receive an effect damage by opponent's card effect: Inflict the same damage to your opponent.

Curse Dead Armor Knight-Level 4, DARK, Zombie/Effect, 500 ATK, 1000 DEF. Effect: When this card attacks while you control another Zombie-Type monster: This card can attack directly.

Monster's Rage-Type: Action Spell, Effect: When you received damage by battle or card effect: Inflicts the same damage to your opponent and destroy 1 monster they control on the field.

Haunted Brain Food-Type: Action Spell, Effect: Inflicts 300 damages to your opponent; Then, gain Life Points equal to the effect damage that your opponent receives.

Curse Dead Haunted Mansion-Level 8, DARK, Zombie/Muikai/Effect, 2900 ATK, 2500 DEF. Effect: 2 DARK Zombie-Type monsters. When this card is Muikai Summoned: Special Summon as many Zombie-Type monsters from your Graveyard. If this card would be destroyed by battle or card effect, you can destroy a "Curse Dead" monster instead.

Elemental Beast Draw-Type: Quick-Play Spell, Effect: Draw a number of cards equals to the number of "Elemental Beast" monster you controls on the field.

Mythical Grove Chestnut Paladin-Level 4, Scale 3, WIND, Warrior/Pendulum/Effect, 1400 ATK, 800 DEF. Normal Effect: During your Battle Phase only: Destroy 1 monster with the highest ATK. Pendulum Effect: When you Fusion or Xyz Summoned a monster, add one of its materials from your Graveyard or 1 "Rank-Up" card from your Graveyard, respectfully.

Curse of the Dead-Type: Continuous Trap, Effect: Whenever your opponent destroys a "Curse Dead" monster by battle or card effect: Inflicts 500 damages to their Life Points. During your End Phase only, inflicts 500 damages to your opponent. If not, you receive the damage and destroy this card instead.

Muikai Seal-Type: Continuous Spell, Effect: Target 1 Muikai monster you controls; the targeted monster cannot be destroyed by your opponent's Spells, Traps, or monster effect.

Rank-Up Magic Primordial Evolution-Type: Quick-Play Spell, Effect: Target 1 face-up Xyz "Elemental Beast" monster you control; Special Summon from your Extra Deck, 1 Xyz "Elemental Prebeast" monster, but 1 Rank higher, by using it as Xyz Material. (This Special Summon is treated as Xyz Summon. Xyz Materials attached to it also become Xyz Materials of the Summoned Monster); OR, target 1 Elemental Beast monster you control; Tribute it to Special Summon 1 "Elemental Prebeast" monster from your hand or Deck.

Elemental Prebeast Mega-Chlorilodon-Rank 5, WATER, Fish/Xyz/Effect, 3300 ATK, 1500 DEF. Effect: 3 Level 5 monsters. You can also Xyz Summon this card by using a "Rank-Up Magic" card and using 1 "Elemental Beast" Xyz monster you control as Xyz Material. (Xyz Materials attached to that monster also become Xyz Materials on this card). Once per turn: Detach any number of Xyz Materials from this card to destroy the number of face-up monsters your opponent controls, with Level equals to or less than this card's Rank, equal to the number of Xyz Materials you detached from this card. If one of the Xyz Materials used to summon this card was "Elemental Beast" monster with "Chlorine" in its name, then your opponent receives 500 damages for each monster destroyed by this card's effect.

Hello, folks! I hope you all had wonderful holidays. I know I did, and my new year started off very well. I got accepted from two companies I had interview with, accepted the second job offer, and passed my road test and got my driver license for it. Good start for me this year^^

First new chapter for Yu-Gi-Oh Muikai in 2017 is finally here! I hope you all like all of the cards I made for this chapter. I might need a break from writing because this one took awhile and I managed to finish it in two days. Wooo!

Next time, Ace goes up next, but what did Drake meant by his words at the end of the chapter? Stay tune, and I will see you all next time. Have nice weekends!