The conference hall buzzed with anticipation as the score stood tied with one duel each, and now one final game remained.
The first Duel Monsters Grand Prix would soon crown its champion.
The Head Judge stepped forward and raised his hand and announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final duel will now begin."
Applause erupted immediately as reporters adjusted their notebooks and players leaned forward; even those eliminated hours ago remained glued to their seats because nobody wanted to miss the conclusion.
At the centre table, Chuck and Victor finished shuffling their decks, and unlike before, neither appeared particularly nervous.
Chuck looked excited while Victor looked focused.
Alexander observed both silently from the front row as the strange sensation from Baby Dragon still lingered in his thoughts, 'One Duel Spirit had already responded... Would it happen again?'
The Head Judge nodded toward the finalists and declared, "You may begin!"
Since he had lost the previous duel, Victor held the choice, so he glanced at his opponent and, without any hesitation, he said in his usual confident tone, "I will go first."
Chuck grinned and replied with equal confidence in his tone, "Works for me."
With that, the duel began as the two drew their hands.
[Victor - 4000 LP]
[Chuck - 4000 LP]
Victor studied his cards for only a moment, then he acted, "I set one monster."
A card slid face-down onto the field before he added, "I set two additional cards."
Two more cards joined his back row, and he announced, "I end my turn."
Several spectators nodded because this was exactly what they expected from Victor, a cautious opening.
Chuck started his turn and drew, and the moment he looked at his hand, his grin widened as he commented, "Not bad."
He immediately slammed down a card while announcing, "I activate Pot of Greed!"
The crowd cheered as he drew two more cards that entered his hand shortly after, then he slammed down a card on the field while saying, "I summon Baby Dragon in attack position!"
[Baby Dragon - 1200 ATK / 700 DEF]
The card depicting the now iconic tiny dragon appeared on the field, making several spectators laugh and cheer.
"Go get him!"
Unfortunately for Baby Dragon, its career lasted only a few seconds as Victor calmly revealed one of his face-down cards, "I activate my set Trap card, Trap Hole."
The dragon is thus destroyed immediately.
Chuck stared before he wailed, "Damn! My dragon was murdered by that nasty hole again...!"
The audience laughed at his exaggerated but understandable reaction as Trap Hole was quite a popular and strong card, and in this tournament many monsters fell to it.
More laughter spread through the hall as Chuck sighed dramatically before setting one card and announcing, "...I end my turn."
Victor started his turn and drew.
His eyes moved briefly toward the top card, and no surprise crossed his face as though he already knew it would be there.
Without hesitation, he placed another monster face-down and then ended his turn.
Alexander folded his arms while thinking, 'How unsettling... Victor is doing it again. Every move looks simple. Every move quietly prepares future turns. And somehow, the game seems to be following his script.'
After thinking that, Chuck unfolded his arms and drew, then his smile returned as he looked at what he drew while commenting, "Oh, now we're talking."
He slapped a card onto the table and announced, "I summon Lord of D. in attack position!"
[Lord of D. - 1200 ATK / 1100 DEF]
Several spectators immediately reacted because they knew what came next.
Chuck grinned and placed another card on the field, this time in the Spell and Trap card Zone, "Now, I activate The Flute of Summoning Dragon to Special Summon two Dragon-type monsters from my hand!"
The audience erupted as Chuck place to more Monster cards on the field next to Lord of D.
[Curse of Dragon - 2000 ATK / 1500 DEF]
[Koumori Dragon - 1500 ATK / 1200 DEF]
However, Chuck wasn't finished yet as he placed one more card, this time on the Field Zone while saying, "I activate the Field Spell Mountain! As long as this card is on the field, all Dragon, Winged Beast, and Thunder monsters on the field gain 200 ATK/DEF."
[Curse of Dragon - 2200 ATK / 1700 DEF]
[Koumori Dragon - 1700 ATK / 1400 DEF]
The strength of the Dragon monster increased, making the crowd cheer loudly.
Alexander smiled as this was probably the strongest opening Chuck had produced all tournament.
"Battle Phase! I attack your set monster with Curse of Dragon!"
Cheers erupted, and in response Victor calmly flipped his monster face-up.
[Wall of Illusion - 1000 ATK / 1850 DEF]
Then, seeing the monster, the cheers immediately turned into groans.
The attack destroyed it, but then Wall of Illusion's effect activated and Curse of Dragon returned to Chuck's hand.
"Seriously? How many times do I have to crash into that freaking wall!?" Chuck complained loudly.
The audience laughed once again.
Then Koumori Dragon attacked the other set monster next, and Victor revealed the second monster.
[Big Eye - 1200 ATK / 1000 DEF]
Big Eye was destroyed, but at the same time, its flip effect activated, allowing Victor to calmly rearrange the top five cards of his deck.
Then Lord of D. attacked directly, and this time, the attack passed through, damaging Victor's Life Points.
[Victor - 2800 LP]
The crowd erupted once again as the momentum clearly belonged to Chuck, at least for now.
Chuck ended his turn, and Victor started his by drawing.
Without even looking surprised, he immediately played the card, "I activate Pot of Greed."
Alexander noticed and thought, 'That's pure aura farming... Victor already knew what he would draw, as Big Eye's effect had guaranteed it.'
Victor drew two cards, then calmly rebuilt his defences by setting one monster and one card in the back row before ending his turn.
The duel continued with Chuck starting his turn and drawing a card before he summoned Blue-Winged Crown in attack position.
[Blue-Winged Crown - 1600 ATK / 1200 DEF]
Then the newly summoned monster is buffed by the Field Spell as it is a Winged Beast type.
[Blue-Winged Crown - 1800 ATK / 1400 DEF]
Chuck started his Battle Phase, and attacks followed immediately, starting with Koumori Dragon, who attacked Victor's set monster.
Victor flipped the set monster face-up, revealing Sangan before calmly sending it to the Graveyard and at this point, Sangan's search effect activated, allowing him to add one Monster with 1500 or less ATK from the deck to his hand; it is Witch of the Black Forest.
Then Chuck attacked directly with his other monsters, but Victor activated one of his set cards, "Wait. I activate the Trap card Mirror Force."
The conference hall exploded as every monster on Chuck's field was destroyed instantly and sent to the Graveyard.
Gasps echoed from every direction.
Just like that, the field was empty, and Victor's turn started.
He drew, then calmly summoned Witch of the Black Forest in attack position.
[Witch of the Black Forest - 1100 ATK / 1200 DEF]
To the surprise of many spectators, he entered Battle Phase and declared, "I attack directly with Witch of the Black Forest."
The attack connected, damaging Chuck's Life Points.
[Chuck - 2900 LP]
After the attack, Victor calmly ended his turn, and at the same time, Alexander immediately understood, 'Victor wanted Witch of the Black Forest destroyed. He wanted the search and at the same time waste more of Chuck's resources, yet Chuck refused to cooperate. Good... He has learned from his mistakes.'
Chuck started his turn and drew, then activated another Pot of Greed before setting one monster face down and ending his turn.
Victor drew again, and without hesitation, he summoned La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp in attack position.
[La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp - 1800 ATK / 1000 DEF]
Then he switched Witch of the Black Forest to defence position and ended his turn like that.
Alexander immediately realised what had happened, 'Victor has identified the face-down monster through observation. He knows that the only monster Chuck consistently sets in non-desperate situations is Dragon Piper, which has 1800 DEF and none of his current monsters can overcome that, so he decisively ended his turn.'
Chuck started his turn and drew, then with a grin he announced, "I tribute my set monster, Dragon Piper, to Tribute Summon Curse of Dragon in attack position!"
As expected, his set monster was indeed Dragon Piper, and he tributed it.
The crowd cheered as finally a strong monster once again appeared on the field.
[Curse of Dragon - 2000 ATK / 1500 DEF] → [Curse of Dragon - 2200 ATK / 1700 DEF]
After that, Chuck immediately moved to the Battle Phase and declared an attack, "I attack your La Jinn with my Curse of Dragon!"
Victor responded instantly, "I activate the Continuous Trap card, Ultimate Offering. I can activate this card's effect by paying 500 LP during my Main Phase or my opponent's Battle Phase, and immediately after this effect resolves, I can Normal Summon or Set 1 monster."
Hearing the outrageous effect, gasps spread across the hall while Alexander smiled wryly, thinking, 'Among all the participants in this tournament, only he decided to use that card. Of course... Only someone like Victor Von Doom would immediately understand the full potential of one of the most broken cards in the current card pool. After all, in such an early stage of the game, not many can understand the fact that Life Points are only another resource and only the very last point is truly important.'
Victor then pays the cost, reducing his Life Points by 500 and said, "Now, thanks to Ultimate Offering, I can normal summon a monster from my hand. I tribute Witch of the Black Forest to Tribute Summon Dragon Seeker in attack position."
[Victor - 2300 LP]
As Witch of the Back Forest is sent to the Graveyard, a new monster card appeared on the field.
[Dragon Seeker - 2000 ATK / 2100 DEF]
The audience reacted immediately, but Victor wasn't done yet as he announced, "Now, the conditions are met to activate the effects of both Witch of the Black Forest and Dragon Seeker. Witch allows me to add a monster with 1500 or less DEF from my deck to the hand, and upon Normal Summon, Dragon Seeker destroys one face-up Dragon-type monster on the field, in this case, Curse of Dragon."
In response to this chain, Curse of Dragon was destroyed before its attack could land while Victor added another Sangan to his hand.
Chuck stared for a moment before saying, "Damn... So that's how we're doing this."
Victor remained silent as Chuck ended his turn with a mostly empty field and only one set card in the back row.
Victor began his turn, drew, and then shifted Dragon Seeker into defence position before setting another monster; then he started the Battle Phase and attacked directly with La Jinn.
Chuck took the attack without doing anything.
[Chuck - 1100 LP]
The atmosphere became tense as it became clear that Victor controlled the duel and Chuck was running out of Life Points and also running out of options.
Chuck started his turn and drew; then his eyes widened as he saw what he just drew before a grin spread across his face and he announced, "I activate Fusion Sage to add one Polymerization from my deck to the hand!"
The crowd immediately reacted.
"No way!?"
"Does that mean...?"
"Not again!"
"Just how lucky is he!?"
Then Chuck activated Polymerization, sending two cards from his hand to the Graveyard, Baby Dragon and Time Wizard and announced, "I Fusion Summon Thousand Dragon in attack position!"
The audience erupted.
[Thousand Dragon - 2400 ATK / 2000 DEF] → [Thousand Dragon - 2600 ATK / 2200 DEF]
Thunderous applause filled the hall, and even Alexander smiled as somehow it felt right that his friend was able to pull out that card and summon his favourite monster.
Then Chuck declared an attack on La Jinn using Thousand Dragon, damaging Victor's Life Points by 800 before ending his turn.
[Victor - 1500 LP]
As a result, the momentum shifted once again.
Victor started his turn, drew, and activated the Field Spell card Yami that made all Fiend and Spellcaster monsters on the field gain 200 ATK/DEF, while also making all Fairy monsters on the field lose 200 ATK/DEF.
[Dragon Seeker - 2200 ATK / 2300 DEF]
Yet he did not attack, as no monster on the field was able to overcome the imposing Thousand Dragon and its 2600 ATK, so he simply waited, ending his turn.
Chuck started his turn, drew, and pressed forward relentlessly.
He summoned Koumori Dragon.
[Koumori Dragon - 1500 ATK / 1200 DEF] → [Koumori Dragon - 1700 ATK / 1400 DEF]
Then he started the Battle Phase and attacked without any hesitation, clearing Victor's field.
However, one of the monsters destroyed was Sangan, and its destruction activated its effect, allowing Victor to add another card to his hand.
Done with his attacks, Chuck ended his turn, and Victor started his, but he simply set one monster on the field before ending his turn
Chuck started his turn, drew, and with a confident smile, he summoned Blue-Winged Crown in attack position.
[Blue-Winged Crown - 1600 ATK / 1200 DEF] → [Blue-Winged Crown - 1800 ATK / 1400 DEF]
Chuck launched a full assault using the three monsters at his disposal, while declaring, "It's time to end this! Battle Phase!"
Koumori Dragon attacked the set monster that was naturally Witch of the Black Forest, thus activating its effect, allowing for another search.
Then Chuck attacked directly with Blue-Winged Crown, but Victor activated Ultimate Offering again, paying 500 LP to set another monster on the field.
[Victor - 1000 LP]
The set monster was thus destroyed by Blue-Winged Crown, preventing Victor's defeat while at the same time allowing for another search, as the set monster was the last Sangan in Victor's deck.
After that, Chuck attacked directly with Thousand Dragon, but once again Victor activated Ultimate Offering, paying yet another 500 LP to set one more monster on the field.
[Victor - 500 LP]
Once again, Chuck's decisive attack failed as Thousand Dragon destroyed the set monster, which was the last Witch of the Black Forest, thus activating her effect, allowing for yet another search.
The crowd watched the whole sequence in disbelief as Victor was sacrificing resources simply to survive.
At the same time, for the first time in all duels, Victor hesitated, but only briefly.
His eyes moved across multiple cards in both the field, Graveyard, and hand, and he even looked at his own deck.
Several choices existed, several paths to victory remained, then his gaze settled upon one.
Witch of the Black Forest.
For reasons he could not immediately explain, the card felt correct, somewhat familiar but difficult to explain.
Then suddenly a fleeting sensation brushed across his thoughts before disappearing, and Victor selected the card to add to his hand.
The duel continued, and his hand closed around another card, Summoned Skull.
His final answer.
A visibly frustrated Chuck ended his turn, and so Victor's turn began.
He reached toward his deck to draw but then stopped as he felt that something was watching him.
The sensation felt completely different from anything he had felt before.
It felt powerful, cold, patient and evaluating.
Victor focused his mystical senses and realised that the presence originated from the card resting in his hand, Summoned Skull.
For a brief moment, he felt like something connected to that card acknowledged him.
Not his emotions, not his hopes, but his will, his brilliance, his potential.
Victor said nothing, and even if intrigued by this phenomenon, as it was the main reason why he got interested in this game in the first place, he fully focused on the current duel and drew his card.
At the same time, Alexander straightened immediately as he felt it too and realised, 'Another Duel Spirit!? So soon? Wait, this one is different from Baby Dragon... This one isn't actively helping the duelist. No, it is evaluating him! This presence feels like... Summoned Skull!'
After a short moment of shock, a smile formed on Alexander's face as he thought, 'This is so exciting! The game and the world are changing before my very eyes. I can't wait to experience them to their fullest!'
Meanwhile, Victor calmly studied his hand, then smiled; it was a very rare sight. Then he announced, "I activate Graceful Charity."
Three cards entered his hand, and two were discarded. Seeing his new hand, Victor declared, "It's over..."
The audience looked confused as Victor now held only three cards, yet Alexander suddenly understood that Victor had assembled everything he needed to ensure his victory.
"I activate Harpie's Feather Duster."
As a result, Chuck's back row was cleared, and the set Mirror Force was revealed and destroyed.
The crowd gasped at seeing that.
Then came the second card, "I activate Raigeki."
And so every monster Chuck controlled was destroyed, completely clearing his field.
Silence filled the conference hall.
Then, Victor placed his final card on the table and said, "I activate Monster Reborn to Special Summon Witch of the Black Forest from my Graveyard in attack position."
Witch of the Black Forest returned.
Several spectators blinked as he didn't choose Summoned Skull, La Jinn, or another stronger monster, just Witch of the Black Forest.
Victor entered Battle Phase and declared, "Witch of the Black Forest attacks directly."
The attack connected.
[Chuck - 0 LP]
Silence remained for a few long seconds, then chaos as the conference hall exploded into applause.
People jumped from their seats, reporters rushed to write, and players cheered.
The Head Judge stepped forward and raised his hand, "The winner of the third duel..."
The audience gradually quieted.
"And the champion of the first Duel Monsters Grand Prix..."
A pause, then he yelled from the top of his lungs, "Victor Von Doom!!"
The hall erupted once more.
Across the table, Chuck leaned back and laughed, "Hahaha... Damn. I totally didn't expect that, but it was awesome!"
Victor slowly gathered his cards, and for a moment his gaze lingered on the Witch of the Black Forest card, then on Summoned Skull, then he returned both to his deck.
Alexander watched quietly.
Chuck had touched the future, Victor had conquered it, and perhaps most importantly, two Duel Spirits had answered during the finals.
The players believed they had witnessed the end of the tournament, but Alexander knew better; this was only the beginning of something truly great.
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