Era of Spirits and Shadows Chapter 13 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Era of Spirits and Shadows! As more and more students Duel in the Promotion Exams, we come closer to the end of this little Arc! Who’s up next? Perhaps the beasts will be set upon the field again? Mindy’s last Duel didn’t even let her get out her Boss Monsters after all!

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 13 – Beasts and Beauties

“So, I’m Dueling you, huh, Slate?” Mindy greeted the Obelisk first year.

Slate had long, dark green hair that went past his shoulders, a somewhat plain face, and wore the standard Obelisk Blue uniform. “Yo, Mindy, how’s it going?” He greeted her with a smile.

“Just about to win, nothing big.” Mindy grinned back at him. Of all the boys in Obelisk Blue that had tried to ask her out, Slate was the one of the least pushy about it.

“Oh really?” Slate chuckled at her response. “You want to wager a date on it?” He put his Deck into his blue-lined Duel Disk and let it auto-shuffle. “I’ve streamlined my Deck just for this exam. So, I’m pretty confident.”

“What do I get if I win?” Mindy let her Deck be auto-shuffled as well.

Slate faked a shocked look. “You mean you don’t want to win a date with me?” He placed his hand over his chest dramatically with a chuckle.

“That would just be a reward for you either way, wouldn’t it?” Mindy rolled her eyes, but the action was completely lighthearted and benign. “How about you transfer 5,000 DP to me if you lose?” She grinned at him, her brown eyes looking sharp, like a predator on the hunt.

“And if I win, you give me one date to sweep you off your feet.” Slate agreed to the bet with a grin. “Deal.”

“Deal.” Mindy nodded to him, a smirk on her lips that was a mix of playful and dangerous.

“DUEL!!!” Slate and Mindy declared, starting their Promotion Exam Duel.

Mindy – 4,000

Slate – 4,000

“Allow me to show you my new streamlined Deck!” Slate grinned as he started the Duel with his first turn. “I’ll start off with the Spell card: Unexpected Dai!” He activated the card and the hologram appeared on the field, depicting Warrior Dai Grepher kneeling in a sphere of crackling energy. “Since I have no Monsters on my field, I can special summon a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster from my Deck.” Slate searched his Deck for only a second before he found the card that he wanted. “I special summon Gradius!”

In a glow of yellow light and crackling electricity a white jet fighter appeared hovering over the field.

Gradius – Level 4 – LIGHT – Machine – 1200 ATK/800 DEF

“Now I activate the Spell called Time-Tearing Morganite!” Slate set the card into his Duel Disk. The hologram of the green spell card showed a purple stone giving off waves of black, purple, and white energy.

“Never heard of it.” Mindy mentioned, clearly asking for clarification.

“It’s a powerful Spell that let’s me activate a few effects for the rest of this Duel.” Slate grinned at her. “But all good things have a price, so I can no longer activate Monster Effects from my hand. The first benefit that I get for that restriction is that I get to draw two cards during each of my Draw Phases from now on. The second benefit is that I can always perform two normal summons or sets each turn, instead of just one.”

The loud murmuring of the students in the stands got louder as Slate explained the effects of his super rare card.

“That must be a new release too… I’ve never heard of it.” Drake mentioned of the Spell.

“Neither have I… But those effects are pretty powerful.” Jasmine eyed the hologram of the Spell card.

“Is that a Gradius Deck?” Jaden wondered, looking at the fighter jet on the field. “I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never seen one in action before.”

Alexis looked at the Gradius and then at the Time-Tearing Morganite, trying to recall anything she knew about a Gradius Deck. “I think Slate is planning to build up a quick board of high ATK Monsters and win in one blow.”

“Ah… Beatdown Meta… How I’ve missed you.” Drake chuckled lightly, making the other three snicker or giggle too. The joke was one that every Duelist knew and related back to the earliest days of the game where having large ATK Monsters (also known as Beat Sticks) was often all you needed to win.

Slate let the crowd calm down a bit before continuing with his turn. “I’ll summon Vic Viper T301!”

A flash of light and another jet appeared on the field next to Gradius. The sleeker design of the new jet almost made it look like an upgraded version of the Gradius.

Vic Viper T301 – Level 4 – LIGHT – Machine/Effect – 1200 ATK/800 DEF

“With T301’s effect, all other LIGHT Machine Monsters I control get a 1200 ATK boost!” Slate informed Mindy as his Gradius’s ATK rose.

Gradius – Level 4 – LIGHT – Machine – 2400 ATK/800 DEF

“Now, I’ll special summon Gradius’ Option!” Slate continued as he set the Monster on the field. “I can only special summon this Monster by selecting a Gradius that’s already on the field. It’s ATK and DEF becomes the same as the Gradius that I selected.

A red version of the Gradius appeared next to the original, a green glow coming from the front of the jet. The Gradius next to it glowed the same green color for a second before the red jet copied its ATK/DEF.

Gradius’ Option – Level 1 – LIGHT – Machine/Effect – 2400 ATK/800 DEF

“I’ll set one card facedown and then end my turn.” Slate slotted the last card I his hand, the hologram appearing on the field.

“I draw!” Mindy drew for her first turn, eyeing the three Machine Monsters and the high ATK of both Gradius and Gradius’ Option. “Let’s start with a Foolish Burial so that I can send one Monster from my Deck to my graveyard.” Mindy played the Spell card, the hologram on the field depicting a grave with a single hand holding a shovel sticking out of it. A quick search of her Deck and Mindy found which Monster she wanted. “I choose my Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest.” She showed it to Slate for a second before putting it into the graveyard. “Next I’ll activate the Spell card Obedience Schooled!” The hologram of the green card appeared on the field, showing multiple low level Beast Monsters on it. “Since I control no Monsters, I get to special summon three Level Two or lower Beast Monsters form my Deck, as long as they have different names. Come on out, my little cuties!” Mindy pulled her Deck from her Disk again and chose her three cards. “I special summon… Moja, Kalantosa, Mystical Beast of the Forest, and Playful Possum!”

The black bean-shaped Moja appeared on the field, its yellow face, red eyes, and exposed teeth making it uncomfortable to look at.

Moja – Level 1 – EARTH – Beast/Effect – 100 ATK/100 DEF

Kalantosa was still the adorable little white rabbit with the green bush on its back and mystical markings on its fur.

Kalantosa, Mystical Beast of the Forest – Level 2 – EARTH – Beast/Effect – 200 ATK/1400 DEF

Playful Possum was a brown-furred Possum Monster with tan fur around its face and red fur on and around its ears.

Playful Possum – Level 2 – EARTH – Beast/Effect – 800 ATK/600 DEF

“Sadly, their effects are negated, so I can’t use them against you.” Mindy shrugged, seemingly unbothered by the restriction of her Spell card. “I activate Pot of Greed!” She smiled as the green and blue jar with red eyes and the sinister looking smile appeared on the field for a moment. “I draw two cards.” She added the two new cards to her hand and grinned at one of them in particular. “I tribute Moja and Kalantosa to summon: Behemoth the King of All Animals!”

Moja and Kalantosa both glowed before vanishing from the field as Mindy moved the cards to the graveyard and then placed her new Monster onto the field.

Behemoth materialized on the field with a loud roar. The massive Beast Monster was a quadruped with pink skin, the top of its head and all the way down its back was covered in a large amount of thick purple fur and matching fur was around each of its ankles. A long tail swung behind the Monster, and each of its powerful legs sported a wicked spike on the back of each knee joint, the limbs impacted the ground with massive paws, each with incredibly sharp claws. Behemoth’s head looked like a mix between a lion and a dog, there was a large curved horn behind each ear, facing forwards to gore an opponent, and the great beast’s jaws were filled with terrifying fangs. Its sharp eyes locked onto the three Machine Monsters in front of it as it growled.

Behemoth the King of All Animals – Level 7 – EARTH – Beast/Effect – 2700 ATK/1500 DEF

“Since Behemoth was tribute summoned, I can target Beast Monsters in my graveyard equal to the number tributed and return them to my hand.” Mindy grinned while pulling Kalantosa and Moja back to her hand. “Welcome back, you two!” She smiled at her cards. When she looked up at Slate, her brown eyes were once more predatory. “Behemoth, tear that Gradius apart!”

Behemoth roared loudly and charged towards Gradius.

“I activate my Trap card: Armory Call!” Slate pushed the button on his Duel Disk. The hologram facedown card flipped upright and showed a man pulling a sword out of a swirling green hole in midair. “With this Trap, I can add one Equip Spell from my Deck to my hand and then automatically equip it to an appropriate Monster that I control!” He searched his Deck and chose the card he wanted. “I play the Equip Spell: United We Stand and equip it to my Gradius!”

“Shit…” Mindy cursed knowing that United We Stand gave whatever Monster it was equipped to 800 ATK/DEF for each Monster the user controlled.

Gradius – Level 4 – LIGHT – Machine – 4800 ATK/3200 DEF

“You didn’t forget about my Gradius’ Option, right?” Slate pointed at the red jet. “It copies the ATK/DEF of the selected Gradius, even if the ATK/DEF changes!”

Gradius’ Option – Level 1 – LIGHT – Machine/Effect – 4800 ATK/3200 DEF

“Gradius, counterattack!” Slate pointed at the charging Behemoth.

Gradius flew high into the air, well out of Behemoth’s reach as the Beast Monster leapt at the jet. The white jet sped around the dueling field at high-speed before blasting Behemoth from above, destroying it in a series of fiery explosions.

Mindy – 1,900

Slate – 4,000

“Hah… You destroyed my big boy.” Mindy pouted at the loss of her Monster. “I’ll set one card facedown and enter my End Phase.” The facedown hologram appeared on Mindy’s side of the field. In the same instant, Playful Possum exploded into pixels and Mindy moved the card to the graveyard. Seeing Slate blink at the sudden destruction, Mindy explained. “Obedience Schooled not only negates the effects of the Monsters it special summons, but destroys them during my End Phase.”

“Ah, I see.” Slate nodded in understanding. Then he noticed Mindy pulling a card from her graveyard.

“But since a Beast Monster that I controlled was sent to the graveyard outside of the Damage Step, I can pay 1,000 Life Points to special summon my Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest from my graveyard!” She set her Monster horizontally on her Duel Disk. “I special summon Green Baboon in Defense Position!”

Mindy – 900

Slate – 4,000

The massive, armored Baboon Monster growled and shrieked as it appeared on the field, but took up a defensive stance with its large club between it and the three Machine Monsters.

Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest – Level 7 – EARTH – Beast/Effect – 2600 ATK/1800 DEF

“With that, I’ll end my turn.” Mindy passed the turn over.

In the stands, Jasmine worried her lip between her teeth. “She has some kind of plan… But will it be enough when she’s so low on Life Points?”

“I’m not sure.” Alexis also looked concerned for her friend. “That’s a lot of firepower, and if Slate’s strategy is what I think it is, then he’s going to try and build up a bigger board this turn.”

“Why’d she lower her Life Points to special summon the baboon? It can block one attack…but Slate has three Monsters that can all wipe out Mindy’s Life Points in one shot.” Jaden looked at the state of the field.

Drake mulled over his buddy’s question before looking at Mindy’s field again. “Maybe it has something to do with her facedown card? It could be a Trap or Quick Play Spell that requires you to control a Monster to activate?”

All four could only hope that their friend had an out to the current situation.

“I’ll draw for turn.” Slate pulled a card with a smile. “Thanks to my Time-Tearing Morganite card, I draw two instead of one.” He drew a second card and his smile got bigger. “Looks like I might be getting that date after all, Mindy.” Slate chuckled at the beautiful girl. “I’ll summon a second Vic Viper T301!” He placed the card onto his field and a second identical upgraded jet appeared in a crackle of electricity and bright light.

Vic Viper T301 – Level 4 – LIGHT – Machine/Effect – 1200 ATK/800 DEF

“I’m sure you remember my T301’s effect?” Slate nodded at his newest Monster. “A 1200 ATK increase for all LIGHT Machine Monsters other than itself. But now that I have two, they can boost each other!”

Vic Viper T301 – Level 4 – LIGHT – Machine/Effect – 2400 ATK/800 DEF

Vic Viper T301 – Level 4 – LIGHT – Machine/Effect – 2400 ATK/800 DEF

Gradius – Level 4 – LIGHT – Machine – 6000 ATK/3200 DEF

Gradius’ Option – Level 1 – LIGHT – Machine/Effect – 6000 ATK/3200 DEF

“And with United We Stand equipped to Gradius and another Monster on my field, its ATK and DEF increase by another 800.” Slate pointed to the hologram of the Equip Spell as it glowed.

Gradius – Level 4 – LIGHT – Machine – 6800 ATK/4000 DEF

“Gradius’ Option always mimics the selected Gradius that was used to special summon it, of course.” Slate motioned to the red jet floating next to the original Gradius.

Gradius’ Option – Level 1 – LIGHT – Machine/Effect – 6800 ATK/4000 DEF

“Now, I special summon another Gradius’ Option, selecting my Gradius on the field.” Slate placed the Monster onto his Duel Disk. “It’ll mimic the ATK/DEF of Gradius, who also gets another 800 ATK/DEF boost from United We Stand since another Monster has been added to my field.”

A second red jet appeared on the field in a flash of green light.

Gradius’ Option – Level 1 – LIGHT – Machine/Effect – 6800 ATK/4000 DEF

The original Gradius glowed with the power of United We Stand as its stats increased further.

Gradius – Level 4 – LIGHT – Machine – 7600 ATK/4800 DEF

“And like before…” Slate trailed off as both of the red jets glowed green in response to Gradius’s increase.

Gradius’ Option – Level 1 – LIGHT – Machine/Effect – 7600 ATK/4800 DEF

Gradius’ Option – Level 1 – LIGHT – Machine/Effect – 7600 ATK/4800 DEF

“No kill like overkill, they say.” Mindy looked at the powerful array of Monsters lined up to blast her Baboon and then her Life Points into nothing. “But I have a response!” She hit the button on her Duel Disk with a grin. “I activate my Trap card: Threatening Roar!” Her facedown card flipped upright and showed Behemoth King of All Animals roaring at Manticore of Darkness. “This card prevents you from declaring an attack this turn.”

“Well…that does buy you a turn…” Slate rubbed the back of his head at being prevented from using the board of powerful Monsters that he’d set up. “I don’t have anything else that I can do, so I’ll end my turn.”

“I’ll draw!” Mindy pulled her next card and a predatory smirk appeared on her face. “I’ll switch my Green Baboon to Attack Position.” She turned the horizontal card vertical on her Duel Disk. The giant baboon straightened up and bit and roared while holding its large wooden club high. “I paly the Spell card; Reasoning!” She slotted the card and the hologram appeared on the field, showing a man in a green robe and a turban pointing at a floating card that was glowing golden. “How this card works is like this: You declare a Monster Level from one to twelve. Then I excavate cards from the top of my Deck until I excavate a Monster that can be normal summoned/set, then, if that Monster is the same Level as the one that you declared, I send all the excavated cards to the graveyard. If the Monster isn’t the Level that you declared, then I special summon the excavated monster, and send the remaining cards to the graveyard.”

“Alright…uh…Level Three?” Slate felt like Mindy would have a few Beast Monsters at that Level based on what he’d seen so far.

Mindy began to excavating her Deck, she drew the first card from the top only to nearly burst out laughing. “Sorry, bad luck for you, Slate.” She showed him the card she’d excavated. “Level One and able to be normal summoned/set.” The card in her hand was Uniflora, Mystical Beast of the Forest. It was quite literally the best outcome for the Reasoning card. “I special summon Uniflora, Mystical Beast of the Forest.”

In a flash of light and a scattering of leaves, the unicorn that was covered in moss and had small ferns growing from its back appeared on the left side of Mindy’s field.

Uniflora, Mystical Beast of the Forest – Level 1 – EARTH – Beast/Effect – 700 ATK/500 DEF

“I’ll summon Rescue Cat!” Mindy placed the Monster on the field and most of the girls in the audience (and several of the guys too) cooed at the adorable kitten that appeared. It was white with gray and black stripes on its back, an adorable little hardhat on its head with its ears poking out, and had a whistle around its neck.

Rescue Cat – Level 4 – EARTH – Beast/Effect – 300 ATK/100 DEF

“I activate Rescue Cat’s effect!” Mindy declared, Rescue Cat meowing cutely as it glowed. “I send it to the graveyard in order to special summon two Level Three or lower Beast Type Monsters from my Deck!” Rescue Cat vanished in a white light as Mindy searched her Deck. “I special summon Valerifawn, Mystical Beast of the Forest!” She placed the first Monster onto her Duel Disk.

In a glow of small motes of light and a scattering of flower petals, a small deer fawn, with a flowering bush growing from its head and down its back, appeared on the field, prompting more cooing from many in the audience.

Valerifawn, Mystical Beast of the Forest – Level 2 – EARTH – Beast/Effect – 400 ATK/900 DEF

“I special summon Kittytail, Mystical Beast of the Forest!” Mindy continued with her second special summon. This time summoning a pair of orange kittens, each with a small bush of red flowers on their backs. Mindy’s array of cute Monsters prompted more cries of adoration from much of the audience.

Kittytail, Mystical Beast of the Forest – Level 2 – EARTH – Beast/Effect – 200 ATK/200 DEF

“I activate Kittytail’s effect!” Mindy pointed at her newest Monster, both of the kittens perking up and glowing. “If Kittytail is normal or special summoned, I can target one Beast Monster in my graveyard and send one Monster from my Deck to the graveyard, so long as the original Types match.” She searched her Deck and found the card she wanted easily enough. “I send Alpha, the Master of Beasts to the graveyard.” She showed the card to Slate, making his eyes widen.

Slate wasn’t the only one confused or shocked. Mindy had just tossed a powerful and rare card into the graveyard.

“Woo~” Drake whistled after seeing what Monster Mindy had chosen to send to the graveyard. “Where’d she get a beast like that?”

“She won it from a tournament in our last year of Duel Prep School.” Jasmine looked at Drake with a proud grin for Mindy’s past victory. “We were on break from school and Mindy heard about the prize for the tournament winner. No one could’ve stopped her from entering after that!” She laughed brightly, recalling the excitement on Mindy’s face.

“Well, I think we’ve seen two of her Boss Monsters now.” Jaden smiled at the Duel they were watching.

“Not quite.” Alexis had a small smile on her lips as she glanced over at Jaden. “Behemoth was one of the three…and I guess you could say it still is, up to a point…but a new card took that spot over the summer.”

“Care to share?” Jaden smiled, eager to know what other beasts lurked in Mindy’s Deck.

“Nope.” Alexis shook her head with a teasing grin.

“Aww, man…” Jaden pretended to be put-out at the lack of info, but the smile on his face ruined the act.

The attention of all four was quickly brought back to the Duel as Mindy continued her turn.

“I play the Spell: Double Summon!” Mindy placed the card into her Duel Disk. “Now I can make a second normal summon this turn.” She grinned viciously at Slate, a far cry from her normal cute and beautiful look. “You’re not the only one with a newly released rare card, Slate!” Mindy pointed at her Kittytail. “I tribute Kittytail to summon Behemoth the King of All Wars!”

Kittytail vanished in a scattering of leaves and flower petals. What appeared on the field to take its place was a Monster far larger and more horrifying.

It was clearly an advanced version of Behemoth the King of All Animals…but the beast was at least twice the size as its predecessor. The pink skin had turned a darker purple and was crisscrossed with scars, the purple fur had turned a silvery-white and grown even thicker and shaggy, giving the new beast a thick mane. The spikes that had been on the legs of the original had grow larger and multiplied, now being four black spikes on the back of each leg. The tail was longer and now tipped with white spikes, and the two horns on the great beast’s head were larger and stronger, but the one on the left was missing entirely, clearly having been broken off at some point.

“ROOOOOAAAAARRRRWWWWRRRR!!!” The new Behemoth’s roar shook the air.

Behemoth the King of All Wars – Level 10 – EARTH – Beast/Effect – 2700 ATK/1500 DEF

“Wait… That’s a Level Ten Monster! How’d you summon it with only one Tribute?” Slate pointed out the lack of proper tributes for the Level.

“Behemoth the King of All Wars’ first effect is that it can be summoned with only one tribute.” Mindy answered easily. “But it’s the second effect that you need to worry about! I activate Behemoth’s effect; since it was summoned, I can target one Beast Monster in my graveyard and add it to my hand, and if I do, Behemoth loses 700 ATK.”

Behemoth let out a baleful howl that made several people get goosebumps just from hearing it.

Behemoth the King of All Wars – Level 10 – EARTH – Beast/Effect – 2000 ATK/1500 DEF

“I’ll get back my Alpha, the Master of Beasts from the graveyard!” Mindy returned the powerful Monster to her hand. “Thanks to you pumping up the ATK of your Machine Monsters, I can easily fulfill Alpha’s summoning condition! I special summon Alpha, the Master of Beasts!”

A blast of flames heralded the mighty beast’s arrival onto the field. A feline-shaped body, but the four legs were the talons of an eagle or falcon, all with blood red claws. The large mane around its head was seemingly made of fire and had two large tusks protruding from it. Atop the chimera’s head was a massive set of six horns, all sharper than spears. Form its back were four black and red wings that seemed to scatter the flames from the mane. The tail that lashed back and forth behind it ended in a torch-like fire than scattered embers everywhere.

“ROOOOOAAAAARRRRWWWWRRRR!!!” The bellowing roar was just as loud as Behemoth’s and some people even covered their ears this time around.

Alpha, the Master of Beasts – Level 8 – EARTH – Beast/Effect – 3000 ATK/2500 DEF

“It’s still not strong enough to defeat my Gradius line up.” Slate pointed out after removing his hands from his ears.

“Ah, but that’s the thing, Slate.” Mindy grinned at him, her normally warm brown eyes looked at her opponent like prey. “Alpha can only be special summoned if the total ATK of all of your Monsters is greater than the total ATK of all of my Monsters. With how much you’ve raised their ATK, I never had a chance of having more than you.”

“Then why did you go through that roundabout way to summon it?” Slate was now confused. Even if Mindy took out both of his Vic Viper T301’s the decrease to his Gradius and Gradius’ Option’s ATK wouldn’t lower them enough to be destroyed by her Monsters.

“Oh, I never planned to attack you with Alpha.” Mindy shook her head, the predatory look never changing. “Alpha is only here to clear your board!”

“Clear my…? HOW?!” Slate was pretty sure he knew how as he looked up at the massive Beast Monster.

“I activate Alpha’s effect!” Mindy declared, pointing at the Boss Monster. “I can target any number of Beast Type Monsters that I control and return them to my hand, then, I can return face-up Monsters that you control to your hand, equal to the number of cards that I returned to mine!”

“Oh shit…” Slate saw that they both had five Monsters on the field. But he had the unfortunate draw back of his Gradius’ Option Monsters. If the Gradius that he selected to special summon them left the field, both of them would be destroyed. That would leave Mindy with two Monsters to attack him directly with!

“To use this effect, Alpha can’t attack directly this turn.” Mindy informed Slate with a smile. Slate felt some relief that he’d at least survive the turn and be able to try and recover since his Life Points were still at 4,000. He’d lose 2,600 from the Green Baboon if it attacked directly, but he would survive. “However, Alpha’s effect doesn’t exclude himself from being a target.” The predatory grin was back on Mindy’s face as Slate’s eyes widened. “I return Uniflora, Valerifawn, and Alpha back to my hand!” Mindy eyed up Slate’s field as she collected the three cards.

All three of the chosen Monsters vanished from the field in a flash of light.

“I’ll return your Gradius, and both Vic Viper T301’s to your hand.” Mindy chose her targets.

“Right.” Slate knew he’d lost at this point, collecting his cards.

The three white jets flew back towards Slate and vanished into motes of light. In the next instant, both Gradius’ Option Monsters exploded into pixels as their negative effect activated.

Slate was now wide open.

Mindy’s smile would only be more primal and terrifying if she somehow had fangs of her own. “Green Baboon attacks you directly!”

The massive, armored baboon shrieked out a war cry and leapt across the field at Slate, bring down the immense wooden club to crush the other Duelist. Simulated dust filled the air and Slate cried out in shock at the hyper-realistic holograms.

Mindy – 900

Slate – 1,400

“Behemoth attacks you directly for game!” Mindy pointed at Slate.

The towering predator charged at Slate with a blood-freezing roar. Behemoth’s paw, as large as a grown man, slashed Slate, sending the Obelisk Blue stumbling backwards until he lost his balance and fell on his ass.

Mindy – 900

Slate – 0

“I win this time!” Mindy’s smile was back to being bright and sunny as she gave a ‘V for victory’ sign while the holograms disappeared.

“Yeah, you got me.” Slate stood back up and smiled back at Mindy. “Good game. Didn’t see that coming at all.”

“I don’t always let my big, cuddly, cuties out to play.” Mindy giggled lightly. Slate (and a good chunk of the audience) all looked at Mindy like she was nuts for thinking the giant murder beasts that she’d summoned to finish her opponent off were cute in any way, shape, or form.

“Mindy Hamaguchi wins!” Chancellor Sheppard’s voice called out over the speakers.

Mindy was quick to rush back up towards her friends with a bright smile on her face. “I won!” She nearly flying glomped Jasmine, who was already holding her arms open for a hug.

“You did amazing, Mindy!” Jasmine praised the ravenette, even spinning her around once while holding her.

“That was awesome!” Jaden congratulated Mindy on her victory, a bright smile on his face.

“You had us worried there for a second.” Alexis smiled at her friend, even giving her a quick hug once Jasmine let her go.

“Great Duel, Mindy.” Drake grinned at the Beast user. “Any other giant murder beasts that you’d like to share with everyone?” He smirked at her jokingly.

“Duel me and find out.” Mindy grinned at him with a wink.

Drake chuckled at the flirting. “Maybe I will.” He leaned forward with a challenging smile. “I have a bunch of murder dragons to deal with your big beasts.”

“My beasts will turn your lizards into chew toys.” Mindy leaned forward as well, her brown eyes staring into Drake’s gray irises with her own challenge.

Seeing that the two were mere centimeters away from each other, Jasmine gained a devious smile. “Just kiss already, you two!” She lightly bumped Mindy with her hip and the startled girl moved forward. Her lips barely brushed Drake’s cheek as he leaned back and steadied her with his hand on her shoulders.

“Jazz!” Mindy turned to her best friend with an adorable pout.

Jasmine was too busy laughing at the looks on their faces to reply.

“Hmm… Any chance I could get another one after I win my Duel?” Drake joked to lighten the suddenly awkward mood between him and Mindy.

“Drake!” Mindy turned her pout on him. Drake was about to apologize, but Mindy leaned closer into him. “Maybe~” She whispered in his ear, pulling away from him with a teasing smirk on her lips.

“I don’t know any of you, except Jaden.” Alexis rolled her eyes playfully at her friends.

“Thanks, Alexis.” Jaden was doing his best not to laugh too loudly and draw a ton of attention to them, but it was a close thing as he snickered behind his hand.

“Boo~!” Jasmine and Mindy stuck their tongues out at Alexis.

“Jaden, make sure you give her a kiss when she wins her Duel!” Mindy declared, pointing at Jaden and Alexis in turn with a smirk.

“What?” Jaden blinked at the order from Mindy.

“Yeah! Right on the lips!” Jasmine agreed, the devious smile on her face again.

“You both be quiet!” Alexis moved over to her friends, looking to silence them. Mindy and Jasmine laughed as they moved just out of reach.

“You know you want to!” Jasmine teased Alexis.

“Claim him before some other girl does!” Mindy encouraged with a bubbly giggle.

“Shut up!” Alexis’s cheeks were definitely red now.

Jaden and Drake just watched the three girls with a smiles and light chuckles.

Until Drake spoke again.

“So… You gonna give her that kiss?” Drake raised an eyebrow at his best friend.

Jaden started before he whipped his head around to look at Drake. “I’m pretty sure we should both agree to that beforehand…right?”

“I mean, she’s right there, you’re right here…nothing stopping you two from talking.” Drake’s laughter was starting to bubble up in his chest.

“She totally wants to!” Jasmine called out, only to be swatted on the back by Alexis.

“Don’t listen to them, Jaden!” Alexis requested as she narrowed her golden eyes at Mindy and Jasmine. “They’re just boy crazy is all.”

“You know you love us, Lexi!” Mindy hugged Alexis from behind.

“Yes, yes…” Alexis sighed with a slight roll of her eyes, accepting the hug from Mindy and then one from Jasmine a moment later. There were no hard feelings, only friendly teasing and goofing around.

“Alexis Rhodes to Dueling field four.” One of the faculty called out over the speakers.

“Looks like your up, Alexis, have fun!” Jaden smiled at her brightly.

“I’ll do my best.” Alexis returned his smile with one of her own.

Drake gave Alexis an encouraging grin. “You’ll do great, Alexis. Show them why you’re the ‘Queen’ of Obelisk Blue!” He joked with her.

“Must you?” Alexis tilted her head with an exaggerated sigh.

“A little.” Drake nodded to her with a chuckle.

“You’ll win, Lexi!” Mindy stated it as if it was a simple fact.

“And then the ‘Queen’ can come back and claim her consort.” Jasmine made an obvious show of looking at Jaden and then back to Alexis.

“I will get a hose…” Alexis narrowed her eyes at her two friends. “Like cats…I swear.” She headed off towards her exam field with a shake of her head.

Jaden found his eyes locked onto Alexis as she walked away, she wasn’t even swaying her hips or anything…but his eyes inevitably trailed down to focus on her butt, barely hidden by the blue microskirt that was part of the female uniform.

‘Huh, and here I was starting to think he only had Dueling on the brain.’ Drake thought to himself, noticing what Jaden’s eyes were following. Only when Alexis disappeared around the corner did Jaden snap out of it. By that time, Drake was looking down at the Dueling fields like he hadn’t watched his best friend be entranced by Alexis.

“Can’t wait to see Alexis’s Duel.” Jaden leaned against the railing with a bright smile on his face, his excitement building again.

“I’m sure she’ll give us all a good show.” Drake agreed with a nod, standing next to Jaden. “Looks like they saved the best for last though.” He casually referred to himself as such with a joking smile.

“Prove you’re the best and get promoted, then maybe you’ll get a little reward.” Jasmine tempted him with a flirty wink. “Or lose, and then we all get to laugh at you for a while.” She shrugged with a giggle.

“Drake wouldn’t lose and miss out on his reward…would you Drake?” Mindy’s teasing played off of Jasmine’s as the ravenette gave him half-lidded eyes filled with temptations.

“Well now I feel like I can’t lose.” Drake laughed at the two. “I’ve got two beautiful girls wanting to reward me after all.” He looked into their eyes with a small smirk. “I might just have to hold you both to your words.” He wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

“Pfft!” Jasmine and Mindy cracked up, laughing at Drake’s good natured antics.

As Drake refocused on the Duel fields, Mindy and Jasmine took a second to compose themselves. With both Jaden and Drake distracted, the two girls looked at each other and had a silent conversation. The way their eyes darted over to Drake often, and the serious looks on their faces, hinted at the importance of the unspoken conversation.

-End Chapter-

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Mindy has unleashed the Beasts!

Power is great, but it’s not everything in the game of Duel Monsters! Strategy has to be on point too, if you want to make it as a Pro!

Some playful teasing and joking between friends! The feels, bro, the feels! This group of Shadow Magic users is growing closer and that might become something more in the future. But you’ll have to wait and see!

Alexis is next up! What kind of opponent will she face?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!