Scene 23.

{Matsumoto Ryou II}.

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"Duels."

[Domino City, Japan. Saturday. 12/22/1990. Afternoon. Headquarters Building, District 4, Dueling Arena].

"...Begin!" With that said, the games officially began.

The first turn for both games was officially underway.

My fellow observers immediately started their respective timers.

Those duelists who had won the previous draw to make the first move of the match began their respective plays.

With my new duty in progress, as expected, my attention fluctuated between both duels, waiting for any noteworthy developments to announce aloud.

The first move between participant Satake and participant Umemaru was made by participant Umemaru, the winner of the corresponding previous draw. The shy behavior he had shown just a few minutes ago had completely disappeared, replaced by an expression of fervent self-assurance. "I summon Krokodilus in attack mode!" He exclaimed.

1 X Krokodilus *LV4* ∆Water∆ (Normal) {Reptile} [1100ATK/1200DEF]

It seemed like a fairly standard start on his part.

"Hmm." Consequently, my attention shifted to the other ongoing duel, the duel between participant Kotsuzuka and participant Kurai, a duel I was particularly interested in.

At first glance, in that duel, it was currently participant Kotsuzuka's turn to make a move. "Prepare for defeat, Hotaru! Because I summon my Pumpking the King of Ghosts in defense mode! Jujuju!" He laughed.

Pumpking the King of Ghosts *LV6* ∆Dark∆ (Effect) {Zombie} [1800ATK/2000DEF]

'Good move.' In my knowledge, there was no doubt it was a solid first turn for the guy, except, of course, for his previous embarrassing evil laugh and all his subsequent overly dramatic behavior. 'Certainly not bad.'

Moreover, there was also the card's formidable effect. It was not something to be taken lightly at all.

To emphasize that fact, participant Kotsuzuka went on to provide a rather detailed explanation of why, from my perspective earlier, "Haha! You'll soon feel the effect of my Ectoplasmic Fortification, Hotaru! From now on, not only will my Pumpking become more powerful, but it will also strengthen my other zombie-type monsters by 100 points during each turn! This is the beginning of your end, Hotaru! Surrender! Jujuju!" He laughed.

Naturally, participant Kurai's cold, almost apathetic behavior was not in the least affected by participant Kotsuzuka's childish provocations. On the contrary, an expression of obvious disdain was now clearly visible on his features.

"T-tch!" Seeing his efforts, futile, participant Kotsuzuka became frustrated and then, embarrassed, gritted his teeth in anger. "You... you bastard! I'll destroy you, damn it! My turn ends! Humph!" He snorted.

With that said, it was finally participant Kurai's turn; he drew his respective card and then, as had been customary in every duel I had seen him play, wasted little time in making his corresponding move. Naturally, and as I had heard the guy himself comment a few times in the past, he did not say a word during the gameplay process. Apparently, he loathed all the drama of announcing his move in advance; he considered it extremely embarrassing.

'Conceited brat,' I sardonically weighed in.

I didn't agree with that perspective. 'Monster dueling should be played with heart; emotions shouldn't be locked away.'

Returning to the duel from my previous musings; by then, Kurai had already placed a monster face-down in defense mode and then, without wasting too much time on unnecessary actions, proceeded to place two more cards face-down in his spell and trap card zone. Currently, a mischievous smile, undeniably atypical for him, defined his cold face. "My turn ends, Kotsuzuka." He concluded.

'Uh?' Shifting my gaze to participant Kotsuzuka, I witnessed a vein suddenly pop on his forehead. "Y-you..." He stammered.

The boy's entire face turned red with anger immediately afterward.

Next, a noticeable nervous twitch involuntarily seized one of his eyebrows.

'What's going on here?' Apparently, I was missing something.

"Jeez." Consequently, I sighed. 'Teenagers.'

'Whatever, let it be.' I resigned myself, ignoring my own curiosity about the matter in question.

It was probably some kind of childish joke between the two boys. I already knew they were friends.

On the other hand, participant Kotsuzuka's second turn was officially underway.

Consequently, and still visibly angry due to the earlier exchange of words, the boy shakily drew a card from his deck.

Additionally, as previously mentioned, Pumpking the King of Ghosts' attack and defense power had increased exactly by 100 points.

Pumpking the King of Ghosts *LV6* ∆Dark∆ (Effect) {Zombie} [1900ATK/2100DEF]

Sideways, I noticed the observer for the match between the two participants gesturing to record the whole matter in his duel notebook. 'Good.' I was pleased with his diligence. Often, observers got lost in the excitement of their respective duels and forgot to do their job, hence my constant vigilance. It was essential that this particular incident didn't happen today, of all days.

Being in the semi-finals with so many journalists present, it was a possibility that had to be avoided at all costs.

"Gulp." Consequently, I swallowed.

I was fully aware that the jobs of two other people, including my own, were on the line.

'Hmm.' Monster dueling-related jobs were not exactly numerous, even the simplest of them didn't escape that fate, and although I certainly trusted my fellow observers' abilities, it was always better to be safe than sorry at a later date.

'Ahem! Let's check first, just in case.' I wisely concluded.

My gaze subtly shifted to the other ongoing duel.

"Whew." I sighed in relief.

Fortunately, everything seemed to be in order.

My fellow observer was doing his job perfectly, as indicated by his constant note-taking of everything happening in the match.

Regarding the duel itself, from what I observed, it had apparently taken a slightly interesting turn, although definitely not unexpected; participant Satake was currently the only one with a monster on his side of the game board, a monster I recognized immediately as Thunder Dragon.

Umemaru's Krokodilus was nowhere to be seen.

It had probably been destroyed earlier by Satake's Thunder Dragon.

Mentally calculating the damage, Umemaru's LP would be around 1500 LP, as subtracting Krokodilus' 1100 ATK from Thunder Dragon's 1600 ATK meant losing exactly 500 LP.

Finally, it was participant Umemaru's turn.

That basically summed up the duel so far.

Consequently, and having securely checked that there was no problem with my fellow observers' work, with a nod, my attention returned to the other duel in progress; the duel between participants Kurai and Kotsuzuka.

From what I could tell in that duel, it was currently participant Kurai's turn to make a move.

'Looks like I missed some things in between.' I patiently analyzed the game board.

Currently, the board in question was defined by the presence of three monsters and also two face-down cards; Pumpking the King of Ghosts and Snake Hair were in attack position on Kotsuzuka's side of the field, and Metal Guardian was face-up in defense position on Kurai's side of the field, who also had two face-down cards in his spell and trap card zone.

It was participant Kurai's turn.

On my part, I pondered. 'Metal Guardian was probably a bait by participant Kurai from the beginning. He's probably winning now, the question is: by how much? If participant Kotsuzuka attacked with Snake Hair, he would currently have about 1350 LP. Whereas if he did it with Pumpking the King of Ghosts, he would have 1750 LP, respectively.'

Meanwhile, participant Kurai had already drawn his corresponding card and was currently about to make his move, respectively. A strange smile defined his lips during the process.

Then, his expression suddenly became bored.

Then he said, "It's a shame, Kotsuzuka, but unfortunately for you, this game has come to an end."

Subsequently, Kurai threw a card onto the game board, and that card was

"Thunderbolt." I murmured, shocked.

With that card, participant Kurai could destroy all of the opponent's monsters and, in doing so, deal a lot of damage to his rival. It was understandable that I had been stunned by such a turn of events. It was too abrupt.

"Hmm." Coming out of my shock, I noticed that both my fellow observer's and participant Kotsuzuka's faces were still petrified by the strangeness of the situation.

At least, until the belated lamentations of participant Kotsuzuka arrived. "No way!" He shouted. "No!"

Consequently, my fellow observer declared, "Victory for participant Kurai Hotaru!"

The reaction of the small audience present was not long in coming. "What?! So fast?!"

For my part, I now knew I had invested hope where I shouldn't have.

The excitement had evaporated.

Consequently, my gaze shifted to the other ongoing game. "Oh, wow." I whispered. 'Not bad.'

Although it was nothing out of this world, a Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon wasn't seen every day, definitely.

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To be continued...