Marik's Puppet Duel
"Found you... Beomseok...."
An Sujin approached me with the Millennium Symbol glowing on her forehead, her eyes completely lifeless like those of a corpse as she called my name.
It was obvious at a glance that the one using An Sujin's body to reach me was Marik...
"This is unexpected. What the hell do you want from me, Marik?"
At my words, Marik—who was controlling An Sujin's mind—laughed as he spoke.
"Hahaha... So you noticed, Beomseok. Did I make a mistake by revealing my identity to you?"
"So what is it? Using An Sujin's body to come find me—you're supposed to be busy looking for another game, aren't you?"
Marik answered my question like this.
"The other game is my target for revenge. And to pull off that revenge, your existence is a thorn in my side. After seeing how easily you crushed the two subordinates I sent, I realized I couldn't just leave you alone."
"Besides, it seems you already know about the other game. How do you know without even using a Millennium Item?"
"...."
Marik asked how I knew about the other game, but I stayed completely silent, making my stance clear.
In other words, I had zero intention of telling him.
"Well... it doesn't matter... I'll make you a deal. You know what happens if you refuse, right?"
Marik said he wanted to strike a deal with me.
I listened to his terms.
"A deal? What kind of deal are we talking about?"
Marik began laying out his conditions.
"You like women, don't you? After you split from Yugi, I've been watching you through my hunters. You seem to enjoy dueling women far more than dueling men."
"If you want, I'll use the power of the Millennium Rod to hand over any women you desire. In exchange, just stay away from the finals."
Marik's deal was simple: he'd control women for me if I agreed to skip the finals.
It was true that after splitting from Yugi I hadn't found any decent female duelists. I'd looked around, but I never imagined he'd been watching that closely...
I had seen a few after Rebecca Hopkins and Vivian Wong, but they all failed my looks test, so I just let them pass.
But I turned down Marik's offer without hesitation.
With my Yu-Gi-Oh perk I could force any female duelist into a match and claim her anyway, and there was no guarantee Marik wouldn't stab me in the back.
"I refuse. I've got a reason to show up at the finals."
Obviously.
The finals meant I'd get to meet Ishizu. Give that up? Not a chance in hell...
At my refusal Marik went quiet for a moment. Then I noticed the Duel Disk strapped to An Sujin's arm.
"Is that so? Then we'll settle this with a duel."
"Can't be helped."
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Somehow it had come to this...
I was now dueling Marik while he controlled An Sujin.
But if you thought about it, this was still technically a duel with An Sujin... so would it count under my altered rules?
Beep...
It applies. You may rest assured.
Damn... so it really does apply.
Fine. In that case I'll defeat Marik-controlled An Sujin and take her with me.
Anyway, I'd already been eyeing An Sujin as someone to drag back to the Exclusive Dimension, so... it didn't really matter.
"Duel!"
"I'll go first... Draw. I set one monster, set two more cards, and end my turn."
Marik took the first move, setting a monster and two cards in his Spell/Trap Zones before passing the turn.
"My turn. Draw."
The card I pulled was Berry Magician Girl. My opening hand was Magicians' Souls, two Black Magic Guides, Eternal Soul, and Black Magician Girl.
Hmm... I wonder what Marik did to An Sujin's deck. No, he definitely tampered with it. He's already seen me duel twice, so he must have countermeasures ready. If I lead with Magicians' Souls I might eat a counter.
I thought carefully.
After watching my duel with Pandora, Marik would have definitely prepared a sideboard against my Dark Magician deck.
He was probably saving the Sky Dragon of Osiris for Yugi, so An Sujin's deck likely didn't contain any of the God cards.
"I summon Berry Magician Girl in attack position! Berry Magician Girl's effect activates! I draw one monster with 'Magician Girl' in its name from my deck!"
Thanks to her effect I drew Chocolate Magician Girl.
But Marik had no way of knowing which Magician Girl I'd pulled, since Berry's effect didn't reveal the card to the opponent.
"I set one card and end my turn."
"My turn. Draw. I set one card and end my turn."
Marik drew, set a card, and passed again.
What the...? What did he just set? In the original story Marik never controlled Anzu for a duel, so I don't know his deck at all...
With Exodia and Pandora I'd been able to prepare because I'd watched the original series, but An Sujin's deck was a complete mystery.
It was my turn again, so I drew. The card was Kiwi Magician Girl.
Kiwi Magician Girl... If I summon her, the opponent can't target me with effects. But Berry Magician Girl's effect is more valuable right now, so I shouldn't tribute summon.
"For now... I'll just end my turn."
I passed without setting anything.
Marik immediately started laughing while still controlling An Sujin's body, mocking me.
"Draw. What's this? Don't tell me you're scared?"
He set another monster and ended his turn.
"Scared? As if. Draw."
I ignored Marik's taunt and drew.
The card I pulled was Magician of Dark Illusion.
The card I'd already set was Eternal Soul. If I activated it during Marik's turn, I could special summon Magician of Dark Illusion.
"I summon Chocolate Magician Girl in attack position!"
When I summoned her in attack, a Magician Girl who looked similar to but different from Black Magician Girl appeared. Chocolate Magician Girl had long green hair and wore a miniskirt.
"Chocolate Magician Girl's effect activates! By sending a Spellcaster monster from my hand to the graveyard, I draw one card!"
I sent Kiwi Magician Girl to the graveyard and drew.
The card I pulled was Magikuriboh.
This time I attacked Marik's first set monster with Chocolate Magician Girl.
"Chocolate Magician Girl, attack!"
Her attack destroyed the first set monster, which flipped up as Skull Angel.
"When Skull Angel is attacked and flipped, I draw one card from my deck," Marik said, drawing with its effect.
"I end my turn."
"My turn... Draw."
Marik looked at the two cards he'd drawn and smirked through An Sujin's face.
"Spell Card, Black Hole! I'll send every monster on your field and my set monster straight to the graveyard!"
"What?!"
A Black Hole appeared on the field, its powerful suction dragging my Berry Magician Girl and Chocolate Magician Girl into oblivion.
"And now I summon Magician's Valkyria in attack position! Magician's Valkyria, attack!"
"Not so fast! Trap Card, activate! Eternal Soul! With Eternal Soul's effect, I add a Black Magic Guide from my deck to my hand."
Marik mocked me, saying what good was that without a Dark Magician on the field...
But I already had Magician of Dark Illusion in my hand.
"And now... I activate the effect of Magician of Dark Illusion from my hand! If you activate a Spell or Trap during your turn, I can special summon this card from my hand!"
"What?!"
Marik looked shocked—he'd clearly never seen this card before—as Magician of Dark Illusion appeared.
I spoke to him.
"As long as Magician of Dark Illusion is on the field, its name is treated as 'Dark Magician'!"
This card's ① and ③ effects can each only be used once per turn.
①: If you activate a Spell/Trap Card effect during your opponent's turn, you can activate this effect. Special Summon this card from your hand.
②: While this card is face-up on the field, it is treated as "Dark Magician."
③: Once per turn, if this card is face-up on the field, when you activate a Spell/Trap Card, you can target 1 "Dark Magician" in your GY and Special Summon it.
Marik stared at the newly summoned Magician of Dark Illusion, set one card, and ended his turn.
When my turn came back around, I drew a card.
The card I drew was Magicalized Fusion.
This card lets me banish Spellcasters from my field or graveyard to fusion summon a Spellcaster fusion monster...
It was powerful enough to turn the entire game around in one move.
To summon the monster I had in mind, I'd need five Spellcasters on my field or in my graveyard.
I currently had Magician of Dark Illusion on the field, and Berry, Kiwi, and Chocolate in the graveyard.
"I activate the effect of Magicians' Souls from my hand. Come forth, Dark Magician!"
The moment the Dark Magician appeared, Marik burst into laughter and flipped his set card.
"I've been waiting for you to bring out the Dark Magician! Set card, activate! Into the Devious Trap!"
The Magician of Dark Illusion and Dark Magician on my field were both destroyed. I immediately activated my Continuous Trap, Eternal Soul, to revive the Dark Magician.
"It's useless! Continuous Trap, Eternal Soul, effect activate! I'll revive the Dark Magician from the graveyard!"
"I anticipated that too! Quick-Play Spell! Cyclone! I destroy your Eternal Soul!"
"What?! Damn it!!"
Cyclone... I hadn't seen that coming...
As Eternal Soul was destroyed, the Dark Magician that had just been summoned dissolved into smoke and vanished.
I stared at my now completely empty field and thought.
My hand now has two Thousand Knives, one Black Magic Guide, one Black Magician Girl, and one Magikuriboh... five cards total. My only hope right now is...
"I end my turn..."
The moment I passed, Marik threw his head back and laughed loudly, mocking me with everything he had.