Yu-Gi-Oh! Love Selflessly (Version 2 - SEMI FINAL)

Chapter 22

As Joey and Bandit Keith readied their cards for battle, Yugi thought, "Come on, Joey. You have to win this match. For your sister." Croquet announced, "Joey Wheeler, Bandit Keith, your peers, and gracious host. Let the duel begin!"

Bandit Keith chuckled and said, "So, tell me: how does it feel to be an amateur going up against the Intercontinental Champion?" Joey smirked and said, "Ooh, the Intercontinental Champion? Please, I could win a better prize than that in a box of cereal." Keith growled, "Punk. I'll teach you to respect my title." He threw down one card face-down. Joey drew a card and mimicked Keith's face-down monster. Keith snickered, flipping his face-down monster up and destroying Joey's face-down card. Joey grimaced, thinking, "Dang. I knew he would use his machines on me just like he did Emiko." He looked down at his hand and thought, "They're strong, but not as strong as my Giltia the Knight!" As he played his card, calling an attack, Emiko called, "Joey, wait! It's no good!" Keith's machine monster deflected the attack and he chuckled, "Didn't you learn anything from my duel with Emiko? All of my machine monsters are protected by magic-resistant armour, making all of your magic attacks worth squat." Joey growled, ending his turn and allowing Keith to destroy his knight.

"To be fair, I didn't use any of my spellcasters to attack in my duel with Keith," Emiko thought, biting her thumbnail nervously. Yugi said, "I'll bet Keith's deck is just full of machines." Bakura said, "Just great. We all saw how powerful his machines were in his last duel, but this adds a whole new problem." Téa turned to Emiko and said, "Emiko, you knew about their defense against magic. How can Joey beat them?" Emiko sighed, "It'll be tough, but they do have a weakness." Bakura nodded and said, "True. No machine is without its glitch." Emiko opened her mouth to speak, but Yugi said, "Machine monsters are some of the most powerful in the duelling world. Not only are they impervious to magic, but they also have a very strong offense." Emiko added, "Yes, but they can only use that offense against head-on attacks. Joey will have to play his cards right."

Joey drew a card, thinking, "Attacking those metal freaks will just get me clobbered. I have to play smart." He played two cards face-down, ignoring Keith's taunting as he also plays two cards face-down. As he was about to place the second, the card slipped from his hand, revealing the silhouette of a small creature before he picked it up and placed it face-down. Joey grinned, realizing that the card was not metal and, therefore, was vulnerable to magic. He hurriedly played Flame Swordsman in combination with Salamandra. As the swordsman's attack was called, Keith flipped up a trap card, Magic Metal Force, not only strengthening his creature, but also giving it a metal coat of armour that reflected Joey's magic attack back at his swordsman. He cackled, "You should have seen the look on your face when your swordsman's own attack toasted him! It was priceless!" Joey growled as he launched an attack towards his defense monster, switching it into attack mode with a Stop Defense magic card, but just as it ran towards Joey's defenseless Axe Raider, it dropped into a pit opened up by Joey's trap card. Keith's monster was destroyed.

"How's that for a turn," Joey said confidently, "I only wish you could've seen the look on your face when that Metal Zoa of yours got skewered! It was priceless!" He laughed while Keith snarled angrily.

Up on the balcony, Emiko and Téa cheered, sharing a high-five. Yugi, Bakura, and Tristan cheered along. Yugi said, "Of course! I think Joey might have found the glitch in those machine monsters! Rather than take them on in a head-on assault, he's letting his traps do all the work!" Bakura said, "Yes! And now, Keith's only ahead by 100 life points!" Tristan shouted, "Alright! You the man, Joey! Go!"

Joey said, his confidence rising, "My turn. I'm gonna place this card face down. Oh, yeah. It's a trap card, so don't bother attacking." He grinned and attacked Keith with a brand-new monster, destroying one of the monsters Keith had on the field, taking him down to only 1200 life points. Keith hastily sent an attack on Joey's monster, but fell into his trap, losing his last defense monster and even more life points. Keith could only fume at his downfall.