Chapter 113 – Battle for Control

Bonus Chapter

The cheers following Dante and Lucia's match had barely settled when the tournament floor was already preparing for the final quarterfinal of the Top 8.

Mike Patrick turned toward the camera with his usual grin. "Well, folks, we're down to our final quarterfinal match of the day! And this one features two Duelists who have taken very different paths to reach the Top 8!"

The camera shifted toward the entrance of the Feature Table where two familiar figures appeared while the big screens showed.

VIRGINIA POTTS VS KATHERINE ANNE PRYDE

The audience erupted.

Alexander watched Ginny approach the table before looking toward Katherine and observed, "This should be an interesting match."

Mike glanced at him. "At this point we know both of them quite well."

"We do."

"And I have a feeling you're about to tell the audience why they should be worried for their favourite."

Alexander smiled slightly. "Both of them are very good at making sure their opponent doesn't get to play the game they want to play."

Mike blinked. "Indeed, that's quite... unpleasant for those who are on the receiving end of their strategies."

"It can be."

The two Duelists sat across from each other while the judge performed the coin toss.

Katherine won and declared, "I'll go first."

She drew her opening hand and studied it for a moment before setting a monster face-down.

Then she set one more card in her back row and announced, "I end my turn. Your move."

Mike looked toward Alexander and observed, "That's a pretty conservative opening."

"It is, but it's necessary."

"Why?"

"Because Katherine's Deck relies heavily on Spirit Monsters."

Alexander explained that Spirit Monsters had powerful effects, but normally they also had the mandatory effect to return to their owner's hand during the End Phase as a drawback, on top of not being able to be Special Summoned. Summoning one on the first turn could therefore leave Katherine with an empty field, giving Ginny the opportunity to attack directly on her next turn.

In the end, Alexander concluded, "Katherine understands that. She's not trying to establish her strongest field immediately. She's trying to make sure she doesn't give Ginny an unnecessary opening."

Meanwhile, Ginny drew and summoned Gemini Elf in ATK Position.

[Gemini Elf - 1900 ATK / 900 DEF]

Then she didn't hesitate and attacked Katherine's face-down card with it.

Katherine flipped it and revealed Maharaghi.

[Maharaghi - 1200 ATK / 1700 DEF]

Gemini Elf destroyed the Spirit Monster; however, Maharaghi's effect activated, and thanks to that, Katherine looked at the top card of her Deck.

She considered it for a moment before placing it at the bottom.

Ginny's eyes narrowed.

Mike noticed the expression. "Something caught Virginia's attention."

Alexander nodded. "She just learned something important. Katherine's monsters aren't necessarily powerful because of their attack points. Their effects are the real threat."

The Duel continued.

Katherine carefully used Maharaghi whenever she needed to manipulate the top of her Deck. When Ginny began building multiple monsters on the field, Katherine waited until the right moment before activating Mirror Force and wiping them away. Otohime allowed her to manipulate Ginny's field, and Waboku protected her from dangerous attacks. Eventually, Katherine found Spiritual Energy Settle Machine, and her strategy became even more difficult to disrupt.

Ginny responded with her own collection of control cards. Chain Destruction removed copies of Otohime from Katherine's Deck. Bottomless Trap Hole banished Asura Priest before it could become a problem. Drop Off disrupted Katherine's draws. Pot of Greed gave Ginny additional resources. Dancing Fairies increased her Life Points, making her reach 5000 LP.

Neither Duelist seemed particularly interested in building an overwhelming field as they were fighting over something more important: Control.

Mike eventually commented, "Neither of them is really trying to defeat the other through conventional combat."

"No," Alexander agreed. "They're trying to prevent the other player from establishing their strategy."

Then Ginny found the opening she wanted, and she activated Confiscation, paying 1000 LP.

[Ginny - 4000 LP]

Katherine revealed her hand.

Yata-Garasu. Susa Soldier. Pot of Greed. Waboku. Fushi no Tori.

Ginny immediately selected Yata-Garasu without any hesitation. "Got it."

The audience reacted loudly as everyone had seen how dangerous that card was.

Katherine simply looked at Ginny and asked, "Did you?"

Ginny paused as the response clearly wasn't what she expected.

Katherine drew her next card and the Duel continued.

Ginny activated Delinquent Duo, stripping away two more cards while paying another 1000 LP.

[Ginny - 3000 LP]

Then Drop Off removed another card when Katherine attempted to draw it.

Ginny's strategy appeared to be working perfectly.

Alexander explained to Mike that Ginny wasn't simply trying to empty Katherine's hand. She was trying to make sure Katherine could never assemble the combination necessary for the Yata Lock.

For a while, it worked, but Katherine didn't panic.

Maharaghi continued manipulating her Deck; Graceful Charity allowed her to filter her hand, and then there was Sinister Serpent.

Katherine could discard it and simply recover it later.

Mike slowly realised the problem. "So Ginny can keep destroying cards in Katherine's hand, but that one keeps coming back."

"Exactly."

"That's a nightmare."

"Against a hand destruction strategy? It certainly can be."

Eventually, Katherine drew another Yata-Garasu, but this time, however, she didn't summon it immediately; instead, she activated Raigeki.

Every monster on the field was destroyed, and Ginny's field disappeared while the audience erupted.

Katherine then summoned Yata-Garasu. Spiritual Energy Settle Machine remained on her field. Sinister Serpent was in her hand.

Alexander's expression changed. "Oh... That's bad..."

Mike looked at him. "What?"

Alexander stared at the field. "She has fulfilled her winning conditions."

Yata-Garasu attacked directly, and Ginny's Life Points decreased by 200 LP. Then the Spirit Monster returned to Katherine's hand despite Spiritual Energy Settle Machine, as Katherine preferred to keep it safe in case the remaining card in Ginny's hand was a monster able to destroy it.

On Ginny's next Turn, she couldn't draw, as Yata-Garasu's effect forced her to skip her Draw Phase, and it became clear that the card in her hand was useless in the current situation as she didn't make any move and ended her turn.

The same thing happened again, and again.

The audience gradually became quieter as they realised what they were watching.

"She's not letting her draw..."

"That's the Yata Lock."

Mike stared at the screen. "Is there anything Virginia can do?"

"Once the Yata Lock is properly established, escaping becomes extremely difficult if not impossible."

Ginny stared at her empty field and realised that there was nothing she could do, so she surrendered.

[Ginny - Surrender]

Katherine had won the first Duel.

Katherine grinned while Ginny took a deep breath and calmly recovered her cards and shuffled her deck while in deep thought.

Then the second Duel began, and this time, Ginny went first.

She summoned Mystical Elf in Defence Position and set three cards before she ended her turn.

Katherine drew, and Ginny immediately activated Drop Off.

The card Katherine had just drawn was revealed as Graceful Charity before being sent to the Graveyard.

Katherine didn't seem bothered as she summoned Inaba White Rabbit.

[Inaba White Rabbit - 700 ATK / 500 DEF]

The Spirit Monster attacked Ginny directly, and Ginny allowed it without activating any of her other set cards.

[Ginny - 3300 LP]

Katherine then set a card in her back row and ended her turn while Inaba White Rabbit returned to her hand.

Ginny drew, and this time, she began dismantling Katherine's hand as she activated Confiscation.

[Ginny - 2300 LP]

Katherine revealed her cards.

Yata-Garasu. Sinister Serpent. Inaba White Rabbit. Giant Trunade.

Ginny studied the hand carefully.

The obvious choice was Yata-Garasu, but Ginny didn't take it; instead, she selected Giant Trunade.

Mike looked surprised. "She left Yata-Garasu?"

Alexander smiled. "Because she learned something from the previous duel."

Ginny didn't need to prevent Katherine from possessing Yata-Garasu; she needed to prevent Katherine from creating the conditions where Yata-Garasu could safely attack because without a way to clear Ginny's field and protect Yata-Garasu, the Spirit Monster wasn't nearly as dangerous.

From that point onward, Ginny played differently.

Mirror Force destroyed Katherine's monsters. Bottomless Trap Hole removed Asura Priest. Penguin Soldier bounced monsters back to Katherine's hand. Obnoxious Celtic Guard became an awkward obstacle for Katherine's stronger Spirits monster.

The difference between the two games became increasingly obvious as Ginny kept chipping Katherine's LP while mostly disrupting all her plays.

Mike observed, "Last Duel, Katherine controlled the pace..."

"...And now Ginny does."

Katherine eventually managed to summon Yata-Garasu again as Ginny had no monsters remaining after Torrential Tribute had cleared the field.

For a moment, it looked like the previous Duel was about to repeat itself.

But when Katherine attacked, Ginny activated Waboku, and the attack caused no damage; more importantly, because of that, the Yata Lock wasn't established.

Ginny drew on her next turn and summoned Giant Rat in DEF Position.

Alexander immediately understood, "She's not trying to destroy Yata."

Mike looked at him and asked, "Then what is she doing?"

"She's building a field that Yata can't safely attack, forcing her to burn more resources to try to open a path."

Katherine eventually was able to summon a few Spirit Monsters to the field but still wasn't able to overcome Ginny's solid defences, so she activated Giant Trunade, making Ginny's face-down cards in the back row return to her hand.

At first, it looked like Katherine had made an excellent play, but then Alexander noticed something. "Wait. That's a mistake"

Spiritual Energy Settle Machine had returned to Katherine's hand as well, and without it, all her Spirit Monsters on the field also returned to her hand, forcing her to end her turn.

Ginny drew and saw the opportunity in front of her, so she immediately activated Delinquent Duo.

[Ginny - 1300 LP]

Two cards disappeared from Katherine's hand, then Ginny played Card Destruction, and both Duelists discarded their hands and drew new cards.

The crowd erupted.

Alexander smiled, "She is actually doing it!"

Mike looked toward him. "What?"

"She is destroying everything around Yata-Garasu, making it impossible for Pryde to play her strategy."

Katherine's carefully maintained resources had been disrupted, and now her field was empty.

Then Ginny activated Monster Reborn and a familiar monster emerged from the Graveyard, her ace Cosmo Queen.

[Cosmo Queen - 2900 ATK / 2450 DEF]

The audience erupted.

Ginny pointed forward and declared, "Attack directly!"

And with that, Katherine's Life Points dropped to zero.

[Katherine - 0 LP]

Ginny had tied the match.

The two girls once again gathered their cards and shuffled their Decks in silence, both thinking about how to overcome their opponent, and Alexander noticed that Katherine exchanged one card in her Deck with one from her Side Deck, implying that she was changing her deck to match a new strategy, something that Ginny noticed too and made her much warier.

Before long, the third Duel began.

This Duel was different, as now both players knew exactly what the other wanted.

Katherine won the toss again.

She returned to the conservative strategy that had served her so well during the first Duel.

A monster was Set, and a Spell/Trap was Set in the back row.

Ginny drew and summoned Gemini Elf before attacking with it, thus revealing Maharaghi.

Gemini Elf destroyed it, but like before, Maharaghi's effect activated, allowing Katherine to look at the top card of her Deck, but this time, she left it there.

Then Ginny activated Confiscation.

[Ginny - 3000 LP]

Katherine revealed her hand.

Yata-Garasu. Sinister Serpent. Graceful Charity.

Ginny took Yata-Garasu, but Katherine didn't look surprised or worried, as she still had Sinister Serpent.

The Duel continued.

Drop Off disrupted Katherine's draws. Graceful Charity allowed Katherine to filter her hand. Spirit Monsters appeared and returned to Katherine's hand. And Spirit's Invitation forced Ginny's monsters back to her hand whenever Katherine's Spirits returned, while Katherine paid the 500 LP cost to keep it activated.

Meanwhile, cards such as Morphing Jar and Card Destruction repeatedly tore apart the hands of both Duelists.

The battlefield was almost secondary as the real battle was over resources.

Eventually Katherine drew Yata-Garasu again, something that everyone noticed from the big grin on her face.

Ginny watched carefully, but Katherine didn't summon it, and instead, she set another monster.

Ginny stared at the field as she understood, 'She's baiting me to attack her... On top of that, that Spirit's Invitation is really troublesome, but it is also helping me by constantly chipping at her Life Points... maybe I can take advantage of that...'

So she didn't and simply made some defensive plays while conserving her resources as much as possible.

Katherine didn't make another move either during her turn, as she simply set new monsters and ended her turn.

The two Duelists simply stared at each other while the audience became increasingly tense.

Mike lowered his voice. "They're not doing anything."

Alexander watched them carefully. "Because both know what happens if the other one gets the opening they want."

Mike looked toward the field. "So... They're both afraid of making the first mistake."

Alexander nodded.

Eventually, Ginny decided she had to act as Katherine's LP got dangerously low.

[Katherine - 500 LP]

She activated Pot of Greed, then Graceful Charity, followed by Monster Reborn, and as a result, her hand filled with cards and Cosmo Queen returned to the field.

[Cosmo Queen - 2900 ATK / 2450 DEF]

Ginny attacked one of Katherine's face-down monsters, one that had been on the field the longest; she deliberately ignored the most recent ones, fearing that their effects would allow the opening that Katherine was awaiting.

Alexander understood immediately and commented, "She's choosing her target carefully."

Ginny wasn't going to attack the monsters Katherine wanted her to attack, but Katherine had already prepared her answer, as the monster she chose to attack wasn't a Spirit Monster; it was Hane-Hane.

[Hane-Hane - 450 ATK / 500 DEF]

As soon as it was flipped face up, Hane-Hane's effect activated, and because of that, Cosmo Queen was forced back to Ginny's hand, forcing Ginny to end her turn with only a DEF Position Giant Rat as her defence.

The audience erupted while Katherine drew, destroyed Spirit's Invitation to not pay the upkeep cost, activated Spiritual Energy Settle Machine, and then she tributed two monsters and summoned Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi

[Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi - 2800 ATK / 2900 DEF]

The powerful Spirit Monster appeared on the field, then Katherine flipped another set monster, revealing Otohime.

Its effect activated, changing the position of Ginny's remaining monster, forcing Giant Rat into ATK Position, while Ginny's frowned, understanding that the duel had taken a bad turn for her.

After that, Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi attacked, and Giant Rat was destroyed.

[Ginny - 1600 LP]

The effect of Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi activated as it had inflicted Battle Damage.

At the same time, Alexander's eyes widened as he knew exactly what was coming.

Katherine smiled, and she ended her turn.

Ginny drew, but before she could do anything, Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi's effect activated during the Draw Phase, and Ginny was forced to discard her entire hand.

The card she had just drawn was a monster, and she managed to set it, but it wasn't enough.

Katherine drew, then she summoned Yata-Garasu.

The audience erupted.

Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi attacked, and Ginny's final monster was destroyed; then Yata-Garasu attacked directly, and its effect was activated.

[Ginny - 1400 LP]

Ginny's next Draw Phase was skipped, and with it the Yata Lock had been established.

Mike stared at the field, "SHE DID IT AGAIN!"

Alexander nodded slowly, "Yes."

Ginny looked at her field, then at her empty hand, then at Katherine and realised that there was nothing left for her to do

She sighed and said, "I surrender."

Cheers rolled across the tournament floor, mixed with scattered cries of disbelief.

"She actually pulled it off again!"

"I thought Ginny had figured out how to stop her!"

"She did!" another spectator replied. "That's what makes this so crazy!"

[Ginny - Surrender]

Katherine Anne Pryde had won the match 2-1.

Mike immediately turned toward the camera and exclaimed, "KATHERINE ANNE PRYDE WINS TWO DUELS TO ONE! SHE IS OUR FINAL SEMIFINALIST!"

The crowd continued cheering as Katherine stood from her seat and Ginny rose as well.

The two Duelists shook hands.

Ginny smiled despite the loss.

It wasn't quite the same smile she had worn when she sat down at the Feature Table. There was disappointment behind it, and a trace of frustration that she couldn't entirely hide.

She had come close. Twice, she had found ways to disrupt Katherine's strategy, and in the second Duel she had demonstrated that the Yata Lock could be stopped if she denied Katherine the opportunity to establish it safely; but Katherine had learned from that defeat.

And in the deciding Duel, she had been the one to dictate the terms.

Ginny glanced back at the field; She could already think of a few things she might have done differently. Perhaps she could have preserved another resource, anticipated Katherine's switch in strategy sooner, or found a way to put more pressure on her before the situation became so difficult to recover from.

But second-guessing every decision wouldn't change the result.

Ginny turned back to Katherine and said in a calm and sincere voice, "That was a good Duel."

Katherine smiled. "You made it difficult."

"I was trying to."

For the first time since the surrender, Ginny's smile became a little more genuine.

Then she added, "I nearly had you in the second Duel."

"You did," Katherine admitted. "That's why I had to change things for the third."

Ginny gave a small nod before she extended her hand, and Katherine shook it firmly.

"Good luck in the semifinals," Ginny said.

"Thanks. I'll need it."

As they separated, Ginny took one final look toward the tournament screens. Her name would no longer appear among the remaining four.

She felt the disappointment settle a little more heavily in her chest.

Then she straightened her shoulders and began gathering her Deck.

Alexander watched the two girls leave the Feature Table.

Another quarterfinal had ended.

The Top 8 was over, and now only four Duelists remained.