Chapter 115 – Luck or Lock?

The excitement inside the tournament arena had barely settled after the conclusion of the first semifinal before it began building all over again.

The audience had just watched Johnny Storm defeat Chuck Zane in a hard-fought three-Duel match. Now, with only two players remaining on either side of the bracket, everyone knew that the next Duel would determine the second finalist.

The lights around the feature table dimmed as the massive screens above the arena flickered and then two names appeared.

LUCIA VENTURI VS KATHERINE ANNE PRYDE

The crowd erupted.

Mike Patrick smiled as he looked toward the feature table. "Here we go! We've got our second semifinal ready to begin!"

Alexander nodded and added, "And this one should be quite interesting and exciting. Katherine Anne Pryde has already shown everyone exactly how dangerous her Spirit Monster strategy can be. Her Yata-Lock defeated Virginia Potts in the quarterfinals."

"And Lucia Venturi has made it this far by doing things that most Duelists probably shouldn't be able to do!"

"That's one way of putting it."

Mike laughed, "She seems to have a special relationship with luck."

"That is another way of putting it."

The two girls approached the table. Katherine looked particularly excited as usual, while Lucia wore her usual happy and confident smile.

The judge stepped between them and held out the coin. "Please, call it."

Katherine called her side before the coin went into the air, and after a tense moment, it landed. Seeing the result, the judge announced, "Katherine wins the toss."

Katherine immediately chose to go first.

Lucia simply nodded.

""Let's Duel.""

Without wasting time, both players drew their opening hands.

Katherine looked at her cards for a moment before beginning, "I'll start."

She set a monster face-down, then she placed another card onto the field while announcing, "I activate Spiritual Energy Settle Machine."

The Continuous Spell activated, and Katherine ended her turn and used Sinister Serpent to pay the cost before she looked toward Lucia and said, "Your turn now."

Lucia drew her card.

Her eyes immediately moved toward the face-down monster and Spiritual Energy Settle Machine.

She knew what Katherine was doing, or at least, she knew what Katherine wanted everyone to think she was doing.

"The Yata Lock, huh..." Lucia said.

Katherine smiled faintly.

Lucia didn't know exactly how many pieces Katherine already had in her hand, and that was the dangerous part, as she couldn't simply assume that Yata-Garasu was already waiting, but she knew she couldn't allow Katherine to comfortably build her field either.

Lucia placed a monster onto the field. "I summon Jirai Gumo in ATK Position."

The audience reacted while Mike looked at the monster. "Lucia is going straight for the attack!"

Lucia pointed toward Katherine's set monster and announced, "I attack with Jirai Gumo!"

But before the attack could resolve, Lucia had to make the gamble required by Jirai Gumo; she tossed a coin and called it.

The coin spun in the air before it landed. The result was revealed.

Lucia lost, and her Life Points were cut in half.

[Lucia - 2000 LP]

A gasp went through the arena.

Mike's eyes widened as he exclaimed, "Oh!"

Alexander looked at the field and commented, "That could have gone better."

But Lucia was smiling.

Mike noticed, "Wait a minute."

Lucia's Jirai Gumo continued its attack, and the set monster was destroyed.

The card was revealed to be Fushi No Tori, which was then sent to the Graveyard.

Mike stared at Lucia and observed, "Most players would be looking pretty unhappy right now."

Lucia just laughed.

Alexander chuckled and pointed out, "Actually, Mike..."

"Yeah?"

"Look at her Life Points."

Mike blinked. "She's at 2000."

"Exactly."

Mike's expression changed as he remembered the previous matches. "Of course! Megamorph!"

Alexander nodded. "If Lucia draws Megamorph, being at lower Life Points than Katherine could turn that card into a massive threat that may even end the duel in a single attack."

The audience began to murmur as they realised the same thing.

Lucia had just lost half her Life Points, but perhaps that wasn't entirely bad news, at least not for her.

Lucia looked at her deck while Katherine watched her carefully, as she clearly understood what Lucia was hoping for.

The next several turns became a battle of patience.

Katherine didn't rush.

She summoned Spirit Monsters when necessary and returned them to her hand during the End Phase.

Maharaghi helped her manipulate information, Otohime altered the battle position whenever Lucia began establishing something dangerous, Asura Priest cleared away multiple monsters in a single turn, Mirror Force and Torrential Tribute got rid of the most troublesome monsters, and Sinister Serpent repeatedly returned to Katherine's hand, giving her a resource that she could use again and again.

Lucia, meanwhile, kept attacking and somehow, she kept getting ridiculous results.

At one point, Lucia summoned Barrel Dragon.

The audience immediately became interested.

Mike leaned forward. "Here we go again."

Lucia activated Barrel Dragon's effect.

Three coins appeared.

The first was flipped.

Failure.

The crowd reacted.

Lucia flipped the second.

Success.

The third coin followed.

Success.

The audience erupted while Lucia started laughing.

Katherine simply stared at the destroyed monster and muttered, "You have got to be kidding me. That kind of luck is ridiculous..."

Lucia shrugged, "I get that a lot."

Mike laughed, "I'm beginning to understand why!"

Alexander shook his head, "At this point, I'm not sure if Lucia has good luck or if fate itself is trying to entertain us."

The constant back and forth resulted in both LP getting lower and lower.

[Katherine - 2300 LP]

[Lucia - 1300 LP]

Eventually, Lucia drew the card she had been waiting for, Megamorph.

Her eyes widened slightly as the conditions were perfect, so she activated Megamorph and equipped it to Vorse Raider.

Suddenly, the monster on Lucia's field became a serious threat with its massive 3800 ATK.

She declared an attack and destroyed Katherine's Susa Warrior; thus, Katherine's Life Points began dropping.

[Katherine - 500 LP]

The audience could feel the momentum shifting.

A few minutes ago, Katherine's Yata-Lock had seemed almost inevitable, but now Lucia was standing on the edge of victory.

Her luck had repeatedly carried her through situations that should have gone badly, and now she had exactly the kind of offensive power that could end the Duel.

Katherine refused to panic, and as Lucia launched another attack, she activated Waboku.

The attack failed to damage Katherine, and the crowd erupted.

Meanwhile, Lucia clicked her tongue.

Katherine had survived, and she immediately began working to dismantle Lucia's field.

She activated Tribute to the Doomed and discarded Sinister Serpent as a cost to destroy the now underpowered Vorse Raider whose ATK fell drastically once Lucia's LP became higher than her opponent's.

Lucia ignored the destroyed monster and looked at Katherine, then she smiled and activated Fiend Comedian.

The audience immediately recognised the card.

Lucia announced, "I'll call heads."

The coin spun, and it landed on Heads.

Lucia's eyes widened in delighted surprise while Katherine's expression hardened.

Fiend Comedian's effect activated, and every card in Katherine's Graveyard was removed from play, including the troublesome Sinister Serpent.

Mike, now much more comfortable with the game, realised the significance. "That's huge!"

"Very much so," Alexander replied, "Katherine has lost one of her most important recurring resources."

Katherine groaned, "Seriously?"

Lucia smiled mischievously. "Looks like I got lucky again."

Katherine took a breath, then she looked at the field and saw that Lucia had no monsters.

That was her opening, so she summoned Yata-Garasu and declared, "I attack directly with Yata-Garasu."

Lucia's attack connected, and with that, Yata-Garasu's effect activated.

Then she set one card in her back row, and during the End Phase, Yata-Garasu returned to her hand.

Lucia skipped her next Draw Phase, but she still had cards in her hand, and one of those cards was Monster Reborn, so she didn't hesitate to activate it.

The crowd immediately understood what was about to happen.

Barrel Dragon returned to the field.

Lucia pointed forward and declared, "I attack directly!"

But Katherine had been waiting for that, and she activated her last Mirror Force.

The trap activated, and Barrel Dragon was destroyed. Lucia's attack had failed again. Like that, Lucia ended her turn.

Katherine drew, then she summoned Yata-Garasu. "Yata-Garasu attacks directly."

The attack connected, and Lucia's Life Points fell a bit while Yata-Garasu's effect activated

[Lucia - 1100 LP]

And just like that, the Yata-Lock was established.

The crowd roared.

Mike watched Lucia carefully. "Lucia still has cards in her hand."

"She does," Alexander said, "But they're useless, at least for the moment."

And that was the cruelty of the situation.

Lucia's deck contained answers.

There were cards somewhere inside it that could potentially turn the entire Duel around, but she couldn't draw them; she couldn't replenish her hand; she couldn't hope for another ridiculous topdeck.

Her luck was trapped inside the cards she already possessed.

Lucia looked at her hand, then she looked at Katherine's field.

In the end, she laughed quietly and admitted, "I can't do anything."

She placed her cards down. "I surrender."

Katherine nodded, and with a smile she said, "Duel 1 is mine."

[Lucia - Surrender]

Lucia leaned back from the table, and she was laughing

Katherine looked at her strangely before she said, "You almost won."

Lucia shook her head. "No. I simply lost even if things went my way."

Katherine raised an eyebrow.

Lucia smiled. "That's what was terrifying."

She looked back at the field. "I kept thinking I'd find something to overturn the situation. And then suddenly... there was nothing left to find. That's quite the thrilling experience!"

The second Duel began shortly after that, and since Lucia lost the previous duel, she got to choose who starts first and who's second.

She looked at the judge and announced, "I'll go second."

Hearing that, Mike immediately looked confused. "Wait. She's choosing to go second?"

Alexander nodded. "She is."

"Why?"

"Because the advantage of going first isn't quite as significant in this particular matchup."

Mike looked at him and asked, "Why not?"

"Spirit Monsters are much slower than many other strategies. They can't be Special Summoned and return to the hand at the end of the turn, which means the first player doesn't get the same opportunity to establish a powerful field immediately. Going second also gives Lucia the opportunity to attack first."

Mike nodded slowly. "So Lucia is giving up the normal advantage of going first in exchange for the chance to pressure Katherine immediately."

"Exactly."

The Duel began, and once again, Katherine began building her Spirit strategy.

Lucia attacked. Katherine defended.

The field gradually developed very similarly to the first one.

[Katherine - 2400 LP]

[Lucia - 1300 LP]

Then Katherine finally found the opportunity to summon Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi.

The boss Spirit Monster attacked; Barrel Dragon was destroyed and then its effect activated.

[Lucia - 1100 LP]

As a result, Lucia was forced to discard her entire hand during the Draw Phase before she could draw a card.

Mike winced, "Damn... That's brutal..."

Lucia looked at her remaining card; it was the only card in her hand, yet she set it and ended her turn.

Katherine drew and activated Giant Trunade, forcing the set card to return to Lucia's hand, then Katherine summoned Yata-Garasu and attacked directly.

Lucia took the damage.

[Lucia - 900 LP]

The crowd erupted as the Yata-Lock was back.

Yata-Garasu returned to Katherine's hand during the End Phase, and once again Lucia skipped her Draw Phase.

She looked at her hand, then she set the only card she had and ended her turn.

Katherine drew and stared at Lucia's set card.

For a moment, she hesitated, then she summoned Yata-Garasu again and attacked.

Katherine expected some kind of trap to activate.

Mirror Force. Waboku. Something. But nothing happened, and the attack connected.

[Lucia - 700 LP]

Katherine ended her turn with a big smile on her face. She was confident that the Duel was over, or so she thought.

Lucia skipped her Draw Phase, then she looked at her set card.

She smiled and announced, "I think it's my turn to truly gamble..."

Katherine froze, and the audience went silent.

Lucia placed her hand over the card and said, "I activate my set card, Gamble!"

From the audience, Chuck suddenly stood up and exclaimed, "Oh shit! Gamble?!"

Mike turned toward him.

Alexander's eyes widened. "Right. Gamble!"

He stared at the field and added, "I hadn't even considered it."

The audience began to realise what was happening.

Alexander continued, "Gamble normally has incredibly strict conditions. But look at the situation right now."

Lucia had no cards in her hand. Katherine had six.

"Lucia has no cards," Alexander explained, "And Katherine has six. The Yata-Lock has actually created exactly the situation Gamble needs."

Mike's mouth opened. "So the strategy that was supposed to prevent Lucia from drawing has accidentally given her the perfect opportunity to draw!"

"Exactly."

Lucia flipped the coin and declared, "Tails."

The coin spun in the air, and the entire stadium fell silent.

It landed.

Tails.

Lucia's eyes widened, then she exclaimed, "YES!"

Gamble successfully activated, and she began drawing.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

The crowd became louder with every card until Lucia suddenly had a full hand, and then it fully exploded.

Mike jumped from his seat. "THE YATA LOCK HAS BEEN BROKEN!"

The crowd roared in excitement and disbelief.

Katherine stared at Lucia, who smiled and said, "Now, I'll make my play."

She summoned Goddess of Whim, and its effect activated successfully.

[Goddess of Whim - 950 ATK / 700 DEF]

Its attack doubled.

[Goddess of Whim - 1900 ATK / 700 DEF]

Then Lucia activated Graceful Dice and successfully pulled a 5; as a result, the monster's attack increased again.

[Goddess of Whim - 2400 ATK / 700 DEF]

Lucia pointed toward Katherine and declared, "I attack directly!"

The attack connected, and Katherine's Life Points fell to zero.

[Katherine - 0 LP]

Mike exclaimed, "With an incredible play, Lucia turned the situation around and won Duel 2!"

The match was tied with one Duel each.

Katherine looked across the table.

She now understood exactly what had happened: Lucia had found a legitimate weakness in her strategy, and Katherine knew she couldn't let it happen again.

The final Duel began.

This time, Katherine wasn't simply thinking about establishing the Yata-Lock, but she was thinking about what happened after she established it.

The problem wasn't Yata-Garasu or any other card in her deck; the problem was Gamble.

Katherine's new rule was simple: Never let Lucia have two or fewer cards in her hand while Katherine had six.

That meant Katherine had to control her own hand as carefully as she controlled Lucia's.

She used cards instead of holding them unnecessarily; she summoned her Spirit Monsters when they were useful, she used Sinister Serpent as a recurring resource, and she avoided accumulating cards simply because she could.

Lucia noticed very quickly.

Katherine's hand was shrinking while Lucia deliberately held onto one of her own cards.

Katherine saw it.

The two women looked at each other; neither said anything, but they both understood.

Lucia wanted Katherine to hold cards, and Katherine wanted to spend them.

The Duel had become a battle over the size of Katherine's hand, yet that didn't mean the pace was slow; anything but. The pace was frenetic, and the two girls quickly exchanged offence and defence, and their LP dipped quickly.

[Katherine - 1500 LP]

[Lucia - 1800 LP]

Eventually, Katherine got Yata-Garasu onto the field, and Lucia's field was empty.

The direct attack connected, and as Lucia took the damage, Yata-Garasu's effect activated.

[Lucia - 1600 LP]

As a result, Lucia was going to skip her next Draw Phase.

Yata-Garasu was about to return to Katherine's hand at the end of her turn, and since Lucia's hand dropped again to 2, Katherine looked at her own cards and, seeing that there were going to be 6 of them, she deliberately set another one to bring the number down to 5, then she ended her turn.

Lucia frowned, and seeing that, Katherine smiled slightly and said, "Sorry, not this time."

The crowd reacted.

Everyone understood what Katherine was saying.

She wasn't going to give Lucia another opportunity.

But Lucia wasn't finished; she kept fighting.

She summoned Jirai Gumo again.

The audience immediately knew what was coming.

Lucia called the coin, and the result was successful, yet Katherine stopped the attack with Waboku.

The crowd groaned.

Despite the failure, Lucia grinned and kept putting pressure on Katherine turn after turn until Lucia nearly broke Katherine's field.

The audience roared, yet Katherine's expression remained focused.

Then Lucia summoned Barrel Dragon and activated its effect.

The three coins were flipped.

First result.

Success.

Second result.

Success.

Third result.

Failure.

But two successes were enough, and a set Hane-Hane was destroyed.

The audience went insane.

Mike shouted over the noise, "Lucia has done it again! Among those set monsters, she just destroyed the most dangerous one! What insane luck!"

Katherine had lost the monster that could have reversed the situation, and Lucia was now one attack away from winning.

Then Lucia activated Fiend Comedian.

The coin spun, and Lucia called it right.

As a result, Katherine's Graveyard was removed from play.

The audience erupted again when they realised what had happened.

Two copies of Sinister Serpent were among the cards removed, and Katherine had lost another source of recurring resources.

For the first time in the Duel, Katherine was in serious danger, but she didn't panic.

She looked at her hand, then at Lucia's.

Her strategy had changed from the first Duel.

Her hand remained small. Her back row remained controlled. She refused to give Lucia the conditions necessary to activate Gamble.

The Duel continued.

Lucia's hand slowly shrank once again to only two cards.

Katherine checked her own and saw that she too was low on resources, with only three.

Lucia set her final trap, and the audience began murmuring.

Alexander's eyes widened. "That's likely Gamble."

Mike looked at the field. "But Katherine only has three cards."

"Exactly."

Lucia had discovered the weakness, but Katherine had anticipated it and prevented the conditions of that card from being fulfilled.

Katherine finally established the cleanest version of the Yata-Lock.

Yata-Garasu attacked, and Lucia took the damage, forcing her to skip her Draw Phase.

Yata-Garasu returned to Katherine's hand at the end of her turn.

Lucia looked at her hand and sighed while thinking, 'I can't use Gamble. No new card. No final miracle...'

Lucia lowered her hand and said, "I surrender."

The crowd erupted.

[Lucia - Surrender]

At this point, Mike exclaimed, "KATHERINE WINS DUEL 3! SHE WINS THE SEMIFINAL 2–1! AND SHE IS OUR OTHER FINALIST!!"

Lucia stood up from the table.

She wasn't angry or disappointed; she was smiling.

She reached across the table and said, "That was a fun match... Congratulations."

Katherine shook her hand.

Lucia laughed, "I almost had you."

Katherine smiled, "You did have me."

Lucia blinked before Katherine continued, "Once."

She released Lucia's hand. "I wasn't going to let it happen twice."

Lucia laughed, "That's fair."

She looked down at Katherine's deck, then back at Katherine. "But now I know."

Katherine raised an eyebrow and asked, "Know what?"

Lucia smiled, "That the Yata-Lock can be beaten."

Katherine paused and for just a moment, neither said anything.

Then Katherine smiled, "Maybe... But that's what makes this game fun... Nothing is invincible."

The crowd continued cheering as the second finalist was confirmed.

Katherine Anne Pryde was going to the finals.