Chapter 116 – The Grand Prix Final

The excitement inside the convention centre had reached a level that Mike Patrick wasn't sure could be surpassed, yet somehow, it did.

The crowd erupted as the final two Duelists of the second Duel Monsters Grand Prix walked toward the feature table. Every eye in the convention centre was focused on them, while the enormous screens positioned throughout the building displayed the names of the two finalists.

JONATHAN LOWELL SPENCER STORM VS KATHERINE ANNE PRYDE

Johnny walked toward the table with his usual confidence, his grin practically impossible to miss.

Katherine, on the other hand, appeared much more composed. She calmly approached her seat, but still, one also couldn't miss the slight hesitation in her steps, likely the result of tension mixed with excitement.

Mike looked toward the camera. "After hundreds of Duelists entered this tournament, we're finally here! The Duel Monsters Grand Prix Final!"

The audience roared again.

"And what a pair of finalists we have! Jonathan Lowell Spencer Storm, also known as Johnny, is only ten years old, making him one of the youngest participants in the entire tournament!"

Alexander nodded and added, "And yet his age hasn't stopped him from becoming one of the most consistent Duelists we've seen. His Machine deck is incredibly explosive, and when Johnny gets an opening, his opponent can lose most of their Life Points before they even realise what's happening."

"Which is exactly what happened in his semifinal against Chuck Zane!"

"Right. Johnny's ability to recognise when he has an opportunity and the audacity to immediately capitalise on it was one of the reasons he made it this far."

Mike then turned his attention toward Katherine. "Of course, Katherine Anne Pryde isn't exactly what anyone would call an experienced veteran either. She's only thirteen years old!"

The camera focused on Katherine as she shuffled her deck.

"But despite that, she has shown one of the most oppressive strategies in this entire tournament."

Alexander's expression became more serious. "Indeed... The fearsome Yata-Lock."

The crowd reacted immediately at the mention of the infamous strategy.

"Once Katherine establishes it properly, the opponent can find themselves completely unable to play the game."

"And we've seen her adapt whenever somebody gets close to finding a way around it," Mike added.

Alexander nodded, "Which is why this final is so interesting. Johnny has the explosive offence. Katherine has the control. And both of them have already proven that they can adapt."

The judge stepped forward and began the standard coin-toss procedure.

The coin was flipped and shortly after it landed.

Johnny had won.

The ten-year-old grinned and said, "I'll go first."

The crowd cheered as the two Duelists drew their opening hands.

Johnny started aggressively and immediately activated Pot of Greed, drawing two cards.

The audience responded with the familiar roar that always accompanied the powerful yet iconic Spell.

Johnny then summoned Mechanicalchaser.

[Mechanicalchaser - 1850 ATK / 800 DEF]

Then he set one card in his back row and ended his turn.

Katherine drew a card; she looked over her hand for a moment before setting a monster face-down.

After that, another card went into her back row, and she ended her turn.

Johnny drew.

He immediately summoned Guardian of the Throne.

[Guardian of the Throne - 1650 ATK / 1600 DEF]

Then he announced the start of the Battle Phase and declared an attack with Guardian of the Throne.

The face-down card flipped face-up, revealing Maharaghi.

[Maharaghi - 1200 ATK / 1700 DEF]

The audience reacted when they saw the Spirit Monster.

Guardian of the Throne's attack wasn't enough to destroy Maharaghi, but Johnny noticed something.

Katherine hadn't activated the card she had set, so his eyes moved briefly toward her back row, then back toward his monsters.

A grin appeared on his face before he yelled, "Hold it! I activate Limiter Removal from my hand!"

The Quick-Play Spell was activated, and the ATK of Johnny's Machines doubled.

[Mechanicalchaser - 3700 ATK / 800 DEF]

[Guardian of the Throne - 3300 ATK / 1600 DEF]

The crowd exploded while Mike almost shouted over the noise, "OH! JOHNNY IS GOING FOR IT!"

Guardian of the Throne suddenly possessed enough power to overwhelm Maharaghi, and so Maharaghi was destroyed, and then Mechanicalchaser attacked directly, dealing massive damage that caused Katherine's Life Points to plummet.

[Katherine - 300 LP]

For a moment, even Katherine looked stunned.

Alexander couldn't help but sound impressed. "As expected... That was an incredible burst of damage."

"Johnny went from attacking a face-down monster to taking Katherine down to only three hundred Life Points in a single move!"

"And that's the danger of his deck. He doesn't need several turns to build a winning position. If he sees the opportunity, he can simply explode."

Katherine took a breath, then she looked at the Graveyard and focused back on activating Maharaghi's effect.

She checked the top card of her Deck, and after seeing it, she calmly placed it at the bottom.

Even after losing almost all of her Life Points, she hadn't lost sight of her strategy.

Johnny set another card, then ended his turn, and the drawback of Limiter Removal immediately took effect as his Machines were destroyed.

The crowd reacted to the sight of the powerful field disappearing almost as quickly as it had appeared.

Mike shook his head. "Johnny dealt a devastating amount of damage, but now his entire field is gone!"

"He knew that was going to happen," Alexander replied. "The question is whether three hundred Life Points will be enough for Katherine to recover."

Katherine drew and summoned Asura Priest.

[Asura Priest - 1700 ATK / 1200 DEF]

Katherine immediately entered the Battle Phase and declared a direct attack with Asura Priest.

Johnny chose not to stop it and simply took the damage inflicted.

[Johnny - 2300 LP]

After that, Katherine set another card and ended her turn, causing Asura Priest to return to her hand.

"The Spirit Monsters are already starting to do what Katherine wants," Alexander explained. "She doesn't have to keep them on the field. She can summon them when she needs their effects, attack when she has an opening, and then they return to her hand."

"But Johnny only needs one successful attack," Mike reminded him.

"And that's the problem for Katherine. She's sitting at 300 Life Points."

The next few turns became a tense exchange between offence and defence.

Johnny repeatedly tried to establish a monster strong enough to finish the Duel, but Katherine repeatedly found an answer.

Pot of Greed. Torrential Tribute. Mirror Force. Bottomless Trap Hole.

Every time Johnny seemed ready to land the final blow, Katherine stopped him.

At one point, Johnny activated Solemn Judgment, paying a massive amount of his own Life Points to negate one of Katherine's defensive cards, but Katherine immediately activated another, making his effort pointless.

The audience erupted once again.

"She had another one!" Mike shouted.

Johnny refused to give up.

He activated Scapegoat, creating a wall of Tokens to keep himself alive and on the next turn his own Bottomless Trap Hole dealt with another appearance of Asura Priest.

The Duel had transformed.

The explosive opening was gone, and now both Duelists were fighting over every single resource.

Eventually, their Life Points stood at:

[Katherine - 300 LP]

[Johnny - 1150 LP]

Neither player had much room left for mistakes, and because of that, the audience had become noticeably quieter.

Everyone understood what was happening.

One successful attack could decide the entire Duel.

Katherine summoned Inaba White Rabbit and attacked directly with it, but Johnny immediately answered with Mirror Force; thus, the attack was stopped.

Later, Johnny managed to get another Mechanicalchaser into position for an attack, but Katherine activated Waboku and saved herself once again.

Then Katherine summoned another Inaba White Rabbit.

Its ability allowed it to attack Johnny directly, bypassing his monsters and the attack connected.

[Johnny - 450 LP]

The crowd gasped.

"Johnny is now in serious danger!" Mike exclaimed.

But Inaba White Rabbit returned to Katherine's hand at the end of the turn.

Johnny drew and summoned yet another Mechanicalchaser.

There was no hesitation as he entered the Battle Phase and declared the attack.

Mechanicalchaser attacked directly and, this time, Katherine had no answer.

The attack connected.

[Katherine - 0 LP]

The convention centre erupted as Johnny had won the first Duel.

Mike could barely contain his excitement, "WHAT AN OPENING DUEL!"

Alexander nodded and said, "Johnny won because of those first few turns. He dealt massive damage before Katherine had the opportunity to properly establish her strategy."

"Her Spirit Monsters are incredibly powerful once she gets going," Mike added, "But they're also slow. They can't remain on the field, and Johnny took full advantage of that."

The camera turned toward Katherine.

She wasn't showing any frustration; instead, she was already gathering her cards, then she reached for her Side Deck.

Alexander immediately noticed and said, "She knows it, too."

Mike looked at him and asked, "She knows what?"

"Why she lost."

Katherine began making changes to her deck.

"The problem wasn't simply that Johnny dealt too much damage," Alexander continued, "He forced her to spend her resources from the beginning. If she can prevent that explosive opening in the next Duel, this matchup could look completely different."

Johnny watched her side-decking, then he grinned as he simply shuffled his deck and waited.

Meanwhile, the crowd sensed that the second Duel was going to be very different.

Because Katherine had lost the first Duel, she had the choice of who would start.

Katherine didn't hesitate and said, "Johnny can go first."

For several seconds, Johnny simply stared at her.

The audience reacted with surprise, and Mike was equally stunned. "After what just happened in the first Duel, Katherine is actually choosing to let Johnny start again!"

Johnny's grin returned as he clearly liked the decision.

The two Duelists drew their opening hands.

Johnny summoned Mechanicalchaser before he set two cards in the back row and ended his turn.

Katherine drew, and she immediately activated Pot of Greed, drawing two cards, then another Pot of Greed for two more.

The audience erupted.

"That's four extra cards!" Mike shouted.

Alexander nodded, "Here it is... The Pot of Greed chain! Thanks to that, Katherine is clearly making sure she has the resources she needs this time."

Then Katherine summoned Inaba White Rabbit, and just as everyone expected her to attack directly with it as she has always done, she activated Creature Swap and switched the control of the two monsters on the field.

Alexander's eyebrows rose. "That's smart!"

Mike agreed, "Yes... Katherine has taken Johnny's Mechanicalchaser while giving him the weaker Inaba White Rabbit!"

But Katherine didn't attack; instead, she set two cards in her back row, then ended her turn.

Johnny stared at the field, then something unexpected happened as Katherine picked up the Inaba White Rabbit on his side of the field and returned it to her hand.

Seeing that, Johnny was about to complain, but the judge quickly informed him that what happened was completely legal, and so Johnny's field was now empty while Katherine still controlled his Mechanicalchaser.

The crowd erupted as everyone realised what had happened.

Alexander smiled, "That's the trick."

Mike looked confused. "What's happened? What trick?"

In response, Alexander calmly explained not only to him but to the audience as well, "Inaba White Rabbit is a Spirit Monster. Spirit Monsters return to their owner's hand at the end of the turn they're summoned."

Mike's eyes widened, and he asked, "Even if they're being controlled by the opponent?"

"Exactly."

Alexander pointed toward the field. "Katherine gave Johnny a monster that would automatically return to her hand. Meanwhile, she got to keep Mechanicalchaser."

Mike laughed in disbelief. "So Creature Swap was basically free!"

"Exactly."

Johnny clicked his tongue.

Katherine had completely changed the way the Duel was being played.

He continued summoning Machines, but Katherine was ready.

Waboku. Torrential Tribute. His monsters disappeared.

Katherine's own defences kept Johnny from gaining momentum.

At the same time, Johnny's Bottomless Trap Hole and Mirror Force prevented Katherine from simply attacking him to victory.

Several turns passed and neither Duelist had lost any Life Points, but the field told a very different story.

Johnny's side was nearly empty. The only major card remaining was DNA Surgery. Meanwhile, Katherine had a Sinister Serpent on the field while her back row was empty.

Alexander studied the field and declared, "Johnny is in a difficult position."

"He hasn't lost any Life Points," Mike said.

"No, but his resources were thoroughly consumed by the intense exchange of the previous turns."

Katherine drew, then she played Monster Reborn.

The audience immediately recognised the target.

Johnny's Mechanicalchaser rose from the Graveyard and appeared on Katherine's field.

Johnny's eyes widened.

Then she used both monsters as Tributes to summon Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi.

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

The crowd reacted.

Katherine entered the Battle Phase, and Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi attacked, directly dealing heavy damage.

[Johnny - 1200 LP]

But the damage wasn't the most important part, as Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi's effect activated.

Alexander's tone became serious. "Johnny is going to have to discard his entire hand during his next Draw Phase."

Mike looked toward Johnny. "And after all the resources he's already lost..."

"That's devastating."

Katherine set another card, then ended her turn, and Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi returned to her hand.

Johnny started his turn.

During the Draw Phase, the effect of Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi activated, and Johnny was forced to discard his entire hand.

One card after another went to the Graveyard.

The crowd watched in near silence.

Then Johnny finally drew his card; he looked at it, and his expression immediately soured before he clicked his tongue.

The card wasn't going to save him.

He sighed and ended his turn.

Katherine drew and summoned Yata-Garasu.

The crowd knew exactly what was coming.

Yata-Garasu attacked directly, and its effect activated.

[Johnny - 1000 LP]

Johnny wouldn't be able to draw during his next turn.

The Spirit Monster returned to Katherine's hand at the end of the turn.

Alexander looked toward the field and announced, "The Yata-Lock has been established."

Johnny stared at his empty hand, and he understood that it was over, so he said, "I surrender."

[Johnny - Surrender]

The crowd exploded while the scoreboard changed.

Johnny Storm - 1

Katherine Pryde - 1

Mike raised his voice over the roar, "THEY'VE TIED!"

Alexander smiled, "And now, after everything we've seen from these two Duelists, it all comes down to one final Duel."

Johnny gathered his cards, and Katherine did the same before they got up and started to go over their decks one last time.

Neither had managed to decisively dominate the match.

Johnny had shown that he could overwhelm Katherine before her strategy developed.

Katherine had shown that if she survived that opening, she could completely turn the Duel around.

Now both of them knew exactly what the other was capable of.

The judge called the two Duelists back to the table.

The crowd gradually quieted.

Johnny sat down, and Katherine sat across from him.

They looked at each other.

The judge prepared to begin the final procedure.

The second edition of the Duel Monsters Grand Prix had reached its final Duel, and there would be no second chance after this one.