This was the moment I was waiting for.

"I special summon Judgment Dragon in attack mode."

The dragon appeared for an instant but then shattered into fragments. I looked at my field in surprise. Where did he go?

"Sorry (Y/n)," Yusei spoke up. His own monster was gone too. "Stardust Warrior's effect lets me tribute himself to negate and destroy a special summoned monster. It comes back to me during your end phase, but I'm afraid you won't be getting Judgment Dragon back."

"I—" Crap! How did I not know Stardust Warrior's effect?

I looked down at the cards in my hand desperately, trying to see if there was anything I could do to fix this but there was nothing. I had dead cards.

"Minerva will attack you directly then," I said, trying to regain control after his sudden intervention.

With a flurry of her wings, Minerva launched herself at Yusei and struck him with her staff. Her face was stony as she flew back and took another offensive stance.

Yusei was at 6,000 life points now while I was at 7,400 so I would be fine for a while. But I should expect to lose another 1,000 once he gets his Stardust Warrior back and attacks Minerva.

"I. . . end my turn," I said in defeat. That was all I could do.

"Stardust Warrior returns to me," Yusei said, and his monster reappeared, ready to attack. "Now draw."

It was hard to pay attention to his move.

My head swam and my thoughts raced, making it impossible to think clearly and that every second that passed felt like another step closer to doom. I looked over at Minerva for comfort but was met with the sight of Stardust Warrior piercing through her. She faded away into golden dust, giving one last sad smile before she was gone.

'Minerva!' I wanted to cry out, but the lump in my throat stopped any sound from coming out. Yusei was looking at me. He seemed to be waiting for something, but what?

Oh! I realized. He's waiting so I can use Minerva's destruction effect!

"I activate Minerva's effect." Come on! I believe in you Minerva!

I drew the three cards and with bated breath, checked them for any Lightsworn names.

Zero. She had milled zero Lightsworn cards. That was it. My last ray of hope was gone.

Yusei ended his turn and I set up the best defense I could muster but he immediately pierced through it. It didn't take him long to win. As Stardust Warrior charged for a direct attack, I felt my heart shatter. I broke my promise to not only myself, but to all of Adelfell.

My life points dropped rapidly and the counter on my duel disk hit zero. The duel was over.

I didn't want to seem like a sore loser so I offered Yusei a handshake first. He accepted it, shaking my hand firmly with his gloved one.

"Good job (Y/n), that was a good duel," he said with a smile.

I could only nod slightly, trying to return the smile. "Thanks." I managed to get out. Something was still nagging me though. "But why did you wait for me to declare Minerva's effect when you destroyed her?" I asked. "Usually you'd continue your move if I didn't say anything and then I would've missed the timing."

"I wanted you to have a fair chance to use your cards to their fullest potential," he explained. "That duel didn't seem easy on you. The least I could do was let you use everything you had."

That was really kind of him. I never met a duelist like that. It was really admirable to be such a considerate duelist. I smiled at him, this time genuinely.

"Thank you for that," I said earnestly. I still felt a little bummed out that I lost, but Yusei's kindness did make me feel better. And it was really cool that I went up against his Stardust deck. "Good luck in the finals."

Yusei nodded and smiled back. "Good luck to you too."

We returned to our seats to watch Yusaku and Yuma's match. It wasn't long before the results were reported.

"We now have our finalists: Yusei Fudo and Yusaku Fujiki," the announcer said once the duel was finished. "The final match, as well as the bronze match between (Y/n) and Yuma will commence after a short break. We shall return in fifteen minutes. Thank you."

"Yes! Break time!" Jaden cheered. "Wonder if there's a vending machine anywhere. I'm starving!"

Everyone started taking off their duel disks, putting their decks away for safekeeping and then stretching and shaking out their legs.

I copied them, eager for a break from the fast paced duels and excitement. Most of the others had already left to go do their own things by the time I finished putting my deck and duel disk away.

I looked around the stadium for a long moment. It was quieter now since the crowd wasn't cheering, and many of the spectators had also gone to use the bathroom or get snacks and drinks before the remainder of the tournament. I took in a deep breath and let it out.

"Hey (Y/n), you okay?" Yugi piped up. He was the only one of the duelists who had stayed behind. I went over to join him.

"Yeah," I replied. "I'm just letting it all sink in, you know?" My eyes swept around the stadium again and I smiled to myself. "I really like it here."

Yugi smiled as well. "Dueling is definitely great. I'm glad you enjoy it."

"Me too," I said.

We lapsed into silence after that, but it wasn't like we needed to say anything. I let myself relax and leaned back in my seat, calmed by Yugi's presence and the peaceful atmosphere that would soon turn chaotic again in fifteen minutes.

Would I ever have the chance to do this again? I wondered. The tournament wasn't even over yet, but I could tell I was going to miss all of this. Only time could tell.