Chapter 110 – Machines at War
The Top 8 stage was still about to begin, but before it could, the tournament floor entered another brief period of controlled chaos, mostly for lunch break.
After several hours of dueling, the remaining competitors needed time to eat, rest, and collect themselves before the most important matches of the tournament began.
The audience had the same opportunity.
Of course, for everyone actually working the event, "break" was a relative term.
The judges rotated through their meals. Tournament staff took turns stepping away from the floor. ESPN's production crew did much the same, with some people eating while others continued monitoring cameras, graphics, cables, and equipment.
From the Top 8 onward, every remaining match would be played on the Feature Table.
That meant there was even more work to do.
Alexander had left the commentary position alongside Mike Patrick and headed backstage.
He found Roland exactly where he expected him to be: calmly overseeing everything, so he asked, "How are we doing?"
"Without incident," Roland replied.
Alexander raised an eyebrow and said, "That sounds almost suspiciously positive."
"The tournament floor is prepared for the Top 8. ESPN's equipment is functioning properly with our programs and technologies. The judges are ready. Security has reported no issues."
"Good."
Roland paused for a moment before he added, "There is one matter you asked me to monitor."
Alexander's expression became more serious as he guessed, "Coulson?"
"Yes. Mr Coulson is extremely observant. I would say he has received some form of military training, or something sufficiently close to it."
Alexander nodded slowly, but that didn't surprise him.
What did surprise him was the rest.
"But?"
"He does not appear to be investigating the tournament in any meaningful way."
Alexander blinked and asked, "Really?"
Roland nodded and continued, "He's certainly paying attention. He watches the players closely. He observes their behaviour between matches. He seems interested in the tournament organisation itself as well, but from what I've observed, he genuinely appears to be enjoying himself."
Alexander let out a small breath, "That's good... I guess..."
He wasn't entirely sure whether he believed it, but at least Coulson wasn't currently running around searching for Duel Spirits or trying to uncover the secrets of Duel Monsters.
"Keep watching him."
"Of course."
"Discreetly."
"Naturally."
Alexander nodded and added, "Thanks, Roland."
With that settled, Alexander headed toward the cafeteria.
He didn't get far before spotting three familiar faces. Ginny, Julia and Chuck were already sitting together.
"There he is," Chuck said. "Mr Celebrity Commentator."
Alexander rolled his eyes, "Don't start."
Ginny laughed, "You've become famous."
"I've been famous for a long time. It's you guys who are now famous..."
"It's a different kind of famous."
Chuck pointed his fork at him, "People were actually talking about your commentary."
Alexander sat down and said, "Please tell me that's a good thing."
Julia smiled mischievously and said, "Mostly."
"Mostly?"
Ginny smiled innocently as she added, "You talk too much."
Alexander stared at her and said, "You literally told me that yesterday."
"And you still haven't learned."
Chuck laughed.
The four of them continued eating, talking about the tournament and the remaining competitors.
For a few minutes, Alexander was able to forget that he was the owner of Industrial Illusions, the creator of Duel Monsters, the person responsible for organising the entire tournament, and the sixteen-year-old kid whose name was now being broadcast across the country.
He was simply eating lunch with his friends; eventually, though, the break came to an end.
The three separated and headed back toward their respective positions.
Alexander was almost back at the commentary area when someone caught his attention.
"Alexander."
He turned and saw Emma Frost approaching with the effortless confidence she seemed to possess at all times.
He nodded and greeted her, "Miss Emma. Welcome."
She smiled and said, "Thanks. I wanted to congratulate you."
"For what?"
"Your tournament."
Alexander blinked, "You've been here all day. You know I'm not personally running every table."
"No," Emma replied. "But I know enough about event organisation to recognise good work."
Her gaze swept across the arena, "The transition from the Swiss rounds to the elimination stage was remarkably smooth. The broadcast presentation is polished. The Feature Matches have real structure."
She looked back at him, "And the atmosphere is excellent."
Alexander smiled and accepted the praise from the stunning woman, "Thanks."
"You're welcome."
There was a brief pause before she said, "This has been an entertaining and enlightening experience. I'll be watching the Top 8. Good luck."
"Thanks."
As Emma walked away, Alexander watched her leave for a second longer than intended as his gaze focused on her swinging backside as if hypnotised before he realised what he was doing and shook his head to focus back while thinking, 'Damn...'
After that small interlude, Alexander returned to the commentary area.
Mike was already there, "Ready?"
Alexander sat down and replied, "As ready as I'm going to be."
Mike grinned, "That's the spirit."
The tournament floor gradually settled as the lights around the Feature Table brightened.
The giant screens displayed the names of the first two competitors.
JONATHAN LOWELL SPENCER STORM VS PHILIP COULSON
The audience erupted.
Mike leaned toward his microphone and started, "And we're back! The Top 8 is about to begin, and what a matchup we have for you!"
Alexander looked toward the table.
Johnny Storm was already there, bouncing slightly on his feet, while across from him, Phil Coulson looked considerably calmer.
Mike continued, "On one side, we have Jonathan Storm, Johnny, for his friends and family, the youngest and one of the most explosive duelists we've seen in this tournament."
"And on the other," Alexander added, "We have Philip Coulson. A young man whose advance was as steady as his temperament."
Mike glanced toward him and asked, "What can you tell us about Coulson?"
"From what I've seen, he's very good at reading his opponent and adapting."
"Meaning?"
Alexander looked at Coulson and explained, "He watches what his opponent does, then adjusts his strategy to match him. His deck doesn't have anything eye-catching, but it is very well balanced and has a response for almost any situation."
Mike smiled and said, "Well, Johnny is certainly going to give him something to watch."
At the same time, the duelists prepared before the coin was flipped.
Coulson won and declared, "I'll go first."
After that, he drew his opening hand.
His first turn was conservative; a monster went face-down, and two cards were set behind it.
Mike frowned slightly and commented, "Not exactly an explosive opening."
"No," Alexander agreed. "But don't underestimate it."
Johnny drew, and his eyes lit up before he summoned his first monster, Mechanicalchaser.
[Mechanicalchaser - 1850 ATK / 800 DEF]
The crowd reacted immediately while Mike's voice rose, "1850 ATK! That's an extremely powerful opening monster!"
Alexander nodded, "Especially this early."
Johnny grinned and declared an attack, but Coulson's monster flipped face up.
[Big Shield Gardna - 100 ATK / DEF 2600]
Mechanicalchaser's attack crashed into the massive defender, thus damaging Johnny's LP with the rebound.
[Johnny - 3250 LP]
The audience reacted with surprise.
Mike laughed and exclaimed, "Now that's a wall!"
Alexander smiled and said, "And that's Coulson's style."
"Already?"
"Already."
Johnny narrowed his eyes.
He had expected the monster to be something he could simply run over; instead, Coulson had forced him to spend his first attack just to discover what was waiting for him and come out worse for wear.
For several turns, the duel developed through small exchanges.
A monster here. A trap there. A battle. A removal.
Nothing was explosive, but the back and forth was entertaining, and soon it became clear that Coulson kept winning individual exchanges.
Eventually, Johnny established three monsters.
Mechanicalchaser. Cipher Soldier. Guardian of the Throne Room.
Then he smiled as he knew exactly what he wanted to do.
He exclaimed, "I activate my set DNA Surgery."
The audience murmured before Johnny declared, "And I choose the Machine Type. Now all monsters on the field are treated as Machine Type."
The type of every monster changed, and Mike immediately understood what Johnny was planning as he exclaimed, "Oh!"
Alexander also smiled and said, "He's going to do it...."
Johnny looked across the table and said, "Guess everybody's a robot now."
The audience laughed, but Coulson didn't, as he understood the danger immediately.
Johnny then summoned his ace, Machine King.
[Machine King - ATK 2200 / 2000 DEF]
Its attack increased as the Machines gathered across the field, and so the number climbed.
Mike's voice rose, "Machine King is getting stronger!"
Johnny grinned and declared, "I attack!"
But right at that moment, Coulson's hand moved as he announced, "I activate Mirror Force."
The arena exploded with noise as Johnny's entire formation disappeared under the effect of the Trap Card.
A brief silence fell before the whole area exploded with applause.
Alexander winced slightly as he commented, "Ouch! That's brutal..."
Mike laughed, "Johnny just spent several cards building that field, and Coulson erased all of it in a single move!"
Alexander nodded and said, "And that's what makes Coulson dangerous."
Johnny looked down at his remaining hand, and from his gaze it was clear that it wasn't over yet.
On the next turn, Phil tried to exploit the gap he created, but Johnny held on thanks to the Trap Card Waboku, which allowed him to remain in the duel, and a few turns later, Johnny drew a card.
He stared at it, then smiled.
Mike immediately noticed, "That looks promising."
Alexander looked at the card that Johnny was about to activate and muttered, "Limiter Removal."
The audience recognised it too, and a roar spread through the arena.
Johnny slammed it onto the field, and as a result, the ATK value of all his monsters outright doubled
Seeing that, Mike nearly shouted, "He's going for it!"
Johnny was about to declare his attack, but Coulson calmly flipped up another set card and said, "I activate Solemn Judgment."
The crowd gasped as Coulson paid half his Life Points to negate Limit Removal.
[Phil - 2000 LP]
Alexander's eyes narrowed, 'There it is. Phil wasn't saving Solemn Judgment for Johnny's strongest monster. He was saving it for the card that could actually reverse the flow of the duel in a single turn. That is the difference between them...'
Even if dejected, Johnny fought back, and he managed to destroy one of Coulson's monsters, but the damage had already been done; his momentum was completely halted.
Coulson had accumulated resources.
Pot of Greed. D.D. Warrior. One exchange at a time, Johnny had fallen behind.
Eventually, Coulson established Gemini Elf and Vorse Raider.
Johnny had only a single defensive monster left.
Coulson attacked, and Johnny responded with his last Waboku.
The attack failed to finish him, and the crowd cheered, but Johnny was running out of options.
He tried one final push, but Coulson answered with another perfectly timed Trap Card that also created an opening.
The next turn, Coulson activated Polymerization and Fusion Summoned Gaia the Dragon Champion before he attacked.
Johnny's Life Points were depleted as Phil's monsters attacked one after the other, and finally Gaia the Dragon Champion landed the final blow.
[Johnny - 0 LP]
The tournament floor erupted.
Mike immediately turned toward Alexander as he exclaimed, "Philip Coulson takes Game One!"
Alexander nodded, "Johnny tried to make the duel explosive, but Coulson refused to let him."
"Exactly."
Coulson had not overwhelmed Johnny but had simply made Johnny's aggression work against him.
Before the second duel started, Johnny leaned back slightly while Coulson looked across the table and said, "You came pretty close."
Johnny smiled and said, "Yeah."
He tapped the table and added, "I know where I screwed up."
Coulson raised an eyebrow and, half amused, half intrigued, asked, "Do you?"
Johnny grinned, "I tried to beat you too fast. Next time, I'm going to make you sweat a bit more."
Coulson smiled faintly, "We'll see."
After that small exchange, the second duel began, and this time, Johnny went first, but something was different.
He didn't immediately summon his strongest monster; instead, he chose Cipher Soldier and put it into Defence Position.
[Cipher Soldier - 1350 ATK / 1800 DEF]
After that, Johnny set two cards and then ended his turn.
Mike looked surprised, "That's a much more conservative opening."
Alexander nodded, "It appears that Game One taught him something."
Coulson drew and summoned Vorse Raider.
[Vorse Raider - 1900 ATK / 1200 DEF]
Then he attacked and destroyed Cipher Soldier while Johnny didn't activate anything.
Mike looked confused as he observed, "Johnny is just letting that happen."
"He's deliberately refusing to trade."
Coulson noticed it too.
The duel continued.
Johnny summoned Guardian of the Throne Room in Defence Position, and on the next turn Coulson attacked, but it was stopped by Waboku
Coulson frowned as he was beginning to realise that Johnny wasn't playing the same duel anymore.
Johnny eventually activated DNA Surgery and again chose Machine, but this time Coulson didn't wait for him to build up his field and began removing Johnny's Machines before they could accumulate.
D.D. Warrior removed an important monster. Gemini Elf entered the field to put more pressure. Bottomless Trap Hole took another monster.
For a while, it looked as though Coulson was going to win again, but Johnny wasn't panicking, and eventually, he drew the card he needed.
Machine King. He summoned it and grew stronger.
The audience reacted immediately while Coulson's expression sharpened before he used Solemn Judgment, paying half his Life Points to negate the summon.
[Phil - 2000 LP]
Machine King was destroyed, but Johnny smiled as he had expected it.
He had never activated Limiter Removal, and instead, he had forced Coulson to spend his strongest defensive answer.
Alexander leaned forward, "That's smart."
Mike glanced at him, "What is?"
Alexander watched Johnny carefully, "Johnny isn't rushing to end the duel immediately anymore. He's ensuring that Coulson has no means to defend himself first!"
Over the next few turns, Johnny continued building toward his real attack.
Mechanicalchaser. Guardian of the Throne Room. Cipher Soldier.
Coulson had Gemini Elf and Vorse Raider.
Then Johnny drew the card and activated it without hesitation.
Limiter Removal.
The audience recognised it and cheered as this time, Coulson had no Solemn Judgment or other answer.
The Machines powered up, and the crowd erupted.
Coulson's hand moved and flipped up his remaining set card, Mirror Force, earning a collective gasp, but Johnny had expected it, and he answered with his own Solemn Judgment, preventing Coulson from simply ending the attack sequence on his terms.
[Johnny - 1500 LP]
The Battle Phase continued, and Coulson's Life Points were already below two thousand.
Johnny looked at him as the attack connected.
[Phil - 0 LP]
The arena exploded.
Mike stood almost halfway out of his chair, "JOHNNY STORM TAKES GAME TWO!"
Alexander laughed as he threw in a little inside joke, "And we've got ourselves an evenly matched pair!"
Mike looked toward the duel table, "One game apiece!"
Johnny pumped a fist while the crowd cheered, but the important thing wasn't simply the score.
Johnny had grown. He had taken everything Coulson had done to him in Game One and adapted. For the first time, the audience wasn't seeing Johnny merely as the hot-headed kid with the flashy Machine deck.
They were seeing a young duelist who could learn.
Before long, the third and final duel began.
The atmosphere inside the arena was completely different now as both players knew what the other was capable of.
Coulson understood Johnny's explosive potential, while Johnny understood Coulson's resource management, and neither wanted to make the first mistake.
Coulson went first, and he summoned Gemini Elf; then two cards were set behind it.
Johnny drew and used Polymerization to Fusion Summon Super Roboyarou in Attack Position.
[Super Roboyarou - 1200 ATK / 500 DEF]
The audience reacted as it was the first time seeing this monster
Johnny attacked, activating Super Roboyarou's effect, which increased its ATK by 1000.
The attack went through, and Gemini Elf was destroyed.
[Phil - 3700 LP]
Mike blinked in confusion, "He didn't activate any of his set cards..."
Alexander nodded, "Indeed, he is deliberately saving them for when he truly needs them."
Johnny understood the same immediately.
Next turn, Coulson set one monster face down and another card in the back row.
The duel became a battle of patience.
Johnny summoned Machines; Coulson removed them when necessary. Coulson summoned Warriors, and Johnny used traps to destroy them. Both players activated Pot of Greed. Bottomless Trap Hole answered important summons. Call of the Haunted brought monsters back from the graveyard. Neither player wanted to commit too much, yet the Life Points of both still got lower.
[Phil - 2300]
[Johnny - 2200]
The audience grew increasingly tense.
Mike lowered his voice, "This is very different from the first two games."
Alexander nodded and said, "They've figured each other out."
Every card mattered now. Every attack was calculated. Every set card could change the entire duel.
Then Johnny activated DNA Surgery and again chose the Machine Type.
Coulson's eyes narrowed, but Johnny didn't immediately summon Machine King, and he simply left his monsters on the field, maintaining the pressure on Coulson.
Mike looked puzzled, "Why isn't he making his move?"
Alexander stared at the field, "Because I think he's waiting."
"For what?"
"For Coulson to make a mistake."
Coulson hesitated for a moment, then he activated Soul Exchange and targeted one of Johnny's monsters before using it to tribute summon Curse of Dragon, but as a cost, he couldn't conduct the Battle Phase.
[Curse of Dragon - 2000 ATK / 1500 DEF]
Alexander's eyes narrowed as he thought, 'That's the mistake...'
On the next turn, Johnny finally drew Machine King, and without hesitation, he summoned it.
As usual, Machine King grew stronger.
[Machine King - 2500 ATK / 2000 DEF]
Coulson immediately responded and activated the set Ring of Destruction.
The audience gasped because if Machine King was destroyed, both duelists would take damage based on its original attack, and with only 2200 Life Points, that could be devastating for Johnny.
But Johnny smiled and exclaimed, "Hell yeah."
Coulson paused while Johnny looked directly at him and said, "I was waiting for that."
He activated the Trap Card Shift and changed the target to another monster, more specifically to the Defence Position Steel Scorpion, causing Coulson's eyes to widen in surprise while they both received damage.
[Phil - 2050]
[Johnny - 1950]
Mike's voice rose, "What a move!"
Alexander nodded, "Johnny has successfully redirected Coulson's answer."
Coulson had spent the entire match forcing Johnny to think about resources, but now Johnny was forcing Coulson to think about his.
The duel continued.
Coulson finally saw an opening as he summoned Goblin Attack Force.
[Goblin Attack Force - 2300 ATK / 0 DEF]
Then he attacked and destroyed one of Johnny's Machines, and Johnny took the damage.
Goblin Attack Force shifted into Defence Position, but in doing so, Coulson had opened a weakness.
Johnny saw it; he summoned Cipher Soldier, and with it the field was prepared.
The Machines were ready.
Coulson had one final major defensive answer, Mirror Force.
Johnny knew it thanks to the effect of Patrol Robot, but now he had finally drawn what he was awaiting.
His hand moved and slammed Harpie's Feather Duster onto the field.
The audience exploded as the spell swept across the field and Coulson's remaining back row disappeared.
Mike practically shouted, "THE BACK ROW IS GONE!"
Alexander laughed, "And now Johnny has the opening he needed!"
Johnny looked at the field, then at his hand, and he played his final piece, Limiter Removal.
The Machines' attack values skyrocketed to absurd levels while the audience was on its feet.
Coulson looked at the field, and for the first time in the entire match, he smiled because he knew he had been beaten.
Johnny raised his arm and declared, "Battle Phase."
The Machines attacked one after another.
The damage connected and Coulson's Life Points fell until finally...
[Phil - 0 LP]
For a heartbeat, there was silence, then the entire convention centre erupted.
Mike practically yelled into his microphone, "JOHNNY STORM WINS THE MATCH! WE HAVE OUR FIRST SEMI-FINALIST!"
Alexander smiled and commented, "What a duel."
The crowd continued cheering.
Mike turned toward Alexander, "That was one of the best matches we've seen all tournament."
Alexander nodded, "I agree."
He looked toward the Feature Table.
Johnny was still celebrating while Coulson was already shaking his hand.
There was no bitterness on his face, only respect and joy.
Alexander couldn't help but smile.
For the first time since seeing Coulson's name on the Top 64 bracket, the strange knot in his stomach had loosened slightly, 'Maybe Roland had been right. Maybe Coulson really is here because he enjoys the game.'