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"Big Brother, slow down..."
In a dense forest on the mountain behind the Academy, Syrus Truesdale and Chumley Huffington were following behind, panting for breath. Leading the way, naturally, was the energetic Jaden.
"What are you talking about? You can't go on an adventure at such a snail's pace, Syrus!" Jaden chuckled.
"But even if you say that..." Syrus gasped for air. "Why do we have to miss the Culture Festival and come out to the middle of nowhere like this?"
"There have been rumors lately that there's a dueling koala around these woods!" Jaden was brimming with excitement.
Syrus frowned. "A dueling koala? That sounds completely impossible..."
"I don't know," Chumley pondered. "Didn't we run into a dueling monkey before? A koala isn't exactly out of the question."
Syrus glanced at Chumley and thought for a moment. "I guess that's true. Besides, it's not like we don't already have a dueling koala in our own dormitory..."
"That's just rude!" Chumley grunted.
After walking a while longer, the two stragglers were completely wiped out.
"I can't... I really can't run anymore. Jaden has way too much energy," Syrus panted. "And we're almost at the coast. I don't think there's anything out here anyway."
"You never know. This Academy island hides many secrets you'd never imagine," Jaden said. "Maybe some aquatic animal will suddenly jump out of the sea."
Chumley looked skeptical. "I'm pretty sure a dueling fish is absolutely impossible..."
Just as he finished speaking, they heard a sudden thwack.
A hand wearing a black leather glove gripped the edge of the cliff from below, and a figure pulled itself up onto the precipice.
"He... he really appeared!" Syrus and Chumley huddled together in fear.
The figure appeared to be a man dressed in black leather, with half of his face covered by a mask. He climbed up from below the cliff and frowned when he saw the three students.
"Curse it. Of all places to climb up, I had to run straight into students..."
Chumley and Syrus looked at each other.
"What's this guy muttering about?"
"No idea. But he doesn't look like a good guy..."
Suddenly, the mechanical components folded on the black-clad man's arm began to transform, shifting into the shape of a cannon barrel. A vortex of fluctuating air erupted from it, blasting toward the trio.
An Air Cannon!
"Kuri!"
Winged Kuriboh appeared just in time. Jaden instinctively raised his arm to shield his face, and a translucent spirit barrier blocked the air shockwave.
"Kuri kuri!" Winged Kuriboh chirped.
Jaden nodded. "Ah, I understand, partner. This guy is an enemy, right?"
He immediately grew alert, glaring at the man who had fired the shot. "Who are you? Why have you sneaked onto this island, and why are you attacking us?"
"Hmph, as expected of Duel Academy. Even the random students I stumble into have this kind of ability. In that case..."
As the man spoke, the mechanical components on his arm transformed again, and within moments, they had assembled into the shape of a Duel Disk.
"You may call me 'Beta.' I have very important business at this Academy. Since you've happened to block my path..." the man said coldly, "then I shall break through using the Duel Academy way with a duel."
"What? You want to duel?"
Jaden unfolded his own Duel Disk.
"Fine. If it's a duel you want, I'm always ready to play!"
"Uh, Big Brother..." Syrus whispered. "We don't even know what his goal is. Isn't it a bit much to just start dueling suddenly?"
However, Jaden was no longer listening.
"Duel!" the two shouted in unison.
[Jaden, LP 4000]
[Beta, LP 4000]
"The first move is mine. I draw."
Beta's voice was hoarse and muffled, sounding like a mechanical drone processed through a voice modulator.
"I summon Devil Dragon."
[Devil Dragon, ATK 1500]
"Then I set two cards in the backrow and end my turn."
Beta finished his simple first-turn operation and looked up coldly.
"The optimal formation is complete. Your chances of winning this duel are less than 1%."
"Oh? You're that confident?"
Instead of being intimidated, Jaden grew excited.
"Correct," Beta said. "I have analyzed the essence of the tactics used by the one who stands at the apex of dueling. You have no chance."
"The more you say that, the more I look forward to it. Then show me this 'essence' of yours!"
Jaden's morale soared.
"Then I'll start by borrowing your strength, Sparkman! I summon Elemental HERO Sparkman!"
The blue Elemental HERO, known among duelists as one of 'The Big Four Vanillas,' leaped onto the field, his body crackling with azure lightning.
[Elemental HERO Sparkman, ATK 1600]
"Sparkman, attack Devil Dragon!" Jaden commanded.
Watching the vanilla hero's lightning strike coming toward him, Beta let out a contemptuous chuckle beneath his thick mask.
It seemed his caution regarding the boy's spirit power was unnecessary. After all, he was just a Slifer Red student. He had heard that Slifer Reds were the bottom of the barrel at Duel Academy.
The boy seemed to have no strategy at all; he wouldn't be a difficult opponent.
"At this moment, I activate my face-down card!" Beta raised his hand. "Quick-Play Spell, Shrink! It halves the original ATK of one monster on the field!"
Jaden frowned. "Are you trying to halve Sparkman's ATK to counter-attack?"
"Hmph, I don't use such low-level tactics. Watch closely. This is the tactic reconstructed from analyzing the duels of the legendary strongest duelist... I choose my own Devil Dragon to have its ATK halved!"
The magical effect bound the dark dragon on his own field. Devil Dragon's body instantly began to shrink under the power of the spell until it was a miniature version of itself.
[Devil Dragon, ATK 1500 → ATK 750]
"Reducing the ATK of your own monster?!" Chumley cried out in shock.
What kind of play was this?
Immediately after, Sparkman fired a bolt of lightning that pierced Devil Dragon's body. the resulting shockwave exploded against Beta's face.
[Beta, LP 4000 → LP 3150]
"What are you doing?" Jaden asked, bewildered.
"Hmph, at this very moment, you have stepped into a bottomless abyss!" Beta sneered. "Take a good look at your own monster."
Sparkman stumbled back, looking down at his own hands. A wave of dark red energy radiated from within him, gradually swallowing his entire body until the Elemental HERO dissolved into a shadow and vanished.
"What?" Jaden was stunned. "What's happening?"
"Hahahaha! Because the moment that battle was established, I activated this card!"
He pointed to the card that had flipped face-up in his backrow.
"Trap Card, Crush Card Virus! When a DARK monster with 1000 or less ATK on my field is destroyed by battle, all monsters on the opponent's field, in their hand, and in their deck with 1500 or more ATK are destroyed!" (Original effect)
In the anime, Kaiba described it as using a DARK monster with 1000 or less ATK as a "medium" for the virus. Listening to the description, it's easy to think of it as a Tribute.
However, in the anime's portrayal, he usually lured the opponent into attacking, used "Shrink" to halve his monster's ATK to under 1000, and even took the battle damage himself to trigger the virus.
Therefore, the original version of the virus required battle as the medium, triggering only when a DARK monster with less than 1000 ATK was destroyed.
"What? All monsters with 1500 or more ATK..." Jaden gasped.
"That's right! Not just on the field all monsters with 1500 or more ATK in your hand and deck are destroyed!" Beta shouted.
"Your goal was to destroy the very soul of my deck?"
With a heavy expression, Jaden watched as the virus corroded his deck. He could only endure the pain as he pulled three cards and sent them to the Graveyard.
They were the Elemental HEROes Bladedge, Wildheart, and Necroshade.
Beta: "..."
Wait a minute.
You're telling me you only have three monsters in your entire damn deck with 1500 or more ATK?
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