"My turn. Draw."
Kira drew his card and smiled.
"Demon King's signature deck, made up of yokai from various myths and folklore. Because you can skillfully command the powers of all sorts of yokai, you're known as the Demon King."
"Hahahaha! Kid, you know your stuff."
Demon King burst out laughing, then waved his hand.
"The past isn't worth mentioning. And honestly, the reason they call me Demon King isn't just about the cards…"
He paused, then looked Kira up and down with a leering gaze, licking his lips.
"Well, you'll understand why after you lose."
Jaden, standing to the side, didn't quite get what he meant, but instinctively shivered, feeling a chill down his spine.
Kira continued, "A major trait of yokai is their undying nature—they can revive from the graveyard over and over. And as more yokai revive from the graveyard, it opens up all kinds of tactics."
"Oh, you've done your homework!" Demon King grinned. "Not bad, not bad. I'm starting to like you.
That's right. Building up yokai in the graveyard, then unleashing a relentless assault through constant revival—that's the key to mastering yokai."
"Naturally. Facing a famous duelist like you, how could I not prepare in advance?"
Kira smiled, slowly drawing a card from his hand.
"That's why I'll use this card—
—Continuous Spell: 'Dimensional Fissure!'"
Electricity crackled through the air, bolts of lightning slicing through space like blades. A pitch-black rift tore open across the field—a scar in reality itself.
"While Dimensional Fissure is on the field," Kira explained, "any monster sent to the graveyard is banished instead, for both players!"
Demon King's smiling face froze for about a second.
Then his grin slowly faded, and his jaw dropped open, stunned.
What… what did you say!?
Not sent to the graveyard—everything is banished?
It took his brain a few seconds to process what that meant, and when it hit, Demon King felt like he'd been struck by lightning. His CPU nearly crashed.
Huh?
First turn, and you just deleted my graveyard from existence?
Isn't that basically blowing up my entire deck?
Without a graveyard, how's my Yokai deck supposed to function!?
"Next, I summon 'D.D. Survivor.'" Kira announced.
[D.D. Survivor, ATK 1800]
"D.D. Survivor, attack 'Gozuki.'"
Only now did Demon King snap out of his shock, gritting his teeth. "Hmph, not that easy! I activate my set card! Trap Card—'Ghostly Reinforcements!'" (Manga card)
A yokai-only trap that never made it into real cards.
"Ghostly Reinforcements! By paying 1000 Life Points, I can Special Summon two Level 4 or lower yokai from my graveyard!"
[Demon King, LP 4000 → LP 3000]
"I'll revive the two yokai I discarded with 'Graceful Charity'!"
He quickly pulled out the two cards.
"Rise again! Cursed Crow Tengu, and Shadow Mara Demon!"
[Crow Tengu, ATK 1400]
[Onmoraki, ATK 1200]
"Yokai are strongest when they revive from the graveyard!" Demon King declared.
"Crow Tengu and Onmoraki, both activate their effects!
Crow Tengu, when Special Summoned from the graveyard, destroys one opponent's monster!"
He pointed at Kira's field.
"Destroy 'D.D Survivor!'"
A sinister current swept over Kira's cloaked warrior, shattering it instantly.
"And Onmoraki's effect!" Demon King continued. "When Special Summoned from the graveyard, I draw one card!"
"Whoa, he countered it!" Jaden commented from the side. "This guy's pretty tough too."
Kira just smiled and drew four cards from his hand.
"Then, I set four cards and end my turn."
With a wave, another dark dimensional hole opened on his field. The cloaked warrior that had just been destroyed reappeared on the field.
Demon King was shocked. "D.D Survivor… why? It was just destroyed by Crow Tengu's effect!"
"D.D Survivor's effect," Kira explained. "If this face-up card is banished, it returns to the field at the end of the turn."
[D.D Survivor, ATK 1800]
Demon King's eyes narrowed.
He could already see the shape of Kira's setup.
With Dimensional Fissure on the field, both graveyards were basically gone; all monsters sent to the graveyard were banished.
His own yokai deck's graveyard was basically wiped out, and most of his monsters depended on the graveyard, so his deck was almost completely crippled.
Meanwhile, under the same conditions, "D.D. Survivor" and "Dimensional Fissure" created an undying combo. No matter how it was destroyed, as long as Dimensional Fissure was up, it would be banished and then revive itself.
It was clear now—the opponent's whole deck was probably built around banishing.
So on his side, his ancestral grave was dug up, while the opponent's banished cards were just more resources.
What kind of anti-yokai tactic is this!?
Demon King's eyes turned red.
Now he truly understood what Kira meant by "studied your deck." It wasn't out of respect—he'd just sized up his opponent to mess with his mentality!
"Your turn, Demon King," Kira reminded. "If you don't play, you'll run out of time."
"Hmph, I know it's my turn. Draw."
Demon King now realized this opponent was no ordinary foe. His graveyard resources were low, and the longer the duel dragged on, the fewer options he'd have, while the opponent's banished resources would only grow.
He needed a plan.
But when he drew, his eyes lit up.
"Hahahaha!" Demon King laughed. "Did you think 'Dimensional Fissure' would keep my graveyard sealed forever? You're too naïve!
I activate Quick-Play Spell 'Mystical Space Typhoon,' destroying a Spell or Trap on the field."
He pointed at Kira's back row.
"Begone, Dimensional Fissure!"