"Hey! Wait a minute! What is this Shadow Duel thing? You never got my consent! You bastards!"
Kosuke Kunisaki struggled desperately, but the darkness had already coiled around his limbs like tentacles. No matter how much he thrashed, he couldn't break free from the dark shackles.
"Shut up. I'm going to win this duel."
Jaden Yuki glanced at him sideways. That icy stare immediately silenced Kosuke.
Jaden Yuki… what is the deal with this guy?
Is that really the kind of look a kid his age should have? And how can he stay so calm in the middle of a Shadow Duel? This guy…
"The first move is mine."
Ghost Belle knew the rules of human dueling inside out. Though she was a card spirit, she was one from the future; through years of observing human battles, she had long since acquired dueling skills that far surpassed those of ordinary people.
"I summon Traptrix Atrax in Attack Position."
Looking at the five cards floating in the air before her, Ghost Belle wore a sickly smile as she tapped one of them. Immediately, an eerie wind swept across the field.
A young girl with long twin tails emerged from the draft. Her sinister expression and the insect-like antennae on her forehead made it clear she was no ordinary girl, yet her cute face made her appear completely non-threatening.
[Traptrix Atrax]
[Level: 4]
[ATK: 1800, DEF: 1000]
"Hehehe..." The girl let out a grim laugh. Her crimson eyes sized up Jaden, as if she were confirming whether the boy would be delicious or not.
"And with that, I end my turn."
The girl floating in mid-air smiled as she issued her end-of-turn declaration.
"Hey, Jaden! That monster only summoned one creature. Now's your chance!" Kosuke shouted in delight. "Its attack power is only 1800 you can take that thing down easily, right? I know you were amazing in the pro circuit!"
Jaden ignored Kosuke. "My turn."
He drew a card from the top of his deck and stared at his hand, falling into deep thought.
"Hey! Jaden, hurry up and finish her!" Kosuke yelled as he struggled.
"Shut up!" Yubel's phantom appeared beside Jaden and barked coldly.
"Eek..."
Seeing the 'monster' that had suddenly appeared, Kosuke's face turned pale. He was too terrified to say another word.
"Traptrix Atrax has the ability to activate Trap Hole and Hole trap cards directly from the hand."
"Because of that, the opponent has no way to use cards like Mystical Space Typhoon, Heavy Storm, or Harpie's Feather Duster to deal with the opponent's traps before they are played."
Ghost Ogre floated on Jaden's other side. Assessing the situation, she couldn't help but swallow hard, her expression looking a bit strained. "However, if it is the Supreme King..."
"I activate the Spell Card, Fusion Destiny!" After a brief moment of contemplation, Jaden immediately executed his strategy. "I send Destiny HERO - Malicious and Destiny HERO - Drawhand from my deck to the Graveyard to perform a Fusion Summon from the Extra Deck!"
The figures of Drawhand and Malicious appeared behind Jaden. The two heroes leaped into the fusion vortex. As the colorful lights intertwined, the fire of a red lotus instantly ignited the entire dark space.
"Come forth! Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer!"
Boom!
A hero emerged from the crimson summoning circle, soaring upward like a phoenix reborn from the flames. He then landed firmly by Jaden's side.
"Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer?" Ghost Belle gave a sweet, cold sneer. "A powerful hero who can constantly revive from the Graveyard. Once he gets in there, it's going to be a lot of trouble."
"However, in response to your Fusion Summon, I activate the Trap Card, Deep Dark Trap Hole, from my hand!"
The eyes of the Traptrix girl flashed with a crimson light. She sneered as the space around them was instantly covered in an overwhelming web of shadows.
"Deep Dark Trap Hole activates when the opponent Special Summons an Effect Monster with Level 5 or higher! That monster is banished from the game!"
Rumble!
A massive void opened beneath Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer's feet. Countless withered hands reached out from the abyss, grabbing the hero and dragging him down into the hole.
"Hmph. In this instant, I activate Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer's effect." Jaden's lips curled into a smirk. He knew Ghost Belle wouldn't just watch his Phoenix Enforcer take the field. However, according to the rules of chaining, his hero had nothing to fear from such a low-level trap.
"Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer can destroy one card on my field and one on the opponent's field! I choose to destroy my Phoenix Enforcer and your Traptrix Atrax!"
Jaden shouted, "According to the rules of chaining, the last link resolves first! Therefore, Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer can completely bypass your Trap Card!"
"Hah!"
A scorching blaze ignited around Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer. As the temperature rose, the flames surrounding the hero instantly swallowed both him and Traptrix Atrax.
"Aaaah!"
Amidst the Traptrix's screams, the two spirits vanished from the field, reduced to ash.
"Ngh..." Ghost Belle grit her teeth, forced to watch her Deep Dark Trap Hole disappear into the Graveyard for nothing.
"However, the Phoenix is immortal." Jaden reached out and pulled Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer from his Graveyard, holding it between his fingers.
"When Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer is destroyed by battle or card effect, I can Special Summon a Destiny HERO monster from my Graveyard during the Standby Phase of the next turn."
The shadow of Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer appeared behind Jaden once more. The red lotus fire burned again.
"Hehehe, Supreme King, it seems that as the person who created me, you've forgotten my effect." Ghost Belle giggled. Her black eyes, devoid of any luster, carried a darkness that felt like it could swallow a person whole.
"..." Jaden frowned. He certainly knew her effect. In fact, Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer was the key to baiting Ghost Belle out.
"I activate my own effect from my hand!"
She tapped a card in front of her. A ghostly white light began to shine around Ghost Belle's body as she fully materialized!
Ghost Ogre stared at Ghost Belle and swallowed hard, muttering under her breath.
"Ghost Belle & Haunted Mansion."
"She can negate effects that add cards from the Graveyard to the hand, deck, or Extra Deck."
"She can negate effects that Special Summon monsters from the Graveyard."
"And she can negate effects that banish cards from the Graveyard."
In other words...
"Hey, what does this mean? Why can the opponent activate a monster's effect from their hand during your turn? This is way too weird!" Kosuke Kunisaki watched the duel with total confusion.
He considered himself a decent professional duelist, but for some reason, he couldn't understand the duel between Jaden and this ghost kid at all!
"I send myself to the Graveyard to negate the effect of Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer!" Ghost Belle discarded her own card.
As the card bearing her image hit the Graveyard, a terrifying darkness surged toward the Phoenix Enforcer's red lotus fire like a tidal wave.
"Phoenix Enforcer, you can stay in the Graveyard for the rest of your life." Ghost Belle watched the flames about to be extinguished, a flicker of excitement rising in her heart.
"Is that so?"
As he watched Ghost Belle enter the Graveyard, the serious expression on Jaden's face finally broke into a smile.
"Hmm?" Ghost Belle blinked. Suddenly realizing something, she looked at Jaden. "Wait, don't tell me you have"
Jaden flipped over a card in his hand.
"Ah, exactly. I've been waiting for you to send yourself to the Graveyard."
"I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Called by the Grave!"
"I target one monster in the opponent's Graveyard and banish it. Until the end of the next turn, the effects of the banished monster, as well as the effects of monsters with the same original name, are negated!"
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