Cyber End Dragon, full-power barrage!
Power Bond's doubled strike erupted, lightning coiling around the End Dragon like mad serpents. That world-ending force poured from above—yet the instant it touched the thin mist before Camula, it seemed to melt away.
The domineering beam was transmuted into a torrent of life. In the mist it swirled into a golden vortex—like a fountain of life—surging endlessly into Camula's body.
"Ah~ kimochi (so good)."
Camula wore an expression of sheer bliss.
"More... let more in. This feeling of life..."
[Camula, LP 700 → LP 8700]
Zane ground his teeth.
Eight thousand seven hundred Life Points…
His overzealous push had backfired disastrously.
"And the rest of 'Red Ghost Moon'—your Battle Phase is forcibly ended," Camula laughed, shoulders shaking with mirth. "Thanks for the effort, little boy. Big sis feels great."
Kira watched in silence, studying Zane.
Camula counted among the stronger of the Shadow Riders. She was an unprincipled duelist who used bans and sometimes off-table tricks, but results-wise she'd taken down both Professor Crowler and Zane—on paper, the Shadow Riders' MVP.
Granted, her win over Zane had been by holding Syrus's life hostage; Zane had essentially forfeited. If they'd kept dueling, the outcome wasn't certain.
Still—a formidable opponent.
Could Zane use this chance to find his path again and complete his metamorphosis?
"Ara~, little boy's in trouble," Camula tittered behind her hand. "Your Battle Phase is over; you can't push any further.
"But you already activated Power Bond—at the end of the turn, you'll eat 4000 in burn from your own Spell!"
She smiled triumphantly.
"Be a good doll for me, pretty boy."
The more perilous it got, the calmer Zane forced himself to be. He slapped down a card. "I activate the Spell, One Day of Peace. We both draw one card, and until the end of the next turn, all damage either player would take becomes 0."
A paper ceasefire brought a brief, precious peace to a battlefield thick with smoke. A soft golden glow formed a shield around both duelists.
"This way, Power Bond's end-phase burn becomes 0."
Zane immediately revealed the card he drew.
"I activate Card of Burial Magic. Banish 'Power Bond,' 'Cybernetic Fusion Support,' and 'Card of Adversity' from my Graveyard to draw two cards."
He drew again.
"I set two cards. Turn end."
"Such a tenacious boy—but big sis likes you better for it," Camula said with a smile.
"What do you actually want?" Zane frowned.
"What I said. A healthy, strong man—one who can make big sis happy." She smiled.
"For the great cause of reviving your bloodline?" Kira interjected.
Camula's smile vanished in an instant. She shot him a chilly look.
"Yes. It's all for the cause," she said coolly. "Our race once built a dazzling civilization... and humans destroyed it.
"They hunted us, drove our kind to extinction. The few who remained fled to the ends of the earth.
"And when that master summoned me, this era had only me left."
Zane blinked.
"You're doing it for your people—"
"Yes. Don't make that face—I don't need your pity."
She dropped the flirty mask and barked, voice hard.
"I am a proud vampire noble. I don't need human mercy. I'll rebuild our home with my own hands and take back all that humans stole from us.
"For that, I'll throw myself into the darkness and sell my soul. Whatever the method, whatever the means—only winning matters! I have no room for hesitation or choice!"
Zane's heart stirred again. The thought rose unbidden.
Some duels must be won.
To the him of the past, it was enough to uphold his ideals, respect his opponents, and put on a brilliant match. But now he was discovering the cruel reality—many people don't have that option. The weight their duels carry doesn't allow them the freedom to enjoy dueling.
This woman was one of them.
By comparison, how willful his own dueling had been…
"My turn!"
Of course, because of Reckless Greed, she couldn't draw.
Camula's gaze fell to a card in her hand. She hesitated.
She murmured to herself: "Yes... I decided long ago. No matter the cost—even if I sell everything I am..."
Then she lifted her head again, eyes firm.
"I activate the Spell—
—Illusion Gate!!!"
An ancient, massive door rose up behind her, radiating silent menace. A bat perched atop the lintel, like a demon's herald, smirking down at the world.
A torrent of darkness exploded forth.
Not just within the duel. Now that he, too, was a Dark Duelist, Kira could feel it—the presence of a power beyond the duel itself, something truly formidable.
This was GX's infamous anime-original—rare even among anime-only cards—Illusion Gate.
Zane felt the danger in the card's roar. "That's—!?"
"Illusion Gate—one must entrust their soul to the Sacred Beast to activate it!" Camula cried. "Destroy all monsters on your opponent's field, then Special Summon any monster from either Graveyard, ignoring its summoning conditions!"
Zane jolted. "That's outrageous!"
Even more absurd than the forbidden field she'd just used!
But the anime-world banlist had one more rule: only cards known to the dueling world could be evaluated and banned. That Zombie field spell, while rare, was known and existed within that world.
A card like Illusion Gate, so rare it had never appeared anywhere—no one even knew it existed. Of course it wouldn't be on any banlist.
"Indeed. But such power demands a price. The price of Illusion Gate is this: if the duelist who uses this forbidden card loses the duel, their soul is sacrificed to the Sacred Beast for eternity."
Camula's voice was icy.
"But it doesn't matter—so long as I win.
"Illusion Gate—destroy all the monsters on your field!
"Then, from your Graveyard, I Special Summon 'Cyber End Dragon' to my side—ignoring its conditions!!"
PS: Bonus chapter at 500 PS