Bounced damage and banish?
Vampire's Curse ground his teeth. He prided himself on his ever-growing immortality—but against banish, even he was helpless.
And with his avatar banished, even his aura as a spirit seemed to dim; agitation crept in.
"But it's not over. Your field's empty now, however you slice it."
He barked, voice hard.
"And I still have Vampire Lord—more than enough to finish you!
Die! Vampire Lord, direct attack!"
The lord leapt, silhouette framed against the crimson moon. The weird red mist poured into him like an invisible power source—the demon castle behind was feeding him.
[Vampire Lord, ATK 2000 → 2500]
Vampire Kingdom boosts Zombie ATK by 500 during damage calculation when they attack.
"This ends it!" Blood-red light flashed in his eyes. "Lackey of the Supreme King—die here!"
[Kira, LP 2000 → 6000]
The vampire jolted. "Up to six thousand!?"
"The Trap: Nutrient Z." Kira tapped his backrow. "When you'd take over 2000 battle damage during damage calculation, gain 4000 Life Points before damage is applied."
"So you end up with more LP." He curled his lip. "Whatever—attack continues. Lord, strike!"
The vampire lord raked a claw. Kira simply raised his Duel Disk, and with a clang caught the talons on the edge.
[Kira, LP 6000 → 3500]
"Don't think it ends there," Vampire's Curse said darkly. "At this moment, Vampire Lord's effect activates.
When this card inflicts battle damage, declare Monster, Spell, or Trap; your opponent must send one card of that type from their Deck to the Graveyard.
I declare Spell. Send a Spell from your Deck to the GY."
A Spell popped out of Kira's Deck. He took it and dropped it to the Graveyard.
"And at this moment, Vampire Kingdom's follow-up effect activates," Vampire's Curse continued. "Once per turn, when a card is sent from your opponent's Deck to the Graveyard, send a DARK 'Vampire' from your hand or Deck to the Graveyard, then target and destroy a card on the field."
Another card popped from his Deck, and he plucked it.
"I send another Vampire Bat from my Deck to the GY—destroy that disgusting Continuous Trap, Amazoness Onslaught!"
A cloud of bats burst from the castle, circled Kira's Trap, and—pop—blew it to pieces.
"Ooh, so there's synergy with vampires!" Jaden praised. "Your monster forces a mill, then the Kingdom punishes that with a destruction trigger—nice combo!"
"Obviously." A nearby vampire grunt was already chatting with him. "That's the power of our bloodline!"
Jaden grinned mysteriously. "Heh-heh, but Kira's tricks aren't that simple…"
As Onslaught shattered, a golden vortex shot up. A sword's gleam cleaved it, and the red-haired swordswoman returned.
[Amazoness Swords Woman, ATK 1500]
Vampire's Curse's eyelid twitched.
"Her again!?"
"When Amazoness Onslaught is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, Special Summon an Amazoness from the Graveyard," Kira said mildly. "I Special Summon Amazoness Swords Woman back."
"You…" Vampire's Curse's face darkened. "You plan to win by bouncing damage off that thing?"
"Hm?" Kira sounded perfectly matter-of-fact. "Is there a problem?"
"…"
It felt wrong in every way—yet faced with that calm question, he found himself at a loss for words.
He drew a slow breath.
"I set one and end my turn."
Even with the Kingdom's boost, the lord only hit 2500; even if damage bounced, it was only 1000—he could stomach it.
"My turn. Draw," Kira said. "I activate the Spell Pot of Greed to draw two."
He drew two more.
"Next, the Continuous Spell: Mirage of Nightmare. During your Standby Phase, I draw until I have four cards in hand."
He set three cards. "I end my turn."
Vampire's Curse glanced at three face-downs, then at the fierce swordswoman standing guard, and felt his irritation deepen.
He'd fought for years and met many strong duelists. But one who made you this mad to play against? Rare.
"My turn. Draw!"
"Standby Phase—Mirage of Nightmare. I draw up to four," Kira said, drawing.
"Draw all you like. This turn, the duel ends!
I activate the Equip Spell: D.D.R. - Different Dimension Reincarnation! I discard a card to revive a monster that was banished.
Return—my avatar! Vampire's Curse!"
[Vampire's Curse, ATK 2000]
As the avatar returned, his own strength seemed to swell—the blood mist around the castle surged into him, roiling as his aura grew.
"You figured that Amazoness will scare me off?" he shouted. "Too naive! Now you'll see—the power of my bloodline won't be stopped by a trick like that!
I activate the Spell: Evil Eye of Coercion! While I control a vampire, your monsters bow under the vampires' pressure and cannot defend—so all my monsters can attack directly!"
This was one the vampire card professor used against Yugi. It was printed later, but nerfed to only let one Zombie with 2000 or less ATK attack directly—faithful to the scene, but much less useful.
A phantom pair of eyes opened behind him. An invisible pressure rolled out like a thousandfold gravity. Under that weight, the swordswoman dropped to one knee, bracing on her blade, unable to move.
"Hahahaha! Now I can sidestep your damned swordswoman—my vampires can all attack directly!"
Red light flashed in his eyes.
"Final blow—die!"
PS: Bonus chapters at 1000 PS