"Now, 'Doomdog Octhros''s effect," Kira said unhurriedly. "If this card is sent from the field to the GY, add one Level 8 Fiend from your Deck to your hand."
Mello blinked.
A Level 8 Fiend? But your Volcanics are all Pyro…
Then Kira casually revealed the card in his hand.
He added "Lava Golem" from the Deck to his hand.
Mello: …
Are you kidding me…
You've got a second copy of that thing?
Faced with Mello's man-eating glare, Kira was perfectly frank.
"What? It's not some limited-edition rare. I like it, so I run a second. Problem?"
Mello: …
He had nothing to say.
So Kira openly added Lava Golem to his hand—basically telling him face-up that no matter what fancy plays you make, next turn I'm eating you alive.
Mello let out a long breath.
It's fine. Still manageable.
He glared.
"You'll need to have a next turn first—battle!
Gladiator Beast Gyzarus, direct attack—"
Gyzarus's wings spread in a roar that shook the sky. A violent whirlwind formed; countless tiny steel feathers flashed with razor light, like ten thousand arrows unleashed.
But that furious strike never got through. The green tempest, a force that could rend steel, smashed into an electromagnetic barrier that seemed to split the world in two. Every steel feather rebounded the instant it touched the field, unable to budge it.
Mello: "Why!?"
The guy's field was clean—nothing left at all…
"In my GY—'Electromagnetic Turtle,'" Kira chuckled. "Banish it to forcibly end the Battle Phase once."
Mello was about to lose it.
No battle. Again no battle.
If it were a trap that negated attacks, he could have blown it up beforehand—but this damned turtle hides in the afterlife. You can't even defuse this pitfall…
Mello bared his teeth.
Damn it—why is it so hard to even initiate battle against this guy?
The Battle Phase was forcibly ended, so his Andabata and Gyzarus follow-up effects naturally couldn't trigger.
And the opponent still had Lava Golem in hand.
"No. I won't let you run wild," Mello growled. "Continuous Spell—'Prohibition'!
Declare a card that cannot be used for the rest of this duel!
I declare… Lava Golem!"
This time Kira almost burst out laughing.
Seriously, man? You hate my big boy that much?
Prohibition has seen meta play as a generic tech, a side-deck surprise against certain decks by naming key pieces.
But to target my big boy with that is just…
He didn't even know what to say.
"I set one card. Turn end," Mello said.
"My turn. Draw."
Kira narrowed his eyes at his hand, then smiled slightly.
"Using Prohibition to lock my Lava Golem—now that's fresh. In that case, I'll use this…"
He swept his hand.
"Spell Card—'Harpie's Feather Duster.' Destroy all Spell/Trap Cards your opponent controls!"
Mello: "!"
To flip the ultimate backrow nuke at a time like this—
If Prohibition gets blown away, then without a doubt the next thing is the big boy eating his two Gladiator aces. Take the burn, and his LP would be a candle-in-the-wind 300. Against Volcanics, 300 LP is basically already dead.
And if the aces he finally summoned get eaten by Lava Golem again, turning the tide afterward would be tough. The opponent hardly let him attack all duel; rebuilding would be no easy task.
I can't let him succeed!
"Counter Trap—'Disarm'!" Mello shouted. "Return a Gladiator Beast from hand to Deck to negate the activation of a Spell and destroy it!"
Feather Duster fell in battle before it began—rarely seeing daylight, it dissipated before it could sweep a thing.
"Stop thinking about your Lava Golem," Mello said darkly. "I won't let you have your way."
"Fine—if I can't use it, I won't. But if you've spent your counter trap here…"
Kira's face seemed shaded, half-smiling.
"Then what will you do about this?"
He revealed a card.
"Continuous Spell—'Blaze Accelerator'—Unit Two."
Mello: "!"
Flames surged. A massive metal cannon frame rose from the boiling magma, gleaming with the red-hot glow of molten rock.
Mello instinctively held his breath.
Damn—it's still there. He had no more counters…
"Blaze Accelerator's effect—discard a Pyro-Type monster with 500 or less ATK from your hand to destroy one monster your opponent controls."
Kira spoke evenly.
"But this time, the Pyro-Type monster I'm discarding is this one."
He slowly revealed the monster in his hand—
The Volcanic finisher, the strongest shell for the Blaze Accelerator.
"Volcanic Scattershot," Kira said. "When this card is sent to the GY, inflict 500 damage to your opponent.
And, if it's sent to the GY by the effect of a 'Blaze Accelerator' card, then on top of that…"
His Duel Disk auto-searched the Deck; two more cards slapped out. He drew them leisurely and displayed them.
"Send the other two 'Volcanic Scattershot' from hand and Deck to the GY.
Each Scattershot inflicts 500 damage, and all monsters your opponent controls…"
He sent all three shells to the GY, then looked up, speaking slowly with weight.
"…are destroyed."
Mello's pupils shrank.
Destroy all monsters, and each Scattershot does 500—that means…
[Mello, LP 1300]
"Good duel," Kira smiled faintly. "Unfortunately, fun times are short. Looks like it's time to say goodbye."
Three Volcanic Scattershots queued into the Accelerator. Flames loaded; Blaze Accelerator charged to the max. The roaring inferno erupted like dancing fire dragons!
Boom—
Chain explosions, like the hottest heart of an erupting volcano. Andabata and Gyzarus were swallowed together, the flames surging on to engulf Mello, his unwilling roar consumed as well.
[Mello, LP 1300 → LP 0]
...
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