"Uwaaah!"
Rex let out a bloodcurdling scream.
The terrifying impact wasn't just physical pain. The instant he was struck by the Dragon Lord's breath, Rex felt as if despair itself, in the most literal sense, had pierced straight through him. His whole body plunged into an ice cavern; his hands and feet went cold, and even his thoughts seemed frozen.
[Rex, LP 4000 → LP 2400]
Rex struggled to one knee.
"What is that monster?" He looked, still shaken, at the terrifying demon across from him. "A dark spirit?"
Kira smiled.
"Grapha is the most fearsome existence from the Dark World, a dreadful demon god who once ruled an entire dimension—until he was defeated by an even more terrifying being."
The Dragon Lord let out a muffled growl.
Meaning: You flatter me, my lord. You're still the more terrifying one.
"I set one card. Turn end," Kira said.
"Revolver—your reputation's not for nothing. You're tough to deal with, after all."
Rex stood, snorted.
"But I've never been afraid of anyone in my life!"
Back then, whether it was facing Joey Wheeler, Yugi Muto, or Seto Kaiba, he never won, but he never feared them either. He'd always thought he belonged among legends too—he ought to be special.
"My turn. Draw!" Rex declared. "I activate the Spell Card 'Card of Adversity'! If your opponent controls a Special Summoned monster while you control no monsters, draw two cards from your Deck!"
Rex drew two cards.
"Then I Normal Summon 'Babycerasaurus'!"
[Babycerasaurus, ATK 500]
Kira raised an eyebrow.
Oh, he just casually summoned something nasty.
"Next I activate the Spell Card 'Dark Hole'!" Rex brandished the DM-era board wipe. "Destroy all monsters on the field!"
For a brief moment the backdrop became a sea of stars. A terrifying black hole ripped open, devouring the cosmos and snuffing out everything, dragging even the last glimmer of light into oblivion.
The Dark World Dragon Lord and Rex's own Babycerasaurus were both swallowed, reduced to ashes.
"Ah, we worked so hard to summon that awesome Dragon Lord…"
The spirit with the big eye behind Kira lamented, but quickly perked up again.
"But your monster got destroyed too!"
Kira shot the not-so-bright-looking eye a glance.
"He deliberately summoned a monster before playing Dark Hole. You think that was a misplay?"
The big eye froze, blinking innocently twice.
"Eh? It wasn't?"
Sure enough, Rex continued: "Babycerasaurus's effect! If this card is destroyed by a card effect and sent to the GY, Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Dinosaur monster from your Deck.
I Special Summon 'Sabersaurus' from my Deck!"
[Sabersaurus, ATK 1900]
"Ooh, there really was a follow-up effect!" The big eye looked at Kira with worshipful eyes. "Lord Revolver really is a great duelist, you even predicted that!"
Kira: "…"
Well, maybe this spirit's strength is unclear, but its brain is definitely not its strong suit.
"Then I activate the Spell Card 'Big Evolution Pill'!" Rex said. "Tribute 1 Dinosaur-Type monster you control. While this card remains on the field, for 3 of your opponent's turns, you can Normal Summon Level 5 or higher Dinosaur-Type monsters without Tributing!
I Tribute 'Sabersaurus'!"
Sabersaurus dissolved into points of light, and the Spell Card depicting an evolution drug appeared in Rex's back row.
"Therefore I can Normal Summon a high-level Dinosaur without Tribute!
And I activate the Spell Card 'Double Summon'—this turn I can perform a second Normal Summon.
Show yourself, my new strongest Dinosaur—
—Ultimate Tyranno!!!"
A domineering presence, like the roar of a king of beasts shaking the mountains. A dinosaur clad in steel-like armor thundered into being with overwhelming force.
[Ultimate Tyranno, ATK 3000]
"Whoa, that's a strong one!"
The big-eyed spirit grew nervous.
"This is fine, right, Lord Revolver?"
"Be quiet," Kira said.
"Oh."
And the big eye really did go quiet.
Well, if it were Ultimate Conductor Tyranno—its future counterpart—that would be a little tricky in this era. But if it's just Ultimate Tyranno…
"Your field is empty; that's the end of it!" Rex declared. "Ultimate Tyranno, direct attack!"
The big eye looked at Kira in panic, as if wanting to ask something—but remembering Kira told it not to talk, it instead let out a string of "mm-mm-mm oh-oh-oh" noises.
"I activate a Trap." Kira flipped his set card. "Continuous Trap 'Spiritual Swords of Revealing Light'! When your opponent declares an attack, pay 1000 LP to negate the attack."
[Kira, LP 2600 → LP 1600]
Golden light turned into ranks of spiritual blades raining down from the sky, forming a barrier before Kira. Ultimate Tyranno crashed into the sword formation as if into a wall, wailed, staggered back two steps, and retreated with its tail between its legs.
"Tch, you still managed to turtle it out."
Rex grunted.
"Whatever, with your LP you can at most use that one more time. I'll let you live one more turn."
"Yeah? How kind of you. Thanks," Kira smiled.
Rex: "…"
For some reason, even though he clearly had the advantage, he couldn't smile at all.
"My turn. Draw."
Kira leisurely revealed a card from his hand.
"I activate the Spell Card 'Necro Sacrifice.' By Special Summoning a monster from my GY to your field, I can reduce the Tribute requirement to Normal Summon a monster." (Anime card.)
Kira lifted his Duel Disk, and a mass of dark light shot from his GY to Rex's field.
"I Special Summon 'General Raiho of the Ice Barrier' to your field."
[General Raiho of the Ice Barrier, ATK 2100]
"You're giving me such a powerful high-level monster?" Rex put his hands on his hips, continuing to trash talk. "Trying to give up and let me put you out of your misery?"
The big eye couldn't help blurting, "Eh? Giving the opponent such a strong monster—won't that be really bad?"
"Yeah, yeah, pretty bad."
Kira chuckled.
"For him, anyway. Thanks to Necro Sacrifice, I can reduce the Tribute requirement by one for the monster I want to Normal Summon from my hand.
So I'll Normal Summon a Level 5 monster without Tribute. I summon 'Snoww, Unlight of Dark World'—no, 'Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World.'"
[Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World, ATK 2300]
"Then I activate the Spell Card 'Monster Reborn' to revive a monster from my GY," Kira continued. "I'll bring back the one that got tossed in by Forceful Wall before.
Cannon Soldier, summon."
[Cannon Soldier, ATK 1400]
"With that, preparations are complete," Kira smiled.