"Uwah!"
Jesse raised his arm to shield himself, gritting his teeth as the Mammoth on his field exploded into fragments.
"Mammoth! Damn it, he actually destroyed my most important family—"
"I'm fine, Jesse."
The Mammoth replied. But as it spoke, it had already turned into amber and returned to Jesse's back row.
"It's okay," Sapphire Pegasus comforted his teammate. "I now possess the power of Crystal Release. Even that higher Arcana ritual power isn't my match."
As if to slap that claim down, the next moment they heard Kira say with a smile: "The effect of Arcana Force XII - The Hanged Man in reversed position is, during each of my End Phases, destroy one monster on your field.
"Then you take damage equal to the destroyed monster's ATK."
All the Crystal Beasts, Pegasus included, instantly petrified.
"Eh?"
"But before that, I activate the Continuous Spell 'Level Limit - Area B.'"
Kira naturally revealed again the Continuous Spell that Jesse had bounced the previous turn. All monsters on the field were once more unwillingly forced into Defense.
"In Level Limit - Area B, all Level 4 or higher monsters must be in Defense Position," Kira smiled. "Sorry, but it looks like you still can't attack."
Jesse: "..."
"I set one card and end my turn," Kira said casually. "End Phase, The Hanged Man's effect activates.
"I destroy 'Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus' on your field, and deal damage equal to its current ATK—2600!"
Pegasus let out a resentful whinny, yet still burst under the merciless power of The Hanged Man.
Jesse: "Ugh—ah!"
[Jesse, LP 3500 → LP 900]
"Damn..."
Jesse ground his teeth.
"Then the Equip Spell 'Crystal Release' that was equipped to Pegasus.
"When this card is sent from the field to the GY, place 1 'Crystal Beast' from your Deck into your Spell/Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell.
"Come forth, Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat!"
A lovely amethyst appeared in Jesse's back row—the final Crystal Beast that had yet to show itself.
Of course, the exploded Pegasus didn't leave either, becoming a sapphire gemstone crystallized in Jesse's back row, and continued speaking.
"This is bad, Jesse," Sapphire Pegasus said in gem form. "With that Hanged Man present, at the end of each of his turns one of us will be destroyed, and you will be forced to take damage equal to our ATK."
Emerald Tortoise: "Jesse only has 900 Life Points."
No one spoke.
The whole family looked at each other, eyes helpless and despairing.
This was likely Jesse's last turn.
This turn he was sealed from attacking. Next turn, as long as Kira's Hanged Man blows up any one of them, Jesse's done.
So this is a Duel King's duel?
This is a bit too much.
From start to finish they hadn't even laid a finger on the opponent—not even meaning LP, but the opponent's monsters. A duel where you can't even touch the opponent's monsters, can you believe it?
Oh right, they did touch The Fool. But now The Fool looked like it had switched sides... at least on the field, so that probably didn't count.
"How about it," Kira smiled, eyeing Jesse. "Can your obsession with Rainbow Dragon, and your blazing passion with the Crystal Beasts, burn through these heavy barricades?"
Jesse took a deep breath.
And another.
And another.
As if steadying himself.
Then he looked up and said firmly:
"I don't know."
"Oh?"
"I don't know, because Mr. Kira's... strength is truly beyond my expectations. But..." Jesse thumped his chest, "my Crystal Beasts and I will fight until the very last moment. We will never give up."
"Is that so?"
Kira smiled faintly, saying nothing more.
"We may lose. But win or lose, as long as we're together as a family..."
Jesse looked down at his Deck, then at the Crystal Beasts before him who were sharing this despair. The Crystal Beasts all nodded to him, signaling they would fight to the end with him.
"My turn, draw!"
But before Jesse could do anything, Kira lazily waved his hand.
"Good momentum. Keep it up.
"I activate the set Continuous Trap 'Tour of Doom.'
"During your Standby Phase, spin the card to obtain Upright or Reversed effects.
"If Upright, you cannot Normal Summon, Special Summon, or Flip Summon this turn.
"If Reversed, I cannot Normal Summon, Special Summon, or Flip Summon next turn."
Everyone sucked in a breath.
Both the positive and negative are lethal. At first glance it seems like either side could be hit with equal probability. But at this moment, every gaze on Jesse's field fell on one monster.
[Arcana Force 0 - The Fool, DEF 0]
Jesse's expression twitched.
Wait, no way—
"Naturally," Kira said with a squinting smile, "because The Fool is on the field, Upright or Reversed—I can freely choose.
"So of course I choose..."
He snapped his fingers. The floating Trap didn't even pretend to spin; it simply stopped on Upright.
"Upright effect," Kira chuckled. "Now, not only must all your monsters remain in Defense and cannot switch to Attack, but this turn you also cannot Normal, Special, or Flip Summon.
"Then during my next End Phase, The Hanged Man will trigger again, destroy any monster on your field and deal damage... and that's game."
Kira narrowed his eyes, observing the boy.
"Well? Even so, do you still have the passion to summon that Rainbow Dragon you obsess over?"
Jesse: "..."
The Crystal Beasts were speechless.
The hot-headed Mammoth was already signaling Jesse with his eyes.
As in—maybe forget this dumb card game and just go deck this guy?
It claimed it had never met a more punchable human in its life...
Even Pegasus's lips twitched.
Could it be that Kira Boy came here specifically to crash the party?
Could a situation like this really awaken the Crystal Beast God?
Jesse took another deep breath.
Then clenched his fist.
"I said I will always believe in my Deck and my Crystal Beasts. Even if we lose, we lose together."
Jesse shouted:
"I activate the Spell Card 'Card of Variation'!
"Draw two cards from the Deck, then during the End Phase you must send one card to the GY. If you don't, you take 3000 damage!" (Anime Card)
He placed his hand on the Deck.
The last draw.