"Activate the effect of [Ancient Gear Hunting Hound]!"
The fanged mechanical hound, its steel jaws glinting like cold iron, suddenly opened its maw. A bluish energy sphere condensed between its teeth and exploded, the shrieking blast shooting straight at Yusaku.
A violent shock wave whipped his coat, forcing him to stagger half a step back as the Life Points on his Duel Disk ticked down.
[Yusaku, LP: 8000 → 7400]
"A familiar combo." Yusaku patted his slightly numb shoulder. "Next, you're planning to use [Ancient Gear Hunting Hound]'s effect to Fusion Summon, right?"
At that, Sato's lips curled into a knowing smile. "What's the rush? I told you already, I added some new things to this deck."
With that, he swept his arm forward.
"I use the [Ancient Gear Soldier] and [Ancient Gear Dark Golem] on my field as Link Material!"
"Link Summon, Link-2 — [Ancient Gear Ballista]!"
As his shout fell, the two monsters turned into beams of light and shot up into the Link Arrows overhead.
An instant later, the [→] and [←] Link Arrows lit up in sequence. A half-centaur-like machine monster, its body forged from steel plating and complex gear assemblies, crashed down from the circuit and landed heavily on the field.
[Ancient Gear Ballista]
[LINK-2/Machine/Link/Effect]
[ATK: 1500]
"The effect of [Ancient Gear Ballista]!"
Sato called out.
"When this card is Link Summoned, I can add 1 [Ancient Gear] monster or 1 [Geartown] from my Deck to my hand. I choose to add [Geartown] to my hand."
"So you picked [Geartown], huh?"
A glint of understanding flashed through Yusaku's eyes. He snapped his fingers with a crisp crack.
"Then the moment you add [Geartown] to your hand, I activate the effect of [Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon]! I send [Albion the Branded Dragon] from my Extra Deck to the Graveyard and banish your [Ancient Gear Ballista]!"
At those words, the smile on Sato's face instantly froze. Clearly, he had not expected Yusaku to still have interruption at this timing. Before he could say anything, [Mirrorjade] had already thrown back its head and roared.
The blue-white dragon opened its jaws in a sky-shattering bellow. A pale cyan beam erupted like an exploding glacier, sweeping across the field in a straight line and swallowing Sato's monster, hurling it into a rift in another dimension.
Staring at the now-empty Monster Zone, Sato frowned and looked over at Yusaku. "You clearly had several earlier windows to activate that effect. Why wait until now? I thought you were going to hold it until I Fusion Summoned something."
Yusaku crossed his arms, tone calm. "Obviously I had to use it now. If I didn't, you could have used [Ancient Gear Ballista]'s effect to destroy [Geartown], then trigger [Geartown]'s effect when it's destroyed to Special Summon [Ancient Gear Golem] from your Deck."
"With [Ancient Gear Golem] Special Summoned, your [Ancient Gear Commander] on the field would be able to activate its effect and Tribute another [Ancient Gear Golem] from your Deck as cost to Summon again."
"Let you go plus two free [Ancient Gear Golem]s for nothing? I'd never allow that."
Sato's pupils shrank sharply. "How do you know the [Ancient Gear] deck so well?"
Yusaku gave him a sideways glance. "Because I've piloted [Ancient Gear] myself. Honestly, I might know every detail of that deck better than you do."
"I see."
Sato tilted his head back up toward him. "You cut me off at a point I wasn't expecting, I'll admit that. But your only interruption is gone now, right? That means I'm free to Fusion Summon!"
As his words fell, the sunlight shining down on Yusaku stretched their silhouettes across the Duel Disk between them.
"I activate the once-per-turn effect of [Ancient Gear Hunting Hound]! During my Main Phase, I can use monsters from my hand or field as Fusion Material to Fusion Summon 1 [Ancient Gear] Fusion Monster."
"I choose [Ancient Gear Hunting Hound] on my field, and [Ancient Gear Box] plus [Ancient Gear Knight] from my hand as Fusion Material, sending them all to the Graveyard!"
"With that, I Fusion Summon the ace monster of my Deck — appear, supreme giant of the dark medieval age, [Ancient Gear Megaton Golem]!!!"
"I've been waiting for you to Fusion Summon."
Yusaku also flipped two cards from his hand.
"In response to your effect, I activate the effect of [Dracotail Fymena] from my hand! During either player's Main Phase, I can discard this card; then I Fusion Summon 1 Dragon or Spellcaster Fusion Monster using monsters from my hand or field as Fusion Material."
"I discard [Dracotail Fymena], and I use [Guiding Quem, the Virtuous] on my field along with [Albion the Branded Dragon] as Fusion Material, sending them to the Graveyard!"
Sato's eyes narrowed. "You're Fusion Summoning on my turn!?"
Yusaku raised his arm high.
"By the crown, resonance is sealed — Fusion Summon! Level 8 — [Mysterion the Dragon Crown]!"
It all happened in a single heartbeat as the two of them Fusion Summoned at the same time.
Rust-colored light erupted from the center of the Duel Field as [Ancient Gear Megaton Golem]'s steel feet slammed down. The entire plaza shook, the gears exposed along its titanic frame spinning wildly with a clacking roar like that of some ancient steel colossus. Twin cannons on its shoulders vented boiling white steam, and the massive drill at its chest spun at blinding speed. A glaring red "3300" burned into the holographic Life-Point display.
At almost the same moment, starlight flared from the card in Yusaku's raised hand.
The monsters on his field turned into twin streams of light that twisted together. Within a halo of pale violet star-patterned light, crystalline chimes echoed as [Mysterion the Dragon Crown] unfurled its wings of spinning starmaps, a thorny sapphire crown of dragon heads floating in orbit above its brow.
[Mysterion the Dragon Crown]
[Level 8/Spellcaster/Fusion/Effect]
[ATK: 3000 → 2600]
(This card's ATK decreases by 100 for each of your banished cards; Yusaku currently has four cards in his banished zone.)
At the same time that [Mysterion the Dragon Crown] appeared, [Ancient Gear Megaton Golem] also emerged behind Sato.
[Ancient Gear Megaton Golem]
[Level 9/Machine/Fusion/Effect]
[ATK: 3300]
The simultaneous arrival of two Fusion Monsters sent the crowd into an uproar.
Someone could not help blurting out:
"I knew it! There's no way Yusaku's field would just stay that simple. One [Mirrorjade] and nothing else? He still loves building boards on the opponent's turn as much as ever!"
"Two monsters hitting the field back-to-back — both are Fusion effects, too. So why do I feel like Yusaku's summon looks way cooler?"
"Because one is fusing during his own turn, and the other is fusing during the opponent's turn, from hand, that's why!"
Hearing that, a trainee from Light Dojo immediately shot back, unwilling to concede:
"What's the point of Fusion from hand? What matters is the Fusion Monster's effect and Attack stat! Our Sato-senpai's monster has a massive 3300 ATK. That 2600 of yours can't possibly—"
Before he could finish, an even louder commotion erupted from the stands, as though they had all just seen something shocking.
Startled, the Light Dojo trainee whipped his head toward the arena. What he saw made his pupils shrink.
The [Ancient Gear Megaton Golem] with the 3300 ATK he had just been bragging about was gone. Even [Ancient Gear Commander] had vanished. The opposite field was now completely empty.
"What just happened!?" he shouted in shock.
"No idea," another trainee beside him shook his head. "It looked like Yusaku's [Mysterion the Dragon Crown] activated some effect the moment it hit the field and banished senpai's monsters."
On the field—
Sato stared at [Ancient Gear Megaton Golem], now in the banished zone, brow knotted tightly together. Before he could speak, Yusaku took the initiative to explain.
"When a monster effect is activated that Special Summons a monster, or a monster with the same original Type is Special Summoned by a monster effect, you can target one of those monsters; banish that monster, and also banish all face-up monsters on the field with the same original Type as that monster."
"Your [Ancient Gear Hunting Hound] is a Machine monster, and the [Ancient Gear Megaton Golem] you Fusion Summoned with its effect is also a Machine. The [Ancient Gear Commander] on your field is a Machine as well."
Yusaku paused for a moment and looked across at Sato.
"So, according to [Mysterion the Dragon Crown]'s effect, I can banish them all."
"More banish, huh…" Sato frowned. He remembered that in their last Duel, most of his monsters had been banished too.
Taking a deep breath, he slid a card out of his Extra Deck.
"Then, based on the effect of the [Ancient Gear Megaton Golem] you just banished: if it was Fusion Summoned and is sent from the field to the GY or banished by your opponent's card effect, I can Special Summon 1 [Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem] from my Extra Deck, ignoring its Summoning conditions!"
Sato slapped the card down onto his Duel Disk.
"Come forth, [Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem]!!!"
The earth thundered as an even greater metallic body tore up through the shattered ruins. The new colossus towered above them all, its frame bristling with interlocking gears and ancient cannons, like a mobile fortress of pure war-engine.
[Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem]
[Level 10/Machine/Fusion]
[ATK: 4400]
As the monster descended, Sato leveled a hard stare at Yusaku. "This time you can't banish it, right?"
Yusaku's mouth curled into a meaningful smile. "The banish effect is indeed gone. But I still have Fusion."
Sato: "???"
Yusaku raised his hand with a sharp motion.
"The moment you Summon [Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem], the effect of my Field Spell [Open Ground] can activate!"
"When your opponent Special Summons a Ritual, Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, or Link Monster, I can Special Summon 1 [Fallen of Albaz] or a monster that mentions its name from my hand!"
As he spoke, he fanned out his hand, and the holographic display on his Duel Disk lit up in response.
"[Fallen of Albaz]?"
The instant he heard that name, Sato's pupils contracted fiercely. He already knew exactly what was coming.
Yusaku slammed the card onto his Duel Disk.
"By the effect of [Open Ground], I Special Summon [Fallen of Albaz] from my hand!"
[Fallen of Albaz]
[ATK: 1800]
"It's over…"
Seeing that monster appear on the field, the students of Rising Sun Dojo looked utterly crushed. They could already picture what was about to happen.
This monster had appeared too many times. Every time it showed up, the opponent's ace monster invariably met a tragic end.
By contrast, the trainees from Asahi Dojo wore thinly veiled looks of schadenfreude as they watched [Fallen of Albaz] land.
Normally it was their dojo's monsters getting "fused away" by this thing. Today, at long last, someone else was going to experience that same despair.
On the field—
Standing atop the Duel Platform, Yusaku raised his arm high and pronounced sentence on Sato's monster.
"I activate the effect of [Fallen of Albaz]! I discard 1 card from my hand and Fusion Summon using monsters on the field as Fusion Material. The Fusion Monster's materials must be [Fallen of Albaz] plus 1 Level 8 or higher monster!"
"I choose [Fallen of Albaz] on my field and your Level 10 [Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem] as Fusion Material, sending them to the Graveyard!"
"Fusion Summon — [Brigrand the Glory Dragon]!!!"
Dark red Fusion light blossomed and exploded as Albaz and the titanic mechanical golem twisted together as silhouettes within it. A heartbeat later, a beast-dragon clad in dark golden mane burst from the vortex, its frame combining the feral agility of a wolf with the vicious power of a dragon, its talons and fangs gleaming with killing frost.
[Brigrand the Glory Dragon]
[Level 8/Beast/Effect]
[ATK: 2500]
Once the monster had taken the field, Yusaku glanced at Sato. "Got anything left to fuse with now?"
Sato did not answer. Instead, he quickly pulled out a card from his hand. "I activate the Spell Card [Monster Reborn]! I revive [Ancient Gear Dark Golem] from my Graveyard!"
[Ancient Gear Dark Golem]
[ATK: 3000]
As the monster rose again, Sato immediately drew another card from his hand and flipped it up.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card [Ancient Gear Fusion]! This card lets me Fusion Summon an [Ancient Gear] Fusion Monster by using monsters from my hand or field as Fusion Material. Moreover, if I treat a monster on my field as [Ancient Gear Golem], I can also use monsters from my Deck as Fusion Material."
"As long as [Ancient Gear Dark Golem] is on the field, its card name is treated as [Ancient Gear Golem]!"
"The Fusion Monster I want to Summon requires 4 [Ancient Gear] monsters. I use the [Ancient Gear Dark Golem] on my field as one of them — and thanks to [Ancient Gear Fusion], I can use the remaining 3 monsters from my Deck!"
Sato quickly pulled three cards from his Deck and displayed them.
"I choose [Ancient Gear Golem] plus three copies of [Ancient Gear Wyvern] from my Deck as Fusion Material — and I Fusion Summon the ultimate ace of my Deck! Appear, supreme giant of the dark medieval era — [Chaos Ancient Gear Giant]!!!"
[Chaos Ancient Gear Giant]
[Level 10/Machine/Fusion/Effect]
[ATK: 4500]
With the monster on the field, Sato stared at Yusaku, as if afraid he might pull out yet another card to fuse his monster away.
Seeing that, Yusaku smiled calmly. "Relax. This time I really don't have anything that can fuse your monster again."
Only then did Sato finally let out the breath he had been holding, the corners of his mouth lifting in a victorious grin. "In that case, this Duel is as good as mine. My [Chaos Ancient Gear Giant] can attack all monsters you control, once each. Your three monsters can't stop me."
"And after three attacks, your LP will hit zero. So I win."
"No, you don't."
Yusaku shook his head lightly.
Sato: "?"
Yusaku revealed a card in his hand. "The moment you Summon [Chaos Ancient Gear Giant], I activate the effect of [Kuriphoton]."
"I can send this card from my hand to the Graveyard and pay 2000 LP; for the rest of this turn, all damage I would take becomes 0. This effect can be activated during your turn."
"I activate that effect."
[Yusaku, LP: 7400 → 5400]
As the effect resolved, a transparent barrier appeared and wrapped around Yusaku.
Behind the shimmering barrier, Yusaku fanned out the six cards in his hand. "Sorry, but I'm the one winning this."
"No! Not necessarily!"
Sato thrust out his hand. "Battle! [Chaos Ancient Gear Giant], attack [Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon]!"
The gears embedded in the colossus's chest began spinning faster and faster. Its metallic arms groaned as they lifted, assemblies of steel components meshing together with sharp metallic screeches. It drew back its massive fist and hammered it forward, slamming into [Mirrorjade] and shattering the dragon on the field.
PS: There's still another segment of the Duel coming up. When I was first building this matchup and test-playing it in MDpro3, I had [Chaos Ancient Gear Giant] destroy the monsters on Yusaku's field, then we went into Yusaku's turn after the End Phase, with [Chaos Ancient Gear Giant] never being destroyed in the meantime.
But halfway through writing, I remembered that [Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon] has a "last will" effect when it's destroyed, and [Chaos Ancient Gear Giant] itself doesn't have built-in protection. Yet in MDpro3, [Chaos Ancient Gear Giant] somehow didn't get destroyed.
Right now I'm a bit confused, and since I don't have YGOD on hand to test with, there's no time to run more experiments. I can only post this part first and write the next section after I've confirmed the ruling.
If anyone's interested, feel free to help me test the interaction…
(End of Chapter)
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