"Game over! Baronne de Fleur, final attack!"
Baronne de Fleur swung her longsword once more. The rosy light blooming along the blade shattered into countless razor-sharp petals that wove together into a brilliant stream of light, shooting through Sato's body like a meteor. The LP on his Duel Disk dropped to zero in an instant as the cold "beep" of defeat sounded.
At the moment that light pierced him, Sato's pupils unfocused. His legs buckled and he collapsed to his knees, the Duel Disk slipping from his hand and hitting the floor with a crisp clatter.
[Sato, LP 2000 → 0]
A deathly silence fell over the arena. Even the wind seemed to stop.
The spectators and duelists alike froze where they stood, eyes filled with disbelief. Some even instinctively opened their mouths wide, forgetting to breathe.
Someone could not help rubbing his eyes. His mind went completely blank. In just two short minutes, the situation had been flipped completely on its head?
"Th-This… this can't be real! Senpai actually lost?"
The trainees from Asahi Dojo stared, dazed, at Yusaku, who was now standing there with four monsters on his field. The pride on their faces turned stiff in an instant, as if someone had cast a petrification spell on them. They simply could not accept this result.
Over on the Takeuchi Dojo side, the trainees were stunned for two seconds, then suddenly erupted into thunderous cheers. They jumped from their seats one after another, some even waving the dojo flag so hard the pole shook.
"We won! Yusaku-senpai won!!"
At that moment, Cheese Crit's livestream chat was a wall of "666" and "god-tier play," with gift animations spamming across the screen nonstop.
"666, of course it's Yusaku. This level of play is just insane!"
"That face-down Blazing Branded King was a literal god hand! If it were me I'd have panicked and never thought to hold that card!"
"From forcing out the backrow to linking his chain responses, every step was calculated. So this is how a true top player thinks? I'm kneeling."
Meanwhile, in the spectator seats, Kazetaro suddenly seemed to realize something. He smacked his thigh and blurted out excitedly, "So that's it. I finally get it!"
"Quit keeping us in suspense already, you're killing us here!" someone immediately shouted back at him.
"Don't be mysterious! Hurry up and explain Yusaku's play!"
Down on the floor, the Takeuchi Dojo trainees all turned toward their oddly dressed junior brother, eyes full of "spill it, now."
"Actually, Yusaku-senpai planned all of this from the start!"
Kazetaro spoke, voice shaking with excitement.
"He already knew what Sato had set in his backrow! He said before that he used to play an Ancient Gear deck, and Skill Drain plus Royal Decree is the perfect combo with Ancient Gear Chaos Giant. If he were the one using that deck, he'd absolutely run those two cards too!"
"That's why he paused for a moment during the opponent's End Phase, when he was resolving Albion the Branded Dragon's effect, and deliberately chose to set Blazing Branded King!
"He clearly could've gone for Druiswurm from the start so Dark Dragon Ecclesia could use her effect to bring out the Saint and climb straight into Baronne. But he didn't. He purposely used Fallen of Albaz's effect instead, just to force the opponent to flip his set backrow!"
Kazetaro swallowed, then continued.
"After all, Blazing Branded King can only negate face-up cards on the field, so he absolutely couldn't afford to flip it early. He calculated that Sato would definitely activate Skill Drain and Royal Decree to protect his Giant, so he lured the snake out of its hole step by step! As expected of Yusaku-senpai, his planning is terrifying!"
Hearing that, Sato slowly pushed himself up from the floor. He patted the dust from his knees, then looked over at Yusaku.
"Is it really like he said… you knew what I had set in my backrow from the very beginning?"
Of course, he could not actually admit that he had been completely read like a book, so he could only give Yusaku this step to walk down on.
Yusaku put on an inscrutable expression, answering in a calm tone, "Yes. I knew exactly what you'd set.
After all, I used to be an Ancient Gear player too."
"I see."
Sato shook his head, a bitter smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Looks like your understanding of Ancient Gear is deeper than mine. Losing to you… I've got nothing to say."
He packed away his Duel Disk, then looked at Yusaku again, eyes turning serious.
"Ask. Is there something you want to know?"
At that, Yusaku rubbed his chin for a moment, thinking, then asked, "Do you know the origins of Lion King Dojo? I heard it suddenly appeared three years ago and took that bottom-ranked dojo all the way to first place."
"Fujiwara?"
Sato frowned slightly, fingers unconsciously brushing along the edge of his Duel Disk.
"I don't know that much about him either. What I can tell you is he's from the Upper City, and one of the gatekeepers of the first arena floor in the Satellite District. If you go to the Upper City in the future, you'll definitely run into him."
"Gatekeeper?"
A flicker of curiosity flashed through Yusaku's eyes.
Seeing that, Sato explained, "You know this already: people from the Satellite District can only go up to the Upper City by challenging the arena and winning ten duels in a row.
They call it an arena, but it's actually a huge tower with ten floors. He's the guard on the sixth floor."
"I see."
Yusaku nodded, then asked the other question that had been on his mind.
"What about Genius Academy?"
"Genius Academy, huh, that…"
"Maou! Maou…!"
Just as Sato was about to answer, a thunderous chant erupted from the stands.
The Lion King Dojo disciples up on the stage were shouting "Maou" over and over, their voices full of fanatic fervor.
Yusaku followed the sound with his gaze. Not far away, the other semifinal had already ended.
Fujiwara's opponent was now kneeling vacantly on the floor, cards scattered everywhere. His eyes were empty, like a puppet whose strings had been cut, as if he had just gone through something unspeakably terrifying.
Fujiwara's eyes were calm and without ripples, yet they carried a crushing pressure that made one's heart skip. Just meeting that gaze felt as if your soul were being stripped bare.
At this moment, the winners of the semifinals were decided.
The duelists in the finals: Yusaku versus Fujiwara.
Watching Fujiwara's movements, Sato stepped up, clapped Yusaku hard on the shoulder, and said quietly, "He's trying to bait you."
Sure enough, Fujiwara raised his Duel Disk in Yusaku's direction, making a clear "come at me" gesture. The cheers from the stands exploded again.
"No surprise, it's Fujiwara-senpai! He's already ready for the next duel right after finishing one, he doesn't even need a break!"
"Haha, with his strength, why would he need to rest? That Yusaku on the other side might be strong, but in front of senpai he's just a kid."
"Hey Yusaku on the other side, do you dare accept senpai's challenge? If not, just surrender now!"
Kazetaro folded his arms, clearly displeased.
"What's he so smug about? Yusaku-senpai barely lost any LP in his earlier matches either. The last one ended quickly only because it was against Ancient Gears; the opponent didn't even get a chance to fight back."
"Yusaku-senpai is so cool!"
"Do your best! You have to win!"
"Show them what Takeuchi Dojo is made of!"
While the Takeuchi Dojo side was boiling over with excitement, the Lion King Dojo crowd across from them was just as hyped, faces flushed as they screamed Fujiwara's name, eager to see Yusaku crushed.
Seeing Yusaku step up to the challenge, Fujiwara's lips curved into a cold arc. He likewise raised his arm, opening his Duel Disk and sliding his Deck into place in one smooth, fluid motion.
A moment later, the two of them stood in the centers of their respective duel platforms, facing each other across the air as the roar of the crowd crashed together at the center of the arena.
"Duel!"
Their voices cut through the air at the exact same time.
The Duel Disks hummed as their screens unfolded, pale-blue data streams flowing across the panels and clearly projecting both players' starting Life Points.
[Yusaku, LP 8000]
[Fujiwara, LP 8000]
The first-turn indicator flashed around the ring like a bolt of electricity before finally stopping in front of Fujiwara.
He ran his fingertips along the edge of his Duel Disk, the crisp friction of card sleeves ringing out as he drew his opening five cards. The corner of his mouth lifted into a sharp smile.
"My turn. I'll go first. Main Phase!"
Before his words had even fully fallen, he was already slamming a dark purple card onto the center of his Duel Disk, crimson lines faintly pulsing across its surface.
"I activate the effect of Blackwing - Simoon the Poison Wind!
"When I control no monsters, I can banish 1 other 'Blackwing' monster from my hand to activate this effect—place 1 Black Whirlwind from my Deck face-up in my Spell & Trap Zone, then either Normal Summon this card without Tributing or send it to the GY."
His words came at machine-gun speed, his gaze locked straight on Yusaku.
"But the cost is that Black Whirlwind goes to the GY in the End Phase, and until the end of the turn, I can only Special Summon DARK monsters from the Extra Deck."
"Any response?" Fujiwara lifted an eyebrow.
Yusaku glanced over his hand, the corners of his lips curling in a relaxed smile.
"No fast plays."
"Tch, how annoying." Fujiwara sneered softly, his eyes suddenly turning razor sharp.
"I've been curious about that Maxx 'C' of yours. Your opponent Special Summons and you draw a card every time—on the surface it looks like there's no limit. But if the number of Special Summons is high enough, doesn't that mean I can deck out the one who activated it?
"On top of that, there's another card called Droll & Lock Bird that can shut it down completely, right?"
"…And so?" Yusaku's tone remained utterly calm.
"How about a little bet?" Fujiwara tapped the edge of his Duel Disk with his knuckles, making a dull knocking sound.
"If I win, you give me that Maxx 'C'. If I lose, I'll hand over my entire Deck, both hands."
He smiled, full of absolute confidence.
"That's how sure I am of my Deck."
"Interesting."
Yusaku spoke lightly, Duel Disk light reflecting in his eyes.
"But we'll have to tweak the stakes.
If I lose, I'll give you my Deck too. With this many people watching, I don't want it to look like I took advantage of you when I win."
"It's a deal."
Fujiwara did not waste any more words. He slid Blackwing - Simoon the Poison Wind into the monster zone.
"I Normal Summon Blackwing - Simoon the Poison Wind without Tribute, and place the Continuous Spell Black Whirlwind from my Deck face-up in my Spell & Trap Zone!"
A low hum filled the air as dark-red flames suddenly erupted from the ground.
A raptor with streamlined blood-red feathers burst forth, letting out a piercing screech. Its talons glinted as it beat its wings and landed in front of Fujiwara.
[Blackwing - Simoon the Poison Wind]
[Level 6 / Winged Beast / Effect]
[ATK 1600]
Almost at the moment Simoon appeared, a card glowing with inky light popped out of the Deck. Fujiwara snatched it and slapped it into his spell/trap zone.
"A 'Blackwing' monster was successfully Summoned, so I activate Black Whirlwind's effect—search 1 'Blackwing' monster from my Deck whose ATK is lower than Simoon's!"
"I add Blackwing - Sudri the Phantom Glimmer, ATK 1400, to my hand!"
The card barely touched his fingers before he was already sending it flying onto the field.
"Then I Normal Summon it!"
A flash of violet light, and a black-winged monster with glass-like, iridescent feathers spiraled into view, hovering beside Simoon. Tiny particles of light drifted around it like embers.
[Blackwing - Sudri the Phantom Glimmer]
[Level 4 / Winged Beast / Effect]
[ATK 1400]
"Chain the effects!" Fujiwara's voice jumped in volume.
"First, Black Whirlwind, then Sudri's effect! Sudri's ATK is 1400, so I search my Deck for Blackwing - Vata the Knave, which has 800 ATK!"
The new card slid smoothly into his hand. He fanned his cards, pressed that one down, and continued in one breath.
"When Sudri is Normal Summoned, its effect activates—add 1 card that lists 'Black-Winged Dragon' in its text from my Deck to my hand! I choose Blackwing - Shamal the Sandstorm!"
The instant Shamal reached his hand, Fujiwara sent it straight to the Graveyard. The card dissolved into a wisp of black smoke.
"I activate Blackwing - Shamal the Sandstorm's effect! By sending this card from my hand or field to the GY, I can place 1 Black Whirlwind from my Deck face-up in my Spell & Trap Zone!"
A second Black Whirlwind rose into existence, intertwining with the first whirlwind. The wind on the field suddenly intensified, whipping both duelists' coats so hard they snapped in the air.
"Finally, I activate Blackwing - Vata the Knave's effect!"
Fujiwara flashed the last monster in his hand, eyes blazing.
"While I control another 'Blackwing' monster, I can Special Summon this card from my hand!"
As the card hit the Duel Disk, a small black-winged monster in a fluffy blue mane and what looked like a leather vest hopped defiantly onto the field. It was tiny, but its presence crackled with rebellious energy.
[Blackwing - Vata the Knave]
[Level 2 / Winged Beast / Tuner / Effect]
[ATK 800]
"Vata has another effect—during my Main Phase, I can send this card and non-Tuner 'Blackwing' monsters from my Deck to the GY whose total Levels equal 8, and if I do, I Special Summon a Black-Winged Dragon from my Extra Deck!"
Fujiwara slammed his palm onto the Deck. Two cards shot out in a blur, joining Vata as all three turned into streams of sacrificial light.
"I send Blackwing - Vata the Knave on the field, along with Blackwing - Zephyros the Elite (Level 4) and Blackwing - Chinook the Snow Blast (Level 2) from my Deck to the GY—total Level 8!"
"Come forth! Black-Winged Dragon!"
A deafening roar split the air.
A black tornado erupted from the center of the field, spiraling skyward.
A giant dragon clad in matte black scales ripped free from the storm, beating its massive wings and scattering a blizzard of black feathers.
Its crimson slit-pupils locked onto Yusaku like a predator sizing up its prey.
[Black-Winged Dragon]
[Level 8 / Dragon / Effect]
[ATK 2500]
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 500 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]