"Then, during your End Phase, according to the effect of the[Bystial Magnamhut]I activated earlier… I can add the Dragon monster[Bystial Druiswurm]from my Deck to my hand."
As the card slid into his hand, Yusaku flipped it with his fingers and slammed it onto the Duel Disk.
"I activate the effect of[Bystial Druiswurm]! I banish your LIGHT-Attribute[Worm Zero]in the graveyard and Special Summon it to the field!"
Hearing that, Kazuki froze for a moment, then frowned slightly.
"You can use it the moment you search it? And my turn is already over!"
"Your turn is indeed over, but it's exactly in your End Phase that I searched[Bystial Druiswurm]into my hand."
Yusaku lifted his gaze toward him as the Duel Disk rang with the crisp click of a card being set.
"This card isn't restricted to being Summoned only in the Main Phase. As long as it's in my hand, even in your End Phase, I can still Summon it to the field all the same."
Before his words even fell, black mist surged, and a massive black dragon whose scales glimmered with eerie light descended with a roar, its wings spreading and whipping up gusts of chill wind.
[Bystial Druiswurm]
[Level 6 / Dragon / Effect]
[ATK: 2500]
"Another one of those, huh?"
Staring at the newly appeared monster, Kazuki snorted, folding his arms.
"No matter how many small fry you pile up, they're just decorations to pad out your field!"
Yusaku's lips curled in a faint smile.
"The 'small fry' you're talking about have already forced you to burn through plenty of cards."
"Then bring it on and try!" Kazuki raised a brow, his tone full of provocation. "Let's see how you're planning to break my board!"
"My turn, draw."
Yusaku's fingertip had just touched the top card of his Deck when an urgent shout came from across the field.
"The moment that monster hit the field, I spring my face-down card!"
A red flash burst forth as the set card at Kazuki's feet flipped up, the puppet-like pattern on it glowing with an eerie light.
"I activate the Continuous Trap[World Legacy Pawns]!"
"This card's effect lets me target 1 face-down monster I control and change it to face-up Attack Position or face-up Defense Position!" He thrust out a hand, pointing to the field. "I choose my set[Deus X-Krawler]and flip it to face-up Defense Position!"
At the very instant his voice fell, the ground trembled. The colossal projection of an Insect-type monster rose once more, armor-like carapace gleaming with metallic light.
[Deus X-Krawler]
[DEF: 3000]
"The moment[Deus X-Krawler]changes its battle position—!" Kazuki's voice suddenly jumped an octave.
"I activate the effect of[Number 81: Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Super Dora]! I detach its last Xyz Material!"
[Number 81: Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Super Dora]
[Xyz Materials: 1 → 0]
"I target[Deus X-Krawler]on the field. Until the end of this turn, it is unaffected by card effects, except its own!"
A transparent barrier instantly enveloped Deus X-Krawler, forming an impenetrable shield.
As the effect resolved, Kazuki tilted his head back and laughed wildly.
"Now my final board is truly complete! Time to show off, Yusaku!"
Seeing the monsters lined up on Kazuki's field, more than a few onlookers sucked in a cold breath.
"Man… this one looks rough."
At this time, following the directions from some Dojo students, Cheese Crit finally rushed over to the shopping district.
He hadn't been into the game for long, so he didn't fully grasp how oppressive this board really was. Listening to the exclamations rising and falling all around him, he still felt a bit skeptical.
"Is this board really as impossible to crack as they're saying?"
Hearing that, Kouki pushed up the black frames of his glasses, pondered for a moment, then analyzed quietly.
"The lock is indeed extremely strong. If Yusaku were on some other Deck, he might still have a shot, but if he's on Branded, this duel is basically hopeless."
"Once[Number 81: Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Super Dora]gives[Deus X-Krawler]full effect immunity, board wipes like[Raigeki]and[Dark Hole]all become useless, and even Fallen of Albaz can't activate its effect. Forget about fusing away the opponent's monsters."
He paused, tone tinged with helplessness.
"The only way left is to beat it by battle, but the opponent is in Defense Position. He'd have to Summon a monster with ATK over 3000 to punch through, and a 3000-ATK body isn't something you just casually drop on the board."
"On top of that, he still has the Beetrooper counter trap set in the back row, and[Ultra Beetrooper Absolute Hercules]has full effect immunity for the first two turns after it's Fusion Summoned, also in Defense Position. Even something like a custom[Branded Spirit Orb]can't clear it!"
Hearing this breakdown, the nearby players immediately began talking over one another.
"No way, right? Did we really hurry over just in time to watch Yusaku lose his first duel? What's this Kazuki guy's deal? He doesn't look like he's from the 27th floor at all!"
"I've played a few duels against people from the 27th floor. I lost, sure, but their Deck power levels were only so-so. With good draws you can still fight them. This guy's Deck… there's no way someone from the 27th floor normally has access to something like this!"
"The faction quest says the Upper City is sending people down to suppress the rebelling Satellite Zone. You think he might be someone from the Upper City?"
"Sounds pretty likely!"
…
On the field, seeing Yusaku stay silent for a long while, Kazuki's face slowly twisted into a mocking smile.
"Thinking all this time and still nothing? Guess you're out of options, huh? So that's all you amount to."
Yusaku smiled faintly, voice calm.
"I'm just considering whether I can end the duel this turn. Your good habit actually saved you. You made your going-first board entirely in Defense Position. If you'd put them in Attack Position, this game would already be over."
Kazuki's expression froze.
"…??"
The moment he finished, Yusaku slammed a flipped card down hard.
"Come forth, Incredible Ecclesia, the Virtuous!"
Light blossomed as a petite girl with a round face and long golden hair appeared lightly on the field, clutching a dragon-headed staff. The gem at the tip of the staff flickered with a gentle white radiance.
[Incredible Ecclesia, the Virtuous]
[Level 4 / Spellcaster / Tuner / Effect]
[ATK: 1500]
Seeing the girl-type monster on the field, Kazuki's brows knit tightly.
"Aren't you playing Branded? Ecclesia is a Swordsoul card."
"You saw[Bystial]cards and assumed I was on a pure Branded build?"
Yusaku's smile deepened.
"Bystials aren't exclusive to Branded, and who said Branded and Swordsoul can't be played together?"
Kazuki let out a cold chuckle.
"Just like the intel said, what you're best at are[Branded]and[Swordsoul]builds. And you even dare to mash the Decks together? Even if the combination is stronger than the sum of its parts…"
He paused, tone full of scorn.
"Even if it's more than one plus one, it still won't stand against the might of my Insects!"
"Oh? Is that so? Then watch closely."
Yusaku slowly spread his fingers, his gaze turning razor sharp.
"Within five steps, I'll dismantle your lock."
Kazuki snorted.
"Talking big needs real power to back it up."
Yusaku did not answer. He simply raised his hand and extended his first finger.
"Step one."
As soon as the words fell, he swung his arm, the Duel Disk humming with a resonant roar.
"I tune my Level 4 Tuner monster[Incredible Ecclesia, the Virtuous]on the field with the Level 6[Bystial Druiswurm]!"
"The crimson edge that dwells within my Deck, now become the blade that cleaves through fate! Cut down delusion, burn away falsehood—manifest! Swordsoul Supreme Sovereign - Chengying!"
With a thunderous crash, Chengying's figure shot forth from the card, crimson steel slicing through the air, stirring up a flaming whirlwind. Countless afterimages condensed into a crimson phantom dragon coiled around him, sword aura so intense it set the entire arena faintly trembling.
[Swordsoul Supreme Sovereign - Chengying]
[Level 10 / Wyrm / Effect]
[ATK: 3000]
"Holy crap! It's Chengying!"
"The opponent's banished pile already has 29 cards stacked up. If I knew he had Chengying, I'd have said this board was free to crack from the start!"
"Now his earlier line about 'if they were in Attack Position the game would be over' totally makes sense. That attack stat just blows right through everything!"
"I'm dying, 'Insect onslaught' my ass. His entire Insect family can't beat Chengying!"
The moment Chengying hit the field, the spectators exploded, exclamations shattering the air.
Staring at the monster that had just appeared, Kazuki frowned slightly. He couldn't understand why Summoning a single monster could make this bunch of "natives" so worked up.
But in the next second, his pupils contracted sharply as he saw the ATK and DEF of every monster on his field plummet toward zero.
"Finally noticing it?"
Yusaku glanced at him and explained evenly.
"The effect of[Swordsoul Supreme Sovereign - Chengying]. Its ATK and DEF increase by the number of banished cards × 100, and all your monsters on the field lose ATK and DEF equal to the number of banished cards × 100."
"You have 29 cards in the banished zone, so Chengying's ATK goes up by 2900, and every monster on your field loses 2900 ATK and DEF."
[Swordsoul Supreme Sovereign - Chengying]
[ATK: 3000 → 5900]
[Number 81: Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Super Dora]
[DEF: 4000 → 1100]
[Beargram, Shelled Emperor of the Forest Crown]
[DEF: 2800 → 0]
"Damn annoying effect…" Kazuki ground his teeth.
"But you still can't break my board with just that one monster! My[Ultra Beetrooper Absolute Hercules]and[Deus X-Krawler]are both unaffected by card effects!"
"Don't rush. This is only the beginning."
Yusaku flicked his hand, and the Graveyard zone of his Duel Disk lit up with a glow.
"I activate the effect of[Bystial Druiswurm]that was sent to the Graveyard as Synchro Material just now!"
"When this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard, I can target 1 Special Summoned monster you control and send it to the Graveyard!"
His fingertip stabbed toward Kazuki's monsters.
"I target[Beargram, Shelled Emperor of the Forest Crown]and send it to the Graveyard. Now, hand over your counter trap!"
Hearing that, Kazuki's face turned blue then white. After a moment of hesitation, he still clenched his teeth and slapped a card down.
"I flip my set card! I activate the Counter Trap[Beetrooper Fly & Sting]!"
"When I control a 'Beetrooper' monster and you activate a monster effect, I can activate this. I negate that activation and destroy that monster! I use this to negate and destroy your[Bystial Druiswurm]'s effect!"
A reddish-brown light burst from the Trap card and shot straight toward Yusaku's Graveyard, completely smothering the glow of Druiswurm's effect.
Yusaku gave the negated effect a brief glance, then revealed another card in his hand, the smile at the corner of his mouth deepening.
"Perfect. Now you've run out of resistance."
"Step two. I activate the Spell Card[Monster Reborn]and revive[Incredible Ecclesia, the Virtuous]from the Graveyard to the field."
"Trying to make another[Swordsoul Supreme Sovereign - Chengying]? Keep dreaming!"
Kazuki abruptly drew out a card from his hand and slapped it onto the Duel Disk.
"I activate the effect of[Beetrooper Sting Lancer]in my hand!"
"During either player's Main Phase, I target 1 Insect monster in my Graveyard and 1 monster in your Graveyard, shuffle them to the bottom of their owners' Decks, then Special Summon this card from my hand!"
His eyes turned fierce.
"I choose my[Beetrooper Cruel Saturnas]in my Graveyard, and your[Incredible Ecclesia, the Virtuous]! Your Ecclesia goes back to the very bottom of your Deck, while my[Beetrooper Sting Lancer]is Special Summoned!"
With a metallic drone, a massive mechanical wasp with a wickedly sharp tail-stinger manifested in a flash, its beating wings screeching with a piercing vibration.
[Beetrooper Sting Lancer]
[Level 7 / Insect / Effect]
[DEF: 1800]
(End of Chapter)
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