[Yumi, LP 4000]
[Kaiba, LP 4000]
The six dragons on the field roared at one another, the sound echoing across the duel arena and rattling the air around them.
"Since Afterglow Dragon brought back a monster, the ATK of all my Dragon Fusion monsters is doubled until the end of this turn."
As Yumi spoke, the soft glow surrounding Galaxy-Eyes Afterglow Dragon spread outward and flowed straight into Tachyon Dragon. The black dragon lifted its head and roared, crimson lines blazing brighter along its body.
[Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon, 3000 -> 6000 ATK]
"Field Spell, Sky Guardian Sanctuary - Sky Pillar."
Yumi placed another card down.
The arena shifted instantly. The ground fractured and rose, forming a colossal ruined pillar that stretched past the clouds. Broken stone platforms lay around them, moonlight spilling down from the night sky above.
Kaiba glanced around, clearly approving. If dragons were going to fight, this was the correct arena.
"Sky Pillar's effect. All Dragon monsters gain 1000 ATK and are forced into Attack Position."
Power surged across the field as every dragon reacted.
[Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, 3000 -> 4000 ATK]
[Galaxy-Eyes Afterglow Dragon, 3000 -> 4000 ATK]
[Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon, 6000 -> 7000 ATK]
[Blue-Eyes White Dragon, 3000 ATK]
[Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon, 3000 -> 4000 ATK]
[Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon, 3000 -> 4000 ATK]
Six massive dragons now stood ready, none of them backing down.
"Battle," Yumi said calmly. "Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon, attack Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon."
The black dragon pulled back, crimson energy gathering in front of its jaws.
"Tachyon Spiral of Destruction!"
A beam of red energy tore across the sky pillar and slammed into Alternative White Dragon.
"Continuous Trap, open," Kaiba said smoothly, flipping his last face-down card. "Spirit Barrier. As long as I control a monster, I take no Battle Damage."
The blast engulfed Alternative White Dragon, shattering it into light. Despite the destruction, Kaiba's Life Point remained completely untouched.
Hmmm... Someone had been clearly skipping the monsters and going straight for the President's life points.
Must be AI Yumi's fault.
AI Yumi: "..."
"Tachyon Dragon, attack Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon."
Without hesitation, Tachyon Dragon surged forward again.
"Tachyon Spiral of Destruction!"
The second blast ripped through the air and struck Jet Dragon head-on. The mechanical dragon scattered into fragments of light and vanished.
"I set two cards face down. Turn end."
He placed the last cards from his hand onto the field. Two holographic cards appeared behind his dragons as Tachyon Dragon's power settled back to normal.
[Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon, 7000 -> 4000 ATK]
A card slid smoothly from Kaiba's duel disk as he placed his fingers on it.
"My turn! Draw!"
The President drew a card, glanced at it for barely a second, then slapped it onto the duel disk without hesitation.
"Spell Card, Card of Demise! I draw until I have five cards in my hand. During my fifth turn after activating this card, I discard my entire hand."
Five cards shot out of his deck and aligned themselves neatly in front of him. Kaiba didn't even look concerned about the downside.
Honestly, most people never survived long enough for that effect to matter anyway.
"Next, Spell Card, Pot of Greed! I draw two cards!"
Two more cards joined his hand.
Kaiba smirked. "Spell Card, Polymerization."
He swept his arm across the field.
"I fuse the Blue-Eyes on my field with the two in my hand."
Two additional Blue-Eyes White Dragons materialized briefly beside the one still standing. All three rose into the air, their bodies breaking into blue light before merging together.
"Fusion Summon! Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"
A massive shadow fell over the Sky Pillar as the new Ultimate Dragon emerged behind Kaiba. Its three heads moved independently, glowing blue eyes locking onto Yumi's field like they were already deciding what to erase first.
[Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, 4500 -> 5500 ATK]
Kaiba didn't stop there.
"Ritual Spell, Chaos Form!"
A dimensional gate opened behind him, swirling with blue and black energy.
"I Ritual Summon! Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon!"
Brilliant cyan light burst outward as massive scales unfolded. Chaos MAX Dragon stepped forward, its presence easily matching the Ultimate Dragon beside it.
[Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon, 4000 -> 5000 ATK]
Yumi, without fear, tilted his head slightly, looking up at the two towering dragons glaring down at him and his monsters.
"Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon's effect," Yumi said evenly. "I banish it and your Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon."
Photon Dragon roared as bright photon energy wrapped around both monsters. The two dragons vanished into light.
Kaiba calmly placed his fingers on his final card.
"Spell Card, Dragon's Mirror."
A massive mirror appeared behind him, two Blue-Eyes reflected inside it.
"I banish the two Blue-Eyes in my graveyard to Fusion Summon."
The reflections merged, and a new dragon stepped out of the mirror. Larger than a standard Blue-Eyes, with two heads and a heavier build, it landed solidly on the field.
[Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon, 3000 -> 4000 ATK]
Damn, just how many duels did the President have to suffer through to justify printing this many Blue-Eyes cards?
Definitely AI Yumi's fault.
AI Yumi: "..."
"Battle," Kaiba said. "Twin Burst Dragon, attack Galaxy-Eyes Afterglow Dragon! Twin Burst of Destruction!"
The two dragons collided midair. Their powers clashed evenly, but when the light cleared, only Afterglow Dragon shattered and vanished.
"Twin Burst Dragon can't be destroyed by battle," Kaiba stated flatly.
He pointed forward again.
"Twin Burst Dragon, attack Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon."
The two-headed dragon charged once more, slamming into Tachyon Dragon and destroying it outright.
"Quick-Play Spell," Yumi said calmly.
One of his face-down cards flipped open.
"The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh. I can add or Special Summon a Kuriboh monster from my deck."
A card popped out of his deck and slid neatly into his hand.
"I'll add Kuriboh."
Kaiba clicked his tongue. "Tch. Those annoying furballs again."
He is somewhat annoyed that Yumi actually brought a Kuriboh to a duel like this.
But remembering that the AI Yumi actually has ten different Kuriboh variants, he didn't complain.
"Chaos MAX Dragon, direct attack!"
The massive dragon unleashed a barrage of glowing blue energy across the sky pillar, streaking straight toward Yumi.
Right on cue, Yumi discarded the Kuriboh he had just added, and the damage dropped to zero.
The President didn't look surprised and just crossed his arms.
"Turn end."
The two banished dragons returned to the field, roaring.
[Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, 4500 -> 5500 ATK]
[Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, 3000 -> 6000 -> 7000 ATK]
"My turn. Draw!"
Yumi drew and shifted his gaze to the card in his hand for half a second.
"Spell Card, Double Spell."
He placed the card down without hesitation.
"This lets me activate any number of Spell Cards in your graveyard that were activated last turn."
For a brief moment, the President felt an odd sense of déjà vu. As the image of some unnamed starfish-haired duelist overlapped with Yumi.
The first card in Kaiba's graveyard rose back up and flipped open.
"Spell Card, Card of Demise! I draw until I have five cards in my hand. During my fifth turn after activating it, I discard my entire hand."
Five cards shot out of Yumi's deck, and he added them to his hand.
"Next," Yumi continued evenly.
Another card appeared.
"Pot of Greed. I draw two cards."
Two more cards slid into his hand without ceremony.
Another spell Kaiba had activated last turn appeared, spinning once before flipping open.
"Lastly, Polymerization."
Yumi gestured forward.
"I fuse the Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon on my field with the two Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragons in my hand."
Two more Galaxy-Eyes materialized beside the one already present. All three dragons lifted off the ground, their bodies dissolving into overlapping streams of cyan light as they merged together.
"Fusion Summon!"
The photon energy grew denser, darker. Cyan bled into magenta, the deep blue scale deepened into an obsidian-purple sheen as a massive three-headed dragon emerged.
"Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!"
The central head lifted high, while the two side heads connected into its wings, formed entirely of photon energy. Magenta light crackled across its scales as it stared down Kaiba's remaining dragons.
[Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, 4500 -> 5500 ATK]
"I activate Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon's effect," Yumi said calmly. "Once per turn, I negate the effects of all other face-up monsters on the field. It gains 500 ATK for each monster negated."
A wave of magenta photon energy exploded outward. Lightning-like arcs wrapped around Kaiba's three dragons, their effects locking down instantly.
[Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, 5500 -> 7000 ATK]
Yumi didn't pause. "Equip Spell, Galaxy Zero."
Blue photon light gathered behind him as he placed another card down. "This lets me Special Summon a Galaxy-Eyes monster from my graveyard, but its effect is negated."
"Arise. Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon."
A familiar blue dragon descended onto the field once more.
[Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, 3000 -> 4000 ATK]
"Spell Card, Metamorphosis."
Yumi placed the card down.
"I send the Level 8 Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon to the graveyard, and Special Summon Galaxy-Eyes Prime Photon Dragon."
The photon energy surged again. The dragon's body expanded, its scales growing thicker as its presence intensified.
[Galaxy-Eyes Prime Photon Dragon, 4000 -> 5000 ATK]
"Battle."
Yumi pointed forward.
"Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, attack Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon!"
Magenta energy gathered rapidly in front of the dragon's maw.
"Ultimate Photon Stream!"
The blast tore through the Chaos MAX Dragon, erasing it completely.
"Neo Galaxy-Eyes can attack up to the number of monsters its effect negated," Yumi added casually.
Another surge of energy built up.
"Neo Galaxy-Eyes, attack Twin Burst Dragon!"
A second magenta blast shattered the two-headed dragon instantly.
"Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon," Yumi continued, "attack Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon."
The two three-headed dragons collided head-on. Neo Galaxy-Eyes's photon energy clashed against Neo Blue-Eyes's white light, shaking the Sky Pillar as a massive explosion engulfed the field.
Smoke billowed everywhere.
"Huh?"
Yumi narrowed his eyes as the smoke slowly cleared.
Standing there...
[Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, 4500 -> 5500 ATK]
"…How the hell did that get here?"
Kaiba smirked, arms crossed. "Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's effect. When it's destroyed by battle, I can Special Summon a Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon from my Extra Deck."
Yumi glanced back.
Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon was gone.
"And," Kaiba continued evenly, "the monster that destroyed it is also destroyed, then end the Battle Phase."
Yumi: "..."
He didn't expect the President to print this new effect to support his White-Bride; this must be AI Yumi's fault again.
AI Yumi: "The F*CK!!"
As expected, printed cards attract other printed cards.
Yumi looks down at his hands.
"I set one card. Turn end."
A single face-down card materialized behind his remaining dragon.
Kaiba exhaled slowly, a faint smirk of satisfaction forming as a visual card slid out from his Duel Disk. He rested two fingers on it, posture straight as ever.
"My turn…"
He closed his eyes for just a moment. The card in his fingers glowed faintly, his fighting spirit flaring up like it always did when things finally got interesting.
"DRAW!"
The card arced through the air in a clean blue trail.
Yumi couldn't help but find the President's action of doing a Destiny Draw a bit too much.
"I tribute my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon," Kaiba declared, "and Special Summon, Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon!"
The three-headed Ultimate Dragon stiffened before its body cracked apart. Light burst from within as the form reshaped itself into something sleeker and more refined. Smooth metallic scales reflected the arena lights, glowing blue lines running through its body like circuitry.
It looked less like a beast now. More like a machine.
Honestly, that fit Kaiba way too well.
[Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon, 3000 -> 4000 ATK]
"Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon gains 300 ATK for each Dragon-Type monster in our graveyard." The President said.
Which surprised Yumi once more, as the original version of the Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon only gains ATK for the dragon in its owner's grave.
[Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon, 4000 -> 8500 ATK]
"Battle!" Kaiba thrust his arm forward. "Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon, attack Galaxy-Eyes Prime Photon Dragon!"
The Shining Dragon surged forward, its body releasing an intense blue radiance as a concentrated blast formed at its maw.
"I activate Galaxy-Eyes Prime Photon Dragon's effect," Yumi said quickly. "Once per turn, I increase the Levels of all monsters on the field by one. Then this card gains 200 ATK for each Level among all monsters on the field!"
[Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon - LV 10 -> 11]
[Galaxy-Eyes Prime Photon Dragon - LV 8 -> 9]
Photon energy surged violently around Yumi's dragon.
[Galaxy-Eyes Prime Photon Dragon, 5000 -> 9000 ATK]
Kaiba didn't flinch. In fact, he smirked slightly, as if he'd already expected this.
"I activate Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon's effect," he said. "When your monster's effect designates it, I can negate and destroy that monster."
Damn it! Just how much did the President buff his own cards!? The destruction part wasn't in the original card.
"Shining Diffusion."
A wave of blue light erupted from the Shining Dragon's body, overwhelming the Photon Dragon and shattering it completely.
With the field suddenly empty again, Kaiba adjusted his stance.
"Since the number of monsters on the field has changed," he continued calmly, "a battle replay occurs."
He glanced toward Yumi.
"Yumi Uzushi," Kaiba said, a rare, small smile forming, "this duel was enjoyable."
Although the outcome was clear, Kaiba didn't count this as an actual win for him. Since he had been practicing by beating up an AI bot version of Yumi for over a month now, meaning he knew almost all of Yumi's tactics, cards, and styles.
Yumi, on the other hand, knew almost nothing about Kaiba's current deck.
Still, Kaiba wasn't disappointed.
After this duel, he would retire the AI Yumi and wait patiently for Yumi to graduate from Duel Academy to have his graduation duel.
"Continue to grow stronger," Kaiba said. "Then we'll have a proper rematch when you graduate."
He thrust his arm forward one last time.
"Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon direct attack!"
The Shining Dragon fired a massive blue blast straight down, completely engulfing Yumi in light.
[Yumi, LP 4000 -> 0]
Kaiba lowered his duel disk, turned his back toward Yumi, only to realize that his Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon hadn't disappeared.
"What?" He was confused, then realized that the Duel hadn't ended yet.
The President snapped his neck back, seeing Yumi still standing and a familiar figure standing beside him.
[Sky Striker Ace - Raye, 1500 ATK]
Kaiba: "NANI!!?"
"Trap Card, Relay Soul." Yumi said, pointing toward the card behind Raye. "When my Life Point reaches zero, Special Summon a monster from my hand, and if that monster is destroyed, I lose the Duel."
Kaiba stared at the field, excitement mixing with confusion. So even at zero Life Points… he could still fight.
Still, one of the biggest questions running through the President's mind right now was a very simple one.
Why is she here?
Of all monsters to show up at zero Life Points, it had to be her.
The answer was obvious if you actually knew Yumi.
Raye is Yumi's Ace.
So of course, he would print multiple copies of her cards and place them in his different decks that can support her.
Unlike other Duelists who only have one copy of their Ace monster, forcing them to use one deck, Yumi didn't have that issue since he has the ability of Yu-Gi-Oh's Bosses, the ability to print cards.
So instead of breaking his main deck out to use those cards for a different deck, he just printed another copy to put in them.
And he doesn't lack any Spirit Energy after the Sacred Beasts incident, all those fresh Spirit Energy Packs, and Kite dropped a huge amount.
"Not bad, but it's no use." Kaiba said, impressed by Yumi's last struggle. "I ac-"
"I banish Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon in my grave!" Yumi cut in immediately, already moving before Kaiba could finish his sentence.
He already knows Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon's second effect to tribute itself and destroy any cards it owner chose.
"I banish it and end this turn."
A sharp magenta shockwave rippled across the arena, forcing the turn to end.
It isn't just the President who buffs his dragons, giving them more effects than their original counterparts.
Kaiba's lips curved upward as he folded his arms. "Go on," he said calmly. "Draw your last card so I can finish this, Yumi."
"Don't be so sure, President Kaiba," Yumi replied lightly, placing two fingers on the top of his deck. "I might draw the last piece of Exodia and turn this whole thing around."
Kaiba's expression darkened for just half a second at the dark history being dug up.
Still, he didn't get mad; this was a child teasing, and Yumi only had one card left in his hand. Even if he drew the final piece of Exodia, it would be useless.
"Draw!"
Yumi pulled the card from his deck and glanced down at it. For a brief second, his eyes widened just a little before a familiar smirk slowly crept onto his face.
"President, let me show you why Raye is my Ace!" Yumi said, before getting serious. "By discarding one card, I activate Super Polymerization!"
Kaiba's eyes widened as the duel arena reacted instantly. The pale, artificial clouds around them darkened, twisting into a violent black storm. Yellow lightning cracked through the air, the pressure shifting.
Yumi sent the Dragonmaid Changeover in his hand to the grave.
"I fuse Raye and your Level 10 Shining Dragon!"
Kaiba tries to response, but he couldn't.
He barely had time to process it before both monsters were dragged upward, their forms unraveling as they were pulled into the raging storm. The Shining Dragon struggled, light flaring uselessly, while Raye vanished without resistance.
The storm condensed, spiraling tighter and tighter before erupting outward.
"Show yourself, Sky Striker HERO - Firefly!"
A blazing figure burst from the storm like a meteor, slamming down onto the arena floor with a heavy metallic impact. The tall armored warrior straightened, lifting her masked head as orange flames rolled off her armor in controlled waves.
[Sky Striker HERO - Firefly, 4000 ATK]
Kaiba stared at the monster in front of him, then let out a low murmur. "It seems the AI Yumi needed an update to work overtime."
AI Yumi: "..."
"Battle," Yumi said, pointing forward. "Firefly, player direct attack."
Firefly broke into a sprint, armor humming as she leapt high into the air. Flames wrapped around her clenched fist, compressing into a focused core of heat rather than an explosion.
"Complete Combustion."
She drove the punch straight down.
A towering pillar of fire erupted on impact, briefly turning the entire arena orange as heat washed outward.
[Kaiba, LP 4000 -> 0]