"My turn."
It was Haruki's turn. He placed his right hand on top of his deck but did not draw a card immediately.
Tenjo Hikari was also quite curious.
This Duelist from the Light Society, who never appeared in the original, and this classmate from the same grade who left almost no impression, what kind of deck will he use?
"A typical duel won't work with you." Haruki's hand still hovered over the deck on his Duel Disk. "You are a powerful Duelist, a genius of Polymerization, a Duelist who can smoothly play even with Full Fusion; to duel with you requires full effort."
Oh?
Tenjo Hikari was intrigued.
As his curiosity grew, a strange black fog appeared in the station. Under everyone's gaze, a black skull slowly rose on the back of Haruki's right hand, then covered it like a tattoo.
Those tattoos, were they not tattoos?
Before anyone could think further, the skull began to emit ominous black smoke, which then circled around, gradually forming into a gigantic skeleton cloaked in a cape, reminiscent of the Death from Demon City, the most classic "Death."
"What is that?" Mitsuzawa Daichi, originally thinking this was just a normal duel, exclaimed.
"W-What's happening?"
Many students were frightened by the sinister black smoke, and upon seeing the eerie Death, they couldn't help but run out.
"...Death Card?" Tenjo Hikari hesitated for a moment, remembering this card.
"Ah, yes." Haruki answered.
Hiss...
That's a bit intense.
Tenjo Hikari raised an eyebrow.
The "Death Card" is a card sealed by the Duel Academy's Northern Branch — just like the Three Phantasm sealed at the main campus; Death is a card sealed by the Northern Branch.
The Death Card, much like Phantasms, devours life, but it only consumes the life and soul of its wielder.
But compared to the power of the Three Phantasm, what the Death Card offers is the special abilities every Duelist dreams of having.
Draw whatever you want!
In the original, someone used the "One-Hit Kill! Iai Draw" to defeat nearly all duelists they encountered until a duel with Judai, after which they realized what they truly wanted and gave up the Death Card.
This person before me is completely different from the one in Tenjo Hikari's impression.
Saiou got the Death Card from that person?
"The skull on my right hand cries out for victory!
Defeat, defeat, defeat!
Defeat all enemies in front of you!
Death, grant me the power to fulfill my wishes!"
"Choose now, life or victory?" Death simultaneously spoke.
Tierra, observing the Death, seemed quite interested.
"Of course — victory!" Haruki drew a card abruptly.
Tenjo Hikari furrowed his brow.
"My turn, Normal Summon, Dimensional Alchemist!"
A pitch-black sphere appeared in front of him, and then, a white mage manipulating the black sphere materialized before him.
Dimensional Alchemist, LV 4, Light Attribute, Fairy-Type, ATK 1300.
"Once per turn, this card can banish the top card of the deck, and until the end of the turn, it gains 500 ATK." He took a card from the top of his deck.
Dimensional Alchemist, ATK: 1300→1800.
"Does this... have any significance?"
"Activate Spell Card, Dimensional Distortion."
"This card can Special Summon a banished Monster."
"Huh?" Mitsuzawa Daichi saw the card and couldn't help but pause, "Isn't that a card that can only be activated when there are no cards in the Graveyard? Normally, when activating this card, there are likely cards in the Graveyard; even if it can be activated initially, it's hard to Special Summon a usable Monster quickly..."
"Moreover, that Alchemist just banished the top card of his deck... Isn't this too reckless?" Not only Mitsuzawa Daichi but also the nearby students, who were mostly "top students," couldn't help but discuss when they saw Haruki activating such a card.
How can you be sure the Alchemist can cooperate with this card?
But—
It inevitably can!
This is the power of [Death].
"Special Summon, Barrier Statue of the Heavens."
Hallelujah~~~
A rock idol resembling the Holy Mother descended from the dimension, radiating light as it landed on the ground.
Barrier Statue of the Heavens, LV 4, Light Attribute, Fairy-Type, DEF 1000.
"Huh? Barrier Statue of the Heavens." Mitsuzawa Daichi looked a bit stunned.
"What's wrong, Brother Mitsuzawa?" Serena asked curiously.
"With Barrier Statue of the Heavens on the field, neither side can Special Summon non-Light Attribute Monsters... and Hikari's deck really lacks Light Attribute Monsters." Mitsuzawa Daichi wore a peculiar expression, "Did he really just banish that card by chance?"
"But its DEF is only 1000." Serena thought for a moment and found it not too difficult to deal with.
Mitsuzawa Daichi nodded in agreement.
"Activate Continuous Spell Card, The Fountain in the Sky."
A massive floating island appeared in the sky, with white-glowing water streaming down from it and sprinkling on the ground below.
The style was very much in line with the Light Society's usual aesthetic.
"As long as this card is on the field, when a Light Attribute Monster is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, you can banish that card, and restore Life Points equal to that Monster's ATK."
"I set one card, ending my turn."
Haruki's first turn ended in a seemingly strange, yet mysteriously "cyclical" manner.
Tenjo Hikari looked at the scene, pondered a bit, and speculated on his opponent's strategy.
Indeed, he didn't have many Light Attribute Fusion Monsters in his Extra Deck, so the "Light Barrier Statue" was indeed a restriction.
To duel smoothly, destroying the Light Barrier Statue is the priority.
However, due to the presence of The Fountain in the Sky, the Light Barrier Statue would be banished upon destruction, restoring 1000 Life Points.
Then, the Alchemist has the special effect of recovering banished Monsters after being destroyed.
Simply put, it's a small "resource cycle."
The problem is, that's assuming "ideal conditions."
Tenjo Hikari could just destroy the Alchemist, leaving the Light Barrier Statue, focusing on a single Light Attribute.
Though few, it didn't mean there weren't any Light Attribute Fusion Monsters in Hikari's deck.
Not to mention—
The Cyber Dragon series is basically all Light Attributes.
"My turn, draw—"
Tenjo Hikari drew a card.
Just as I was thinking, this could be used.
"Activate Spell Card, Fusion Deployment."
By revealing a Fusion Monster, it Special Summons a Fusion Material from the deck.
"Ah, nice, being able to draw the card you need in a pinch." Haruki mumbled enviously.