"Youmi!"
Watching Youmi get hit by the Inferno Fire Blast spewed by Meteor Black Dragon, Jaden was just about to rush forward to check on her condition when the magma below suddenly erupted, splashing upward and forming a barrier that blocked his path.
"Hey! What are you doing?! Youmi…!"
Jaden glared angrily at Nightshroud, but just as he was about to say something, the bizarre sight before him cut his words short.
"What about me?"
The magenta flames gradually condensed into a storm of fire, then suddenly vanished. Youmi stepped out from within, fuzzy traces of the same-colored light clinging to her body as she casually brushed away the remaining sparks.
Seeing Youmi emerge unscathed, Jaden Yuki was overjoyed. "Youmi?! You're okay!"
Alexis said in astonishment, "She didn't take any damage at all in those flames…?"
As for Nightshroud, though his expression behind the mask could not be seen, he, too, arrived at his own conclusion.
"Did you chain-activate something when I activated Inferno Fire Blast?"
As the aftereffects of Inferno Fire Blast completely faded, a Quick-Play Spell Card appeared on the field. At the same time, Nightshroud's Meteor Black Comet Dragon let out a pained howl and broke apart into several beams of light, returning to Nightshroud's Extra Deck.
Youmi wagged her finger and said smugly, "Quick-Play Spell Light of the Branded. You can activate it by targeting 1 Fusion Monster on either player's field or in either Graveyard. That monster is returned to its owner's Extra Deck. After that, you can choose 1 Fallen of Albaz in your Graveyard and 1 monster in your opponent's Graveyard, and Special Summon them to their owners' fields. Since Meteor Black Comet Dragon left the field, the condition for Inferno Fire Blast to reference its Attack and inflict damage can no longer be met—
"So, it was all bark and no bite~"
Strictly speaking, in this kind of situation, the effect shouldn't apply at all. Who knows why both the original anime and this world insist on putting on these kinds of invalidated effect theatrics—very stylish indeed.
"That card didn't get to see play when I fought Zane last time. This time I finally got to use it—feels great~ Because of the effect, I choose Fallen of Albaz in my Graveyard and your Red-Eyes Black Dragon to Special Summon.
"Alright, this turn your Red-Eyes Black Dragon can't attack, and you can't Normal or Special Summon any more monsters either. Are you ending your turn?"
"Hmph, so you resort to tactics like that?" Nightshroud snorted coldly. "I discard the Level 7 Red-Eyes Spirit from my hand and activate the Normal Spell Cards of the Red Stone."
At this moment, there was no need for Youmi to use her back row yet, and she hadn't guessed that the opponent's hand could actually pull off an 8000-damage FTK, so she missed the timing to use her Set card to stop the Continuous Spell.
"If there's no chain, I chain-activate Serial Spell. I discard my entire hand and copy the effect of Cards of the Red Stone. The effect of Cards of the Red Stone is: draw 2 cards, then you can send 1 Level 7 Red-Eyes monster from your Deck to the Graveyard. I draw 2 cards first and send Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon from my Deck to the Graveyard. Then I draw another 2 cards and send Red-Eyes Wyvern from my Deck to the Graveyard."
Seeing Nightshroud slam down Serial Spell, Youmi patted her chest. "Wow, that was really dangerous. Who opens with Red-Eyes Fusion, Inferno Fire Blast, and Serial Spell? Even under Master Rules, that could burn someone to ashes, right?"
A Meteor Black Comet Dragon Fusion Summoned by Red-Eyes Fusion is treated as Red-Eyes Black Dragon, with 3500 Attack. Inferno Fire Blast plus a Serial Spell means 7000 burn damage.
Meteor Black Comet Dragon itself also has a burn effect. As long as the monster sent to the Graveyard has 2000 or more Attack, that's an 8000 damage kill. And on top of that, there's even Red-Eyes Spirit as another component.
"So you just drew all that off sheer momentum? If you'd taken the first turn, I'd probably already be done for, Mr. Nightshroud."
No wonder he challenged her to a Shadow Game the moment he showed up. In a 4000 LP environment, if you assemble the pieces, you can just burn the opponent to death with your eyes closed. It's practically free.
Ignoring Youmi's commentary, Nightshroud used Serial Spell and Cards of the Red Stone to draw four new cards.
"Tch. I activate Card Destruction next. Each player discards their entire hand, then draws the same number of cards they discarded. I discard three cards due to this effect, then draw three new ones. Heh heh heh… giving Red-Eyes Black Dragon back to me was a terrible decision. I—"
After refilling his hand, Nightshroud was just about to pick a card to activate when three card projections suddenly appeared beside him—his three cards in hand.
"Not so fast~ At the moment you draw, I flip my Set card, Draw Discharge. You can only activate it when your opponent draws by a card effect. All cards your opponent drew are revealed. If any of them are Monster Cards, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the total of their Attacks. All revealed cards are banished."
This card originally came from Rising Rampage—the booster pack that included Borreload Savage Dragon. No matter how you look at the artwork, it's clearly bullying a guy in a bodysuit; regardless, perhaps because it's a Normal Trap, there was also a copy of it in the pile of cards Ten Thousand Dragon gave her back then. In Duel City, where everyone's draw power was absurd, she somehow never drew it even once.
"What?!"
Nightshroud's hand was forcibly revealed.
They were: Inferno Fire Blast, Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, and Mirage Dragon.
"Whoa, now that's a coincidence." A delighted smile appeared on Youmi's face. "Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon has 2400 Attack, and Mirage Dragon has 1600 Attack. Looks like this is the end Time really does fly when you're having fun, Nightshroud-san"
It had been a long time since Youmi last encountered Lady Lab, and she found herself slipping back into that pure, gleeful Duel City-era mindset.
With the finale just moments away, Youmi's body even shook slightly with excitement. "I wonder what crossed your mind just now? That your winning streak is about to end? Or did you think of your loved ones? Do you feel any regret? After all, the ones about to finish you off are your own monsters! Hey, could you put on a little show of emotional collapse for me~?"
Watching Nightshroud grow increasingly flustered, even hurriedly rifling through his Graveyard, the smile on Youmi's face only grew brighter.
Originally, Youmi had planned to fully strip Nightshroud's hand and then use Fallen of Albaz to fuse Red-Eyes Black Dragon into Brigrand the Glory Dragon from the Extra Deck for the finishing blow. She hadn't expected to land a full LP kill right on the mark.
Jaden, watching from the side, couldn't help but shiver atop the blazing magma. "Why did it suddenly get so cold…? Youmi's kind of scary right now…"
He unconsciously looked toward Alexis, just in time to meet her equally uneasy gaze.
As they confirmed that they shared exactly the same feeling, both of them felt oddly relieved that they weren't alone.
No mercy was needed for absolute evil. Youmi waved casually at Nightshroud, silently mouthing, "I hope you die well."
The two Monster Card projections in Nightshroud's hand manifested as the forms of two dragons. Empowered by the Shadow Game, they became real, each gathering its breath.
"H-How… how could this be?! Y-You… don't look at me like that! Uwaaaah!!"
Youmi had only just laughed at his line—one that made her DNA tingle—when Nightshroud's screams of agony under the searing flames cut off abruptly as he lost consciousness.
Nightshroud's soul was sealed into the card. The mask vanished, and Atticus Rhodes's personality returned, though the sensation of taking 4000 points of real damage was too intense, leaving him unable to wake for the time being.
Among the cards scattered across the ground after Nightshroud's defeat, black mist gradually welled up from the Meteor Black Comet Dragon.
As the mist dispersed, it turned into an ordinary Meteor Black Dragon—it seemed this card had only manifested as a dark card through Nightshroud's power.
With Nightshroud defeated, the Shadow Game ended, and the group was transported together to an open area somewhere within Duel Academy.
Youmi was the first to get her bearings and said to Alexis, "Well then, I won't intrude on your sibling reunion. Though before that, we should probably get him to the infirmary."
Taking out her phone to call the school infirmary, Youmi then bent down to pick up the card sealing Nightshroud's soul and left the area, as though weighed down by unspoken thoughts.
After all, the soul sealed within that card might know something about Yuki.
Holding the card up before her eyes, Youmi's crimson pupils gradually lit up.
"I may have wished you a good death, but until I've stripped every secret off you, don't think you'll get off with something as simple as death~"
...
If you want to support, please consider Patreon, and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going! [Patreon.com/RedZTL]