"An Attack 6500 monster… wow, that's really impressive."
One hand held in front of her mouth, Camula was clearly surprised, but she didn't panic. Although Battle Ox's effect could be used, she chose not to activate it.
Because Vampire Familiar and Vampire Retainer were Special Summoned by their own effects and would be banished when they left the field, they could not be used in the Special Summon procedure of Chimeratech Fortress Dragon.
As a result, Camula still had two monsters remaining on her field in Defense Position.
"Even if you summoned a Chimeratech Fortress Dragon with 6500 Attack and turned all the monsters on my field into Machine monsters, so what? At most, you just crippled one of my Field Spells~"
Because Camula's LP was currently 4500, and without Limiter Removal or Power Bond in his hand, Zane Truesdale's ace, Cyber End Dragon, couldn't secure a direct win. That was why he chose to use Cyber Dragon Core to search Cyber Repair Plant instead of Cyberload Fusion.
Ignoring Camula's words, Zane activated the Spell he had searched. "I activate Cyber Repair Plant. While there is a Cyber Dragon in my Graveyard, I can choose one of this card's two effects to activate. I choose to add one Machine LIGHT monster from my Deck to my hand."
Zane searched his Deck for Cyber Eltanin, then entered the Battle Phase and used Chimeratech Fortress Dragon to destroy Vampire Retainer. "Battle Phase. Chimeratech Fortress Dragon attacks Vampire Retainer! Evolution End Cannon!"
Camula banished Vampire Retainer. "Because it was Special Summoned by its own effect, Vampire Retainer is banished…"
"Main Phase 2, I… end my turn."
With every usable card in his hand expended, Zane had no further options.
TURN.3
"My turn, draw~"
Camula gracefully drew a card from her Deck, but the instant she saw it, her expression visibly worsened.
Without drawing that key card, she had no way to deal with a 6500-attack Machine monster. While there were lines that boosted her own archetype's Attack, with Clockwork Night on the field everything was Machine-type, and her own monsters were even suffering an Attack decrease.
"I… I Set one monster and one Spell or Trap… end my turn."
TURN.4
Seeing Camula practically pass her turn, Jaden asked in confusion, "Huh? Why did Camula basically skip her turn? I use the Mirage and Emergency Provisions combo all the time, and I've never bricked from it."
Looking at Camula's set cards, Youmi couldn't quite put it into words either. "She's probably plotting something. How could anyone draw four cards and still brick?"
"My turn, draw!"
After drawing a card from his Deck, Zane's eyes sharpened.
"Looks like fate hasn't abandoned me yet. I activate Graceful Charity. I draw three cards, then discard two cards from my hand."
"I discard Cyber Dragon Herz and Armored Cybern."
"Cyber Dragon Herz's effect activates. I add Cyber Dragon from my Deck to my hand. Then…"
Zane let out a long breath and activated the card he had been holding in his hand.
"I activate the Normal Spell Pot of Avarice. I return five monsters from my Graveyard to my Deck, then draw two cards. I return two Cyber Dragons, Armored Cybern, Cyber Dragon Herz, and Cyber Dragon Core, then draw two cards."
"Next, I activate the Normal Spell Pot of Greed and draw two cards."
Looking at the two Pot of Greed he had just drawn, Zane briefly wondered whether his bond with Cyber Dragons had expired. Opening with three Cyber Dragons and one Power Bond only to turn into Pots drawing Pots, he unhesitatingly drew four more cards.
In this environment, where most deck-thinning pieces had gone unhit except for a few joke bans, Youmi had almost grown used to the basic premise that aside from the main engine, both players' Decks were stuffed full of Pots.
After the previous round's absurd opening, Zane's hand finally began to come together.
"I Normal Summon Cyber Dragon Core and activate its effect to search my Deck for Cybernetic Revolution."
"Then… I activate Machine Duplication, targeting Cyber Dragon Core on my field, which has 400 Attack and is treated as Cyber Dragon. I Special Summon two Cyber Dragons from my Deck! Then—I activate Power Bond!"
Zane's Duel Disk suddenly popped open his Extra Deck, pushing out a DARK Machine monster.
"I Fusion Summon—Chimeratech Rampage Dragon! Chimeratech Rampage Dragon requires two or more Cyber Dragon monsters as materials. I send the Cyber Dragons on my field, Cyber Dragon Core, and the Cyber Dragon in my hand to the Graveyard. Appear, Chimeratech Rampage Dragon!"
A thunderous roar erupted from behind Zane as a mechanical body, like a black fortress, gradually emerged. Two mechanical dragon heads sprang forth.
Though its Attack was far inferior to Cyber End Dragon, the instant it appeared, the two heads unleashed terrifying shrieks, aiming to destroy Camula's Field Spell, Continuous Spell, and set card.
Camula covered her ears and stared in shock at her Spell and Trap cards, which looked as fragile as glass on the verge of shattering. "My Spell and Traps… why?!"
"Chimeratech Rampage Dragon has an effect that activates when it is Fusion Summoned. I can target up to a number of Spell and Trap cards on the field equal to the number of monsters used as Fusion Material for this card, and destroy them. I used three materials, so I target your three Spell and Trap cards!"
Camula's expression darkened as she immediately flipped her set card. "Then I activate the set card Hallowed Life Barrier. I discard one card from my hand as the cost. This turn, all damage my opponent would deal becomes 0. Since damage to monsters also becomes 0, monsters also won't be destroyed by battle!"
(This is one of those ultimate historical ruling issues.)
"A Trap just to buy time? Even so, those Spell and Trap cards were still destroyed."
As the surroundings gradually returned to normal, Zane activated another effect of Chimeratech Rampage Dragon. "I activate Chimeratech Rampage Dragon's other effect!"
A Cyber Dragon Core and a Cyber Dragon Herz leapt out of Zane's Deck and fused into Chimeratech Rampage Dragon's body, causing a dangerous red glow to flare across it.
"Normally, a monster can only attack once per turn. But the effect of Chimeratech Rampage Dragon I'm using lets it enter Overload Mode. I send up to two Machine LIGHT monsters from my Deck to the Graveyard. This turn, during the same Battle Phase, in addition to its normal attack, this card can make up to that many additional attacks."
"That means it can attack three times. Although this turn, it still can't destroy your monsters by battle."
"You deliberately destroyed my Vampire Kingdom… You know my Deck's effects?"
If Vampire Kingdom were still on the field, she wouldn't have had to worry about dealing with a high-Attack Chimeratech Fortress Dragon.
Zane glanced back at Youmi, then turned forward again. "We have a very reliable source of information on our side too."
After looking at his hand, Zane Set three cards and declared the end of his turn.
"At the end of the turn, I would take damage equal to the amount of Attack increase applied to the monster affected by Power Bond. But because of Hallowed Life Barrier, the damage I would take is also reduced to 0, so I take no damage!"
TURN.5
"My turn, draw."
"Heh heh, I drew a pretty good card. I activate the Normal Spell Pot of Greed to draw two cards from my Deck."
"After that… looks like this can finally end."
After drawing two cards, Camula played a card that Youmi had never seen, and never could have seen, in a real-card environment.
"Sacred Beast Gate. This is a powerful card that can only be used in a Shadow Game."
A massive Sacred Beast Gate opened behind Chimeratech Fortress Dragon, Chimeratech Rampage Dragon, and Cyber Dragon Core, trying to drag them inside.
Zane stared at the suddenly appearing gate in shock. "What did you do?!"
Camula lazily shook the Sacred Beast Gate in her hand and explained, "Sacred Beast Gate's effect~ Destroy all monsters on your opponent's field."
"After that, choose one monster in your opponent's Graveyard and Special Summon it to your own field, ignoring its Summoning conditions. Of course, using such a powerful card comes with a price. After this card resolves, the soul of the player who loses the Duel will be offered to the Sacred Beast. What a shame. I originally wanted to add you to my collection."
"That's going way too far!"
Jaden shouted angrily. "Aren't Shadow Games already supposed to put your soul on the line? If that's the case, using a single card that combines Raigeki and a super-charged Monster Reborn means there's basically no cost at all! That's just outright cheating, isn't it?!"
"It's different. Because then I'd be missing a collectible, hehe~" Camula let out a few eerie laughs. "Now then, be destroyed and become my slave, Chimeratech Rampage Dragon!"
She wasn't about to pull a material-less 0 ATK monster onto her field. Stealing Rampage Dragon here to prevent the opponent from filling the Graveyard was clearly the optimal play.
At once, Zane flipped his set card in retaliation. "At least let me keep even a shred of hope… now, I activate the set card Cybernetic Revolution."
"I Tribute one Cyber Dragon on my field to activate it. I Special Summon one Fusion Monster from my Fusion Deck that uses Cyber Dragon monsters as Fusion Materials. However, as the cost, the monster Special Summoned by this effect cannot attack directly, and it is destroyed during the End Phase of the next turn."
"I Tribute Cyber Dragon Core and Special Summon Cyber End Dragon!"
Although Cyber End Dragon normally requires three Cyber Dragons to be Fusion Summoned, Cybernetic Revolution performs an irregular Special Summon.
The silver-white three-headed mechanical dragon appeared on Zane's field and likewise became a target of Sacred Beast Gate.
Camula was just about to say that in that case, she would simply Special Summon Cyber End Dragon, but realized the problem right away.
"Oh? In that case, I'll just take your Cyber End Dragon—no, wait. Is your Cybernetic Revolution really that weak? It can't even ignore Summoning conditions. Is that a fake card?"
Youmi: It's your Sacred Beast Gate that's fake.
"The Cyber End Dragon Special Summoned by Cybernetic Revolution wasn't properly Summoned, so its revival restriction hasn't been cleared."
"Even if your Sacred Beast Gate can Special Summon monsters while ignoring Summoning conditions, it still can't Special Summon it."
"That's why Cyber End Dragon won't be handed over to you! But I also won't let it be sacrificed so easily."
"I activate the effect of Cyber Eternal in my Graveyard! If a Machine Cyber Fusion Monster on my field would be destroyed by battle or card effect, I can banish this card from my Graveyard instead!"
"So that's a card you dumped on your own side? Honestly…"
Although he protected Cyber End Dragon, the other two monsters weren't so fortunate. Both were destroyed at once.
Sacred Beast Gate faded into a phantom existence, disappearing from Zane's field and reappearing behind Camula. The ominous gate opened once more, and from within emerged Chimeratech Rampage Dragon, like a puppet controlled by countless strings.
Staring at the Chimeratech Rampage Dragon now under the opponent's control, Zane clenched his teeth, shadows gradually forming in his eyes.
"Cyber Eternal can only substitute the destruction of Cyber Fusion Monsters. Chimeratech Rampage Dragon… damn it. Because of my Continuous Spell Clockwork Night, the Attack of the Chimeratech Rampage Dragon you control is reduced by 500!"
Camula stuck out her tongue and burst into unhinged laughter. "HiaHiaHia~ So you summoned and protected your ace monster in this way? That feeling isn't bad at all."
"But what are you going to do now? I Tribute the face-down monster on my field to Tribute Summon Vampire Red Baron and activate its effect~"
"Once per turn, I pay 1000 LP and target one monster on your field and one Vampire monster on my field other than this card. I switch control of those two monsters."
"Of course, I choose the 0-Defense Vampire Familiar and the Cyber End Dragon with 4000 Attack that can inflict piercing damage~"
[Camula, LP: 4500 → 3500]
"Camula—!!"
Cyber End Dragon was stolen by the opponent, and all Zane got in return was a bat with no Defense.
"Even with its Attack reduced, the total is more than enough! This ends it! The 3500 Attack Cyber End Dragon attacks Vampire Familiar!"
"Zane!"
"Truesdale!"
Jaden and Professor Crowler immediately tried to rush forward, with everyone else except Youmi following close behind, but they were all blocked by the bats.
"Zane! Damn it, let me through!"
Jaden desperately tried to break through the bats' barrier, only to be pulled back by Youmi just as he was starting to make progress.
"Don't waste your effort. Look at Zane's expression. Does that look like the face of someone who's about to lose?"
With eyesight far beyond the ordinary, Youmi could clearly see the trace of smug satisfaction at the corner of Zane's mouth the moment Camula entered the Battle Phase. "Just wait. He'll definitely pull through."
"Don't come over! I'm fine!"
As if responding to Youmi's words, one of Zane's set cards slowly flipped open.
"I flip the set card! Power Wall! This card can be activated when an opponent's monster declares an attack that would cause you to take battle damage, during damage calculation. Until that battle ends, your battle damage becomes 0, and for every 500 damage prevented this way, I send one card from the top of my Deck to the Graveyard."
Zane took seven cards from the top of his Deck and laid them out in front of him. The wall formed by the falling cards weakened Cyber End Dragon's attack.
Although he took no numerical damage, the monster's physical blow still landed.
Zane was blown backward, then slammed onto the ground, struggling as he forced himself back to his feet.
"Hmph, you're really stubborn. Chimeratech Rampage Dragon, attack directly!"
[Zane, LP: 4000 → 2400]
As if unwilling to strike its former master, Chimeratech Rampage Dragon's attack only grazed him.
"Tch, overly loyal servants can be annoying too. Red Baron, attack him directly."
The monster, wielding a massive lance, stabbed into Zane. Though it pierced his body, it didn't truly open a hole in him, but it was still enough to force him down onto one knee in agony.
"Ugh—!"
[Zane, LP: 2400 → 500]
"Zane!"
Zane clutched the spot where phantom pain still lingered, sucked in a sharp breath, and said, "I'm fine! Don't come any closer!"
"Hmph, still putting on a brave front. Even though I didn't quite crush you this time, my next turn will truly finish things."
"I Set two cards. End my turn…"
"During the End Phase, I flip the set card Balance of Judgment. This card can only be activated if the number of cards on your field is greater than the total number of cards in my hand and on my field."
"I draw cards equal to that difference. I only have Cyber Eltanin in my hand, and on my field are Clockwork Night and Balance of Judgment. On your field are Red Baron, Cyber End Dragon, Chimeratech Rampage Dragon, and one set card, so I draw one card…"
TURN.6
"My turn, draw—!"
Zane looked at the cards in his hand and showed Camula a chilling smile. "Final Turn."
Youmi really wanted to say that this was a line she liked to copy when playing other TCGs, and hearing someone say it in a Yu-Gi-Oh! duel always felt like corrupting the youth.
However, to avoid ruining the mood, he ultimately kept it to himself.
"Standby Phase. Do you have any responses?"
Zane glanced at the Cyber Eltanin and Overload Fusion in his hand, the smile on his face deepening.
Overload Fusion is a Fusion Spell that banishes Fusion Material monsters determined by the Fusion Monster Card from your field or Graveyard to Fusion Summon that Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck.
Using this method, you can Fusion Summon Chimeratech Overdragon. Chimeratech Overdragon's Attack increases by the number of Fusion Materials ×800, and it can attack monsters that many times.
And its material requirement is simply Cyber Dragon plus Machine monsters.
"Sorry, I can't let you Summon it. I flip my set card, the Continuous Trap Imperial Iron Wall."
"While this card remains face-up on the field, neither player can banish cards! That means neither Overload Fusion nor Cyber Eltanin can be used! It really is the Final Turn, but it's my victory!"
Because Overload Fusion requires banishing its materials, its effect could not be applied. The Cyber Eltanin in his hand also could not be Special Summoned by its own effect.
Yet Zane began to laugh.
"Hahahahahahaha! Imperial Iron Wall? That's a good card, but didn't I already tell you? This is the final turn!"
Zane laughed loudly, as if totally unaffected.
"This does seal off my Fusion Summons, and you definitely have a way to deal with Cyber Eltanin, right?"
"But what if I do this instead! I activate the Normal Spell Storm. This card's effect is to destroy all Spell and Trap cards on my field, then destroy the same number of Spell and Trap cards on my opponent's field!"
This was one of the methods he normally used to clear his own Cyber Network. After all, not everyone had cards like Heavy Storm or Harpie's Feather Duster. This time, it just happened to destroy the threatening Imperial Iron Wall.
A sharp glint flashed through Zane's eyes. The shadow of disadvantage he had suffered under Sacred Beast Gate was long gone.
"I banish all Machine LIGHT monsters from my Graveyard and from among the face-up monsters on my field to Special Summon Cyber Eltanin from my hand."
Zane Truesdale's Graveyard not only contained the three Cyber Dragons, two Cyber Dragon Cores, and one Cyber Dragon Herz previously sent there, but also the seven cards sent to the Graveyard by Power Wall.
Those seven cards sent by Power Wall were all Machine LIGHT monsters: Cyber Larva, Cyber Valley, Cyber Phoenix, Cyber Dragon Nachster, Cyber Dragon Core, Cyber Pharos, and Cyber Dragon Kirin.
Taking all the Machine LIGHT monsters from his Graveyard and banishing them, Zane revealed the Cyber Eltanin in his hand.
"I banish a total of twelve monsters. Cyber Eltanin, Special Summon!"
On Zane's field, Cyber Eltanin with its twelve Bit Drones gradually took form.
"Cyber Eltanin's Attack and Defense become equal to the number of monsters banished from play for its Special Summon ×500. I banished twelve cards, so that's 500 × 12 = 6000!"
"And Cyber Eltanin's effect activates! When this card is Special Summoned, send all other face-up monsters on the field to the Graveyard!"
All of Cyber Eltanin's Bit Drones launched at once, beams of light piercing every monster except itself.
With no energy left to care about the devastation caused by Cyber Eltanin's indiscriminate assault, Zane, weakened from the consecutive hits he had taken earlier, excitedly raised his hand and pointed at Camula.
"Now it's truly over! Cyber Eltanin, direct attack! Final Eltanin Meteor!"
"How could this be! I actually—no, stop, don't!"
Staring at the power being gathered by Cyber Eltanin and its twelve Bit Drones, Camula almost instantly turned and tried to flee.
But Cyber Eltanin gave her no chance. Thirteen streams of light engulfed her body, leaving behind a massive charred mark on the ground. Even the water by the lakeside caught in the blast evaporated into mist.
Camula collapsed by the lake, disbelief written across her face. Her body trembled uncontrollably from the intense pain. She still tried to escape, but the Sacred Beast Gate she had used earlier now stood directly behind her, opening to claim its price and swallowing her whole.
"Nooooo!"
With a miserable scream, Camula vanished into the Sacred Beast Gate, leaving only several dolls scattered on the ground.
The dolls wore clothes of many colors and had different hairstyles. The moment they fell from her body, they began to move on their own. The distinctive traits on them turned into beams of light that flew off to different parts of the world, leaving behind blank, unadorned, ordinary dolls.
These were all Duelists who had lost Shadow Games against Camula. Now that Camula herself had been devoured by the Sacred Beast Gate, they were finally freed.
"We won… he really won, Zane!"
The bats that had been blocking Jaden and the others all self-immolated into ash. Jaden ran over at once, wanting to congratulate Zane on his victory, but found him standing completely still, unresponsive.
"Zane?"
A light breeze passed by. Zane collapsed straight backward, and Youmi, who could tell he was severely weakened, caught him.
"It looks like the Shadow Game drained his mind, and he's suffered some serious injuries too. Get him to the academy hospital right away. At this rate, it looks like Atticus-senpai is about to have another hospital buddy."
Youmi glanced at the Seven Stars Gate Key pendant around Zane's neck, shining brilliantly, and sighed. "It really is dazzling, Zane Truesdale."
...
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