Metal Fiend Token, ATK 0.
"Then I offer Metal Fiend Token as a Tribute and Tribute Summon! Level 6, Prime Material Dragon!"
Prime Material Dragon, ATK 2400.
"Effect of Prime Material Dragon! By sending a face-up Continuous Spell on my field to the Graveyard, I can choose and Destroy one Monster on your field!" (ANIME EFFECT)
Alpha pulled a Card from the slot in his Duel Disk.
"I send the Continuous Spell Ruins of the Divine Dragon Lords to the Graveyard, and Destroy Magical Marionette!"
The ancient dragon statue crumbled into dust and shattered across the Rift, and a wave of gravity exploded outward. Even Magical Marionette, despite its infinite attack, could not resist the crushing force and was smashed apart by invisible pressure.
"Hahahaha! See that? This is the power I have that goes beyond infinity!" Alpha threw back his head and laughed after removing the monster with infinite attack.
"Father trusts me, and no matter what it is, no matter how many times, I will answer that trust. I have to. The power Seto Kaiba has, I have it too!"
Yugen only shook his head. "So you are saying you studied all his Duels and all his tactics, and this is all you learned? Is overwhelming with raw power really all there is?"
"What?" Alpha frowned. "What are you trying to say?"
"I am saying that for an artificial 'intelligence,' you do not look very intelligent. You are no different from a third-rate or fourth-rate Duelist blindly copying someone else."
"What did you say..." Alpha was about to flare up, but then he suddenly thought of something and forced himself to stop.
"Hmph, I almost fell for your trap. The intel did say you were the type who likes to mess with people's minds through Ojama, and enjoys giving your opponents the worst kind of double torment, both mentally and in the Duel. I cannot let you drag me into your pace."
Yugen looked strange. Who wrote that evaluation? That was pure slander. How was he that evil?
"I will disappoint you. I am not going to follow your rhythm!" Alpha paused, then spoke in a low voice, almost to himself. "If you are watching, Father, then witness the power I have gained. I will not let you down."
He lifted his head, his resolve steady. "Battle Phase! First, Darkblaze Dragon attacks Gearfried the Iron Knight!"
Darkblaze Dragon let out a sharp dragon roar and spewed black flames like something from hell.
Even though the two Dragons on the field had the same ATK, he naturally chose to attack with Darkblaze Dragon first. That was because Darkblaze Dragon had the effect of dealing damage equal to the original ATK of the Monster it Destroyed, the kind of effect even Elemental HERO Flame Wingman would approve of.
If he attacked first with Prime Material Dragon, he could deal only 600 battle damage. Then even with Darkblaze Dragon's follow-up attack, the total damage that turn would be only 3000, not enough for a finishing blow.
But if Darkblaze Dragon used Break Strike on the Iron Knight, the battle damage plus effect damage would total 2400. After that, Prime Material Dragon's follow-up would bring the total to 4800 and end the Duel in a single turn.
A sharp light flashed in Alpha's eyes. He would decide the winner this turn.
"For an AI, that really is some frightening dueling momentum," Yugen murmured.
With a boom, the flames swept across his side of the field, and black fire surged up like a storm.
Yugen, LP 4000 -> LP 3400.
"Good!" Alpha shouted. "Then with Darkblaze Dragon's effect, I will deal damage equal to the ATK of the Monster it Destroyed..."
"Regrettably, that will not happen." Yugen smiled.
Alpha's expression shifted. When the smoke cleared, Gearfried the Iron Knight was still standing there completely unharmed.
"What?"
"I banished this card from the Graveyard," Yugen said, revealing a card from his Graveyard. "Shield Warrior. By banishing this card from the Graveyard, I can protect a monster on my field from being Destroyed by battle."
"Tch, so you dumped it there with Card Destruction... Then Prime Material Dragon continues the attack!"
This time there was no shield to protect it. The Iron Knight raised its arm to block, but it was still crushed to the ground by the overwhelming force, and both its body and iron armor shattered apart.
Yugen, LP 3400 -> LP 2800.
"Then I activate my set card, the Trap Card Time Machine," Yugen said. "It revives a monster that was sent to the Graveyard by battle in the same battle position. I revive Gearfried the Iron Knight." (ANIME EFFECT)
A dark mechanical device appeared on the field, and mist rose around it as if time itself were reversing. As time rolled backward, the shattered fragments reassembled into armored form, and Gearfried the Iron Knight returned to the field.
Gearfried the Iron Knight, ATK 1800.
"Damn it! Is that thing immortal or something?" Alpha was growing irritable.
The Iron Knight again. And the opponent was still openly holding that Butterfly Dagger - Elma that could keep returning itself forever. If he could not get rid of the Iron Knight, who knew what bizarre method the other side would come up with next turn to torment him again.
He had to think of something. "I activate Card of Sanctity!" Alpha said. "On a turn when I have performed a Tribute Summon, Draw two cards from the Deck. But the cards I draw this turn cannot be used, and if they can be set, I must set at least one." (ANIME EFFECT)
He could not lose. He had promised Father he would complete the mission, and he absolutely could not fall here.
"Card Draw!"
As the two new cards entered his hand, a new spark seemed to appear in Alpha's eyes. Right, if he had this card...
"I set two cards to the Back Row," Alpha said. "I end my turn."
**
After ending his turn, Alpha looked up at Yugen, and Silence settled over the Student Council for a moment. Then he suddenly asked, "With skill like yours, even in today's world, you'd count as a first-rate Duelist, wouldn't you? So why..." He paused and lowered his voice. "Why are you helping Seto Kaiba?"
Yugen met his gaze without expression. "You seem to have misunderstood something," Yugen said calmly. "I am not 'helping' Seto Kaiba. Like I have told many people, I do not know him that well."
"But I also see no reason to join you."
Alpha fell into Silence for a moment before continuing. "Seto Kaiba is not what so many of you think he is." "Oh? Then what is he?" Yugen asked.
Alpha replied coldly, "A great Duelist, a pioneer on the path... maybe those things are true, but they are not all he is."
"Seto Kaiba is a criminal with blood all over his hands, the fiercest and most vicious one in history. In the beginning, he did not even deserve the name 'Seto Kaiba.' He was worth nothing."
"He was dragged up from the depths of hell, from a forgotten world. He was given a noble family name, status, and everything ordinary people could only dream of. But how did he repay the person who gave him all that, who taught him to read and write, who gave him every resource?"
"He took everything from that person, drove him into a dead end, and made him die in pain and despair. Then he took his place and seized the whole Kaiba Corporation for himself. And in climbing to the top of that power, he stepped over countless corpses..."
"Yes, I know," Yugen said with a nod.