"Impressive."
Damon stood tall once again and spoke in a booming voice.
"But my year of training was not in vain! It is my turn!" Damon shouted. "The effect of the Continuous Spell, 'Heart of the Underdog'! During my Draw Phase, if I draw a Normal Monster, I can show it to my opponent to draw one more card. The card I drew is Card Trader!"
This was a monster Damon had used in the anime a Level 2 vanilla monster with 900 ATK.
"Therefore, I draw again due to the effect of 'Heart of the Underdog'!"
Damon drew another card.
"This time, I've drawn the Normal Monster, 'Gagagigo'!"
It hit again.
"I draw one more card!"
Damon drew yet again.
"This time, it's a second 'Card Trader'. I draw again..."
"..."
Relying on the effect of "Heart of the Underdog," Damon drew seven times in a single breath. Every single one was a vanilla monster.
Finally, on the eighth draw, he stopped pulling vanillas. This time, he drew his ace card from the anime, the Level 3 Effect Monster, "Drawler" an anime-original card.
"He finally stopped..."
Syrus Truesdale wiped the sweat from his brow.
This was terrifying.
"But even if he drew that many cards, they're all just Normal Monsters, right?" Chumley Huffington asked. "Having that many vanillas in your hand isn't actually that useful..."
However, his question was quickly answered.
"It's Drawler," Alexis Rhodes said solemnly. "The last monster he just drew is 'Drawler'. When it's successfully summoned, the user can shuffle any number of cards from their hand back into the deck to gain 500 Attack Points for each card."
This was an anime-original card, the ace and trump card of Damon.
*[Drawler, Level 3, ATK: ?]*
*[Effect: When summoned, shuffle any number of cards from your hand into the deck. This card's ATK becomes the number of cards shuffled x 500. Additionally, when this card destroys an opponent's Attack Position monster by battle, that monster is shuffled into the bottom of the deck instead of going to the Graveyard.]*
The crowd was shocked.
There was actually a combo like that?
At first glance, drawing a pile of vanillas into your hand via "Heart of the Underdog" seemed useless. But if used with this monster, shuffling those seven vanillas back into the deck would cause this Level 3 monster's ATK to skyrocket to 3500!
That was even higher than the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon!
"Hahaha, excellent!" Damon laughed. "Now, witness the power of my spirit card! I Normal Summon"
"Before that, I activate my face-down card! The Trap Card, 'Desert Sunlight'!" Yugen interrupted. "All monsters on my side of the field are changed to face-up Defense Position."
Damon frowned. "Do you think switching to Defense Position will stop my attack?"
Or was it...
"All monsters on my field change to face-up Defense Position, and my set monster is flipped," Yugen continued. "The card I had set was... 'Morphing Jar'!"
The jar, bearing its signature sneer, flipped onto the field and unleashed its divine power.
"The effect of Morphing Jar! When flipped, both players discard their entire hands and then draw five cards."
Damon was stunned.
"I see. You're using the effect of Morphing Jar to discard my entire hand so I can't use my combo with 'Drawler'."
He quickly smirked, letting out a cold laugh.
"But so what? My drawing power is absolute. The five new cards I draw will bring me an even more certain victory"
"Sorry, but they won't."
Yugen snapped his fingers.
"Chain-activate another face-down card, the Trap Card 'Back to the Front'! Special Summon a monster from your Graveyard in face-up Defense Position. The one I'm bringing back is this card..."
A card ejected from his Graveyard slot.
"Protector of the Sanctuary!"
*[Protector of the Sanctuary, DEF: 1900]*
Damon blinked. "?"
What on earth was that? What was the point of specifically chaining a summon just to put a 1900 DEF wall on the field?
He understood soon enough.
Yugen explained with a smile, "As long as 'Protector of the Sanctuary' exists face-up on the field, the opponent cannot draw cards outside of their Draw Phase."
Damon paused to think.
Wait a minute, let me get this straight.
The effect of Morphing Jar forces both players to discard their hands and draw five cards.
But as long as Protector of the Sanctuary is on the field, the opponent cannot draw...
Damon: "..."
Na-na-na-nani?!?!
The onlookers gasped.
This move was...
A complete hand rip!
"That's right. Having accepted the effect of 'Morphing Jar,' you must discard your entire hand, but you are forbidden from drawing any new cards."
Yugen, meanwhile, cheerfully drew cards from his own deck.
"According to the effect of 'Morphing Jar,' I draw five cards."
Damon: "..."
The crowd: "..."
After a long silence, Chumley spoke up. "Well... how should I put this? That is... one hell of a combo."
"Yeah... it really is," Syrus agreed.
As he looked at Yugen, his gaze became increasingly fearful.
Yugen's dueling style was truly terrifying. He could always find the most bizarre new ways to make it impossible for his opponent to even play the game...
Damon was currently in a state of mental shock.
He had just been enjoying the high of holding a massive hand, yet before they could even get warm, his cards had all been sent to the Graveyard in a single instant. Worse, the majestic aura radiating from Protector of the Sanctuary felt like invisible shackles placed upon his deck.
Every single card was locked tight. He could no longer hear the voice of his deck.
Damon opened his mouth, his face twisted in bitterness, but no words came out. He desperately wanted to use the "god draw" power he had cultivated over the past year to find a solution.
But he couldn't.
Because he literally could not draw a single card. He didn't even have the chance to use his skills.
He thought long and hard, searching for any remaining possibility or counter-strategy, but after considering everything, only one word echoed in his mind:
GG.
How was he supposed to play this? He didn't even have a single card left. How could he duel?
"How could it be like this..."
A wild man had lost his dream. He muttered to himself.
"I trained so hard, reaching the realm of my dreams. A duel is a battle of drawing, and drawing strength should decide everything. Why... on what grounds...???"
Thinking of the grueling training he had endured over the past year, all the resentment and unwillingness, combined with the current situation that completely forbade him from playing a single card, the wild man Damon almost shed tears of sheer frustration.
The spectators were momentarily speechless.
Even though they were on Yugen's side, they couldn't help but feel a sudden surge of pity for the poor wild man.
"If you don't plan on doing anything, then it's my turn again."
Yugen smiled.
"My turn, draw!"
He now had six cards in his hand and plenty of room to maneuver. However, he was a kind-hearted person at heart; since the opponent clearly had no moves left, he decided to cut the Gordian knot and end the man's suffering as quickly as possible.
"Now, I change my monsters from Defense Position to Attack Position," Yugen said with a wave of his hand. "Ryu Kokki, Elemental HERO Bubbleman, and Protector of the Sanctuary—direct attack on Damon!"
*[Ryu Kokki, ATK: 2400]*
*[Elemental HERO Bubbleman, ATK: 800]*
*[Protector of the Sanctuary, ATK: 1100]*
Tumbled to the ground by a final blast, Damon lay flat on his back. His eyes were vacant and dull, offering no reaction whatsoever.
*[Damon, LP 3200 → LP 0]*
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