"My Turn! I'll finish you this turn!" Mai Valentine reached for her Deck, about to Draw. She had applied a unique perfume to each of her cards, and even before drawing, she could smell that the next card was (Mystical Space Typhoon).
Once she drew that card, Hayato's Set Card in his Back Row would be rendered useless. In her eyes, his Field was already as good as naked, completely defenseless.
"During your Standby Phase, I Activate my Set Card." Hayato interrupted Mai Valentine's move, flipping over the card he had Set earlier. "It's (Mirage of Nightmare)! During your Standby Phase, I can Draw cards until I have 4 in my Hand. However, as a Cost, I must Discard the same number of cards I drew during my own Standby Phase."
Under the extremely disgruntled gazes of Mai Valentine and a certain Mista, Hayato drew four cards from the top of his Deck.
[Hayato: Hand 0 -> 4]
"So what if you refilled your hand? Cards are meaningless if you can't play them," Mai Valentine said, annoyed, as she drew the (Mystical Space Typhoon) she already knew was there. Activating this card now would be pointless; in fact, it would only help Hayato. However, if his Back Row wasn't a Monster meant to protect his Life Points, then her victory was assured!
"My Ladies, launch an all-out attack! (Harpie Lady) #2, Destroy that (Goblin Attack Force)! Then, (Harpie Lady), make a Direct Attack!"
The sloppy goblins were completely unprepared for the coming Attack. Just like in the art for "Ready for Intercepting," a few members of the (Goblin Attack Force) were even still in their pajamas. They were easily annihilated by the (Harpie Lady)'s assault, but since they were in Defense Position, Hayato took no Damage.
Watching the 1500 ATK (Harpie Lady) dive towards him, Mai Valentine declared triumphantly, "There are no pesky monsters to protect you this time!"
"That's not necessarily true. Come forth, my honor, my Soul!" Hayato played a card he had just drawn. "I Activate the Effect of (Rainbow Kuriboh) from my Hand! When I'm about to be finished, it can jump out and save my life!"
"Kuri!"
Riding a seven-colored ribbon of light, (Rainbow Kuriboh) completely restrained the (Harpie Lady), landing right on top of it. The (Harpie Lady) furiously wanted to tear the little thing off its head, but it was unable to act, as if its opponent was shielded by an aura of political correctness.
"Damn it, this trick again!" Mai Valentine was incredibly irritated. This wasn't the first time Hayato had blocked her Attack with one of these seemingly flimsy creatures. She was just one step away from victory, yet she could never seem to reach the "truth" of that victory.
"My Turn ends!"
Setting the (Mystical Space Typhoon) in her hand, Mai Valentine ended her Turn.
[Mai Valentine: 2700 LP, Hand 0]
[(Harpie Lady) #2] equipped with _(Cyber Shield)_ [ATK 2000]
[(Harpie Lady)] equipped with _(Rainbow Kuriboh)_ [ATK 1500]
[Set Card]
"During my Standby Phase, I'm activating this card from my Hand." Hayato played a card from his Hand. "(Mirage of Nightmare) can quickly replenish my Hand, but powerful cards always have side effects. However, I'm the type who likes to get things for free, so I'll use the effect of (Emergency Provisions). I'll eat my (Mirage of Nightmare) to heal my Life Points."
Beating Grandpa Muto to the punch, Hayato pulled off the classic (Mirage of Nightmare) and (Emergency Provisions) Combo ahead of time, displaying the flair of that certain jellyfish-headed duelist who would later popularize this very Combo. It was worth noting that the (Mirage of Nightmare) in this Combo wasn't obtained from the System, but from a certain pig-headed fellow who had lost a Duel to him.
(Gorō the Pig-Head: Say my full name!)
[Hayato: 900 LP -> 1900 LP]
"And now, My Turn! Draw!"
Hayato looked at the card he drew and played it. "Since my Life Points have recovered, I can afford to be generous with them. I Pay 1000 Life Points to Activate, (Ojama Mandala)!"
[Hayato: 1900 LP -> 900 LP]
The Life Points just restored by (Emergency Provisions) were immediately spent by Hayato. Three rays of light shot out from the Graveyard and landed on his Field.
"Ta-da-da!" "We three brothers!" "Are back again, ya know~"
[(Ojama Yellow)] [ATK 0]
[(Ojama Green)] [ATK 0]
[(Ojama Black)] [ATK 0]
"Next up is this card, (Enlightenment)!" Following the return of the three Ojama brothers, Hayato played his second card. "The power gained from Equip Spells is ultimately a double-edged sword. Now, face the bitter consequences of your own actions! Illusion, Collapse!"
In an instant, both the _(Cyber Shield)_ that Mai Valentine had activated and the _(Rainbow Kuriboh)_ equipped to her (Harpie Lady) self-destructed. The fiery explosion destroyed both monsters. In a flash, Mai Valentine's Field was empty except for the (Mystical Space Typhoon) in her Backrow and her _(Harpie's Hunting Ground)_.
"He... instantly cleared my field of monsters!" Mai Valentine was stunned by the explosive art of that moment but quickly recovered, saying, "But the (Ojama) monsters on your field are just Fodder Monsters. A mere 0 Attack is no threat at all."
"Don't tell me you're going to pull out another (Ojama Country) and reverse their Attack and Defense Points to wipe me out?"
In reality, Mai Valentine wasn't actually afraid of Hayato pulling out another (Ojama Country). Her Set (Mystical Space Typhoon) could be activated at any time.
"Indeed, I only have one (Ojama Country). But who ever said (Ojama) monsters can't deal lethal damage without a Field Spell?"
Hayato smiled and played the last card in his hand.
"Spell Card, (Millennium Power)! Its effect increases the original Attack and Defense Points of all Level 2 Normal Monsters on my Field by 1000, and then destroys all Level 2 monsters on my Field during the End Phase."
"And the (Ojama) monsters... are all Level 2 Normal Monsters!"
On Hayato's Field, the card image of (Millennium Power) appeared behind the three (Ojama) monsters. Seemingly endless power surged from within their bodies.
"Ooooh! This power! I'm at full throttle, ya know!"
"I'm invincible now!"
"This makes me unstoppable!"
[The Three Ojama Brothers] [ATK 0 -> 1000]
"The time for battle has come! Save the narcissistic talk for after you've won the Duel, you Fodder Monsters!" Hayato swung his hand forward. "Offer the duelist opposite you a full-powered strike from the fodder!"
"Ojama Kick!"
The three (Ojama) monsters struck a strange, soulless pose—likely because there was no moon—before leaping into the air in unison. They delivered flying kicks to Mai Valentine's Duel Arena, and three Direct Attacks of 1000 ATK each completely wiped out her Life Points.
[Mai Valentine: 2700 LP -> 1700 LP -> 700 LP -> 0]
The Men in Black, who had been watching from their hiding spot in the woods, stepped out at the perfect moment and announced in a loud voice, "I declare that the winner of this Duel is Mr. Hayato!"
Hayato had fought several duels and collected enough stars. There was one more duel to go, or rather, half of one.
(end of chapter)