Just as Alba was about to Summon the Monster Card he had just drawn, Hayato spoke again:
"Ah, I forgot to add something. As everyone knows, powerful cards often come with risks." Hayato had a smirk on his face. "To maintain its existence, (Lava Golem), which shares the same stats as (Blue-Eyes White Dragon), needs to pay Life Points each turn, just like a Psychic-Type monster."
"During each of the controller's Standby Phases, (Lava Golem) inflicts 1000 points of Effect Damage to the controller!"
"What?!"
Alba was momentarily stunned, then felt a wave of heat rush towards him. The (Lava Golem) behind him grabbed the iron cage containing Alba with one hand, and with the other, it scooped up a large amount of lava and poured it over Alba.
"Aghhh—!"
[Alba: 3500 → 2500 LP]
Although he knew that everything before him was merely an illusion, the Virtual Simulation System's fidelity was too high. Alba almost thought he was genuinely going to be scalded to death by the lava, losing his previous composure and shouting quite ungracefully.
But he quickly remembered that his current persona should be that of a Psychic who saw through everything, and he shouldn't be so panicked. He had barely made a sound before he clamped his hand tightly over his mouth, only taking it off after a long moment.
"Th-this level of Damage is completely within my expectations!" Forcibly using his willpower to stop his legs from trembling, Alba now only wanted to resolve this Duel as quickly as possible. He urgently played the card he had just drawn from his hand. "I Normal Summon (Clairvoyance) in Attack Position!"
A Psychic, like a circus acrobat clown, appeared before Alba. However, watching (Clairvoyance) appear, Alba hesitated slightly. Due to the Effect of his (Psychic Tuning) in his Back Row, he could pay 500 Life Points to increase (Clairvoyance)'s ATK when it was Summoned.
'The opponent's Life Points are only 3600 now. The total ATK of the monsters on my Field is enough to wipe out his Life Points.' Thinking this, Alba did not Declare the Activation of (Psychic Tuning)'s Effect.
[(Clairvoyance) [LV 2 / DARK Attribute]]
[Psychic-Type / Effect]
[1200/400]
"Enter Battle Phase! Since you sent this card to my hand, I'll use it to defeat you. I use (Lava Golem) to initiate a Direct Attack!"
The colossal lava humanoid raised its hand, and a large glob of lava was scooped up and hurled towards Hayato. At this moment, Hayato Activated his Set Card in his Back Row: "Activate Set Card! Trap Card, (Counter Gate)!"
"When an opponent's monster declares a Direct Attack on me, Negate that Attack, and I can Draw one card from my Deck."
A gray-white wall appeared before Hayato, completely absorbing and blocking the lava hurled by (Lava Golem). It then gradually became transparent and vanished, replaced by a card in Hayato's previously empty hand.
"The card I Drew is a Monster Card, (Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight). If a Monster Card is drawn by (Counter Gate)'s effect, I can Summon it in Attack Position!"
Alba quickly said, "But for the Level 7 (Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight) to be Normal Summoned, it requires two Tributes!"
"Indeed, a normal Level 7 monster does. However, if my hand only contains (Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight), its Normal Summon does not require a Release." Hayato slammed the (Gaia) in his hand onto the Duel Arena. "Come forth, my Soul, (Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight)!!!"
A powerful gust of wind instantly swept across the entire field. In this dark wind, hoofbeats sounded, and a figure appeared on Hayato's field.
[(Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight) [2300/2100]]
"It appeared, the Duel King's Ace Monster, (Gaia)!"
"He actually used the opponent's attack to Summon a powerful Level 7 monster!"
"So strong!"
The onlookers buzzed with discussion. Just then, Ishizu, out of curiosity, used the Millennium Puzzle to gaze into the future outcome of this Duel.
Though Hayato's guidance had made Ishizu less superstitious about the future visions presented by the Millennium Puzzle, they could still be used as a reference.
Moreover, because Hayato's (Millennium Ring) always interfered with her Future Sight, Ishizu cleverly focused her Future Sight on the (Gaia) that Hayato had just Summoned this time.
Then, Ishizu saw (Gaia) with its hair ablaze with fire.
"A Level 7 monster, dammit!" Looking at (Gaia), with its formidable 2300 ATK, Alba couldn't help but look at his (Clairvoyance) on the field that hadn't attacked yet. Earlier, due to the oppressive aura of (Lava Golem), Alba subconsciously wanted to end the Duel as quickly as possible and Summoned it in Attack Position.
And now, (Clairvoyance), with only 1200 ATK, became the breakthrough point on his field.
"I End my Turn."
[Alba: 2500 LP, Hand 0]
[(Lava Golem) [ATK 3000]]
[(Clairvoyance) [ATK 1200]]
[(Psychic Tuning)]
[(Brain Research Lab) [Psychic Counter: 3]]
"Then, my turn." Hayato drew a card and then activated it. "Spell Card, (Destiny Draw)! I roll a die, and I can draw cards equal to the die roll, then Banish the same number of cards from the top of my Deck!"
An illusory die landed on the field. The final Die Roll was 4!
"So, by (Destiny Draw)'s Effect, I draw 4 cards from my Deck, then Banish the same number of cards." Hayato glanced at the cards he drew, revealing a confident smile. "It seems the Goddess of Fate is on my side. This Duel will end this turn!"
"Activate Spell Card, (Owner's Seal)! Return all monsters on the field to their respective owner's field!" Hayato raised his hand and pointed at (Lava Golem). "Return, (Lava Golem)!"
"What?!" Alba watched in shock as (Lava Golem) threw him out of the iron cage, then obediently returned to Hayato's field like a pet dog and stood there honestly. It was truly difficult for him to accept.
"It ate two of my monsters and then returned to your field? And why was it so arrogant when it was on my field?!"
(Lava Golem) glanced at Alba, then at the several illusory figures beside Hayato, and at the (Gaia) standing next to it. It sighed, thinking to itself, 'Big brother, people really are different.'
(end of chapter)