"Hmph~ Sore wa dō kana?"
"Nani?!"
Under Jaden's confused gaze, Flame Wingman's crimson flames shot out as usual, but instead of striking Manjoume and inflicting damage, something unexpected happened.
The flames were intercepted—not just blocked, but absorbed—by a radiant, rainbow-colored barrier that had appeared out of thin air!
"What… just happened?"
The shield didn't merely stop Flame Wingman's effect damage; it absorbed the immense energy within the flames! Jaden was baffled.
"A rainbow-colored shield that absorbs a monster's effect damage... Most likely, it's the Trap Card Rainbow Life."
Yuuya, experienced and knowledgeable, immediately deduced which card Manjoume had used just from the visual projection. Then he turned to him and calmly offered his spectator's analysis:
"This is still your very first turn, Manjoume. Normally, you can't activate a Trap Card the same turn it's set—it has to be on the field for at least one turn."
"But now that the effect visuals of Rainbow Life have appeared, it means the duel system has recognized its successful activation."
"And if a Trap Card was activated directly from the hand, the only kind of card that can allow that, and during this exact timing, would be the Executioner - Makyura you discarded at the beginning with Graceful Charity, correct?"
Executioner - Makyura, a restricted card, has the effect: during the turn, it's sent to the Graveyard, and the player can activate Trap Cards directly from the hand—but only once.
So far, the only opportunity Manjoume had to send Makyura to the Graveyard this turn was during his first play—Graceful Charity. That explains everything!
Clap, clap!
Applause echoed—coming from Manjoume alone.
"As expected from the man who once defeated me! You guessed right. It was thanks to Executioner - Makyura, which I discarded with Graceful Charity, that I was able to activate Rainbow Life directly from my hand by paying one card as the cost."
"And thanks to Rainbow Life, until the end of this turn, any damage I would take is instead turned into Life Point recovery!"
"In other words, I didn't suffer from Flame Wingman's power—I gained from it!"
(Manjoume: 6000 LP → 8100 LP)
"Hisss—!"
Everyone watching gasped in unison at the massive jump in Manjoume's Life Points. Good lord! He now had over twice the standard starting total—plus 100!
Combined with the special rule letting him draw two cards per turn, it was clear that the scales of victory had tipped drastically in Manjoume's favor. His advantage was overwhelming!
"Even though you used the combo of Rainbow Life and Executioner - Makyura to restore your Life Points, Manjoume, you deliberately had Masked Dragon attack… So, you must have had another goal, right?"
Masked Dragon is a monster with a "floating" (last will) effect, and Yuuya was fully aware of this. What he was curious about was: which Dragon-type monster from his Deck did Manjoume intend to summon?
"Of course! Now, I activate Masked Dragon's effect! When it's destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon one Dragon-type monster with 1500 or less ATK from my Deck."
"And using that effect, I'll call forth my newly acquired monster! Open your eyes wide and watch closely!"
"Special Summon — Armed Dragon LV3!"
'ROAR!'
A small, orange-scaled dragon appeared, its body clad in light brown armor, with a silver-gray spike curved across its belly.
(Armed Dragon LV3, Level 3, ATK: 1200 / DEF: 900)
"Armed Dragon…? It's actually from the 'LV' series of monsters?"
Seeing the little dragon, a flood of related information surfaced in Yuuya's mind.
"LV Monsters," also known as "Level Monsters," was a series introduced by Industrial Illusions three years ago, featuring monsters whose names include "LV."
Most "LV Monsters" share a similar effect: by sending a certain "LV Monster" to the Graveyard under specific conditions, you can Special Summon a higher-level version of the same monster from your hand or Deck.
Also, the "LV + number" in their names directly indicates their monster Level. For example, "Armed Dragon LV3" clearly tells you it's a Level 3 monster.
"But… Armed Dragon? I've never seen it used in any of the usual LV Monster decks before."
Whether from his own card designers' creations or duels against other players using "LV Monster" Decks, Yuuya had never seen a series known as "Armed Dragon."
"Heh heh! This is our Northern Branch's treasured ace! Normally, you haven't heard of it."
A "treasured ace" of a school implies that the card is both rare and rarely seen in action—"scarce" would be the most fitting description.
In terms of rarity, the Armed Dragon deck could be compared to another major archetype—the "Cyber Dragon" series.
As for its exposure? Cyber Dragon was the signature deck used by Principal Samejima, one of the current Eight Masters, during his days competing in the professional leagues. Because of that, it has appeared frequently in public duels, and anyone from that era who followed the pro circuit would have at least heard of or seen it.
But Armed Dragon was different. Even in the tournaments held during Principal Samejima's tenure, it never made an appearance. Not even Samejima had ever heard of it.
During all the past exchange tournaments overseen by Principal Samejima, the Northern Branch's headmaster never allowed Armed Dragon to appear. Or rather—even if he wanted to, this deck simply wouldn't allow itself to be used by the branch's representatives at the time.
Compared to gaining more exposure and drawing gasps from spectators, both the Northern Branch headmaster and the deck itself believed that only a truly worthy duelist should wield and showcase it in battle. They had no desire to let it be "wasted."
This is precisely why Yuuya's investigations turned up nothing—he had never encountered any information related to the Armed Dragon deck.
And as a side note: there isn't just one copy of a deck this rare. Before the original is handed over to a duelist, exact "reproduction cards" are printed in advance. However, compared to the original, these replicas lack a certain brilliance—what duelists often refer to as the mysterious presence of a "duel spirit."
Ahem. Back to the duel.
Seeing Yuuya show genuine surprise toward an opponent's deck was a rare sight—it was the first time Manjoume had seen it since they met. Due to Yuuya's status, he was aware of almost every card manufactured by Industrial Illusions—except for those rare exceptions. So now, Manjoume was thoroughly enjoying himself.
Accepting the role of exchange duel representative had been the right move!
Armed Dragon—a deck that could only be used by the most exceptional student in the academy!
"I set two cards face-down and end my turn."
While it was possible to have Armed Dragon attack Flame Wingman and use the lingering effect of Rainbow Life to heal again, its next evolution form required it to remain on the field.
So, Manjoume ended his Battle Phase, set two cards, and passed the turn—giving control to Yuuya, who until now had been quietly observing and analyzing.
"My turn—draw!"
It was finally his move! As he looked at the small orange dragon on Manjoume's field—even though it was a monster he'd never seen before—the fact that it belonged to the LV Monster series meant it should have the typical shared evolution effect, right?
If that's the case, then things would be much simpler.
"Jaden! Let me borrow your strength!"
"Mm!"
With Jaden's permission, Yuuya stretched his arm toward one of Jaden's face-down cards and activated it:
"Quick-Play Spell — De-Fusion! Targeting the only Fusion Monster on the field, Flame Wingman, I dissolve the fusion and Special Summon Burstinatrix and Avian from the Graveyard!"
As Chronos had explained earlier, this duel was under special rules, meaning Yuuya was allowed to activate Jaden's set De-Fusion to summon the original Fusion Materials of Flame Wingman from Jaden's Graveyard.
"Next, by paying 800 Life Points, I activate the Spell Card Brain Control! I take control of Manjoume's Armed Dragon LV3 for one turn!"
(Jaden & Yuuya: 6000 LP → 5200 LP)
Just like its name suggests, Brain Control allowed the user to "brainwash" one of the opponent's face-up, Normal Summonable monsters and take control of it for a turn—at the cost of 800 Life Points.