"Burn it all to ash—Uria, Lord of Searing Flames!!"
[Uria, Lord of Searing Flames] Level 10│FIRE│Pyro│0 ATK/0 DEF
On Reigun Seth's field, flames roared forth—the last Sacred Beast born of darkness, the Searing Flame Lord that had yet to truly appear until now.
Kaima said gravely, "Zero Attack and Defense?"
Miles had just proven the rule that 0/0 often means a monster effect from hell—and here Reigun Seth Special Summoned the final 0/0 Sacred Beast.
"You've even cast aside the Seth family's last shred of dignity. You'd use a thing like that and sink fully into the demonic path!" Kaima spat, leaving no room for courtesy.
Even if he wielded the Millennium Rod—had Reigun relied only on the Mythic Dragon's power, Kaima was absolutely confident she could crush him with ease. However, Reigun had chosen the Sacred Beasts awakened by devouring Livorden's duelists.
"Kaima, I never taught you to use that tone with your father. No matter how you prattle on about pride and honor, the blood in your veins is still your old man's!"
The raging Uria seemed to mirror Reigun's arrogance.
"Uria, Lord of Searing Flames—its Attack and Defense become the number of Trap Cards in the Graveyard × 1000!"
[Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, ATK: 3000]
Having Tributed three Traps to summon it, Uria's Attack instantly soared to 3000, on par with Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
Locke Slint commanded Raviel and Hamon; Reigun Seth wielded Uria. That meant the brainwashed Professor Field must be using his own Deck.
At last, Professor Field moved.
"Field Spell—'Geartown,' activate!"
With his familiar voice, the Field Spell spread across the ground, turning his and Ren's arena into a mechanized cityscape.
"Then I activate the Spell Card 'Ancient Gear Catapult'!"
[If you control no monsters: Target 1 face-up card you control; destroy it, and if you do, Special Summon 1 'Ancient Gear' monster from your Deck, ignoring its Summoning conditions.]
"I destroy my Field Spell 'Geartown.'" The city of gears collapsed in the very next second.
"Special Summon, ignoring conditions—Ancient Gear Golem!"
[Ancient Gear Golem] Level 8│EARTH│Machine│3000 ATK/3000 DEF
A colossal machine every bit as massive as the Sacred Beasts materialized, steam bursting and cogs turning in the dark.
At the same moment, something still lurked within the fallen city of gears.
"When 'Geartown' is destroyed, its effect activates!"
[If this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard: Special Summon 1 'Ancient Gear' monster from your hand, Deck, or Graveyard.]
"From the mechanical ruins—take flight! Special Summon, Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon!"
[Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon] Level 8│EARTH│Machine│3000 ATK/2000 DEF
Another 3000-ATK monster: a steel dragon venting steam. Without using the Sacred Beasts at all, Professor Field had, with just two cards, brought out two monsters on par with Blue-Eyes—a pressure no less than the others. No wonder Reigun Seth rated him among the royal capital's best.
"You seem awfully concerned with their duels. Do you still have the leisure to face me, bearer of the Millennium Puzzle?" Locke ended his turn, the Millennium Eye gleaming—he had already seen Miles's five opening cards.
"Just showing a bit of concern," Miles smiled.
"Concern?" Kaima frowned.
"Concern!" Ren blushed.
"Relationships," Aisha sighed. "Mr. Miles, so gentle."
Miles added, "That doesn't mean I don't trust them. On the contrary—because I believe they'll win, I can stand here and duel you with everything I've got… and blow you away!"
A vein twitched beneath Locke's skin, tugging at the sunken Millennium Eye. "Blow me away? With that pile of weaklings in your hand? Ridiculous."
The Eye kept working—after analyzing Miles's hand, Locke saw no way to stand against two Sacred Beasts. A Mokey Mokey and a Kuriboh—the gap was a chasm.
"The Empire Marshal's peeping habit hasn't improved even with a healthier body." Miles had expected his hand to be read—unavoidable. He couldn't exactly duel blindfolded.
Which was why these five cards were the ones he wanted the Millennium Eye to see.
"After that duel, I gave it some thought. How do you counter the Millennium Eye? Then it hit me…" Miles's pale fingertip tapped the Spirit Eyes Deck. "Old man, ever played Texas Hold 'em?"
"A commoner's card game? I've heard of it."
"Often the key is the hidden hole card." The visible cards tell a story—but that single face-down can flip everything.
"In this duel, the five cards my opponent saw are the board. The hole card is…"
"My turn. Draw!"
He drew in a graceful arc through the dark—and crucially, he didn't let his eyes follow that arc. This was his "hole card." If even Miles didn't look, then Locke certainly couldn't.
"More petty tricks? Think I'll fall for it again? With so many cards in play, even 'Goddess of Sweet Revenge' would be meaningless. And any other card—how will you use it if you don't even know what it is?"
"I do know." Miles twirled the card, taunting Locke while pointedly not looking at the face. "This card is red."
To serve as a hole card against Locke's reads, it had to be a Trap. Fortunately, even without seeing the face, cards can be identified by color—red means Trap. He'd disrupt Locke with an unknown Trap, then flip it the instant it was live.
"I Summon Mokey Mokey in Defense Position!"
[Mokey Mokey] Level 1│LIGHT│Fairy│300 ATK/100 DEF]
He placed it face-up in Defense—no point setting it when the Eye had already seen it—and, more importantly, to pair it with another Trap in his hand.
"I Set two cards!" One face-up, one face-down—the two Traps Miles prepared.
"When your monster is Summoned, I can use Raviel's effect!"
[When your opponent Normal, Flip, or Special Summons a monster(s): Special Summon the same number of 'Phantasm Tokens' (Fiend/DARK/Level 1/1000 ATK/1000 DEF) in Defense Position. These Tokens cannot declare an attack.]
"Gather, darkness—Phantasm Tokens!"
A horrifying scene—like an alien giving birth—two miniature Raviels split from the massive body.
[Phantasm Token DEF: 1000]
Even a Token born of Raviel outclassed Mokey Mokey.
"-_-!"
"My turn ends." Miles ended with Mokey Mokey in Defense, facing two 4000-ATK behemoths. The gap was indeed vast.
"My turn—draw!" Locke's thick arm ripped a card from the Spirit Eyes. "You think these petty tricks can sway me? Even an unknown Trap won't help—Sacred Beasts ignore Trap effects!" His gaze skimmed his draw, a cruel smile curling.
"Field Spell, 'Fallen Paradise,' activate!"
He slammed the Field down. Black branches spread and converged at center field, forming a grotesque obsidian tree.
["Uria, Lord of Searing Flames", "Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder", and "Raviel, Lord of Phantasms" you control cannot be targeted by, or destroyed by, your opponent's card effects while this card is in the Field Zone.]
A Field made for the Sacred Beasts—the dark heart of a fallen paradise. From hollows within the tree, unblinking eyes flickered, gnawing at one's sanity. The hellish Dark Game sank still deeper. The fog's erosion here was dozens of times worse than in the capital.
Even with a Millennium Item's protection, Miles, at the center of the dark, felt a turmoil from the depths of his soul—as if it howled to tear everything apart.
"Fallen Paradise has another effect: while I control a Sacred Beast, once per turn I can draw two cards!"
Aisha blinked. "A continuous 'Pot of Greed'?!"
With Sacred Beasts, Fallen Paradise was basically a Pot of Greed every turn.
"Draw." Locke's grin widened as he took two more.
"Time to crush everything—battle!" His bellow shook even the black tree.
"Raviel, smash that weakling!"
The Sacred Beast's fist crashed toward Mokey Mokey in Defense. By all logic, using Hamon would have dealt 1000 burn when it destroyed a monster—anyhow, Locke had Raviel attack because his Eye had already seen Miles's face-up Trap and knew he'd trigger it now.
"Trap, 'The League of Uniform Nomenclature'! I Special Summon two more 'Mokey Mokey' from my Deck in Defense Position!"
[Mokey Mokey DEF: 100] ×3
Three blocks of tofu formed a wall on Miles's field.
"When two monsters are Special Summoned, Raviel also creates two more Phantasm Tokens!" Thankfully, those Tokens couldn't attack—otherwise Mokey Mokey would look even worse.
"You can't stop Raviel with numbers! From my hand, I activate 'Raviel, Lord of Phantasms - Shimmering Scraper'!" The card Locke had drawn off Fallen Paradise bore Raviel's very attack.
[Discard this card; target 1 'Raviel, Lord of Phantasms' you control; it gains ATK equal to its original ATK, then it can attack all monsters your opponent controls, once each. You can only use this effect of 'Raviel, Lord of Phantasms - Shimmering Scraper' once per turn. (Quick Effect.)]
"Explode—Heaven-Rending Fist of the ultimate Sacred Beast!"
[Raviel, Lord of Phantasms, ATK: 4000 → 8000]
With 8000 ATK and attacks on all monsters, Raviel's Shimmering Scraper swept Miles's board like a nuclear blast.
"Then Hamon, direct attack—Bolt of Lost Paradise!" A lethal 4000 loomed—Miles had to spend his other known card.
"I discard Kuriboh to make the battle damage 0. Kuriboh!" The little furball leapt from his hand, taking the thunder head-on.
Locke had expected as much. Forcing out the Kuriboh was all he needed this turn.
"End of Battle Phase, I use 'Raviel, Lord of Phantasms - Shimmering Scraper' in the Graveyard!"
[If this card is in your GY: Tribute 1 monster; add this card to your hand.]
"I Tribute a Phantasm Token to return Shimmering Scraper!" Trading a free Token for such a powerful hand trap—pure profit.
"I Set one card. Turn end!" He lowered his hand with a sneer. "So where's that 'hole card' of yours? Dueling without looking at your cards—even activating Traps must be impossible."
"Oh? You want to know? Then I'll reveal the hole card… now!"
At End Phase, a Trap at last came alive—Miles could feel the wind of fortune at his back.
"Continuous Trap—'Human-Wave Tactics'!"
[During the End Phase of each turn, Special Summon from your Deck, in Defense Position, as many Level 2 or lower Normal Monsters as possible that were destroyed by battle and sent to your GY this turn.]
The goofy art of Mokey Mokey belied a Trap tailor-made for Normal Monsters.
"Look what you did this turn, Locke! With Shimmering Scraper, you destroyed three Mokey Mokey—so I Special Summon three Level 2 or lower Normal Monsters from my Deck!"
True human-wave tactics: however many weaklings fell, that many would rise at turn's end. And in Aisha Carlos's Deck, the number of such weaklings meant… another possibility.
Miles spread his Deck to choose his summons—then the seething dark tugged at his soul again, urging him to tear, to rip, to wield the power of darkness.
"Mr. Miles?" Aisha's soft voice noticed the hitch. He almost never hesitated like this.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. It's just…" Miles's eyes fixed on the cards fanned before him. "I see it—the new power roaring in this hell!"
He slapped down three cards as Human-Wave Tactics resolved—monsters chosen for their particular "specialness." Back in Fusion Academy's weekly Summoning class (see ch. 60), after switching bodies with Aisha, Miles had personally Summoned them.
"I Special Summon three 'Skull Servant'!"
[Skull Servant] Level 1│DARK│Zombie│300 ATK/200 DEF
As weak as Mokey Mokey—pure fodder. Yet they heralded a shift—from light to darkness in Miles's tactics.
...
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