"Just noticing now? It's already too late! My turn! Draw!"
Bakura, without hesitation, slapped a Monster Card onto the stump Duel Disk.
"I summon in Attack Position—White Magical Hat!"
Light flashed, and a phantom magician appeared on the field, donning a tall white top hat, a sharp suit, and a flowing white cape.
With a sly look in his eyes, his figure flickered, turning into a white afterimage as he lunged straight at Tristan on the field!
"What?! Wait! Aaaah—!!"
Tristan had no time to react. White Magical Hat's seemingly elegant, yet eerily forceful punch landed squarely on him!
Bang!
Tristan's body flickered and warped violently like a broken transmission, then dissolved into a faint blue phantom, sucked into the swirling darkness that represented the Graveyard!
"Heheheh…"
Bakura let out a chilling laugh as the glow of the Millennium Ring shimmered faintly.
"Under the rules of the Shadow Game, when a Soul Card is destroyed in battle, the moment it's sent to the Graveyard, the soul it carries… will be marked and hunted by the Reaper."
"What?!"
Yugi's pupils shrank.
"If the soul of Commander is completely taken by the Reaper, then the real Tristan… will vanish forever!"
"Tristan…"
Yugi's heart sank sharply. He had to think of a way to bring Tristan back onto the field.
"Now then, my turn ends."
Bakura crossed his arms, calmly watching Yugi's grave expression.
Yugi forced himself to stay calm, his sharp eyes sweeping across his hand.
"My turn! Draw!"
His gaze locked on one card.
"I summon MS-06 Zaku II in Attack Position!"
The card glowed, and a massive, dark-green machine turned from illusion to reality!
It straightened from its crouched posture, metal joints grinding heavily, as its huge mono-eye flickered with a cold red light.
It stood tall on the field, radiating the pressure of industrial machinery, its 120mm machine gun already raised!
"Attack! Target White Magical Hat!"
Without hesitation, Yugi commanded.
"Babababababam—!!!"
The deafening roar of the machine gun tore through the silence of the dark space!
Zaku II's muzzle spat fire, and the storm of bullets instantly engulfed the white silhouette!
Boom!
White Magical Hat didn't even let out a scream before being shredded into fragments by the raging storm of metal, vanishing without a trace!
[Bakura, LP: 2000 → 1600]
"Ugh!"
Bakura's body jolted violently, as though struck in the chest by an invisible hammer. He let out a groan, a flicker of pain passing across his face.
Yugi caught it instantly.
If the damage fed back into his body too, then that pain could be exploited—to disrupt his judgment!
"Turn end!"
Now it was Bakura's turn.
"Draw!"
He glanced at his new card, not seeming eager to attack.
"I Set a Monster! Turn end!"
A card was placed face-down, its identity concealed.
A Set card… a Flip Effect Monster?
Yugi's mind rang with alarm bells.
"My turn! Draw!"
First, probe that Set card!
He decided immediately.
"Zaku II, attack the face-down monster!"
The green giant raised its gun once more, aiming at the unknown card. Just as the bullets were about to fire—
The card flipped up!
A giant jar appeared on the field—it was Morphing Jar!
"Hahaha!"
Bakura laughed triumphantly.
"Yugi! You've fallen into my trap! Morphing Jar's Flip Effect activates! Both players must discard their entire hands to the Graveyard! Then, draw five new cards!"
Yugi's heart clenched, cold sweat instantly soaking his back!
Close one! Good thing I didn't have any Soul Cards in hand! Otherwise… He couldn't imagine the consequences and silently sent his hand to the Graveyard.
Both he and Bakura drew five new cards from their decks.
Yugi scanned them quickly: Monster Reborn, H.L.V., Celtic Guardian, Petit Angel…
And—ACE – Char the Red Comet!
Yuto's Soul Card!
Yugi's chest tightened.
He couldn't let it stay in his hand as a target!
He had to summon it immediately for protection!
"I end the Battle Phase!"
He declared at once, his gaze fixed on the card holding Yuto's soul.
"Next, I Tribute Zaku II on my field! As a Tribute, I Special Summon ACE – Char the Red Comet!"
Bang!
The green Zaku exploded into fragments!
At its fading core, a brand-new machine descended with a thunderous roar of engines—painted in iconic crimson, its head crowned with a sharp horn!
"According to ACE – Char the Red Comet's special effect!"
Yugi's voice trembled with a touch of excitement.
"When this card is Special Summoned, its Attack increases by the Attack of the Tributed monster Zaku II! Therefore, its Attack rises by 1400, reaching 2600!"
The crimson giant loomed in the dark space, radiating a ferocious aura.
It hefted a massive anti-ship rifle on its shoulder, its mono-eye glowing an ominous red, like a beast ready to devour prey.
At that moment, inside the cockpit of the legendary machine—
"Hah—! So this is the cockpit of an MS?!"
Yuto tore off Char's iconic helmet, inhaling deeply at the recycled air of the simulator. Like a child entering an amusement park for the first time, his hands fumbled across the complex panel, feeling every button and lever.
The huge main screen showed the outside battlefield and Bakura standing across, while a low vibration from the engines shook beneath him.
The novelty made him even push the controls clumsily, making the red Zaku attempt a few awkward melee moves, including a stiff side kick.
"My turn ends!"
Yugi's voice came through the comm channel.
Only then did Yuto rein in his excitement, turning the Zaku back toward his own field.
With a hiss of pressure release, the cockpit door slid open.
Grabbing the edge, he flipped out nimbly, still grinning with lingering thrill.
"Yo! Yugi!"
"Yuto."
Yugi spoke quickly, face serious.
"Listen carefully. The situation—"
"No need to explain!"
Yuto waved his hand, eyes sharp as they swept the dark surroundings.
"The moment the Shadow Game started, I already understood the rules completely! I only jumped in because I wanted to pilot this baby!"
He grinned wide, patting the cold armor at the Zaku's ankle.
"…Fine."
Seeing that Yuto understood, Yugi said no more, focusing back on his opponent.
Bakura's lips curved coldly as he slowly played two cards from his new hand.
"I Set a Monster."
A card was placed face-down.
"Then, I Set another card…"
The second card covered behind the Monster.
"Turn end!"
Another Set card… and this time, two of them!
Yugi's nerves tightened, a deep unease gripping him.
'Damn it! If it's a powerful Trap that can wipe out my monster… Like Mirror Force or Sakuretsu Armor…'
He stared at Bakura's face-down back row.
What to do? The risk of forcing an attack was too high…
...
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