"Chimeratech Fortress Dragon, direct attack!"
Fortress Dragon's armor plates trembled violently. Blinding blue-white arcs burst from metal seams. Crouching low, its whirring energy core unleashed a high-frequency hum, as if the very space itself was resonating. Its metallic jaws opened, and the twisted transparent energy blast wasn't fire, wasn't a laser, but a compressed spatial shockwave.
Lester was blasted away—yet again—rolling helplessly across the ground, head over heels. Even the always-composed Jakob was knocked headfirst into the floor, left dazed for quite a while.
"Damn…"
Lester lay on the ground, unable to get up, pounding the earth in frustration.
But, no matter his anger, he had to admit the hard truth.
There was no way to win.
In fact, from the moment the opponent revealed "Chimeratech Fortress Dragon," both knew: they never really had a chance in this duel.
Their ace is known as the Synchro-Killer, but now that seems like a joke.
What Synchro-Killer? Can you swallow an entire enemy field and one-punch the opponent, almost unconditionally?
That damn Fortress Dragon can do it.
The fusion requirement is Cyber Dragon plus any Machine; you can even eat the opponent's monsters. No targeting, no chain, just scoop up all the Machines. And for Meklords, it's even worse: each Meklord is made of five parts, so it's counted as five monsters, making Fortress Dragon at least 6000 ATK even with just one Meklord. Clear the field, one punch—game over.
If Meklords are Synchro-Killers, then Cyber Dragons are "Meklord-Killers." Against Cyber Dragons, the mighty Emperors could only shiver—there's not even room to resist.
"Well?" Kira asked, "Are you willing to face reality now?"
Jakob and Lester shared a glance and lowered their heads in silence—admitting defeat and acknowledging the arrival of the new boss.
They had no choice. He came with orders from above—and he packed a punch. Just with that Chimeratech Rampage Dragon, there's no arguing whose turf this is now.
"Good." Kira nodded with satisfaction. "Then, first of all, I'm taking over the position of Director of Sector Security. Get the paperwork ready; I'll be taking office in a few days."
The two didn't speak.
Lester still looked devastated that his Skiel had been swallowed by Cyber Dragon, he opened his mouth to protest but Jakob stopped him with a look. Lester shrank back, silent.
"I wonder... Next, there's the matter of WRGP."
Kira rested his chin on his hand in thought.
"You three were set to compete in the WRGP, right?"
(In the anime, the Three Pure Nobles are the final boss team of WRGP, the Team New World, dueling against Yusei and Team 5D's in the finals to summon Ark Cradle.)
Jakob and Lester shared another look.
Jakob spoke, "Yes. It was all the will of the divine, paving the way for Ark Cradle's advent. But if you, sir, wish to take part yourself—"
"No, that won't be necessary." Kira waved him off. "You three stick with your original plan and continue competing. I myself may also participate, but I won't conflict with you.
By the way, just in case, make sure the tournament rules allow teams with less than three members to enter."
Kira recalled the anime allowed this: when Sherry LeBlanc first appeared, she wanted to recruit Yusei into her team of two (her and Elsworth), and it was permitted.
So competing with fewer than three members is allowed, so long as you pass the selection—especially since Kira, as the real controller behind the committee, can dictate the rules.
Jakob and Lester exchanged a look, their expressions turning a little odd.
Lester finally spoke: "Wait, you're not thinking of entering alone… are you?"
"Maybe, if I can't find other teammates." Kira tilted his head, pondering.
Even the two powerful Pure Nobles were surprised by this.
For real?
One guy, entering a tag-team relay match with 3v3 rules?
Is he insane?
Or is he just that confident in his own strength, thinking he can sweep the field by himself?
"Also, WRGP was originally scheduled for next year, right?" Kira said, "Plans have changed—it'll be held next month."
Both were shocked.
Lester protested, "Wait, you can't just say that! Everything is being prepared for next year. Suddenly moving it up, how will we—"
But Kira cut him off, "It wasn't my idea—it's your divine master's order. Or are you questioning your own god?"
Lester instantly fell silent.
"I understand, it's hard for most organizers. But for you Time Lords, it's nothing, right?" Kira grinned. "If needed, you could just tweak the timeline a bit and fix things."
Lester was exasperated. You think altering timelines is that easy? You can do it every day?
Still, he had to admit, for Time Lords, it really wasn't that big a deal.
"One more thing," Kira went on. "For WRGP, you planned to use your newly developed 'Speed World 2' as the new field, right?"
"Yes," said Jakob.
"But it isn't finished yet... If needed, we could speed up development—"
"No. The fact that it's unfinished is even better!" Kira interrupted.
"From WRGP onward, I want to abolish the rule that Riding Duels must use 'Speed World' as the field. Do away with the limitation that only Speed Spells can be used."
The two opened their mouths in shock.
Just like that? It's so arbitrary?