"The Set Card laid face-down by 'Boo-Boo Game' can be activated the moment it's Set!" The Vampire Lady sneered. "So right now, I activate my Trap.
Trap Card 'Vampire Takeover'! When there are only Undead-Type Monsters on my field, I can activate the Field Magic 'Vampire Kingdom' straight from my Card Deck!"
Blood mist surged up, a castle ripped out of the ground, and a sinister red moon hung high in the sky, like an icy eye overlooking everything.
"Next, I Special Summon 'Vampire Grace' from the Graveyard in Defense Position!"
[Vampire Grace, DEF 1200]
The Ojama Three Brothers were instantly dumbstruck.
"Nani? How can this be?"
"We finally managed to bust up the field, and in a flash it's just..."
"Hahahaha, do you get it now? My duel will always be one step ahead of you!" The Vampire Lady was in high spirits. "Little boy, in this situation, you still dare say there is no next turn?"
Manjome's lip curled up.
"Of course, my line hasn't changed—there is no next turn for you."
"Nani?" The Lady's expression shifted slightly.
In this situation you can still one-shot me?
With those three zero-attack trash heaps on the field?
But then she heard Manjome say coolly, "You three are already useless. I activate the Magic Card 'Ojamassimilation' from my hand!
First, I show my opponent one Light Attribute, Machine-Type Fusion Monster Card!
I reveal 'ABC Divine Dragon Annihilation Cannon'!"
The Vampire Lady frowned.
Dragon Annihilation Cannon? What kind of gizmo are you trying to pull this time?
"After that, I banish any number of 'Ojama' Monsters from my hand, field, or Graveyard." Manjome glanced at the three brothers on the field, a faint smile lifting the corner of his mouth. "Disappear, you small fries."
"Eh!? Big Bro, how could you!?" Ojama Black looked utterly desperate.
"Burning bridges after crossing the river!" Ojama Green accused.
"Cold-blooded to the bone!" Ojama Yellow chimed in.
But of course their resistance was meaningless. Before they'd even finished talking, the three of them were sucked into a dimensional vortex and vanished straight into the Other Dimension.
"Then, based on the number of banished 'Ojama' Monsters, I can Special Summon from my Card Deck that revealed Fusion Monster and the corresponding number of Fusion Materials!"
Manjome slapped three Cards out at once.
"Come forth! A-Assault Core! B-Buster Drake! C-Crush Wyvern!"
[A-Assault Core, ATK 1900]
[B-Buster Drake, ATK 1500]
[C-Crush Wyvern, ATK 1200]
"Next I banish A, B, and C from the game—transform and combine!"
The three mecha units lifted off the ground, parts automatically separating and reconfiguring, interlocking and snapping together. In the blink of an eye they'd fused into a single, imposing heavy mecha.
Energy loading, ammo charging, barrels locking on—this enormous war machine was fully armed and ready to go!
"ABC-Dragon Buster, Summon!!"
[ABC-Dragon Buster, ATK 3000]
"So this is the ace you're pinning your comeback hopes on?" The Vampire Lady shouted. "But it doesn't matter what it is, it's useless! Have you forgotten? In this Field, your resistance is feeble and powerless!
Open Set Card! Trap Card 'Simultaneous Loss'! Both players must discard the top Card of their Card Deck to the Graveyard!"
She let out a gorgeous yet hideous cackle, fangs glinting coldly under the red moon.
"All right, hurry up and discard the top Card of your Card Deck!" she said. "But at this moment, the effect of the Field Magic 'Vampire Kingdom' will also be triggered! I can destroy any Card on the field!
Hehe, even though your appearance is fleeting, you'll disappear right here and now, ABC-Dragon Buster!"
"That's not a given." Manjome smiled.
"Nani?"
"ABC-Dragon Buster, effect activate!" Manjome declared. "By discarding one Card from my hand, I can banish any Card on the field from the game!
And this effect can be activated during my opponent's turn as well!"
"Nani?" The Vampire Lady's face changed drastically, as if she'd instantly realized what that meant.
"Your goal is..."
"Exactly." Manjome chuckled. "I chain ABC-Dragon Buster's effect to the effect of 'Simultaneous Loss', discard one Card from my hand to activate ABC-Dragon Buster's effect, and destroy the Field Magic 'Vampire Kingdom'!"
The Dragon Annihilation Cannon locked its target. The green and purple steel dragon heads roared in unison, pale golden lightning dancing in their maws.
The current discharged, tearing through the air to smash into the massive black castle at the rear. The colossal fortress that had only been standing for a few seconds crumbled once again, walls splitting open as the glow of the red moon dimmed, then vanished completely.
The entire Vampire Kingdom collapsed with a thunderous crash, scattering into a field of broken bricks, then dissolving into Void.
"Next comes the resolution of the Trap Card 'Simultaneous Loss'. We each discard one Card from the top of our Card Decks." Manjome smiled. "But since 'Vampire Kingdom' has been destroyed, you obviously can't chain the Field Magic's effect to destroy my Monster anymore."
Only now did the Vampire Lady look truly rattled.
All of her arrangements, all of her tactics, every layer of insurance had been dismantled, every defensive line broken.
It felt like the enemy was already at the gates. Her defenses were in total collapse, the invincible Dragon Annihilation Cannon had driven right up to her face, its gaping barrel practically shoved into her mouth, leaving her no room to dodge.
The Vampire Lady's Life Points were down to just 1000, and the Vampire Lady on the field had 2000 ATK.
Unfortunately for her, ABC-Dragon Buster's ATK was 3000.
The next attack would be the final blow.
The Vampire Lady finally couldn't maintain her composure. She frowned and began looking around. "Hey! I know you're watching. You've seen enough, it's about time you showed yourself, don't you think?"
At her words, everyone else began glancing around as well.
Yet aside from their own group, the Blood Race Warriors who'd barged into the hall during the duel only to be instantly slaughtered by the players, and the Vampire Fraulein who had collapsed on the ground and had only just managed to struggle back to her feet, there really didn't seem to be anyone else present.
Who was she talking to?
No one answered.
This time, the Vampire Lady was truly panicking.
"This isn't funny!" She stomped her foot, fuming. "You promised me! I would take the Fraulein's place and seize control of this empire, and my empire would soar to become the foremost of the Twelfth Dimension!
You can't… you can't..."
Still, no one responded.
Everyone looked at one another.
"Who is she talking to?"
"Is this a hidden event? Like there's still a final boss behind the scenes?"
"Sounds like she just got sold out by somebody?"
Manjome frowned. "What are you babbling about? Makes no sense… Battle!"
He swung his arm down, his black trench coat billowing behind him like a King drawing the command blade that leads legions.
"ABC-Dragon Buster, attack 'Vampire Lady'!"
The mechanical dragon heads lifted, the steel cannon came crashing down. Surging energy was pumped into the yawning barrel, and a spiraling golden beam blasted forth from the metal gun!
The Vampire Lady's frail body was blown cleanly in half at the waist. She let out a shrill, wretched scream as her body was hurled through the air, smashing through the hall's wall and over the battlements, disintegrating into countless golden particles in mid-air and vanishing.
[Vampire Lady, LP 1000 → LP 0]
She was gone.
And yet, in truth, she wasn't wrong.
The person she'd been appealing to really had been watching the duel the entire time.
That shadow stood hidden in the darkness, his gaze cold and utterly devoid of warmth as he observed the progression of the match, watching the Vampire Lady—who fancied herself his ally—being blasted away and shattered to dust.
But he did nothing from beginning to end, merely watched.
As if he were brewing some far greater scheme.