"It's my turn, draw!"
Manjome quickly entered his aggressive rhythm.
"Activate Magic Card 'Pot of Greed', draw two cards."
"First, the effect of 'Defrag Dragon' in my hand!" Manjome said, "Defrag Dragon can be Special Summoned from the hand by discarding other Monster Cards from the hand to the grave.
I discard 'Totem Dragon' in my hand to the grave and Special Summon Defrag Dragon!"
[Defrag Dragon, ATK 1000]
"Next, I Normal Summon 'Masked Dragon' from my hand!"
[Masked Dragon, ATK 1400]
"Activate Magic Card 'Dragonic Tactics'!" Manjome said, "By sacrificing two Dragon-Type monsters on the field, I can Special Summon a Level 8 Dragon-Type monster from the deck!"
Manjome raised his hand.
"Sacrifice 'Defrag Dragon' and 'Masked Dragon' on the field, to emerge from the darkness of the abyss, bring the end! Avatar of Light and Darkness—
——Dark End Dragon!!!"
A dark impact exploded, with black mist sweeping around like waves. The pitch-black dragon emerged as if breaking out from the Abyss of Hell, letting out a deep growl from its throat.
[Dark End Dragon, ATK 2600]
A crowd of card players immediately became unsettled.
"Wait, why can your Dragonic Tactics Summon a Synchro Monster!"
"That's not right, why isn't your Dark End Dragon a Synchro Monster!?"
"Haven't you read the GX manga? Dark End Dragon was originally Manjome's monster, just somehow on the physical card it became a Synchro Monster..."
Indeed, the "Dark End Dragon" and "Light End Dragon" familiar to players in the physical card environment were originally Manjome's signature monsters in the original work.
You can see it clearly from the designs and concept; these two monsters are simply two avatars of Manjome's manga ace "Light and Darkness Dragon".
Although it's unknown why they became Synchro Monsters in physical cards, it should be considered an upgrade overall. These dragons as Synchro Monsters are more practical than the original cards.
"Oh? You've summoned quite an astonishing monster right away." Vampire Lady smiled faintly.
Manjome continued, "Activate Magic Card 'Shadow's Light' from my hand! Select one Dark Attribute monster on your field, and Special Summon a Light Attribute monster with the same level from the deck!" (Manga Card)
A card automatically ejected from the deck, which Manjome slapped onto the Duel Disc.
"The one I choose, of course, is the 'Dark End Dragon' on the field!" Manjome said, "And Special Summon a Light Attribute monster with the same level from the deck! Appear, Level 8—
——Light End Dragon!!!"
Light and darkness echoed each other, a blazing incandescent beam spiraled up from the earth, and the ultimate pure white dragon, bathed in sacred light, flew out!
[Light End Dragon, ATK 2600]
"Let's go!" Manjome declared, "'Dark End Dragon', activate effect! By reducing its own attack by 500 points, it can send a monster on the field directly to the grave!"
[Dark End Dragon, ATK 2600 →ATK 2100]
"Send 'Gozuki' to the grave!" Manjome declared.
"Does this dragon actually have such an effect?" Vampire Lady frowned, "It seems I was careless. But at this moment, activate Set Card!
Trap Card 'Vampire Takeover'! It can be activated when there are no cards in your Field Zone, and the only face-up monsters are Undead-Type.
Activate Field Magic 'Vampire Kingdom' from the deck!"
Dark End Dragon opened its mouth, spewing forth endless darkness. The jet-black current engulfed Gozuki in an instant, the bull-headed warrior roared defiantly, but ultimately was swallowed helplessly into the depths of darkness.
At the same time, the entire scene transformed. A dense, pitch-black fog enveloped everything, a crimson moon hung aloft, the entire great hall transformed into the likeness of a castle, resembling the exterior of a vampire castle.
"Following the subsequent effect of 'Vampire Takeover'," the Lady smiled faintly, "When 'Vampire Kingdom' is activated by this effect, I can Special Summon an 'Undead-Type' monster from my graveyard."
She retrieved a card from her grave.
"I Special Summon 'Vampire Grace', which was discarded to the grave last turn!"
The pale lady vampire slowly rose from the black vortex, clutching a scepter embedded with rubies, blood-red lips forming a sinister smile.
[Vampire Grace, DEF 1200]
"Dark End Dragon, that effect can only be used once per turn, right?" Vampire Lady laughed, "It's already been used on 'Gozuki', so it can't be used again this turn."
"No matter." Manjome waved his hand, "Then enter Battle Phase, and attack 'Vampire Grace' with 'Dark End Dragon' directly!"
"Don't be hasty," the Lady said, "Activate Set Card, Trap Card 'Simultaneous Loss'! Both players send the top card of their Deck to the grave!"
Manjome raised an eyebrow.
Sending the top card of the deck to the grave? What significance does this have...
Just as he was thinking this, the top card of the deck housed in the Duel Disc automatically ejected. Without a word, Manjome drew the card and discarded it to the grave alongside his opponent.
"At this moment, activate the effect of the Field Magic 'Vampire Kingdom'!" Vampire Lady declared, "Once per turn, when your opponent sends a card from the deck to the grave, I can send a 'Vampire' card from my hand or deck to the grave."
She stated, inserting a Vampire card into the grave slot of the Duel Disc.
"And destroy one card on the field!"
Manjome was slightly shocked.
Is that the real intention?
Using a forced discard trap in concert with the field magic, achieving the goal of destroying a card during the opponent's turn...
"Dark End Dragon has the powerful ability to reduce attack by 500 points each turn to eliminate any monster," Vampire Lady smiled, "So let me take care of it first.
Vanish, Dark End Dragon!"
The field effect activated, red mist gathered from all directions, wrapping around Dark End Dragon like shackles. The dark dragon gave an unwilling cry, but its body eventually shattered and disappeared from the field.
"Dark End Dragon..." Manjome frowned, "But my attack isn't over. Next is 'Light End Dragon's' attack!"
The white dragon opened its mouth, a holy and dazzling light briefly dispelled the darkness and shone throughout the castle. The vampire countess was obliterated in the glow, her scream echoed as she was torn to pieces by the intense light.
Of course, because it was in defense position, no actual damage was dealt.
But for now, this turn can only achieve so much.
Manjome drew two more cards from his hand.
"...Set two cards face-down, end the turn."