Chapter 36: Stop It! This Isn't a Duel! (3500-word chapter, asking for votes!)
"It's my turn! Now, it's time to close the net!" Sora cackled maliciously. "My turn! Draw!"
"I activate the Spell Card, Frightfur Patchwork! I add one 'Polymerization' and one 'Edge Imp' monster from my Deck to my hand!"
"I summon Fluffal Dolphin in Attack Position."
"I activate Fluffal Dolphin's effect! I target one 'Toy Pot' in my Graveyard, Set it on my field, and then send one 'Edge Imp Scissor' or one 'Fluffal' monster from my Deck to the Graveyard."
"I activate the effect of my Set Continuous Spell, Toy Pot!"
"Once per turn, I can activate this effect by discarding one card. I draw one card and reveal it. If it's a 'Fluffal' monster, I can Special Summon one monster from my hand. If not, I discard the drawn card."
"I discard Edge Imp Chain from my hand to draw a card!"
"The card I drew is Fluffal Dog! I'll Special Summon it!"
"When Fluffal Dog is Normal or Special Summoned from the hand, I can add one 'Edge Imp Scissor' from my Deck to my hand!"
"Furthermore, since Edge Imp Chain was sent from my hand to the Graveyard, I can add one 'Frightfur' card from my Deck to my hand!"
"I'll add the Spell Card Frightfur Repair to my hand!"
"I activate the Spell Card, Polymerization! I fuse Fluffal Penguin and Fluffal Dog on my field with Edge Imp Scissor in my hand!"
"Claws of the demon! Fangs of the beast! Unite in the mystical vortex and reveal your new power and form! Fusion Summon! Appear, Level 6! The demonic beast of the jungle that tears all asunder! Frightfur Tiger!"
"I activate Frightfur Tiger's effect! When this card is Fusion Summoned, I can destroy cards on the field up to the number of Fusion Materials used for its summon!"
"This fusion used three materials." Sora held up three fingers. "So I'll destroy your monster and your two Set cards!"
"At this moment, I activate my Counter Trap, Xyz Block!"
"By detaching one Xyz Material from a monster I control, I can negate the activation of an opponent's monster effect and destroy it."
The last orb of light swirling around Hope transformed into a barrier, deflecting all the incoming blades.
"You blocked it? But now your monster can no longer use its effect to negate attacks! Still, rather than battling, it's more thrilling to leave your field completely empty and make you tremble."
"I activate the effect of Fluffal Wings in my Graveyard! Since I control 'Toy Pot,' I banish this card from my Graveyard and target one 'Fluffal' monster in my Graveyard. I banish that monster and draw one card. Then, I can send my 'Toy Pot' to the Graveyard to draw another card!"
"I activate the Spell Card, Frightfur Fusion!"
"By banishing Fusion Material Monsters listed on a 'Frightfur' Fusion Monster from my field or Graveyard, I can Fusion Summon that Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck."
"I banish Edge Imp Saw and Fluffal Dog from my Graveyard to Fusion Summon!"
"Iron teeth that house a demon! Become one with the fanged beast and reveal your new power and form! Fusion Summon! Appear, Level 7! The king of beasts that slices everything apart! Frightfur Leo!"
A second Frightfur Leo appeared before Sora.
"I activate Frightfur Leo's effect! I target one face-up monster on my opponent's field, destroy it, and inflict damage to my opponent equal to the destroyed monster's original ATK."
This time, with no Set cards to help, Hope fell beneath the flying blades, and Yūga Hōzumi, standing behind it, was also cut.
Yūga Hōzumi LP: 4000 → 1500
These sharp blades didn't stop after destroying Hope but continued to spin and fly in all directions, wantonly destroying everything.
Sora's actions made the announcer sweat. "Even if it's just Solid Vision, isn't destroying the field this much going a bit too far...?"
"It can't be helped, can it? Hunters always find it a bit hard to control their emotions when hunting their prey, don't you think?" Sora asked provocatively, looking at Yūga Hōzumi, who was struggling to stand up.
"That guy!" Inside the lounge, Shun looked at the heavily destroyed Heartland City. Even if it was just Solid Vision, it made his eyes burn with rage. He immediately pushed open the lounge door and rushed out.
"Calm down, Shun! Trust Yūga Hōzumi. He'll make that guy pay," Yuto shouted as he quickly gave chase.
"It's not over yet! I activate the Spell Card, Frightfur Repair!"
"I can activate this by targeting one 'Frightfur' monster in my Graveyard. I Special Summon that monster."
"Revive, my Frightfur Tiger!"
Frightfur Tiger ATK: 1900
"Since there's one more Fairy-type or Fiend-type monster in the Graveyard, Frightfur Nightmare's attack power increases by another 300 points!"
Frightfur Nightmare ATK: 5600 → 5900
"But that's not all! Due to Frightfur Tiger's effect, as long as it's in the Monster Zone, all 'Frightfur' monsters on my field gain 300 ATK for each 'Fluffal' and 'Frightfur' monster on my field."
Frightfur Nightmare ATK: 5900 → 6800
Frightfur Leo ATK: 2400 → 3300
Frightfur Tiger ATK: 1900 → 2800
"Battle! Frightfur Nightmare, attack him directly!" Sora commanded, pointing a piece of candy at Yūga Hōzumi as countless resentful spirits surged out from the stuffed animal's body.
But these resentful spirits didn't attack Yūga Hōzumi directly. Instead, they rushed toward the surrounding buildings, exploding on contact and engulfing the field in a sea of fire.
Standing his ground, Yūga Hōzumi coldly watched the seemingly deranged Sora, his eyes reflecting the blazing flames.
"What's wrong? Scared stiff? Go on, struggle! I'll give you a chance to grab an Action Card!" Sora laughed wildly.
"No need," Yūga Hōzumi said coldly, flipping over his last Set card.
"I activate my Trap Card, Dimensional Xyz!"
"I target two monsters with the same name and Level in my Graveyard. I banish them, then Xyz Summon an Xyz Monster from my Extra Deck with a Rank equal to their Level. After that, this card becomes an Xyz Material for that monster. (Anime Card)"
Phantoms of two "Gogogo Glove" monsters appeared beside Yūga Hōzumi. The two monsters surged one after another into the illusory river of stars formed by the Trap Card.
"Warrior of the Abyss, descend now! Incinerate my enemies with the flames of vengeance! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Evilswarm Exciton Knight!"
From the illusory river of stars, a warrior in a white cape, wearing a compound-eye mask, and wielding a rapier leaped out, standing before Yūga Hōzumi.
Evilswarm Exciton Knight ATK: 1900
"What good is a monster with 1900 Attack Points at a time like this?" Sora sneered.
"I activate Evilswarm Exciton Knight's effect! During my Main Phase or my opponent's Battle Phase, if my opponent has more total cards in their hand and on their field than I do, I can detach one Xyz Material from this card to destroy all other cards on the field!"
"What?!" Sora cried out in alarm.
Evilswarm Exciton Knight raised its rapier, and the raging flames around it swept toward Sora's field.
In an instant, everything on Sora's field was reduced to ashes. After the great fire was extinguished, the once-picturesque field was now nothing but smoking ruins.
"This..." The announcer, who had been so passionate just moments ago, stared at the devastation, at a loss for words.
"I Set one card and end my turn," Sora said with a dark expression, his earlier smugness gone.
"My turn, draw!" Yūga Hōzumi drew a card, a strange smile appearing on his face.
"Battle! Evilswarm Exciton Knight, attack directly!" Yūga Hōzumi waved his hand, and Evilswarm Exciton Knight lunged forward, thrusting its rapier at Sora.
"Looks like you didn't draw a monster, huh?" A delighted smile spread across Sora's face. "I activate my Trap, Attack Disable!"
"This can only be activated during the Battle Phase! For the rest of this Battle Phase, any battle damage I take becomes 0."
A barrier appeared in front of Sora, blocking Evilswarm Exciton Knight's rapier.
"Next turn, you won't stand a chance," Sora said maliciously from behind the barrier.
"It seems drawing this card was fated. If battle damage is zero, then effect damage will have to do." Before Sora's words had even faded, Yūga Hōzumi muttered as he slapped the newly drawn card onto his Duel Disk. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Berserker Soul!"
"When a monster I control inflicts 1500 or less damage to my opponent with a direct attack, I can discard my entire hand to activate this! I reveal the top card of my Deck, and if it's a monster, I send it to the Graveyard and inflict 500 damage to my opponent. I then repeat this effect until a non-monster card is revealed!"
"What?!" A dreadful feeling surged in Sora's heart. He looked around desperately for an Action Card, but after that inferno, how could there be any left?
Yūga Hōzumi looked coldly at Sora and placed his hand on his Deck. "First card... Gagaga Magician! It's a monster!"
A phantom of Gagaga Magician flew out from Yūga Hōzumi's Duel Disk, slamming into Sora.
Sora LP: 800 → 300
"Second card... Utopic Onomatopeia! A monster!"
Another, much smaller Hope flew out from Yūga Hōzumi's Duel Disk, crashing into Sora.
Sora LP: 300 → 0
Sora shrieked as his Life Points hit zero. He was about to fall forward, but Yūga Hōzumi flipped over the top card of his Deck again.
"Third card... Gagaga Head! A monster!"
Another monster's phantom crashed into the teetering Sora.
"Fourth card..."
"Fifth card..."
"Sixth card..."
One monster's phantom after another slammed into him, making his stumbling body sway like a broken ragdoll.
The entire stadium was deathly silent. The audience watched in silence as Yūga Hōzumi continued to beat the already-defeated Sora amidst the ruins.
At that moment, a shout echoed through the stadium: "Stop it! This isn't a duel!"
Yūga Hōzumi followed the voice and saw Yuya Sakaki in the player's tunnel, clutching his head in agony.
Withdrawing his gaze, Yūga Hōzumi flipped over the seventh card.
"Seventh card... Gogogo Golem! A monster!"
This time, the monster phantom that flew out was exceptionally large, sending Sora's tottering body flying.
"Eighth..." Just as Yūga Hōzumi was about to flip the eighth card, a hand grabbed his right arm.
"That's enough, Yūga Hōzumi."
Yūga Hōzumi looked at the hand's owner; it was Yuto, who had rushed over from the lounge.
"Sorry," Yūga Hōzumi said after a moment of silence, having calmed down. "I got too carried away."
"Let's go. We still have cleanup duty," Shun Kurosaki reminded him from the side.
Yūga Hōzumi nodded and walked toward Sora, whose condition was unknown.
But just as Yūga Hōzumi aimed his Duel Disk at the unconscious Sora, a dazzling light flared from the boy's wrist, forcing Yūga Hōzumi, Yuto, and Shun to shield their eyes.
When the brilliant light faded and Yūga Hōzumi opened his eyes, Sora had vanished.
...
I was originally going to post a filler chapter, but since you all seemed so eager, I decided to finish this one today.
Now to answer some reader questions.
First, Sora is not some random minion. If he were, would the Fusion Dimension have sent him to the Standard Dimension as a scout? The Fusion Dimension's minions only know how to walk their dogs.
Second, regarding the protagonist's personality: in my setting, the protagonist has completely absorbed the original owner's memories. His hatred for the Fusion Dimension comes from the original owner's experiences.
Third, after the Standard Dimension arc concludes, the protagonist's Emperor's Key will be unlocked, and he will be able to use his transformation ability normally.
(end of chapter)