This round was pretty much lost.
Since the duel with Yugi Muto last time, this was the first time Youmi had felt his blood pressure rise this high.
No. Back when he fought Yugi, his hand wasn't even this absurd. Knowing he basically wouldn't get another turn, yet having no way to struggle at all.
"So this is your idea of respect… studying my Deck beforehand and packing this kind of counter card? Well, your Deck is nothing but Machine monsters, so carrying that thing is normal enough, but still… it's a real problem right now."
Youmi pressed a hand to his forehead, showing a helpless expression. "I'll send you a little something in return too.. though it's not much."
Putting his hand down, Youmi picked a card from his hand and activated it.
"I activate the Normal Spell 'Acid Rain.' Its effect is extremely simple: destroy all face-up Machine monsters on the field. Honestly, if this were just 'Harpie's Feather Duster,' this duel would've already been mine. I really didn't want to draw this here."
Since Zane was the one who revealed a counter card first, Youmi no longer cared.
"I see. You've also made plenty of preparations, Youmi."
Zane nodded slightly, showing no intention of flipping his set card.
"I discard 'Cornfield Coatl,' and search my Deck for 'Mirror Swordknight.' Then I activate 'Polymerization' from my hand, fusing the 'Beastking of the Swamps' and 'Mirror Swordknight' in my hand!"
After discarding 'Cornfield Coatl' and searching 'Mirror Swordknight,' Youmi directly used 'Beastking of the Swamps' as a substitute for 'Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast.'
"Even a false vessel can be reborn, growing the sharpest claws and the fastest wings. Fusion Summon—Fiend, Level 8, 'Chimera the Illusion Beast'!"
Jaden watched Youmi skip straight past 'Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast' and immediately fuse into 'Chimera the Illusion Beast,' leaping excitedly from his seat—only to be yanked back down by Chazz beside him. "It's here!!! Youmi's ace has appeared!!!"
Zane nodded, still not flipping his set card. "'Chimera the Illusion Beast'... as your ace, Youmi, it's indeed a powerful monster."
Youmi let out a soft laugh and swung his left hand. 'Chimera the Illusion Beast' charged at Zane. "You're still not flipping it? Then I'm crashing in. Enter Battle Phase—'Chimera the Illusion Beast,' direct attack Zane Truesdale!"
[Zane, LP: 4000 → 900]
"Big brother's LP just got slashed in one blow!"
Syrus exclaimed as he watched Zane's Life Points plummet.
"But… for big brother, more important than the 3100 LP he just lost is probably delaying the activation timing of 'Cybernetic Overflow' to create an even bigger advantage, right? Now, no matter how many cards Youmi-nii sets, he can easily break them."
Youmi moved into Main Phase Two, shook his head, and said, "Such a steady playstyle… that's exactly what gives me the biggest headache."
"I activate 'Nadir Servant,' sending 'Albion the Branded Dragon' from my Extra Deck to the Graveyard, and adding 'Dogmatika Fleurdelis, the Knighted' from my Deck to my hand. After this card resolves, I can't Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck. Then I set one card."
After adding 'Dogmatika Knight' to his hand, Youmi stared gloomily at Zane's field and set a card.
That card was 'Waking the Dragon,' given to him by the Paradox Brothers after defeating them—supposedly at the request of that red-haired boy.
If Zane used 'Cybernetic Overflow' right now and destroyed it, Youmi would be overjoyed.
After all, Zane currently had more than enough material in his Graveyard to wipe out Youmi's board at will.
Meanwhile, Youmi also didn't have 'Invoked Raidjin' or anything similar in his Extra Deck. The Brothers had actually prepared a full Fusion package for the card, and because the effect was strong, the price was high.
If Youmi spent all his activity funds on it, he'd have nothing left; further proving that in the anime world, power level always equals price.
"My turn ends."
Zane nodded thoughtfully, perhaps recalling what effects Youmi's Dragons had, and activated 'Cybernetic Overflow.'
"If I remember correctly, Youmi, your Deck still revolves around Fusion monsters, right? I activate the set card 'Cybernetic Overflow,' banishing two 'Cyber Dragons' from my Graveyard to destroy 'Chimera the Illusion Beast' and your set card."
Perhaps assuming that the 'Albion' Youmi sent to the Graveyard was just another Special Summon or search tool and irrelevant to him, Zane simply banished two 'Cyber Dragons' and destroyed both 'Chimera' and 'Waking the Dragon' before Main Phase 2 ended.
"Then, the effect of the destroyed 'Waking the Dragon' activates. I Special Summon 'Brigrand the Glory Dragon' from my Extra Deck—well, that's what I would say, but because of 'Nadir Servant's' restriction, I can't Summon it anyway."
"So instead, I Special Summon 'Dogmatika Ecclesia, the Virtuous' from my Deck, activate her effect, and search 'Dogmatika Punishment.' Returning to Main Phase 2, I set it. Turn end."
"End Phase—activate the effect of the 'Albion the Branded Dragon' sent to the Graveyard this turn. I set from my Deck one 'Branded' Spell/Trap. I set…" Youmi recalled the extra card he added to his Deck last night and set it onto the field. "I set the Quick-Play Spell 'Light of the Branded' from my Deck!"
'Light of the Branded'—a Quick-Play Spell that can target and return a Fusion monster on the field to the Deck. It was his desperate fallback option, hoping to guess correctly when Zane would activate 'Cybernetic Overflow.'
The card was one that Youmi found added to his Deck after being stabbed in the waist by 'Blazing Cartesia.' Because the card sleeves matched hers, he noticed at a glance.
Seeing how quickly Zane activated 'Future Fusion' without any thoughts earlier, Youmi was certain that he had either 'Power Bond' or 'Cyberload Fusion' in hand.
If Zane had already drawn the other component without needing 'Fusion Substitute,' then even 'Light of the Branded' wouldn't save him.
However, if Zane didn't have both pieces—or failed to topdeck one next turn—and needed to use 'Fusion Substitute' to recycle 'Cyber Eternity Dragon,' then Youmi would at least get another turn.
'Dogmatika Fleurdelis' could help him save his Life Points if he survived to Main Phase. If it were the opponent's turn, he could use 'Waking the Dragon' to Summon 'Dogmatika Ecclesia' and combine her with 'Dogmatika Fleurdelis' to stop 'Cyber End Dragon's' piercing damage—or simply send out 'Brigrand' to protect his Life Points. In short, he just had to hope the opponent bricked.
Winning was out of reach now, but he could at least hold out to the end. Since arriving in this world, this was his first true brush with defeat—but Youmi wasn't obsessed with absolute victory. As long as it wasn't a Shadow Game, losing to the school's No.1 wasn't shameful.
Turn 3
"My turn, draw." Under Youmi's desperate prayer for Zane to brick, Zane drew from his Deck. "I activate the effect of 'Fusion Substitute,' banishing itself to return 'Cyber Eternity Dragon' to the Extra Deck and draw a card. I really shouldn't be this greedy, huh?"
Zane sighed, and Youmi felt certain he was safe.
Abruptly, then—
Zane revealed the card he'd been holding all along. The Duel Disk automatically ejected all 'Cyber Dragon' monsters from his Graveyard, and he swept them into his pocket. "This card cannot be Normal Summoned. It can only be Special Summoned by banishing all Machine LIGHT monsters from your Graveyard and face-up on your field."
"I banish from my Graveyard one 'Cyber Dragon,' three 'Cyber Dragon Herz,' three 'Cyber Dragon Core,' three 'Cyber Dragon Nachster,' and three 'Cyber Dragon Vier.' I Special Summon from my hand—'Cyber Eltanin.'"
On Zane's field, a massive mechanical dragon head materialized, with thirteen floating sub-units circling around it.
Youmi, who had watched a couple of episodes of a show before crossing worlds, muttered, "Where'd you get this Gundam from…?"
"I'm not entirely sure what you mean…"
Zane shifted his gaze from the newly Summoned 'Cyber Eltanin' to Youmi's field. "'Cyber Eltanin'—its effect activates upon Special Summon. All face-up monsters on the field except this card are sent to the Graveyard.
"Send that Ecclesia to the Graveyard. This effect is mandatory, so even if there were no other monsters on the field, it would still resolve."
"Also, its Attack and Defense become the number of monsters banished for its Summon × 500. I used thirteen 'Cyber Dragon' monsters, so its Attack becomes 6500. If you have no response, we enter the Battle Phase—'Cyber Eltanin,' direct attack."
This was no longer something 'Dogmatika Fleurdelis,' 'Light of the Branded,' or 'Dogmatika Punishment' could solve.
First, Youmi deeply regretted not choosing 'Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring' as his spirit vessel—and then he was swallowed by the combined fire of 'Cyber Eltanin' and its thirteen Bit sub-units.
"Honestly… Chazz and Jaden both get to play manga cards… how could you not have one too? What a miscalculation~"
[Youmi, LP: 4000 → 0]
...
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