Genichiro glanced over the two monsters on Yusaku's field and clicked his tongue. "So much work for just two monsters. I'll admit you've got some skill, but you're not much stronger than the small fry who challenged me earlier."
"Oh? Confident, aren't we, senpai." Yusaku folded his arms. "Then please—begin your performance."
"Two monsters is nothing! I'll shatter that confidence of yours!"
Genichiro set his hand on the Duel Disk.
"My turn. Draw!"
He looked over six cards and smiled. "Looks like this duel will end quickly."
"First, Normal Summon!"
He slapped a card onto the Disk.
"Come forth—The Black Stone of Legend!"
Light flared. A stone, glowing like molten rock and wreathed in magma-bright red, landed on the field.
The Black Stone of Legend
LV 1 / Dragon / Effect
ATK 0
The spectators stirred.
"The Black Stone of Legend!? That card's rare—hard to see even in the Upper City!"
"How strong can it be? Its ATK is zero."
"You don't get it. A monster's strength isn't always about ATK."
On the field—
Genichiro swept his arm. "I activate The Black Stone of Legend! I tribute it to Special Summon a Level 7 or lower 'Red-Eyes' monster from my Deck!"
"In response!" Yusaku raised his hand. "I chain and flip the Continuous Trap—Eternal Soul!"
The Trap turned up. Magic erupted like black fire. Obsidian flames wove a colossal sigil as a dark stone stele rose behind Yusaku.
Genichiro's lips quirked. So you finally flipped that.
"Then, on resolution," Genichiro barked, "I tribute The Black Stone of Legend and Special Summon a Level 7 or lower 'Red-Eyes' from my Deck!"
The Black Stone melted into magma and sank beneath the tiles.
A card ejected from his Deck; he slammed it down.
"Witness the strongest dragon sleeping in my Deck—my soul, my pride, the legend that births infinite possibilities—Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"
At once, subterranean magma erupted. Lava surged like a tidal roar—the planet's primal bellow.
The molten torrent danced in the air, crashed, and scattered in blazing shards. From the churning flow, talons formed, scales cooled into jet-black plates, a long tail uncoiled, and charred bone-wings spread in the heat's baptism.
Red-Eyes Black Dragon—descends!
Red-Eyes Black Dragon
LV 7 / Dragon / Normal
ATK 2400
"Next!" Genichiro slapped a card down. "I activate Polymerization!"
He held up two more. "I fuse the Summoned Skull in my hand with the Red-Eyes Black Dragon on the field!"
"In response," Yusaku snapped his fingers, "I activate Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon! I discard Dark Magician to negate and destroy that activation—then Dragoon gains 1000 ATK!"
The Dragoon's blade carved a crimson crescent through the air. Dark sorcery detonated the forming fusion vortex mid-sky.
Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon
ATK 3000 → 4000
"So it negates Spells and gains ATK—impressive… but—ha! You took the bait!" Genichiro laughed.
He flashed a card. "I've still got Fusion Sage! That first Polymerization was to bait out your interruption. Everyone knows: against Fusion decks, stop the Fuse and you're fine. But you didn't expect me to fetch another, did you?"
"And—" he raised another card, grinning. "Take a look at this."
The crowd craned forward. Harpie's Feather Duster.
"Harpie's Feather Duster can blow out backrow—but so what? Yusaku's threats are those two 3000-ATK bodies," someone muttered.
"Ah! I get it!" a Lion King student shot up. "Eternal Soul! When it's destroyed, it wipes your own monsters!"
The audience caught on and buzzed.
"So that's why he didn't fire it earlier—he was waiting for this timing! As expected of Genichiro-senpai—planned from the start!"
"Exactly." Genichiro tapped his temple and laughed at Yusaku. "Use your head when you duel. Don't blow your only interruption just because the opponent flips something."
He slammed the card down.
"I activate Harpie's Feather Duster!"
He roared, fingers spread, voice brooking no refusal.
"Say goodbye to your monsters, kid."
A green beam speared out from the Spell.
Yusaku's mouth tilted. "Foolish."
Not loud, not soft—but everyone heard it.
Genichiro flinched. "What did you say?"
Yusaku didn't answer. Instead, the stele behind him glowed—ancient script shimmering.
Magic surged. The oncoming beam hit the stele and unraveled, green light scattered by domineering black sorcery.
"What!?" Genichiro blurted.
The onlookers froze. Yusaku hadn't activated anything—and Eternal Soul itself has no protection. Why wasn't it destroyed?
"Dark Magician the Dragon Knight," Yusaku intoned. "While it's in the Monster Zone, your Spell/Traps cannot target or destroy my Spell/Traps."
"In short, as long as it stands, my backrow is safe. And Eternal Soul protects my Dark Magician monsters from your Spells/Traps/monster effects."
A gasp. "It's a frontline that protects the backrow, and a backrow that protects the frontline—mutual cover! A perfect lock!"
"Tch." Genichiro's face soured. So much scheming—for nothing. He felt like a clown.
"Don't get cocky!" He slammed another card. "Your set-up looks strong, but it has a weakness—kill the monster and the lock crumbles!"
"I activate Fusion Sage to add Polymerization."
He added it, then threw it down.
"Polymerization! I fuse the Red-Eyes Black Dragon on the field with the Summoned Skull in my hand!"
"Fusion Summon—Archfiend Black Skull Dragon!"
Gold lightning split the sky as a phantasmal Summoned Skull merged into a seething black cloud with Red-Eyes. Flame roared skyward.
Red-black cloud and gilded thunder braided together. From the vortex, a black hell-dragon clad in demonic bone burst forth, its vast wings beating up a gale.
Archfiend Black Skull Dragon
LV 9 / Dragon / Fusion / Effect
ATK 3200
"ATK 3200—exactly 200 over your Dark Magician the Dragon Knight! Say goodbye to your monster." Genichiro bared his teeth. "Battle! Archfiend Black Skull Dragon, attack!"
The fiend-dragon opened its jaws. A quake of light surged forth like a breached flood.
The rending blast tore through the magician's chest, pulverized him, and swallowed the dragon beneath him—the pair vanished from the field.
[Yusaku, LP: 6000 → 5800]
"Hahahaha! Now your backrow has no protection!" Genichiro crowed.
"You're celebrating too early." Yusaku gave him a cool glance. "Eternal Soul—follow-up effect, activate."
"!?"
Genichiro's laughter stopped cold. "What—there's more?"
"Of course. You think it only grants protection?"
"Once per turn, I can Special Summon 1 Dark Magician from my hand or GY. While Dark Magician the Dragon Knight is on the field or in the GY, its name is treated as Dark Magician. So…"
Yusaku snapped his fingers.
"Return—Dark Magician the Dragon Knight!"
Lines on the stele lit in sequence, sketching the magician's outline. The circle flared; magic surged—and the dragon-mounted sorcerer burst back onto the field.
Dark Magician the Dragon Knight
ATK 3000
"Oh, and I let you destroy him on purpose," Yusaku added mildly. "Because of the effect tied to my Timaeus play, he would've been banished during my turn. Since you destroyed him instead and I revived him, that banish won't happen."
"And we're not done. Because I Special Summoned a 'Dark Magician' monster, Dark Magical Circle triggers. When I Summon/Special Summon a 'Dark Magician', I can target 1 card you control and banish it."
"If you hadn't destroyed Dark Magician the Dragon Knight, none of this would've happened. He'd have banished himself on my turn. Thanks to you, he doesn't—and you also procced Dark Magical Circle for me."
"Sometimes, senpai, dueling requires thinking." Yusaku tapped his temple.
Genichiro: "…"
Yusaku swept his arm toward the lone monster on Genichiro's field.
"Begone—Archfiend Black Skull Dragon!"
Magic roared from the circle like a bursting flood, slamming into the fiend-dragon. It howled in fury—and twisted out of existence.
(End of Chapter)
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