"Nani!?" Dimitri gasped.
"D.D. Warrior Lady? Isn't that some kind of Banishing Saint?"
"The effect of D.D. Warrior Lady," Yugen explained. "When this card battles an opponent's monster, both monsters involved in the battle are banished from the game."
He pointed to the two monsters on the field.
"Therefore, D.D. Warrior Lady and Royal Straight Slasher are both removed from play."
D.D. Warrior Lady unleashed a self-sacrificing Dimensional Slash, her sword tearing a rift through space. Both warriors on the field were sucked into a pitch-black vortex, vanishing to the far side of another dimension.
Dimitri's eyes turned bloodshot. "Royal Straight Slasher..."
He had worked so hard to pull off that stylish combo, expending so much effort to summon that legendary monster...
Couldn't you have at least let me get one hit in?
To be gone before even swinging his sword it was too pathetic.
The surrounding students broke into a collective clamor. From the looks of it, even a legendary monster was just a single slash away from being banished.
Furthermore, in their eyes, the fact that Dimitri could jump out with such a massive monster right at the start and complete a total board wipe was already incredibly strong. Just a few seconds ago, many had marveled at how his moves truly possessed the aura of a King of Games.
Who could have expected the opponent to have traps waiting even in the graveyard? And that chain of traps had led straight into a Banishing Saint...
Who could possibly withstand that?
It seemed that in the first round of exchanges, the "Indescribable One" from the Ra Yellow dorm still held the upper hand.
"Dammit... even clearing the whole field wasn't enough to stop him." Dimitri grit his teeth. "I set one card and end my turn."
"Then it's my turn. Draw," Yugen said. "During the Standby Phase, since there are no Spell or Trap cards on my field, Treeborn Frog can be Special Summoned from the Graveyard."
The tiny frog with a halo atop its head hopped onto Yugen's front row.
[Treeborn Frog, ATK 100]
Dimitri narrowed his eyes. "The other card discarded by Graceful Charity?"
"I activate the Spell card Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two more cards from my Deck." Yugen drew his cards and then revealed one from his hand. "Next, the Quick-Play Spell, The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh!
"I Special Summon Kuriboh from my Deck to the field!"
[Kuriboh, ATK 300]
"Another Kuriboh?"
Dimitri was still feeling the sting of being tricked by the Kuriboh in the graveyard. Seeing another Kuriboh pop out gave him a sudden sinking feeling, an ominous premonition.
Surely I'm not going to die at the hands of this thing today, am I?
"Quick-Play Spell, Multiply! I Tribute the Kuriboh on my field to Special Summon as many Kuriboh Tokens as possible."
Under the spell's effect, the Kuriboh multiplied rapidly, splitting into four identical tokens.
[Kuriboh Token, ATK 300] x4
"Next, I activate the Spell card, Card of Burial Spell. By banishing Graceful Charity, Multiply, and Pigeonholing Books of Spell from my Graveyard, I draw two cards."
Yugen drew.
Dimitri said in a low voice, "Even if you summon a bunch of Kuribohs..."
"I activate the Equip Spell United We Stand and equip it to a Kuriboh Token," Yugen announced. "The equipped monster gains 800 Attack points for every monster I control."
Dimitri stiffened. "!"
Equipping United We Stand to a Kuriboh Token? Then that meant...
"Exactly. I control five monsters," Yugen said. "Therefore, the Kuriboh Token's Attack becomes..."
[Kuriboh Token, ATK 300 → ATK 4300]
Dimitri's face went pale. "A Kuriboh with forty-three hundred Attack!?"
The spectating students couldn't help but scream. "A Kuriboh stronger than the legendary Obelisk!"
Kuriboh: Kuri Kuri! (Let's see who dares call me small fry now!)
But Dimitri quickly snapped back to his senses and shouted, "Then I activate my face-down card, Threatening Roar! This turn, the opponent cannot declare an attack!"
A wave of intimidating sound exploded across the field, locking down Yugen's entire frontline.
"Hmph, an attack suppression."
It seemed Dimitri had indeed been frightened by the 4300 ATK Kuriboh; he hadn't even waited for the Battle Phase to activate Threatening Roar. Of course, it didn't change much.
"I haven't performed my Normal Summon this turn." Yugen waved his hand. "So, I Tribute the Treeborn Frog on my field to perform a Tribute Summon."
He paused, a slight smile playing on his lips as he pulled the card from his hand.
"Coincidentally, this monster is perfect for our duel. It is another 'Soul Card' that once fought alongside the original King of Games..."
That eerie smile made Dimitri's heart skip a beat.
Just a moment ago, the guy said he was pulling out a King of Games' trump card, and it turned out to be a Kuriboh that left Dimitri bleeding. Dimitri had a feeling that whatever he pulled out this time wouldn't be anything good either.
"Tribute Summon! Level 5, Catapult Turtle!"
[Catapult Turtle, DEF 2000]
Dimitri stammered, "Catapult Turtle!?"
Of course he recognized the card; it was in the very deck he was currently using.
"Catapult Turtle's effect," Yugen declared. "I can Tribute a monster on my field to inflict damage to the opponent equal to half of that monster's Attack points. While Kuriboh Tokens cannot be used as Tributes for a Tribute Summon, they can be used as Tributes for a monster's effect!
"Therefore, I Tribute the Kuriboh Token equipped with United We Stand to inflict damage equal to half of its Attack!"
Kuriboh: "Kuri Kuri!"
Empowered by the strength of its comrades, the Kuriboh leaped onto the rails on the Catapult Turtle's back, launched out like an electromagnetic projectile.
Curling into a ball, the Kuriboh flew like a spinning cannonball, slamming directly into Dimitri's face before exploding. Dimitri screamed as he was knocked backward onto the ground.
[Dimitri, LP 4000 → LP 1850]
"Dammit..."
King of Games' trump card, my foot.
When people talked about Yugi Muto's trump cards, shouldn't the first thought be big monsters like Dark Magician, Black Luster Soldier, or Buster Blader?
Why does it turn into Kuriboh and Catapult Turtle when it comes to you?
The onlookers were starting to realize it too.
"Now that you mention it, are all the cards Yugen is using today also from Yugi Muto?"
"I think... they are?"
The students looked at each other, their expressions turning strange. Suddenly, it felt like they were watching an internal war between two Kings of Games.
But even though both sides were using the King of Games' cards, why did the "vibe" of their playstyles feel so completely different?
"I set two cards and end my turn," Yugen said.
Dimitri patted the dust off his clothes and stood up.
Catapult Turtle's effect didn't have a once-per-turn limit, yet the opponent hadn't continued the bombardment... was it to maintain a better defensive line for the next turn?
True, with the remaining tokens and the Catapult Turtle itself, Tributing everything would only add another 950 damage. It wouldn't finish him off, and it might even trigger a "survival instinct" buff.
"No, I won't accept this."
Dimitri stood tall.
"I am the one holding the King of Games' Deck! I am the one using the strongest force in history!"
"I won't lose again. I won't lose to anyone..."
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and hovered his hand over his Deck.
"My Deck of Souls, if you can hear my voice... please, once more... lend me your power once more!"
The crowd was a bit dazed.
"Wait a second... isn't that a stolen deck?"
"Yeah, seems like it."
Yugen: "..."
Soul Deck, my ass. This kid is way too deep in his role.
But one had to admit, Dimitri truly had a unique talent for imitation. With that pose and that atmosphere, maybe it would actually work...
"Draw!"
Dimitri's eyes lit up as he held the card high.
"Spell card, Card of Sanctity! Both players draw from their Decks until they have six cards in their hands!"
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