"I summon Frost and Flame Dragon!"
[Frost and Flame Dragon, ATK 2300]
"Frost and Flame Dragon's effect! Once per turn, by discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy one monster on the field."
Delta selected a card from his hand and sent it to the Graveyard.
"Destroy your face-down monster!"
With the backrow cleared, Delta moved to the front. The fire-breathing head of the Frost and Flame Dragon unhinged its jaws, spewing a torrent of intense flames that instantly incinerated You Xuan's set monster.
You Xuan looked at his empty field. "Hmm, it seems you have some skill after all."
Frost and Flame Dragon was a high-quality card whose potential players had recognized immediately upon its OCG release. It had been a common sight in many competitive decks back in the day.
Some might wonder what made it so strong. It had the exact same ATK and DEF as Chaos Sorcerer, but its summoning conditionsbanishing two WATER and one FIRE monster from the Graveyardwere arguably more troublesome than the Sorcerer's.
Furthermore, it could only destroy a monster and required discarding a card to do so, whereas Chaos Sorcerer could banish a monster once per turn without any loss in card advantage.
That analysis was perfectly logical, save for one crucial detail.
Frost and Flame Dragon was released in 2007. In that year, Chaos Sorcerer, much like its predecessor, Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning, was a Forbidden Card.
One could only say that the environments of those ancient eras are almost incomprehensible to the values of modern Yu-Gi-Oh! players.
"I told you, I am the most outstanding of all my brothers... though I am not proud of it," Delta said, pausing for a moment.
An image of a tall figure involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
The man all the AIs referred to as "Father" stood with his hands behind his back, his face almost indistinguishable under the blinding sunlight.
In a cold voice, the man had told him, "You are truly worthy of being my most outstanding son."
Delta remained silent.
After a two-second hesitation, he shook the image from his head.
"Now your field is completely empty," Delta declared. "Direct attack with Frost and Flame Dragon!"
The dragon, a fusion of ice and fire, twisted its body. Flames and frost intertwined as they were blasted forward, only to slam into a transparent barrier in front of You Xuan.
"What?" Delta's brow furrowed.
"The face-down monster you just destroyed was Winged Kuriboh," You Xuan said, revealing the card as it ejected from his Graveyard slot. "For the rest of the turn Winged Kuriboh is destroyed, all battle damage I take becomes zero."
"Trash like that..."
He truly was an AI modeled after the President; he couldn't even change the habit of mocking his opponents' cards.
"Hmph. I set one card and end my turn."
"My turn, draw!" You Xuan announced. "From my hand, I activate the Spell Card Graceful Charity. I draw three cards, then discard two."
Two cards were sent to the Graveyard, but one was immediately ejected back out.
"One of the discarded cards was the Spell Card Card of Compensation. When it is sent from the hand to the Graveyard, I draw two more cards."
You Xuan snatched the card that popped out of the Graveyard while revealing a monster from his hand.
"I activate the effect of Spell Striker! By banishing one Spell Card from my Graveyard, I can Special Summon this card. I banish Card of Compensation from the Graveyard to Special Summon Spell Striker!"
[Spell Striker, ATK 700]
"Then, I Tribute Spell Striker!" You Xuan raised his hand high. "Ruler of the sky, incarnation of the storm, descend now! I summon Raiza the Storm Monarch!"
Virtual clouds churned, forming a massive vortex. A green tempest swept through the data space as the Emperor of Wind arrived amidst a hurricane, turning the abyss itself into chaos.
[Raiza the Storm Monarch, ATK 2400]
"A Monarch?" Delta's expression shifted slightly.
The Monarch series consisted of legendary, top-tier Rare Cards that focused on Tribute Summoning. It was said that each Monarch possessed a powerful ability that could instantly rewrite the course of a duel and lead to victory.
According to his intel, You Xuan had never used the power of the Monarchs before.
"Raiza the Storm Monarch's effect! When this card is Tribute Summoned, I return one card on the field to the top of the owner's deck," You Xuan explained. "I return Darkstorm Dragon to the top of your deck! Monarch Storm Edge!"
A green hurricane coiled around the dark dragon, overwhelming it until it vanished within the storm, transforming into a streak of golden light that flew back to the top of Delta's deck.
"Return to the top of the deck..." Delta's face turned grim. "Not just removal, but it even kills the possibility of my next draw. Is this the terrifying power of the Storm Monarch?"
This was exactly why You Xuan felt that the Storm Monarch was even more formidable in the anime than in the real card game.
Raiza's effect wasn't just a universal removal tool; it possessed the overwhelming power of top-deck control. Raiza allowed You Xuan to decide what his opponent would draw next turn, allowing him to put a "dead draw"a card the opponent couldn't use immediatelyback on top.
This tactic had been a tried-and-true winner in the OCG/TCG environment back in the day, and it was even more potent in the anime world. It essentially strangled the opponent's chance for a Destiny Draw.
Only a select few "seafood-haired" duelists with cheat-level destinylike Yuma Tsukumo from the fourth series, who once literally re-printed a Rank-Up-Magic in his hand into a brand new card right in front of his opponentcould bypass such a lock.
But those were top-tier experts with destiny so strong it could rewrite reality, and even then, such "seed-mode" miracles usually required a specific set of high-stakes circumstances.
Normally, if your next draw was sabotaged, even the most legendary Destiny Draw had no room to maneuver.
That was the most terrifying thing about Raiza the Storm Monarch.
"I return Darkstorm Dragon to the top of your deck!" You Xuan repeated.
Now, Delta's next draw was guaranteed to be Darkstorm Dragon. He had only two cards left in his hand, and the card he was about to draw was a Level 8 monster. Without any new resources, summoning it would be theoretically very difficult.
"Now, Raiza the Storm Monarch, attack Frost and Flame Dragon!"
Raiza raised his arms, and the storm instantly dominated the field. Small ripples expanded into a violent cyclone, and dense blades of wind sliced through the frost-fire dragon. The dragon let out a mournful cry as it was removed from the field.
[Delta, LP 4000 → LP 3900]
"Then I set four cards and end my turn."
With a wide sweep of his arm, You Xuan set four cards in his backrow. He then offered a small smile and a "please" gesture.
"Come, it's your turn. Please, draw."
Of course, everyone knew exactly what he was going to draw.
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