"You mean to say..."
Goodwin's expression twisted.
He finally understood. Including why this opponent's deck had so many monsters that "cannot be normally summoned," and why he had been frantically sending cards to the graveyard from the very start.
Of course, this wasn't an infinite loop. The special summon of Block Dragon is unlimited per turn, but it requires banishing three EARTH monsters from the graveyard each time. In other words, the number of EARTH monsters in the graveyard is your "ammo"—every three monsters power one volley from Catapult turtle, each shot dealing 1250 damage.
As far as Goodwin knew, just among Magnet Warriors in Kira's graveyard at least, there were three Alpha The Electromagnet Warriors, three Magnet Warriors, one Berserkion the Electromagna Warrior, and one Valkyrion the Magna Warrior—a total of eight rounds of ammo.
And that's not even counting all the various odd EARTH monsters sent to the graveyard.
Each volley deals 1250 damage, but Goodwin only had 3000 life points. Three shots are enough to blast his LP into the negatives.
"So you think you've already won?" Goodwin spoke darkly.
"Catapult turtle, do you think I'm just going to sit here and let something like that kill me?"
"Don't be ridiculous!"
"I came here; I was given a second chance—how could it possibly end in a place like this?!"
Goodwin shouted, flipping open another backrow card.
"I activate set card! Counter Trap – Divine Wrath!" Goodwin yelled, "Choose one monster on your opponent's field—when that monster activates its effect, negate that effect and destroy it!" (Anime card)
This is a Counter Trap Goodwin used in the anime. It can counter any effect monster on the field at no cost—a very powerful anime-only card.
"Damn turtle, get lost!" Goodwin shouted, "Negate 'Catapult turtle' effect and destroy it!"
A dark red flame engulfed Catapult turtle, quickly burning it into sparkles of light dissipating into nothingness.
Kira shielded his arm from the shockwave and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so you even broke up this combo? Not bad at all."
After pausing, Kira tilted his head at Goodwin.
"What do you mean by a second chance?"
Goodwin remained silent.
"I have a friend who always says that dueling is a way to connect hearts—once you've dueled, you're friends!"
Kira shrugged, "Personally, I don't totally buy that. Still, given how far we've come, it'd be stingy not to share a bit of your story. For example, are you really Rex Goodwin?"
Goodwin thought for a moment, then said, "Why don't you tell me about yourself first?"
"Me? I'm Fujiki Kira, a Duel King from another dimension."
There was nothing to hide; Kira was frank.
"Another dimension…" Goodwin nodded, strangely unbothered by this claim, which surprised Kira.
Do people from other worlds show up regularly around here or something?
"I am Rex Goodwin. But you're right—I didn't originally belong here," Goodwin said calmly. "I tried to seize the power of the gods, and then use that power to defy fate."
Goodwin glanced at his own right hand and spoke as if to himself.
"But now I realize: I was wrong, wrong from the very beginning. Fate cannot be defied. All mere mortals, as insignificant as ants, are allowed only to go along with fate's tide, and accept it gladly."
His Dark Signer eyes seemed even deeper and darker, his gaze chilling—like Death itself.
Kira's mind stirred. "You… you came back to this time from the future, didn't you?"
Goodwin said he tried to obtain the power of the gods—just like in the original Dark Signer arc's final battle. Goodwin gathered both the Signer and Dark Signer powers from ancient times, aiming to become the ultimate being with both. But ultimately, Yusei and friends defeated and killed him.
Maybe in this world, history had skewed. Goodwin, who should have died, didn't—but instead traversed time and arrived back in the present, given a second chance.
Some doubts Kira had suddenly made sense.
Like, why is Goodwin at this time a Dark Signer, already wielding Earthbound Immortal power? Makes sense if he's from a later time.
Or why he's so adamant about killing Yusei now, even abandoning his original plans—because Goodwin, having failed once, came back with a different mindset and strategy.
But Goodwin no longer answered questions. "Your sure-kill combo was dismantled once more—use whatever underhanded tricks you like, but they don't work against one who's already obtained divine power!"
"So confident, eh?" Kira said. "Then I'll use Spell Card 'Foolish Burial' to send one monster from my deck to my graveyard."
Kira drew a monster card from his popping deck.
"I send 'Absolute King Back Jack' from my deck to the graveyard."
A phantom appeared on the field—a golden-haired, sharp-styled monster in a white coat, with glider-like gear on its back. Though masked, it was obviously based on Jack Atlas from 5DS.
This was a new card Kira had obtained earlier in the day, one Jack himself had used in the anime.
Currently, Jack was the hottest king in New Domino City, his merch all over the place. This card was one of his signature products, designed after him.
"When Absolute King Back Jack is sent to the graveyard, I check the top three cards of my deck."
Kira drew three cards as he spoke.
"Then I can return those three to the top of my deck in any order I choose."
He checked them and put them back in his preferred order.
"Changing the deck's top order—so the next card you draw is decided, eh?" Goodwin closed his eyes with a mocking smile. "But fate isn't that easy to change. Even if you change what you draw next, the predetermined outcome is unchanged."
Kira just smiled back: "Is that so? Then feel free to try proving fate is on your side yourself. I finally set one card and end my turn."
…