"Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord!"
Kira slapped the card onto his Duel Disk. In an instant, all surrounding light seemed to be devoured by an invisible force.
The ground cracked like a tortoise shell, and from the pitch-black fissures seeped ethereal purple Netherfire, as if countless departed souls were wailing from the abyss.
A dark purple pillar of light shot into the sky. Within it, the massive silhouette of a dragon slowly materialized. Its jet-black scales gleamed with a metallic chill. When its wings spread, shadows engulfed the entire arena, as if night had fallen.
Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord—summoned!
[Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord, ATK 2800]
"I never, ever, ever expected this!" the airplane-haired commentator shouted. "Lina's beautiful double Synchro Summon ended up trapping her deeper and deeper in the opponent's chain of counterattacks!
Kira kept interrupting her Synchros, drawing cards repeatedly, and now he's even used that momentum to summon a powerful high-level monster! At this rate, it's Lina—who's been launching the fierce assaults—who's in danger!"
"Damn it!"
Down in the stands, Victor from Team Psychic slammed his fist on the table in fury.
"Is that bastard Director seriously planning to fight entirely with Traps?"
Captain Black said in a deep voice, "Stay calm. Don't lose your composure. Use this time to observe the opponent's duel and gather intel. Later…"
He didn't finish the sentence, but Victor had already understood the captain's meaning.
The captain probably felt that Lina might not make it and could be taken down soon. Today, the two of them might still need to step up.
Kira continued, "The effect of Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord: When this card is Special Summoned successfully by its own effect, for each different type of card whose effect was negated by your Counter Traps this turn, you can activate one of its different effects.
I just used 'Divine Wrath' to negate the effect of your 'Psychic Nightmare,' which counts as a monster effect. When a Counter Trap negates a monster effect, the corresponding effect of Van'Dalgyon allows you to Special Summon one monster from your Graveyard."
Lina's heart stirred.
Up to now in the duel, she hadn't even touched a single one of the opponent's monsters. So if there was a monster in the opponent's Graveyard, it could only be—
"That's right—the monster you sent to the Graveyard for me with 'Card Destruction' earlier," Kira said with a smile. "I revive 'Meltiel, Sage of the Sky' from the Graveyard!"
A vortex spun open beside his Duel Runner's Graveyard zone, and a pitch-black pillar of light erupted from it. Holy white feathers scattered across the sky. A red angel bathed in divine light, surrounded by rings of radiance, flew to the other side of Kira's Duel Runner.
[Meltiel, Sage of the Sky, ATK 1600]
Lina gritted her teeth. High-speed deployment and rapid offense had always been the proudest part of her Psychic deck. Who knew that after a flurry of moves as fierce as a tiger, she would look at the field and see nothing—while the opponent's hand and field monsters just kept growing.
Lina gradually began to feel anxious.
But she glanced at one card in her hand. There was still a chance.
"I Set one card and end my turn," Lina said.
Kira replied, "My turn. Draw!"
After drawing, he glanced at the card and immediately revealed it. "I activate the Field Spell 'Sanctuary in the Sky'!"
A gentle white glow spread out with Kira's Duel Runner at the center. Countless tiny light particles drifted like feathers. A distant hymn echoed in the air, as if angelic whispers were lingering by their ears.
The track seemed to rise slowly, as if the field were being lifted by a pure sea of clouds.
The surrounding scenery gradually blurred, replaced by an endless azure sky. Clouds flowed like sheer veils, and white palaces slowly emerged—elegant and sacred, with dazzling crystals embedded in the domes refracting rainbow light.
"Angels should fight on an angelic stage," Kira laughed. "In Sanctuary in the Sky, all battle damage inflicted on our side by Angel monsters is reduced to 0."
Lina clicked her tongue.
What Kira didn't mention was that while the card text of Sanctuary in the Sky only stated that one line, it actually hid a bunch of additional effects. For example, many of his Counter Angels gained extra effects when "Sanctuary in the Sky" was on the field.
Of course, that was the fun part—something for the opponent to discover slowly on their own.
With a grand wave of his hand, Kira declared, "I Set two cards in my Spell & Trap Zone. Then I enter the Battle Phase!"
Lina's heart skipped a beat. Setting cards first, then entering the Battle Phase…
She gritted her teeth. "Does this bastard think he's got me this turn?"
In a normal duel, players usually attack first and then Set cards in Main Phase 2 to prepare defenses for the next turn. But in a relay team match, it was different. Once Kira entered the Battle Phase directly, if he finished Lina off this turn, the game would forcibly jump to the End Phase with no Main Phase 2. That meant he wouldn't be able to Set any more cards to prepare for the next turn.
In other words, the fact that Kira Set cards before attacking already signaled his intention to "go for the kill."
"'Bountiful Artemis,' direct attack on Miss Lina!"
The white angel flew out from the side of Kira's Duel Runner, racing along the track straight toward the rear of Lina's vehicle.
Lina's eyes sharpened. "I've been waiting for this moment! I activate my Set card—Trap Card 'Drowning Mirror Force'!"
The roar of the Duel Runner engines was drowned out by the gentle sound of tides. Countless fine water droplets condensed from the void, drawn together by an invisible force. A clear water barrier suddenly unfolded, forming a perfect hemispherical shield in mid-air. Countless layers of flowing ripples intertwined into the barrier, shimmering like the aurora refracted in the deep sea.
The airflow whipped up by the high-speed Duel Runners crashed into the shield, creating layer upon layer of ripples.
"It's actually Drowning Mirror Force!"
The airplane-haired commentator grew even more excited. "When the opponent declares a direct attack, Drowning Mirror Force returns all Attack Position monsters on the opponent's field to the owner's Deck!
If this goes through, all three of Kira's monsters on the field will have to return to the Deck, leaving him completely empty! Will the situation be completely rewritten again by this single Trap!?"
The audience's cheers reached a peak at that moment!
Kira looked annoyed.
"Damn! She actually hid a water shield until the very end… My angels, my Dark Dragon Lord… I finally built such a perfect board…"
"You're not the only one who can use Traps!" Lina shouted. "Return them all to the Deck!"
But the next second, Kira's annoyance vanished, replaced by a cheeky grin. "Just kidding."
Lina: "Eh?"
"Counter Trap—'Seven Tools of the Bandit'!"
Another Counter Trap flipped face-up beside Kira.
"Pay 1000 Life Points to negate the activation of the opponent's Trap Card and destroy it!"
Lina: "!"
He still had a Counter for Traps!?
..