Victor: "My turn, draw!"
Victor looked at his opening six cards and pondered for a moment without making a move.
To be honest, he was feeling a little nervous.
The pressure he felt in today's match was heavier than any previous competition.
It felt as if both of his teammates had thrown the game. Not only had they been useless, but they had also handed the opponent experience.
The opponent was already a terrifying great demon king to begin with. Now his teammates had gifted him full-level divine gear. So here he was, forced to fight under extreme pressure.
But it wasn't hopeless.
"Then I'll also activate the Spell Card 'Card Destruction'!" Victor declared. "Both players send their entire hands to the Graveyard, then each draw the same number of cards from the Deck."
Card Destruction had appeared quite frequently in this match, though each time used by different people. Both sides sent their hands to the Graveyard and drew anew.
"Next, I Normal Summon 'Reinforced Human Psychic Borg'!"
[Reinforced Human Psychic Borg, ATK 1500]
"Psychic Borg's effect—up to twice per turn, I can banish one Psychic-Type monster from my Graveyard from play, and this card gains 500 ATK."
Victor revealed the two cards he had just sent to the Graveyard. They were clearly both Psychic monsters.
"I banish 'Esper Girl' and 'Overdrive Teleporter' from my Graveyard from play, raising Psychic Borg's ATK by a total of 1000!"
[Reinforced Human Psychic Borg, ATK 1500 → ATK 2500]
"It jumped 1000 ATK in one go. A Level 4 monster instantly reached Black Magician-level attack power," Kira remarked. "Impressive."
Victor continued, "Next, I activate the set card left for me by the captain—the Continuous Trap 'Brain Hazard'!
This card can Special Summon Psychic-Type monsters that have been banished from play!
I Special Summon 'Esper Girl' from my Graveyard!"
"Esper Girl… I see," Kira said. "When Esper Girl is successfully Special Summoned after being banished from play, she banishes one card from the top of the Deck. Then, when she is sent to the Graveyard, that card can be added to the hand."
Moreover, Esper Girl was originally a Tuner monster. If Victor successfully Summoned her, he would already have the materials on field for a Synchro Summon. After Synchro Summoning, he could indirectly draw another card.
Although Kira could also wait and see what the opponent planned to Summon before acting… considering that the opponent had already used their Normal Summon this turn…
Whatever.
Kira snapped his fingers.
"I activate my set card! Counter Trap——Divine Punishment!"
A Counter Trap that could only be activated while The Sanctuary in the Sky existed. It was the signature card of the Sky Sanctuary series and the ace of the "Counter Angel" series—the strongest counter in this deck.
"Divine Punishment can be activated when a monster effect, Spell, or Trap is activated," Kira explained. "Negate that activation and destroy it. This effect can only be used while 'The Sanctuary in the Sky' is on the field."
The moment Divine Punishment activated, the paradise-like "The Sanctuary in the Sky," shrouded in clouds and mist, shook violently.
The pure white sea of clouds was dyed blood-red in an instant, as if the angels in the temple murals were shedding crimson tears.
The red thunder struck Victor's "Brain Hazard." Holy stigmata-like cracks instantly appeared on the Trap Card. Flames that ignited out of nowhere burned the Trap into ash.
The high-temperature aftershock left scorched black Ten Commandments text branded onto the field.
Victor's expression changed drastically. "You were even hiding such a terrifying Trap…?"
"Not yet," Kira laughed. "Divine Punishment is also a Counter Trap. Therefore, at this moment, first—Bountiful Artemis's effect—I draw one card from my Deck."
Kira drew a card.
"Then—Meltiel, Sage of the Sky—I gain 1000 Life Points. And while The Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field, I can additionally destroy one card on the field!"
[Kira, LP 6000 → LP 7000]
Kira declared, "Destroy 'Reinforced Human Psychic Borg'!"
Meltiel's beam fired out, striking the only remaining monster on the opponent's field. Psychic Borg, whose ATK had been painstakingly boosted to 2500, was blown to pieces before it could even make a move.
"Not over yet," Kira said. "The effect of my new angel on the field, 'Minerva, Scholar of the Sky', also activates.
While Minerva, Scholar of the Sky is on the field, every time a Counter Trap is activated, this card gains 500 ATK!"
[Minerva, Scholar of the Sky, ATK 1700 → ATK 2200]
"And while The Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field, Minerva gains an additional ability," Kira continued. "When a Counter Trap is activated, I can additionally add one Counter Trap from my Graveyard to my hand that has a different name from the activated Counter Trap."
Victor: "!"
This bastard… the new effect had been added too.
Every time a Counter Trap was activated before, it already provided the insane benefit of "draw one card from the Deck, gain 1000 LP, and destroy one card on the field." Now it could even recycle another Counter Trap from the Graveyard…
How was he supposed to play this?
Every time the opponent activated a counter, the gap between them grew larger.
Once you fell into the rhythm of the Counter Angel, you would be driven deeper and deeper into the abyss until there was no salvation.
"I add the Counter Trap 'Barrel Behind the Door', which was sent to the Graveyard by Card Destruction, from my Graveyard to my hand," Kira said.
The airplane-haired commentator exclaimed, "How utterly despairing! The Psychic Team's final runner, Victor, didn't even get a chance to Synchro Summon. The monsters on his field and his backrow have already been completely wiped clean by the power of the Counter Traps. Even the card entrusted to him by his teammate from the previous round was negated!
Moreover, his Normal Summon this turn has already been used. In such a hopeless situation, is there really still a chance to turn the tables?"
"No, it's not time to give up yet…" Victor shouted. "Our team, our WRGP will not end at the starting line!
I activate the Spell Card 'Allure of Darkness'. Draw two cards from the Deck, then banish one DARK monster from your hand!"
Victor drew two cards, then revealed a DARK monster from his hand.
"I banish 'Krebons' from my hand!"
"Next, I activate the Spell Card 'Psychic Feel Zone'!" Victor declared. "Return a Tuner Psychic monster and a non-Tuner Psychic monster from the banished cards to the Graveyard, and use those monsters as materials to Synchro Summon a Psychic Synchro Monster!"
The airplane-haired commentator: "Ohhhh! It looks like the Psychic Team is revealing their final trump card—Synchro Summoning using banished monsters!"
The audience stirred once again.
Synchro Summoning with banished materials was something rarely, if ever, seen even after so many years of tournaments.
Although the three members of the Psychic Team had been suppressed from start to finish, both the first two runners and Victor had shown astonishing tenacity in the face of the endless counter suppression. Even in such an unfavorable position, they were still stubbornly looking for a way out.
Victor: "Watch—this is not just mine, but our final monster!"
…