Seeing "Magic Cylinder" made quite a few people lose their cool. In Jienannan even went straight up and threw an arm around Nora Tatsu's shoulder.
"Nice! You even managed to pull the Cylinder! Must've whaled a lot this term, huh?"
Youyu can redeem Magic Cylinder too, but in the Red Pit it's in the higher price bracket, not that easy to whale for. On top of that, it's one of those attack-declaration trigger Trap Cards that players don't really like, so even local Netherworld whale Nora Tatsu had never redeemed this card.
"...That one wasn't mine." Nora Tatsu was helpless. "It's Marufuji Shou's own card."
"Huh? Marufuji Shou has a Magic Cylinder?"
Now that he said it, the people nearby vaguely remembered. In the anime he really did use Magic Cylinder once, didn't he?
It's just that his opponent was some rando, and it only showed up for a split second on screen...
But anyway, Marufuji Shou's Magic Cylinder has already been blown away now. At this point both his front row and back row are completely empty, like a little boy standing there stark naked.
Meanwhile the big Vampire onee-san kept licking her lips, the feral grin on her face was practically saying, Little brother, be good, don't be scared, it'll be over soon and it won't hurt...
"'Double Cyclone' destroys my own Trap, the Trap Card 'Undead Bed'! When it's destroyed, I can Special Summon one Undead-Type Monster from my Graveyard ignoring its Summoning conditions!" (anime card)
So the Monster she was going to Summon didn't even need to be said.
"'Vampire Genesis' resurrects!"
The burly giant Vampire returned from the depths of the Netherworld, surrounded by a swirling cloud of pitch‑black bats!
[Vampire Genesis, ATK 3000]
"Genesis's effect—discard one Undead-Type in my hand, and I revive from the Graveyard an Undead-Type Monster whose Level is lower than the discarded one!" Camilla said. "I discard the Level 6 'Vampire's Curse' in my hand to revive the Level 5 'Vampire Dragon'!"
[Vampire Dragon, ATK 2400]
In one breath she laid out three Monsters on the field!
To be fair, this lineup was kind of scary, and a lot of the onlooking bystanders had already started sweating bullets for Marufuji Shou.
"Heh, this really is a very special Duel, but this is as far as it goes." Camilla smiled elegantly. "Goodbye, little brother.
First, 'Undead Werewolf', direct attack!"
The werewolf charged forward, the werewolf swung, the werewolf... the werewolf hit a GG!
Well, actually, it was just that Marufuji Shou promptly revealed yet another one of his invincible Monsters, "Kiteroid."
"I discard 'Kiteroid' from my hand to the Graveyard, and one direct attack is negated!"
"Nani? The same card that was searched by the Field Magic last turn?" But Camilla quickly recovered. "It's useless! Then I'll have 'Vampire Dragon' make a direct attack!"
Vampire Dragon charged forward, Vampire Dragon swung, Vampire Dragon... also hit a GG!
"When 'Kiteroid' is in the Graveyard, once only, it can negate a direct attack!" (anime effect)
Camilla's expression was starting to look ugly.
Excuse me, what?
Are you kidding me right now, internationally?
That scrub Monster can actually block two hits?
Camilla's face darkened. "Then 'Vampire Genesis', direct attack!"
Three direct attacks in a row!
What, you got another card you can pull out of your pants...
...Nani!!?
Camilla stared at the "Kiteroid" that appeared in front of Marufuji Shou yet again, her eyes almost popping out.
The hell, how are you still blocking?
Didn't we just establish that it can only negate a direct attack once while it's in the Graveyard? You bullying me because this Vampire old lady is a few hundred years old and hard of hearing?
"This is the other 'Kiteroid' that was sent from my Card Deck to the Graveyard by 'Megaroid City' last turn!" Marufuji Shou said. "So I can still negate one more direct attack!"
All of them, invalidated!
Kiteroid: I'll just put it here today—if you can land even one hit, I lose!
Camilla blew away Marufuji Shou's entire front row and back row in one go, brought out three fierce‑looking Undead-Type Monsters for a triple direct attack, and somehow Marufuji Shou shrugged them all off like it was nothing!
Quite a few teachers and students were starting to look at Marufuji Shou in a new light, and some were already pointing and whispering.
Even a lot of players were starting to get jealous.
"Damn, triple Kiteroid in the Card Deck is so damn爽!"
By this point, Nora Tatsu's thinking behind Marufuji Shou's Card Deck tweaks was already very obvious.
The shameless Submarineroid handles the slapping, and the invincible big bro Kiteroid handles the blocking. And both cards share the "Roid" tag, so they can be searched from the Card Deck into the hand, or directly dumped from the Card Deck into the Graveyard.
In short, the whole Deck's battle plan is: while screwing the opponent so hard they can't land a hit, use the invincible Submarineroid to chip away at their Life Points, guided by the core doctrine of "Netherworld players don't play Mortal World decks," and firmly implementing the tactical line of "if it's dirty, we're running it to the bitter end"...
Setting aside actual performance and Card Deck power level, this Deck's whole system is absolutely tailor‑made to tilt people, and very likely to put a smile on your face.
Like, look, Camilla's smiling real healthy right now—her tongue's even sticking out...
"..."
No exaggeration, the Vampire was already teetering on the edge of going berserk.
You got the guts to Summon a Monster and fight me head‑on or not!!!
I damn well refuse to believe this crap!
"I Set two cards facedown, turn end!" Camilla fumed. The way she was panting, it was one wave after another with no sign of stopping.
Damn, what bad luck! She'd thought she'd caught a harmless little lamb, but who knew his heart was this filthy and dark!
With her rage face in full bloom, Marufuji Shou didn't even dare look straight at her, he just muttered timidly, "Th‑then I draw... draw a card..."
Camilla took a couple of deep breaths, trying her best to get her nearly exploding mentality back under control.
Nothing to get mad about; she still had absolute advantage on the board. The three Monsters on her field all had decent Attack, while Marufuji Shou's side was completely empty.
She had already figured it out—this guy's Deck was full of low‑stat scrub Monsters with annoying effects, and they shouldn't be able to threaten her Vampire army.
—What, you gonna top‑deck a Submarineroid Mk. II on me?
"I Summon Submarineroid in Attack Position!"
[Submarineroid, ATK 800]
Camilla: "......"
The water converged, and a chibi, personified little submarine shot up from beneath the surface, parking itself right in front of Camilla as if silently mocking her with its appearance—
—Hello there, yes, I can absolutely do that.
Camilla: Thank (N) you (M) so (D) damn much!
But it was fine. As a dignified member of the glorious Vampire clan and one of the Seven Stars, how could she possibly die such a humiliating death to some random little submarine!?
"I flip my Set Card, Counter Trap 'Solemn Judgment'!" Camilla snapped, "I tribute the 'Undead Werewolf' on the field, negate your Monster's Summon and destroy it!"
Undead Werewolf left the field as a tribute; the submarine that had just started to surface was disrupted by the force of Solemn Judgment, failed to appear, and exploded on the spot!
Camilla smirked triumphantly: "You really thought tricks like that still work on me!?"
Marufuji Shou still didn't dare look at her. Head down, he just kept operating his Duel Disc.
Cards started being spat out of the Duel Disk Grave Zone one after another, like a printer running at full blast.
"I remove 'Mixeroid' in my Graveyard from play, remove 'Kiteroid' from play, remove a second 'Kiteroid' from play, remove 'Submarineroid' from play as well..."
Camilla stared as he banished card after card, completely dumbfounded.
What the hell? What kind of move is this? You can just banish whatever you feel like now?
What's he trying to summon?
"Mixeroid's effect: I can banish any number of Machine-Type Monsters from my Graveyard, including this card, and Special Summon one 'roid' Fusion Monster whose Level equals the number of banished Monsters, ignoring its Summoning conditions."
Marufuji Shou fanned out the five cards that had popped out of the Graveyard.
"I banish five cards from play to Special Summon a Level 5 Fusion Monster—
—Pair Cycroid!"
[Pair Cycroid, ATK 1600]
Camilla was completely stunned when she saw this cute little bicycle.
Huh? A Fusion Monster with 1600 attack? That's still just a scrub, isn't it?
Until Marufuji Shou helpfully explained this Monster's special effect to her. The text was brutally simple, just one line, one sentence—
—This card can attack directly.
HUH!!??
Camilla's jaw almost dislocated from the shock; her mouth was open wide enough to stuff in more than one apple.
What the hell is with your Deck, why is everything in there like this!?
[Camilla, LP 1400]
The Vampire felt like she was about to crack on the spot. In the end she hadn't been flattened by the invincible submarine, and now she was going to get run over by an even more invincible bicycle!
What made it worse was that she didn't even feel like they'd had a proper, honest-to-goodness fight.
She'd gone through all that trouble, blowing up cards, Summoning big Monsters, finally managing to field such a cool and powerful high-rank Vampire. Meanwhile, this guy hadn't played a single Monster with more than 2000 attack the entire Duel; he just kept going face, slapping her Life Points until she died...
It was kind of like two great masters dueling atop Purple Thorn Cliff; one of them goes through an entire exhibition of flashy weapon forms, and the other just fires off a "Thompson Overdrive," whips out a submachine gun and rat-tat-tats her down, then has the nerve to say "good match" afterward...
Sir, the times have changed.JPG.
"Pair Cycroid, attack directly!" Marufuji Shou ordered.
Camilla's face twisted as she shouted, "I flip my Set Card! Trap - Altar for Tribute! I tribute a Monster on the field and regain Life Points equal to that Monster's attack!"
This was her final struggle, the last stubborn layer of defense!
To be safe, the Vampire chose to directly tribute her strongest ace, Vampire Genesis, and recovered a full 3000 Life Points!
[Camilla, LP 1400 → LP 4400]
Vampire Genesis let out a roar that sounded suspiciously like "MMP" as it vanished, dissolving into a blood mist that was absorbed back into its master's body.
Four thousand four hundred Life Points! Even the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon... no, even if Obelisk the Tormentor slapped her right in the face, she'd still be left hanging on by a thread!
"Hahahaha!!!" Camilla laughed smugly, her expression saying loud and clear—
—Come on! Hit me directly!
Aren't you so good at going straight for the face? Come on then, I dare you!
What, you didn't eat or something? That all you got?
Then Marufuji Shou hunched his shoulders again and revealed another card.
"Qu... Quick-Play Magic 'Concentrating Current'; until the End Phase, I add one Monster's DEF to its ATK!"
[Pair Cycroid, ATK 1600 → ATK 2800]
Camilla: "!"
She was taken aback for a second, but quickly calmed down.
Well damn, so you were hiding something like that.
Taking a 2800 direct hit was going to hurt, sure, but her Life Points were thick enough—she could tank that no problem.
Who would've thought this little runt who looked so harmless on the outside was this dark on the inside!
But this was as far as he'd go. As long as she held out till next turn...
"Quick-Play Magic 'Limiter Removal.'" Marufuji Shou muttered, "All Machine-Type Monsters on the field have their ATK doubled..."
Camilla: "......."
Wait, hold on—did you just say its attack gets... what?
[Pair Cycroid, ATK 2800 → ATK 5600]
The Vampire's face went completely pale.
Na... Nani!!??
This piece of junk bike... has 5600 attack!?
"Aaaahhhhh!!!"
The bicycle showed no mercy at all as it rolled straight over Camilla, the combo smooth and clean, taking her out in one go.
[Camilla, LP 4400 → LP 0]