Saiou stared fixedly at the card floating in midair, his face full of disbelief... and a profound doubt about life itself.
Time Wizard is Jonouchi the Blade Kid's card after all; that guy throwing out a reversed position is one thing...
...but how the hell did his own Arcana Force end up reversed too?
Could it be that fate really has abandoned him?
Saiou stood there in shock for a long moment, until the radiance on the field gradually faded and the whole barrier dimmed down.
That meant that until Saiou's next turn, the barrier's effects were all negated.
"Heh, looks like things aren't going too well for you now." Jonouchi covered his mouth and snickered. "Ever heard of luck conservation, bro? Looks like my luck's finally turning around..."
"Tch." Saiou gritted his teeth. "It's just a single reversed position, fate hasn't been shaken! Enter Battle Phase again!
'Arcana Force XXI - The World', direct attack! Over Catastrophe!!!"
The World bared its fangs once more; a laser beam carved a clear scorch mark along the ground as it slashed straight toward Jonouchi!
"Flip Cover Card!" Jonouchi swung his arm. "Trap Card 'Guard Block'! I can make one instance of battle damage become 0, then draw 1 card from my Card Deck!"
An off-white barrier formed, and the laser furiously washed over its surface.
"Too bad it didn't go through." Jonouchi wiped his nose.
"Hmph, you've only bought yourself one more turn." Saiou still kept up the tough talk. "I Set three cards, turn end!"
Fate would waver? Don't be ridiculous!
It was just coincidence, just an accident! And there's no way that kind of accident would happen again!
"Then it's my turn, draw!"
Jonouchi glanced at the card he drew and took a deep breath. "Alright! Time for me to test my luck! I activate Magic Card 'Roll of Fate'!
Roll a die, and draw cards from the Card Deck equal to the result, then banish from the game the same number of cards from the top of my Card Deck!"
"Hoh, using that kind of card in front of me of your own will?" Saiou sneered. "Hmph, the number you roll is probably an 1 anyway... at most a 2—that'd already be an overperformance."
Jonouchi completely ignored him, threw the die down with a flourish, and it rattled across the ground twice...
...and came up a big, fat "6".
"Na... nani!!?" Saiou's face distorted again.
Impossible! How dare he roll a 6 in front of me, Saiou Takuma?
No one is allowed to roll a 6 in front of me!
"Ha! According to Roll of Fate's effect, I draw six cards from my Card Deck!" Jonouchi grinned from ear to ear. "Though after that I have to banish the top six cards of my Card Deck from the game."
He had said he'd never touch dice again, sure, but he had to admit—dice really are addicting to use...
Watching Jonouchi drawing cards like crazy, Saiou, in order to keep his brain functioning and avoid mental collapse, rapidly came up with a seemingly reasonable explanation—
—I've got it!
It must be that old man Fate figured drawing a few cards is trivial, completely insignificant, and has no impact on the course of destiny!
It's just a mere... mere six cards...
...There's no damn way that's insignificant, is there!?
Six cards! Freaking six cards!
"I Set one card on the field!" Jonouchi set a card with a flourish, then continued, "Magic Card 'Bait Doll' activate! This card lets me choose one Set Card on the field to check.
If that card is a Magic Card, reveal it and then Set it again!
If it's a Trap Card, it's forced to activate! In that case, if that Trap's activation timing is incorrect, its effect is negated and it's destroyed on the spot!"
He pointed at the card he'd just Set. "The one I'm targeting is the card I just Set! And of course that card is a Trap Card—
—'Grave Robber'!!!"
Saiou: "!"
What the hell is this incomprehensible nonsense you're doing!?
A chibi big-headed Grave Robber popped out, hugging a little shovel. He dug into Saiou's Graveyard with a "heave-ho, heave-ho", pulled out a card, and scampered back to Jonouchi's side.
"Grave Robber lets me freely use one card in my opponent's Graveyard, and activate it at any timing I want this turn." Jonouchi smiled and revealed the card. "The card I'm going to activate is...
...Magic Card 'Sword of X'!"
Fair's fair. You yoinked my Time Wizard, so I'll yoink your card!
Saiou's pupils shrank; he clearly panicked for a moment. But he quickly forced himself calm and put on an arrogant look of total composure. "Heh, overestimating yourself, coveting my power of destiny?
Foolish! Then watch with your own eyes how the fate of your defeat is written!"
Jonouchi kept ignoring his bluster. "'Sword of X' effect: toss a coin and, depending on heads or tails, you get the Upright or Reversed effect!
If Upright, all Monsters on your opponent's field are destroyed!
If Reversed, all Monsters on my own field are destroyed!"
The Magic Card floated above Jonouchi's head and began to spin like a precision machine.
"Stop!" Jonouchi shouted.
Saiou did his best to look like "everything is under my control, I'm totally not nervous," but he still couldn't help craning his neck, eyes wide, holding his breath as he stared at the spinning Magic Card over Jonouchi's head.
Sword of X stopped spinning.
Upright.
"Yoshi!" This time it was Jonouchi's turn for a crazy-face. "Upright effect: all Monsters on the opponent's field are destroyed!"
"Nandato!!??" Saiou howled in a distorted voice. "Impossible!!!"
But no matter how much he refused to accept it, fact was fact. Cold light flashed in the sky, countless swords rained down from above, and turned his proud "World" into a sieve...
...using his own swords.
Tragic, Saiou. Truly tragic.
But this was only the beginning.
"I Summon 'Gearfried the Red-Eyes Iron Knight'!"
[Gearfried the Red-Eyes Iron Knight, ATK 1800]
"Monster Effect of 'Black Metal Dragon' in my hand! This card can be treated as an Equip Card and equipped to a 'Red-Eyes' Monster on my field!" Jonouchi said. "I equip 'Black Metal Dragon' to 'Iron Knight', ATK goes up by 600!"
[Gearfried the Red-Eyes Iron Knight, ATK 1800 → ATK 2400]
"Then Iron Knight's effect!" Jonouchi continued. "Once per turn, send an Equip Card equipped to this card to the Graveyard, and Special Summon a Level 7 or lower 'Red-Eyes' Monster from the Graveyard!
I send 'Black Metal Dragon' to the Graveyard and revive 'Red-Eyes Black Dragon' in the Graveyard!"
"Muda!" Saiou shouted. "Flip Cover Card! Continuous Trap 'Head Judging'!"
Jonouchi: "!"
"Hahahaha! Your moves have already been foreseen by me, and your counterattack is destined to be futile!" Saiou roared. "'Head Judging' effect!
Whenever either player activates a Monster Effect on the field, you must toss a coin! If you guess right, this card is sent to the Graveyard. If you guess wrong, the activation of that effect is negated, and control of that Monster must be transferred to the opponent!"
"Tss~ that disgusting?" Jonouchi sucked in a breath of cold air.
If he guessed wrong, wouldn't that be game over on the spot?
Saiou laughed wildly. "I'll gladly accept your Monster!"
"Don't get cocky, I haven't guessed yet."
Looking at the Trap Card floating in midair and starting to spin, Jonouchi pondered for a moment. "Then I'll go with Reversed."
Saiou said breezily, "It doesn't matter what you guess, fate is...
...nani!!?"
The Head Judging card stopped in midair.
Reversed.