"Since the zone I summoned The Dark Magicians to is directly under Day-Breaker's ↘ Link Arrow…"
"Then by Day-Breaker's effect—when a Spellcaster is Special Summoned to a zone it points to, place 1 Spell Counter on it—Day-Breaker gains another counter!"
Day-Breaker the Shining Magical WarriorSpell Counters: 1 → 2
"Next, I place the Continuous Spell—Shining Sarcophagus—onto the field!"
At Yusaku's command, an ancient golden sarcophagus carved with solemn Horus-like runes rose behind him, glowing with sacred, mysterious light.
"At this moment!" Yusaku barked.
"The effect of The Dark Magicians activates! Once per turn, when a Spell/Trap is activated, I can draw 1!"
"Because I just activated Shining Sarcophagus, I can draw three cards from my Deck!"
After drawing, Yusaku swung his hand outward again.
"Now I activate Day-Breaker's other effect!"
"I remove 2 Spell Counters from this card, then target 1 card on the field—destroy it!"
"I activate that effect!"
Day-Breaker the Shining Magical WarriorSpell Counters: 2 → 0
"I destroy The Dark Magicians!"
The master and apprentice on the field shattered into motes of light and shot into the graveyard.
The instant the card hit the GY, Yusaku spoke again.
"At this moment, the effect of The Dark Magicians—the one that was just destroyed and sent to the graveyard—resolves!"
"If this card is destroyed, I can Special Summon 1 'Dark Magician' and 1 'Dark Magician Girl' from my hand, Deck, or GY. I Special Summon both from my Deck!"
"Come forth, my loyal servants!"
A black vortex whipped across the field. A graceful girl vaulted out of the swirling magic, blonde hair shining, staff in hand, landing as lightly as a feather.
Dark Magician GirlLevel 6 / Spellcaster / NormalATK 2000
Then the surging magic formed a rushing current, and a tall figure sprang from the circle—staff spinning like a boomerang in midair before he landed cleanly.
Dark MagicianLevel 7 / Spellcaster / NormalATK 2500
The moment they appeared, Yusaku pressed on.
"Now I use the Dark Magician I just summoned and my Link-2 Day-Breaker the Shining Magical Warrior as Link Materials!"
"Link Summon—Link-3, Selene, Queen of the Master Magicians!"
The two monsters became streaks of light and vanished into the Link Circuit above.
A beat later, three Link Arrows—↙, ↓, ↘—lit simultaneously. A blonde woman in a holy white gown descended from the circuit, bow blazing with spelllight.
Selene, Queen of the Master MagiciansLink-3 / Spellcaster / Link / EffectATK 1850
"Selene's effect!" Yusaku called.
"When this card is Link Summoned, place Spell Counters on it equal to the number of Spells on the field and in the GYs. I have 4 Spells in my graveyard and 1 Continuous Spell on my field, so I place 5 Spell Counters on Selene!"
Selene, Queen of the Master MagiciansSpell Counters: 0 → 5
"Now Selene's other effect!"
"Once per turn, during either player's Main Phase, I can remove Spell Counters from my field, then Special Summon 1 Spellcaster from my hand or GY in Defense Position to a zone this card points to!"
"I activate it!"
Selene, Queen of the Master MagiciansSpell Counters: 5 → 2
"I Special Summon The Dark Magicians from my graveyard to the zone under Selene's ↓ arrow!"
The Dark MagiciansDEF 2300
The moment the monster appeared, Yusaku immediately declared:
"Now I activate my Continuous Spell—Shining Sarcophagus!"
"During my Main Phase, I can add 1 card from my Deck that mentions 'Shining Sarcophagus,' except 'Shining Sarcophagus' itself."
"I add Gandora-G the Dragon of Destruction to my hand!"
He slid the searched card into his grip, then continued without giving Karasu room to breathe.
"Also, since I activated a Spell, The Dark Magicians' draw effect can activate again—and this effect doesn't have a once-per-turn limit!"
"Since it refreshed when it went to the graveyard and came back, I can activate it again and draw 1 card!"
After drawing, Yusaku revealed another Extra Deck card.
"Now, Magistus Chorozo's effect! If I send 1 Fusion/Synchro/Xyz/Link Monster and 1 Spellcaster I control to the graveyard, I can Special Summon this card from my Extra Deck!"
"I send my Spellcaster The Dark Magicians and my Link Monster Selene, Queen of the Master Magicians to the graveyard, and Special Summon it!"
He slapped the card down.
Particles of light gathered violently—and a small fox-like creature with fluffy black-and-white fur flicked its ears, appearing with a lively shake.
Magistus ChorozoLevel 4 / Spellcaster / Tuner / EffectATK 1000
The moment it appeared, Yusaku raised his voice again.
"Now I tune Magistus Chorozo with my Level 6 Dark Magician Girl!"
"Synchro Summon—Level 10, Baronne de Fleur!!!"
In an instant, both monsters turned into a spiraling star trail that shot into the sky. Starlight connected into a perfect chain of ten, and a radiant beam crashed down like a falling galaxy.
Hoofbeats rang out—clean and sharp—as a female knight in silver armor charged out atop a pure white steed, a longsword patterned with rose motifs in her hand, gemstones on her armor flashing brilliantly.
Baronne de FleurLevel 10 / Warrior / Synchro / EffectATK 3000
"I'm not done yet."
Yusaku raised another card from his hand.
"Now, the effect of Gandora-G the Dragon of Destruction in my hand!"
"If I control Shining Sarcophagus, I can Special Summon it from my hand. I have Shining Sarcophagus on the field—so I Special Summon it!"
A massive dragon, its body forged like black iron, erupted onto the field. It looked like countless eyes had opened across its frame—each one firing red-hot cutting beams outward.
Gandora-G the Dragon of DestructionLevel 8 / Dragon / EffectATK 0
"Next, I activate Monster Reborn—to Special Summon The Dark Magicians from my graveyard again!"
The Dark MagiciansDEF 2300
After bringing it back, Yusaku revealed another card.
"The Quick-Play Spell—Soul Servant."
"This card lets me place on top of my Deck, from my hand, Deck, or GY, 1 'Dark Magician' or 'Dark Magician Girl' or a card that mentions either of them—except 'Soul Servant' itself."
"I choose Magicians' Souls, which mentions 'Dark Magician,' and stack it on top of my Deck!"
As he resolved it, Yusaku looked directly at Karasu.
"Now, because I activated a Spell, The Dark Magicians can activate again—and I draw the Magicians' Souls I just stacked!"
Karasu frowned. The way this deck refueled itself was genuinely hard to parse.
It was like the longer the duel went, the more resources it created.
With the card added to hand, Yusaku swept his arm.
"Now I overlay The Dark Magicians and my Level 8 Gandora-G the Dragon of Destruction!"
"Xyz Summon—Rank 8, The Zombie Vampire!"
"And I place it in my Extra Monster Zone!"
The two monsters turned into twin streaks of light and dove into the Xyz vortex overhead.
A moment later, a figure rose from the swirl—handsome, aristocratic, and unmistakably predatory. Blood-red wings unfurled behind him. A luxurious crimson cloak draped his shoulders, and an oppressive aura of the undead rolled across the field like fog.
The Zombie VampireRank 8 / Zombie / Xyz / EffectMaterials: 2ATK 3000
"The Zombie Vampire's effect!" Yusaku declared.
"I detach 1 material. Then we send the top 4 cards of both Decks to the graveyard. If any monsters are sent by this effect, I can Special Summon 1 of them to my field."
Karasu's brow tightened. "Both Decks… milled."
"Exactly." Yusaku smiled. "Let's see what you're playing."
He lifted his hand.
"I activate The Zombie Vampire! Detach 1 material!"
The Zombie VampireMaterials: 2 → 1
"Send the top four cards of both Decks to the graveyard!"
In an instant, four cards from the top of each Deck flew out as if pulled by invisible strings, becoming streams of light that dropped into the graveyards.
"Block Dragon, Adamancipator Seeker, Prank-Kids… huh." Yusaku raised a brow. "So it's a Prank-Kids Adamancipator deck?"
By now, Karasu wasn't even trying to hide it. He glanced at the cards in his graveyard and laughed. "Yeah. And Block Dragon is one of my most important combo pieces. I was wondering how I was going to search it—now I don't have to."
He looked at Yusaku with a cold smile. "You helped me put it in the graveyard."
Yusaku smiled back. "A single Block Dragon? You can have it."
"And whether you'll even get a chance to activate it on your turn… that's another story."
Then Yusaku scanned the graveyard and lifted one of the milled cards.
"By The Zombie Vampire's effect, I Special Summon the Level 4 Spellcaster—The Man with the Mark—from the graveyard to my field!"
A figure wrapped in a long black robe rose slowly out of the graveyard zone.
The Man with the MarkLevel 4 / Spellcaster / EffectATK 1000
"The Man with the Mark's effect!" Yusaku called.
"When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, I can add 1 Temple of the Kings, or 1 Spell/Trap that mentions it, from my Deck to my hand—or send it to the GY."
"I add the Continuous Spell—Temple of the Kings—to my hand!"
He slid the searched card into his hand, then set another card face-down.
"Now I activate Magicians' Souls!"
"While it's in my hand, I can send 1 Level 6 or higher Spellcaster from my Deck to the graveyard, then either Special Summon Magicians' Souls, or send it to the graveyard to Special Summon 1 'Dark Magician' or 'Dark Magician Girl' from the graveyard."
Yusaku slotted the card into his Duel Disk. "I send a Level 6 Dark Magician Girl the Magician's Apprentice from my Deck to the graveyard, then Special Summon Magicians' Souls!"
Blue summoning light flared, and a small figure formed amid the glow.
Magicians' SoulsLevel 1 / Spellcaster / EffectATK 0
With the monster on the field, Yusaku immediately played another card.
"I activate the Continuous Spell—Toy Box!"
"I activate Toy Box's effect: I can choose up to 2 'Toy' monsters from my hand, Deck, Monster Zone, or GY that can be Set in the Spell/Trap Zone as Spells, and Set them in my Spell/Trap Zone as Spells."
Yusaku pulled two cards from his Deck and displayed them.
"I choose Toy Soldier and Toy Tank, and Set them in my Spell/Trap Zone as Spells."
A crisp click echoed. Two face-down cards appeared at Yusaku's feet.
Then he continued.
"Now I activate Magicians' Souls' other effect—by sending up to 2 Spells/Traps from my hand and/or field to the GY, I draw that many cards."
He slid the two newly Set cards off the Duel Disk. "I send those two Set cards to the graveyard, then I draw 2 cards."
After drawing, Yusaku declared:
"Now I activate the effect of Toy Soldier in the graveyard—and chain the effect of Toy Tank!"
"Both effects are the same: if they're sent from the Spell/Trap Zone to the graveyard, I can Special Summon them."
"They were sent by Magicians' Souls, so the condition is met. Come out—Toy Soldier! Toy Tank!"
Summoning light burst again. A red Toy Tank assembled from colorful blocks clattered into place, and a green Toy Soldier holding a toy rifle appeared beside it.
Toy SoldierLevel 4 / Warrior / EffectATK 1500
Toy TankLevel 4 / Machine / EffectATK 1000
"Toy Soldier's effect!" Yusaku declared. "If I control Toy Box, I can add 1 LIGHT Level 4 monster from my Deck to my hand instead."
"My field meets the requirement—so I add the Level 4 LIGHT monster Star Ryzeal to my hand!"
The moment that name hit the air, the crowd stirred.
"Did I hear that right? Ryzeal!"
"Ryzeal, huh… I can already picture what's coming!"
The onlookers' excitement surged, eyes locked on Yusaku.
(End of Chapter)
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