"Hmph. Don't get cocky. If nothing on my field can break 2000 ATK/DEF, then I'll just make something that can!"
Karasu's eyes hardened. With a hint of resolve, he yanked a card from his hand and slammed it onto his Duel Disk.
"I activate the Field Spell—Adamancipator Laputite!"
The moment his words fell, the ground in front of him shuddered violently. Countless crystal spikes—clear as glass—burst up from beneath the earth, piling and weaving together in layers. In the blink of an eye, they formed a dazzling crystal mine, with shimmering light dancing across the walls so brightly it made your eyes sting.
The instant the Field Spell took hold, Karasu didn't pause for even a heartbeat. He snapped his wrist and threw down another card.
"Next, I Normal Summon—Koa'ki Meiru Guardian!"
The earth roared. A towering monster carved from pale stone, gripping a massive stone sword, stomped out from the mine's shadows. Its rugged rocky body was covered in weathered, mottled patterns.
Koa'ki Meiru Guardian
Level 4 / Rock / Effect
ATK: 1900
"Now, Adamancipator Laputite's effect!"
Karasu looked straight at Yusaku.
"As long as this card is on the field, all Rock monsters I control gain 500 ATK and DEF!"
Koa'ki Meiru Guardian
ATK: 1900 → 2400
As Karasu finished speaking, the Sky Dragon's roar rolled across the arena once more.
High above, Slifer the Sky Dragon threw its jaws wide. Azure lightning churned and compressed inside its mouth, forming a gigantic sphere of crackling destruction.
With a shriek of thunder, the electric blast tore through the air and smashed down on the freshly-summoned Koa'ki Meiru Guardian. Wild currents surged over its body—its power plummeting in an instant.
Koa'ki Meiru Guardian
ATK: 2400 → 400
Karasu's lips curled when he saw his Koa'ki Meiru Guardian still hadn't been destroyed.
"Then your Summon lock is gone!"
He flashed another card from his hand.
"Adamancipator Seeker's effect! If I control a Rock monster other than this card, I can activate it—Special Summon this card from my hand!"
"Right now, I control a Rock monster—Koa'ki Meiru Guardian—so I can Special Summon this in Defense Position!"
He slapped the card down.
"Come on out, Adamancipator Seeker!"
Light flickered. A small figure appeared at the center of the crystal mine—a girl holding a gem-inlaid staff, a gray backpack slung over her shoulders, her orange-red hair blazing under the crystals' refracted glow.
Adamancipator Seeker
Level 2 / Rock / Tuner / Effect
DEF: 2100 → 2600
"The instant you Summon that monster—Slifer the Sky Dragon's effect activates!"
Yusaku thrust a hand forward, voice cutting like a blade.
"Thunderforce Attack!"
Lightning swelled again in Slifer's maw—condensing into a massive electric sphere that screamed straight toward Karasu's field.
Karasu sneered. "Know why I Summoned Koa'ki Meiru Guardian first? I was waiting for Slifer to fire!"
He barked the next line.
"I activate Koa'ki Meiru Guardian's effect! When an effect monster's effect is activated, I can Tribute this card—negate that activation, and destroy it!"
He pointed sharply.
"I Tribute it! I negate Slifer the Sky Dragon's effect, and destroy it!"
On the field, Koa'ki Meiru Guardian suddenly converted into a brilliant white beam—heavy with the force of stone—shooting up to meet the Sky Dragon's thunderbolt head-on, as if trying to block a god's wrath with a single spark.
Yusaku only glanced at him, lips twisting with open contempt. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried cleanly through the stadium.
"A firefly's glow dares challenge the moon?"
Karasu: "?"
"You people keep screaming about 'getting the God Cards,' yet you don't even understand what a god really does." Yusaku slowly raised his eyes, looking over Karasu's stunned face with something close to pity. "Fine. I'll be generous. I'll tell you—so you can lose with no excuses."
"Slifer the Sky Dragon's effect: its Summon cannot be negated. When its Summon succeeds, no Spell, Trap, or monster effects can be activated except this card's. Control of this card cannot be switched by other card effects. It can't be Tributed by the opponent for a Tribute Summon or Special Summon, and it can't be used as material by the opponent. This card's effects can't be negated by any card effect, and it's unaffected by monster effects of a different Attribute!"
Karasu's pupils shrank to pinpoints. The smugness and mockery on his face vanished—replaced by pure disbelief.
"That's impossible! Impossible! No monster can have zero weaknesses—Duel rules would never allow something that strong!"
"Because—" Yusaku's voice turned icy. "That isn't a monster."
"It's a god."
"Slifer—crush him."
In the next instant, the electric sphere erupted with violent current, swallowing Karasu's thin white beam like it was nothing. Then it slammed down on Adamancipator Seeker with a deafening blast.
Adamancipator Seeker
DEF: 2600 → 600
Karasu stared at the dragon behind him, his face going deathly pale. He'd never seen resistance like this—more absurd than even the usual "unaffected by other card effects" monsters.
Can't be Tributed. Can't be used as material for the opponent's Special Summons. Unaffected by monster effects outside the DIVINE Attribute.
Karasu grit his teeth. For the first time, something like despair crept into his chest.
With defenses this ridiculous… was there really any way to take it down?
Just as he was about to fold, his eyes snapped to a card in his GY. Something clicked.
He shot his gaze back up at Yusaku. "Yusaku—gods aren't invincible. If a card has protection from effect destruction, your god still can't destroy it!"
He roared.
"I banish three EARTH monsters from my GY—Koa'ki Meiru Guardian, Adamancipator Analyzer, and Rock Band Xenoguitar—the one your Trueblood Vampire Lord sent to the GY last turn—then I Special Summon Block Dragon!"
Brilliant light flared from the banished zone. Countless multicolored blocks spilled out of thin air, snapping together at insane speed. In a heartbeat, they assembled into a massive, bizarre dragon, its seams glowing faintly between each piece.
Block Dragon
Level 8 / Rock / Effect
ATK: 2500 → 3000 → 1000 (due to the Field Spell and Slifer's Thunderforce effect)
The moment Block Dragon hit the field, Karasu immediately shouted:
"At this moment! Rock Band Xenoguitar's effect—since it was banished from the field or GY, I can activate it! Send 1 Rock monster from my Deck to the GY!"
"I send Tackle Crusader from my Deck to the GY!"
"You're trying to dump Tackle Crusader, then use its GY effect to flip my monster face-down, aren't you?" Yusaku saw through him instantly. "Not happening."
Yusaku snapped his fingers sharply, voice cold.
"I chain to your effect—Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon's effect! I discard Transaction Rollback to negate your activation and destroy it! And this card gains 1000 ATK!"
On Yusaku's field, the Dark Dragoon raised its blade. The jet-black edge flared crimson with magic, then slashed through the air—
A crescent of red energy ripped across the field like a meteor, smashing into the banished zone. The tyrannical power of Dark Magician obliterated Rock Band Xenoguitar's effect—negated, shattered.
Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon
ATK: 3000 → 4000
"Negate it and pump your ATK while you're at it… that effect really is oppressive." Karasu's voice was hoarse. Then he pivoted, locking eyes with Yusaku. "But that means one of your interruptions is gone."
"Now, with my field revealed, the only face-up negate you've got left is Baronne de Fleur."
"If you've got the guts, then spend that interruption and stop my combo."
With a sharp sweep of his arm, Karasu shouted:
"I activate Adamancipator Seeker's effect! During my Main Phase, I excavate the top 5 cards of my Deck. From among them, I can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Rock monster, except a Tuner!"
"I activate that effect—excavate 5 cards!"
Before the words finished leaving his mouth, Yusaku's voice cut in.
"Then because you activated an effect, I chain."
He snapped his fingers again.
"I activate Ryzeal Detonator's effect! When my opponent activates a card effect, I can detach 1 Xyz Material, then target 1 card on the field and destroy it!"
"I detach 1 Material!"
Ryzeal Detonator
Xyz Materials: 2 → 1
"I destroy your Adamancipator Seeker!"
"Destroy my monster?" Karasu chuckled, eyes full of certainty. "You really don't know what Block Dragon does, do you?"
He pointed at the blocky dragon on his field, confidence swelling.
"As long as Block Dragon is in my Monster Zone, Rock monsters I control can't be destroyed by card effects."
"So as long as it's here, not even a god can destroy my monsters!"
Yusaku gave him a flat look. "Then what if that monster isn't here?"
Karasu: "?"
Yusaku lifted a hand. "I chain to my own Ryzeal Detonator effect—flip my set card and activate the Quick-Play Spell—Primite Drillbeam!"
"This card's effect: I can reveal 13 'Primite' cards in my hand other than this card, or reveal 1 Normal Monster, then target 1 face-up card on the field—negate its effects and banish it!"
Yusaku revealed a card from his hand.
"I reveal the Normal Monster—Dark Magician—then I negate Block Dragon's effects and banish it!"
A brilliant beam erupted from Yusaku's set card—like a reaper's scythe made of light—shooting straight for Block Dragon with chilling intent.
"Negate… and banish?!" Karasu's face went white. He never imagined Yusaku had a backdoor like that.
With the beam closing in, Karasu clenched his teeth and reacted on instinct—slamming a card from his hand onto the Duel Disk.
"I chain! I activate the Quick-Play Spell—Forbidden Lance!"
Yusaku echoed, cold and immediate. "Then I chain to that—Forbidden Lance!"
Karasu forced the play through, voice sharp.
"This card targets 1 face-up monster. Until the end of this turn, it loses 800 ATK, and it's unaffected by other Spells and Traps!"
"I target Block Dragon! It loses 800 ATK, and it's unaffected by other Spell/Trap effects!"
Yusaku glanced at the Spell Karasu had just activated—then let out a low laugh, pure mockery.
"Next time you activate a Spell or Trap, don't put it in the same column as my set cards."
Karasu blinked, completely lost. "What are you talking about?"
"You'll find out in a second."
Yusaku's voice snapped down like a hammer.
"First—since a card effect was activated again, my Ryzeal Detonator can activate!"
"I activate it—detach 1 Material!"
Ryzeal Detonator
Xyz Materials: 3 → 2
"I destroy your Field Spell—Adamancipator Laputite!"
Karasu's pupils shrank. "What?! You already used that effect! And I didn't activate a monster effect—I activated a Quick-Play Spell! You can chain that too? And even if you could, how can you activate it multiple times in the same chain?!"
"Why can't I activate it multiple times in the same chain?" Yusaku looked at him with naked pity. "Did you think I Summoned this thing just because it can pop one card?"
Yusaku raised his voice so the entire arena could hear.
"Ryzeal Detonator's trigger condition is 'when a card effect is activated'! I can chain it and destroy a card on your field. Listen carefully—a card's activation, not a monster's activation."
"So as long as you so much as twitch, I can blow up whatever I want on your field."
Karasu's face drained of color, but he still forced the bravado.
"It's just a Field Spell. Fine—take it. As long as my Block Dragon stays, the Field Spell doesn't matter!"
"Block Dragon?" Yusaku looked like he'd just heard a joke. "Didn't you hear what I said? Sorry—your Block Dragon isn't sticking around."
Karasu froze, eyes flicking to Yusaku's field. "You're going to use Baronne de Fleur to negate my Forbidden Lance?"
Halfway through, he stopped himself.
"No… the chain already started. Baronne can't negate now. So then…"
His gaze slid to Yusaku's last set card.
Yusaku's tone turned razor-sharp. "That's right."
Karasu's eyes widened.
Yusaku slammed his palm down. "Flip my set card! I activate the Trap—Infinite Impermanence!"
"This card targets 1 face-up monster your opponent controls. Negate its effects until the end of this turn."
"I target your Adamancipator Seeker—its effects are negated until the end of this turn!"
Karasu paused—then laughed, waving it off.
"I thought you were about to say something scary. You're just negating Adamancipator Seeker? Fine. Negate it all you want. With Block Dragon and this card on the field, whether I excavate or not doesn't matter—I'll get to my end board sooner or later."
Kazetaro shook his head. "Unbelievable… You really are hopeless."
He looked at Karasu, enunciating each word.
"If Infinite Impermanence is activated while it was set, then for the rest of this turn, it also negates the effects of other Spell/Trap cards in the same column."
Karasu's face went dead white. "What…?!"
Yusaku stared him down. "That's why I said—next time you activate a Spell/Trap, don't place it in the same column as my set cards."
"Since you didn't chain anything else, we resolve the chain now."
Chain Resolution:
C1: Adamancipator Seeker → C2: Ryzeal Detonator → C3: Primite Drillbeam → C4: Forbidden Lance → C5: Ryzeal Detonator → C6: Infinite Impermanence
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]