Shota's eyes flicked across the turn prompt on his Duel Disk. With a crisp scrape of cardboard, he slid his fingers along the card slot and drew his opening five.
The moment the draw finished, the corner of his mouth curled into a blade-sharp smile. He looked up at Yusaku. "Looks like luck's on my side. I'm going first."
Yusaku only raised an eyebrow. "And?"
"And that means the result won't be anything like last time—where you locked me down from start to finish!"
As the words left his mouth, Shota glanced down at his hand, then decisively slapped a card into his Spell/Trap Zone, his voice rising.
"First, I activate the Spell Card Cyber Emergency! Its effect lets me add to my hand from my Deck 1 'Cyber Dragon' monster, or 1 LIGHT Machine monster that can't be Normal Summoned/Set!"
"At the moment you activate that," Yusaku said evenly, holding up a card from his hand, "I chain and activate the monster effect of Arias the Labrynth Butler from my hand!"
"Labrynth?" Shota's brows snapped together as his mind raced through the intel he'd gathered.
He remembered that much: a deck built around looping Trap resources for sustain.
Before Shota could finish connecting the dots, Yusaku continued.
"This card's effect: during either player's Main Phase, I can send this card from my hand or field to the GY to activate. I can either Special Summon 1 'Labrynth' monster from my hand, or Set 1 Normal Trap."
As he spoke, Yusaku cleanly slotted Arias the Labrynth Butler into the GY.
"I choose to discard it and Set the Normal Trap Trap Trick from my hand!"
A clear bzzz echoed. A face-down card with a faint black-violet sheen silently appeared in Yusaku's back row.
"Setting a Trap, huh?" Shota swept his eyes over the face-down card and sneered. "Did you ever bother asking what deck I'm playing?"
Yusaku gave a small, amused smile. "If you're running Cyber Emergency, there are only two decks it can be—Cyber Dragon or Drytron. So stop wasting time. Take the card you're searching."
"Hmph." Shota clicked his tongue and revealed the card he pulled.
"I add Drytron Alpha Thuban from my Deck to my hand."
Yusaku rested a hand at his chin, smiling. "Just like I thought. It's Drytron."
Shota's expression tightened. He stared at Yusaku. "You know I'm on Drytron and you're still smiling? That deck you're using is Labrynth, right? Trap recursion. Drytron hard-counters you."
Yusaku glanced at him. "Sorry. You guessed wrong. I'm not playing Labrynth."
Then, without another word, he lifted his hand.
"All right—your action's done. Now it's my turn."
Shota froze. "...Huh?"
Yusaku flipped the face-down card at his feet.
"What?!" Shota's pupils contracted. "A Trap you just Set—how can it activate in the same turn?!"
"Why wouldn't it?" Yusaku lifted the copy of Arias the Labrynth Butler in the GY, its etched pattern catching the arena lights. "That effect has a second clause. Traps Set by its effect can be activated the turn they're Set."
His voice sharpened with authority.
"Then, by Arias the Labrynth Butler's effect, I activate the Trap I Set—Trap Trick!"
"This card's effect: banish 1 Normal Trap from my Deck, except 'Trap Trick,' then Set 1 card with the same name from my Deck. And the card Set by this effect can also be activated this turn!"
"I banish Small Scuffle from my Deck, then Set another copy of Small Scuffle from my Deck!"
A flash burst from the Deck zone as the Duel Disk resolved the search. A brand-new face-down Trap slid into place on Yusaku's back row.
The instant it hit the field, Yusaku's hand was already on it.
"Then, thanks to Trap Trick, the Trap I Set can be activated immediately. I flip it!"
The face-down card snapped upright.
"I activate Small Scuffle! And I also chain the card in my hand!"
Yusaku raised another card.
"Maxx 'C'!"
The moment Shota saw it, his heart sank.
He knew exactly what it meant: if he Special Summoned even once, Yusaku would draw a card.
Instinctively, Shota clenched the cards in his hand. He did have Droll & Lock Bird—a hand trap meant for going second—but he was going first right now. Firing it here would be like stabbing himself for no reason.
And on top of that, he had two Traps in hand—one of them was Threatening Roar. Even if he didn't combo off this turn, he could still stabilize.
After a brief calculation, he held back.
Yusaku's eyes flicked toward him. "Not chaining?"
"Whether I chain or not is my choice!" Shota forced out a cold snort.
"Sure." Yusaku smiled, but there was a thin edge to it. "Just don't regret that choice later."
He lifted his hand.
"Maxx 'C' resolves. Next, we resolve Small Scuffle!"
Yusaku's gaze settled on Shota.
"This Trap targets 2 unoccupied Main Monster Zones in the same column. After it resolves, I can apply the effect first—Special Summon 1 Level 2 or lower monster from my hand or Deck to one of those zones, either face-up Attack or face-down Defense. Then you can apply the same effect."
"So, by this card's effect, I Special Summon the Level 1 Tuner Crystron Quan from my Deck in Attack Position!"
Silver-white light surged from the Deck. A small, transparent crystal-built machine snapped into shape and landed in Yusaku's Main Monster Zone.
Crystron Quan
Level 1 / Machine / Tuner / Effect
ATK 500
Yusaku looked across at Shota with an easy smile.
"Now it's your turn. You can Special Summon a Level 2 monster from your Deck. And when you do, by Maxx 'C', I'll draw 1."
"Hmph." Shota revealed a card from his Deck.
"Then I Special Summon the Level 1 Drytron Beta Rastaban from my Deck!"
A blaze of deep-blue current crackled across the field. A mechanical monster—silver gears locked together like intermeshing rings—dropped with a heavy clang, blue light pulsing at every joint with a cold, regulated rhythm.
Drytron Beta Rastaban
Level 1 / Machine / Effect
ATK 2000
"Drytron Beta?" Yusaku's brow lifted. "You're actually running that."
Then he looked at Shota. "Trying to bait me into misplaying the Drytron restriction?"
"You think I'm stupid?" Shota scoffed. "That monster's effect locks me so I can only Ritual Summon Machine Ritual Monsters. I'm not falling for that little trick."
Yusaku let out a quiet, almost disappointed sound. "Boring."
"Enough talk." Shota shot him an irritated look. "Your effects are done, right? Now I move."
Yusaku grinned.
"Sorry—this is just the beginning."
Shota blinked. "...What?"
Yusaku revealed a monster from his hand.
"Monster effect—Dragon Ice."
"This card's effect: when my opponent successfully Special Summons a monster, I can discard 1 card to Special Summon this card from my hand or GY."
"I choose to send this Dragon Ice itself to the GY, then Special Summon it from the GY!"
He slotted Dragon Ice into the GY.
The Graveyard zone erupted with an icy blue pillar of light that shot straight up. Within it, a crystal-scaled dragon unfurled—sleek, elegant, and lethal—its translucent wings spreading wide and sweeping a knife-cold gale through the arena. A low dragon's roar rolled across the stadium, and the temperature seemed to drop.
Dragon Ice
Level 5 / Dragon / Effect
ATK 1800
"Not done yet!" Yusaku's voice cut through the cold. "I activate the monster effect of Crystron Quan!"
"This effect can be activated during the opponent's Main Phase or Battle Phase. I Special Summon 1 non-Tuner monster from my hand with its effects negated, then use it and this card as material to Synchro Summon a Machine Synchro Monster!"
He revealed another monster from his hand.
"I Special Summon Naturia Mole Cricket from my hand!"
Naturia Mole Cricket
Level 1 / Insect / Effect
ATK 0
"Now, by Crystron Quan's effect, I use it and Naturia Mole Cricket as Synchro Material—Synchro Summon!"
Yusaku raised his arm high.
"Synchro Summon! Level 2—Formula Synchron!"
Two lights rose from the Monster Zones. Crystron Quan and Naturia Mole Cricket dissolved into streams of light and shot upward, spiraling together.
A bright Synchro column speared down, and a small, racecar-like Machine monster wrapped in starlight landed cleanly on Yusaku's field.
Formula Synchron
Level 2 / Machine / Synchro / Tuner / Effect
ATK 200
"Formula Synchron effect!" Yusaku declared. "When it's Synchro Summoned, I draw 1 card!"
He drew, then looked back at Shota.
"My effects are done. Now it's your turn."
Shota's eyes raked across Yusaku's field: a Level 5 Dragon Ice, and a Level 2 Formula Synchron.
A contemptuous smile pulled at his lips.
"So I've heard you love building a board on the opponent's turn. Seeing it in person? That's all it is. You spent three cards just to end up with two pieces of trash—just to draw one."
Yusaku's smile turned faintly inscrutable. "Who knows."
"Playing coy—" Shota started, then his eyes snapped to Yusaku's Extra Monster Zone.
As if he'd found a crack in steel, Shota burst into laughter.
"Did you even notice? Your Formula Synchron is in the wrong zone!"
Yusaku glanced at his own field and put on a puzzled look. "I don't think it is."
"Not wrong?" Shota laughed harder, voice dripping with mockery. "You'll see exactly how wrong it is in a second!"
He slapped down a Spell with force.
"First, I activate the Spell Card Dark Desire Crystal! I draw 2 cards!"
Two fresh cards slid into his hand. Shota's confidence surged instantly. He followed up with another card, voice ringing out.
"Next, I activate the Field Spell—Drytron Fafnir!"
The duel arena transformed in an instant. The stone beneath them washed away like a receding tide, replaced by a vast, glittering starfield. Countless stars rotated slowly overhead, as if the entire stadium had been swallowed by the galaxy itself, bathing both duelists in cold, solemn starlight.
"I activate Drytron Fafnir's effect!" Shota thrust an arm upward. "When this card is activated, I can add 1 'Drytron' Spell/Trap from my Deck to my hand, except 'Drytron Fafnir'! I choose the Ritual Spell—Meteonis Drytron!"
The Ritual Spell snapped into his palm.
Then Shota locked eyes with Yusaku again and pulled a card from his Extra Deck.
"Now I'll show you exactly why your Formula Synchron placement is wrong!"
He revealed it.
"Link Monster—Relinquished Anima! Its Summon condition is 1 non-Token Level 1 monster!"
"Thanks to you, I've got a Level 1 monster right here—Drytron Beta Rastaban!"
"So I use Drytron Beta Rastaban as Link Material!"
Shota's voice spiked.
"Link Summon! Link-1—Relinquished Anima!"
A radiant Link flare erupted upward. Drytron Beta Rastaban turned into a streak of silver light and was pulled into the spinning Link Circuit overhead.
Yusaku's lips held a thin, knowing curve the whole time.
That tiny expression was caught by the arena's cameras and magnified onto every screen around the stadium.
The genius academy students frowned. The remaining Gurus members looked baffled. Even the duelists waiting to fight wore confused expressions.
The same thought crossed everyone's mind.
He'd practically gifted the opponent a monster—so why was he smiling?
In a corner of the stands, a cluster of players huddled together, scratching their heads.
"I remember Relinquished Anima can steal the monster its Link Arrow points to as an Equip Spell and raise its ATK. With this layout, Yusaku's Formula Synchron is 100% getting yoinked."
"This makes no sense. He's fought Drytron before, hasn't he? How does he make a mistake like putting his monster under the Extra Monster Zone? Drytron decks always run Relinquished Anima, don't they?!"
"Man, this is killing me. If Kouki were here, he might be able to tell what Yusaku-senpai is thinking."
On the field—
As the upward arrow lit, an eerie creature emerged: dagger-sharp claws, and from its chest, a long tendril stretched outward—three eyes embedded along it like the Eye of Horus.
Relinquished Anima
Link-1 / Spellcaster / Link / Effect
ATK 0
Link Arrow: Up
Shota stared at Yusaku, smug satisfaction filling his eyes.
"Drytron decks usually run Linkuriboh. Didn't expect it, did you? I didn't bring that—I brought Relinquished Anima instead!"
(End of Chapter)
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