The audience hurriedly looked toward Yusaku's field. Sure enough, the ATK of I:P Masquerena and Cyberse Wicckid was only a measly 800!
"What a shame. If those two had a little more ATK, Karasu would be completely helpless," someone sighed regretfully.
Karasu drew a card and slammed it onto his Duel Disk. "I Normal Summon! Predaplant Spinodionaea!"
A burst of emerald light erupted. A thorny dinosaur with a massive pitcher plant growing from its back clawed its way up from the ground with a roar, its sharp talons gouging deep trenches into the floor.
Predaplant Spinodionaea
[Level 4 / Plant / Effect]
[ATK: 1800]
Karasu threw his head back and laughed at the 1800 ATK monster. "Hahahaha! Yusaku! As long as I destroy just one monster occupying your Extra Monster Zone, your lock falls apart!"
The Gurus members and the prodigies from the academy lit up.
So… could it be…
Right then, Yusaku's voice cracked across the field like thunder.
"You didn't seriously think I was done building my board, did you?"
His gaze swept over Karasu with a hint of pity. "And do you really think my other monsters are just sitting here for decoration?"
Karasu's pupils tightened. "What?"
"At the exact moment you Normal Summon Predaplant Spinodionaea!"
Yusaku snapped his hand up, pointing straight at the Extra Monster Zones, at I:P Masquerena and Cyberse Wicckid, his voice layering over itself with unstoppable momentum.
"I activate I:P Masquerena's effect! I use her and my Link-2 monster Cyberse Wicckid as Link Material!"
Karasu's eyes widened. "An Accel Link?!"
"That's right. You heard me." Yusaku raised his arm high, his voice ringing through the entire arena.
"Free-spirited girl, lend me your light and your freedom. Call forth the hero of the starlit sky, and save this chaotic world!"
"Accel Link Summon! Appear, hero of starlight! Mekk-Knight Crusadia Avramax!!!"
Clear blue radiance surged from the Link Circuit. I:P Masquerena and Cyberse Wicckid instantly dissolved into pillars of white light that shot into the heavens. Four Link Arrows blazed at once, dazzling enough to force people to squint.
The next second, a knight in shining silver-blue armor descended from the light. A sturdy shield glowing faintly blue in his left hand, a razor-sharp sword in his right, cape snapping in the wind.
Mekk-Knight Crusadia Avramax
[Cyberse / Link / Effect]
[ATK: 3000]
Seeing Avramax hit the field, Karasu clenched his teeth. "But if you do that, your lock is gone!"
"You're really in a hurry, huh." Yusaku glanced at him, calm as ever. "Can you wait until I finish resolving effects before you start talking?"
Karasu: "???"
"At the moment Mekk-Knight Crusadia Avramax is successfully Summoned!"
Yusaku's eyes shifted to the graveyard, his voice rising again.
"The instant Avramax hits the field, I activate the effect of Code of Soul that I sent to the GY earlier with Firewall Dragon Darkfluid - Neo Tempest Terahertz!"
"During the opponent's Main Phase, I can banish this card from my GY to perform a Link Summon of a Link-3 or higher Cyberse Link Monster!"
He slashed his hand through the air. The shadow of Code of Soul rose from the graveyard, turned into light, and vanished. "I banish it!"
"Appear, Link Circuit that guides the future!"
His voice carried absolute authority.
"Link Arrows confirmed! Summoning conditions: 3 or more Effect Monsters!"
On the field, Maliss Red Ransom, Maliss White Binder, and Maliss White Rabbit transformed into three streams of light and flew into the circuit above!
Yusaku raised his arm again, his tone surging higher and higher.
"As one, merge with the unknown winds and draw the future that connects the worlds!"
"Link Summon! Link-5! Accesscode Talker!!!"
A deafening roar shook the arena as the Link Circuit flooded with brilliant white light. Energy readings spiked to the limit, and a towering figure coalesced within the glow.
He held an energy greatsword that gleamed like it could cleave the darkness itself, righteous pressure rolling off him as he landed firmly in the second Extra Monster Zone.
Accesscode Talker
[LINK-5 / Cyberse / Link / Effect]
[ATK: 2300]
"I'm still not done!"
Yusaku's shout came in waves.
"I activate Accesscode Talker's effect, and I Chain Firewall Dragon Singularity's effect!"
"First, Firewall Dragon Singularity!" He pointed toward the graveyard, eyes sharp as a hawk. "When a monster this card points to is sent to the GY, I can Special Summon 1 Cyberse monster from my GY!"
Yusaku slapped down a card, voice crisp and final. "I Special Summon Firewall Dragon from my GY!"
A silver-white dragon's phantom rose from the graveyard, roaring as it slammed onto the field in overwhelming splendor.
Firewall Dragon
[ATK: 2500]
"Next, Accesscode Talker's effect!"
Yusaku's voice rang out again.
"When this card is Link Summoned, I Special Summon as many Cyberse monsters with 2300 ATK as possible from my GY to zones this card points to! Then this card gains 500 ATK for each monster Summoned!"
"I choose Maliss Red Ransom and Maliss White Binder in my GY! Special Summon them again!"
Two streams of light rose from the graveyard and landed in Accesscode Talker's linked zones, the goddess-like silhouettes forming once more.
Maliss Red Ransom
[ATK: 2300]
Maliss White Binder
[ATK: 2300]
"Since I Special Summoned two 2300 ATK monsters, Accesscode Talker gains 1000 ATK!"
Accesscode Talker
[ATK: 2300 -> 3300]
"T-This… this!!"
The commentator was shaking, voice trembling with excitement.
"This is real. In the blink of an eye, the Extra Monster Zones are occupied again, and now the monsters showing up are a Link-4 and a Link-5, both sitting at 3000 or higher ATK!"
"And the most unbelievable part is that after Yusaku's Accel Link Summon, his monster count didn't drop at all. It's higher than it was at the start, and their ATK has risen dramatically!"
The Gurus members stared, eyes blown wide, despair written across their faces.
They thought they had a line back into the game. But in less than a minute, Yusaku's field had completely transformed. There was no comeback at all. They still could not Special Summon.
The crowd, on the other hand, erupted, cheers so loud they nearly tore the roof off.
"No way, you can build a U-lock like that?!"
"Accel Link, and you don't even lose monsters. You end up with more than you started with. What kind of backwards genius is that?!"
"Karasu is completely cooked!"
On the field, Karasu stared at Yusaku's board, his face drained paper-white.
His Predaplant Spinodionaea only had 1800 ATK, and the weakest monster on Yusaku's field was 2300. He could not beat a single one.
Then, as if something snapped into place, a crazed glint flashed in Karasu's eyes. He sneered.
"Accel Linking on my turn, Yusaku. You really are strong. But did you ever think…"
His voice turned vicious.
"…what if I use the Knightmare Corruptor Iblee you forced onto my field to attack one of your monsters?"
"Sure, it's like sacrificing 1000 to deal 800, but Iblee's ATK is lower than your monsters. After it attacks, it gets destroyed. Then your lock disappears!"
"Battle Phase!"
The moment he said it, Yusaku's voice drifted out, leisurely. "Not a bad idea."
Karasu's movement stopped dead.
"But you really think I didn't plan for that?" Yusaku's eyes swept the arena, calm, yet crushingly oppressive.
He paused. The pressure in his words was almost suffocating.
"Also, you didn't seriously think my board was finished, did you?"
Karasu's pupils shrank. "What?!"
Up in the stands, everyone shot to their feet at once, staring daggers at Yusaku's field.
At this point, Yusaku still had more?
He could keep building?
On the field, Yusaku suddenly raised his hand, pointing at the face-down card at his feet that had never moved once. His voice was ironclad and thunderous.
"The instant you enter the Battle Phase, I flip my Set card! I activate the Continuous Trap: Imperial Order!"
The Set card snapped open, and crimson light flooded the entire field!
The moment Karasu saw it, his pupils expanded violently, all color draining from his face. "I-Imperial Order?!"
He knew that effect all too well. As long as it stayed on the field, the Spell Cards in his hand would turn into worthless paper.
With zero hesitation, he ripped a card from his hand and slammed it down, roaring, "I Chain! Quick-Play Spell: Mystical Space Typhoon! Destroy your Imperial Order!!"
"MST, huh." Yusaku glanced at the card, lips curling into a mocking smile. "Too bad. It won't matter."
He flicked his hand, revealing a card in his graveyard.
"I activate Cyberse Desavewurm's effect from my GY!"
"I'm still not done!" Yusaku's shout rang out again. "Chaining to Cyberse Desavewurm, I flip my second Set card! I pay half my LP and activate the Trap Card: Judgment of the Pharaoh!!"
[Yusaku LP: 5800 -> 2400]
"And I keep chaining!" Yusaku's voice echoed through the stadium. "Chaining to Judgment of the Pharaoh, I activate my Firewall Dragon's effect!"
After the entire chain was declared, Yusaku looked at Karasu, whose face had gone deathly pale, and spoke evenly.
"My effects are declared. You still want to chain anything?"
Karasu looked down at his hand. It was all Predaplant-themed Spell and Trap cards. With Special Summons locked, they were useless.
He ground his teeth and snorted. "No chains."
"Then." Yusaku's gaze swept the arena, his voice crisp enough to cut.
"Chain begins resolving!"
CL1 Imperial Order -> CL2 Mystical Space Typhoon -> CL3 Cyberse Desavewurm -> CL4 Judgment of the Pharaoh -> CL5 Firewall Dragon!
"First, we resolve the last effect activated, Firewall Dragon!"
Yusaku's voice rose sharply as he pointed to Karasu's field.
"As long as this card is face-up on the field, once per turn, during either player's turn, I can target a number of monsters on the field or in the GY up to the number of mutually linked monsters, and return them to the hand!"
"My target is Predaplant Spinodionaea on your field. Return it to the hand!"
Firewall Dragon roared, jaws snapping wide as a brilliant torrent of light blasted forward, swallowing the green thorn-drake whole.
When the light faded, Predaplant Spinodionaea was gone.
"Next, Judgment of the Pharaoh's effect!"
Yusaku looked straight at Karasu.
"I can pay half my LP to activate it. If I have YU-JYO Friendship in my GY, then until the end of this turn, my opponent cannot Set monsters, cannot Normal Summon, cannot Flip Summon, cannot Special Summon, and cannot activate monster effects!"
Karasu froze, then his face twisted. "Can't Set? Can't Summon? I can't even activate monster effects?"
"Correct." Yusaku smiled faintly. "Remember the handshake card I activated last turn? That card was YU-JYO Friendship."
He enunciated each word like a sentence being carried out.
"So because YU-JYO Friendship is in my GY, until the end of this turn you cannot activate monster effects. Forget Special Summoning. You can't even Set a monster."
"T-That's impossible! I don't believe it!"
"Don't rush to despair," Yusaku said, glancing at him. "It only gets worse."
"Next, Cyberse Desavewurm's effect," he continued calmly. "If I have a Link-4 or higher Cyberse monster on my field, then when you activate a Spell or Trap, I can banish this card from my field or GY, and negate that activation."
He pointed to the graveyard. The phantom of Cyberse Desavewurm turned into light and vanished.
"I control Link-5 monsters Firewall Dragon Darkfluid - Neo Tempest Terahertz and Accesscode Talker, so I meet the condition. I banish it to negate your Mystical Space Typhoon!"
A beam of light shot out and struck Karasu's Mystical Space Typhoon head-on. The Quick-Play Spell disintegrated into ash and vanished.
"Finally, Imperial Order's effect." Yusaku's eyes fell on the Continuous Trap blazing with red light, his voice thundering through the arena.
"As long as this card remains in the Spell and Trap Zone, all Spell Card effects on the field are negated!"
He looked at Karasu, whose expression had turned ugly.
"So this turn, you not only can't Summon monsters or activate monster effects, you also can't use a single Spell Card."
Yusaku crossed his arms, gaze steady on Karasu.
"My end board is complete. Go on."
"Your turn to play."
(End of Chapter)
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