On the field.
Ishino's gaze swept across the two duelists. After confirming that both were ready, he suddenly raised his arm high.
"I hereby declare that the first semifinal match officially begins!"
The instant the signal fell, Yusaku and Nightshroud shouted at the same time.
"Duel!"
"Duel!"
[Yusaku, LP 8000]
[Nightshroud, LP 8000]
The Duel Disk's system display lit up at once, and the turn order appeared clearly.
[First Turn: Yusaku]
Yusaku glanced at the prompt on his Duel Disk and slowly drew his opening hand.
"Then I'll go first. Draw. Main Phase!"
After a brief pause, his fingertip flicked, and a card shot out like an arrow and slid neatly into the slot on his Duel Disk.
"First, I activate the Spell Card Pot of Greed! By this card's effect, I can draw 2 cards from my Deck."
After explaining the effect, Yusaku looked up at Nightshroud.
"Any response?"
Nightshroud lazily glanced at his hand, crossed his arms over his chest, and curled his lips into a cool, indifferent smile.
"No response for now. Go ahead and play. If I want to chain something, I'll do it when the time comes."
"Then have it your way."
With a light turn of his wrist, Yusaku added the 2 drawn cards to his hand.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card One for One! Its effect lets me send 1 monster from my hand to the Graveyard, then Special Summon 1 Level 1 monster from my hand or Deck!"
Before the words had even finished, he revealed another card from his hand.
"By the effect of One for One, I send Left-Hand Shark from my hand to the Graveyard and Special Summon the Level 1 Beautunaful Princess from my Deck!"
As soon as he spoke, clear ripples of water spread across the floor of the Duel Arena. A small pale golden fish with silver-flecked scales flicked its tail and leaped gracefully out of the water, landing lightly on the field.
Beautunaful Princess
Level 1 / Fish / Effect
ATK 0
"I activate Beautunaful Princess's effect!"
Yusaku's voice rose sharply.
"When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, I can banish it and Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Fish monster from my Deck, except itself!"
"I banish Beautunaful Princess and Special Summon Right-Hand Shark from my Deck!"
A burst of blue particles exploded across the field. A mechanical shark with twin blades embedded in its dorsal fin materialized amid a roaring surge of water, its metallic body gleaming coldly under the lights.
Right-Hand Shark
Level 4 / Fish / Effect
DEF 1300
The moment Right-Hand Shark steadied itself on the field, Yusaku raised another card from his Graveyard.
"I activate the effect of Left-Hand Shark in my Graveyard! If this card is in my hand or Graveyard, and I control Right-Hand Shark, I can Special Summon it!"
"Right now I control Right-Hand Shark, so the condition is completely fulfilled! I Special Summon Left-Hand Shark from my Graveyard!"
"And when this card is Special Summoned from the Graveyard, its effect activates automatically - its Level becomes 4!"
The instant those words fell, a blade-shaped mechanical shark burst up from the ground.
Left-Hand Shark
Level 3 -> 4 / Fish / Effect
ATK 1300
The moment the monster appeared on the field, Yusaku immediately shouted:
"Now I have 2 Level 4 monsters on the field!"
Then he swept out an arm.
"I build the Overlay Network with Right-Hand Shark and Left-Hand Shark!"
"Xyz Summon! Rank 4 - Bahamut Shark!"
A brilliant golden vortex suddenly opened high above the field. Right-Hand Shark and Left-Hand Shark became two streaks of light and shot into it with a howl.
In the next instant, a deafening roar shook the arena as a dragonic shark with claws glinting ominously and wings wrapped in towering waves burst through the vortex and descended onto the field.
Bahamut Shark
Rank 4 / Sea Serpent / Xyz / Effect
ATK 2600
"An Xyz Summon?"
Nightshroud looked at Bahamut Shark on the field, one brow lifting slightly, contempt flashing in his eyes.
"What a familiar summoning method. Not long ago, I kept dueling a bunch of natives who did nothing but use Xyz Summons. Too bad they were pathetic. Hopefully, you can put up a better fight."
Yusaku's mouth curled faintly.
"I'll throw that line right back at you. I just hope you don't disappoint me either."
With that, he threw out a hand and his voice rang like thunder.
"I activate Bahamut Shark's effect!"
"Once per turn, I can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card and Special Summon 1 Rank 3 or lower WATER Xyz Monster from my Extra Deck!"
"I detach 1 material!"
Bahamut Shark
Xyz Materials: 2 -> 1
"From my Extra Deck, I Special Summon the Rank 2 WATER Xyz Monster - Toadally Awesome!"
At the very instant those words landed, neon pink-and-green light patterns exploded across the center of the field. Transparent ripples spread outward in layers from the summoning point.
Two pink-and-white frogs slowly appeared. The larger frog landed solidly on the ground, while the smaller one hopped lightly onto its head, both of them faintly glowing.
Toadally Awesome
Rank 2 / Aqua / Xyz / Effect
ATK 2200
The moment the spectators saw Yusaku summon Toadally Awesome, a whole section of the audience instantly went wild, shouting things that sounded completely baffling to anyone else.
"Holy crap, it's him!"
"Frog boss! You finally escaped! By your own power!"
"Hahaha! The toad king returns in glory!"
Hearing all these bizarre cries, the other duelists in the crowd frowned in confusion.
It was just a Rank 2 Xyz Monster. Was there really any reason to get that excited?
On the field.
"The instant you summon that monster!"
Nightshroud's voice suddenly rang out. He sharply drew a card from his hand and slapped it onto the Duel Disk.
"You've already summoned 5 monsters, which perfectly fulfills the activation condition of this card in my hand!"
"I activate Nibiru, the Primal Being!"
"This card's effect can be activated during either player's Main Phase if your opponent has Normal or Special Summoned 5 or more monsters this turn! Tribute as many face-up monsters on the field as possible, then Special Summon this card from my hand, and after that, Special Summon a Primal Being Token to your opponent's field!"
Nightshroud raised a hand toward Yusaku, his tone full of arrogant certainty.
"I activate this card's effect and Tribute your 2 monsters!"
The moment he finished, a black裂缝 in space tore open above the Duel Arena, and a giant meteor wreathed in chaotic flames came crashing down from it with an apocalyptic pressure.
Nightshroud folded his arms and looked at Yusaku with disdain.
"As a native, you've probably never even seen a card like this before. The power my organization possesses is far beyond anything you can imagine! Your monsters are about to be reduced to ash beneath this meteor!"
Yusaku only gave the enormous falling meteor a casual glance, a mocking smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"It's just a rock. Look how proud you are over it. Did you really think I wouldn't have a way to deal with an effect like this?"
A flicker of confusion crossed Nightshroud's face.
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said."
In the instant Nightshroud froze, Yusaku snapped his fingers.
With that crisp snap, Toadally Awesome suddenly turned into a streak of golden light and shot upward like a sword straight into the falling meteor. The moment the light pierced through it, an explosive blast thundered across the arena. The huge meteor shattered into countless fragments and vanished under the crushing impact.
"Toadally Awesome's effect!"
Yusaku's voice rang clearly throughout the stadium.
"Once per turn, when my opponent activates a monster effect or a Spell/Trap Card, I can send 1 Aqua monster from my hand or field to the Graveyard to negate that activation and destroy it! Then I can Set the destroyed card on my field!"
Nightshroud frowned.
"A negate for monsters, Spells, and Traps, and it can even steal the negated card? That's the kind of effect a Rank 2 monster gets?"
"Why shouldn't it?" Yusaku answered coolly. "Now it's my turn to keep going."
Nightshroud gave a cold snort.
"So what, you're going to Set my Nibiru on your field as a free wall?"
"That monster isn't worth taking up one of my zones." Yusaku glanced at him indifferently. "I already have my own copy of that card."
Nightshroud: "?"
Before he could recover from the shock, Yusaku spoke again.
"I activate Toadally Awesome's other effect in the Graveyard! When this card is sent to the Graveyard, I can target 1 WATER monster in my Graveyard and add it to my hand!"
"My target is Right-Hand Shark, the card that was just detached from Bahamut Shark as Xyz Material!"
After returning Right-Hand Shark to his hand, Yusaku flipped out another card.
"Next, I activate the effect of Surfacing Big Jaws in my hand! During my Main Phase, if a Spell Card was activated this turn, I can Special Summon this card from my hand!"
"After this effect resolves, I can only Special Summon Xyz Monsters from the Extra Deck for the rest of the turn!"
"At the start of the duel, I already activated Pot of Greed, so the activation condition is completely met! I Special Summon Surfacing Big Jaws!"
Blue particles exploded across the field once again. A mechanical shark with a massive jaw full of vicious teeth and a sharp blade set into its head erupted from a watery ripple in the ground with a roar.
Surfacing Big Jaws
Level 4 / Fish / Effect
ATK 1800
"I activate Surfacing Big Jaws's other effect!" Yusaku continued without pause. "When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, I can add 1 Fish 'Shark' monster from my Deck to my hand!"
"I search Drake Shark from my Deck!"
The moment Drake Shark entered his hand, Yusaku revealed it and fixed Nightshroud with a sharp stare.
"I activate Drake Shark's effect!"
"When this card is added to my hand, except by drawing it, I can Special Summon it! I added it to my hand by the effect of Surfacing Big Jaws, so the condition is fully met!"
"Come out, Drake Shark!"
The summoning light flared, and a red streak shot up through the ground as a mechanical shark clad in dark red, white, and blue armor slammed onto the field.
Drake Shark
Level 4 / Fish / Effect
ATK 1400
The moment Drake Shark appeared, Yusaku raised his hand again.
"Next, I build the Overlay Network with Drake Shark and Surfacing Big Jaws!"
"Xyz Summon! Rank 4 - Bahamut Shark!"
Bahamut Shark
Xyz Materials: 2
ATK 2600
"Bahamut Shark's effect does not have a once-per-turn restriction by card name!" Yusaku's voice rose sharply. "So I can activate that effect again! I detach 1 Xyz Material!"
Bahamut Shark
Xyz Materials: 2 -> 1
"From my Extra Deck, I Special Summon Toadally Awesome again!"
That familiar pink-and-green light flashed once more, and a second Toadally Awesome landed steadily on the field.
Toadally Awesome
ATK 2200
Looking at the newly summoned Toadally Awesome, Nightshroud frowned slightly. Much as he hated to admit it, for a monster with a Rank as low as 2, its effect was far stronger than he had expected.
Only Rank 2, yet such a powerful effect.
Still...
He glanced at the card in his hand, faintly glowing with a soft golden light, and a slight smile touched his lips.
"No matter how strong an effect is, it's useless if it can't activate."
With that thought, he crossed his arms and looked at Yusaku. He wanted to see exactly what kind of board Yusaku was trying to make.
On the other side.
After summoning Toadally Awesome, Yusaku pulled a card from his hand and slapped it onto the Duel Disk.
"I activate the Spell Card Xyz Gift!"
"By this card's effect, if I control 2 or more Xyz Monsters, I can detach 2 Xyz Materials from monsters I control and then draw 2 cards from my Deck!"
"Right now I control 2 Bahamut Sharks, so the condition is satisfied! I detach the final remaining Xyz Material from each Bahamut Shark and draw 2 cards from my Deck!"
Bahamut Shark x2
Xyz Materials: 1 -> 0
After drawing, Yusaku suddenly raised his hand.
"Next, I stack the 2 Bahamut Sharks on top of each other!"
Two brilliant golden lights shot into the sky and flew into the Xyz Gate that appeared high above the field.
"Xyz Summon! Number F0: Utopic Future!!!!"
Number F0: Utopic Future
Xyz Materials: 2
Rank 0 / Warrior / Xyz / Effect
ATK 0
"I'm still not done!" Yusaku's voice carried unstoppable force. "I overlay 1 Xyz Monster from my Extra Deck on top of Number F0: Utopic Future!"
At that instant, the two lights intertwined into a silver-white bolt that spiraled into the heavens. The dazzling brilliance forced everyone present to squint.
"Appear - Number F0: Utopic Draco Future!!!"
Fragments of hope like starlight gathered in the air and formed a suit of golden armor etched with celestial patterns. Six pairs of crystalline light wings slowly unfolded, scattering fine particles of distorted space and time.
The crown-like core above the monster's head hummed softly, its deep blue crystal glowing with an unfathomable light, as a monster resembling a futuristic mech hovered steadily in the Extra Monster Zone.
Number F0: Utopic Draco Future
Rank 1 / Warrior / Xyz
ATK 3000
Xyz Materials: 3
"I'm still not done!"
Yusaku's voice rang out once more. He pulled a card from his hand and slammed it into the Duel Disk without hesitation.
"I Normal Summon Buzzsaw Shark!"
Blue particles exploded, and a mechanical shark with two sharp metal gears embedded in its dorsal fin appeared on the field, accompanied by the harsh grinding noise of turning gears.
Buzzsaw Shark
Level 4 / Fish / Effect
ATK 1600
"I activate Buzzsaw Shark's effect!"
Yusaku shouted.
"I can target 1 WATER monster I control and Special Summon from my Deck 1 Fish monster with the same Level but a different name in Defense Position!"
"My target is Buzzsaw Shark itself! From my Deck, I Special Summon Lifeless Leaffish!"
The summoning effect shimmered, and a monster that looked as though it had been woven from withered leaves slowly appeared. It had several pairs of wings as thin as cicada wings, and its overall form looked almost like an elegant jellyfish, drifting lazily over the field.
Lifeless Leaffish
Level 4 / Fish / Effect
DEF 1600
(End of Chapter)
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