Senjo glanced at the glowing screen of his Duel Disk. His fingers brushed the card slots, and with a series of crisp clicks, his opening five cards slid neatly into his hand.
He lightly shuffled the cards between his fingers, a sharp smile tugging at his lips as he looked at Yusaku across the field.
"This time, I'm going to erase the humiliation of losing to you."
Before the last word had even faded, he slammed a card onto his Duel Disk.
"I activate the Spell Card Reasoning!"
"This card's effect is: my opponent declares any Level from 1 to 12. Then I excavate cards from the top of my Deck until I reveal a monster that can be Normal Summoned. If that monster's Level matches the number you declared, all revealed cards are sent to the Graveyard. If it's different, I Special Summon that monster, and send the rest to the Graveyard!"
"A mill card, huh?"
Yusaku raised a brow and casually picked a number.
"Then I'll say four."
As soon as the number was declared, the Duel Disk let out a mechanical hum. Cards flipped from the top of the Deck one after another until the motion suddenly stopped on the seventeenth card.
Senjo revealed the card and looked at Yusaku.
"Dark Summoning Beast is Level 5. You declared Level 4, so by the effect of Reasoning, I can Special Summon it to the field!"
He inserted the card into his Duel Disk, and a burst of blue particles exploded outward before rapidly taking shape.
A pitch-black fiend abruptly appeared on the field. Its long tail was lined with vicious spikes, and the edges of its bat-like wings glimmered faintly. Its twisted, grotesque form sent a chill through the entire arena.
Dark Summoning Beast
Level 5 / Fiend / Effect
ATK 0
"Dark Summoning Beast?"
Yusaku paused for a moment, then slowly smiled.
"Interesting... the Sacred Beasts, huh?"
At that, Senjo's expression tightened instantly. He looked at Yusaku in surprise.
"Our Academy only just excavated these from a ruin. How do you know about them?"
Yusaku only gave him a mysterious smile.
"Take a guess."
"I'm not in the mood to joke around." Senjo snorted, a vicious light flashing in his eyes. "No matter where you learned about the Sacred Beasts, it doesn't matter now. Their power is far beyond anything the Egyptian Gods can match. In this duel, you probably don't even understand the most basic rules involved."
Hearing that, Yusaku's lips curled slightly.
Interesting. So in his eyes, the Sacred Beasts are bigger names than the Gods?
In the stands, the spectators were equally confused.
"Sacred Beasts? I've never even heard of those," someone blurted out.
The moment he said that, a Genius Academy student sitting in the front row crossed his arms and lifted his chin proudly.
"How could fodder like you know about them? These are ultimate cards our Academy excavated from the ruins of ancient duelists! Their power is beyond anything you can imagine! Keep your eyes open and watch carefully. This duel will be the stage where the Sacred Beasts reveal themselves to the world, and the moment a new King of Games is born!"
That immediately annoyed the duelist who had spoken before.
"Who are you calling fodder? I've been sick of you Genius Academy people for a long time now. If you've got the guts, then duel me!"
"As if I'd waste a duel on you."
"..."
Seeing the argument break out, a group of players stopped watching and started muttering among themselves.
"'The Sacred Beasts reveal themselves,' my ass. With effects like that? Forget Ra. Even Obelisk and Slifer would flatten all three of them together."
"You can't say that so absolutely. Uria, Lord of Searing Flames does have a pretty strong effect. If the anime version's in play, sending Traps to the Graveyard lets it revive."
"Yeah, but even then it still feels worse than the Aesir. Those guys revive themselves without any cost at all."
"..."
On the field, after successfully Special Summoning Dark Summoning Beast, Senjo pulled out another card and slammed it onto his Duel Disk without hesitation.
"Next, I Normal Summon Dark Beckoning Beast!"
Blue light flashed again, and another fiend descended onto the field with a heavy thud.
Dark Beckoning Beast
Level 2 / Fiend / Effect
ATK 0
"I activate the effect of Dark Beckoning Beast!"
Senjo's voice rose sharply, echoing through the entire stadium.
"When this card is Normal Summoned, I can add 1 of the three Sacred Beasts, or 1 monster that mentions them, from my Deck to my hand!"
After reciting the effect, he looked at Yusaku.
"Any response?"
Yusaku glanced at the card in his hand, its surface covered in faint golden lines, and smiled.
"No response. No hand trap."
"No interruption at all?" Senjo sneered, as if he had just heard a joke. "Looks like this duel is already mine. Yusaku, enjoy these final moments while you still can!"
Then he shouted:
"In that case, I add Chaos Summoning Beast, a monster that mentions the Sacred Beasts, from my Deck to my hand!"
The searched card had barely reached his hand before Senjo played another.
"I'm not done yet! Next, I activate the Continuous Spell Opening of the Spirit Gates!"
"Effect of Opening of the Spirit Gates!"
His voice thundered across the arena.
"When this card is activated, I can add Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder, Raviel, Lord of Phantasms, or a monster that mentions any of them, from my Deck to my hand!"
"I choose Uria, Lord of Searing Flames!"
The moment the card entered his hand, Senjo immediately revealed another.
"And now for the other effect of Dark Beckoning Beast. While this card remains in my Monster Zone, I get an additional Normal Summon during my Main Phase for a Fiend monster with 0 ATK and 0 DEF!"
He looked up at Yusaku.
"The Chaos Summoning Beast in my hand is exactly that. A Fiend with 0 ATK and 0 DEF. So with this effect, I can Normal Summon it to the field!"
As the card struck the Duel Disk, a fiendish monster clad in brilliant light and spread-winged menace appeared with a roar.
Chaos Summoning Beast
Level 1 / Fiend / Effect
ATK 0
The instant it appeared, Senjo shouted again.
"I activate the effect of Chaos Summoning Beast! I can Tribute this card to Special Summon 1 of the three Sacred Beasts from my hand, ignoring its Summoning conditions!"
"I now Tribute Chaos Summoning Beast on my field!"
His voice rose higher and higher, brimming with unstoppable momentum.
"Now behold the true power of the Sacred Beasts!"
He raised the crimson-glowing card in his hand high above his head.
"O crimson dragon of ruin, awaken from the infernal flames of hell! Sweep heaven and earth in fire, and reduce all things to ash! Descend now - Uria, Lord of Searing Flames!"
A burst of virtual light exploded outward, as though the heavens and earth themselves were trembling.
The ground split apart in a web of cracks. Blazing magma surged upward. The clouds above burned blood-red. Terrifying energy tore through the sky and gathered into a vortex like an inverted volcano, spewing flames powerful enough to destroy everything.
Wrapped in apocalyptic fire, the crimson dragon descended with a thunderous roar. The air hissed and burned in its wake. Metal melted instantly under its flames, streams of liquid iron crawling across the ground and radiating suffocating heat.
Uria, Lord of Searing Flames
Level 10 / Divine-Beast / Effect
ATK 0
"I activate Uria, Lord of Searing Flames's effect!"
Senjo shouted.
"This card's ATK and DEF become the number of Trap Cards in my Graveyard times 1000!"
"I have five Trap Cards in my Graveyard from the cards milled earlier, so Uria, Lord of Searing Flames rises to 5000 ATK!"
Uria, Lord of Searing Flames
ATK 0 -> 5000
After summoning Uria, Senjo looked at Yusaku, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
"See that? This is the power of the Sacred Beasts. With hardly any effort at all, its attack power has already surpassed the Gods!"
Yusaku calmly glanced at Uria and replied in an even tone:
"A monster's strength isn't decided by attack power alone."
"I know that already!" Senjo sneered, his eyes full of contempt. "But in the end, duels are still decided by attack power! The higher your ATK, the faster you end the duel!"
"There's some truth to that..." Yusaku said, one brow lifting slightly before his tone shifted. "But..."
Senjo frowned.
"But what?"
(End of Chapter)
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