That meant if it lived, it could blow away Gravity Bind and reopen attacks. This was another adjustment Makoto Kajiki had made for this duel, a bright-side Duelist struggling against a shut-in from the underworld.
But that was fine.
"My turn. Draw." Yugen drew and acted without hesitation. "I activate the Continuous Spell Level Limit Area B from my hand."
As long as this card remained, all Level four or higher monsters on the field were switched to Defense Position.
Mechanicalchaser, attack 1600 to defense 1800 Perfect Machine King, attack 3700 to defense 1500
Makoto Kajiki nearly spat blood.
Seriously, how did he still have something like this?
Makoto Kajiki was completely stunned. He had never imagined someone could play cards this shamelessly, as if this was not a tournament but an act of public revenge.
Even if Dark Jeroid's effect resolved next turn, it could only destroy one Spell or Trap. As long as either Gravity Bind or Level Limit Area B remained, he still would not be able to attack.
He also noticed that Magical Attacker was Level three, just under the cutoff. That meant only he was locked out of attacking, while Yugen could swing freely.
Yugen said, "Just to be safe, I activate the Spell Shield Crush. I destroy one Defense Position monster. Dark Jeroid is destroyed."
Makoto Kajiki: "."
That was not all.
"Next, I summon Alien Scout from my hand in Attack Position."
Alien Scout, attack 700
"This card has the same effect as Magical Attacker and can attack directly," Yugen said with a small smile. "By the way, Alien Scout is also Level three, so it is unaffected by both Level Limit Area B and Gravity Bind."
Makoto Kajiki: "."
He wanted to say no, that thing was not Alien Scout. It was a messenger from hell.
"Magical Attacker and Alien Scout, direct attack!"
Two direct hits in a row.
Perfect Machine King and Mechanicalchaser could only watch as the two small monsters flew over their heads and slammed their owner into the ground. The monsters were angry witnesses, but there was nothing they could do.
Makoto Kajiki, LP 2300 to LP 1000
Makoto Kajiki said nothing, but veins bulged on his hand and forehead, his temper close to boiling over.
"I set one card. Turn end."
"My turn."
Makoto Kajiki took a deep breath.
Calm down, stay calm. Just like his master at Duel Dojo always said, the more dangerous it gets, the more you must not panic. Until the final second of a duel, you never know the result.
Believe in your deck and remember the daily draw training. Now was the time to see if that training paid off.
Makoto Kajiki closed his eyes and muttered to himself.
Just one more wind.
"Draw!"
The next moment, Makoto Kajiki almost jumped in place.
This draw created a miracle.
"I activate the Spell Heavy Storm from my hand!" Makoto Kajiki raised the card like a ritual offering. "Destroy all Spell and Trap Cards on the field!"
Heavy Storm, the strongest back row cleaner, flipped the table without discrimination.
"You really did draw the wind this turn," Yugen muttered. "So even background characters get miracle draws in the anime world?"
But then Yugen snapped his fingers.
"Flip my set card. Counter Trap, Judgment of Anubis."
Makoto Kajiki was still laughing. "Useless! Heavy Storm is the ultimate enemy of Spells and Traps. Nothing can stand before the storm, un, wait, what is that?"
"Judgment of Anubis can only be activated when your opponent activates a Spell that includes the effect of destroying Spell or Trap Cards," Yugen explained calmly.
"Discard one card to negate that Spell's activation and destroy it. Then select one face-up monster your opponent controls, destroy it, and inflict damage equal to that monster's attack."
Makoto Kajiki narrowed his eyes.
Negate the storm and then destroy a monster for damage equal to its attack.
"."
What?
Under the invisible curse, the storm vanished. Dark energy spread across the field and formed the savage image of Anubis, glaring at Makoto Kajiki's side.
"By this effect, I destroy your Perfect Machine King," Yugen said with a wave. "Take damage equal to its attack, 3700."
Anubis opened its jaws, and black breath poured out. Machine King melted instantly within it, and the violent current surged onward and swallowed Makoto Kajiki as well.
"Argh!"
The impact equal to thirty-seven hundred damage slammed Makoto Kajiki flat onto the ground. Even as he fell, his eyes were wide open, as if he refused to accept it.
As if to say that even nailed into a coffin and buried in the earth, he would still shout with a rotten voice that he had never seen someone so determined to take revenge on the world.
Makoto Kajiki, LP 1000 to LP 0
"Hello to our dear viewers. You are watching the finals of the Moonlight Cup. I am Wataru Komatsu."
"And I am Takeshi Sasaki."
The tournament logo flashed across the live broadcast before the two commentators appeared on screen to warm up the crowd. The arena lights swept over the stands, and the noise of the audience rolled through the venue in steady waves.
"After several days of fierce matches, the tournament has finally reached its conclusion today," Wataru Komatsu said. "To be honest, this year's event has brought us quite a few surprises."
"Indeed," Takeshi Sasaki agreed. "A legendary figure who had been silent for many years has returned to the stage. Legendary Duelist Rex Raptor crushed his way into the finals, and I doubt anyone here finds that surprising."
"But what nobody expected," he continued, "is that the one standing in the finals to challenge this legend is not any of the seeded favorites. Instead, it is our No. 39, Yugen Fujiki, a newcomer with no prior record that anyone could find."
Wataru Komatsu nodded as he spoke. "And by now everyone should know that this player not only lacks any match experience, but his Duelist rank is only one star."
"To be honest, when I first saw the roster during the Main Event, I thought it had to be a typo," Takeshi Sasaki added. "I remember thinking, what, a one star player, is this a joke? But when I checked the system, it was real."
"Sometimes things like this do happen," Wataru Komatsu replied. "There have been rare cases where duelists avoid arenas and public matches for years, training in isolation, only to burst onto the scene all at once."
"That is true, but it is still very rare," Takeshi Sasaki said. "All we can say is that we are lucky this year to witness the rise of such a dark horse. In other years, he might even have taken the title, but unfortunately."
He stopped himself just in time and took a slow breath. Saying too much before the duel, or hinting at strange forces deciding the outcome, was not something a professional commentator should do.
Even so, his thoughts were much the same as everyone else's. No matter how impressive the dark horse was, could he really defeat a legendary Duelist in a single match?
Running into someone like Rex Raptor in a small tournament was extremely unlikely. Normally, a figure of that level would not appear in a lower tier event like this, and it seemed more likely he was testing the waters after years away from competition.