An even brighter blue light burst from the Duel Disk. Streams of data spread like flowing water, quickly filling the entire area. The ground beneath their feet and the stone walls of the alley vanished, replaced by a vast dueling field glowing with blue light, with nothing else around.
"A full projection duel arena," Seto Kaiba continued. "Though it is projection, the monsters we summon and their impacts will gain real mass."
The scale of it and that overwhelming presence made Ken Fujimoto start to lose his nerve. Few would believe it, but he felt like he had stumbled into a scientific Shadow Duel today.
"Duel!" both sides called out.
Seto Kaiba, LP 4000. Ken Fujimoto, LP 4000.
"I'll go first. My Turn!, Card Draw!"
Seto Kaiba drew a card, then calmly revealed one from his hand and sent it to the graveyard. His movements were clean and practiced, without a hint of hesitation.
"I activate the effect of 'Thunder Dragon' from my hand. By discarding this card to the graveyard, I can add up to two 'Thunder Dragon' from my Deck to my hand."
The discarded card triggered the Duel Disk's automatic search, and with a sharp click two cards popped out. Seto Kaiba took them into his hand.
"I add two 'Thunder Dragon' to my hand."
Just that simple opening move made Yugen feel a twinge of envy. In the GX era, searches still required a Duelist to manually pull through the Deck and shuffle afterward, which was slow and awkward for decks that searched often. Only later did Duel Disk reach full automation with instant searches and shuffling.
Seto Kaiba truly lived at the front of the times, and Yugen stared at that Duel Disk while instinctively wondering how he might get his hands on one.
"I set one monster on the field and place three cards face-down in my back row," Seto Kaiba said evenly. "My turn ends."
"So this is the famous Seto Kaiba's Duel?" Ken Fujimoto sneered. "Doesn't look like much to me."
He tried hard to steady his nerves, but his tough talk still sounded forced. In many cases, a Duelist fought as much with presence as with cards, and losing momentum early could ruin everything.
"My Turn!, Card Draw!"
As his eyes swept across his opening hand, Ken Fujimoto straightened his back. He had never seen such a perfect start before, and this hand gave him a real chance.
"I activate the Spell Card 'Graceful Charity' from my hand. I draw three cards from my Deck, then discard two cards."
After cycling his hand, a cruel smile crept onto his face as he glanced at Seto Kaiba's plain-looking set monster. "Looks like the president doesn't think much of me. Too bad. Even if you start taking me seriously now, it's already too late."
"I summon from my hand. Level eight, Dread Emperor, Primordial Demon!"
A massive black demon burst forth amid blood-red flames, its great sword sweeping out translucent arcs of force.
"Level eight right out of the gate," Mokuba Kaiba said with a grin, enjoying the spectacle. "That's some presence."
"Primordial Demon's effect," Ken Fujimoto said. "Even though it's level eight, it can be Normal Summoned without a tribute. However, if summoned this way, its original ATK is halved, and it will be destroyed during the End Phase."
Primordial Demon, ATK 3000 to ATK 1500.
"So it's just a paper tiger," Mokuba Kaiba laughed.
"That's not necessarily true," Ken Fujimoto replied with a grin, drawing another card as he showed off his momentum.
"First, Primordial Demon's effect. Once per turn, I can banish one Demon card from my hand or graveyard from play to destroy one card on the field. I banish Demon Soldier from my graveyard to destroy your leftmost back row card!"
Seto Kaiba remained calm with his arms crossed as the face-down card flipped up and shattered.
"You destroyed the Trap Card 'Golden Wicked Idol'," Seto Kaiba said flatly. "When this card is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, I Special Summon one Wicked Token to my field."
A golden idol rose up on Seto Kaiba's field, forming a solid barrier.
Wicked Token, DEF 1000.
"Tch, it had to be that idol," Ken Fujimoto muttered, frowning as he continued.
"I activate the Spell Card 'Double Summon' from my hand. This lets me Normal Summon twice this turn. I tribute Primordial Demon to perform a Tribute Summon."
"Ruler of darkness, king of chaos. Level 6, Great Maju Garzett, summon!"
Great Maju Garzett, ATK 0.
"Great Maju Garzett's effect. Its ATK becomes twice the original ATK of the monster used for its Tribute Summon. Since Primordial Demon is already in the graveyard, its original ATK is treated as 3000."
"So Garzett's ATK becomes."
Great Maju Garzett, ATK 0 to ATK 6000.
"Six thousand!" Ken Fujimoto laughed loudly. "That's double the Blue-Eyes White Dragon's ATK!"
Seto Kaiba curled his lip slightly. "Hmph. Now it's only a little less boring."
"What?" The lack of acknowledgment stung, and irritation flashed across Ken Fujimoto's face.
"As expected of Seto Kaiba, your standards are different," Ken Fujimoto said grimly. "But I'm not done yet. I activate the Quick-Play Spell 'Dark Dealings with Demons' from my hand."
"This card can only be activated in a turn where a level eight monster from my field was sent to the graveyard. This turn, Primordial Demon was sent there as a tribute. Therefore, I can Special Summon Savage Doom Dragon from my Deck!"
He spread his Deck and pulled out the chosen card.
"Where raging flames and the shadow of death intertwine. Level eight, Savage Doom Dragon, summon!"
Savage Doom Dragon, ATK 3500.
"S-Savage Doom Dragon!" Mokuba Kaiba exclaimed. It was not just its power, but its history as a former ace used by villains expelled from Kaiba Corporation.
"Oh, this brings back memories," Seto Kaiba said with a quiet snort.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card 'Shield Crush' from my hand. I can target one Defense Position monster on the field and destroy it!"
The magic flared as Ken Fujimoto pointed at Seto Kaiba's field. "I destroy that face-down monster!"
A beam of light shot forward, but just before it hit, black mist erupted and twisted into a vortex that swallowed the attack whole.
"What?" Ken Fujimoto cried.
"Trap Card 'Darkness of Atonement'," Seto Kaiba said calmly. "When you activate an effect that would destroy a card on the field, that effect is negated."
The magic faded away, leaving Ken Fujimoto's spell image dissolving into nothing.
"Tch, blocked again," Ken Fujimoto muttered.
"After negation, I can also send one DARK monster with level three or lower from my Deck to the graveyard." Another card was automatically retrieved from Seto Kaiba's Duel Disk and sent away.
Grinding his teeth, Ken Fujimoto pressed on. "Then I activate the Spell Card 'Spell Burial Treasure' from my hand. By banishing three Spell Cards from my graveyard from play, I draw two cards."
Three green cards rose from his graveyard. "I banish 'Double Summon', 'Dark Dealings with Demons', and 'Shield Crush' to draw two cards!"
He drew, then raised his hand. "Battle Phase! Savage Doom Dragon attacks the face-down monster!"
The dragon unleashed a filthy vortex of breath, smashing the set monster to pieces.
"Hmph. You destroyed 'Swift Squirrel'," Seto Kaiba said coldly, drawing two more cards through an automatic search. "When 'Swift Squirrel' is destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, I recover 1000 LP. Then I can Special Summon any number of 'Swift Squirrel' from my Deck in face-down Defense Position."