Chapter 201: Amano Rei Is Coming Straight for Me?
The absurdly lopsided lane split was something nobody in A-class had expected, and neither had any of the spectators who had paid to watch from outside the virtual device.
Mid lane.
One versus thirteen on each side lane. Thirty-nine against thirteen in the middle.
And A-class's most visibly dominant lane was the mid, which had attracted almost the entirety of E-class.
Kozuka Yoka: LP 1200 to 0.
"What is wrong with E-class?"
"Their LP. They're all sitting at one or two thousand."
"These people are completely useless. It doesn't matter how many of them there are, we're not getting stopped by this."
The thirteen A-class students holding mid lane felt an unprecedented sense of ease. Because the Class War tied each student's LP directly to their exam scores, the E-class students who had finished near the bottom of the written test had already arrived at the virtual battlefield in near-critical condition before a single card had been played.
Between the deck gap and the starting LP gap, even flooding mid lane with the majority of E-class had a certain inevitability about it.
But as the fights kept going, A-class began noticing something off.
These E-class students were soft targets. Absurdly soft targets. But they were soft in a way that went beyond just being weak.
There was no desire to win anywhere in their fighting.
"Trap Card, Threatening Roar! You cannot declare an attack this turn!"
"Continuous Spell, Swords of Flame! While I control no monsters, your monsters cannot declare an attack!"
"Hold on, I need to think."
"You have one card in hand. What is there to think about?"
The E-class students holding mid lane were not trying to win. From the first moment to the last, every single one of them was running pure delay tactics, burning clock with every tool available. Even with one card remaining, they would think it down to the last second the system allowed before doing anything at all.
Was this actually a strategy?
You sent this many people down one lane not to break through as quickly as possible, but purely to feed the clock? You cannot seriously be counting on the two people holding the side lanes.
But at that exact moment, from the bottom lane, a colossal blue phantom erupted through the sky, its sheer scale visible even from across the canyon ridgelines that divided the battlefield.
Raviel Lord of Phantasms. ATK 4000.
Kikawayu's pale fingers flicked the card and sent it snapping into the Duel Disk, surrounded by spreading darkness.
"I activate the effect of Raviel Lord of Phantasms - Shimmering Scraper from my hand!"
Raviel Lord of Phantasms - Shimmering Scraper. DARK Fiend-Type. Special Summon / Effect. ATK 1000 / DEF 2000.
Effect 1: Discard this card from your hand, then target 1 Raviel Lord of Phantasms you control. This turn, that monster's ATK becomes double its original ATK, and it can make one attack on each of your opponent's monsters. This effect can also be activated during the opponent's turn.
Effect 2: If this card is in the GY, you can Tribute 1 monster to add this card to your hand.
Raviel Lord of Phantasms. ATK 4000 doubled to 8000.
An 8000-point titan capable of attacking every monster on the field separately. Compared to the three Sacred Beast tier, this put it squarely in the territory of Obelisk the Tormentor's God Hand Impact, which could sweep the entire field in one attack.
Bringing a fist like that down on a first-year student meant one thing: they would be receiving it very thoroughly.
The spectators watching from outside registered the scene and immediately lost their composure.
"Fusion Academy's Kikawayu using the Three Phantom Demon Lords? Why would someone like that transfer into E-class? Something illegal is definitely going on."
Then again, rigging a transfer typically meant moving a weaker student into a stronger class. Nobody had ever rigged their way down into E-class before.
"Class rep, we're losing the bottom lane. We can't hold!"
"That monster is broken!"
"He isn't even Synchro Summoning! Why is someone like this at Synchro Academy?!"
Before this Class War had started, Kirisame Fuyuo would never have imagined that E-class could pressure A-class this badly.
Mid lane locked down with stalling. Bottom lane being crushed solo by a Three Phantom Demon Lord. And then.
Why had there been no news from the top lane for so long?
That was supposed to be the one she needed to watch most carefully.
The uneasy feeling sharpened. Two cold drops of sweat traced down the back of Kirisame's pale neck.
After two quiet minutes, the top lane report finally came through.
"How is it going up there? How much LP does Amano Rei have left?"
"I'm... I'm sorry, class rep. We couldn't stop him."
"Couldn't stop him. What do you mean?"
"Amano Rei is heading straight for you!"
"Amano Rei is coming straight for me?"
The Class War had barely started, and Amano Rei had already eliminated all thirteen A-class students in the top lane alone.
Running the rough numbers, it had taken him approximately one turn per person.
Rank 299 academy-wide let you treat A-class students like practice fodder?
A-class was the strongest group of first-year academic performers in the entire year group, and the gap between them and a genuine dueling powerhouse had turned out to be this wide.
The weight of that realization pressed down on Kirisame's shoulders. She could not pull her eyes away from the top lane's entrance into the base.
And then she saw him. The figure that walked out of the canyon, brushing the side of his mouth with one hand.
The dust on his school uniform told her the thirteen A-class students had not gone down completely clean. They had at least made contact. But his walking pace was the pace of someone who had already finished everything they needed to do.
"Amano Rei?"
This was Kirisame Fuyuo's first face-to-face encounter with the new first-year student whose name had been everywhere in recent weeks.
She had not expected him to look like that.
"Kirisame Fuyuo?"
Amano had not expected A-class's class rep to also be a girl.
Come to think of it, Synchro Academy was running somewhat female-heavy overall.
She had a certain quality to her bearing, that sharp and composed first impression that reminded him of the early version of Sakuya before things had loosened up between them. Long purple hair. A natural authority that fit the position.
None of that made any difference to him. He had never held back against a female opponent in a duel and was not about to start now.
Amano raised his Duel Disk arm and pointed forward. "Let's go, A-class class rep. One more win and this war is over."
The split second of admiration Kirisame had registered dissolved immediately into sharp irritation.
One more win. As though she was already accounted for. As though he had not even bothered to look at her as a real obstacle.
She might be the class rep of A-class. She had been the top-ranked student in Academy City's entire middle school division. The arrogance in that one sentence felt like a deliberate insult.
Kirisame raised her own Duel Disk. "Then I'll win here, and E-class's dream of an upset dies completely."
The reason E-class had skipped four rankings to challenge A-class directly was visible to anyone paying attention. They were counting entirely on Amano Rei as their one overwhelming variable. If she could beat him, E-class had nothing left to threaten anyone with.
Eva system: Duel approved.
Duelist: Amano Rei.
Duelist: Kirisame Fuyuo.
Data network access. Duel field generated.
Duel type: Class War.
Special rule: LP Inheritance.
"Proud duelists, let the outcome of this duel be the scales that measure your souls!"
Duel!
Both players' LP appeared on their Duel Disks as the system announced the start.
Amano Rei LP: 4100.
The Class War LP was set by the written test and practical duel scores from the monthly exam two days prior. Amano's starting total had been 6500, but during the final duel of the gauntlet he had taken an unexpected 2400 points of effect damage from a Destruction Ring activation.
The one-man gauntlet tactic had exactly one use in it. If he tried the same approach again in a future Class War, an opponent who filled their backrow with direct damage cards could simply grind his LP down through sheer numbers under the inheritance rule.
This was the only chance to take down A-class. He had made it here. He was not leaving without the win.
For heating, for air conditioning, for no homework.
Kirisame Fuyuo LP: 7800.
Amano stared at the number for a moment.
That was a high total. The theoretical maximum was 8000. She had scored 7800?
That was 1300 more than his own 6500 starting figure. The written test and practical duel scores that produced this LP were sitting at near-perfect marks across both categories.
Amano had coasted through the academy's exams largely on knowledge from his previous life. The person across from him was a genuine academic powerhouse.
"My turn. Draw!"
Kirisame, having won the right to go first, pulled her opening hand from the Duel Disk.
"Spell Card, Photon Lead. By its effect, I Special Summon 1 Level 4 LIGHT monster from my hand in Attack Position!"
She snapped a LIGHT monster card into the field.
"Special Summon: Spriggan Sailorman - Rosemary!"
Spriggan Sailorman - Rosemary. Level 4. LIGHT Attribute. Plant-Type / Tuner / Effect. ATK 1600 / DEF 300.
Effect 1: Once per turn, target 1 face-up monster you control. Select 1 other Plant monster you control; the selected monster cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects once per turn this turn. This effect can also be activated during the opponent's turn.
Effect 2: When this card is sent to the GY by a card effect, send 1 Level 5 or lower Plant monster from your Deck or Extra Deck to the GY.
The sailor girl materialized on Kirisame's field in full color, cheerfully waving a red-and-white flag. A LIGHT monster and, notably, a Tuner. Tuner monsters were rare enough among first-year students that even possessing one marked a significant advantage.
"Next, I Normal Summon Bomber Dragon!"
Bomber Dragon. Level 3. EARTH Attribute. Dragon-Type / Effect. ATK 1000 / DEF 0.
Effect 1: Battle damage from attacks involving this card becomes 0 for both players.
Effect 2: When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the GY, you can destroy the monster that destroyed it.
The bomb-clutching dragon appeared above Kirisame's field alongside the sailor girl. The two monsters looked like they belonged in completely different games, which strongly suggested one of them had been bought specifically to fill a strategic role.
Either way, arriving Turn 1 with both a Tuner and a non-Tuner already on the field put Kirisame well ahead of most first-year duelists at this stage.
"Not bad at all for an A-class rep," Amano said offhandedly.
"Saying that now won't get you any special treatment." Kirisame swept her slender arm across the Duel Disk, lighting both monsters up in Synchro Summon brilliance.
"I tune my Level 4 Tuner, Spriggan Sailorman - Rosemary, with my Level 3 Bomber Dragon!"
The flag-waving sailor girl dissolved into four stacked star rings in the Synchro light, cutting straight through the airborne dragon's body.
Level 4 plus Level 3 equals Level 7.
"Let the light that shone in ancient times flow with the torrent of life!"
"Descend, radiant sacred angel, in the form of a dragon!"
"Synchro Summon! Level 7, Ancient Sacred Wyvern!"
Ancient Sacred Wyvern. Level 7. LIGHT Attribute. Fairy-Type / Synchro / Effect. ATK 2100 / DEF 2000.
LIGHT Tuner plus 1 or more non-Tuner monsters.
Effect: When your LP is higher than your opponent's, this card gains ATK equal to the difference. When your LP is lower, this card loses ATK equal to the difference. When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the GY, you can pay 1000 LP to Special Summon it from the GY.
The long-bodied dragon of light burst out of the Synchro Summon with a furious cry. Everything about it said Dragon except for the one word that mattered: Fairy-Type. Even its name had dragon in the title.
Kirisame fixed Amano with a steady look. "Watch carefully. This is Ancient Sacred Wyvern's effect. My life, transformed into light that elevates its attack."
When your LP is higher than your opponent's, this card gains ATK equal to the difference.
Under normal duel conditions, playing this card on Turn 1 when both LP were equal would produce exactly zero ATK gain. Nothing unusual.
But in a Class War, where LP was determined by exam performance, this card in the hands of an academic overachiever became something else entirely.
Kirisame LP: 7800. Amano LP: 4100. Difference: 3700.
Ancient Sacred Wyvern ATK: 2100 plus 3700 equals 5800.
"First turn, a Synchro with 5800 ATK!" Outside the virtual space, Rin Seiya was counting a stack of transferred credits with visible satisfaction. "This A-class rep actually has something to her!"
Weaponizing the LP differential in a Class War to generate ATK advantage was unorthodox. But thinking of a tactic like that, executing the high exam scores to make it viable, and then Synchro Summoning the card to pull it off was a genuine demonstration of ability.
"Next, I activate Equip Spell, Premature Burial."
Premature Burial: Pay 800 LP and target 1 monster in your GY. Special Summon that monster in Attack Position and equip this card to it. When this card is destroyed, destroy the equipped monster.
Kirisame LP: 7800 to 7000.
"I pay 800 LP and Special Summon Bomber Dragon from my GY in Attack Position."
Bomber Dragon. ATK 1000.
"But your LP dropped," Amano noted. "That lowers Ancient Sacred Wyvern's ATK too."
Ancient Sacred Wyvern ATK: 5800 to 5000.
Kirisame smiled. "Does it really matter? Whether it's 5800 or 5000, both numbers are above Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
Anyone who had been through the entrance exam period knew Amano had a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. That was common knowledge at this point.
"I Set one card face-down. Your turn."
Kirisame was going into Amano's turn with full confidence and a covered card in the backrow. The revived Bomber Dragon had its effect ready: when destroyed by battle, it took the monster that destroyed it down with it.
If he focused on Ancient Sacred Wyvern and tried to avoid Bomber Dragon out of respect for the 5000 ATK, his own monster would still get destroyed by the effect, and the following turn Ancient Sacred Wyvern would finish the job. If he attacked Bomber Dragon to neutralize the counter threat, he would need a monster that could make that trade cleanly.
Kirisame set her jaw. "Amano Rei. I will beat you here and take back the first place ranking that was always mine."
"My turn. Draw!"
Amano pulled his card and slid a Spell into the Duel Disk.
"Spell Card, Ancient Rules."
Ancient Rules: Special Summon 1 Level 5 or higher Normal Monster from your hand.
A Spell Card for Special Summoning high-Level Normal Monsters. The moment Kirisame processed what it was, her first instinct was ready.
"You're going to Special Summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon. But I should warn you, Blue-Eyes cannot match Ancient Sacred Wyvern's ATK."
"Wrong. What I'm Special Summoning is this."
Amano flipped the card between his fingers, revealed the Normal Monster to Kirisame, and drove it into the Duel Disk.
"Servant of the king, supreme spellcaster bearing the mightiest of magical power, release your darkness here!"
"Special Summon! Level 7, Dark Magician!"
Dark Magician. Level 7. DARK Attribute. Spellcaster-Type / Normal. ATK 2500 / DEF 2100.
The supreme spellcaster. Strength and defense both at their maximum tier.
The tall figure of Dark Magician materialized from a six-pointed magic circle, arms folded, standing on Amano's field with quiet authority.
"Not Blue-Eyes White Dragon?" Kirisame said. "But that card's ATK is even lower. It can only beat Bomber Dragon."
"Patience. I haven't used my Normal Summon yet. And since this is Synchro Academy's Class War, I'm going to Synchro Summon too." Amano placed his second card. "I Normal Summon my Level 1 Tuner, Cosmo Spell Rabbit, in Defense Position!"
The moment Cosmo Spell Rabbit landed on the field, it called up the Synchro Summon's ring of stars before it had even fully materialized, the rings already threading through Dark Magician's body.
"I tune my Level 1 Tuner, Cosmo Spell Rabbit, with my Level 7 Dark Magician!"
Level 1 plus Level 7 equals Level 8.
"The king's power manifests here!"
Outside the virtual space, Rin Seiya's eyes lit up the moment she heard the summon chant. "That's the line!"
But what followed was not the second half she knew from Jack Atlas.
"Crimson hellfire devours the heavens. Witness the moment this world cracks apart!"
"Synchro Summon! Level 8! My soul! King of the Crimson Lotus!"
Red Dragon King. Level 8. DARK Attribute. Dragon-Type / Synchro / Effect. ATK 3000 / DEF 2500.
DARK Tuner plus 1 or more non-Tuner DARK monsters.
Effect 1: When this card is Synchro Summoned, add 1 card with "Red Dragon Archfiend" in its name from your Deck to your hand.
Effect 2: When an opponent's monster effect is activated, you can banish this card from the field to Special Summon 1 Red Dragon Archfiend monster from your Extra Deck as a Synchro Summon. That monster's ATK becomes double its original ATK and cannot be destroyed by opponent's effects.
The new dragon was born from the erupting pillar of Synchro fire, one claw raised toward the sky, the other gripping a blazing fist of burning soul.
From outside, Rin Seiya's expression shifted. "Another Red Dragon Archfiend variant I've never seen before. Has he gotten stronger again?"
"Battle!" Amano raised his hand and pointed forward through the flames. "Red Dragon King attacks Bomber Dragon!"
"Absolute King Impact!"
The burning dragon claw descended from above, straight into the bomb-clutching airborne dragon below.
"So 3000 is your ceiling after all, which is why you went for Bomber Dragon." Kirisame's composure held. Her plan had worked exactly as written.
She reached for the card being destroyed and flipped her face-down simultaneously.
"I activate my Set Trap Card, Hallowed Life Barrier! All battle damage from this attack is negated, and I draw 1 card!"
Negating the battle damage meant Ancient Sacred Wyvern's ATK would not drop, and Bomber Dragon's destruction effect would resolve cleanly.
"When Bomber Dragon is destroyed by battle and sent to the GY, this effect activates. The monster that destroyed it is destroyed!"
The bomb-clutching dragon accepted its fate and launched itself directly at the burning Red Dragon King in the sky, carrying its payload straight up.
The next second, Kirisame, Rin Seiya, and every spectator outside the device voiced the same confused word at the same time.
"Gone?"
The burning dragon that had been burning in the sky was simply no longer there.
"Red Dragon King's effect!" Amano raised his own card from the Duel Disk. "I can chain this card to an opponent's monster effect activation and banish it from the field!"
When an opponent's monster effect is activated, banish this card from the field, then Special Summon 1 Red Dragon Archfiend monster from your Extra Deck as a Synchro Summon.
"The king's power manifests here. Witness the power that shakes heaven and earth!"
"Synchro Summon! UR GA TA MA HI! Red Dragon Archfiend!"
The king had stepped aside at the instant before destruction. In the moment Bomber Dragon's counter-effect activated, Red Dragon King banished itself and called up the real thing sleeping in the Extra Deck.
"You said 3000 ATK was my ceiling?"
Amano drove the Red Dragon Archfiend card into the Duel Disk with both hands.
"When Red Dragon King's effect Special Summons Red Dragon Archfiend, its ATK becomes double the original, and it cannot be destroyed by opponent's effects!"
ROAAAAR!
Red Dragon Archfiend. ATK 3000 doubled to 6000.
Two souls stacked and burning, the dragon's roar tore through the entire canyon. At 6000 ATK, Red Dragon Archfiend descended above Ancient Sacred Wyvern, towering over everything on the field.
****
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