Kisaragi and Joey met at the center of the arena, shuffling their decks as they faced each other.
"Joey," Kisaragi said calmly, "I'm looking forward to our duel."
"Heh. I don't think I can beat you yet," Joey admitted, "but I'm still going all-out!"
That's why he keeps getting stronger, Kisaragi thought. No matter who he's up against, he always fights at full power.
Joey's eyes narrowed as he recalled the quarterfinals. I pictured myself dueling Rex… there's no way I would've won that easily. But she crushed him without breaking a sweat. This is going to be a real fight.
The referee flipped a coin as usual. Joey called it correctly—then, unexpectedly, chose to go second.
Both duelists stepped onto their Duel Disks, placed their decks, and took their positions.
"Semifinal Match One—Kisaragi Aoi versus Joey Wheeler! Duel… begin!"
"Duel!"
"Duel!"
Kisaragi Aoi: 4000 LP
Joey Wheeler: 4000 LP
Turn 1 — Kisaragi
"My turn—draw!"
"I set one monster face-down in Defense Position. I set two cards. End my turn!"
(Cards in hand: 3)
She's probing me? Watching how I react? Joey thought.
Turn 1 — Joey
"My turn—draw!"
"I Normal Summon Rocket Warrior in Attack Position!"
Rocket Warrior (1500 ATK / 1300 DEF)
"Battle! Rocket Warrior—attack her face-down monster!"
Rocket Warrior blasted forward like a missile—slamming into Kisaragi's set monster. The card flipped up, revealing a male angel.
"Joey… you attacked my Shining Angel. When this card is destroyed by battle, I can Special Summon a LIGHT monster with 1500 ATK or less from my Deck."
Shining Angel shattered—and a new light flared on Kisaragi's field.
"I Special Summon Layard, Agent of Salvation in Attack Position!"
Layard, Agent of Salvation (1400 ATK / 1500 DEF)
"A new monster…?" Joey frowned. "I set two cards. End my turn!"
(Cards in hand: 3)
Turn 2 — Kisaragi
"My turn—draw!"
"I activate Graceful Charity! I draw three cards, then discard two!"
"Now I activate the Field Spell—The Sanctuary in the Sky!"
Clouds rolled across the arena, and a white temple rose behind Kisaragi like a divine altar.
"So that's it—the Sanctuary she used to beat Rex!" Joey muttered.
Kisaragi raised another card.
"I activate the effect of The Agent of Life — Neptune. I send it from my hand to the Graveyard—then I can Special Summon an 'Agent' monster from my hand or Graveyard. And if The Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field or in the Graveyard, I can Special Summon a Hyperion monster instead."
She sent Neptune to the Graveyard.
"I Special Summon Master Hyperion from my Graveyard!"
Master Hyperion (2700 ATK / 2100 DEF)
Joey's eyes widened. "From the Graveyard—so you dumped it with Graceful Charity?!"
"Correct."
In front of the TV at Yugi's place, Tristan gasped. "There it is—Kisaragi's ace monster!"
Téa clutched her hands. "Joey's going to be okay… right?"
"He should be fine," Yugi said, watching intently. "Look at his expression. He probably set traps specifically for this."
Kisaragi's gaze sharpened.
"Now I activate Master Hyperion's effect! Once per turn, I can banish one LIGHT Fairy from my Graveyard, target one card on the field, and destroy it. And while The Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field, I can use this effect up to twice per turn."
"I banish The Agent of Life — Neptune and Shining Angel from my Graveyard—destroy your Rocket Warrior, and destroy one of your face-down cards!"
A blaze erupted around Hyperion. Rocket Warrior was incinerated—and the set card behind it exploded in the same burst.
"And when Neptune is banished, I can add The Sanctuary in the Sky from my Deck to my hand."
Joey suddenly grinned.
"Kisaragi—you took the bait!"
"What?" Kisaragi's eyes narrowed.
"The card you destroyed was Dust Tornado! When a set Dust Tornado is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, I can target one face-up card on the field and destroy it!"
A sandstorm roared up from Joey's side, surging straight toward Master Hyperion.
"So you predicted I'd use Hyperion to pop your back row—and planted a trap that triggers when destroyed," Kisaragi said coolly.
"Yeah!" Joey shot back. "I watched your quarterfinal. That's why I added this card to my deck. I didn't think it'd pay off this fast—but I'll take it!"
The storm was about to swallow Hyperion—
"You're still too naive, Joey."
Kisaragi flipped her own set card.
"I activate the Counter Trap Divine Wrath! While The Sanctuary in the Sky is on my field, I can negate the activation of a monster effect, Spell, or Trap—then destroy it!"
"Dust Tornado's activation is negated—and destroyed!"
Crimson lightning split the clouds, obliterating the sandstorm mid-charge.
Joey's grin faltered. "What—she saw through it?!"
Kisaragi didn't pause.
"It's not over. I activate Layard, Agent of Salvation's effect! As long as this card is on my field, whenever either player activates a Counter Trap, I can choose two of my banished Fairy monsters and add them back to my hand."
"I add Shining Angel and The Agent of Life — Neptune to my hand."
From the VIP seats, Pegasus applauded, delighted.
"Bravo! Magnificent! Hyperion needs to banish monsters from the Graveyard to use his effect—meaning she'd normally bleed resources. But that Layard recycles her banished Fairies, keeping her hand stocked and her engine online!"
"Exactly," Kaiba said with a satisfied smirk. "If she didn't have real skill, I wouldn't have pushed her this far. I'm not in the habit of humiliating myself."
Kisaragi lifted her hand.
"Joey, your field is empty now. Battle—Master Hyperion, direct attack!"
"Not so fast!" Joey snapped. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell Scapegoat! I Special Summon four Sheep Tokens in Defense Position!"
Four tiny sheep dropped onto the field in a defensive line.
Sheep Token x4 (0 ATK / 0 DEF)
Hyperion's strike crashed into the first token—stopping the direct hit cold.
Kisaragi's eyes flicked across the board. "As expected—Scapegoat. Then Layard attacks a Sheep Token!"
Layard lunged forward, cutting down another token.
"And I still haven't Normal Summoned this turn," Kisaragi added calmly. "I set one monster face-down in Defense Position. I set one card. End my turn."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 90)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 95)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 80)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter70)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter70)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter50)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter60)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 20
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 20
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin