"Following that–"
On the Duel Arena, Bakutaro suddenly raised his right hand high. The sleeve of his red jacket slid down, revealing a firm wrist. His whole body nearly bounced in place, and in his amber-gold eyes, it was as if two flames were truly burning.
"Next, I activate the Quick-Play Spell from my hand! Emergency Teleport!"
The holographic projection flared brightly on Bakutaro's Duel Disk, and a beam of teleportation light filled with a sci-fi aura slammed directly onto the empty space in front of him.
"According to Emergency Teleport's first effect: Special Summon 1 Level 3 or lower Psychic monster from my hand or Deck. However, the monster Special Summoned by this effect must be banished during the End Phase of this turn!"
Bakutaro paid no attention to that banish drawback, his voice unusually loud from excitement.
"I'll Special Summon from my Deck–Super Quantum Blue Layer!"
The deep-blue teleportation beam dissipated, and the female warrior clad in light blue armor lightly landed onto the Duel Arena once more.
"Blue Layer has successfully logged onto the field–effect activated!" Bakutaro's fingers swept rapidly across his Deck, accurately pulling out a card. "From my Deck, I add my favorite red of the squad–Super Quantum Red Layer!"
After obtaining Red Layer, he didn't pause for even a moment and directly slapped the card into the Monster Zone.
"Next, I Tribute Green Layer and Normal Summon the Red Layer in my hand!"
Blazing flames surged once again, and the red warrior wielding a greatsword stepped forward amidst a burst of sparks.
"Red Layer's second effect activates: When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, you can target 1 "Super Quantum" card in your Graveyard. Add it to your hand!" Bakutaro pointed at the Graveyard slot on the side of his Duel Disk, and a card automatically popped out. "I add Blue Layer in my Graveyard to my hand!"
Raku watched Bakutaro. From his perspective, Bakutaro's plays were already quite impressive compared to those of others of the same period in this world.
Even though he looked like a hotheaded fool who just charged forward on passion alone, this combo–using Emergency Teleport as a springboard, precisely searching, Special Summoning, and then recycling Graveyard resources–was actually quite solid.
"Alright! Preparations are complete!"
Bakutaro spread his legs slightly and assumed an extremely exaggerated horse stance, clenching his fists together in front of his chest with a loud impact.
"Base maintenance complete, the mecha needs its pilot!" He pointed upward at the massive deep-sea warship. "Next, I activate Grampulse's third effect: Once per turn, during my Main Phase, I can target 1 "Super Quantum" monster in my hand or on my field and attach it to this card as Xyz Material!"
"I'll use Blue Layer on the field as material!"
The blue-armored warrior on the field leapt upward, transforming into a streak of blue light that shot toward the sky.
"Blue of the squad, reload!" Bakutaro shouted.
The warship's hatch opened, and the blue light merged into it without resistance. The entire warship, which had dimmed after losing its material, instantly reignited with a dazzling aqua glow.
"Mecha activated, weapon systems charging!" Bakutaro swung his arm down fiercely, pointing straight at Niobe's back row. "Next, I detach material from Grampulse and target 1 Spell or Trap Card on the field. Destroy it!"
"I choose the one on your left!"
The deep-sea warship's cannons fully opened, and a high-pressure stream of aqua water roared out like a laser, directly striking one of Niobe's Set cards.
Boom!
The card flipped, revealing its true form, and was then shattered under the force of the water stream.
"Ah… my Scrap Garage!" Niobe gritted his teeth as he looked at the shattered card.
"Nice!" Bakutaro clenched his fists excitedly, then pointed again at the red giant lion roaring in midair. "In that case, the red warrior returns to position! I activate Magnaliger's third effect: Once per turn, during my Main Phase, I can target 1 "Super Quantum" monster in my hand or on my field and attach it to this card as Xyz Material!"
"I'll load the Red Layer on the field!"
The red warrior likewise transformed into a streak of light and entered the cockpit of the magma lion. The giant beast let out a roar that shook the entire plaza, the magma effects around its body becoming even thicker and more violent.
Bakutaro looked at the two mechas on his field, now fully reloaded and shining with energy, and satisfiedly patted his chest.
"Next comes the Battle Phase!"
His gaze sharpened, no longer the carefree grin from before, but now carrying an unyielding fighting spirit.
"Only robots controlled by pilots can attack! So go! Magnaliger, attack!"
The red giant lion suddenly pushed off with its hind legs, charging forward with unstoppable momentum, lunging directly at Niobe's Scrap Raptor in Defense Position.
"Battle–destroy your Scrap Raptor!"
The massive mechanical claws tore through the air and slammed heavily onto the rusted mechanical dinosaur.
Accompanied by a deafening metallic fracture, Scrap Raptor's armor completely collapsed, and under the scorching heat of magma, it turned into a pile of lifeless scrap metal that crashed heavily onto the ground.
The most troublesome part of Scrap Raptor was its last effect: "This card can only activate if it is destroyed by the effect of a 'Scrap' card and sent to the Graveyard."
That meant even if it went to the Graveyard now, it couldn't trigger any revival or search combos. This idiot-like guy actually had such sharp battle instincts.
Not only did he fully clear Niobe's field, but he also avoided the resource gain step.
"Now your Scrap Raptor won't be able to revive after being destroyed, right?" Bakutaro grinned, revealing a bright smile.
He looked at his opponent's now-empty field, and Niobe's single remaining Set card, and made his declaration.
"I end my turn."
Niobe raised her hand and used the back of it to wipe away the faint, illusory ash that had clung to her face from the holographic explosion.
She looked at her empty Monster Zone.
There was not the slightest trace of frustration in her electric-blue eyes–that wild smile only grew stronger.
"How interesting, Bakutaro." Niobe's fingers rested on top of her Deck. "We're going to make pretty good friends."
"My turn–draw!"
Her slender fingers brushed along the edge of the Duel Disk. After the earlier clash, this makeshift, battered Duel Disk still seemed to retain traces of illusory heat, yet her movements were crisp and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.
She slammed a card down.
"I Normal Summon Scrap Recycler!"
A rust-reeking machine creaked into motion on the Duel Arena. Its mechanical arms waved through the air, as if rummaging through the ruins scattered across the ground.
"Scrap Recycler's first effect: When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, I can activate it. Send 1 Machine monster from my Deck to the Graveyard."
Niobe pulled her Deck, her fingers rapidly flipping through the cards before selecting one.
"I send Scrap Searcher from my Deck to the Graveyard." She raised her hand and dropped the card into the Graveyard slot of her Duel Disk. Her electric-blue eyes narrowed slightly. "Any response?"
Across the Duel Arena.
Bakutaro's gaze swept over the worn-down tracked robot.
He was thinking.
Monsters from the Scrap series, when destroyed by effects, always seemed to trigger all sorts of strange last effects. That Scrap Chimera just now was a perfect example. And–
Bakutaro's amber-gold eyes shifted.
Since the start of the duel, when had this girl ever proactively asked whether he had a response?
Asking so politely all of a sudden… there had to be a trick!
"No response." Bakutaro shook his head decisively.
He intended to save Magnaliger's destruction effect for a bigger threat.
"In that case, I flip my Set card."
Niobe had been waiting for exactly those words. With a flick of her finger, the last remaining Set card on her field flipped face-up.
"Quick-Play Spell–Scrapstorm!"
A projection of corrosive acid rain began to fall over the Duel Arena.
"Target 1 face-up 'Scrap' monster you control; send 1 'Scrap' monster from your Deck to the Graveyard, then draw 1 card. After that, destroy the targeted monster." Niobe rapidly recited the card's effect.
Bakutaro's eyes suddenly lit up.
So that's it!
"So that's your plan. Good thing I didn't activate my effect earlier, or you would've succeeded!" Bakutaro immediately raised his right hand. "I chain to your Storm and activate Magnaliger's second effect!"
The red mechanical lion let out a thunderous growl, magma surging through its gears.
"Once per turn, I can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card and target 1 monster on the field; destroy it!" Bakutaro pointed at Scrap Recycler. "If this card has Super Quantum Red Layer as Xyz Material, this effect can also be activated during my opponent's turn."
The phantom of Red Layer flashed within the lion's cockpit.
"I detach Red Layer, and destroy your Scrap Recycler!" Bakutaro shouted. "Now you don't have a monster to destroy, so you can't pay the cost of your card!"
A red magma projectile crashed down like a meteor. Scrap Recycler didn't even have a chance to struggle before melting into molten metal within the blazing flames.
Bakutaro revealed a victorious smile.
He believed that by destroying the monster targeted by the Quick-Play Spell in advance, he had effectively interrupted the activation requirement of her Spell Card.
Despite that, Niobe smiled.
She lifted her chin, the curve of her lips widening, revealing her small fangs.
"That's not necessarily the case. Take a closer look." Niobe placed one hand on her hip and pointed toward the massive Spell projection in midair. "The activation requirement of Scrapstorm–does it activate because it destroys the targeted monster, or simply because it targets 1 face-up 'Scrap' monster you control?!"
Bakutaro froze.
"What… how is that possible?"
He stared in disbelief at the lines of text.
Raku watched the scene from below the stage.
Bakutaro had been misled by the line: "After that, destroy the targeted monster."
Relying on instinct, he assumed that destruction was the cost. But in reality, the activation requirement of this card was only the targeting at the beginning!
Bakutaro thought it was a cost–still, it wasn't at all!
"Exactly as you're thinking."
Niobe looked at Bakutaro's stunned expression, her voice filled with the satisfaction of a plan succeeding.
"Destroying Scrap Recycler doesn't affect the activation of Scrapstorm. Its effect will still resolve!"
Without hesitation, she sent a card from her Deck to the Graveyard, then immediately drew another.
"I send Scrap Golem to the Graveyard, then draw 1 card!"
Now, this was trouble.
"Information gap, hmmm, beautiful."
Raku spoke softly while floating in midair.
No complex calculations, no flashy combos. Just by exploiting a pause in phrasing and the opponent's lack of familiarity with her Deck, she effortlessly baited out a disruption.
A duel has never been just about cards colliding.
Phila tightly gripped the metal railing. Hearing Raku's words, her ruby-like eyes reflected the flamboyant gray figure on the stage.
"Mhm!"
Phila nodded heavily, watching the dilapidated factory begin operating once more.
...
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