Small fry? Me?
Crow pointed at his own nose, staring in disbelief.
Ushio's gaze passed right over Crow and locked firmly onto Dio, who was standing a little farther back and still had not had time to take off that ill-fitting security uniform.
"You," Ushio said, pointing at Dio with a gloved finger, his tone grave, "you're the leader of this so-called 'Satisfaction Team,' aren't you? I've heard you've been stirring up trouble all over the place and disrupting the peace of the community."
Dio: "...Huh?"
I'm the leader? Then what does that make Kiryu?
"Peace of the community?" Crow looked even more confused. Since when did security officers care about community peace?
Dio still raised his Duel Disk and tried to explain.
"I wouldn't say I'm the leader yet."
"Ah! Officer, did you hear that?!"
Daigorō immediately jumped in to fan the flames, putting on an exaggerated expression of fear.
"That means he really does intend to conquer all of Satellite and become the leader of the entire district! This is an open provocation against the security police!"
No, that is not what I meant...
But Ushio had already fully entered the "hero of justice" scenario playing out inside his own head. His blood boiled as he shouted,
"As an elite officer of Public Security, as a proper member of the recommended squad, I absolutely will not allow a dangerous person like you to carry out such an evil scheme! Let's settle this with a duel! If I win, you'll come quietly to the detention center and reflect on your crimes! If you win..."
He paused, apparently making a tremendous decision.
"Then I'll pretend nothing happened today and let you off this time!"
"Duel!"
Ushio activated his Duel Disk without giving anyone room to object, his eyes blazing as he stared at Dio.
The sheer leap in logic, and the way he had talked himself into the whole proposal without anyone's help, left Dio momentarily unsure how to respond.
He looked at Ushio's face, shining with self-righteous conviction, then thought back to the absurdly lax management inside the security bureau tonight, and the ridiculous misunderstanding now being deliberately pushed in front of him...
He really wanted to laugh.
Dio tried to force the smile down, but failed. Instead, his two crimson eyes ended up unevenly widened—one stretched open, the other nearly squinting shut—while the corner of his mouth twisted upward in a crooked grin, making his whole face look bizarrely menacing.
"Duel!"
Ushio swallowed.
He was starting to regret this.
"I'll take the first turn!"
Eager to seize the initiative, Ushio loudly declared his intention.
He glanced at his opening hand and felt slightly reassured.
He was using a law-enforcement deck issued by the security bureau—a pursuit-themed build. It was not expensive or especially rare, and most of its cards focused on defense, stalling, and punishment effects, but in his mind it was more than enough to deal with the rabble of Satellite.
"I set one monster face-down in Defense Position!"
He placed a card onto his Duel Disk, forming a blurry face-down projection.
"Then I set two cards!"
Two face-down projections appeared in his Spell and Trap Zones.
"And that ends my turn!"
It was a fairly conservative opening, a classic defensive counterplay posture.
"My turn."
Dio's voice was calm and flat. He still was not quite used to how passionately people here played cards.
"My turn, draw!"
He glanced at the new card in his hand and the rest of his current hand, then gave an almost imperceptible nod.
That Genex Controller he had "accidentally" gotten from the security officer earlier was finally about to be useful.
"Spell Card—Unexpected Dai!"
The artwork showed a muscular man striking a superhero-style landing pose. If Dole had seen it, he probably would have shouted that it looked just like Grepher.
"I can only activate this if I control no monsters. I Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Normal Monster from my Deck."
"A Normal Monster?"
Ushio felt a little relief.
So the guy looked terrifying, sure—but in the end he was still just someone from Satellite. What kind of good cards could he possibly have? At most, some vanilla monsters.
"The monster I Special Summon is—"
Dio selected a card from his Deck.
"Genex Controller!"
A flash of light, and a tiny robot only about half a meter tall appeared on Dio's field. It sat quietly on the ground, its eyes glowing with a faint red light.
Genex Controller / Tuner / Machine / DARK / Level 3 / ATK 1400 / DEF 1200
"A Tuner monster?"
Ushio frowned.
"Don't tell me someone from Satellite like you actually has Synchro Monsters?"
"Of course." Dio's answer was brief. "Open your eyes and watch carefully."
"Next, I Normal Summon Scrap Shark."
A shark-like monster made of rusted metal plates and discarded parts, crudely welded together, leapt onto the field. Its jagged fangs looked savage, and it radiated danger.
Scrap Shark / Fish / EARTH / Level 4 / ATK 2100 / DEF 0
"2100 ATK?!"
Ushio's eyes went wide, his face full of disbelief.
"A Level 4 monster with 2100 ATK? How do you have a card that rare?!"
That attack power already exceeded the standard for many Level 5 and even Level 6 monsters. He did not even have cards like that himself.
"It's fine, Officer!"
Daigorō hurriedly shouted from the sidelines. He had already suffered at the hands of that card once.
"That card has a really serious drawback—I remember it clearly! If the effect of an Effect Monster, or a Spell, or a Trap Card activates, then that face-up card on the field gets destroyed!"
Crow, watching from the side, laughed inwardly.
Sure, most of Dio's monsters did have self-destructive effects like that—but only when he did not have a Field Spell on the field.
Had this idiot seriously never seen Dio duel with a Field Spell up?
Daigorō genuinely had not.
Dio did not draw his key Field Spell every duel, and when he was beating up small fry like them, he usually did not need the field boost to win anyway.
After hearing Daigorō's explanation, Ushio relaxed a good deal.
I see. So it has a weakness that huge. Then that means he cannot even use Equip Spells to strengthen it, and if it attacks me, I can counter-kill it directly.
Dio, unaware of Ushio's inner thoughts, continued smoothly.
"Then I tune my Level 4 Scrap Shark with my Level 3 Tuner, Genex Controller!"
With his declaration, Scrap Shark turned into four shining stars, while Genex Controller became three rings of light spiraling upward.
"There really is a Synchro Summon?!"
Ushio gaped.
To see this advanced summoning method—which was usually only common in official tournaments in New Domino City proper—performed inside a broken-down shack in Satellite was a serious shock.
"Dio picked up another Synchro Monster?" Crow was surprised too. "That's some incredible luck!"
That was partly thanks to his Coop with Crow improving, Dio thought when he heard that. His card-scavenging efficiency, and even the odds of finding rare cards, had clearly improved—almost double what they used to be.
How exactly did Coop increase further, anyway?
Even while his thoughts turned, the chant on his lips did not stop.
"From the barren ruins where scrap is born, reveal your unyielding will! Synchro Summon—appear, Scrap Archfiend!"
Amid a burst of brilliant light, an oppressive figure descended with a heavy crash.
It too was pieced together from rusted metal parts and pipes, but unlike Scrap Dragon, whose construction was rough and brutal, Scrap Archfiend had a kind of cruel precision to its build. Every component looked deliberately arranged, forming the outline of a true demon—almost symmetrical—its horns curved, its ruined metal wing-bones spread behind it, and crimson fire burning in its eyes.
Scrap Archfiend / Synchro / Fiend / EARTH / Level 7 / ATK 2700 / DEF 1800
"2700 ATK?! And... it's huge!"
Ushio could not help taking half a step back, obvious fear rising onto his face.
-------
April Special Days *Sale 20%*
patreon.com/RuneA
-------
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (261 Chapter) (Ending)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (180 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (190 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (130 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (200 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (89 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (140 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (90 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (150 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (70 Chapter)
Naruto: Master of Dream Fulfillment! (70 Chapter)
Why Are All My Chat Group Friends Spin-Off Characters? (130 Chapter)
Arknights : Batman System (30 Chapter)
Chat Group: Swapping Bodies with the Bad-Ending Herta from the Start (80 Chapter)
DanMachi: Why Did My Dungeon Turn Into a Soulslike Game? (130 Chapter)
Losing Money on Uma Musume...What Do You Mean You Actually Won? (120 Chapter)
I'm Gotou Hitori—Who Are You? (40 Chapter)
Were You Ever Even a Uma Musume? Stop Making Things Up! (78 Chapter)
Moon Project: A Full-Time Love Adventure for the Lobotomy Corporation (75 Chapter)
The Leisurely Days of the Hyuga Main House (65 Chapter)
Arknights : A Draco Surviving in a Matriarchal Terra (189 Chapter)
Arknights: What if My Luck Is Too Good? (135 Chapter)
Honkai: The Romance System Only Shows Up After I Marry Mei (55 Chapter)
Arknights: Who Are You Calling Repressed, X?! (145 Chapter)
The Chat Group Only Arrived After I'd Cleared the Game (102 Chapter)
Gojo Satoru Flat-Out Refuses to Admit He's a Supporting Character (40 Chapter)
Chat Group Isn't Supposed to Be Like This! (30 Chapter)
If You're Moriarty...then Who Am I? (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: Since I "Can't See," They Take Turns Stealing My Underwear (50 Chapter)
Arknights: Why Are All My "Brothers" Girls? (54 Chapter)
Danmachi: Start Training Haki (59 Chapter)
Emiya Shirou's Rebirth (30 Chapter)
I Can Get Stronger Just by AFK'ing—So I Joined a Chat Group (50 Chapter)
Endfield: I Can Always Pull Out One Yuan (65 Chapter)
Limbus Company : I Started a Company in Project Moon (50 Chapter)
Lobotomy: Do Cooks of Alley 23 Dream of Bloodfiend Knights? (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: Freya Familia's "One-Blade Shura" (60 Chapter)
DanMachi: Emiya, the Great Hero Becomes the Protagonist (90 Chapter)
TYPE-MOON: One Special Instance Every Week (40 Chapter)
From Danmachi: The Abundance Apothecary (70 Chapter)
Lord Shadow Descends on DanMachi (90 Chapter)
Fuse with Me, Exusiai! (41 Chapter)
Honkai: Star Rail — After I Die, I Forge Their Madness (60 Chapter)
DanMachi: The Last Zeus Familia (95 Chapter)
Endfield: Arknights Heroic Spirit Summoning (75 Chapter)
Toyokawa Family Finances (105 Chapter)
Starting From DanMachi to Become Stronger (90 Chapter)
DanMachi: My Familia Is Made Up Entirely of Heroines from Every World! (75 Chapter)
Arknights: My Intel Refreshes Daily (110 Chapter)
Digimon : I Never Meant to Do Evil, Even Though I Wasn't Chosen (40 Chapter)
Miss Holmes Could Never Be the Losing Heroine! (40 Chapter)
Takayama Gamu at Tracen Academy (40 Chapter)
Legendary Trainer Takes on MYGO (40 Chapter)
Arknights : Yandere Game: The Operators Have Come Knocking (100 Chapter)
Arknights: This Dating Sim Is Seriously Wrong! (120 Chapter)
Arknights : Ch'en Hui-chieh, I'm Done Being the Good Guy! (50 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Wasn't This Supposed to Be a Family Simulator? Why Am I the Family Heirloom? (40 Chapter)
Honkai: Star Rail : The Trailblazer Only Wants a Peaceful Life (45 Chapter)
Arknights: The Unlucky Dad? But I've Got the Chronicle of Time! (55 Chapter)
The Wheelchair War God Is Speedrunning Hogwarts (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: The Elemental Blaster of Orario (45 Chapter)
Playing Honkai in Star Rail (30 Chapter)
As an Alien, I'm Solo Leveling in Warhammer 40K (30 Chapter)
Arknights: A Symbiote's Survival Guide (70 Chapter)
My Yu-Gi-Oh! Deck Is Built Entirely from Stuff I Picked Up (30 Chapter)
I Can Hear the Thoughts of Uma Mutsume (30 Chapter)
Dead-Men Chat Group: Winning the Resurrection Bracket (40 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero: Saving the World While Falling in Love! (40 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: My Breathing Techniques Can Be Leveled Up (50 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it