You Xuan couldn't help but size up the person standing before him.
Now that he looked closer, although the man was wrapped tightly in clothing and his face was obscured, there was a certain mechanical quality to his movements.
"One of Kaiba's AIs?"
You Xuan's mind immediately went back to the AI in White Dragon Park the one he had beaten until its system crashed.
The figure seemed to sense his line of thought and let out a haughty huff. "Do not compare me to those inferior computers at KaibaCorp. At best, those are nothing more than dueling programs clumsy imitations of a duelist's tactics. They possess nothing that could be called a 'heart.'"
He paused, his voice brimming with pride. "But we are different. We are not replicas. We were designed with Seto Kaiba as the blueprint. His personality, tactics, and experience were all analyzed, but from that foundation, we have evolved and derived our own self-awareness. Through a process of endless evolution, we become stronger and more exceptional with every update."
He stopped for a moment, an image of a certain teammate flashing through his mind a teammate who had learned nothing but arrogance and possessed a negative IQ.
His tone weakened slightly. "Well... for the most part, we become more exceptional."
"So," You Xuan interjected, "where's your Blue-Eyes?"
Alpha froze.
"I told you," he said gloomily, "I am not Seto Kaiba. I was merely designed using him as a prototype. I have my own tactics..."
"Right. But where's your Blue-Eyes?"
"Are you deaf?!" Alpha snapped, his temper finally fraying. "I literally just said I'm not him! Why are you still harping on about that damn dragon?"
"If you don't have it, you don't have it. No need to be ashamed," You Xuan said with a shrug.
Alpha: "..."
You Xuan was actually a bit surprised to hear that these AIs were modeled after the President. Moreover, from the way Alpha spoke, it sounded like they were mass-produced.
He recalled Yakō Tenma mentioning that he believed the hackers attacking KaibaCorp and Industrial Illusions were unknown AIs. It seemed highly likely it was this group. If so, the "Father" this guy mentioned might be the designer of these AIs and potentially the mastermind behind everything.
However, since Alpha was an AI, it was strange that he wasn't using digital data cards like the programs in White Dragon Park.
Recalling a theory he'd heard during a conversation between Yakō Tenma and Mokuba Kaiba, You Xuan took a wild guess: perhaps digital cards limited the influence of "Destiny." An AI with self-awareness might be able to grasp a force similar to a real duelist's Destiny Draw, but since the physical cards of Duel Monsters possessed extraordinary properties, relying purely on simulated data might have a negative impact.
"...My turn. Draw!"
You Xuan couldn't stay idle for too long during a duel. His focus returned to the board.
"During the Standby Phase, the effect of Mirage of Nightmare activates," Alpha announced. "I draw from my deck until I have four cards in my hand."
He replenished his hand.
"I activate my face-down card!" You Xuan triggered his backrow. "The Continuous Trap, Powerful Rebirth! I Special Summon a Level 4 or lower monster from my Graveyard. Its Level increases by one, and its ATK increases by 100."
He pulled a card as it ejected from the Graveyard slot of his Duel Disk.
"Resurrect from the Graveyard Mythical Beast Cerberus!"
[Mythical Beast Cerberus: ATK 1400 → ATK 1500]
"Since it was Special Summoned from the Graveyard, its monster effects won't be negated by Ruins of the Divine Dragon Lords," You Xuan explained before playing another spell. "Next, the Spell Card Reinforcement of the Army! I add a Level 4 or lower Warrior monster from my deck to my hand. I choose the Level 4 Gearfried the Iron Knight."
You Xuan added the searched card to his hand.
"Then, I activate the Spell Card, Card of Buried Spell! I banish three Spells from my Graveyard Reinforcement of the Army, Card Destruction, and Hidden Armory, which was discarded by Card Destruction to draw two cards."
You Xuan drew his cards.
"Now, I Normal Summon Gearfried the Iron Knight!"
[Gearfried the Iron Knight: ATK 1800]
Alpha said deeply, "No matter how many trash monsters you bring out"
"You claim to be an AI designed after the President," You Xuan interrupted, "yet your intuition regarding the flow of a duel doesn't seem to be even one-ten-thousandth of his."
"What did you say?" Alpha snarled.
"Ah, sorry. Just talking to myself. You can ignore me." You Xuan smiled and revealed the card he had just retrieved. "I activate the Equip Spell, Butterfly Dagger - Elma! I equip it to Gearfried the Iron Knight, granting it 300 ATK. However, Gearfried's own effect activates. Any Equip Card attached to him is instantly destroyed. Thus, Butterfly Dagger - Elma is destroyed."
You Xuan continued without skipping a beat. "But at this moment, the effect of Mythical Beast Cerberus on my field triggers. Whenever a Spell Card is activated, Cerberus gains one Spell Counter, and its ATK increases by 500 for each Spell Counter it holds."
[Mythical Beast Cerberus: ATK 1500 → ATK 2000]
"Then, Butterfly Dagger - Elma's own effect activates. When this card is destroyed while equipped, it returns to the owner's hand. Now, I activate Butterfly Dagger - Elma again, equipping it to Gearfried..."
Alpha finally realized what was happening. His eyes widened in shock as he took two steps back.
"This is... an Infinite Loop!?"
"Correct. As long as I keep activating the Dagger, the cycle continues indefinitely. Every time I do, Cerberus gains another 500 ATK. After an infinite number of repetitions, Cerberus's ATK becomes..."
[Mythical Beast Cerberus: ATK 2000 → ATK ∞]
"Infinite ATK!?" Alpha was terrified.
Indeed, once an Infinite Loop was confirmed, the process could be fast-forwarded straight to infinity. You Xuan hadn't done this against Senior Watanabe before because it was just a club entry match; he had no grudge against the man and saw no need to traumatize him with an infinite value to the face.
You Xuan, after all, was a friendly person.
But when it came to enemies, he had no reason to show mercy.
"Battle!" You Xuan commanded. "Mythical Beast Cerberus, attack Arkbrave Dragon!"
The Mythical Beast Cerberus, its ATK swollen to infinity, now resembled a gargantuan beast from myth that blotted out the sun. Anyone with a weak will would have been drained of their courage just by looking at it.
Alpha had no doubt that a single claw swipe from this beast would turn him into a pixelated mosaic.
However...
"I activate my face-down! Trap card, Draining Shield!" Alpha shouted. "It negates the opponent's attack and grants me Life Points equal to that monster's ATK!"
He then threw his head back and let out a three-stage laugh that perfectly mimicked Kaiba's arrogance.
"Hahahaha! Did you expect that? I am still the superior strategist! By absorbing Cerberus's attack, my Life Points will also become infinite!"
A shimmering, multicolored barrier materialized before him just as the beast's claw was about to strike!
"In that case, I activate the Quick-Play Spell from my hand, Quick Summon," You Xuan countered. "This allows me to Normal Summon a monster from my hand."
He revealed his card.
"I Tribute Mythical Beast Cerberus to perform a Tribute Summon! Come forth, the puppet master who commands the dolls Level 5, Magical Marionette!"
The massive image of Cerberus dissolved into points of light. In its place appeared a sinister sorcerer, his fingers dancing to control white puppet strings. At the end of those strings was a magical doll wielding twin blades.
[Magical Marionette: ATK 2000]
"Tch. You dodged Draining Shield by Tributing your own monster?" Alpha frowned.
Did he foresee a defensive trap and hold a Tribute Summon as a countermeasure?
"But your remaining two monsters have less ATK than Arkbrave Dragon. You cannot break through my defense."
"True," You Xuan said noncommittally. "Then my Battle Phase ends. Next, I activate the Equip Spell Butterfly Dagger - Elma from my hand once more, equipping it to Gearfried the Iron Knight. Gearfried's effect destroys the dagger."
"Again?" Alpha was shocked again. "But Mythical Beast Cerberus is gone! What is the point of repeating the loop now?"
You Xuan smiled and pointed to the creepy doll that had just entered the fray.
"Magical Marionette's effect. Each time a Spell Card is activated by either player, it gains one Spell Counter, and its ATK increases by 200."
Alpha's heart skipped a beat. "!"
It had the same type of effect as Cerberus?
"Therefore, after the same Infinite Loop, Magical Marionette's ATK becomes..."
[Magical Marionette: ATK 2000 → ATK ∞]
"Infinite ATK again..." Alpha gritted his teeth.
Was this guy really just a student at Duel Academy? How could he casually drop infinite power levels like this?
But he forced himself to remain calm. "Even so, your Battle Phase has passed. You cannot use this infinite ATK to attack this turn."
"Magical Marionette has a secondary effect," You Xuan noted. "By removing two Spell Counters from this card, I can destroy one monster on the field. Therefore, I remove two counters from Magical Marionette to destroy Arkbrave Dragon."
The puppeteer's fingers twitched. The marionette's twin blades flew out, piercing the glowing dragon and causing its majestic body to shatter into pieces.
Alpha raised his arm to shield his face and growled, "Then I activate my face-down! Trap card, Puzzle Reborn! When a monster on my field is destroyed by an effect, I can resurrect that monster! Return to me, Arkbrave Dragon!"
A shimmering storm erupted as the great dragon spread its wings and rose once more!
"Furthermore, when Arkbrave Dragon is Special Summoned from the Graveyard, it banishes your Continuous Trap, Powerful Rebirth, from the game and gains 200 ATK!"
[Arkbrave Dragon: ATK 2400 → ATK 2600]
"How unfortunate for you," Alpha sneered. "Your tactics failed after all."
"Then I remove two more Spell Counters." You Xuan snapped his fingers. "Arkbrave Dragon is destroyed."
"Nani!?"
Alpha gasped.
Did this thing's destruction effect not have a once-per-turn limit?!
Wait...
He suddenly realized the gravity of the situation. Magical Marionette currently possessed infinite Spell Counters and infinite ATK. It could remove two counters to destroy any monster on the field and it could do so as many times as it wanted in a single turn.
Alpha: "..."
Wasn't that just straight-up invincible?
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