And so The D discarded his strongest trump, "D - Force," to the GY.
Voluntarily.
He didn't look happy about it. His face kept twitching as he muttered "I'll kill you," and the like.
"You think losing D - Force changes anything?"
The D barked.
"My Plasma still wields the world-ending Light. I'm still the strongest duelist!"
He revealed a card.
"Spell 'Graceful Charity': draw three, then discard two."
Then he immediately summoned a monster.
"Normal Summon 'Lekunga'!"
A grotesque green creature with a huge round brow and a single blood-red eye, its twisted green tentacles writhing.
[Lekunga ATK 1700]
"Lekunga's effect: banish two WATER monsters from your GY; Special Summon one 'Lekunga Token' in Attack Position."
The D showed two WATERs from his GY—clearly the ones he just discarded.
"Banish 'Jar Turtle' and 'Aqua Spirit' to Special Summon 'Lekunga Token'!"
Two WATER monsters vanished; the green eye's tentacles thrashed as water coalesced into a smaller, similar tentacled eye.
[Lekunga Token ATK 700]
"Next I activate 'Fiend's Sanctuary' to Special Summon a 'Metal Fiend Token'!"
[Metal Fiend Token ATK 0]
"So fast—he's already got three tributes..." Aster said grimly.
It was obvious: Plasma was the core of The D's deck. Everything else either supports it or supplies tributes. Even without D - Force, D is still the best plan.
He had no choice—Plasma is his source of power, the card that put him on top.
Just like many duelists insist on summoning their ace, even if it's just a high-level vanilla. The more "beyond" the duelist, the more true this becomes.
"Tribute three monsters. Once more, stain the world blood-red!"
The D roared.
"Ultimate D—Destiny HERO – Plasma, Summon!!!"
The three monsters collapsed into blood-mud. From the churning gore, the sinister fiend rose again, bone wings spraying a blood-red that seemed to blot out the sky.
[Destiny HERO – Plasma ATK 1900]
Without D - Force, its effects were far worse; even its aura felt weaker.
"Plasma: once per turn, equip and absorb a monster!" The D shouted. "Absorb 'Nightmare Penguin'!"
Blood arrows fired and turned to tendrils, binding the little penguin and draining it, gaining half its ATK.
[Nightmare Penguin ATK 900]
[Plasma ATK 1900 → 2350]
"Then Plasma attacks directly! Blood-Red Terror!"
A storm of blood-arrows flew, but crashed into a gray-black transparent barrier.
"I banish 'Necro Gardna' from my GY," Kira said. "Once this turn, negate an attack."
The D frowned.
"Fine. I set two and end."
He exhaled.
Even without D - Force, at least Plasma was back. Fate should still be on his side.
He'd always won like this. Even when he didn't include Plasma in official events, Plasma gave him power to crush anyone. There's no reason he'd lose now.
Unless this man's power surpasses even Ultimate D.
Impossible. No one surpasses Ultimate D. It must be so.
Otherwise killing Aster's father, hiding the truth, enduring this power's torment—would all be a joke?
"My turn. Draw," Kira said. "You seem very confident in that so-called Ultimate HERO."
"Of course," The D said. "Plasma's power is absolute!"
"I see..."
Kira nodded lightly.
"Then I'll shatter that first."
The D blinked. "What?"
"I banish LIGHT 'Silent Magician' and DARK 'Evening Twilight Knight' from my GY."
Kira raised a card.
"Offer the souls of Light and Darkness to the field of Chaos—let the legendary warrior descend again. Heaven and earth, be cleaved—
—Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning, Summon!"
Light and Darkness entwined and vanished into a chaotic vortex. A sword aura split the void; the swordsman stepped forth from nothing.
[Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning ATK 3000]
"Envoy..." The D said low. "A legendary warrior, daring to challenge Ultimate D?"
"You've got it backwards," Kira said coolly.
"You're the one doing the challenging."
The D: "!"
"'Evening Twilight Knight' that I just banished—its other effect activates. When banished, add one Ritual Monster from your Deck to your hand."
Kira took the card that popped from his Deck.
"I add another 'Black Luster Soldier' to my hand."
He only had one Envoy, but multiple copies of the original Ritual "Black Luster Soldier" from KaibaCorp's lab.
"Envoy, effect: once per turn, banish a monster on the field," Kira said. "Banish 'Destiny HERO – Plasma.' Chaos Dimension Slash!"
The Envoy's blade cut, sword-light rending the void itself, leaving a dimensional scar streaking toward Plasma.
"As expected!" The D didn't panic. "I activate my set Continuous Trap 'Fiendish Chain'! Negate Envoy's effects, it can't change battle position, and it can't declare attacks!"
Sickly green chains shot out toward the Chaos warrior.
"Empowered by Plasma, I am invincible!" The D's eyes were bloodshot, nearly deranged. "What of a legendary warrior? He won't lay a finger on D!"
"Is that so?" Kira said. "Looks like you're underestimating not just me, but the legendary warrior as well."
Envoy gave him a nod.
"Flip my set Trap 'Super Soldier Rebirth'!" Kira called. "Send a 'Black Luster Soldier' monster I control to the GY; Special Summon from my hand, ignoring summoning conditions, a 'Black Luster Soldier' with a different name!"
The D's heart lurched. "Ignoring summoning conditions!?"
"Right—the 'Black Luster Soldier' I fetched with Evening Twilight Knight."
Kira revealed the Ritual monster.
"Reincarnate, Envoy—open the Gate of Chaos once more and descend—
—Black Luster Soldier, Rebirth Summon!"
Chaos flared around the Envoy, blasting apart the incoming chains. In the maelstrom of chaos, sword-energy surged, and the Black Luster Soldier returned in different armor.
[Black Luster Soldier ATK 3000]
"Envoy went to the GY and is no longer on the field, so 'Fiendish Chain' lost its target and fizzled," Kira said.
The D growled, "But this Black Luster Soldier is just a 3000 ATK vanilla. It can't defeat Plasma..."
He stopped, pupils shrinking again.
"You've realized," Kira smiled. "Envoy's 'Chaos Dimension Slash' was activated already, but before it resolved, Envoy went to the GY via 'Super Soldier Rebirth' and left the field.
When it resolves, 'Fiendish Chain' has no valid target to bind, so the activation of Chaos Slash still resolves."
As he spoke, the sword aura of the now-gone Envoy seemed to cleave across space. The dimension split, and a tidal suction dragged Plasma into the rift!
"Another tribute-escape!?" Aster was stunned.
He'd seen many strong duelists, but someone who wielded tribute-escapes and chain ordering this fluidly—perhaps only this one.
"Envoy can't attack the turn it uses Chaos Dimension Slash—but that was the Envoy who's gone to the GY. It has nothing to do with the freshly summoned 'Black Luster Soldier.'"
Kira said, "This Black Luster Soldier can still attack.
Black Luster Soldier—direct attack!"
Expressionless, the Soldier drew his blade with a casual swing; a lethal wave of sword-energy streaked toward The D's face.
The D's expression twitched.
What a joke.
He's the world champion, empowered by the invincible Ultimate D.
He sold his soul—promised he'd never lose again.
Promised he'd be the pinnacle of the world.
With Plasma already summoned today, how could he possibly lose?
Unacceptable.
He had one last move: "I activate my set Trap—
—Dimensional Prison!"
Aster: "!"
He still had that hidden ace!
"When an opponent's monster declares an attack: banish that monster!" The D's eyes were crimson. "Disappear, Black Luster Soldier—"
He choked mid-sentence, eyes wide.
With a casual slash, the Soldier's sword-energy ripped open Dimensional Prison's rift. The void hole was meaningless before the Chaos blade; it flickered and vanished.
He was dazed, unwilling, and uncomprehending.
Why!?
Even if it's a 'legendary' swordsman, isn't it a vanilla? How does it ignore Dimensional Prison?
"Counter Trap," Kira said, pointing at his last set. "'Super Soldier Shield.'
While you control a 'Black Luster Soldier' monster: when a monster effect, Spell, or Trap that targets a monster on the field is activated, negate the activation and destroy it."
Kira paused, then said coolly:
"I told you—you underestimated the legendary warrior."
The D stared blankly at the incoming slash—unstoppable, a blow his fate-bent tricks could not bar.
In that instant, the glory of the past ten years felt like a joke—so ridiculous, so small.
[The D LP 1300 → 0]