Although using Mekk-Knight Orichalcos Divine Punishment against someone who can barely play their own cards was rather dishonorable, Youmi figured there was no need to hold back against someone who wasn't exactly a gentleman to begin with.
If her opponent had been a bit stronger, she might have enjoyed dueling using only cards from this world's pool. That said, since even they knew they were weak, they had created this Deck Master system just to have a shot at beating Yugi Muto and the others.
"Guess there's no fun to be had here. How about we make this quick, Mr. Nezbitt?"
Staring at the oddly modified tin soldier in front of her—[Robotic Knight]—Youmi wondered if she should make good on her earlier promise to "send out a Gundam" and end things with a bang.
Drawing five cards into her hand, Youmi adjusted her nonexistent glasses and asked, "Anyway, I'm Youmi. Just an ordinary free duelist. Your colleagues all like to introduce themselves with grand titles, aren't you going to?"
"Hm... I suppose I should."
Drawing his own five cards, [Robotic Knight] fell silent for a moment before speaking in a deep voice. "I am Nezbitt, one of the Big Five. Before Seto Kaiba became president, I was in charge of KaibaCorp's military factory. They called me the Demon Sergeant of the Factory. This domain recreates the factory I once oversaw. Frightening, isn't it?"
Scratching the back of her neck, Youmi cleared her throat, though she knew what she was about to say might bruise his pride. "Honestly, if it's just this kind of factory, putting aside meteorites, I'd say it's still less terrifying than an old lady with a big forehead or a cockroach crawling out of somewhere. At least you don't have ABCs."
"What!? You're comparing my factory to cockroaches!?"
The deep voice cracked in astonishment—indeed, Nezbitt hadn't expected the world he was so proud of to be rated on the same level as cockroaches, or worse.
Taking advantage of his momentary shock, Youmi considered launching a first-turn attack, but then decided to yield it instead. "There's an opening. Though you know what? I'll give you the first turn~"
Giving the opponent a chance to perform before crushing them utterly—there was a certain pleasure in that. Opportunities like this were rare, and Youmi wanted to savor it.
Turn 1
"Oh? You're giving me the first move? Then I won't be polite. I'll set my Deck Master as [Robotic Knight]. My turn—draw."
Because of Youmi's interference, Nezbitt's duel followed the VRAINS and New Master Rule systems. He didn't need a Duel Disk; with just a motion of his hand, he drew a card from his Deck.
A moment later, several glowing swords materialized before him. "I activate the Normal Spell [Swords of Revealing Light]. This card remains on the field, and during your third End Phase after activation, it's destroyed. As long as it's face-up, your monsters cannot declare attacks."
Glancing at her hand, Youmi found no card to clear his backrow.
Regardless, she didn't panic. Instead, she teased, "Heh, afraid of being OTK'd, huh? Looks like you've done your homework~ Definitely better than your colleagues. Let's see if you can take a hit as well as they did."
"I activate my Deck Master's effect! For every Machine monster I discard from my hand, you take 500 damage!" Nezbitt raised his right hand and shouted, "I'll discard four—support bombardment!"
Four beams of blue-white light struck Youmi, forcing her to stagger back two steps.
[Youmi, LP: 4000 → 2000]
"Yeah, yeah, enemy's defense power down 10–20% for three turns; stun chance 60–80% next turn, one turn duration, right? If you're done with your move, then it's my turn."
Looking at her tattered clothes, Youmi pulled out her cloak and threw it back on. "I don't know what you might've just seen or not, but let's just say this… you're dead."
Nezbitt looked at the [Backup Soldier] in his hand; however, decided not to set it.
KaibaCorp's database had cards like [Harpie's Feather Duster]. If his backrow got cleared, he'd be at a massive loss. He wasn't bold enough to bluff with a face-down [Polymerization].
Turn 2
"So you didn't set anything... Final Turn! Draw! I activate my Deck Master, [Galatea, the Orcust Automaton]! From my Deck, I set one [Orcust] card on my field—[Orcustrated Return]!"
Right from the start, Youmi activated her Deck Master's effect. This time her Deck Master was [Galatea, the Orcust Automaton], and since Deck Masters tended to be overpowered (except that penguin and the soldier), she directly set a key in-theme card.
"I discard [Orcust Harp Horror] to activate the face-down [Orcustrated Return], drawing two cards from my Deck."
Seeing her discard a card just to draw, Nezbitt mocked, "If you wanted to draw, wouldn't [Pot of Greed] be better?"
"Shut up and watch." Drawing two cards, Youmi immediately Normal Summoned a monster. "I Normal Summon [Girsu, the Orcust Mekk-Knight]! Get to work!"
Having barely clocked out moments ago, [Girsu, the Orcust Mekk-Knight] returned to the field looking bewildered. Seeing that same black-hearted capitalist behind him again, he sighed and raised his rifle.
"When [Girsu, the Orcust Mekk-Knight] is Normal or Special Summoned, I send one [Orcust] or [World Legacy] card from my Deck to the Graveyard." Youmi flashed [World Legacy - "World Chalice"] and sent it to the Graveyard. "Then I activate Girsu's other effect—to Special Summon one [World Legacy Token] to both fields in Defense Position."
Seeing the two collectible figures reappear again, Youmi muttered to herself, "If my opponent's this weak, using Girsu feels like overkill. Guess I'll just hit casually."
The [World Legacy Token]s were thrown into the Link circle for the second time today, becoming a round, adorable [Kuriboh]. "Link Materials: one Level 1 monster! I Link Summon [Linkuriboh]!"
"The [Orcust Harp Horror] in my Graveyard can banish itself to Special Summon another [Orcust] from the Deck! I Special Summon [Orcust Nightmare]! Then, using [Linkuriboh] and [Orcust Nightmare] as Link Materials, I Link Summon—oh right, Deck Masters can directly summon, can't they?"
Just as she was about to toss [Orcust Nightmare] and [Linkuriboh] into the Link circle by their collars, Youmi suddenly remembered that rule, and then...
Just as [Girsu, the Orcust Mekk-Knight] was thinking about finally clocking out, a chill suddenly ran down his back. Before he could even turn around, his helmet was grabbed—and he was hurled straight into the Link circle.
"Link Materials: two or more monsters, including at least one [Orcust] monster. I use [Orcust Nightmare], [Linkuriboh], and [Girsu, the Orcust Mekk-Knight] to Link Summon [Longirsu, the Orcust Orchestrator]! He takes the fourth Extra Monster Zone."
Watching [Longirsu] tumble ungracefully into the Extra Monster Zone as if he'd tripped, Youmi gave him a sidelong glance and declared, "I Special Summon my Deck Master, [Galatea, the Orcust Automaton]. Since she's a Link Monster, she'll stand on [Longirsu]'s Link arrow."
Compared to the disheveled [Longirsu], [Galatea] appeared far more composed. She walked leisurely out from behind Youmi and then helped her brother back to his feet.
"I banish [Orcust Nightmare] from my Graveyard to send [World Legacy - 'World Lance'] from my Deck to the Graveyard. [Galatea]'s Attack increases by that Level times 100 until the end of this turn—so, 800 points."
"She can't even attack… what's the point of boosting her Attack…?"
Not bothering to explain, Youmi simply pointed at the [World Legacy Token] on Nezbitt's field. At the same time, [Longirsu] grimaced slightly before raising his rifle and firing, piercing the token through.
"I activate [Longirsu]'s effect! I return two banished Machine monsters to my Deck, and send that [World Legacy Token] to the Graveyard! [Longirsu] can't attack this turn."
"Even so, my [Swords of Revealing Light] is still—wait, what!?"
Behind Youmi unfolded a sight like the vastness of a galaxy. [Longirsu]'s form dissolved into a violet beam of light, merging into it and bursting forth like a miniature Big Bang.
"I overlay one monster to construct the Overlay Network! I Xyz Summon [Dingirsu, the Orcust of the Evening Star]!"
The massive machine god smashed through the entire factory, holding Youmi and [Galatea] in its palm. Suppressing the urge to crush Youmi right then and there, [Dingirsu] gently touched the tip of its rifle to [Swords of Revealing Light], moving it aside.
"When [Dingirsu, the Orcust of the Evening Star] is Special Summoned, I can choose one of two effects. I choose the one that sends one card on your field to the Graveyard."
"You seemed hesitant about setting that card earlier—it must've been a Spell or Trap. Let's end this." From atop her towering mecha god, Youmi looked down at Nezbitt and delivered her verdict. "Do it."
...
"I didn't expect you to use other summoning methods besides Link. I've learned something valuable… it seems Duel Monsters has an even more fascinating future than I thought."
Riding on [Dingirsu, the Orcust of the Evening Star] as it hunted down the last of the Big Five, Noah appeared atop the machine's hand.
Watching [Galatea] fussing over Youmi's hair, he said, "Such advanced understanding…summoning methods beyond the current meta. Youmi, could it be that you're some sort of person from the future?"
As [Galatea]'s joint accidentally pinched a strand of her hair, Youmi yelped, fixing the scorched parts of her outfit. "Ow—ow! I won't deny it~ If that's what you want to believe, go ahead. In any case, more importantly, there's only one Big Five member left. Looks like our duel will be over before long."
Youmi looked up at the virtual sky. In her era, skies this clear were rare; after all, she was a shut-in through and through, never one to venture far just to enjoy the beauty of nature.
"If you wish, we can begin right now."
While Youmi was gazing absentmindedly at the sky, Noah said, "Just moments ago, the last of the Big Five—Leichter—was already taken out by someone unknown."
...
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