As the two of them unfolded their Duel Disks, contestants and a few free duelists from around the venue began to gather.
Yusaku, who had been wandering around hoping to trigger a quest, noticed the sudden commotion, drifted over, and—recognizing the duelist as Yusaku—quietly toggled on his built-in recording.
"Wait, that's someone from Takeuchi Dojo and someone from Red Sun Dojo! Don't they usually farm the small dojos first? Why are they dueling this early?"
"Heard Red Sun teamed up with Lion King Dojo. They want to sweep Takeuchi's entrants off the board before rankings even start!"
"Wipe Takeuchi first? But Takeuchi's the bottom of the Four Dojos anyway. They're no threat to Red Sun or Lion King at the top."
"No idea, but hey—let them fight. Small dojos like ours profit in the chaos!"
A few students from Asahi Dojo were also on-site; hearing "Lion King" and "Red Sun," they hurriedly pulled out communicators to warn their own entrants.
On the field—
The two were ready.
They slid Decks into their Duel Disks and shouted in unison.
"Duel!" "Duel!"
[Yusaku — LP: 8000]
[Tanaka — LP: 8000]
Tanaka flipped a coin toward Yusaku. "Heads, I go first; tails, you go first!"
Ting— The coin hit the ground.
Tanaka glanced down and smirked. "Looks like luck's with me. I'll take first turn."
With turn order set, both drew five.
Tanaka peered at his opening grip, then looked up. "Casual duels are boring. How about a little wager?"
"Oh?" Yusaku arched a brow. "What do you have in mind?"
"One card on the line." Tanaka crossed his arms. "Winner gets to take one card from the loser's Deck—winner's choice."
"Just one card?" Yusaku's smile was faint. "If you win, sure. Take it."
"Deal!"
Tanaka scanned his hand, considered, then slapped down a Spell.
"I activate Solar Recharge! I discard Ehren, Lightsworn Monk from my hand to draw 2 cards, then send the top 2 of my Deck to the GY."
He drew two, then milled two. A quick look at the mills, and he lifted his head.
"One of the cards I sent was Wulf, Lightsworn Beast! When Wulf is sent from the Deck to the GY, it Special Summons itself."
He placed another Spell.
"I activate Charge of the Light Brigade! Send the top 3 to the GY, then add a Level 4 or lower 'Lightsworn' from Deck to hand. I add Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn."
"Also, among those 3 sent just now was Minerva, Lightsworn Maiden—when Minerva is sent from hand or Deck to the GY, I mill 1 more."
He sent one more card, then Normal Summoned.
"Normal Summon Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn!"
A bare-chested swordsman with white blades snapped into view.
[Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn]
[Level 4 / Warrior / Effect]
[ATK 1700]
"Effect of Raiden! During my Main Phase, I can send the top 2 to the GY; if any 'Lightsworn' were sent, Raiden gains 200 ATK until your turn ends!"
"More milling, huh?" Yusaku raised a hand. "Chain to that—Quick Effect! I discard Dracotail Faimena from my hand. During either Main Phase, I can discard her to Fusion Summon a Dragon or Spellcaster Fusion using monsters from my hand or field."
Tanaka blinked. "You're Fusion Summoning on my turn?"
Yusaku fanned two cards.
"With Dracotail Faimena's effect, I send Blazing Cartesia, the Virtuous and Dracotail Mululu from hand/field to the GY as materials—Fusion Summon!"
"Descend—Granguignol the Dusk Dragon!"
[Granguignol the Dusk Dragon]
[Level 8 / Spellcaster / Fusion / Effect]
[ATK 2500]
"Whoa, that's Branded! And it's the Dracotail package too—he actually has all of that?!"
Even the crowd went quiet for a beat. They'd heard legends of 'Accel Synchro,' but not many had actually seen a Fusion happen on the opponent's turn. Now they had—"Accel Fusion," right before their eyes.
Tanaka frowned. "Fusion in my turn… but 2500 ATK? That's easy enough to clear."
"Then I'll continue resolving." He pointed to Raiden. "Mill 2 for Raiden."
He milled two, and the corner of his mouth curled.
"Both were 'Lightsworn,' so Raiden gains 200 ATK!"
[Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn]
[ATK 1700 → 1900]
"And from those milled cards, Wulf, Lightsworn Beast was sent from Deck—Wulf must Special Summon itself!"
"Hold it." Yusaku lifted a palm. "I still have effects to resolve."
"First, Granguignol triggers on Fusion Summon, then I'll chain the effect of Dracotail Mululu that was sent as Fusion Material."
Chain Link 1: Wulf (to Special Summon)
Chain Link 2: Granguignol (on Fusion Summon)
Chain Link 3: Dracotail Mululu (when used as Fusion Material)
"Dracotail Mululu: set 1 'Dracotail' Spell/Trap from my Deck, then I can negate the effects of 1 face-up monster you control this turn. I set Dracotail Horn, then negate your Raiden."
"Next, Granguignol: on Fusion Summon, I send 1 Level 6 or higher LIGHT or DARK from Deck or Extra. I'll send Albion the Branded Dragon from my Extra Deck to the GY."
Yusaku's eyes flicked up. "My chain resolves. Back to you."
"Then Wulf Special Summons itself!"
A white-furred beastman with a battle-axe thundered down.
[Wulf, Lightsworn Beast]
[Level 4 / Beast / Effect]
[ATK 2100]
Tanaka moved to continue—but Yusaku cut in again, calm as a lake.
"The moment you Special Summon that monster by its effect, Granguignol's second effect can activate. If a monster is Special Summoned by the opponent's activated monster effect, I can banish Granguignol from my field or GY to Special Summon 1 'Dogmatika' from Deck or 1 'Despia' from Extra."
"I banish Granguignol and Special Summon Guiding Quem, the Virtuous from my Deck."
[Guiding Quem, the Virtuous]
[Level 4 / Spellcaster / Effect]
[ATK 1500]
"Quem's effect on summon: send Fallen of Albaz or a card that mentions it from Deck to GY. I send Fallen of Albaz."
Yusaku let the stack clear. "All set. Your move."
Tanaka narrowed his eyes. He didn't quite follow Yusaku's sequencing. Sacrifice a 2500 Fusion just to drop a 1500? What was he aiming for?
"What's he doing…?" The onlookers exchanged baffled looks. Even Yusaku was scratching his head.
"If only Fire-no-Kōsei-san were here—maybe he'd read it," Yusaku muttered.
"Even I don't get it," Fire-no-Kōsei said as he stepped in beside him. "This Branded line is… resource-heavy. It's not even Yusaku's turn yet and he's down to two in hand."
"Eh? When did you get here?"
"Just now. I looped the venue—most entrants are avoiding early fights so no one can tailor counter cards against them later. Saw a crowd here and came over. Of course it's Yusaku—he doesn't care if people tech against him."
On the field—
"Whatever. Doesn't matter." Tanaka shook off the doubt and stared Yusaku down. "Tricks are meaningless against overwhelming force!"
He raised a card. "This one can't be Normal Summoned/Set. It can Special Summon itself only if I have 4 or more different 'Lightsworn' names in my GY. Since the opener, I've sent Ehren, Celestia, Lumina, and Garoth—that's four types already!"
He thrust the card skyward.
"Avatar of judgment, descend—Judgment Dragon!!!"
A shadow-blanketing pair of wings blotted out the light; the sky itself seemed torn as a vast dragon forced its way through the rift, gaze hawk-keen yet cold as dead water.
Judgment Dragon, arise!
[Judgment Dragon]
[Level 8 / Dragon / Effect]
[ATK 3000]
"Then I equip Power of the Guardians to Judgment Dragon!"
The crowd erupted.
"Judgment Dragon! He actually dropped JD!"
"Isn't that the one that pays 1000 LP to nuke the whole board—and it's not once per turn?!"
"Bruh that's cracked!"
"And that Equip card's insane too! When the equipped monster battles, it gains Spell Counters—each adds 500 ATK, and you can remove counters to prevent destruction!"
"So… immortal beatstick?"
Basking in the cheers, Tanaka stood before his dragon like a conquering general. He pointed at Yusaku, confidence overflowing.
"This is my invincible monster. You're finished!"
(End of Chapter)
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