"I can Special Summon this card from the GY in face-up Defense Position!"
"Because I just Special Summoned [Utopic Onomatopoeia]—which can be treated as a 'Gogogo' monster—I meet the condition!"
"Special Summon [Gogogo Gigas] from my GY!"
[Gogogo Gigas]
[DEF 2200]
The instant the monster appeared, Yusaku immediately shouted:
"Then, I overlay the [Gogogo Gigas] I just Summoned and [Utopic Onomatopoeia] to construct the overlay network!"
"Xyz Summon! Rank 4—[Ryzeal Duo Drive]!"
Two monsters became golden light and shot into the Xyz vortex.
In the next moment, a massive mech born from the fusion of two energies tore out of the vortex. Lava-like orange-red patterns flowed across its chassis, while golden electrical arcs snapped and crackled from its joints. The heat it released on arrival warped the air itself.
[Ryzeal Duo Drive]
[Rank 4 / Thunder / Xyz / Effect]
[ATK 2500]
[Materials: 2]
"Oh, so it's [Ryzeal Duo Drive]—I didn't get what you were aiming for before, but now I do!"
"Got it. One-card Ryzeal line, huh!"
"Ryzeal showing up in a Utopia board… what kind of dream is this?"
Staring at the sudden genre-shift of a monster on the field, Fujiyama's mouth fell open slightly. His eyes were full of blank disbelief—he had completely lost track of what deck Yusaku was even playing anymore.
First it was the "Gagaga" and "Zubaba" style monsters, then the Galaxy-Eyes line, and now "Ryzeal."
Three archetypes that had no business belonging in the same sentence—so why did they connect so cleanly?!
Yusaku didn't care what Fujiyama was thinking. The moment Duo Drive hit the field, he gave the next command.
"Effect of [Ryzeal Duo Drive]—activate!"
"During my Main Phase, I can detach 2 materials from my field to add 2 'Ryzeal' cards from my Deck to my hand!"
"I activate it!"
[Ryzeal Duo Drive]
[Materials: 2 → 0]
"I add [Sword Ryzeal] and [Star Ryzeal] from my Deck to my hand!"
After taking the two searched cards into his hand, Yusaku swept his arm again, his shout still ringing bright and clear.
"Then, I overlay [Ryzeal Duo Drive] and [Number 60: Dugares the Timeless]!"
"Xyz Summon my second copy—[Number F0: Utopic Future ZEXAL]!"
[Number F0: Utopic Future ZEXAL]
[Materials: 2]
[ATK 0]
"Now, effect of [Star Ryzeal] in my hand!"
Yusaku raised the card high.
"I can Special Summon this card from my hand by detaching 1 Xyz Material from a monster I control!"
"I detach 1 material from the [Number F0: Utopic Future ZEXAL] I just Summoned!"
[Number F0: Utopic Future ZEXAL]
[Materials: 2 → 1]
"Special Summon—[Star Ryzeal]!"
A robotic beast—woven from violet flame, violent electrical currents, and precision machinery—materialized abruptly, radiating razor-edged pressure. Every cycle of its energy core came with a sizzling crackle.
[Star Ryzeal]
[Level 4 / Pyro / Effect]
[ATK 1800]
"Effect of [Star Ryzeal]—activate!"
Yusaku continued. "If this card is Special Summoned, I can Set 1 'Ryzeal' Spell/Trap from my Deck!"
"I Set the Trap [Ryzeal Plasma Hole] from my Deck!"
After setting the card, Yusaku raised his final hand card.
"Now, effect of [Sword Ryzeal]!"
"If I have a 'Ryzeal' monster on my field or in my GY, I can Special Summon this card from my hand!"
Yusaku looked at Fujiyama.
"I already control [Star Ryzeal], so the condition is fully met!"
He slammed the card onto his Duel Disk.
"Come out—[Sword Ryzeal]!"
Blue flame and golden lightning twisted together in an instant, surging wildly through a mechanical skeleton—until a mech wielding a chainsaw greatsword took shape. As the blade spun at high speed, azure-gold sparks sprayed into the air. A scorching blast of pressure rolled outward with every "breath" it took, and on arrival, a crescent-shaped energy slash screamed across the ground, carving a deep groove into the arena floor.
[Sword Ryzeal]
[Level 4 / Thunder / Effect]
[ATK 1500]
"Effect of [Sword Ryzeal] triggers!"
Yusaku's voice stayed steady.
"When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, I can add 1 Pyro LIGHT monster from my Deck to my hand—so I add [Ext Ryzeal]!"
After securing the searched card, Yusaku cut his hand down in a final decisive motion.
"Then, I overlay [Sword Ryzeal] and [Star Ryzeal] to construct the overlay network!"
"Xyz Summon! Rank 4—[Ryzeal Detonator]!!!!"
Two streams of brilliant light shot into the golden vortex. A steel beast of war—its form like a mechanical god—descended with a thunderous impact. Lava and electricity coursed across its armored body, and glowing energy cores were embedded at every joint. The shockwave of its arrival blasted loose gravel and debris into the air, its presence shaking the entire arena!
[Ryzeal Detonator]
[Rank 4 / Pyro / Xyz / Effect]
[Materials: 2]
[ATK 3000]
"Effect of [Ryzeal Detonator]—activate!"
Yusaku's shout pierced the noise.
"When this card is Special Summoned, I can attach 1 monster from my GY to this card as material!"
"I attach [Gogogo Gigas] from my GY as material!"
[Ryzeal Detonator]
[Materials: 2 → 3]
"Finally—effect of [Number F0: Utopic Future ZEXAL]!"
Yusaku's gaze swept the entire field, his voice carrying the weight of a verdict.
"This card's ATK/DEF become the total Rank of all Xyz Monsters on my field and in my opponent's GY, multiplied by 500!"
"The Xyz Monsters I currently control are: 1 Rank 4 [Ryzeal Detonator], 2 Rank 1 [Number F0: Utopic Future ZEXAL], 1 Rank 1 [F0: Utopic Draco Future], and 1 Rank 8 [Number 107: Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon]—a total of 15 Ranks!"
"So both copies of [Number F0: Utopic Future ZEXAL] rise to 7500 ATK!"
[Number F0: Utopic Future ZEXAL] ×2
[ATK 0 → 7500]
"Last, I Set one card!"
Yusaku placed a card face-down with crisp, efficient movement.
"Then I end my turn. Your move!"
Staring at Yusaku's field, a player swallowed and muttered:
"Can someone calculate how much interruption Yusaku has right now? This board was built off one card—what the hell…"
"Uh… let me think. He searched two copies of Tachyon Transmigration, right? The Set card is probably a Utopia Counter Trap. Even without counting the monsters, that's already three Counter Traps… do we even need to keep counting?"
"He's got Draco Future negation, plus two ZEXAL Futures with that absurd protection, plus Detonator's pops… no, wait—five pops. You're telling me this is a one-card board?!"
On the field.
Fujiyama wiped the sweat from his forehead. He'd been dueling for years, but he'd never seen these monsters even once.
Even so, he could still feel how terrifying they were. The pressure alone wasn't something normal monsters could ever produce.
"Then it's my turn!"
He forced himself to breathe, placed a hand on his Deck, and drew.
"Draw!"
The instant the card slid into his palm, Fujiyama's pupils lit up. He quickly added it to his hand, then immediately slapped another card onto his Duel Disk.
"No matter how ridiculous your monsters' effects are, they have to stay on the field first!"
"I activate the Spell Card [Raigeki]—destroy all monsters you control!"
Before he even finished speaking, black clouds rolled in like a summoned army, suffocating the sky above the Duel Stage. The low thunder rumbled like war drums, and a bolt of lightning as thick as a barrel tore down from the heavens—carrying enough destructive force to erase everything in its path—as it crashed toward Yusaku's monsters.
Yusaku snapped his fingers lightly, his expression calm.
"I flip my Set card—activate the Counter Trap [Unbreakable Xyz Barrier]."
"As long as I control an Xyz Monster, I can negate the activation of any opponent's monster, Spell, or Trap."
"With this many Xyz Monsters on my field, your [Raigeki] is nothing but a futile bubble."
A brilliant, transparent barrier surged up on Yusaku's side, golden runes flowing across its surface like a glittering galaxy. The annihilating lightning was swallowed whole—no sparks, no fallout, not even a single ember falling behind the wall.
"Hah! You fell for it!"
Fujiyama suddenly burst into laughter.
"That [Raigeki] was bait from the start—meant to make you burn your Counter Trap!"
"The card I really wanted to activate is this one!"
He yanked a card from his hand and slammed it down.
"I activate the Spell Card [Dark Ruler No More]!"
"Until the end of this turn, the effects of all face-up monsters on the field are negated—and you absolutely cannot respond to this activation with monster effects!"
A gigantic skull-king phantom rose slowly from the ground. Green ghostfire flickered in its hollow eye sockets, and when its bony claws swept down, a tide of dark purple shockwaves washed over the field.
Fujiyama's eyes sharpened into blades.
"This card means I won't deal any damage this turn, sure—but as long as I break your board, you won't have the resources to rebuild this kind of defense next turn."
"And then your [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] is as good as ours!"
"That's not necessarily true."
Yusaku shot him a sidelong glance and raised a card from his hand.
Fujiyama's smile froze in place. His pupils contracted.
"What do you mean? You can still negate [Dark Ruler No More]? That card explicitly prevents monster-effect responses!"
"I don't need a monster effect."
Yusaku's voice stayed flat.
"A Counter Trap is enough."
He slowly revealed the card in his hand, its artwork gleaming under the sunlight.
The crowd exploded.
"A Counter Trap from the hand? Did I hear that right? Counter Traps can't be activated unless they're Set first!"
"I activate the Counter Trap [Tachyon Transmigration]."
Yusaku placed the card firmly onto his Duel Disk.
"If I control a 'Galaxy-Eyes' monster, I can activate it from my hand at Chain Link 2 or higher."
"It negates the activation of all opponent's cards in the Chain, and returns those cards to the Deck."
"My [Number 107: Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon] meets the condition."
As if responding to the command, Tachyon Dragon roared violently. Its maw opened wide, firing a pure golden beam that tore through the dark purple boundary wave, shattering it into nothing.
Watching [Dark Ruler No More] get negated, Fujiyama's mouth curled back into a grin. He raised another card.
"Fine. Your answers are done."
"Now you have nothing left to stop my combo!"
He slammed the card down.
"I activate the Field Spell—[Geartown]!"
The instant it was absorbed into the Field Slot, the entire Duel Stage warped and reshaped. Countless rusted gears meshed and spun; ancient mechanical structures burst from the ground. White steam shot into the sky like fountains, turning the arena into a foggy, industrial, medieval machine workshop.
Yusaku lifted a brow, scanning the transformed field.
"Ancient Gears, huh. Interesting."
"Exactly!"
Fujiyama's confidence flared into a grin.
"Most challengers pick the second turn, so I built an Ancient Gear going-second list specifically to crack boards like yours!"
"Even if you can activate a Counter Trap from the hand, that kind of out-of-spec nonsense can't happen twice."
"And now—my turn to unfold!"
He slapped another card down without hesitation.
"I activate the Spell Card [Ancient Gear Catapult]!"
"If I control no monsters, I can destroy 1 face-up card on the field, then Special Summon 1 'Ancient Gear' monster from my Deck, ignoring its Summoning conditions!"
"I destroy my Field Spell [Geartown]!"
"And I Special Summon [Ancient Gear Tanker]!"
Within the steam, a mechanical silhouette took shape. Gears on both sides of its chassis turned with crisp clicking sounds as its weapon systems locked onto Yusaku's monsters.
[Ancient Gear Tanker]
[Level 4 / Machine / Effect]
[ATK 1300]
"Now, this moment—effects activate!"
Fujiyama's voice climbed into excited urgency.
"The trigger effect of [Geartown] when it's destroyed and sent to the GY, and the trigger effect of [Ancient Gear Tanker] when it's Special Summoned—both activate at the same time, forming a Chain!"
"I chain to that."
Yusaku flicked his fingers, expression unchanged.
"I activate the effect of [Ryzeal Detonator] and detach 1 material."
[Ryzeal Detonator]
[Materials: 3 → 2]
"I target [Ancient Gear Tanker] and destroy it."
The mechanical war-god lunged, its massive fist wrapped in lava and electricity like a falling meteor. It smashed down—an explosive roar erupted—and Tanker was torn apart into scrap, blasted straight into the GY.
"It doesn't matter!"
Fujiyama's grin didn't fade in the slightest.
"You destroyed the monster, but you didn't negate its effect!"
"Effect of [Ancient Gear Tanker]: If this card is Normal or Special Summoned, I can Special Summon 1 'Ancient Gear' monster from my hand, ignoring its Summoning conditions!"
He raised his arm and shouted:
"Awaken, strongest giant of the industrial age, sleeping within my Deck—[Ancient Gear Dark Golem]!"
Thick steam roared out from enormous metal components. A giant with three layers of rotating gears embedded in its chest rose from the ground, each step making the arena tremble as its joints thundered with heavy mechanical noise.
[Ancient Gear Dark Golem]
[Level 8 / Machine / Effect]
[ATK 3000]
"Next, I activate [Geartown]'s effect in the GY!"
Fujiyama's finger swept rapidly across his Deck. In a single motion, he drew out a card and pointed it at Yusaku.
"When this card is destroyed and sent to the GY, I can Special Summon 1 'Ancient Gear' monster from my hand, Deck, or GY!"
"I choose to Special Summon [Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon] from my Deck!"
The ground split apart with a violent quake. A grotesquely huge mechanical dragon surged up from beneath the arena, crimson eyes flaring with savage light. A nuclear reactor on its back pulsed with dangerous red glow, and sparks sprayed everywhere as gears ground against each other.
[Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon]
[Level 9 / Machine / Effect]
[ATK 3000]
(End of Chapter)
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