"So I'm going first!"
Yusaku's fingertips swept across his Duel Disk like a gust of wind. With the crisp scrape of card against metal, his opening five cards slid out cleanly into his hand.
"Standby Phase. Main Phase."
He lowered his gaze and checked his hand. The five cards were: [Triple Tactics Thrust], [Pot of Greed], [Kashtira Unicorn], [The Ascended of Thunder], and [Reinforcement of the Army].
This time, the Deck Yusaku was using was Kashtira, and not just any Kashtira, but the full-power build—complete with "that computer-brain" package.
After a brief moment's thought, Yusaku smoothly drew a card and pointed it at his opponent.
"First, I activate Spell Card—[Pot of Greed]! I draw two cards from my Deck!"
After adding the freshly drawn cards to his hand, he immediately revealed another Spell shimmering with arcane light.
"Next, I activate another Spell—[Reinforcement of the Army], and add [Kashtira Riseheart] from my Deck to my hand!"
The moment those words landed, the players in the stands froze—then one by one, their eyes widened, jaws dropping in sync.
"What the hell did I just hear? Kashtira???"
"Kashtira?! Not even some watered-down prison version either. I can't even imagine what's about to happen."
"Kashtira has two main lines. One mills your entire Deck. The other locks every single zone you have. Which do you think Yusaku's going for?"
"Probably milling. A full ten-zone lock going first is way too hard. You need absurd opening hand quality."
"Hard? You're forgetting who that is—Yusaku. That name itself is basically a miracle. A turn-one ten-zone lock might be insane, but for him? It's not impossible."
…
On the field—
After adding the searched card, Yusaku lifted his eyes, flicked a glance at Hiroshi, then calmly revealed a monster from his hand.
"Effect of [Kashtira Unicorn]!"
"If I control no monsters, I can Special Summon this card from my hand. My field is completely empty, so the condition is fully met."
"So, appear—[Kashtira Unicorn]!!!"
A blaze of summoning light erupted. A grotesque monster clad in raccoon-like armor, a spiral horn crowning its head, and a conical blade gripped in hand stepped out of the radiance and planted itself in Yusaku's Monster Zone.
[Kashtira Unicorn]
[Level 7 / Psychic / Effect]
[ATK 2500]
Seeing a high-Level monster hit the field so effortlessly, Hiroshi's brows tightened slightly.
"A Level 7 monster. No self-restriction at all. Just… Special Summons itself from the hand…"
Yusaku's lips curled into a faint smile.
"And that Special Summon isn't even the scary part. It also searches. And that effect has no self-restriction either."
Hiroshi: "?"
Before the confusion could fade, Yusaku's voice sharpened.
"I activate the effect of [Kashtira Unicorn]. During my Main Phase: I can add 1 'Kashtira' Spell from my Deck to my hand."
"I choose the Spell—[Kashtiratheosis]."
Hiroshi's gaze snapped cold. He yanked a card from his hand and slammed it onto his Duel Disk.
"Not happening! I don't care what effect it is—against this card, it's all negated!"
"I activate the effect of [PSY-Framegear Gamma] from my hand!"
"If I control no monsters, when my opponent activates a monster effect, I can activate this: I Special Summon this card from my hand and 1 [PSY-Frame Driver] from my hand, Deck, or GY, then negate that opponent's effect, and destroy that monster!"
"My field has no monsters, so I can use it. I Special Summon [PSY-Framegear Gamma] and [PSY-Frame Driver] in Defense Position, and I negate and destroy your [Kashtira Unicorn]!"
As he spoke, two eerie silhouettes—woven from lightning and mechanical gears—burst onto Hiroshi's field.
[PSY-Framegear Gamma]
[Level 2 / Psychic / Effect]
[DEF 0]
[PSY-Frame Driver]
[Level 6 / Psychic / Effect]
[DEF 0]
The instant they appeared, a blinding bolt erupted from Gamma and struck Yusaku's crimson-armored monster dead-on, blowing [Kashtira Unicorn] into a storm of glittering fragments.
Watching Yusaku's monster get destroyed, Hiroshi folded his arms, a confident smile spreading across his face.
"That Unicorn was your Kashtira starter, wasn't it?"
He glanced at Yusaku's GY and let out a light chuckle.
"Sure, [PSY-Framegear Gamma] only negates on activation, but its effect is a hard once per turn by card name. So even if you revive it with something like [Monster Reborn], it won't be able to use its effect again."
Yusaku smiled, unbothered.
"You're not wrong. It is one of my starters."
"But it's only one of them."
"In fact, in this Duel, you might've had one or two chances to actually play cards. But now that you put those two monsters on your field…"
His smile deepened.
"Some of my cards can activate properly on my turn now."
"So congratulations. You dragged yourself into the bottomless abyss with your own hands."
"Hm?" Hiroshi's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"
"What am I talking about?" The curve of Yusaku's mouth sharpened into something almost predatory. "You'll find out right now."
He drew a card and slammed it down.
"I activate Field Spell—[Pressured Planet Wraitsoth]!"
The moment the card slid into the field slot, the entire arena trembled violently. Gothic towers radiating blood-red light erupted from the ground, and phantom figures in crimson armor floated above like harbingers. The Duel field was swallowed in a suffocating, end-times oppression.
"Effect of [Pressured Planet Wraitsoth]!"
Yusaku's voice rang cleanly through the shaking field.
"When this card is activated, I can add 1 'Kashtira' monster from my Deck to my hand. I add [Kashtira Fenrir]!"
He added the searched card to his hand, then immediately revealed it.
"[Kashtira Fenrir] has the exact same Special Summon condition as Unicorn. If I control no monsters, I can Special Summon it from my hand."
"And right now, I control no monsters."
"So I Special Summon it in Defense Position!"
"Come forth—[Kashtira Fenrir]!"
Blood-red light flared again. A ferocious monster in heavy crimson armor, a wolf-mask covering its face, and a massive axe gripped tight emerged—like a chaos beast poised to pounce.
[Kashtira Fenrir]
[Level 7 / Psychic / Effect]
[DEF 2400]
"I activate the effect of [Kashtira Fenrir]."
Yusaku's tone was calm, but it carried undeniable pressure.
"During my Main Phase: I can add 1 'Kashtira' monster from my Deck to my hand. I add [Tearlaments Kashtira]!"
The Duel Disk's auto-shuffle whirred at high speed. The searched card snapped out perfectly, and Yusaku caught it without looking away.
With the new card in hand, he continued without pause.
"Next, I Normal Summon!"
He pulled out a Warrior-type monster and slapped it down.
"I Normal Summon—[Scareclaw Reichheart]!"
With a thunderous impact, a hulking warrior in thorn-studded heavy armor landed on the field, bone-blades radiating a chilling menace.
[Scareclaw Reichheart]
[Level 4 / Warrior / Effect]
[ATK 1500]
"Effect of [Scareclaw Reichheart]!"
"When this card is Normal or Special Summoned: I can add 1 'Scareclaw' Spell/Trap from my Deck to my hand, and if there are 3 or more Defense Position monsters on the field, I can also draw 1 card."
"I add Spell Card—[Scareclaw Arrival] to my hand."
After pocketing the searched Spell, Yusaku looked up at Hiroshi, the corner of his mouth lifting.
"My [Kashtira Fenrir] is in Defense Position. Your two PSY monsters are also in Defense Position."
"So, by the effect of [Scareclaw Reichheart], I draw 1 card."
Hiroshi's brows knit tighter. He never would've imagined that his usual habit of Special Summoning in Defense would end up helping Yusaku like this—handing him an extra draw at the worst possible time.
"Thanks."
Yusaku glanced at the new card, then immediately revealed another from his hand.
"I activate the effect of [The Ascended of Thunder]! I pay 3000 LP, then Special Summon this card from my hand!"
[Yusaku, LP 8000 → 5000]
"Come forth—[The Ascended of Thunder]!"
As he spoke, an elderly figure wielding a lightning staff appeared in midair, draped in red, yellow, and blue robes, golden arcs dancing around him.
[The Ascended of Thunder]
[Level 7 / Thunder / Effect]
[ATK 2700]
"Next, I use [Scareclaw Reichheart] on the field as Link Material!"
"Link Summon—[Scareclaw Light-Heart]!"
A stream of light rose as the material shot into the Link Circuit. In the next instant, a small figure with blue hair descended from the circuit, arms folded coolly.
[Scareclaw Light-Heart]
[Link-1 / Beast-Warrior / Link / Effect]
[ATK 500]
"Effect of [Scareclaw Light-Heart]!"
"When this card is Link Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone: I can add 1 'Scareclaw' Spell/Trap from my Deck to my hand."
He took the searched card into his hand, and instantly played it.
"I activate Field Spell—[Primitive Planet Reichphobia]!"
The field atmosphere warped again. The blood-red gothic towers vanished in an instant, replaced by a dense primeval jungle and jagged mountain spires, as though the arena had been ripped out of the apocalypse and dropped into a prehistoric wilderness.
"Effect of [Primitive Planet Reichphobia]. When this card is activated, I can add 1 'Scareclaw' monster from my Deck to my hand."
"I add [Scareclaw Kashtira]!"
After briefly showing the new card, Yusaku drove it down onto the Duel Disk without hesitation.
"Effect of [Scareclaw Kashtira]!"
"During either player's Main Phase: I can Special Summon this card from my hand, and then banish 1 'Kashtira' or 'Scareclaw' card from my hand or GY."
"I Special Summon it, then banish [Scareclaw Reichheart] from my GY!"
Summoning light burst once more. A three-headed dragon clad in crimson armor spread its wings, its eyes glinting with bloodlust as it landed on Yusaku's field.
[Scareclaw Kashtira]
[Level 7 / Psychic / Effect]
[ATK 0]
"Next, the effect of [Tearlaments Kashtira] in my hand!"
"During either player's Main Phase: I can Special Summon this card from my hand, then banish 1 'Kashtira' card from my hand or GY."
"I Special Summon it, then banish [Kashtira Unicorn] from my GY!"
As he finished, Yusaku slammed the card down.
In the next instant, a crimson armored mermaid warrior surged up from rippling water, a razor-sharp axe in hand, and landed in the Monster Zone.
[Tearlaments Kashtira]
[Level 7 / Psychic / Effect]
[ATK 2300]
"So now, I have four Level 7 monsters on my field!"
Hearing that, Hiroshi narrowed his eyes at Yusaku.
So this is it—Xyz Summon.
Four Level 7 monsters. Fine. Let's see what you can possibly bring out.
Yusaku swept his hand outward, his voice resounding.
"I overlay [Tearlaments Kashtira] and [Scareclaw Kashtira] to construct the Overlay Network!"
"With a blood-red body that seizes every inch of paradise, a calamity incarnate that invades and shatters the world—become the arsenal that holds boundless rage!"
"Xyz Summon! Rank 7—[Kashtira Shangri-Ira]!"
"And I set it in Defense Position!"
The two monsters exploded into radiant streams and shot into a blood-colored vortex that unfurled overhead. In an instant, a pressure so intense it felt suffocating poured out, as if even space itself was trembling.
Then, a futuristic inverted cone—red-brown in color, etched with glowing conduits that looked like they were siphoning a planet's lifeforce—descended slowly and hovered behind Yusaku like a world-ending war engine.
[Kashtira Shangri-Ira]
[Rank 7 / Psychic / Xyz]
[Materials: 2]
[DEF 3000]
Players in the stands wore expressions that could only be described as delighted relief.
"Earlier it was hard to follow, but now I get it."
"The prep is done. It's lock time."
"I'd love to see if that guy across from him can keep smiling after this."
But unlike the players, a large portion of the ordinary audience looked completely lost.
A Rank 7 Xyz monster… with 0 ATK?
How was that supposed to end a Duel?
(End of Chapter)
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