The moment Reina hit the field, Yusaku's voice snapped up a notch. "At this moment, the effect of Firewall Dragon Singularity on my field activates!"
"When a monster this card points to is destroyed by battle or sent to the GY, I can target 1 Cyberse monster in my GY and Special Summon it!" He glanced at Karasu. "Just now, I used Wizard @Ignister that this monster pointed to as Link Material and sent it to the GY."
"So I can activate this effect and Special Summon the Cyberse monster in my GY, Maliss Red Ransom!"
Maliss Red Ransom
[ATK: 2300]
The crimson valkyrie silhouette had barely finished taking shape on the field when Yusaku's voice exploded again.
"I use the Link-3 monster I just Summoned, Maliss Red Ransom, along with Backup @Ignister and Maliss White Rabbit, all as Link Material!"
"Link Summon! Show yourself, Link-5! Firewall Dragon Darkfluid - Neo Tempest Terahertz!"
Before the last word even fell, three streaks of light shot skyward and vanished into the spinning Link Circuit overhead.
The next instant, five Link Arrows flared at once with blinding radiance. The mechanical dragon's presence shook the entire arena with a deep, resonant hum.
Its alloy-forged body was plated in shimmering armor. When its multicolored wings spread, gusts of wind ripped through the field. It descended from the circuit with a slow, oppressive grace, each step cracking the air itself and sending ripples rolling outward.
Firewall Dragon Darkfluid - Neo Tempest Terahertz
[LINK-5 / Cyberse / Link / Effect]
[ATK: 3000]
"I'm not done!" Yusaku's voice rode the wind. "I activate the effect of Firewall Dragon Darkfluid - Neo Tempest Terahertz!"
"During either player's turn, I can send 1 Cyberse monster from my Deck or Extra Deck to the GY. This card becomes the same Attribute as that monster, and it gains 2500 ATK!"
He pulled a card from his Extra Deck and held it up. "I send Cyberse Desavewurm from my Extra Deck to the GY!"
The dragon's frame swelled in an instant, red heat blasting out from the seams of its armor.
Firewall Dragon Darkfluid - Neo Tempest Terahertz
[ATK: 3000 -> 5500]
The moment its ATK spiked, Yusaku snapped another card forward. It slid across the Duel Disk in a clean arc.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card YU-JYO Friendship! This card's effect invites the opponent to shake hands. If they accept, both players' LP become half the combined total!"
He looked straight at Karasu, the corner of his mouth curling into a knowing smile. "Well? Do you accept the handshake?"
Karasu froze. His brain stalled for a few seconds like it had crashed.
Accept the handshake? Split the combined LP in half? Instinctively, he did the math. His LP was 1500 higher than Yusaku's right now. If he agreed, his own LP would drop by 1500, and Yusaku's would rise by 1500.
Once he processed it, Karasu snorted. "You only have 5000 LP. If I accept, my LP drops by 1500 and yours goes up by 1500. Only an idiot would shake your hand."
"Not accepting, huh." Yusaku didn't really care. He slotted YU-JYO Friendship into his Duel Disk, then slapped two more cards from his hand onto the field. "Then I Set two cards. End turn!"
"My turn! Draw!"
After adding the card to his hand, Karasu studied Yusaku's field.
Four monsters total.
Cyberse Witch and Reina occupied the two Extra Monster Zones.
The other two were the 3500 ATK Firewall Dragon Singularity, and the one whose ATK had jumped to 5500, Firewall Dragon Darkfluid - Neo Tempest Terahertz.
After scanning the board, Karasu let out a sudden chuckle. "You're clogging up both Extra Monster Zones, and you don't even have Link Arrows pointing to my field. This kind of setup is brutal against decks that need Link Summoning to extend, but against me…"
He deliberately drew out the last words, tapping a finger on his Duel Disk. "It's completely useless! My deck doesn't need Link support at all. And besides, all your monsters are DARK Attribute, which just so happens to match the card in my hand…"
"At the moment your Draw Phase ends, I flip this Trap that I Set with Maliss White Binder's effect! Maliss GWC-06!"
The face-down card snapped open, and red lightning instantly swept the entire field!
"Effect of Maliss GWC-06!" Yusaku shouted.
"I can Special Summon 1 'Maliss' monster from my GY or banishment! Then, if I have a 'Maliss' Link Monster on my field, I recover LP equal to that monster's original ATK!"
"I choose Maliss White Binder from my banishment! Special Summon!"
Maliss White Binder
[ATK: 2300]
A white-clad girl's phantom form appeared on the field. At the same time, Yusaku's LP jumped.
[Yusaku LP: 5000 -> 7300]
Karasu stared at the 2300 ATK monster and snorted in disdain. "It's just trash."
"Relax," Yusaku shot him a sidelong look, amusement laced into his eyes. "This is only the beginning."
Karasu: "?"
"I activate the effect of Maliss White Binder!" Yusaku's voice rang out again. "When this card is Special Summoned, I can banish up to 3 cards total from either player's GY!"
"I banish Maliss Red Ransom and Maliss White Rabbit from my GY!"
Two card silhouettes rose from the graveyard and turned into streaks of light, vanishing into the banished zone. And right then, Yusaku's voice snapped into a razor-sharp rhythm.
"Now! The effects of the two monsters I just banished activate!"
"First, Maliss White Rabbit! I pay 300 LP, Special Summon it to my field!"
[Yusaku LP: 7300 -> 7000]
Maliss White Rabbit
[ATK: 2300]
"Then, Maliss Red Ransom! I pay 900 LP, Special Summon it! Then I banish Maliss March Hare from my Deck!"
[Yusaku LP: 7000 -> 6100]
Maliss Red Ransom
[ATK: 2300]
"I'm not done. Chain Link!" Yusaku's voice echoed through the stadium. "The effect of the Maliss White Rabbit I just Summoned chains! Then chain Maliss Red Ransom! Then chain the effect of the Maliss March Hare that was banished!"
"First, Maliss March Hare! When it's banished, I pay 300 LP and add 1 'Maliss' monster from my banishment to my hand!"
[Yusaku LP: 6100 -> 5800]
"Next, Maliss Red Ransom's effect! When it's Special Summoned, I add 1 'Maliss' Spell from my Deck to my hand!" He drew a card from his Deck and displayed it to the whole arena. "I choose the Field Spell, Maliss in Underground!"
"Finally, Maliss White Rabbit's effect! When it's Normal or Special Summoned, I Set 1 'Maliss' Trap from my Deck with a different name than any in my GY!"
"I Set the Trap Card Maliss MTP-07 from my Deck."
As he finished, a crisp buzz rang out, and a face-down card wreathed in faint red light appeared at Yusaku's feet.
Karasu watched the extra monsters and the new set card, his brows drawing tight. "That it?"
"Relax. There's more." Yusaku smiled.
Karasu: "???"
On the field.
Yusaku barked, "I activate the effect of Firewall Dragon Darkfluid - Neo Tempest Terahertz! I send Code of Soul from my Deck to the GY!"
The dragon's armor lit up again, and its ATK number rocketed upward like it had gone feral.
Firewall Dragon Darkfluid - Neo Tempest Terahertz
[ATK: 5500 -> 8000]
"ATK jumping to 8000, huh. Not bad," Karasu sneered at the towering dragon. "Too bad it means nothing. In front of this card, even the strongest monster is pointless!"
He yanked a card up and held it high, madness surging through his voice. "Quick-Play Spell, Super Polymerization!!"
"I discard 1 card to activate it! I use monsters on either side of the field as Fusion Material to Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster! And you cannot activate any Spell, Trap, or monster effects in response to this card's activation!"
Karasu flung a card from his hand, eyes locked onto Yusaku's field.
"I discard 1 card! I activate Super Polymerization! I use three DARK monsters on your field, Firewall Dragon Darkfluid - Neo Tempest Terahertz, Firewall Dragon Singularity, and Reina, as Fusion Material! Send them to the GY!"
"Fusion Summon! Level 10, Predaplant Triphyoverutum!!!"
He slammed the Fusion Monster onto his Duel Disk, laughing as if victory were already reaching out to him.
"Ha! Yusaku! I don't care what Link-5 you make! If it can't stay on the field, it's trash! Say goodbye to your monsters!"
Yusaku's expression, however, turned… strange. The corner of his mouth twitched, like he was struggling not to laugh.
Karasu folded his arms smugly and stared at his Duel Disk, waiting for the three monsters to dissolve into Fusion light.
One second. Two seconds.
The monsters on Yusaku's field did not move an inch. Not even a flicker of light.
"Huh?" Karasu's smile froze. He looked down and checked his Duel Disk in a panic. After finding nothing wrong, he yanked Super Polymerization back out and flipped it over repeatedly.
"I select Firewall Dragon Darkfluid - Neo Tempest Terahertz, Firewall Dragon Singularity, and Reina on your field as Fusion Material! Send them to the GY!"
The command sank without a ripple. The Duel Disk's indicator light blinked once, then went still again.
Cold sweat beaded at Karasu's temple. His eyes widened in disbelief. "Don't tell me… those three are immune to everything?"
He grit his teeth and changed the selection again. "Then I select Maliss Red Ransom, Maliss White Rabbit, and Maliss White Binder on your field! Fusion Summon Predaplant Triphyoverutum!"
He stared hard at the three chosen monsters, but the Fusion light still never appeared.
Karasu's pupils shrank. "Impossible! Those three low-level monsters can't possibly have an effect that makes them unaffected by other cards!"
"Not going to keep trying?" Yusaku crossed his arms, the mockery in his tone thickening. "You didn't seriously think that Knightmare Corruptor Iblee I gave you was just decoration, did you?"
Karasu's whole body jolted. He whipped his head toward his own field, to the gray-haired girl whose hair fluttered in the wind.
"The effect of Knightmare Corruptor Iblee," Yusaku said, enunciating each word. "As long as this card is in a Monster Zone, the controller of this card can only Special Summon Link Monsters."
He stressed it harder, like hammering a nail. "Listen carefully. The only monsters you can Special Summon are Link Monsters."
Karasu's eyes snapped wide. "What?!"
At that moment, the commentator's voice, so excited it nearly cracked, blasted through the stadium.
"So that's it! This is Yusaku's ultimate lock! He didn't just occupy both Extra Monster Zones, he used Knightmare Corruptor Iblee to completely shut down Karasu's Special Summons!"
"And because Yusaku occupies both Extra Monster Zones and has no Link Arrows pointing to Karasu's field, Karasu cannot perform a Link Summon at all!"
"As long as Knightmare Corruptor Iblee stays on the field, Karasu's Special Summons are totally sealed! What an astonishing line of play!"
And then, Karasu's wild laughter rang through the arena.
The other duelists watching all wore strange expressions.
"This guy didn't duel himself stupid, did he? He's laughing in this situation."
"Uh… probably."
On the field.
Karasu stared at Yusaku and laughed. "Yusaku, I'll admit your board is kind of strong, but it has a fatal weakness. The two monsters you stuck in the Extra Monster Zones have ridiculously low ATK. I can Summon any random monster and clear them!"
(End of Chapter)
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