Lackey B shook his head, already starting to feel sorry for that unlucky examiner.
Manjoume said nothing. With his fingers interlaced, he leaned forward to watch the duel, and without realizing it, a smile slowly crept onto his face.
"Heh. Heh heh."
The corners of Manjoume's mouth kept rising.
To be honest, he did not even know why.
But watching the examiner suffer down there felt just like looking at himself yesterday.
A strange sense of pleasure welled up inside him.
Only then did he suddenly realize that when you were not the one on the receiving end, this kind of underworld duel could actually be very enjoyable.
From behind, Lackey B glanced at his increasingly exaggerated grin and whispered, "Big brother, you look really creepy when you smile like that."
"."
"My turn, Card Draw!"
The examiner took a deep breath and forced himself to focus on the duel.
"I activate the Spell Card 'Silent Doom' from my hand. It lets me revive a Normal Monster from the graveyard in Defense Position, but a monster summoned this way cannot attack. (ANIME EFFECT)
The monster I revive is the one you discarded last turn."
He took the card that emerged from the graveyard zone of the Duel Disk.
"Millennium Shield!"
A massive shield rose from a swirling vortex in the Underworld, standing firm on the examiner's field.
Millennium Shield appeared with 3000 defense.
"It's Millennium Shield!"
Students immediately cried out in surprise.
A legendary shield said to come from ancient Egyptian royalty, rumored to even block the Burst Stream of Destruction from the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, a monster known for its near-impenetrable defense.
"End of turn."
The examiner would have liked to do more, but he had no cards left. Still, this was Millennium Shield with defense on par with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and it should not be broken so easily.
If he could hold out until the next turn, there might still be a chance.
"My turn," Yugen said. "I activate the Equip Spell 'Wonder Wand' from my hand. Only a Spellcaster Type monster can be equipped.
I equip it to Witch of the Black Forest, increasing her attack by 500."
Witch of the Black Forest's attack rose from 1100 to 1600.
"Next, I activate Wonder Wand's second effect. I send the equipped monster and this card to the graveyard to draw two cards.
I send Witch of the Black Forest and Wonder Wand to the graveyard and draw two cards."
After drawing, Yugen pulled his Deck from the Duel Disk and continued without pause.
"Witch of the Black Forest's effect activates. When this card is sent from the field to the graveyard, I can add a monster with 1500 or less defense from my Deck to my hand.
I add this card to my hand."
He held up a card between two fingers.
"Maha Vailo, with 1400 defense, added to my hand," Yugen said. "Then I Normal Summon 'Maha Vailo' in Attack Position."
Maha Vailo appeared with 1550 attack.
Maha Vailo was a monster that had once been in Yugi Muto's Deck and later given to Anzu in the anime, where it had played an important role.
"Then I activate the Equip Spell 'Big Bang Shot' from my hand."
Another card slid into the Duel Disk, and the image of a Spell appeared on the back row.
"The equipped monster gains 400 attack," Yugen explained. "Also, when the equipped monster attacks a Defense Position monster, if its attack is higher than that monster's defense, it inflicts piercing damage."
The examiner nodded. "I see. You plan to raise your attack in one go and break through my defender for piercing damage."
But Millennium Shield had a full 3000 defense. Breaking through it was not easy, let alone dealing effective damage.
To pierce Millennium Shield and finish him off directly, this student would need to reach 5900 attack in one shot, which was practically impossible.
"Who said I was equipping my own monster?"
Yugen smiled faintly and pointed at the Millennium Shield on the examiner's field.
"The monster I equip is Millennium Shield."
Millennium Shield's attack rose from 0 to 400.
The examiner froze.
Equipping the opponent's monster? What was this supposed to mean?
Did he think this game was about distributing resources to both sides?
"Then I activate the Quick-Play Spell 'Mystical Space Typhoon'. It destroys one Spell or Trap Card on the field," Yugen said. "I choose to destroy my own 'Big Bang Shot'."
The examiner stared.
This was getting more and more incomprehensible.
Surely he was not just giving away cards to show goodwill.
A dark Mystical Space Typhoon whirlwind swept up the Spell on Yugen's field, and a bolt of lightning struck it down, shattering it.
"You're doing something meaningless," the examiner could not help saying. "Even if you do this, my Millennium Shield still…"
Nani?!!?
His eyes went wide as he stared in disbelief at his now empty field.
Millennium Shield was gone.
Not gone to the graveyard.
Just gone.
He blurted out, "Where did my shield go?"
Yugen smiled. "I sent it to another dimension."
The examiner's head filled with question marks.
What was he talking about?
Seeing the examiner on the verge of losing control again, Yugen patiently explained, "The Equip Spell 'Big Bang Shot' does more than boost attack and grant piercing, teacher.
It also has a side effect. When this card leaves the field, the monster it was equipped to is removed from play."
The spectators erupted in noise.
"Using a buff Equip Spell on the opponent's monster, just to exploit its drawback and remove it," Asuka Tenjoin said with a complicated expression. "How should I put it, it's definitely impressive, but…"
She could not find the right words.
In her heart, it all boiled down to two words.
Underhanded.
"That really does feel like something this guy would think of," Manjoume said.
He had been surprised by the combo at first, but quickly accepted it.
After all, the one standing opposite was that dog.
Coming up with tactics and uses like this somehow felt completely natural.
Yugen calmly revealed two more cards.
"I activate the Equip Spells 'Axe of Despair' and 'Mage Power', equipping both to Maha Vailo."
On the field, the dark mage slowly opened her eyes. A demonic axe floated at her side, and golden magical energy wrapped around her body.
"Axe of Despair increases the equipped monster's attack by 1000.
Mage Power increases the equipped monster's attack by 500 for each Spell and Trap Card I control. I have two Equip Cards, so that's 1000 more.
Together, the two Equip Spells increase her attack by 2000."
Maha Vailo's attack rose from 1550 to 3550.
"Then Maha Vailo's own effect activates," Yugen said, pointing at her. "For each card equipped to her, she gains 500 attack.
With two Equip Cards, she gains another 1000 attack."
Maha Vailo's attack surged from 3550 to 4550.
A wave of shocked cries swept through the arena.
"Attack power 4550!?"
A candidate who had not yet taken the field, Sho Marufuji, stared in disbelief. "That's higher than the legendary Obelisk the Tormentor. No, it's even higher than Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"
It was the highest attack value seen anywhere in the exam hall that day.
"He can reach that kind of attack so easily?"
Lackey B nearly fell out of his seat.
Manjoume was not too surprised, but his expression grew even darker.
Yes, he had seen it long ago. That bastard was not just good at ruining people.
Manjoume had always suspected that beyond the traps, he simply enjoyed it.
Or rather, messing with the opponent's mindset was part of his strategy.
But even setting that aside, this guy was genuinely strong.
With a bit of thought, it was obvious the examiner had no cards and no defenses left. Piercing through Millennium Shield would have been enough to finish the duel, yet he chose not to.
Clearly, sending the examiner's Millennium Shield to another dimension made the duel more fun for him.
"Maha Vailo," Yugen said, "attack directly."
The examiner's Life Points dropped from 2900 to 0.