Chapter 82: The Burning King [2-in-1]
"I'm reviving Yuyu from the Graveyard!"
Amano's final Special Summon to fill the last monster zone—activated with Monster Reborn, the most expensive card in his current deck at thirty thousand points from the ranked shop.
And he used it on Yuyu.
[Yuyu] [1-Star / LIGHT] [—???]
Even Yuyu looked confused about why it was being summoned in this situation. The question mark was practically written on its card face.
"Have you lost your mind, Amano Rei?"
The field Amano had assembled was bizarre by any standard.
Stardust Dragon. Three one-star Tuner monsters. And then Yuyu.
Five monster zones, completely full.
"You're going to regret meeting us tonight, Puppeteer. This turn—I'm burning you to ash!"
"Stop embarrassing yourself! I told you—your anger changes nothing about this duel!"
"Spell card activates!"
Amano slammed the critical piece onto his Duel Disk.
"Natural Tune!"
Before he'd unlocked the monster shop, before he could exchange for Cosmo Queen, Amano had been working through a problem. His deck needed Tuners. Badly. Relying only on Star Chalice Divine Child Eve for Synchro plays was inefficient—limited flexibility, awkward Levels.
So he'd combed through every card available in the academy shop. Searched until he found this one.
[Natural Tune] [Spell: Target 1 Level 4 or lower Normal Monster you control; it is treated as a Tuner while it remains face-up on the field.]
A spell that turned Normal Monsters into Tuners.
His entire deck was Level 4 or lower Normal Monsters.
It was a key designed specifically for a deck like his. The thing that opened the door to Synchro's future when nothing else could.
Green energy wrapped around Yuyu's small white body as the spell resolved.
"Natural Tune's effect—I treat Yuyu, a Level 1 Normal Monster, as a Tuner!"
That made four Level 1 Tuners on Amano's field. Plus one Level 8 Stardust Dragon.
"What—what is this supposed to—" Even Rin, with all her time at Synchro Academy, had never seen a setup this strange.
That's too many Tuners.
Normal Synchro Summons required Tuner monsters paired with non-Tuner monsters. Using only Tuners wasn't supposed to work.
"When four Tuners gather on the field—that's when the King's ultimate soul awakens!"
Amano swept his hand across the entire Duel Disk, igniting all five monster zones with Synchro flames.
"Quadruple Synchro!"
"Level 1 Tuners—Debris Dragon! Debris Dragon! Cosmo Queen! Yuyu! Level 8 Synchro Monster—Stardust Dragon!"
Four one-star Tuners exploded into four rings of fire, converging on Stardust Dragon's shining form.
1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 8 = 12
"The red star shining in the sky! The battle scars carved into the earth!"
"Roar, the drumbeat of the soul! Ignite, the impulse of destruction! When the four symbols align, the new star reaches its apex!"
"My ultimate soul!"
The four flame rings and Stardust Dragon fused into a single column of crimson fire that shot toward the night sky. The pillar was massive—every bit as overwhelming as the chaos steel colossus on the opposite field.
"Quad—Quadruple Synchro?!" The firelight reflected in Rin's unfocused eyes, and for a moment they looked clear again. Sharp. "You're using my Stardust Dragon—for this kind of Synchro Summon?!"
"QUADRUPLE SYNCHRO SUMMON!"
"DESCEND!"
Amano pointed toward the breaking sky. The fire pillar detonated into a tornado of heat, and with it came a dragon's roar that echoed across the entire Academy City. The highest-Level Synchro Monster, born from the flames of a quadruple convergence.
"SCAR-RED NOVA DRAGON!!"
[Scar-Red Nova Dragon] [12-Star / DARK / Dragon / Synchro / Effect]
[ATK: 4500 / DEF: 3000]
[Materials: 4 Tuners + 1 non-Tuner Synchro Monster or more]
The summoning conditions were brutal. Four Tuner monsters plus a Synchro Monster, all consumed in a single Synchro Summon. Without the team duel with Rin, Amano couldn't have assembled the pieces if he'd burned through his entire deck.
The massive demon dragon wrapped in Synchro flames roared toward Ancient Gear Chaos Giant. War incarnate. Pure aggression given form.
4500 ATK. 3000 DEF.
Identical stats to the Chaos Giant.
As if it had been summoned specifically to annihilate the despair standing across from it—pulled from Synchro's infinite future, born from the combined monsters of both Amano and Rin, the ultimate crimson dragon.
"This is a summon even Jack Atlas never completed!"
Rin's eyes were fully focused now. No trace of the Dark Game's exhaustion. Just pupils reflecting flame and starlight under the night sky.
"You've surpassed Jack, Amano!"
"But—" The Puppeteer gestured sharply. "That monster's ATK is the same as Ancient Gear Chaos Giant's!"
"Wrong!"
Amano placed the card on his Duel Disk. The weight of two duelists' final hope and flames made the Synchro card feel impossibly heavy.
"Scar-Red Nova Dragon inherits the will of Tuner monsters in the Graveyard—and gains ATK from them!"
[This card gains 500 ATK for each Tuner in your GY.]
The Graveyard was shared in team duels. Currently in the GY: Rin's two Debris Dragons. Amano's Cosmo Queen. Amano's Star Chalice Divine Child — Eve.
"Four Tuners total—Scar-Red Nova Dragon gains 2000 ATK!"
[Scar-Red Nova Dragon] [ATK: 4500 -> 6500]
The four flame rings converged on the dragon, and its attack power surged past the Chaos Giant's.
Because the ATK boost was a continuous effect—not an activated one—Ancient Gear Chaos Giant's immunity couldn't suppress it.
"Battle! Scar-Red Nova Dragon! Use the Synchro flames that light the future—shatter the darkness ahead!"
"ROAR!!"
The dragon answered with a roar that matched Amano's battle cry. The King's soul, drumming in sync.
"'Red Nova — Supernova Eruption'!!"
The massive dragon wrapped itself in roaring flames and became a projectile—a bomb designed to obliterate everything in its path. The collision between crimson fire and dark steel erupted in a nuclear mushroom cloud above the Academy City night.
It was past three in the morning. People who had been woken by the earlier explosions and dragon roars turned toward the light and fire painting the sky.
[Ancient Gear Chaos Giant — destroyed]
Bart LP: 7000 -> 5000
The towering steel giant collapsed in the fire and thunder. The Puppeteer's Life Points dropped sharply.
"AAAAHHH! It burns—it BURNS!"
The scream came from across the field. Real pain. Genuine agony.
Shock saturated the Puppeteer's voice.
"Why?! Why is this monster's damage reaching me too?!"
The puppet couldn't shield him from the Dark Game anymore. The Puppeteer, who had spent the entire duel watching from a safe position like a spectator at a puppet show, felt fear for the first time.
"You don't get to stay safe this time!"
The card spirit power radiating from Scar-Red Nova Dragon on Amano's Duel Disk was overwhelming.
Three card spirits had converged in this single monster.
Stardust Dragon—material for the Synchro. Yuyu—material for the Synchro. Star Chalice Divine Child Eve—providing ATK boost from the Graveyard. All three were card spirits.
The Puppeteer endured the dual burning—flesh and soul scorched by crimson fire—and forced himself to speak through gritted teeth.
"Even if you destroyed Ancient Gear Chaos Giant—your Battle Phase is over! I haven't lost! I can still win!"
Five thousand Life Points left. More than a full starting total in a standard duel. Geartown and Ancient Gear Castle still on the field.
Meanwhile, Amano and Rin had 100 LP. One hit—any hit—would end it. And in a two-on-one duel, the solo player drew two cards per turn. The comeback was still possible.
"You don't have a next turn, Puppeteer!"
Amano lifted Scar-Red Nova Dragon's card from the Duel Disk. Flames soaked into the card face, and the roaring dragon seemed to shift its form.
"Ancient Gear Chaos Giant is destroyed—I can activate monster effects during the Battle Phase now! Scar-Red Nova Dragon's effect activates!"
[Once per turn, during either player's turn: You can banish this card and all cards your opponent controls and in their GY; then, you can Special Summon 1 "Red Nova Dragon" from your Extra Deck.]
"I told you—you're burning to ash this turn!"
A firestorm erupted across the field with Amano's roar.
The two Spell cards on the Puppeteer's field—Geartown and Ancient Gear Castle—plus Ancient Gear Flying Dragon, plus every card in the Graveyard, all banished by the flame vortex.
The mechanical gear-covered streets collapsed. The iron fortress crumbled. And because the cards were banished instead of destroyed, the Puppeteer couldn't trigger their Special Summon effects.
"'Crimson Abyss — Fourfold Hellflame'!!"
Every card the Puppeteer could have used—burned away in an instant.
And after Scar-Red Nova Dragon banished itself, another dragon from Amano's Extra Deck took up the flame and roared onto the field.
"King and demon converge in this moment! Raging soul! Roar with the voice of creation!"
"Synchro Summon—my soul—RED NOVA DRAGON!!"
[Red Nova Dragon] [12-Star / DARK / Dragon / Synchro / Effect]
[ATK: 3500 / DEF: 3000]
One twelve-star Synchro Monster left the field. Another twelve-star Synchro Monster arrived to replace it.
"It's—it's Red Nova Dragon!" Rin's eyes were glowing. "You summoned Red Nova Dragon! You absolute madman!"
Red Nova Dragon. Jack Atlas's true ace monster from the anime. There was no way Rin wouldn't recognize it.
Amano pointed toward the scorched field.
"Because it was Special Summoned during the Battle Phase—Red Nova Dragon can still attack!"
"But—3500 ATK isn't enough to—"
Rin cut the Puppeteer off before he could finish.
"Red Nova Dragon has the same effect as Scar-Red Nova Dragon!"
[This card gains 500 ATK for each Tuner in your GY.]
[Red Nova Dragon] [ATK: 3500 -> 5500]
Five thousand five hundred ATK. A direct attack. Enough to clear the Puppeteer's remaining 5000 Life Points.
This was Amano's reversal from 100 LP.
My 100 LP is an unbreakable fortress. Your 7000 LP is a candle in the wind.
Rin: "Do it, Amano! Become—no—surpass Jack Atlas!"
Amano: "Final attack! Burn to ash—Puppeteer!!"
"'Red Nova — Burning Soul'!!"
Red Nova Dragon's 5500 damage direct attack exploded in the Dark Game with a finishing blast that lit the night sky bright as day.
Bart LP: 5000 -> 0
Five thousand points of overkill. The largest single burst of damage in any Dark Game Amano had fought.
"It burns—IT BURNS! AAAAAHHHHHHH!!"
The Puppeteer's scream was more agonized than any hit he'd taken before. True soul-deep pain. The darkness that had stayed detached from consequence finally bore the full weight of a duelist's soul.
"I won't forgive you—I will NEVER forgive you, Amano Rei!"
Clinging to the last thread of consciousness in Bart's puppet body, the Puppeteer's gaze burned with murderous intent—as if carving Amano's face permanently into memory.
"That's my line!" Amano stepped forward, fist raised. "No matter where you hide—I'll drag you out and make you regret ever standing in front of me!"
The exchange across dimensions. Souls locked in confrontation through the flames.
In that moment, fate's gears locked the two duelists—both wielding the same ability—together. The loser would stop turning forever.
But for now, at least, the result was clear.
[DARK GAME]
[WINNER]
[AMANO REI]
***
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