Chapter 282: VS Kaiser: Opening Move, Fuse the Entire Deck!
"I will fuse every monster in my Deck!"
If his body had still been what it was before, this kind of duel was something he could never have attempted.
But fate had given him back the chance to fight at full strength. His answer to that was to give everything fate had returned to him.
The cards scattered across the sunset sky, and in the blazing light that pointed toward the future, they carried the full force of Kaiser's resolve.
"I send twenty Machine monsters, including Cyber Dragon, to the Graveyard as Fusion Materials!"
"This is the full extent of what I can give for victory!"
"Surrender the infinite soul of steel to the road of endless evolution!"
"Fusion Summon! Chimeratech Overdragon!"
[Chimeratech Overdragon] [Level 9 / DARK]
[Machine / Fusion / Effect]
[ATK: ?] [DEF: ?]
["Cyber Dragon" + 1 or more Machine monsters]
From the brilliant light of Future Fusion, the Fusion of twenty Machine monsters in full took form: a mechanical fortress of a body bristling with twenty distinct dragon heads of every conceivable shape, all twisting and roaring against the falling sun.
The duel had not even reached Amano's turn yet, and he could already feel it bearing down on him.
An opening like this, and you call it fighting with everything you've got?
Getting first turn taken against a Cyber Dragon player. His lucky streak remained, as always, entirely consistent.
The cards that Kaiser had thrown skyward were not actually lying on the ground, though: Eden's data network handled physical cards as data, which meant the Fusion Materials resolved back to his Graveyard without anyone having to pick them up from the courtyard stones one by one.
"When Chimeratech Overdragon is Fusion Summoned, all other cards I control are sent to the Graveyard!"
The only other card on Kaiser's field, aside from Chimeratech Overdragon, was Future Fusion, equipped there. Future Fusion's drawback was that if it was destroyed, the Fusion Monster it summoned would also be destroyed. But being sent to the Graveyard was not the same as being destroyed, so Future Fusion being sent this way erased the drawback entirely.
"And Chimeratech Overdragon's ATK and DEF become 800 times the number of Fusion Materials used! I used twenty Machine monsters from my Deck!"
[Chimeratech Overdragon] [ATK: 800 x 20 = 16000]
"Chimeratech Overdragon at 16000 ATK!" Shio, who had personal experience with a Cyber Dragon deck, recognized the Fusion Monster on sight. "That's incredible!"
Though: as someone who also played Cyber Dragon, Shio had never pushed it quite this far on Turn 1, to the point of Fusing every single Machine in her entire Deck.
"Ryo-sama!" Tsukiyu Yukishiro's concern was immediate. "If you duel this way, your body will"
"It does not matter. I chose this as my final duel. Even if I fall here, it is a grave I selected for myself." He turned his attention back to his field. "Cyber Dark Necrofear in the Graveyard, activate! This effect can only activate when this card is sent to the Graveyard. Send one 'Cyber Dark' monster from your Deck to the Graveyard, provided no other copy exists there already."
[When this card is sent to the GY: you can send 1 "Cyber Dark" monster from your Deck to the GY, except another copy of this card.]
"I send Cyber Dark Cannon from my Deck to the Graveyard!"
The Machine monsters in Kaiser's Deck had been Fused away entirely, but the Dragon-Type monsters in his Deck, as well as any monsters still in hand, remained available.
"And I Normal Summon Cyber Dragon Core in Defense Position!"
[Cyber Dragon Core] [Level 1 / LIGHT]
[Machine / Effect]
[ATK: 400] [DEF: 1500]
[This card's name is always treated as "Cyber Dragon" while on the field or in the Graveyard.]
The slender mechanical form of Cyber Dragon Core materialized beside the towering mass of Chimeratech Overdragon.
"When Cyber Dragon Core is successfully Summoned, I can add 1 'Cyber' Spell or Trap Card from my Deck to my hand!"
Kaiser continued loading his Spell and Trap Zone.
"I activate Spell Card: Overload Fusion!"
[Overload Fusion: Banish, from your field or GY, Fusion Materials listed on a DARK Machine Fusion Monster, then Fusion Summon that monster from your Extra Deck.]
With twenty Machine monsters already stacked into his Graveyard from the opening move, Kaiser had virtually unlimited material selection. He extended the Duel Disk and five cards ejected from the Graveyard zone in sequence.
"I banish Cyber Dark Necrofear, Cyber Dark Keel, Cyber Dark Horn, and two copies of Cyber Dark Edge from my Graveyard as Fusion Materials for a five-body Cyber Dark Fusion!"
"The steel prison's iron cage, the dark river of eternal night! The Cyber stream's true form descends into endless darkness!"
"Witness it, Amano Rei: this is my Cyber Dark stream!"
"Fusion Summon! Iron Cage Dragon - Cyber Dark Nether Dragon!"
[Iron Cage Dragon - Cyber Dark Nether Dragon] [Level 10]
[Machine / Fusion / Effect]
[ATK: 2000] [DEF: 2000]
["Cyber Dark" Effect Monsters x5]
Five Cyber Dark bodies, combining the bones of Keel, the horn of Horn, and the bladed wings of Edge, assembled and Fusion Summoned before Kaiser in a mass of dark machine-dragon that dwarfed anything Amano had seen this side of a full-ATK Chimeratech.
"Iron Cage Dragon - Cyber Dark Nether Dragon's effect activates!"
[Effect 1: When this card is Special Summoned: target 1 Dragon or Machine monster in your GY; equip it to this card. Effect 2: This card gains ATK equal to the ATK of the monster equipped to it by its own effect.]
"I equip Cyber Dark Cannon from my Graveyard, gaining 1600 ATK!"
Iron Cage Dragon dragged the Graveyard card out and locked it into the iron grip of its mechanical claws as an equipped Spell.
[Iron Cage Dragon - Cyber Dark Nether Dragon] [ATK: 2000 to 3600]
Shio: "Its ATK just passed Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
She had not said anything when Chimeratech Overdragon hit 16000. Apparently 16000 was so far past Blue-Eyes that the comparison did not even occur to her.
"I also activate two copies of Equip Spell: Cyber Roar, equipping both to Cyber Dragon Core!"
[Cyber Roar: Equip only to a "Cyber" monster. The equipped monster gains 300 ATK. If the equipped monster is a "Cyber Dragon," draw 1 card when this card is equipped.]
"Because Cyber Dragon Core is treated as 'Cyber Dragon' on the field, I draw 2 cards!"
The intent behind equipping an ATK-boosting card to a Defense Position monster was not simply drawing two cards. There was something more specific Kaiser was working toward.
Iron Cage Dragon - Cyber Dark Nether Dragon's effect:
[When your opponent activates a Spell, Trap, or monster effect: you can send 1 Equip Card you control to the GY; negate that activation and destroy it.]
Each Equip Card on Kaiser's field functioned as a single-use negate for any card effect. Three Equip Cards on field: three negations available.
First turn, three negates, and a 16000 ATK monster sitting across the field.
Even for a GX-era duelist, this was not a standard level of output. Was this what Kaiser Ryo operating at full capacity actually looked like?
"I set two cards face-down. Turn end!"
Kaiser's first turn concluded, and Tsukiyu Yukishiro applauded from behind him. "As expected of Ryo-sama. Unstoppable going second, and now this on first turn as well!"
Nanki'in Yukihime pressed one finger to her pale cheek, her expression thoughtful. "No wonder our professional dojo masters were losing so badly. Kaiser Ryo, that is genuinely top-tier ability. Even measured against active professional duelists, he would rank near the top."
Coming from a former professional duelist herself, that assessment carried weight.
"You know, young man," Yukihime continued, raising her folding fan, "would you have any interest in joining the Nanki'in side of things? The terms would certainly be more favorable than whatever the Tsukiyu family is offering."
Was she seriously trying to poach him mid-duel?
"No." Kaiser's answer was immediate and flat.
"Rejected. Cleanly. Well then, it's all yours, Rei-sama."
Please do not call me that, Amano thought.
"Kaiser: how are you feeling right now?" Even setting the deck and the ATK values aside, Amano had asked because of the back-side Cyber Dark strategy specifically.
Kaiser's heart condition had not only been the product of underground dueling. The back-side Cyber Dark stream had a reputation among those who had used it: drawing cards from that deck felt like running current through the body. A deck that physically consumed the user's life to operate was why the full version had been sealed away in the anime.
"My body is fine. I appreciate the concern. Now come at me, Amano!"
"Then I'm coming! My turn. Draw!"
Amano drew his opening card. Full field, three negates waiting: he needed to work through that first.
So the first Quick-Play Spell he launched into the field from his hand was not a monster. It was not a Fusion Card.
"Quick-Play Spell: De-Fusion, activate!"
Behind him, Yukihime raised an eyebrow. "De-Fusion right out of the gate? That is an unusual opening."
Most people hearing De-Fusion thought about using it on their own Fusion Monsters: splitting one back into its components, usually to set up a Normal Summon or return Neos to hand. Its application here was different.
De-Fusion could target the opponent's Fusion Monster too.
"Kaiser: I'm targeting your Iron Cage Dragon - Cyber Dark Nether Dragon for De-Fusion!"
The anime-era version of De-Fusion, when applied to an opponent's Fusion Monster, would return the materials from the opponent's Graveyard to the field. But Iron Cage Dragon's Fusion Materials had not gone to the Graveyard: they had been banished by Overload Fusion. With no materials to return, De-Fusion targeting Iron Cage Dragon would simply send it back to the Extra Deck with nothing remaining.
Kaiser was not about to let that happen.
"Iron Cage Dragon - Cyber Dark Nether Dragon's effect: I send Equip Card Cyber Dark Cannon from my field to the Graveyard to negate De-Fusion and destroy it!"
The effect that had been building toward a layered steel fortress dissolved the De-Fusion before it could resolve. The first negate fired, and Kaiser drew one card from Cyber Dark Cannon's leaving-the-field bonus.
The play had done exactly what Amano intended it to do.
"Good enough." Amano looked at the cards remaining in his hand.
Anyone watching could see it: De-Fusion had been a prompt, sent to force out one negate. Amano had not announced he was going after all three. Sometimes coaxing out just the one was enough.
"Your turn now!"
Amano raised the next card in his hand, and under the red light of the fading sun, the massive crimson blade that fell from the sky like a divine judgment was something that belonged to a different register of power entirely.
The dragon-cry split the last of the evening light and a great red sword descended from above, crashing into Iron Cage Dragon - Cyber Dark Nether Dragon with enough force to shatter the machine body apart.
"I Special Summon Kurigalzu using its own effect!"
[This card cannot be Normal Summoned. It can only be Special Summoned by Releasing all face-up monsters that activated their effects in this turn, on either field.]
The monster that had activated its effect this turn was the Iron Cage Dragon that Kurigalzu's great sword had just reduced to fragments.
"As flames become the dragon, burn bright with the sword of the immovable wisdom king!"
[Iron Cage Dragon - Cyber Dark Nether Dragon, Released]
Trailing burning flame, a figure drifted into position in front of Amano: bare feet, immaculate and floating. One hand held the enormous sword it had used to strike down the machine dragon. In the sunset light, a small pale-haired girl with a massive sword in one hand and embers at her heels made for a picture that was both visually tranquil and genuinely unsettling.
[Kurigalzu] [Level 1 / FIRE]
[Angel / Special Summon / Effect]
[ATK: 1500] [DEF: 1500]
"Kurigalzu's ATK increases by 1500 for each monster Released to Special Summon it!"
[Kurigalzu] [ATK: 1500 to 3000]
She looked like a Level 1 on paper. The moment she hit the field she had the ATK of a Blue-Eyes.
"Using Normal Monsters to take down Cyber Dark Nether Dragon." Kaiser's brow tightened. He had not expected his three negates to be circumvented this cleanly. "You've grown stronger since the Academy Festival, Amano!"
New was a relative term. Kurigalzu had made a prior appearance in the Chronicle, so by the internal timeline she was not a new card. But from Kaiser's perspective as someone who had watched the GX-era version of Amano duel, none of what Eden had added to his arsenal was something he would have seen before.
Eden had given Kaiser a body that could fight at its peak. It had given Amano something different: power that the version of him from three thousand years ago had never possessed.
With the negation threat gone, Amano could act freely.
"Spell Card: Pot of Greed, activate! Draw 2 cards."
One thrown in on behalf of Professor Chronos, in spirit.
Two cards added to hand. Amano now held the same card Kaiser had opened with.
"Equip Spell: Future Fusion, activate!"
Since we're matching energy:
The reaction from everyone watching was immediate, because the motion that followed was identical to what Kaiser had done one turn ago: Amano pulled his Deck from the Duel Disk and released every card into the air above the courtyard.
"I will fuse every Normal Monster in my Deck!"
The same number of Fusion Materials as Kaiser's opening play. Twenty cards catching the light of the dying sun.
"I Fuse Gem Dragon - Imperial Topaz Dragon together with the 19 Normal Monsters in my Deck!"
"The ultimate Fusion of Normal Monsters, let the roaring of countless dragon veins resonate! Raw stone conceals the brilliance of kings!"
"Carve victory into the sunset!"
"Fusion Summon! Gem Dragon - Underground Spessartine Dragon!"
[Gem Dragon - Underground Spessartine Dragon] [Level 8 / EARTH]
[Dragon / Fusion / Effect]
[ATK: 1600] [DEF: 0]
["Gem Dragon" monster + 1 or more Normal Monsters]
[This card's ATK increases by 1000 for each Normal Monster used as Fusion Material for its Summon.]
From the fractured earth came the Gem Dragon's Fusion form, its body born of the same geological force as Spessartine gemstone, scaled in earth tones and radiating raw heat, rising to a scale that matched the mechanical fortress of Chimeratech Overdragon across the field.
The difference between them lay in one detail: Chimeratech Overdragon gained 800 ATK per Fusion Material. Spessartine Dragon gained 1000 per Normal Monster.
Amano raised his hand. "Gem Dragon - Underground Spessartine Dragon's effect: each Normal Monster used as Fusion Material increases its ATK by 1000! I used 19 Normal Monsters. ATK increase: 19000!"
[Gem Dragon - Underground Spessartine Dragon] [ATK: 1600 to 20600]
"20000 ATK?!"
The collective reaction from the courtyard was unanimous.
This was the shape the duel had taken: Kaiser opened by Fusing every Machine in his Deck for a 16000 ATK Chimeratech Overdragon, and Amano's answer was to Fuse every Normal Monster in his Deck and push the counter to 20600.
Nanki'in Yukihime lowered her fan just far enough for the expression behind it to be visible, genuine surprise reaching her eyes for the first time this duel. "He really is something, isn't he. No wonder Sakuya fell for him."
This was, if memory served, the first time Yukihime had watched Amano duel in person.
Though everyone else present, people who had seen Amano duel before, was also staring.
At 20600 ATK, Spessartine Dragon was already enough to run through Chimeratech Overdragon in a direct trade and still have 4600 left over. Kaiser's full 4000 LP could not survive the math.
And Spessartine Dragon carried a second effect, the same one that had shut down The Chaotic Phantasmal Sacred Beasts:
[While this card is in the Monster Zone: negate the effects of face-up monsters your opponent controls whose Level, Rank, or Link Rating is equal to or less than the number of Normal Monsters on your field and in your GY.]
With 19 Normal Monsters in the Graveyard, every monster Kaiser controlled up to Level 19 had its effects negated the moment Spessartine Dragon hit the field.
In an ordinary duel, getting any monster to exceed Level 19 was not something a player would expect to need.
The one limitation was Future Fusion's restriction: the monster it Summoned could not attack the turn it arrived. For Kaiser going first, that was irrelevant. For Amano going second, it was real.
"But the Fusion is not finished!" Amano had another Spell Card ready. "Spell Card: Parallel World Fusion, activate!"
[Parallel World Fusion: Banish, from your field or GY, the Fusion Materials listed on a Spellcaster Fusion Monster, then Fusion Summon that Monster from your Extra Deck.]
The Spellcaster-Type equivalent of Dragon's Mirror: Fusion Summon using banished materials from the field or Graveyard. Amano's only available Spellcaster Fusion was Quintet Magician, which had arrived in his Extra Deck through the previous Chronicle run.
Tsukiyu Yukishiro's eyes sharpened. "He's mirroring Ryo-sama's entire sequence!"
After breaking through Iron Cage Dragon's negations, Amano had executed nearly the same line Kaiser had just run. Future Fusion to send the entire Deck. Then a second Fusion from the Graveyard using banished materials.
The parallel was not coincidence.
But in the same moment Amano activated Parallel World Fusion, Kaiser chained from his face-down Zone.
"I chain Continuous Trap: Cycle of the World!"
[Cycle of the World: Once per turn: declare 1 monster Type; this turn, all monsters in both players' GYs become that Type.]
The card's effect for monster Types was the equivalent of DNA Surgery applied to the Graveyard: Kaiser was about to change the Type of every monster in both Graveyards to block Quintet Magician's Fusion requirement.
Quintet Magician required five Spellcaster-Type monsters. If all Graveyard monsters became a different Type, the Summon was stopped cold.
"I declare: Divine Beast!"
Specifically the rarest, most narrowly applicable monster Type available. Changing everything in both Graveyards to Divine Beast made it effectively impossible for either player to Fusion Summon a Spellcaster using Graveyard material, because nobody was working with Divine Beasts.
Even if Amano tried another Spellcaster Fusion with different materials, any Type Kaiser declared would block it. Cycle of the World existed for exactly this purpose, and Kaiser had saved it as a dedicated counter to Parallel World Fusion.
The Fusion stalled. Parallel World Fusion fizzled without resolving.
"Battle Phase!" Amano moved forward. Future Fusion's restriction only applied to Spessartine Dragon. Kurigalzu, who had entered the field under her own Special Summon condition, had no such limitation.
"Kurigalzu, attack Cyber Dragon Core!"
" 'Three Thousand Worlds: Karmic Flame Dragon Blade Slash'!"
Kurigalzu's 3000 ATK sword came down on Kaiser's Defense Position monster and shattered it outright, taking the equipped Cyber Roar along with it into the Graveyard.
[Cyber Dragon Core, destroyed]
"I set one card face-down. Turn end"
"Before your turn ends: I activate a Quick-Play Spell!" Kaiser flipped his last face-down.
"Quick-Play Spell: Cyber Network!"
[Cyber Network: Target 1 Fusion Monster you control that is a Machine monster; until the End Phase of this turn, banish it. When the banished monster returns to the field, double its ATK. During your next Standby Phase, destroy the targeted Fusion Monster.]
"I banish my Chimeratech Overdragon before your turn ends! It returns the instant your turn ends!"
The massive form of Chimeratech Overdragon blinked out of the field as Amano declared End Phase, and in the same breath it blinked back, carried on the electronic shimmer of Cyber Network's restoration effect.
At the moment of return, the ATK calculation updated.
The setting sun caught Chimeratech Overdragon's twenty heads as they re-emerged.
[Chimeratech Overdragon] [ATK: 32000]
ATK inflation was a Cyber Dragon player's art form.