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Big Big Wolf sprinted out of the junkyard and scrambled to the base of the mech.
The cockpit hatch on the chest plate hung open, waiting for him. Despite the machine standing over sixteen feet tall, the wolf scaled it in two quick leaps and dropped into the pilot seat.
At the same moment — music.
A stirring, brass-heavy orchestral theme began to play.
Everyone froze.
Where was that coming from?
After looking around, the spectators finally spotted a small speaker sitting next to Ethan's red crystal.
Ethan had deployed the BGM Machine right after giving Big Big Wolf the order to move out.
The track playing was the main theme from Pacific Rim.
Paired with the scene of a cartoon wolf climbing into a sixteen-foot mech built from scrap metal, Ethan silently gave himself a thumbs-up.
Nailed it.
While everyone was still processing the music, Angemon had already broken free of the Sandstorm Mantis's pressure. Big Big Wolf advanced in his mech, closing the gap.
"Did you... make a card specifically to play music?" Ryan's bewildered voice came through the open mic.
Ethan switched his mic on. "How is it? Hype, right?"
As they talked, Big Big Wolf's mech clashed with the mantis.
The two exchanged several blows. Neither gained the upper hand.
On the other side, Angemon was keeping the Abyssal Troll busy — circling, firing golden blasts, preventing it from joining the mantis fight.
The Sandstorm Mantis tried to disengage and help the troll, but Big Big Wolf cut off every angle, forcing it back into the one-on-one.
Accompanied by the swelling Pacific Rim theme, the scene was genuinely spectacular.
But Ryan was a smart fighter. He still had a hundred extra Psionic Energy — unspent from a previous round — and he used it now.
A spell card. A hundred Psionic. Aimed directly at the mech's joint as Big Big Wolf was mid-swing.
The previously smooth-moving mech stuttered. One of its arms jerked at an awkward angle.
The Sandstorm Mantis seized the opening. One scythe came down in a blur of motion — and the mech's right arm was severed clean off. It crashed to the scorched ground with a metallic clang.
The BGM stopped instantly.
Ethan wasn't about to let Pacific Rim soundtrack his opponent's highlight reel.
A few more slashes. The mech buckled. Sparks erupted from every joint. Then —
BOOM.
The mech exploded.
"I'LL DEFINITELY BE BACK!" Big Big Wolf was launched skyward by the blast, streaking across the battlefield like a shooting star before dissolving into starlight.
"I'll admit you've got some skill," Ryan said over the mic. "But you've played all your trump cards now."
Ryan knew Ethan still had 500 Psionic. But he figured there couldn't be any more powerful Tier 3 cards in that deck.
If there were, Ethan would've deployed them earlier — alongside Angemon and Big Big Wolf — and ended the match outright.
Instead, he'd wasted time setting up a speaker.
That was arrogance.
And Ryan was partially right. Ethan was a bit arrogant. Though he personally framed it as confidence in his deck.
Losing Big Big Wolf wasn't a big deal. The whole point was to test the mech's combat ceiling in a real fight.
The result? Pretty impressive, actually. Big Big Wolf was a Tier 1 card. Trading blows with a Tier 3 Purple after a few minutes of prep time was remarkable. Without that sneak spell to the joint, the mech might have held out another full minute.
One minute in a Card Master duel was one round. Surviving an extra round meant an extra opportunity.
Rest in peace, Wolfie. Your sacrifice won't be forgotten.
Ethan reached for two more cards.
No time to mourn. Next up: MagnaAngemon.
[Summon: T.K. — Tier 1, Purple]
[Summon: Digivice (Hope) — Tier 2, Blue]
He'd learned during training that Digivolution required the DigiDestined partner to be present, along with a Digivice one tier below the evolving card's rank.
Angemon was Tier 3. So the Digivice needed to be Tier 2.
The moment T.K. appeared — small, blond, wearing a green outfit with a white hat — Angemon descended and stood at his side.
"Angemon!"
"Yeah!"
The two of them faced the distant shapes of the Abyssal Troll and Sandstorm Mantis. A single glance between them. Perfect understanding.
Then the Digivice in T.K.'s hand erupted with brilliant light.
From the speaker beside the crystal, a new track began to play.
The Digimon evolution theme.
Light radiated from Angemon's body.
A voice echoed across the battlefield:
[Angemon — Digivolve to...]
"W-what's happening?" Ryan's voice cracked over the mic.
"Wait — seriously?"
"What are you doing?"
"I won't even mention the giant mech — at least that took a few minutes of tinkering. And it wasn't even that strong. We dealt with it in under a minute."
"But now — some kid shows up, and they start glowing after calling each other's names?"
"Sandstorm Mantis! Abyssal Troll! Attack — now! Interrupt whatever that is!"
Ryan's unease had tipped into panic. He ordered both summons to charge.
"You couldn't hit the angel while it was flying — but it's on the ground now! GO!"
The Sandstorm Mantis pounced. Scythes raised. It slashed at the mass of light surrounding Angemon —
An arm shot out from the glow.
It caught the mantis's scythe mid-swing.
( IMAGE HERE )
One flick — and the Sandstorm Mantis was hurled backward, tumbling across the scorched earth.
The light dissipated.
Where Angemon had stood, a new figure emerged.
[MagnaAngemon]
Taller. Eight wings instead of six, stretching wide behind him. Purple-trimmed armor over white robes. A beam blade extending from his right wrist.
And the pressure — the sheer presence — was leagues beyond what Angemon had been.
"He evolved again?" Lily spoke first from the spectator platform. She'd seen the green-clothed boy and put it together immediately.
Sophie and Jake had figured it out too. They'd watched Agumon evolve into Greymon with their own eyes two days ago.
This time it was an angel instead of a dinosaur. A different partner. A different Digivice.
And a much better soundtrack.
"W-what... what is this?" Danny stammered from across the platform. "I've never heard of a summon that can evolve."
"Hmph." Jake didn't bother explaining. "With that little knowledge, you want to compete in the Card Master Tournament? Might as well forfeit now."
"Whatever — so what if it evolved? The angel was getting destroyed by our boss's mantis a minute ago. It'll be the same this time."
"Oh yeah?" Jake pointed at the field. "Then where's the mantis?"
Danny whipped his head around.
On the field, where the Sandstorm Mantis had been — there was nothing. A golden portal had opened behind it moments ago: Heaven's Gate. The mantis had been drawn in, and when the gate closed, it dissolved into starlight.
Gone.
Danny's face went white. He knew what this meant.
The Abyssal Troll and the Sandstorm Mantis were Ryan's two strongest cards. His only Tier 3 Purples. If both went down, he had nothing left that could contest this fight.
The BGM continued — triumphant now, soaring.
T.K. looked at the remaining Abyssal Troll and raised his fist.
"MagnaAngemon — let's finish this!"
Without waiting for Ethan's command, angel and partner had already decided.
MagnaAngemon surged forward.
A Purple-grade Abyssal Troll — already wounded — was no match whatsoever. MagnaAngemon's beam blade carved through the corruption aura like it wasn't there. The holy energy purified the abyssal taint on contact.
"How..." Ryan watched his last real fighter crumble. He knew it was over.
But he couldn't accept it.
A minute ago, he'd been winning. He'd destroyed the mech. He'd wounded the angel. He had momentum.
And then a kid appeared, shouted a name, and the whole thing flipped.
How does calling someone's name make them evolve?
He didn't understand. He couldn't understand.
As MagnaAngemon bore down on the crystal, Ryan checked the sixth round that had just started. He scrambled to summon one more creature — anything to buy time.
It lasted less than five seconds before MagnaAngemon cut through it.
Starlight.
Ryan's shoulders dropped.
[Battle Ended]
PLZ THROW POWERSTONES.