The massive body of Starving Venom Fusion Dragon coiled through nearly half the duel arena, unquestionably elevating the so-called "trash" Deck to an entirely new dimension.
"He fused just by using DARK monsters on the field?! Does the database even have a Fusion Monster like this?"
The elite researchers of KaibaCorp frantically typed the name Starving Venom Fusion Dragon into their system.
Naturally—
Nothing.
This card did not exist in this era.
The mysterious Duelist known as Miles not only used Xyz Summons beyond this time period… his Fusion Summons also brought forth monsters far ahead of their era.
At this point, even if Miles failed to defeat the Duel King AI, someone of this caliber would be easy to recommend to Seto Kaiba.
And perhaps, by bringing someone like him to Kaiba, they might even earn a bit of credit; maybe even a promotion.
"Chi… what kind of insane luck do you have?" Ether muttered, impressed.
If Chi could bump into someone like this just by being late to work—
KaibaCorp might deploy black-suited bodyguards to deliberately make sure she was late every day, just to see who else she'd run into.
"It's the ancestor's card!"
The moment Starving Venom Fusion Dragon appeared, Dark Aisha felt a surge of bloodline resonance, her body trembling with excitement.
"You can do it! Fight with Starving Venom Fusion Dragon, Miles!"
"I'm coming for you, Yugi!"
Miles slammed the Fusion Dragon's card onto his Duel Disk, standing confidently at the center of the spiraling dark dragon's aura.
"When Starving Venom Fusion Dragon is Fusion Summoned using only monsters on the field—its effect activates!"
[This card can only activate this effect the turn it was Fusion Summoned using only monsters on the field. It gains Attack equal to the total Attack of all Special Summoned monsters your opponent controls, until the end of this turn.]
Currently, Yugi Muto had only one Special Summoned monster.
"Absorb the Attack of Dark Magician Girl—Pitch-Black Venom Fang!"
The venomous fangs sliced past Dark Magician Girl's voluptuous body in an instant.
[Starving Venom Fusion Dragon, ATK: 2800 → 4800]
As its Attack was drained, Dark Magician Girl's knees weakened—her face flushed, her breathing ragged as she collapsed limply to the ground.
"4800 Attack?!" The entire room gasped.
In an era where massive Attack boosts were not common, fusing just two DARK monsters to reach this level was unbelievable.
"This is even stronger than Kaiba's Fusion ace—Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"
At this point in history, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon wasn't a measurement of raw power: it was the benchmark of ultimate strength.
"It's our turn to attack—Starving Venom Fusion Dragon!"
With Attack exceeding even Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Miles declared the Battle Phase.
The venomous fangs covered in obsidian light aimed once again at the weakened Dark Magician Girl.
Not because Miles deliberately targeted the cute one—but because the other monsters on Yugi's field were unattackable.
Marshmallon couldn't be destroyed by battle.
Chocolate Magician Girl would redirect the attack and halve the attacker's Attack.
By comparison, Dark Magician Girl was the only viable target.
"Pierce through—Savage Venom Fang!"
4800 Attack vs. 2000 Attack. The resulting damage wouldn't defeat the Duel King AI outright, but it would reverse the Life Points significantly.
Achieving an LP reversal against the Duel King's AI was itself a remarkable feat.
"What an interesting card, Miles-kun!"
Facing the terrifying, poisonous dragon rushing at his monster, Yugi's AI maintained a calm and cheerful smile.
"So strong. Truly incredibly strong!"
Praise from Yugi Muto should never feel comforting.
If Yugi said you were strong—then something had definitely gone terribly wrong.
"Since this Fusion Dragon was born from Dark Magician Girl and Kuriboh, then I'll use the supporting power between Magician Girls to strike back!"
Swinging his arm toward the field, Yugi flipped his face-down Trap.
"I'll gather new Magician power with this card—Trap Card, Dimension Reflector!"
[Banish 2 monsters you control; target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls. Special Summon this card as a monster (Spellcaster/DARK/Level 4/ATK/DEF ?). Its ATK/DEF become equal to the targeted monster's ATK. This card is also still treated as a Trap Card.]
"I banish Dark Magician Girl and Chocolate Magician Girl—and activate Dimensiona Reflector!"
A massive circular mirror materialized on Yugi's field.
The two Magician Girls placed their delicate fingertips against the translucent surface, pouring all their magic into it.
The activated mirror reflected not only their figures—but the horrifying form of Starving Venom Fusion Dragon charging straight toward it.
"Magician Girl power reflected through the mirror—become a new Spellcaster monster!"
Three powers combined—not quite a Fusion, but something like one.
The creature born from Dimension Reflector possessed Attack and Defense equal to Starving Venom Fusion Dragon's—4800.
Its appearance resembled Dark Magician Girl possessed by venomous energy—her body wrapped in dark purple dragon-like armor, revealing even more pale skin than usual. Her pure cuteness now carried a seductive, wicked charm.
[Dimension Reflector, ATK: 4800]
Miles narrowed his eyes. "Its Attack became the same as Starving Venom Fusion Dragon's?"
"And that's not all!" Yugi pointed to the sky, where the venom-powered Magician Girl gathered dark magical energy. "Dimension Reflector has another effect!"
[②: When this card is Special Summoned by its own effect: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to this card's Attack.]
"I'll inflict 4800 damage, the full attack power, directly to you, Miles! Take this—Mirror Counter Burst!"
A perfectly reflected attack—one that would instantly kill the Duel.
Indeed, the moment Yugi says "you're strong," the next moment is usually the moment you die.
"A duel like this won't bring out any smiles, Duel King!"
Miles slammed open his own Set card.
"Trap Card—Pikeru's Circle of Enchantment!"
[Until the end of this turn, all effect damage you take becomes 0.]
A Trap that nullified all effect damage—useless in most duels, but absolutely essential against Yugi Muto.
"Let's keep countering magic with magic!"
Unlike the venomous Magician Girl blasting Miles from above, a pure white-clad Magician—Pikeru—spread a protective barrier, nullifying the 4800 reflected damage.
"Since Pikeru's Circle of Enchantment activated in the chain—any effect damage I take this turn becomes 0!"
The tension in the simulation chamber was so intense that everyone forgot to breathe.
Traps layered over traps, each threatening to decide the Duel.
And despite everything… Miles did not seem to be at a disadvantage against the Duel King Yugi Muto.
"What an incredible duel…"
Even for KaibaCorp's top elites, this duel felt a step beyond their era.
Right now, both Miles and Yugi Muto each had a monster with 4800 Attack on the field.
If Miles chose to keep attacking, Starving Venom Fusion Dragon and Yugi's 4800-ATK Dimension Reflector Spellcaster would crash and be destroyed together.
"I end my Battle Phase."
Just like Yugi in the previous turn, when he chose not to trade Dark Magician Girl, Miles made the same decision.
He left both 4800-ATK monsters on the field.
Starving Venom Fusion Dragon was Miles's strongest and final boss monster. If he let it die together with the opposing monster, his field would be left empty—and he'd be in much greater danger.
"I Set two cards and end my turn!"
After setting two cards, Miles was left with only a single card in hand.
"At the end of the turn, Starving Venom Fusion Dragon's Attack-boosting effect wears off."
[Starving Venom Fusion Dragon, ATK: 4800 → 2800]
The absorbed Attack only lasted for one turn. Starving Venom returned to its original 2800 Attack.
However, its drop in Attack did nothing to change Dimension Reflector's power.
The Dimension Reflector Spellcaster on Yugi's field had its stat line locked the moment it appeared—remaining at 4800 Attack.
"Why?" Chi asked in surprise. "If its Attack was going to drop anyway, why not choose to trade and go down together?"
The KaibaCorp staff were equally confused.
At its peak, Starving Venom Fusion Dragon could have forced a mutual destruction. Now, with its Attack reduced, it couldn't even do that.
"Because this is the only way to play it."
Miles needed Starving Venom's "last words" effect to shield him from Yugi's next wave of offense.
If everything went as planned, it could even overturn the duel entirely.
[If this Fusion Summoned card is destroyed: Destroy all Special Summoned monsters your opponent controls, then inflict damage to your opponent equal to the total Attack of those destroyed monsters.]
Starving Venom Fusion Dragon's parting shot—destroying all Special Summoned monsters on the opponent's field.
With its Attack reduced, Yugi could now use the 4800-ATK Dimension Reflector Spellcaster to destroy the 2800-ATK Starving Venom in battle.
The 2000 damage would leave Miles at the edge of defeat—2200 LP down to just 200.
But if Dimension Reflector were destroyed by Starving Venom's last words, its 4800 Attack would be turned into burn damage Yugi couldn't survive.
"You've been tripping me up this whole time, Yuu↑gi↓! So let me return the favor for once!"
Miles never expected he'd one day get the chance to spring a trap on the Duel King himself.
As a Duelist, that alone was like unlocking a life achievement.
"My turn—draw!"
Yugi's virtual image maintained its composed, enigmatic smile. Whether the AI understood Miles's plan was anyone's guess.
Still, since KaibaCorp's systems had no data on Starving Venom Fusion Dragon, Miles was fairly confident in his odds.
"I activate my Trap—Back to the Front!"
Yugi's last Set Trap wasn't another heavy blow like Compulsory Evacuation Device or Dimension Reflector.
[Target 1 monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon it in Defense Position.]
"I target Lemon Magician Girl in my Graveyard and Special Summon her in Defense Position!"
With his two Magician Girls banished, Lemon Magician Girl was the only monster in Yugi's Graveyard that could be revived by Back to the Front.
[Lemon Magician Girl, DEF: 800]
The number of Special Summoned monsters on Yugi's field increased—boosting the potential payoff of Starving Venom's last-words effect.
And yet, choosing this timing to revive Lemon Magician Girl made Miles feel that something was off.
Would a methodical AI like this really make such a seemingly pointless move?
"Careful. It's coming," Ether said, her expression turning grim.
"What's coming?" Kaima asked blankly.
"One of the Duel King's strongest monsters. The incarnation of total destruction—Gandora the Dragon of Destruction."
"Gandora the Dragon of Destruction?"
Kaima and Dark Aisha had never seen that card before.
Right now, that very card was being raised high in Yugi's hand.
"I Tribute Lemon Magician Girl and Marshmallon to Tribute Summon! I'll call forth the dragon that obliterates everything—wiping the entire field clean!"
Reviving Lemon Magician Girl at that odd moment had been preparation for the Tribute Summon.
"Wait… what's with this data spike?"
The bearded researcher monitoring the duel stared at the unfamiliar readings on the screen in shock.
"This isn't the regular Gandora the Dragon of Destruction! The Duel King's Deck data shouldn't even have this card! What on earth is happening?"
"Roar and descend—Gandora-X the Dragon of Demolition!"
...
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