"At last, I activate the effect of Tearlaments Kitkallos! If this card is sent to the Graveyard by card effect, I can send the top 5 cards of my Deck to the Graveyard! By that effect, I send the top 5 cards of my Deck to the Graveyard!"
After sending the cards, Yusaku swept a glance over his Graveyard.
"This time, none of the cards I sent there have effects I can activate."
At that, he paused. His eyes fell on Sousuke Kanzaki's dark expression, and a teasing trace of mockery entered his voice.
"But the monsters on my field still do."
Then he shouted sharply:
"I activate the effect of Tellarknight Ptolemaeus! I chain the effect of Albion the Branded Dragon!"
"First, the effect of Albion the Branded Dragon!"
Yusaku's voice rang clearly across the entire arena.
"If this card is Fusion Summoned, I can discard 1 card, then shuffle monsters from my field, Graveyard, or banished zone back into the Deck as Fusion Material, and Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster with Level 8 or lower, except Albion the Branded Dragon!"
With a sweep of his hand, Yusaku sent one card from his hand to the Graveyard in one clean motion.
"I activate that effect - I use Shaddoll Hedgehog and Shaddoll Squamata in my Graveyard as Fusion Material and return them to the Deck!"
"Fusion Summon! Level 5 - El Shaddoll Winda!"
The instant his words fell, the two Shaddoll monsters turned into two blue-green streams of light and flew into the Fusion vortex above.
A moment later, a cute girl with long teal hair tied in a high ponytail stepped slowly out of the vortex, a staff in her hand. Behind her followed a gigantic dragon-like machine made of mechanical parts. Together, the girl and the dragon radiated a pressure unlike anything else on the field.
[El Shaddoll Winda]
[Level 5 / Spellcaster / Fusion / Effect]
[ATK: 2200]
"And finally, the effect of Tellarknight Ptolemaeus!"
Yusaku's voice rose suddenly, carrying a force powerful enough to crack stone, echoing through the entire arena.
"I detach 3 materials!"
[Tellarknight Ptolemaeus]
[Materials: 3 → 0]
"Then I Special Summon, as an Xyz Summon, 1 non-'Number' Xyz Monster from my Extra Deck that is 1 Rank higher than this card by placing it on top of this card!"
With that, Yusaku pulled a card from his Extra Deck and slammed it onto his Duel Disk, his voice surging with unstoppable momentum.
"By Tellarknight Ptolemaeus's effect, I stack an Xyz Monster on top of it!"
"Descend! Evil god of destruction - Outer Entity Azathot!!!"
The moment those words fell, Tellarknight Ptolemaeus's form burst apart into three brilliant streams of starlight and shot toward the center of the field.
In the next instant, a twisted, indescribable monster slowly emerged from within that starlight. Its body seemed to be made from endless masses of black nebulae, and a suffocating pressure radiated from it, as though it could devour all light in existence.
[Outer Entity Azathot]
[Rank 5 / Xyz / Fiend / Effect]
[ATK: 2400]
The moment Outer Entity Azathot fully stabilized on the field, Yusaku's voice rang through the arena once more, carrying the authority of absolute finality.
"On the turn this card is Xyz Summoned, my opponent cannot activate monster effects! This effect applies the moment it appears. It does not start a chain!"
The instant his words ended, Outer Entity Azathot let out a roar that seemed to shake the universe itself. An invisible domain spread outward from it and swept across the whole field. It felt as though darkness had swallowed the entire arena, and the suffocating pressure left everyone present holding their breath.
Sousuke's pupils shrank to pinpoints. He stared at the Outer Entity Azathot on Yusaku's field in utter disbelief, his body trembling uncontrollably.
After summoning Outer Entity Azathot, Yusaku slowly lifted his eyes and looked at the pale-faced Sousuke.
"My effects are resolved. Your move. Outer Entity Azathot's effect is already active, so this turn, you cannot activate any monster effects..."
At that, he paused, a faint smile curving at the corner of his lips.
"Oh, right. I almost forgot to tell you. With El Shaddoll Winda on the field, this turn, you can only Special Summon once."
Yusaku's voice echoed across the stadium, clear enough for every single person to hear.
The duelists who had faced Yusaku before instinctively swallowed hard. Fear flickered across their faces as they muttered in low voices.
"Why does this look so familiar?"
"So this is his real strength? When he dueled us before... he was actually holding back..."
At that moment, the members of Fusion Dimension, along with the Genius Academy students, had all fallen into silence. Their eyes, fixed on Yusaku, were filled with shock and fear.
Every single Monster Zone on Yusaku's field was occupied.
And those monsters were not just there for show. They could keep extending the field while also locking down Sousuke's monster effects and limiting his Special Summons.
Meanwhile, Sousuke's own field was still completely empty. Not a single monster.
If this had been Yusaku's turn, that would have been one thing.
But this was Sousuke Kanzaki's turn.
And yet Yusaku had filled his entire field during the opponent's turn, established a double lock, and left his opponent completely unable to move. Not only that, his hand had only gone from five cards to three through the entire process.
All of it. Every bit of it.
Because Sousuke Kanzaki had opened the duel by activating Hand Destruction.
Staring at the packed field of monsters in front of him, Sousuke fell into a deathly silence.
Under the double lock, he could not even begin to build a field. He could not even summon a single monster.
After staring at his hand for a long moment, he finally drew out three cards and slapped them onto his Duel Disk, his voice strained with resignation.
"I set 2 Spell/Trap Cards, then Set 1 monster! And... end my turn!"
With a crisp hum, three face-down cards appeared on Sousuke's field at the same time.
"Then it's my turn. Draw!"
The moment Yusaku spoke, he drew a card from the top of his Deck and added it to his hand.
But no sooner had he closed his fingers around it than Sousuke suddenly jerked his head up, madness flashing in his eyes as he rasped out:
"At the end of your Draw Phase, I flip my set card and activate the Trap Card Threatening Roar!"
As soon as the words fell, one of the cards at Sousuke's feet flipped face-up and emitted a faint light.
"Threatening Roar, huh?" Yusaku glanced at the card and smiled in sudden understanding.
"Then I chain your effect with Grapha, Dragon Overlord of Dark World's effect! I change the effect of your activated card into 'Your opponent discards 1 card from their hand'!"
"That's exactly what I was waiting for!"
The moment he heard that, Sousuke burst into manic laughter, his voice tinged with hysteria, then shouted again:
"I chain your effect by flipping my other set card! I pay 1500 LP and activate the Counter Trap Solemn Warning! Negate the effect of your Grapha, Dragon Overlord of Dark World, and destroy it!"
[Sousuke Kanzaki LP 8000 → 6500]
As the card resolved, the phantom image of a white-bearded old man in loose robes slowly rose from the ground, an aura of holy authority surrounding him.
The instant he activated it, Sousuke laughed wildly.
"Counter Traps can only be chained by Counter Traps! Yusaku! No matter how strong your monsters are, they can't chain to a Counter Trap! Which means my Threatening Roar is guaranteed to resolve!"
"Oh? Is that so?"
Yusaku glanced at him, the smile on his lips deepening. Then he snapped his fingers lightly. The crisp sound rang with startling clarity in the silent duel arena.
The moment the snap sounded, one of the set cards at Yusaku's feet flipped over, bursting with dazzling light.
"Then I chain your effect and activate the Counter Trap Tearlaments Cryme!"
The instant Sousuke saw the Counter Trap rise up at Yusaku's feet, his pupils contracted violently. The smile on his face froze, and he blurted out:
"Last turn, you clearly said you set a Trap Card. How did it suddenly become a Counter Trap?!"
"That's right. I did set a Trap Card." Yusaku looked at him, amusement flickering in his eyes. "A Counter Trap is still a Trap Card. So there was nothing wrong with what I said."
The realization hit Sousuke instantly. His face turned livid green, and he shouted in furious frustration:
"You tricked me!"
"That's called warfare."
Yusaku's tone remained even as he called out the effect.
"Tearlaments Cryme's effect: If I control a 'Tearlaments' monster, when a monster effect or Spell/Trap Card is activated, I can negate that activation, shuffle that card back into the Deck, then send 1 monster from my hand or Graveyard to the Graveyard."
"I control Tearlaments Rulkallos, so I fully meet the activation condition! Therefore, I negate your Solemn Warning and return it to your Deck! Then I send Tearlaments Havnis from my hand to the Graveyard!"
In the instant his words fell, a clear blue light shot out from the trap standing before Yusaku and struck the phantom white-bearded elder in front of Sousuke, shattering it instantly into a streak of light that flew back into Sousuke's Deck.
"Next, since your Solemn Warning's effect has been negated, my Grapha, Dragon Overlord of Dark World resolves successfully! The effect of your Threatening Roar becomes 'I discard 1 card from my hand'!"
With that, Yusaku sent one card from his hand to the Graveyard in a clean, decisive motion.
After doing so, he looked at the pale-faced Sousuke and smiled with the confidence of victory already in hand.
"At this moment, I activate the effect of Tearlaments Havnis, which I just sent to the Graveyard!"
"I return it, the Tearlaments Rulkallos on my field, and Tearlaments Reinoheart in my hand to the Deck as Fusion Material!"
"Fusion Summon! Level 9 - Tearlaments Kaleido-Heart!"
At once, thick black mist erupted above the duel field. Within it, a tall figure slowly emerged, a blood-red whip in hand.
[Tearlaments Kaleido-Heart]
[Level 9 / Fiend / Fusion / Effect]
[ATK: 3000]
The moment Kaleido-Heart hit the field, Yusaku immediately shouted again:
"I activate Tearlaments Kaleido-Heart's effect! If this card is Special Summoned, or if an Aqua monster is sent to my Graveyard by card effect while it is on the field, I can target 1 card my opponent controls and shuffle it back into the Deck!"
Yusaku raised his hand and pointed straight at one of Sousuke's set cards, his voice absolutely decisive.
"I choose the set monster on your field! Return it to the Deck!"
At that command, Kaleido-Heart lashed out with the blood-red whip in its hand. The whip cracked through the air and struck Sousuke's face-down card with brutal force.
In an instant, the face-down card dissolved into countless fragments of light and vanished like bubbles in the air, taking Sousuke's final hope with it.
Once that set card had been sent back to the Deck, Yusaku gave Sousuke no further chance at all and immediately declared his attacks.
Just the combined ATK of Tearlaments Kaleido-Heart, Grapha, Dragon Overlord of Dark World, and Albion the Branded Dragon already exceeded 8000.
"First, Tearlaments Kaleido-Heart attacks directly!"
[Sousuke Kanzaki LP 6500 → 3500]
"Next, Albion the Branded Dragon attacks directly!"
[Sousuke Kanzaki LP 3500 → 1000]
"And finally, Grapha, Dragon Overlord of Dark World attacks! End it all!"
At Yusaku's command, the black dragon threw back its head and unleashed a blazing breath attack from its jaws. Purple lightning danced within the inferno, and the torrent carried enough power to destroy heaven and earth as it swept across Sousuke's field.
With a thunderous explosion, the dragon breath engulfed Sousuke instantly. Towering flames shot into the sky, and the impact hurled him violently backward before he crashed hard onto the ground.
"Gahhhhhhhh!!!"
After that shrill scream, the Duel Disk gave a crisp notification chime.
[Sousuke Kanzaki LP 1000 → 0]
Once the duel was over, Yusaku slowly walked toward Sousuke, who was struggling to push himself up off the ground. His tone was calm, but it carried an authority that allowed no defiance.
"You remember our agreement before the duel started. I don't need to remind you, do I?"
Sousuke's face shifted between green and white. He glared at Yusaku, let out a cold snort, yanked the Deck from his Duel Disk, and hurled it at him.
"Don't think beating me means you can stop our invasion! I'm only the advance force! There'll be plenty more coming after me, and people far stronger than I am will arrive here soon enough!"
With that, he struggled to his feet and turned toward the giant mech in the distance, the one that resembled an ancient mechanical demon god.
Just before climbing into it, he turned back and sneered at Yusaku.
"When that time comes, I'd like to see how many of them you can stop! This world will be completely swallowed by Lord Zarc's power!"
"I'm really looking forward to seeing the look on your face when that happens."
(End of Chapter)
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