"So it really was Card of Demise, but..." Yusaku glanced at the cards that had been sent to the Graveyard, a cold trace of mockery in his voice. "You won't get the chance to use them. My effects are done resolving, so you can continue your turn. That is, assuming you still have anything left to play."
The moment those words landed, Kuchiki Genya's face turned black with fury. He stared at Yusaku's Graveyard. "Transaction Rollback and Mind Crush! When did you send those two cards there?!"
Yusaku lifted his eyes and gave him a calm look. "Naturally, through monster effects. Once from A Bao A Qu, the Lightless Shadow, and once more through Phantom of Chaos copying an effect."
"You were the one who insisted on giving me the first turn, so you can't blame me for hitting hard." A faint curve touched Yusaku's lips. "Besides, I already told you. Yubel doesn't just win by stalling and forcing contact. Hand-ripping is only the most basic of its many combo lines."
At that, Kuchiki Genya let out a dark, ugly snort. He yanked the Deck from his Duel Disk and clenched it tightly in his hand, still trying to save face. "It's just one loss. That means nothing."
Before the words had even fully faded, he had already pulled out another Deck and slammed it into the Duel Disk. "Again! This time, the first turn is mine!"
As his declaration rang out, darkness as thick as ink suddenly surged up from the ground, swallowing everything below Kuchiki Genya's knees in an instant. A freezing pressure spread across the entire Duel Arena.
Kuchiki Genya let out a cold laugh. "Come on, then. Who wins and who loses is still up in the air."
Yusaku raised a brow, sounding almost casual. "You're sure you want to go first?"
"What, were you hoping to rip my hand apart again?" Kuchiki Genya looked at him with a slight curl to his lips. "Nice thought, but we already set the rules beforehand. Even the Shadow Game has acknowledged them, so there's no way you get the first turn."
"I have no interest in stealing your opening turn. I was only confirming it." Yusaku spoke evenly, then raised a hand and pulled the Deck from his Duel Disk, replacing it with another one wrapped in a faint blue glow. "If you insist on going first, then have it your way."
A crisp click rang out as the Deck finished loading.
"Duel!"
"Duel!"
[Yusaku, LP 8000]
[Kuchiki Genya, LP 8000]
"My turn first!"
Kuchiki Genya barked the words as his fingers flew across the Duel Disk, swiftly drawing his opening five cards.
The instant he looked down at them, a triumphant smile spread across his face. He raised his eyes to Yusaku, his voice full of arrogance. "Now I'll show you what a true tidal-wave combo looks like!"
Before the words had fully fallen, he slapped a card onto his Duel Disk and shouted, "I Normal Summon D/D Savant Kepler!"
A flash of black light cut across the field. A fiendish mechanical monster made of precise, interlocking machinery slowly appeared, its metallic body radiating a chilling aura.
D/D Savant Kepler
Level 1 / Fiend / Effect
ATK 0
"Kepler?" Yusaku narrowed his eyes slightly. "So you're playing D/D/D."
"Exactly!" Kuchiki Genya grinned with absolute confidence, pride dripping from every word. "This Deck is war loot I seized from the Pendulum Dimension! And now, empowered by Lord Zarc's might, it's far stronger than when its original owner ever used it! To fall before this Deck is the greatest honor you could hope for!"
"In the face of Lord Zarc's power, struggle all you like!"
He swept his hand out and barked, "I activate D/D Savant Kepler's effect! When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, I can add 1 Dark Contract card from my Deck to my hand!"
After restating the effect, Kuchiki Genya's eyes locked onto Yusaku like blades. "Any response?!"
"No interruptions. Proceed." Yusaku still stood there with his arms folded, mild mockery in his voice. "Unlike you people, when I say I won't stop your combo, I mean it."
"Mean it, huh?"
Kuchiki Genya slowly lifted his head, his gaze turning dark and vicious.
"For victory, what does it matter if you cast everything else aside? Honor is worthless in front of victory! Since you won't interfere, then watch carefully. Watch how you yourself sink, step by step, into the bottomless abyss!"
"By D/D Savant Kepler's effect, I add the Continuous Spell Dark Contract with the Gate from my Deck to my hand!"
The moment the searched card entered his hand, he slammed it straight onto the Duel Disk without hesitation. "I activate the Continuous Spell Dark Contract with the Gate!"
The Spell's glow burst forth, and a gigantic, grotesque black gate to hell slowly rose behind Kuchiki Genya. Faint shrieks and howls leaked from beyond it, chilling everyone who heard them.
"I activate Dark Contract with the Gate's effect!"
A trace of mania slipped into his voice.
"During my Main Phase, I can add 1 D/D monster from my Deck to my hand! I choose D/D/D Zero Doom King Zero Machinex!"
The instant the card touched his hand, he slapped it into the Pendulum Zone and shouted, "I place D/D/D Zero Doom King Zero Machinex, with Pendulum Scale 0, into my Pendulum Zone!"
A brilliant orange-yellow pillar of light erupted from the Pendulum Zone. Within it, the shadow of a savage monster clad in crimson armor flickered in and out of view, the pressure it gave off growing more and more intense.
"I activate D/D/D Zero Doom King Zero Machinex's Pendulum Effect!"
Kuchiki Genya's eyes stayed fixed on Yusaku.
"During the Main Phase of the turn this card is activated, I can place 1 Dark Contract Continuous Trap directly from my Deck face-up on my field!"
"I place Dark Contract with Zero King from my Deck face-up on the field!"
The instant the card hit the field, he shouted again.
"Then I activate Dark Contract with Zero King's effect! I can target 1 other D/D card on my field, destroy it, and Special Summon 1 D/D monster from my Deck!"
"My target is D/D/D Zero Doom King Zero Machinex in my Pendulum Zone! I destroy it, and Special Summon D/D Savant Copernicus from my Deck!"
As the words fell, the orange-yellow light column on his field burst apart into a shower of brilliance. In the next moment, a new light bloomed, and a monster resembling a burning globe wrapped in layers of mechanical iron rings appeared on the field, radiating an eerie technological presence.
D/D Savant Copernicus
Level 4 / Fiend / Pendulum / Effect
ATK 0
"I activate D/D Savant Copernicus's effect!" Kuchiki Genya's combo continued without the slightest pause, flowing in one unbroken line. "When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, I can send 1 D/D card or Dark Contract card from my Deck to the Graveyard, except itself!"
The moment the card hit the Graveyard, Kuchiki Genya's voice rang out again.
"Now! I activate the effect of the D/D Lance Soldier I just sent to the Graveyard! While it's in the Graveyard, I can target 1 Dark Contract card I control, destroy it, and Special Summon this card!"
The glow of the Continuous Spell vanished instantly. A beam of dazzling light shot up from the Graveyard, and a knight-like mechanical monster holding a long spear appeared steadily on the field, the tip of its weapon gleaming with a cold edge.
D/D Lance Soldier
Level 2 / Fiend / Effect
ATK 400
"I continue with D/D Lance Soldier's effect!"
Kuchiki Genya's voice remained sharp and forceful.
"I can target 1 D/D monster I control, and increase that monster's Level by up to the number of Dark Contract cards on my field and in my Graveyard!"
"I have two Dark Contract cards total between my field and Graveyard! So I target D/D Lance Soldier itself and raise its Level by 2!"
D/D Lance Soldier
Level 2 → 4
"Now I have two Level 4 D/D monsters on my field." Kuchiki Genya looked up at Yusaku, a smile of total confidence on his face. "I doubt I need to explain what comes next."
"You talk more than your Deck does." Yusaku gave him a flat glance, his tone as calm as still water. "If you'd spent less time babbling at me, the monster you wanted would already be on the field."
"Hmph! We'll see how long you can keep acting so calm!"
Kuchiki Genya's face darkened at the jab. Then he raised his arm high and shouted, "I use the Level 4 D/D Lance Soldier and the Level 4 D/D Savant Copernicus on my field to build the Overlay Network!"
The two monsters turned into streams of brilliant light that shot into the Xyz vortex overhead. As the vortex spun, a majestic monster clad in pitch-black armor and carrying a massive spellbook slowly stepped out, a powerful aura sweeping across the entire arena.
D/D/D Wisdom King Solomon
Rank 4 / Fiend / Xyz / Effect
ATK 1800
"I activate D/D/D Wisdom King Solomon's effect!" Kuchiki Genya did not slow down for even a second. "I detach 1 material from this card to add 1 D/D card from my Deck to my hand!"
D/D/D Wisdom King Solomon
Materials: 2 → 1
"...I add D/D Scale Surveyor from my Deck to my hand!"
After taking the searched card into his hand, he immediately pulled a card from his Extra Deck and raised it high, arrogance pouring from his voice. "Next, I activate the effect of D/D/D Marksman King Tell in my Extra Deck! This card can be Xyz Summoned by using a Rank 4 D/D/D Xyz Monster I control as material!"
"I overlay D/D/D Marksman King Tell on top of D/D/D Wisdom King Solomon and Xyz Summon!"
D/D/D Marksman King Tell
Rank 5 / Fiend / Xyz / Effect
ATK 2300
The moment the summon succeeded, Kuchiki Genya shouted again.
"I use the D/D/D Marksman King Tell I just Summoned and the D/D Savant Kepler on my field as Link Material!"
"Link Summon! Link-2, D/D/D Abyss King Gilgamesh!"
The two monsters turned into Link markings and flew into the Link Circuit overhead. As the circuit spun, two Link Arrows lit up at once, and a monster clad in splendid armor slowly descended, holding a sword of light and a staff, countless divine weapons strapped across its back. It looked every bit like a king.
D/D/D Abyss King Gilgamesh
Link-2 / Fiend / Link / Effect
ATK 1800
"Chain them together! First, I activate D/D/D Abyss King Gilgamesh's effect, then I trigger the effect of D/D/D Marksman King Tell when it leaves the field!"
Kuchiki Genya's voice carried a feverish excitement.
"First, D/D/D Abyss King Gilgamesh's effect! When this card is Special Summoned, I can place 2 different D/D Pendulum Monsters from my Deck into my Pendulum Zones, and then I take 1000 damage!"
"I place D/D Orthros, with Pendulum Scale 3, and D/D/D Vice King Requiem, with Pendulum Scale 5, into my Pendulum Zones!"
Two light pillars of different colors rose up from the Pendulum Zones. At the same time, Kuchiki Genya's Life Points dropped instantly as the effect resolved, numbers jumping across the display.
[Kuchiki Genya, LP 8000 → 7000]
"Next, I activate D/D/D Marksman King Tell's effect!"
Kuchiki Genya pressed on.
"When this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard, I can send 1 D/D card or Dark Contract card from my Deck to the Graveyard! I send D/D Necro Slime from my Deck to the Graveyard!"
The instant the card hit the Graveyard, he revealed the D/D Scale Surveyor in his hand and shouted again.
"I activate D/D Scale Surveyor's effect! If I control a D/D Pendulum Monster, I can Special Summon this card from my hand! I already have two D/D Pendulum Monsters in my Pendulum Zones, so the condition is met! Special Summon, D/D Scale Surveyor!"
D/D Scale Surveyor
Level 2 / Fiend / Effect
ATK 0
The moment the monster appeared on the field, Kuchiki Genya's voice thundered through the arena once more.
"I use the D/D Scale Surveyor I just Special Summoned and the Link-2 D/D/D Abyss King Gilgamesh on my field as Link Material!"
"Link Summon! Link-3, D/D/D Sky King Zeus Ragnarok!"
The two streams of light fused into the Link Circuit once more. Three Link Arrows lit up simultaneously, and a gigantic monster clad in crimson shining armor descended with a roar, exuding a pressure so overwhelming it felt as if even heaven and earth would tremble before it.
D/D/D Sky King Zeus Ragnarok
Link-3 / Fiend / Link / Effect
ATK 2200
(End of Chapter)
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