The crowd reacted in shock. This was a brutal anti-Dragon counter, clearly designed to target the opponent. With a single card, all Dragon-type attacks were permanently sealed.
Of course, this was not Yugen's original idea. Dragon Capture Jar was one of the earliest Dragon hate cards in Yu-Gi-Oh! history, used by Maximillion Pegasus against Seto Kaiba back in the era of the Duel King. Back then, it had infuriated Seto Kaiba beyond measure.
Yugen remained calm. An attack lock alone did not feel overwhelming to him. If he had the option, he would rather use the Buster Blader line, the true Dragon killer of this era, but such cards were extremely rare in this world.
That was fine. Even without the strongest option, there were plenty of usable counters, and Dragon Capture Jar was simply what he had drawn first. The AI Seto Kaiba seemed to mutter a curse under its breath and continued.
"Then I use 'Lord of Dragons' to attack your face-down monster!"
With the two Dragons forced to sit idle, Lord of Dragons had no choice but to charge in himself. Yugen flipped another back-row card.
"Trap Card, Dimensional Prison. When an opponent's monster declares an attack, banish that monster."
Space shattered as a dimensional rift opened amid flashing light. Lord of Dragons tried to retreat in panic, but it was too late, and the rift swallowed him whole.
"A fine counter," Hall Master Takeuchi analyzed. "At first glance, it only removes the weakest monster, but it was actually the most troublesome one."
A student asked in confusion, "Why is that?"
"When 'Lord of Dragons' is on the field, all Dragon-type monsters cannot be targeted by effects," Saito explained. "Once that protection is gone, the remaining Dragons lose their shield."
The surrounding crowd began to stir. Some praised the boy for withstanding such a fierce opening, while others insisted it was only temporary since the opponent was the AI of Seto Kaiba.
Hearing this, Koji Sato smiled faintly. Two traps were nothing at all, and this duel was only just getting started. As one of the earliest victims of Yugen's style, he trusted his own judgment.
After consecutive failures in offense, AI Seto Kaiba drew his last two cards. "I set one card and end my turn."
"My Turn!, Card Draw."
Yugen waved his hand.
"I flip the face-down monster on my field. The monster I set is this one.
Dragon Rider, Flip Summon!"
Dragon Rider, ATK 700.
"The flip effect of Dragon Rider," Yugen said. "When this card is flipped, until the end of the turn, I gain control of one face-up Dragon-type monster on your field.
Therefore, I take control of your 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon'!"
AI Seto Kaiba: "!?"
The red-cloaked knight leapt forward and smoothly jumped onto the back of Blue-Eyes White Dragon. In the blink of an eye, Blue-Eyes White Dragon followed its skilled rider and crossed over to Yugen's side of the field. The students in the audience burst into loud chatter at once.
"He actually took the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Man, I am fired up!"
"That is Yugen for you. He did something we would not even dare imagine."
AI Seto Kaiba: "You bastard."
From the crowd's point of view, the duel only became more entertaining by the second, and many had already forgotten that the system lock had trapped them inside the arena. People watched with full attention, and even unfamiliar passersby started cheering for Yugen. No matter the world, there were always people who loved a good show, and this was exactly that.
After crossing over and going through many duels while studying the environment, Yugen quickly realized that the Duelists of this world had a strange fondness for Dragons. That was not surprising, since the one leading the dueling world, Seto Kaiba, was obsessed with Dragons, and Dragon monsters were both impressive and powerful. Because of that, when choosing cards for his side Deck, Yugen stuffed it with all kinds of odd tools made specifically to counter Dragons.
Side Deck slots had no real limit, so adding cheap and strange cards did not hurt him at all. Preparation always paid off, and today was a perfect example. The next card was one of those answers.
"Even though I gained control of Blue-Eyes, because 'Dragon Capture Jar' is still on the field, all Dragons cannot switch to attack position, including my own," Yugen said.
"Therefore."
He pulled out another card from his hand.
"I tribute 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon' to perform a Tribute Summon!"
At that moment, Yugen almost felt like he could hear the grinding of AI Seto Kaiba's teeth. Having Blue-Eyes taken was bad enough, but having it taken and then tributed was even worse.
"Tribute Summon, Level 6, Dragon Slayer!"
Dragon Slayer, ATK 2000.
"The effect of Dragon Slayer. When this card is successfully summoned, destroy one face-up Dragon-type monster," Yugen said as he pointed at Seto Kaiba's field. "Destroy 'Crystal Dragon'!"
The blue-green demon glared forward and let out a roar as if declaring that Dragons were exactly what it was made to fight. With a loud crash, Crystal Dragon shattered into icy fragments and vanished.
In Yugen's eyes, this card was not especially impressive, since it required a Tribute Summon just to destroy a Dragon. Its ATK was only 2000, which was nothing remarkable. Still, in this early environment, it was decent enough when facing Dragon users.
Its real advantage was the name "Dragon Slayer" and an effect that felt like it existed purely to provoke. Used together with other counter cards, it had a better chance of breaking the opponent's mindset before their LP ever hit zero. AI Seto Kaiba fell completely silent, as if stunned by the sequence.
"Dragon Slayer, direct attack," Yugen ordered.
The AI still had an answer. "I activate my set card, Trap Card Counter Gate! When your monster declares a direct attack, that attack is negated, and I draw one card from my Deck!"
A transparent defensive gate appeared, and Dragon Slayer's full-power strike slammed into it. The impact was absorbed and turned into golden light that flowed back into the AI's Deck.
"The attack is negated, and I Card Draw!"
"Then I use 'Dragon Rider' to attack directly," Yugen said.
Without its mount, Dragon Rider was much weaker, but it still raised its sword and charged forward. The blade came down in a clean arc from above AI Seto Kaiba's head, causing the hologram to flicker and distort.
AI Seto Kaiba LP 4000 to 3300.
"I set three more cards in my back row. Turn end."
Three dark face-down cards appeared one after another with flashes of light, and the audience collectively inhaled in shock. This was only his second turn, and the pressure was already overwhelming. Even before the cards activated, the crowd felt a chill, as if the arena itself had grown colder.
"Who is this young man? He is pushing even Seto Kaiba's Deck this hard."
"Wait, I think I have seen him before. He is the champion of this year's Moonlight Cup."
"Nani?!? The newcomer who crushed Legendary Duelist Rex Raptor in the finals?"
"So he really ran into a true expert."
It became AI Seto Kaiba's turn. "Card Draw!"