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"According to the effect of 'Treasure Chest of Life Drain,' I draw cards from my deck!"
Xuan Ichiro drew his cards and immediately revealed one from his hand.
"I'll tribute the two tokens summoned by 'Flames of Finality' on my field for an advanced summoning!"
The storm of tributes swirled, and a massive figure began to take shape within it. Xuan Ichiro paused briefly, then grinned smugly.
"Hmph, that fool Ryuuzaki once owned this card, but he lost it during the Battle City tournament! But I will never allow it to leave my deck.
Behold, the dragon born from the interplay of light and shadow, dwelling within the heart of the Evil Knight—
Level 7, Evil Dragon Knight, Summon!"
[Evil Dragon Knight, ATK 2350]
You Xuan inwardly smirked, thinking, Don't worry, it won't leave your deck. Because I'm taking everything...
However, he still played along, feigning surprise.
"It's Evil Dragon Knight! Ryuuzaki's former ace card, second only to Red-Eyes Black Dragon in rarity!"
With 50 less attack than Red-Eyes, it was indeed second only to it.
Xuan Ichiro grew even more smug, striking a pose with his hands on his hips. "This is just the beginning of your amazement! Tremble in fear, shiver in despair, and bow before the might—"
"So strong, truly impressive. Therefore, I activate a face-down card."
You Xuan flipped over a card from his back row.
"Trap Card – Bottomless Trap Hole. When a monster with 1500 or more attack is summoned, destroy it and remove it from play."
A swirling vortex opened on Xuan Ichiro's field. Before the summoning animation for **Evil Dragon Knight** could even finish, the dragon plummeted into the abyss, banished to another dimension.
Xuan Ichiro: "..."
He was still frozen in his triumphant pose, but now it just made him look like a clown against the barren expanse of his field.
If we're being polite, one might say Xuan Ichiro was starting to consider auditioning for a role as Batman's nemesis in Gotham...
What he really wanted to say was: You've got a trap like this in your back row, and you were still pretending how strong my monster was? Was mocking me fun?
The perpetually sinister Xuan Ichiro, who had been grinning nonstop since the duel began, finally started to lose his smile. Losing two powerful monsters in one turn was enough to make even someone as composed as him feel irritated.
But it didn't matter.
"Hmph, you've got some skill. But don't get cocky—you're about to witness true despair in darkness!"
Though he said this, Xuan Ichiro himself didn't realize that his grin had already faded.
"I'll activate a face-down card, Magic Card – Burial from a Different Dimension!" Xuan Ichiro declared. "This card allows me to send one monster from my deck to the graveyard.
I'll send Balloon Lizard to the graveyard."
He pulled out his deck, searched for the monster card, and sent it to the graveyard.
"Then I'll activate another face-down card, Continuous Trap – Limit Reverse!" Xuan Ichiro continued. "It lets me special summon a monster with 1000 or less attack from my graveyard in attack position.
I'll revive Balloon Lizard from the graveyard!"
[Balloon Lizard, ATK 500]
"Next, I'll activate a magic card from my hand – Super Evolution Pill!" Xuan Ichiro was still operating. "By tributing a reptile-type monster on the field, I can special summon a dinosaur-type monster from my hand!
I'll tribute Balloon Lizard on the field!"
Golden light erupted from the magic card, enveloping the lizard on the field. The tiny creature began to evolve rapidly under the influence of magic, its body visibly growing larger by the second until it reached a towering height of over ten meters.
"Emerging from the depths of time, breaking free from the shackles of endless ages—it descends now! Evolution Summon, Level 8—
Ultra Ancient Dinosaur!!!"
[Ultra Ancient Dinosaur, ATK 2700]
Even after stumbling into numerous traps, Xuan Ichiro managed to summon yet another ace monster in a single turn!
Could anyone else do this? Could Ryuuzaki have done this?
Xuan Ichiro felt a surge of pride and couldn't help but laugh loudly again.
Surely you can't pull out another Bottomless Trap Hole to counter this, right?
"Activate face-down card, Trap Card – Trap of Darkness," You Xuan calmly snapped his fingers. "This card can only be activated when my life points are below 3000.
By paying 1000 life points, this card gains the same effect as a normal trap card in my graveyard."
[You Xuan, LP 3000 → LP 2000]
"The card I choose, of course, is this..."
His face-down trap card shimmered as data streams flowed over it, transforming into another card.
"Trap Card – Bottomless Trap Hole! When a monster with 1500 or more attack is summoned, destroy it and remove it from play!"
Xuan Ichiro: "!!!"
His mouth dropped open in despair as he reached out desperately toward his hard-earned monster, trying to hold on to it. But what's destined to be lost cannot be saved. Ultra Ancient Dinosaur gave him a final glance, then tipped over and fell into the abyss, following Evil Dragon Knight into another dimension.
Xuan Ichiro: "........."
Another Bottomless Trap Hole, another goddamn Bottomless Trap Hole. Do you wholesale these things or something?
Xuan Ichiro began to wear a mask of anguish.
It seemed he wasn't feeling so sunny anymore.
There was something eerie about the situation. Clearly, between the two duelists, he was the one representing darkness, the one meant to bring suffering and despair to his opponent.
But halfway through the duel, he realized with shock that the mask of anguish was firmly planted on his own face.
This was the first time since becoming a Shadow Duelist that he discovered his opponent was darker than him!
In comparison, he suddenly felt that all his darkness had merely been superficial—a reliance on mental and physical torment to drive opponents to the brink of collapse.
But his opponent was on another level entirely. He didn't need any external forces; it was as if the darkness was innate, ingrained deep within his bones. Without any extraordinary powers, he could crush Xuan Ichiro purely through dueling...
This scene made Xuan Ichiro want to say, Bro, even though I'm a Shadow Duelist, I still think the way you duel is a bit too dark...
If someone like this became a Shadow Duelist, who knows what chaos would ensue?
"Set two cards face-down on the field, and end my turn," he muttered dejectedly.
There wasn't much else he could do.
But there was still hope.
Though he had been utterly crushed, he still had confidence in his back row defenses. His line of defense wouldn't be so easily broken.
"My turn, draw," You Xuan said. "First, I'll activate a magic card from my hand – Magic Seal of Treasure Chest! It allows me to draw two cards from my deck, but I can't activate any other magic cards this turn besides this one." (Anime-only card)
He drew two cards.
"Next, I'll flip the monster set face-down on my field.
Reverse Summon – Black Forest Witch!"
[Black Forest Witch, ATK 1300]
"Then I'll tribute Black Forest Witch to special summon this card from my hand..."
You Xuan paused briefly, glancing to his side.
The ethereal figure wrapped in a sorcerer's robe hovered silently beside him, her pale face expressionless as always. She gave him a slight nod.
Perhaps due to some transcendent connection between master and spirit, though no words were exchanged, he seemed to understand her intent.
You Xuan nodded lightly in response.
"I'll leave it to you."
He turned his attention back to the duel.
"Tribute Black Forest Witch to special summon—
—Silent Magician!"
An ancient magic circle with delicate blue patterns appeared, bathed in moonlight-like luminescence. A slender, cold figure emerged, draped in white robes, her silver hair cascading like a waterfall, holding a staff that shimmered with star-like brilliance.
[Silent Magician, ATK 1000]
"It's here, spirit."
Xuan Ichiro eyed the newly summoned Silent Magician warily, but she remained calm and uninterested in him.
"Silent Magician cannot be normal summoned; it can only be special summoned by tributing a spellcaster-type monster on the field."
You Xuan explained.
"And at this moment, the effect of Black Forest Witch, which was sent to the graveyard as a tribute, activates.
When this card is sent from the field to the graveyard, I can add one monster with 1500 or less defense from my deck to my hand."
The condition of 1500 or less defense was incredibly powerful, making Black Forest Witch a banned card at one point. In the current real-world card game environment, her ability has been nerfed with restrictions like "the card retrieved by this effect cannot be activated this turn." But in this early anime world, such limitations didn't exist.
Hearing this, Xuan Ichiro sneered dismissively.
"Hmph, monsters with 1500 or less defense? Aren't those just small fry..."
You Xuan: "I'll add Android - Psyshocker to my hand from my deck."
Xuan Ichiro nearly spat blood.
"...This thing has defense of 1500 or less!?"
[Android - Psyshocker, ATK 2400, DEF 1500]
This was one of the ace cards of Jounouchi Katsuya in the anime, "Android Soga," freshly supplied by Takeshi. Its defense was exactly 1500, barely meeting the threshold.
This was the true power of Black Forest Witch. You'd never know what powerful monsters lurked in the deck with 1500 or less defense.
"The effect of Candy Clown in my hand allows it to be special summoned in attack position on my field."
[Candy Clown, ATK 0]
"Then I'll tribute Candy Clown for an advanced summon—
—Level 6, Android - Psyshocker!"
The form of Candy Clown dissolved into specks of light, coalescing into a swirling summoning storm. Massive energy erupted from the storm, forming a metallic body accompanied by the sound of mechanical friction and crackling electricity.
Android - Psyshocker, Summon!
[Android - Psyshocker, ATK 2400]
Xuan Ichiro felt like he was cracking apart.
Android - Psyshocker was famously known as Jounouchi's powerhouse card that dominated countless duels. Few people wouldn't recognize it. Its infamous "Trap Block" ability completely neutralized traps, rendering Xuan Ichiro's back row useless as long as it remained on the field.
And what really shattered him was...
...This thing with its thick eyebrows and serious demeanor also had exactly 1500 defense?
Not a single point higher or lower?
Xuan Ichiro couldn't help but start doubting whether his opponent had secretly altered the card values mid-duel to pull off this combo...
"The attack of Silent Magician increases by 500 points for every card in my hand. I have two cards, so its attack increases by 1000."
[Silent Magician, ATK 1000 → ATK 2000]
With this, the combined output reached 4400. If this round of attacks landed, Xuan Ichiro would be wiped out instantly...
"The battle is over."
You Xuan waved his hand.
"Silent Magician, Android - Psyshocker, direct attack!"
Milky-white magical light swirled around the staff, while electrical sparks began charging between Psyshocker's palms.
"Not so easily!" Xuan Ichiro shouted. "Activate face-down card, Quick-Play Spell – Half Unbreak! Halve the attack of one monster on the field, and it cannot be destroyed by battle this turn.
I'll choose your Android - Psyshocker, halving its attack!"
Though his traps were blocked, he still had magic to rely on. Though it wouldn't completely stop the attack, the total damage would drop to 3200, leaving him with a sliver of survival...
"Too bad."
You Xuan snapped his fingers.
"Silent Magician, activate its effect. Once per turn, when a magic card is activated, negate its activation!"
Xuan Ichiro: "!"
What kind of nonsense was this?
Wait...
Magic negated, and with Psyshocker on the field, all traps were completely sealed...
...Was this a double lock on both magic and traps!?
Only now did Xuan Ichiro realize the terrifying nature of this setup.
The spellcaster Black Forest Witch could summon Silent Magician, and when the witch was sent to the graveyard, she could search for Android - Psyshocker. Meanwhile, Silent Magician negated magic, and Psyshocker locked down traps entirely...
How the hell was he supposed to fight this!?
The activation of Half Unbreak was immediately suppressed by Silent Magician's magic-binding effect, shattering into fragments.
Realizing all was lost, Xuan Ichiro desperately tried to flip his remaining face-down card.
"Activate! Activate! Holy Barrier - Mirror Force, reflect it back! Reflect the damn thing back..."
But the Android - Psyshocker crossed its arms, its mechanical eyes flashing red as if saying—
—Sit down.
An invisible wave of telekinetic force swept across the field, forcefully suppressing the barely stirring Mirror Force, silencing it completely.
Xuan Ichiro despaired.
Hehe.
This effect negated, that effect negated...
I want to hit you, but I can't.
This isn't a duel anymore. Only my opponent gets to duel.
My right to duel has been stripped away.
Silent Magician and Android - Psyshocker unleashed their final assault, a massive wave of light sweeping across Xuan Ichiro's half of the field. Along with the tearful Xuan Ichiro, the light engulfed everything.
[Onizuka Xuan Ichiro, LP 4000 → LP 0]