"My turn."
Manjoume said in a low voice.
He was at an absolute disadvantage on the field and currently had no means of fighting back, but his Life Points were still plentiful. He still had a chance.
"Draw."
Seeing the card he had just drawn, Manjoume's eyes lit up.
"Heh, the goddess of victory really is still on my side."
Manjoume pulled out two cards from his hand, sending one to the Graveyard and playing the other directly.
"I activate the Spell Card 'Cost Down'! I discard one card from my hand, and all Monster Cards in my hand have their Levels reduced by two stars this turn!"
Cost Down reduced the number of Tributes required for high-Level monsters in the hand, allowing them to be directly summoned. It was also a method frequently used by Seto Kaiba in DM.
"Also, the card I discarded to activate 'Cost Down' was the Spell Card 'Card of Compensation.' When this card is discarded from the hand to the Graveyard, draw two cards from the Deck." (Original Work Card)
Kira: "."
The draw engines in the anime really were monsters. They drew cards at the drop of a hat. In the Real Card Environment, this would be utterly broken.
"By the effect of 'Card of Compensation,' I draw from my Deck."
His ammunition had been replenished once more. Manjoume curled his lips into a smile, looking as though things were finally turning around.
"You actually caused me quite a bit of trouble. Looks like I underestimated you. But! This ends here."
Manjoume raised his voice.
"By the effect of 'Cost Down,' the Level of the Level 6 'Emperor Flying Wind Dragon' in my hand becomes 4, allowing it to be summoned without a Tribute.
Therefore, I Normal Summon this guy. Show yourself—
—Emperor Flying Wind Dragon!"
A golden storm swept across the field. Emerging from the vortex was a tyrannical dragon clad in imperial gold, its entire body seemingly wreathed in golden flames.
Emperor Flying Wind Dragon, ATK 2400
"Your little tricks end here. In an elite duel, only power is the key to victory!" Manjoume raised his hand. "Emperor Flying Wind Dragon, destroy 'Spirit Vanishing Magician - Sea Sky'!"
The golden dragon opened its jaws and spat out a spiraling blast. The monk holding prayer beads was immediately pierced through, exploding into smoke as he left the field.
Kira, LP 1700 → LP 1100
"I Set one more card, then End Turn!"
Manjoume took a deep breath.
Almost there. Just a little more.
He had regained the tempo. With just a little more, he could shatter that detestable guy's defenses and land a fatal blow.
Manjoume himself might not have realized that, without noticing, his mindset had shifted from "casually crush my opponent and advance" to "only one of us is walking out of here today."
It was like an ordinary duel had somehow turned into a grudge match.
Never before had he wanted so badly to beat the hell out of the person across from him.
Just imagining his opponent's Life Points dropping to zero and being blasted to the ground by the full-force Solid Vision sensory impact made him want to burst out laughing.
"My turn, draw." Kira said calmly. "First, I activate this Spell Card from my hand, 'Giant Trunade'!"
A green storm rose up, and powerful wind pressure swept across the entire field. Manjoume had no choice but to shield his face with both arms, while his Set Card in the back row was blown back into his hand.
This was one of the standard cards in Katsuya Jonouchi's Deck in DM, but in the Real Card Environment, it had also spent years banned on the Forbidden/Limited List.
"Giant Trunade is a card that returns all Spell/Trap Cards on the field to their owners' hands."
"Tch." Manjoume curled his lip as he looked at the Set Card bounced back into his hand.
His back-row setup had been dismantled. But it should not be a huge problem. Emperor Flying Wind Dragon was a high-Level monster with 2400 ATK. It would not be so easily overcome.
Moreover, Emperor Flying Wind Dragon possessed a powerful hidden Monster Effect. If it was destroyed and Sent to Graveyard, it could return any monster on the field to its owner's hand.
In other words, even if the opponent somehow managed to bring out a monster stronger than Emperor Flying Wind Dragon next turn, after defeating Emperor Flying Wind Dragon, that monster would immediately be dealt with by this death effect.
The more Manjoume thought about it, the more pleased he became.
His opponent had only seen the Set Card in the back row. He surely thought that removing the trap meant he could rest easy. Little did he know that elite duels required careful planning, and Manjoume had set a double trap as insurance.
He had a massive advantage!
"I summon 'Mystic Tomato' in Attack Position." Kira continued.
Mystic Tomato, ATK 1400
Manjoume snorted. "Heh, so you can only summon trash as a wall monster after all. Hm?"
As he spoke, he realized something was wrong.
Wait, Mystic Tomato in Attack Position?
A bad feeling suddenly welled up inside him.
"Next, I activate a Spell Card from my hand."
Kira swept his right arm, and the image of a Spell Card appeared before him.
"Spell Card—Creature Swap! Both players must each choose one monster they control, then exchange control of those monsters!"
Manjoume: "What?!"
What the hell, was your Deck full of this kind of crap?
Could you duel properly for once?
"The monster I choose is, of course, this one on my field." Kira pointed at the huge tomato head on his field. "'Mystic Tomato.' All right, now choose the monster you want to exchange."
Manjoume: "."
Heh heh, choose your ass.
Clearly, Manjoume had no choice at all. He only had one monster on his field: Emperor Flying Wind Dragon.
However, this Spell Card forcibly required both players to choose. Even with only one option, the system could not make the choice for the duelist. So Manjoume could only select his Emperor Flying Wind Dragon himself with tears in his eyes, reluctantly watching his 2400 ATK ace get taken to the other side of the field—
—and receive a bright red, round tomato head in return.
Manjoume turned to look and even found that the tomato head was grinning smugly, as if mercilessly mocking him.
"Battle Phase." Kira said. "Emperor Flying Wind Dragon, attack Mystic Tomato."
The golden dragon opened its jaws, and a tyrannical blast of dragon breath pierced straight through the little tomato. It showed not the slightest mercy to its master from one second ago. Mystic Tomato exploded into fragments, and the shockwave knocked Manjoume half a step back.
Manjoume, LP 3300 → LP 2300
"Bastard." Manjoume muttered through gritted teeth.
But it was not even over yet.
"Mystic Tomato, Effect Activation." Kira swept out his hand. "When Mystic Tomato is destroyed by battle and Sent to Graveyard, I can Special Summon a DARK Attribute monster with 1500 or less ATK from my Deck!"
Manjoume: "!?"
Manjoume truly deserved to be an elite student. With a single thought, he had already figured out how this effect resolved.
Under the Dueling Rules, even if a monster's control was temporarily changed through a card effect, when it was destroyed and Sent to Graveyard, it would still be sent to its original owner's Graveyard according to the rules.
Mystic Tomato's original owner was Kira. Therefore, even though its control had been transferred to Manjoume's field, when it was defeated, it would still enter Kira's Graveyard.
So when its effect resolved after it was destroyed, naturally Kira could Special Summon from his Deck, not Manjoume.
After understanding this, Manjoume's face darkened even further.
Damn it, I take the hit while you get to search?
My monster gets stolen, I'm the one taking damage, and you still get the search.
No normal person could come up with a combo this blood-pressure-raising without spending ten years or so in the Different Dimension.
But Manjoume, who thought this was already as underhanded as it could get, was clearly still too young.
Kira pulled out the monster card he had searched from his Deck.
"By the effect of 'Mystic Tomato,' I Special Summon this card from my Deck—
—Head Zaluug!"
Head Zaluug, ATK 1400
"The Battle Phase is still ongoing. Since it was Special Summoned during the Battle Phase, my 'Head Zaluug' can continue attacking."
Kira waved his hand.
"Direct Attack on Manjoume."
The one-eyed leader stylishly drew two Revolvers. His twin guns fired repeatedly, and virtual bullets pierced through Manjoume once more.
"Urgh." Manjoume gritted his teeth and struggled to steady himself.
Manjoume, LP 2300 → LP 900
"At this moment, 'Head Zaluug's' Effect Activation." Kira said. "When Zallug inflicts Battle Damage to the opponent, it can randomly choose and discard one card from their hand.
"The card I'm destroying is the one on your right."
Zallug fired his Revolver again, the bullet punching straight through one of Manjoume's hand cards.
Looking at the hole punched through his "Widespread Ruin - Buster Blader Style," Manjoume suddenly felt his vision go dark, as though he might cough up blood.
Widespread Ruin - Buster Blader Style was a powerful Trap Card that could destroy the highest-ATK monster on the opponent's field when they made an Attack Declaration. Many duelists had relied on it to turn the tables when backed into a corner.
Clearly, this was the card that had just been blown back into Manjoume's hand by "Giant Trunade." It had been destroyed in his hand before it ever had the chance to display its tremendous power.
Manjoume's face darkened as he sent Buster Blader Style to the Graveyard.
But there was still a chance.
He still had one final card in his hand.
The Equip Spell, Premature Burial.
By paying 800 LP, he could revive a monster from his Graveyard. In many situations, it was a godly card for turning the tide.
But the problem was, at this point in the duel, Manjoume did not have a single monster in his Graveyard. They had all been kicked into the Different Dimension.
"Main Phase 2." Kira revealed another card in his hand. "I activate the Spell Card 'The Forceful Sentry.' I can check my opponent's hand, choose one card from it, return it to their Deck, then shuffle the Deck."
Manjoume: "."
His face twitched as though he were desperately trying to restrain the emotions about to explode. Without saying a word, he shoved his final hand card back into his Deck. But the expression created by his forcefully controlled facial muscles made him look like he was performing some strange meme face.
Just like that, Manjoume's final hand card was returned to his Deck.
If this were Physical Card Competition, the match would effectively be over at this point. Trying to overturn this situation with only the one card he would draw next turn was basically a fool's dream. But considering that everyone in anime could topdeck miracles in desperate situations, Kira still chose to play it safe.
"I Set one card and End Turn."
This was his final safeguard to kill the game.
"My turn."
Manjoume gritted his teeth and stared intently at the card at the Top of Deck, feeling his adrenaline surge.
Being eliminated by a rank-one rookie with no record? What kind of joke was that?
Jun Manjome had participated in countless competitions. Though he did not always win, he had truly never experienced anything like this.
He could not accept such humiliation, and his family surely could not accept it either.
But it was not over yet!
He would bet everything on this next card!
"Draw!"
The moment he caught sight of the card he had drawn, Manjoume's expression became complicated.
Graceful Charity.
A Spell Card. It allowed him to Draw three cards from the Deck, then choose two cards from his hand and discard them.
In this desperate situation, it was undoubtedly a miraculous draw. Drawing three cards in a row would increase his chances of finding a comeback card.
However, it also made his teeth ache as he remembered the Premature Burial that had just been shoved back into his Deck. If Premature Burial were still in his hand, then with this Graceful Charity, should he draw a high-Level monster among the next three cards, he could discard it to the Graveyard with Graceful Charity's effect, then revive it with Premature Burial for a beautiful comeback from the brink of defeat.
Of course, because of that damned The Forceful Sentry just now, that was no longer possible.
Manjoume suddenly realized that dueling this bastard in front of him felt strange. Throughout the entire duel, everything had seemed mildly irritating at first, but the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
But this draw gave him another chance to make plays. Manjoume gathered himself, raised his head, and was just about to activate the Spell Card when he suddenly saw that the opponent's Set Card in the back row had somehow already activated.
Trap Card—Drop Off. Activate during the opponent's Draw Phase. The opponent must directly discard to the Graveyard the one card they drew.
Manjoume: "."
A killing trap. Kira's final insurance, snuffing out even the chance of a miraculous draw before it could begin.
At that moment, Koji Sato, the senior watching from the front row, suddenly jumped up from his seat and slapped his thigh with a loud smack.
"I know this one! This is it, this is exactly the feeling!"
Before you continue