This Is The Feeling

"My turn."

Manjoume said in a low voice.

The situation was absolutely unfavorable, and he currently had no means of countering in his Hand, but his Life Points were still plentiful, so he still had a chance.

"Draw!"

Seeing the new card he drew into his Hand, Manjoume's eyes lit up.

"Heh, the goddess of victory truly stands with me after all."

Manjoume pulled out two cards from his Hand, sent one to the Graveyard, and played the other directly.

"I activate the Spell Card 'Cost Down'! By discarding one card from my Hand, all Monster Cards in my Hand have their Levels reduced by two stars this turn!"

Cost Down reduces the number of Tributes required for high-Level Monsters in your Hand, allowing them to be Normal Summoned directly. This was a method often used by Seto Kaiba in DM.

"Furthermore, the card I discarded from my Hand to activate 'Cost Down''s Effect was the Spell Card 'Card of Compensation'. When this card is discarded from the Hand to the Graveyard, I Draw two cards from my Deck." (Original card)

Kira: "."

Anime Draw Engines really are monsters. They Draw cards at the drop of a hat. It would be insane in the Real Card Environment.

"According to 'Card of Compensation''s Effect, I Draw cards from my Deck."

His ammunition replenished once more, Manjoume's mouth curved into a smile, looking like things were picking up for him.

"You actually caused this great me quite a bit of trouble. It seems I underestimated you. However! This is where it ends."

Manjoume raised his voice.

"According to 'Cost Down''s Effect, 'Emperor Flying Wind Dragon', which was originally Level 6 in my Hand, becomes Level 4 and can be Normal Summoned without Tributes.

Therefore, I Normal Summon this guy! Appear—

—Emperor Flying Wind Dragon!"

A golden storm swirled on the field, and from the vortex emerged a majestic dragon clad in imperial gold, its entire body seemingly engulfed in golden flames.

[Emperor Flying Wind Dragon, ATK 2400]

"Your little tricks end here! In a Duel between elites, only power is the key to victory!" Manjoume raised his hand. "With Emperor Flying Wind Dragon, destroy 'Spirit Reaper - Haikou'!"

The golden dragon opened its mouth, and a spiraling blast shot out. The monk holding prayer beads was immediately pierced through, and with a bang, retreated from the field in a cloud of smoke.

[Kira, Life Points 1700 → Life Points 1100]

"I Set one more card on the field! Turn end!"

Manjoume took a deep breath.

Almost there, just a little more.

He had regained control of the tempo. Just a little more and he could break through that detestable guy's defenses and deliver the finishing blow.

Manjoume himself might not have noticed, but unconsciously, his mindset had shifted from a "casually steamroll the opponent to advance" casual attitude to a state of "only one of us is walking out of here today."

It felt as if the Duel had turned into a grudge match mid-way.

He had never in any Duel felt such an unbearable urge to crush the opponent as he did today.

Just thinking about the scene where the opponent's Life Points would drop to zero, and he would be blown away by the full-force Solid Vision impact, made him want to burst out laughing.

"My turn, Draw!" Kira said calmly. "First, I activate this card from my Hand, the Spell Card 'Heavy Storm'!"

A green storm whipped up, and a powerful wind pressure swept across the field. Manjoume had to shield his face with his arms, and the Set Card in his Back Row was also 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 was a Forbidden Card that spent years in the forbidden list.

"'Heavy Storm' is a card that returns all Spell and Trap Cards on the field to their owner's Hand."

"Tch." Manjoume clicked his tongue, looking at the Set Card that had been returned to his Hand.

My Back Row setup was dismantled... but it shouldn't be a big problem. Emperor Flying Wind Dragon is a high-Level Monster with 2400 ATK, it shouldn't be that easy to break through.

Furthermore, Emperor Flying Wind Dragon also hides a powerful Monster Effect. If it is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, it can return any one Monster on the field to its owner's Hand.

In other words, even if the opponent somehow manages to bring out a big Monster that surpasses Emperor Flying Wind Dragon in the next turn, after defeating Emperor Flying Wind Dragon, it will immediately be dealt with by this death rattle Effect.

The more Manjoume thought about it, the more smug he became.

The opponent only saw the Set Card in the Back Row and must think he's got nothing to worry about now that he's dealt with the Trap. Little does he know that Duels between true elites are well thought out; I set up a double trap as insurance.

He's got a huge advantage!

"I Summon 'Mystic Tomato' in Attack Position," Kira continued.

[Mystic Tomato, ATK 1400]

Manjoume scoffed coldly: "Heh, as expected, he can only Summon weaklings as wall Monsters... Hmm?"

As he spoke, he realized something was wrong.

Wait a minute, Mystic Tomato in Attack Position?

He suddenly had a bad feeling...

"Next, I activate a Spell Card from my Hand..."

Kira swung his right arm, and the image of a Spell Card appeared before him.

"Spell Card - Creature Swap! Both players must each choose one monster on their field and swap control!"

Manjoume: "Nani!?"

What the heck? Is your entire Deck filled with this kind of stuff?

Can we even have a proper Duel anymore?

"The monster I'm choosing is, of course, the one on my field." Kira pointed at the big tomato head on his field, "'Mystic Tomato'. Alright, you choose the monster you want to trade."

Manjoume: "..."

Yeah, right. Like I have a choice.

Obviously, Manjoume had no choice at all; he only had one 'Emperor Flying Wind Dragon' on his field.

However, this Spell Card forcefully requires both players to choose, and even if there's only one option, the system can't choose for the Duelist. So Manjoume could only pick his Emperor Flying Wind Dragon himself, practically in tears, watching his big monster with 2400 ATK get taken control of by the opponent's field...

...and getting a round, bright red tomato head in return.

Manjoume turned his head and even noticed the tomato head was grinning cheekily, as if it was mercilessly mocking him.

"Battle Phase." Kira said, "Using 'Emperor Flying Wind Dragon', attack 'Mystic Tomato'."

The golden giant dragon opened its mouth, and its powerful dragon breath blasted through the tiny tomato, showing no mercy whatsoever to its master from just a second ago. Mystic Tomato exploded into pieces, and the shockwave made Manjoume stumble back half a step.

[Manjoume, Life Points 3300 → Life Points 2300]

"Damn it..." Manjoume muttered through clenched teeth.

But it wasn't even over yet.

"'Mystic Tomato', effect activates." Kira waved his hand, "When 'Mystic Tomato' is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon a DARK Attribute monster with 1500 or less ATK from my Deck!"

Manjoume: "!?"

Manjoume, being the high-achiever he was, instantly figured out what was happening with this effect resolution.

In the Duel rules, even if a monster's control is temporarily swapped by a card effect, when it's destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, it goes to its original owner's Graveyard according to the rules.

Mystic Tomato's original owner is Kira, so even if its control was swapped to Manjoume's field, when it was destroyed, it still went to Kira's Graveyard.

Therefore, when its effect resolved after being destroyed, it was naturally Kira who could Special Summon from his Deck, not Manjoume.

Manjoume's face instantly darkened even more as he grasped this point.

So I'm the one taking the damage, and you're the one getting the search, huh?

My monster got taken by the opponent, I'm the one taking the hits, and the opponent is still the one getting the search...

It felt like only someone who'd spent a decade or two in The Netherworld could come up with a Combo this infuriating.

But Manjoume, who thought this level was already peak The Netherworld, was clearly still too young.

Kira drew the Monster Card he searched from his Deck.

"According to 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 still attack."

Kira said, gesturing.

"Direct Attack on Manjoume."

The one-eyed leader coolly pulled out two revolvers, firing both in quick succession, and virtual bullets pierced through Manjoume again.

"Ugh..." Manjoume gritted his teeth and tried to steady himself.

[Manjoume, Life Points 2300 → Life Points 900]

"At this moment, the effect of 'Head Zaluug' activates." Kira said, "When Zaluug inflicts Battle Damage to your opponent, you can randomly select and Discard one card from their Hand.

The card I'm destroying is the one on your right side."

Zaluug fired his revolver again, and a bullet blasted through one of Manjoume's cards in his Hand.

Manjoume looked at the 'Widespread Ruin' in his Hand, now with a hole shot through it, and suddenly felt his vision go black, like he wanted to spit blood.

Widespread Ruin is a powerful Trap Card that can destroy the opponent's monster with the highest ATK on their field when they declare an attack. Many Duelists rely on this card to turn the tide when they're in a desperate situation.

Clearly, this was the card that had just been returned to Manjoume's Hand by 'Heavy Storm', and it was destroyed in his hand without ever getting a chance to unleash its powerful effect.

Manjoume, his face grim, sent Widespread Ruin to the Graveyard.

But there was still a chance.

He had one last card remaining in his Hand.

Equip Spell, Premature Burial.

By paying 800 Life Points, you can revive a monster from your Graveyard, making it a godsend card for turning the game around in many situations.

But the problem was, up until this point in the Duel, Manjoume didn't have a single monster in his Graveyard; they had all been kicked to the Different Dimension by someone...

"Main Phase 2." Kira revealed another card from his Hand. "I activate the Spell Card 'Confiscation'. I can look at my opponent's Hand, choose one card, and return it to their Deck, then shuffle the Deck."

Manjoume: "."

His face twitched. He seemed to be trying hard to control his emotions, which were about to explode, as he silently stuffed his last card back into his Deck. But the expression from controlling his facial muscles so intensely made him look like he was performing some bizarre expression.

Just like that, Manjoume's last card in Hand was sent back to his Deck.

In a Real Card Environment competition, the Duel would effectively be over at this point. Trying to turn the tables from this situation with just one card drawn next turn is basically a pipe dream. But considering everyone in the anime gets a Divine Draw when they're cornered, Kira still chose to play it safe.

"I Set one card and end my turn."

This was his final safeguard to kill the game.

"My turn."

Manjoume gritted his teeth, staring intently at the card on Top of his Deck, feeling his adrenaline surge.

Eliminated by a One Star newcomer with no track record? What a joke!

He, Jun Manjome, had participated in countless tournaments. Even if he didn't always win, this kind of experience was truly unprecedented.

He couldn't accept this humiliation, and his family surely couldn't either.

But it wasn't over yet!

With the next card... he would bet everything!

"Draw!"

Seeing the card he drew at a glance, Manjoume's expression immediately became complicated.

Graceful Charity.

A Spell Card. You can Draw three cards from your Deck, then choose two cards from your Hand to Discard.

In this desperate situation, it was undoubtedly a Divine Draw. Drawing three cards would increase his chances of drawing a comeback card.

However, this made him grit his teeth again, thinking of the "Premature Burial" that had just been sent back to his Deck. If Premature Burial were still in his hand, then with this "Graceful Charity", if he drew a high-Level Monster among the next three cards, he could use the Effect of "Graceful Charity" to send it to the Graveyard, then use Premature Burial to bring it back and execute a beautiful comeback from this desperate situation...

Of course, thanks to that damn "Confiscation" from earlier, that was no longer possible.

Manjoume suddenly found the feeling of Dueling against this guy before him very strange. The whole Duel made him feel slightly annoyed at first thought, but the more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

But this Draw gave him a chance to make a move. Manjoume rallied, lifted his head, and was about to activate the Spell Card. Suddenly, he saw the Set Card in his opponent's Back Row had already been activated at some point.

Trap Card - Confiscation. Activate during your opponent's Draw Phase. Your opponent must immediately Discard the card they just drew to the Graveyard.

Manjoume: "."

A finishing blow Trap, Kira's final safeguard, it even strangled the possibility of a Divine Draw in the cradle.

At this moment, Koji Sato, who was watching from the front row, suddenly leaped up from his seat and slapped his thigh with a loud slap.

"I know this feeling! This is it!"