Victory Declaration

"Then we'll move into the Main Phase of My Turn."

Ryuzaki's fingertips lightly brushed across his replenished hand as he let out a cold laugh.

"You were pretty cocky last turn, kid. But it ends here. This duel ends this turn!"

He revealed three cards from his hand in one go. "I activate the Spell Card 'Polymerization'!

"I fuse 'Swift Velociraptor' and 'Brutal Pterodactyl' from my hand!"

The Spell Card appeared, and the dinosaurs were released from his hand onto the field, only to be swept into the pitch-black vortex of fusion. Black lightning flashed from within and struck the field spectacularly, blasting up clouds of smoke.

"Ruler of the abyss and hell, awaken from the endless depths of darkness. Fusion Summon—

"—Level six, Hell Horn Dragon!" (Anime Card)

Hell Horn Dragon, ATK 2000

An anime card that had yet to receive a Physical Card Adaptation, it was one of Dinosaur Ryuzaki's new aces in DM after Red-Eyes and Evil Knight Dragon were taken from him in succession.

"It's not over yet!"

Ryuzaki continued.

"Next, I activate the Spell Card 'Monster Reborn'! With this card, I revive the powerful dinosaur slumbering in my Graveyard!"

Monster Reborn's sacred symbol appeared in midair, and a card sprang from the Graveyard slot of his Duel Disk in a burst of golden light.

"I revive this card from my Graveyard, the absolute king of dinosaurs—

"—Dark Tyranno!"

The pitch-black dinosaur emerged from a vortex of the underworld with a thunderous roar. It raised its head and howled, its massive tail striking the ground and kicking up a towering curtain of dust.

Dark Tyranno, ATK 2600

"Eh? Dark Tyranno?" Commentator Xiao Du said in surprise. "When did he get a monster like that?"

"Back when he first used 'Graceful Charity,' I believe," Commentator Sasaki said. "So he had been planning all the way to this point from the beginning. After getting broken through in that situation, he was actually able to organize such a powerful counterattack immediately this turn.

"As expected of a Legendary Duelist."

"I see. That is impressive, but why not revive 'Tri-Horned Dragon'?" Commentator Xiao Du asked curiously. "Tri-Horned Dragon should have higher ATK, shouldn't it?"

Commentator Sasaki gave a mysterious smile. "Heh heh, because Ryuzaki seems to already have a way to win. Just keep watching and you'll see."

With two more powerful monsters on the field, Ryuzaki laughed triumphantly again. "How about that? The power of my dinosaurs! Extreme offense, crushing the opponent beneath absolute power to claim victory—that is my duel now!

"I'm not the same as I was in the past. I'm stronger now than I ever was!"

Yet as Kira looked at that dark, hulking Dark Tyranno, only one thought crossed his mind.

Ryuzaki, why are you using Judai's lackey Kenzan's card?

His only impression of that dinosaur was that it had been Kenzan's ace when he first appeared in the anime, and it had once pushed Judai into a difficult fight. Of course, Judai had ultimately turned things around with a godly topdeck, and Kenzan had then become his lackey.

"Next, I activate the Spell Card 'Attack Seal' from my hand!

"This card forcibly changes one Attack Position monster on my opponent's field into Defense Position!"

Ryuzaki waved a hand toward Kira's Machina Fortress.

"I change 'Machina Fortress' to Defense Position!"

Machina Fortress, ATK 2500 → DEF 1600

"I see," Kira said in understanding. "Dark Tyranno can attack the player directly if there are no Attack Position monsters on the opponent's field. (Anime Effect)

"So that was your plan."

"Hoh, you know quite a bit for a rookie," Ryuzaki said with a light laugh, rubbing his nose. "That's right, this is my tactic.

"And the 'Hell Horn Dragon' on my field can also attack the opponent directly during the turn it was Fusion Summoned!"

The entire audience immediately erupted again.

"Two consecutive direct attacks with 2600 and 2000 ATK! And they can ignore the opponent's monsters!" Commentator Xiao Du cried. "Wouldn't that be a direct OTK?!"

"That's Ryuzaki's strategy," Sasaki said. "It truly is absolute power suppression. That level of strength is astonishing."

Two dragons straight to the face in succession—how could anyone possibly lose to that?

"Go! First, Dark Tyranno! Through its Monster Effect, bypass Machina Fortress and attack the player directly!"

Dark Tyranno roared and charged forward with a thunderous rumble, its swinging tail stirring up a thick cloud of dust. It leaped over Machina Fortress and lunged to tear into Kira.

"Then I flip my Set Card and activate the Trap—Earthbound Spirit's Temptation!" Kira raised his hand. "Activate it when an opponent's monster declares an attack. That attacking monster can choose a new attack target."

He pointed to the Machina on his field.

"I designate 'Machina Fortress' as Dark Tyranno's attack target."

"Tch." Ryuzaki curled his lip in displeasure. "Using a little trick like that to avoid being OTK'd?

"But Dark Tyranno still has higher ATK! Dark Tyranno, clear away that eyesore first!"

Machina Fortress, DEF 1600

The Fortress, forced into Defense Position, naturally could not withstand the ferocious dark dinosaur. The beast charged in with a roar and tore the enormous fortress apart in a few bites. Parts flew everywhere, bursting into black smoke, and within moments it was reduced to scrap amid a series of booming explosions.

"Eh?"

Commentator Xiao Du froze.

"Strange, why didn't the Mech-Frame's effect activate?"

Logically speaking, Kira's Machina Fortress was equipped with "Machina Mech-Frame," whose effect should have allowed it to take one instance of destruction in place of the Equipped Monster.

Why had it not activated?

Ryuzaki also faintly sensed that something was wrong, and that premonition was immediately proven true.

"At this moment, another effect of 'Machina Fortress' activates."

Before it was Sent to Graveyard, Kira revealed the Fortress card once more.

"When this card is destroyed by battle and Sent to Graveyard, I can choose and destroy one card on my opponent's field. Naturally, the card I choose is—"

He pointed at the dragon on Ryuzaki's field that had yet to attack.

"Hell Horn Dragon!"

Before exploding, the Fortress fired its main cannon one final time. It opened fire like a ruptured barrel, and that final shot struck Hell Horn Dragon squarely in the head. The dragon let out a miserable cry and exploded into fragments beneath the power of modern artillery.

"Damn it." Ryuzaki gritted his teeth.

"B-B-Brilliant!"

Commentator Xiao Du rose from his seat, unconsciously beginning to give Kira a thumbs-up as well.

"With just one exchange of offense and defense, he not only blocked Ryuzaki's second attack, but also destroyed his Fusion ace!

"Ryuzaki's lethal double strike to the face was casually defused by Kira. And Kira's Life Points remain at four thousand—an untouched four thousand!

"The Legendary Duelist's relentless attacks have still failed to breach his defense by even the slightest margin!"

"It truly was completely unexpected,"

Commentator Sasaki said as well.

"Fujiki Kira. What an incredible rookie. If someone told me right now that he was actually a pro scene player wearing a human-skin mask, I would believe it."

To fight the legendary Ryuzaki to such a degree was simply inconceivable for a rookie.

"Then I set two cards on the field and End Turn."

His attack had failed again, leaving Ryuzaki somewhat frustrated. Still, he had regained the advantage on the field.

Dark Tyranno possessed a mighty 2600 ATK, while his opponent had defended against the attack but now had an empty field. Furthermore, he had an extremely powerful backrow this turn. It should be secure.

"Draw."

After drawing, Kira narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Mm. What a pity. It seems you might not have a next turn."

Ryuzaki: "!"

Not only him—those shocking words stunned the commentators and the entire audience as well.

What had they just heard?

A victory declaration?

"W-W-What an astonishing development!"

Commentator Xiao Du's entire upper body was practically hanging over the desk.

"Contestant Kira has declared victory against Ryuzaki—the legendary Ryuzaki!"

If he had said that at the start of the duel, then after their initial shock, some people might have laughed at this rookie for not knowing his place, for becoming so inflated after winning a few matches.

But after witnessing his dominance over the duel in those past few turns, few people felt that way anymore.

There was no sense of arrogance. Even when he made that declaration, there was no smugness or pride in his voice. That was the most terrifying part.

His emotions barely fluctuated when he said it. It was as if he were merely declaring a fact that was about to happen, without provocation or mockery, simply casually stating a result he already knew would absolutely occur.

Ryuzaki's heart shook just as fiercely. He had thought his past experiences had forged an iron will, yet the instant he heard those words, his legs still trembled uncontrollably, and he nearly fell over.

That was not merely because, in that instant, he thought of how his journey of returning as king after years of seclusion would end here at a mere Secondary Arena, defeated by a rookie with a blank record.

It was not just that.

It was because, the instant he heard those words, he felt as though he had been convinced by his opponent.

As though some part of him could not help but believe that declaration.

Believe that he was finished this turn.

"W-What did you say?" Ryuzaki tried hard to shake away those thoughts.

Impossible.

He had a powerful monster on the field and defensive cards in his backrow. There was no way the opponent could get through.

That was right. It was definitely just a bluff.

"The effect of 'Machina Fortress' in my Graveyard."

Kira calmly took the monster card that had been ejected from the Graveyard slot of his Duel Disk.

"This card can Special Summon itself from the Graveyard by discarding Machine-Type Monsters from my hand whose combined Levels are eight or higher."

He drew out two cards from his hand.

"I send the level three Machine-Type Monster 'Card Blaster' and another Level Seven 'Machina Fortress' from my hand to the Graveyard, then revive the 'Machina Fortress' in my Graveyard."

The two cards were Sent to Graveyard in succession, and a storm of metal swept across Kira's field. The Fortress rose into the air again with the roar of engines, its guns and cannons raised once more.

Machina Fortress, ATK 2500

"An effect that revives itself. Is that the source of his confidence?" Ryuzaki narrowed his eyes, his mind racing. "Then it looks like he has cards in hand that can support it in battle."

The Fortress's ATK was only 100 lower than Dark Tyranno's. Any Equipment Card would easily let it break through.

And due to the effect of "Reckless Greed" that he had activated, Ryuzaki had to skip his next two Draw Phases. In other words, even if he survived this turn, if he could not protect his Dark Tyranno, he was finished anyway.

However—

"Flip Set Card!"

The Trap in Ryuzaki's backrow flipped open.

"Trap Card—Judgment of Anubis! It can directly destroy an opponent's Special Summoned monster!"

A black vortex opened beneath its feet. Before the Machina Fortress that had returned to the field could steady itself, it exploded with a boom and was blasted to pieces.

Ryuzaki burst into laughter. "Hahaha! Using Traps isn't your exclusive privilege! How about it? Can you still declare that you'll finish me this turn!?"