Jinzo - Psychic Shockwave.
Jinzo.
Having been restricted mere months after its physical release, its strength was beyond question.
"As long as this card remains in the Monster Zone, neither player can activate the effects of Trap Cards on the field, and the effects of Trap Cards on the field are negated."
Even in its "nerfed" physical-card version, this field-wide Trap lockdown held an exceptional position in the era of trap-heavy beatdown decks.
More importantly, it had no summoning restrictions.
"This card cannot be Normal Summoned."
"This card cannot be Special Summoned."
None of those increasingly common summoning restrictions appeared on this card, which meant that as long as it entered a place like the Graveyard, it could be summoned through other means—just as Yu Ming was doing now.
Now, as long as his Equip Spell went through, this monster that was practically his opponent's signature card would establish a powerful lockdown for him.
But...
"Don't get ahead of yourself!!"
Before the phantom projected from the plaque could solidify, a chain shot through the air and wrapped tightly around it.
At the other end of that chain, a massive tombstone emerged.
"So that Set Card in your back row really was a Trap that could summon Jinzo."
While Yu Ming sighed, Ogorou Daimon merely shouted loudly.
"Continuous Trap—Call of the Haunted!"
Though activated later, the tombstone that had already appeared shattered the plaque's radiance completely.
"I Special Summon 'Jinzo - Psychic Shockwave' to my field."
Amid the writhing black mist, a tall figure crawled out from the churning earth and stood upon the field like a double.
Jinzo - Psychic Shockwave (Lv. 6) Attribute/DARK Type/Machine ATK/2400 DEF/1500
"With that, your plan has fallen through."
Ogorou Daimon said proudly.
"Though it doesn't quite align with my plan, my ace has arrived on the field."
"Yes, it has finally reached the field as well."
"What?"
Meeting Ogorou Daimon's seemingly astonished gaze, Yu Ming slapped his third card onto the Duel Disk.
As clouds of mist swirled, a ferocious figure slowly emerged.
"I summon 'Mist Demon.'"
Mist Demon (Lv. 5) Attribute/DARK Type/Fiend ATK/2400 DEF/0
"A Level 5 monster without a Tribute..."
"This card can be summoned without a Tribute, but in exchange, it will be destroyed when I end my turn, and I'll take 1,000 points of damage."
At those words, Ogorou Daimon's tightly furrowed brow relaxed.
"Don't forget, you barely have any Life Points left."
"But what does that matter?"
The instant the words left his mouth, Yu Ming suddenly felt as though his thoughts had become clear.
Put simply—it felt great!
He had never expected to get the chance to say something like that.
"But what can you possibly do..."
"Ooooooh!!"
Ogorou Daimon suddenly jolted awake, only to hear a strange, agonized howl.
"Jinzo?!"
"Guh..."
The Psychic Shockwave that looked exactly like him had lost its natural arrogance. It merely clutched its body, looking utterly frail.
"What's going on?"
He could not help looking across the field. There, he saw a card that had been flipped face-up, and the demon depicted on it was making the exact same agonized motion.
"Equip Spell—'Falling Down.'"
Yu Ming said coldly.
"When there is a 'Demon' monster on my field, I can equip this card to an opponent's monster. During each of my opponent's Standby Phases, I take 800 points of damage."
He equipped a card to his opponent's monster just so he could take damage?
Of course not. Setting aside whether cards with effects that purely harmed their user for the opponent's benefit even existed, even if they did, Yu Ming would never put one in his Deck.
The reason this card had entered his Deck was entirely because it had another effect.
"In exchange, I gain control of the equipped monster."
"What?!"
"Ooooooh!!"
At last, the Jinzo in the front row seemed to have reached its limit.
With a mad roar, it leaped directly over the center of the battlefield and landed on Yu Ming's side of the field.
"Now, your monster belongs to me."
"Impossible."
As though he had only just regained his senses, Ogorou Daimon could not help speaking up.
"How can there be a card like that?!"
Why was he getting so worked up?
"Weren't there already cards like that?"
Not to mention the ultimate Minotaur Card, Snatch Steal, which was also an Equip Spell, there were actually cards with similar effects in the DM anime.
"'Change of Heart.'"
Yu Ming casually gave an example.
"If I remember correctly, wasn't that card even easier to activate?"
It did not require a Demon on the field, nor did it require paying Life Points. Its only condition was that it targeted a monster, just like a spell of mind control.
In the anime, that card had two owners: one was Bakura, and the other was the famous Pharaoh Atem.
So don't listen to people saying Little Yugi was a good-hearted guy who used dark cards while the Pharaoh was a dark guy who used good-hearted cards. What kind of good-hearted guy put Catapult Turtle in his Deck?
"No, that's completely wrong!"
After coming back to his senses, Yu Ming heard Ogorou Daimon's furious roar.
"Cards like this shouldn't exist here... No, you shouldn't have cards like this! These should be Demon cards!"
"That's true. These cards aren't mine."
Yu Ming nodded and admitted it.
"For certain reasons, Mister Graffer hasn't awakened yet. Until then, his Demon Deck will be kept in my care."
Mm, kept in his care...
"Cough, cough."
Even Yu Ming felt uncomfortable all over as he said that.
How should he put it?
Wasn't just taking someone else's Deck still too embarrassing?
"How can you use someone else's cards?"
"That's why, once Mister Graffer wakes up, and once I make sure he won't return to his original state, I really will give his Deck back to him..."
"How can you use someone else's cards so casually?! Why do you possess such a special power?!"
"Huh?"
Was that really something worth being surprised about?
All of a sudden, Yu Ming realized they seemed to be talking past each other.
Scratching the back of his head, he merely looked at the artificial human before him—Ogorou Daimon.
His expression was no longer simple surprise or the gravity of facing a crisis. It had become something far more twisted.
"Unforgivable..."
Hatred!
The most primal loathing appeared on the artificial human's face. Overloaded currents even crackled around him with black bursts.
"You are unforgivable!!!"
Watching the surging, sky-reaching black aura, Yu Ming could not help scratching the back of his head.
After sweeping his gaze across the surroundings, which looked something like a sacrificial altar, he sincerely asked:
"Are you sick?"
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