As Zane Truesdale haughtily declared the end of his turn, the illusory blood-red furnace collapsed in midair with a thunderous crash. Its raging scarlet flames became several bolts of backlash lightning that mercilessly struck him!
The backlash damage from [Power Bond]!
"Ugh...!!"
Zane let out a muffled grunt, swaying slightly as a thin sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Because he had used that forbidden card to double a Machine Fusion Monster's ATK during his turn, he had to bear a full four thousand points of self-inflicted damage at the end of the turn, equal to the amount of ATK gained!
Dazzling scarlet numbers flashed violently on his Duel Disk.
[Zane Truesdale LP: 16500 → 12500]
A fierce wind scattered the billowing white smoke around him.
Zane took a deep breath and slowly straightened his back. He reached up to adjust his collar, disheveled by the blast, his deep blue eyes still filled with absolute composure and coldness.
Four thousand points of backlash?
For someone who had just wolfed down an entire pot of sixteen-thousand-point End Dragon tonic soup, it was barely a scratch.
A full twelve thousand five hundred Life Points!
Even throughout the history of the Professional Dueling World, that number was enough to qualify as a fortress of astronomical proportions that inspired despair.
"Even after paying four thousand points, I still have twelve thousand five hundred Life Points."
Zane looked down at Yūki's empty front row, the faintest cold smirk even tugging at his lips.
"Yūki, your back row certainly was full of schemes, and you successfully neutralized my offensive. But now my field is empty, and so is yours."
He folded his arms, his steady voice echoing through the spacious hall.
"With what little resources you have left in your hand, there is