Both sides had kept their fields restrained on the championship stage.
Tachibana Shingo had one face-down monster on his field, three cards in his back row, and plenty of cards left in his hand.
Yūki's monster zone was empty, with two face-down cards in his back row.
From the looks of it, Tachibana Shingo held the defensive line he had established by going first, while Yūki seemed ready to drag the match into another back-row battle.
The problem was, everyone who knew Yūki knew that his two face-down cards usually deserved more caution than anyone else's five-card back row.
In City First Middle School's spectator section, the male competitor folded his arms and stared at Yūki's back row.
"Two face-down cards."
"This morning, he used his back row to dismantle Shingo's field step by step."
The female competitor was watching those two cards too.
"And he's only set two this time, with so many resources still in his hand. He's definitely hiding something again."
Over on Third Municipal Middle School's side.
Kurosawa Kōshin said nothing.
He had faced Yūki twice, seen that hand destruction deck, and also watched Needle Worm, Morphing Jar #2, and Lava Golem during the league.
Fewer face-down cards didn't mean safety.
Quite the opposite.
The fewer cards Yūki set, the more outrageous the cards in his hand tended to be.
Jaden leaned over the railing, watching the field with keen interest.
"What deck will Yūki use this time?"
"Needle Worm? Hand destruction? Or Lava Golem?"
Sato Renshan sat farther back, and his face twitched at those words.
The kid was just playing in a middle school league, and people were already guessing at his third or fourth deck.
An ordinary student did well just to learn to play one deck smoothly.
But Fujiwara Yūki?
He treated decks like seasonal outfits, one today and another tomorrow, every single one out to finish his opponent off.
At the center of the main stage, Yūki stood straight, with little expression on his face.
He looked quite composed.
In reality, he was barely holding it together.
Rewind to before the championship match began.
Yūki had been in a very good mood as he slipped the HERO Deck he had stayed up late tuning into its deck box.
He had already played deck destruction, hand destruction, and burn.
For this championship match, he had decided to bring out a genuinely wholesome deck.
HEROes!
Even the name sounded righteous.
Just reading the card names got the blood pumping.
A field full of heroes, fusion transformations, overpowering attack points, and finally a cry of, "Go, my partner!"
He had even planned it all out.
Winning today would be the perfect chance to wash away his reputation as a "degenerate" and rebuild his image as a sunny, cheerful guy.
But when he turned over the six cards dealt to him, Yūki almost failed to keep the smile on his face.
[Polymerization].
[Miracle Fusion].
[Pot of Greed].
[Holy Barrier - Mirror Force].
[Royal Decree].
[Elemental HERO Neos].
Yūki stared at his hand for several seconds.
Ultraman (Elemental HERO Neos) looked very cool, as though waiting for his command to fly off and save the world.
The problem was, Yūki couldn't produce a single material from his hand that could fuse with him.
He had Polymerization.
He had Miracle Fusion.
He even had Pot of Greed.
He even had an Elemental HERO Neos.
But his monster zone was empty enough to race horses in.
In the physical card game environment of his previous life, this was the sort of opening hand that made you want to hit surrender the moment you saw it.
Fortunately, he had Pot of Greed, which left him a little hope.
At least he still had a Pot of Greed.
Pot of Greed was legal here.
Surely this land of wholesome play could give him a little warmth.
"I activate the Spell Card, Pot of Greed, and draw two cards from my deck."
The green pot's projection opened its huge mouth before him.
Two cards slid into his hand.
Yūki looked down.
[Polymerization].
[Swords of Revealing Light].
Yūki: "..."
The good news was that he had drawn Swords of Revealing Light, which could keep him alive.
The bad news was that the other card was another Polymerization.
He now had two copies of Polymerization in his hand.
Counting Miracle Fusion, that made three.
Elemental HERO Neos was still there.
The materials were still sleeping soundly in his deck.
Yūki almost wanted to pull his deck out of his Duel Disk and ask it a question.
Did you shuffle?
When he had played hand destruction, Needle Worm deck destruction, or Lava Golem burn, every opening hand had been perfectly respectable.
Why had his deck clubbed him over the head the moment he wanted to be a hero for once?
Was he really the chosen player of degenerate decks?
Put a proper deck in his hands, and he bricked.
Give him a degenerate deck, and he opened with everything he could wish for.
Was that reasonable?
It was very unreasonable.
But Yūki was a seasoned Duelist now.
A brick was a brick, but he absolutely couldn't let it show on his face.
Especially when his opponent was Tachibana Shingo.
This guy had spent the entire lunch break studying him. Two face-down cards alone could make him imagine a hundred degenerate chains.
Then he could keep imagining.
Yūki set Royal Decree and Mirror Force, held on to his fusion spells and Elemental HERO Neos, and ended his turn.
Tachibana Shingo looked at those two face-down cards, his expression even more serious than before.
Just as I thought.
Fujiwara Yūki is waiting for me to make the first move again.
That morning, Level Limit - Area B had sat on the field, with Gravity Bind hidden behind it.
That morning, Wave-Motion Cannon had sat on the field, with Lava Golem hidden behind it.
Now there were two face-down cards. Who knew what might be tucked inside?
Tachibana Shingo placed his hand on his deck.
"My turn. I draw!"
The card slid into his palm.
His gaze swept over his hand, and then he pulled out a Spell Card.
"I activate the Spell Card, Mystical Space Typhoon."
The howl of wind rang out overhead in the arena.
A blue-green whirlwind swept out of the Spell Card's projection and circled the main stage, its wind blades aimed at the face-down card on Yūki's left.
Tachibana Shingo pointed.
"I'll destroy that face-down card."
The typhoon slammed down.
One corner of the face-down card flipped up.
The phantom image of a golden palace had barely risen from the back row before the storm tore it apart.
[Royal Decree].
The male competitor from City First Middle School froze for a moment.
"Royal Decree?"
"So that was a Continuous Trap that shuts down traps."
The female competitor frowned.
"Destroying it first was the right move."
As Tachibana Shingo watched the shattered palace projection, the corner of his mouth shifted.
Royal Decree was indeed troublesome.
Once that card was flipped face up, most of the traps on the field would be negated.
And he still had Fossil Dig and Sakuretsu Armor set on his field.
If Yūki waited until he had developed his board before flipping Royal Decree, his dinosaur offensive might well be held back by his own back row.
That Mystical Space Typhoon had hit exactly the right target.
But as Yūki watched his face-down card get destroyed, he had only one thought.
Thank goodness.
At least that Mirror Force is still alive.
Tachibana Shingo placed his second card in the back row.
"I activate the Continuous Trap Card, Fossil Dig."
Ancient ruins buried beneath windblown sand rose on the field.
A massive skeleton lay buried beneath the yellow sand, with a sharp fang jutting from the rock strata.
"When I activate this card, I discard one monster from my hand."
Tachibana Shingo sent a Monster Card to the Graveyard zone.
"I discard Super Conductor Tyranno."
A murmur immediately spread through the stands.
The very name of the card just sent to the Graveyard carried an air of something not to be messed with.
Tachibana Shingo raised his head.
"Fossil Dig's effect lets me choose one Dinosaur monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it."
"The effects of the monster Special Summoned by this card are negated."
"My chosen target is Super Conductor Tyranno!"
Before you continue