A dull rumble came from the center of the wasteland.
Yellow sand churned.
Enormous bones thrust up from underground, blue-white arcs of electricity quickly coiling around their surfaces.
Lightning surged along the spine and plunged into the giant beast's skull.
Boom!
Sandstone exploded.
A tyrannosaur covered in dark blue armor burst out of the ground.
Thick conductive horns grew on either side of its head. Its mouth split open, dazzling white light dancing between its sharp teeth.
As its tail swept the ground, electricity raced across the projected floor, making even the light screens beside the field flicker.
[Super Conductor Tyranno, ATK 3300]
The male commentator shot to his feet.
"Three thousand three hundred attack points!"
"That's already higher than Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
The female commentator raised her voice as well.
"Tachibana actually used Fossil Dig to Special Summon Super Conductor Tyranno from the Graveyard! Even with its effects negated, this monster still has a frighteningly high ATK!"
Three thousand three hundred.
That number alone was enough to make a whole host of low-level Monster Cards tremble.
Yūki's eyelid twitched as he watched the enormous tyrannosaur wreathed in electricity.
Thirty-three hundred again.
Had Tachibana Shingo even shuffled this Dinosaur Deck?
Ultimate Tyranno with three thousand ATK in the morning.
The afternoon duel had barely started, and he'd opened with a Set monster and three back-row cards. Now he'd pulled a thirty-three-hundred-ATK monster out of the Graveyard.
Had this guy stacked all his high-ATK Dinosaurs on top of his Deck?
Super Conductor Tyranno roared at Yūki.
Yūki still had nothing on his field.
Just one Set card.
Yet Tachibana Shingo was in no hurry to enter the Battle Phase.
He walked over to the Set monster on his field and raised his hand.
"Flip Summon."
The face-down Monster Card flipped over.
Several long cracks split the ground, and an enormous spiked stone hammer thrust up from below. Beneath it emerged a short, stocky brown dinosaur.
An exaggerated bony hammer almost completely covered its head, and the ground shook with every step it took.
[Super-Ancient Dinobeast, ATK 1500]
The male commentator spoke faster and faster.
"Super-Ancient Dinobeast, fifteen hundred attack points!"
"Together with Super Conductor Tyranno's thirty-three hundred, Tachibana now has a total of forty-eight hundred ATK on his field!"
"Fujiwara has no monsters on his field and still has four thousand Life Points. Could Tachibana Shingo end the championship match this turn?"
"He lost to Fujiwara just this morning, then fought his way back to the championship match through the repechage this afternoon. Now he might even finish the duel on the second turn!"
The atmosphere in the venue hit fever pitch.
Many of the eliminated contestants had only stayed to watch the show.
But looking at the forty-eight hundred total ATK on the field, then at Yūki's empty Monster Zone, none of them could sit still.
The male contestant from City First Middle School gripped the railing.
"Shingo's won!"
"He only has one Set card!"
"Royal Decree's already been taken out by Mystical Space Typhoon! What can that Set card possibly stop?"
In Third Municipal Middle School's spectator section, Kurosawa Kōshin frowned.
The board state was terrible.
Yūki had no monsters.
One Set card against two Attack Position Dinosaurs.
Even if that Set card was Mirror Force, it could only stop one battle.
Tachibana Shingo still had one unknown card in his back row.
The situation was far from safe.
Sato Renshan rested his hands on his knees and said nothing.
He knew Yūki definitely had something.
The question was, what else was Yūki hiding in his hand?
Jaden, however, sat perfectly at ease.
He even lowered the leg he had raised nervously a moment earlier.
Kurosawa glanced at him.
"You're not worried at all?"
Jaden looked up with a smile that suggested it was only natural.
"Yūki won't lose."
"How do you know?"
"Intuition."
Jaden patted his chest.
"My intuition's always been accurate."
Kurosawa opened his mouth.
He really wanted to say that dueling wasn't about intuition.
But when he looked at Yūki standing before those two high-ATK Dinosaurs, his expression still barely changed, he swallowed his words.
Tachibana Shingo looked at Yūki.
Super Conductor Tyranno stood on the left, Super-Ancient Dinobeast on the right.
The two Dinosaurs' shadows almost completely covered Yūki.
"Yūki."
"You only have one card left in your back row."
"What countermeasures do you have left?"
Tachibana Shingo asked in complete earnest.
He wasn't mocking him.
That morning's duel had taught him that Yūki never made a pointless play.
Yūki glanced at the several Polymerization Spell Cards in his hand, then at Elemental HERO Neos.
His HERO Deck's debut, and his opening hand was this bricked.
He had thought he would have to cling on with Swords of Revealing Light and slowly wait for a turn when he could make a play.
He hadn't expected Tachibana Shingo to hand him two Attack Position monsters.
Good thing.
This Mirror Force hadn't been taken out by Mystical Space Typhoon.
Yūki raised his head, the corner of his mouth shifting slightly.
"I do."
"Attack and you'll find out."
Tachibana Shingo frowned slightly, then swept his hand out.
"Enter the Battle Phase!"
"Super-Ancient Dinobeast, attack directly!"
The dinosaur charged at Yūki on its thick, short legs, the enormous bony hammer atop its head leading the way.
Its footsteps sent broken stones flying across the projected ground.
In the stands, several students had already risen to their feet.
Yūki raised his hand and flipped over the last card in his back row.
"I activate my Trap Card."
"Holy Barrier - Mirror Force."
The Set card flipped face up.
An enormous silver mirror rose in front of Yūki.
Dense patterns floated across its surface, reflecting the charging dinosaur. The moment it reached the front of the mirror, the surface lit up with white light.
Tachibana Shingo's expression changed.
"Mirror Force?"
The male commentator grabbed his microphone.
"Holy Barrier - Mirror Force!"
"When an opponent's monster declares an attack, it activates and destroys all Attack Position monsters on the opponent's field!"
"Yūki's last Set card was actually this trap!"
The mirror exploded.
A white shock wave swept across the entire field.
Super-Ancient Dinobeast's bony hammer shattered first, followed by its head, limbs, and tail.
Before it could even cry out, its entire projection was swept away by the torrent of light.
Super Conductor Tyranno let out a furious roar.
It opened its mouth, the electricity lighting up between its teeth trying to disperse the white light.
But Mirror Force's wave of light had already reached its feet.
The thirty-three-hundred-ATK beast's armor burst apart inch by inch. Its lightning became wildly flickering strands of light, finally shattering into countless points of light along with its enormous body.
The field was empty.
Having lost the monster it had Special Summoned, Fossil Dig shattered as well.
Only scattered fragments of light remained across the main field's projection.
Tachibana Shingo stood where he was, staring at his empty Monster Zone.
He had spent the entire lunch break preparing.
Kept his monster count low to guard against Lava Golem.
Used Mystical Space Typhoon to take out Royal Decree first.
Then brought out a high-ATK monster with Fossil Dig.
Finally, flipped his Set monster to assemble lethal damage.
Every step had gone smoothly.
Until that Mirror Force flipped face up.
There had indeed been a trap lurking in Yūki's back row.
And it was the oldest, most straightforward, most unreasonable red trap of them all.
Tachibana Shingo closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, his face had regained its composure.
"Just as I thought."
"That's very much your style."
Yūki didn't respond.
He was afraid that the moment he opened his mouth, he would reveal the truth: My hand really is bricked.
Before you continue