Chapter 147: I Want to See the Limit of Power
"Perfection… does it mean the limit?" Sheppard repeated Hayato's words.
Although he had always treated others with a humble attitude, deep in his mind, it would be a lie to say he wasn't satisfied with the Deck he used.
Time and again, using the "Cyber Style" Deck he had learned, he could easily defeat his fellow disciples in the dojo. Even his elders who were already capable of using the symbol of the "Cyber Style"—[Cyber Dragon]—rarely proved to be his match.
With a 100% win rate and a fighting style with no blind spots, whenever he achieved victory, Sheppard, though he never said it aloud, truly felt, as Hayato had said, that his Deck was perfect.
However, that perfection *is* the limit… Sheppard wasn't hearing this for the first time, as his master, the current grandmaster of the "Cyber Style" dojo, had said the same thing.
After defeating his Deck with the ultimate secret art of "Cyber Style"—the [Cyber End Dragon] with a staggering 8000 ATK—Sheppard remembered his master saying the exact same words as Hayato and guiding him to participate in this Duelist Kingdom tournament.
"Just once, you probably won't be able to fully grasp the limit of your own perfection. Go to that island and see for yourself," his master had said. "Under the guidance of Draco, I hope you can surpass your perfection when you return."
"Sheppard, let me show you my transcendence, my Overload!" Hayato activated that card, slamming his hand onto the Duel Arena. "I activate the Spell Card, [Double Up Chance]!"
A slot machine appeared on Hayato's Field, its three reels spinning rapidly, so fast that the patterns blurring past were impossible to discern.
"This card can only be activated when a monster's attack is negated. That monster whose attack was negated gets one more chance to attack, and its ATK is doubled for that attack only!"
"[Prime Material Dragon], once more! Attack [Cyber Ogre] again!"
As Hayato's words fell, the slot machine's lever was pulled. On the reels, three identical "7"s gradually appeared—a jackpot! A torrent of gold coins gushed from the slot machine's coin slot, transforming into invisible energy that surged into [Prime Material Dragon]'s body as soon as they appeared!
"Oh-oh-oh-oh—!!!"
[Prime Material Dragon] absorbed a massive amount of energy, its already enormous body expanding further. It let out a roar and once again launched an attack against Sheppard's [Cyber Ogre] on the Field!
[[Prime Material Dragon] ATK 4800 → 9600]
"ATK, 9600?!"
At this, not only Sheppard, who was directly facing [Prime Material Dragon], and Yugi's group, who were observing the duel, were astonished, but even Camula, who usually paid little attention to the match and sat in the back row, and Pegasus, who was observing the situation from behind his screen, found themselves unable to sit still.
"Is this Hayato-boy's limit? Unbelievable! Truly an incredible power," Pegasus barely noticed his fairy tale book falling to the ground. He stood up from his seat, staring directly at the brilliantly shining [Prime Material Dragon] on the screen. "The limit of perfection? How interesting, me is getting more and more curious who will reach me first, you or Yugi-boy, Hayato-boy~"
"An ultimate power capable of easily crushing any resistance, is this your strength? Truly, it's an eye-opener, Hayato-kun," Sheppard exclaimed, watching [Prime Material Dragon] soar through the sky, scattering brilliant light. But he did not abandon resistance despite witnessing the terrifying 9600 ATK; instead, his fighting spirit intensified.
"The moment [Prime Material Dragon] declares an attack, I flip my Set Card, [Sakuretsu Armor]!" Sheppard flipped his Set Card; it was the "invincible" [Sakuretsu Armor]. "Though beautiful, Hayato! Your power is not enough to break through my perfection!"
"When attacking my monster, [Prime Material Dragon] will be destroyed by the effect of [Sakuretsu Armor]!"
A stream of light shot out from Sheppard's back row, actively meeting the diving [Prime Material Dragon]. A crack appeared on [Prime Material Dragon]'s body. As [Prime Material Dragon] surged towards [Cyber Ogre], the closer the distance, the more that crack spread and grew.
"Don't underestimate me, Sheppard!" Hayato retorted with a smile. "Since it is your wish, then behold my powerful limit, and my transcendence of it!"
"The moment [Sakuretsu Armor]'s effect activates, [Prime Material Dragon]'s protective power joins the Chain!" Discarding a card from his hand and sending it to the Graveyard, Hayato looked at [Cyber Ogre] and [Prime Material Dragon] on the verge of collision, a relieved smile on his face.
"Everything has a flaw, perfection does not exist. So-called perfection is merely the pursuit of it. But if the goal is *only* perfection, perfection can never be achieved!"
"To become strong, one must begin with transcendence!"
"[Prime Material Dragon]'s second effect is: when a card with an effect that destroys a monster on the field is activated, you can discard one card from your hand; that effect is negated and the card that activated it is destroyed!" Hayato gripped the handrail of the Duel Arena. "My heart is trembling, my blood is boiling, my soul is burning fiercely,"
"My glory, my soul! Deliver the final blow, [Prime Material Dragon]!"
"Cute Star Soaring Collision!"
The effect of [Sakuretsu Armor] on [Prime Material Dragon] shattered, like a shed skin, breaking apart behind the rapidly diving [Prime Material Dragon]. Bathed in stardust and cloaked in brilliant light, the 9600 ATK [Prime Material Dragon] and the 3900 ATK [Cyber Ogre] finally collided!
"Boom!"
The impact simulation system installed in the Duel Stage was designed to account even for Kaiba's [Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon]'s 4500 ATK, and even had the virtual projection limit increased to 9000 ATK beyond that.
However, the designers of the Duel Stage never imagined that in this duel between Sheppard and Hayato, not only did Sheppard's [Cyber Ogre] reach 3900 ATK, but Hayato's [Prime Material Dragon] even surpassed the limit at 9600 ATK.
The Duel Stage beneath their feet vibrated violently, and the virtual projection in the field stuttered occasionally like a television signal suffering electromagnetic interference, even sparking with electrical arcs. The aftershocks of [Prime Material Dragon]'s attack continued for a while before finally stopping. The dust dissipated, revealing Sheppard's scoreboard at zero.
[Sheppard: 4000 LP → 0]
"You won, Hayato-kun." A smile appeared on Sheppard's face as he watched Hayato take off his hat and bow in gratitude. "That was truly an interesting duel."
"Yes, it was interesting," Hayato responded with a smile.
Croquet appeared at the opportune moment, beginning to announce the winner of the duel, but Hayato's attention wasn't there; he was drawn by the duel summary that suddenly popped up from the system.
***
To simply translate the enigmatic statement from the beginning—
Basically, your Cyber Style Burn Deck? I'll one-shot you with my ATK-spamming Deck. Still trying to burn?
Oh.
Cyber Style.
16000.
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Also, thanks to reader "Kagamihara Nadeshiko" for the 10,000 point donation, much appreciated.
I've been slacking off these past two days trying to save up some drafts, but now I owe even more chapters. Currently, I owe 7 chapters…
(end of chapter)