Right now, Ushio's eyes went blank as he stared in disbelief at the three monsters standing behind Yusaku.
Just like Ushio, some of the onlookers were stupefied, some collapsed to the ground. One by one, they stared, slack-jawed, at the three monsters on the field.
A student behind Ushio slumped down. "Th-th-the Last Warrior from Another Planet!!! How does he even have that card?!"
"[The Last Warrior from Another Planet]—you actually have that card!" Ushio gritted his teeth.
"You say that like I couldn't." Yusaku shot him a glance. "Why couldn't I have this card?"
"Effect resolved. Your move."
No sooner had Yusaku finished than a student behind Ushio sprang up.
"Wait! Ushio-senpai! I remember [The Last Warrior from Another Planet] has a brutal lock, but it also comes with a nasty downside. When it hits the field it blows up all your own monsters. Why didn't his monsters blow up?!"
"Huh?" Ushio blinked, then snapped his head up toward Yusaku. "Yeah—why didn't your other two monsters get blown up by [The Last Warrior from Another Planet]?"
"This…" Yusaku gave him a look. "Did you think my other two monsters were just for show?"
"Huh?"
"[Knightmare Gryphon]'s effect: while this card exists in the Monster Zone, Special Summoned monsters on the field can't activate their effects unless they're linked."
"Didn't you notice?" Yusaku's lips curled up slightly. "When [The Last Warrior from Another Planet] hits the field, it activates an effect to destroy your own monsters. With [Knightmare Gryphon] out, that activation can't happen, so my monsters don't get blown up."
"As for Last Warrior's lockdown, that's a continuous effect—it doesn't need to activate, so it's unaffected."
"Alright, ruling explained." Yusaku smiled at Ushio. "Please begin your performance."
"Using monster effects to check each other, huh? I'll admit, I was shocked you had [The Last Warrior from Another Planet]. But unfortunately…"
Having recovered from the initial shock, Ushio calmed down and shook his head. "Last Warrior is strong, but it's got a big weakness—its ATK is only 2350. My two monsters can take it out."
"Oh?" Yusaku raised a brow. "Then by all means, try."
Ushio's gaze slid to the last set card at Yusaku's feet. "That set looks like an attack-declaration trap. You're just waiting for me to swing so you can flip it, right? I'm not falling for that. If I clear that card, your lock crumbles."
"Other decks might have a headache against you, but I'm on Monarchs. I've got no shortage of ways to answer spells and traps!"
He swept his hand, and a card in his GY glimmered faintly.
"Activate [The Prime Monarch]. While this card is in the GY, I can banish another 'Monarch' Spell/Trap from my GY; Special Summon this as a Normal Monster (Fairy/LIGHT/Level 5/ATK 1000/DEF 2400) in Defense Position."
"I Special Summon it as a Normal Monster in Defense!"
The instant his words fell, a soft green light pulsed from Yusaku's Naturia.
"I'll chain to your effect and activate [Naturia Exterio]. When a Spell/Trap is activated, I can banish 1 card from my GY and send the top card of my Deck to the GY; while this card is face-up, negate the activation and destroy it!"
Yusaku plucked two cards from his Duel Disk in one smooth motion.
"I banish [Silent Magician] from my GY, then mill the top card of my Deck—negate and destroy your [The Prime Monarch]!"
At once, the monster in dull, bark-like scales let out a roar. Verdant lightning flared from its body, surging like thunder toward Ushio's field and shattering the Trap that had been activated from the GY!
"Hahahaha!!!" Rather than despair, Ushio burst into laughter as his Trap was destroyed. "You fell for it. I baited [The Prime Monarch] on purpose to probe your set or your monsters' effects!"
"Didn't expect you to take the bait so easily! With that monster effect forced out, you've got no more resistance!"
He flashed a card from his hand.
"[Frost Blast of the Monarchs]! You can activate this only if you control a monster with 2400 or more ATK and 1000 DEF. Target 1 set card on the field; destroy it!"
"Both my monsters satisfy the condition!"
He slapped the card onto his Duel Disk.
The card rose up at center field. Hoarfrost raced off its frame, spreading outward as if to freeze the entire arena.
Ushio pointed. "Say goodbye to your last set!"
At that moment, glacial air shot from the card like it could freeze the world, lancing toward Yusaku's field.
Yusaku snapped his fingers.
With a crisp snap, Naturia Exterio flared again with blinding green light—emerald thunderburst colliding head-on with the frost, then surging back across the field to strike Ushio's card dead-center.
A deafening crack. Spiderwebbed fissures spread across the card's face, and with a sharp pop it shattered into motes and vanished.
"Forgot to mention." Yusaku smiled at Ushio. "[Naturia Exterio] isn't 'once per turn.' As long as I have cards in my Deck and GY to pay, I can keep using it."
"So that means as long as that monster stays up, Ushio-senpai can't activate Spells or Traps?!"
"Not just that! There's also [The Last Warrior from Another Planet]—he can't even Summon monsters!"
Seeing the board state, the students behind Ushio all went pale with despair.
Helpless.
Staring at the three monsters in front of him, Ushio felt truly helpless for the first time.
Not even when facing third-years at his academy had he ever felt this intimidated.
Only once—when he'd happened to watch a duel between students from the uptown elite academies—had he felt anything like this.
Did this kid… fall down here from up there?
No, no way. Impossible!
"What are you doing just standing there?" Yusaku frowned when the other side didn't move.
"…I underestimated you," Ushio took a deep breath. "But I still believe a deck that relies on traps to bring out its power can't be truly meta."
He looked down at Yusaku's last facedown. "And I don't buy that your set is really an attack-declaration trap!"
"Battle!"
He ended Main Phase at once.
"Zaborg the Thunder Monarch, att—"
"Hold it!"
Before he could finish, Yusaku cut him off.
"Before you enter the Battle Phase!" Yusaku swept his hand and flipped his last set. "Activate Trap Card: [Magical Cylinders]!"
"This card lets me Set 1 [Magic Cylinder] directly from my Deck or GY. If it's Set from the Deck, it can be activated this turn."
"I'll Set from my Deck…" Yusaku revealed the searched card and slapped it down. "[Magic Cylinder], Set."
"Setting a Trap—on my turn…?" Ushio froze, then jerked his head up. "Wait—what did you say you just Set?"
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 500 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]