Judai Yuki frowned. "You're going to halve Sparkman's ATK and beat it that way?"
"Hmph. I am not using such low-level tactics. Watch closely. This is the tactic reproduced from analyzing the Duel of the strongest Duelist in legend." He pointed sharply at his own field. "The one whose ATK I will halve is my own 'Twin-Headed Behemoth'!"
The spell's effect wrapped around the dark dragon on his field. Under the magic of Shrink, Twin-Headed Behemoth rapidly shrank until it was only half its original size.
Twin-Headed Behemoth, ATK 1500 -> ATK 750
"You lowered your own Monster's ATK!?" Hayato Maeda cried out in shock.
What kind of move was that?
In the next instant, Sparkman's bolt punched straight through Twin-Headed Behemoth's body. The spreading electric shock burst against Beta's face.
Beta, LP 4000 -> LP 3150
"What are you doing?" Judai Yuki asked blankly.
"Hmph. At this moment, you've already stepped into a bottomless abyss!" Beta sneered. "Take a good look at the monster on your own field."
Sparkman staggered backward and looked down at his hands. A dark red wave of energy spread out from inside him, slowly swallowing his entire body until the Elemental HERO turned into a fading shadow and vanished.
"What?" Judai Yuki said in surprise. "What's going on?"
"Hahahaha! Because the instant that battle was confirmed, I activated this card!"
He pointed to the face-up card in his Back Row.
"Trap Card 'Crush Card Virus'! When a DARK Monster with 1000 or less ATK on my field is Destroyed by battle, all monster with 1500 or more ATK in your field, hand, and Deck are all Destroyed!" (ANIME EFFECT)
"Nani?!? All monster with 1500 or more ATK..." Judai Yuki's eyes widened.
"That's right. Not just on the field. The ones in your hand and Deck are getting Destroyed too!" Beta shouted.
"So your goal was to Destroy my Deck, the same as my soul..." Judai Yuki said heavily.
He watched the virus eat into his Deck and could only grit his teeth as he pulled out three cards and sent them to the Graveyard. They were Bladedge, Wildheart, and Destiny HERO - Doom Lord from his Elemental HERO lineup.
Beta fell silent.
No.
Those were the only three cards in your Deck with ATK over 1500?
Beta held it in for a while, but in the end, he could not stop himself from asking, "Is that all?"
"Ah?" Judai Yuki froze for a moment. Beta pressed, "You do not have any monster with more than 1500 ATK left in your Deck?"
"Hmm, it seems like I do not," Judai Yuki said, stroking his chin in thought. "Now that you mention it, I think Captain Gold also has more than 1500 ATK. But I did not bring it today."
Beta fell silent. The joy of successfully using Crush Card Virus vanished on the spot, because a weapon that should have crippled most Deck suddenly felt completely useless against this Jellyfish Hair-haired guy's Deck.
"Tch, I got careless. So it is a Elemental HERO Deck centered on attacking through Polymerization. The core of the Deck is full of weaklings."
"I remember now!" Hayato Maeda slapped his forehead. "I have seen this tactic before. I saw it in old match recordings from Battle City. This is the tactic that legendary Seto Kaiba often used!"
"Huh?" Hearing that name, even Sho Marufuji straightened up. "That legendary Seto Kaiba?"
"Oh, so I actually get to Duel against a combo like that? This is getting more and more exciting." Judai Yuki looked even happier. "Then I set two cards to my Back Row and end my turn."
"You still have time to get excited? Then I will make sure you stop smiling very soon." Beta drew and said, "My Turn! Draw!"
It was Beta's turn again. "I activate a Spell Card, Graceful Charity. I draw three cards from my Deck, then discard two cards from my hand. Next, I Summon Axe Dragonute!"
Axe Dragonute appeared with 2000 ATK. "Even if Crush Card Virus did not do as much as I wanted, your field is still completely empty," Beta said with a swing of his hand. "Direct attack with Axe Dragonute!"
Axe Dragonute leaped over Judai Yuki's empty Front Row and brought its axe down at his head. Judai Yuki shouted, "Not that easy! I activate my set card, Quick-Play Spell Flute of Summoning Kuriboh! I Special Summon Winged Kuriboh from my Deck!"
A small golden flute appeared, and to its tune, Kuriboh flew out on white wings and stopped in front of him. Beta said, "Then the attack rewinds, and I continue by attacking Winged Kuriboh. Something this weak only needs one hit to..."
"I activate another set card!" Judai Yuki cut in. "Quick-Play Spell Transcendent Wings! I discard two cards from my hand and evolve my Winged Kuriboh to LV10!"
As Judai Yuki sent two cards from his hand to the Graveyard, Kuriboh's white feathers burst into dazzling golden light. Holy feathers drifted through the air, and the tiny Kuriboh completed its transformation within a ring of sacred radiance.
Winged Kuriboh LV10, ATK 300. "It evolved all the way to level ten?" Beta began to feel uneasy. "But even at level ten, it only has three hundred ATK..."
"LV10's special Effect Activation!" Judai Yuki said, clenching his fist. "During the opponent's Battle Phase, I can offer this card as a tribute and Destroy all attack-position Monster on the opponent's field!" (ANIME EFFECT)
"And inflict damage equal to the total original ATK of the Monster you Destroy! Nani?!!?" Beta was stunned.
The holy Angel's Wings blazed with even brighter golden light, like a burning sun swallowing his Front Row. Axe Dragonute had no power to resist that sacred force, and in an instant, it melted into scraps and vanished within the light.
"Uwah!" Violent energy erupted across Beta's field and blasted him flat onto his back. The shock wave rolled past the field and threw Judai Yuki's two roommates to the ground as well.
Beta, LP 3150 to LP 1150. The two who had been knocked over exchanged alarmed looks. Sho Marufuji said, "Is it just me, or did that hit feel way stronger than normal solid vision?"
"So it was not just me?" Hayato Maeda said uneasily. "This Duel feels kind of wrong."
By then, Beta was covered in dust as he climbed back to his feet. He clicked his tongue and realized this Duel was using military-grade solid vision technology, giving it an effect similar to Shadow Duel, where the projections could cause real harm.
The ridiculous part was that he had been taking hits this whole time and was nearly dead, yet he still had not touched the other side's Life Points. If he ended up dying before the other guy even realized the damage was real, that would be far too stupid.
But Beta calmed down and looked at the cards in his hand again. "You can only act smug for now," he said coldly. "I set two cards and end my turn."
"Go big bro!" Sho Marufuji shouted. Hayato Maeda rested his chin on his hand and said, "With the way this guy showed up, I thought he was really strong. Looking at this now, maybe he is actually weak?"
Beta said nothing. Judai Yuki grinned and said, "No matter what, I am going all in on my side! My Turn! Draw!"
He looked at his hand, nodded in satisfaction at his usual steady God Draw, and directly revealed a card. "Spell Card Legacy of a HERO! If there are two or more level four or higher Hero Monster in the Graveyard, I draw three cards from my Deck!" (ANIME EFFECT)