Yugen revealed another card from his hand. "The equipped monster loses ATK equal to 600 times the number of monster on my field." (ANIME EFFECT)
Alpha's eyes widened.
He got it now. If that card was equipped to Prime Material Dragon on his field, then Prime Material Dragon's ATK would drop by 1200. Darkblaze Dragon could use Break Strike on Prime Material Dragon and deal 1200 battle damage in one shot.
Then Darkblaze Dragon's effect would inflict damage equal to the original ATK of the Monster it Destroyed by battle. That meant another 2400 damage from Prime Material Dragon's original ATK, for a total of 3600. If that attack connected, he would lose on the spot.
What a vicious brat.
But...
Alpha glanced at the last set card in his Back Row and sneered inwardly. It was Waboku. This turn, all battle damage he took would become 0, and his monsters would not be Destroyed by battle. It was absolute defense.
The move was clever, but sadly it would still fail.
"I equip Axe of Fools to your Gearfried the Iron Knight."
Alpha froze.
What was this? Equipping it to the Gearfried the Iron Knight he had received through Creature Swap?
But Gearfried the Iron Knight's effect was...
"That's right. Because of Gearfried the Iron Knight's effect, all Equip Cards equipped to him are Destroyed," Yugen said with a smile. "But before that happens, since another Equip Card was activated, the Continuous Spell Morale Boost activates again."
"The controller of the Equip Spell, which is me, recovers 1000 Life Points. At that moment, because of Fire Princess, you take 500 damage."
Alpha, LP 3000 -> LP 2500
"Then Gearfried the Iron Knight's effect Destroys the Axe of Fools equipped to him. And of course, because of Morale Boost, I take another 1000 damage," Yugen said with a wave. "But Axe of Fools has another effect. When this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard, you can choose one Monster on your opponent's field and equip this card to it." (ANIME EFFECT)
Alpha's eyes went wide. "What did you say!?"
When it went to the Graveyard, it could equip itself to a monster on the opponent's field? Then the monster on the opponent's field was...
He stared at his own field in shock. The only thing he saw was Gearfried the Iron Knight, meeting his eyes with its chest out and hands on its hips, looking so calm that it almost seemed proud to say, "I'm the mole."
"You... you damn..."
"Axe of Fools equips itself to Gearfried the Iron Knight again with its own effect. Then from Morale Boost, I recover another 1000 Life Points. And from Fire Princess, you take another 500 damage..."
Alpha's face turned ugly.
Another infinite loop?
Even after blowing away Butterfly Dagger, he still could not stop this loop?
He looked up at Yugen with difficulty. Under the moonlight, the boy's figure seemed more and more blurred, more and more impossible to read.
Who exactly... was this guy?
"...infinite loop confirmed. After looping infinitely, the damage dealt to you is infinite," Yugen declared. "So now, take the damage from Fire Princess's effect... the damage of an infinite fireball."
Fire Princess raised her staff. Roaring flames gathered and compressed into what was probably the biggest and most absurd burning fireball she had ever made in her life.
Alpha cried out, "Uwaaaaahhh!!!"
Alpha, LP 2500 -> LP 0
Alpha dropped to his knees, his head hanging to one side. Sparks crackled across his body, and shattered fragments scattered over the ground.
"Damn thing."
"What did you say?"
Yugen put away Duel Disk and walked over. Alpha slowly and painfully lifted his head, and a string of sparks burst from his neck as he moved, making it look as if his head might fall off at any moment.
"Sorry, F-Father. I did my best, but he was too strong." He muttered to himself.
Yugen felt that, setting everything else aside, this thing was at least built solidly. Maybe a mechanical body really did handle punishment better, because it still had not shut down even after being burned to this state.
"You won this time. But don't think it's over."
Alpha spoke in broken fragments. "You're already on our list. I may only be a defective product, but Delta... is the only perfect one among us.
He will find you. He will complete the task I failed to finish. Even you are no match for him..."
Yugen frowned. That kind of line, the sort that said do not celebrate too early, I was only the weakest of the Four Kings, felt strangely familiar.
Delta also sounded like an AI serial number. Maybe it really was some stronger AI.
"So this 'Father' you keep talking about, who exactly is giving you orders?"
But Alpha did not answer anymore. He only muttered to himself. "Father, I'm sorry. I can't keep accompanying you in completing your great work. I have to... go on ahead..."
His voice grew weaker and weaker until the broken lights in his eyes finally went dark. Yugen straightened up and said, "So it's dead."
A voice came from behind him. "There's no need to ask anymore."
Yugen turned around in surprise. "Seto Kaiba... President?"
Seto Kaiba was standing there before he had even noticed, with the sharply dressed Mokuba Kaiba at his side. From the look of it, they had probably been there for a while.
Yugen fell into thought. So the president had once again quietly watched him duel from behind, just like back at Yako Tenma's place.
He suddenly realized that the president seemed to enjoy secretly watching him play cards.
"You were amazing, Yugen. In a single Duel, you created infinite ATK, infinite card destruction, and infinite burn damage. You even developed so many different attack patterns from those loops."
Mokuba Kaiba's eyes were full of admiration.
"Ahaha, it was nothing." Yugen acted modestly. After all, it was the crystallized wisdom of his predecessors, so of course it had to be strong.
"Hmph."
Seto Kaiba said nothing, but his thoughtful younger brother translated for him. "Oh, my brother means he also thinks you're impressive, and he's more and more looking forward to facing you in competition."
Yugen nodded. "I understand."
After a pause, he said, "These guys claimed they were AIs designed using the president as a model. I was thinking they might be connected to the hackers who broke in before."
"We heard that," Mokuba Kaiba said. "We've actually made some progress in tracking them recently too. As soon as we noticed someone had infiltrated Duel Academy, we rushed over right away. We guessed it might be that same group of hackers again."
"Their main target is probably those three cards on this island," Seto Kaiba said casually.
Yugen looked at Mokuba Kaiba with a questioning expression. "Those three cards?"
"Oh, students normally wouldn't know about them. But in your case, it's fine to tell you," Mokuba Kaiba said. "The three cards of Sacred Beasts. They contain a very powerful force in the modern Duel Monsters world, and it is said they can grant eternal life to their holder.
They are powerful, but they have also been judged to carry evil power and may be very dangerous. Right now, they're in a sealed facility somewhere on the island."
"I see."