Chapter 47: Painful Choice—Whose Pain Now?
[Painful Choice] [Spell Card: Select 5 cards from your Deck and reveal them to your opponent. Your opponent chooses 1 of them. Add the chosen card to your hand and send the rest to the GY.]
In Amano's previous life's card game environment, this spell effect would never escape the banlist.
What do you mean precisely dump 4 cards to the GY plus add 1 to hand with no card disadvantage?
Painful Choice... the one feeling pain would inevitably be the opponent.
Of course, "banned card" only applied to Amano's previous life's Yu-Gi-Oh! environment. Within Eden, no banned card list existed.
However, he hadn't expected a lower district Transit Tower inspector could possess such a rare card.
You're this rich, why are you working as a lower district inspector?
Making 3,000 a month, why are you playing with banned cards?
"Surprised? I'm surprised too. This is the upper echelon's handiwork. They specifically lent me this card just to teach you a lesson during this duel."
While speaking, Akira had already selected 5 cards from his deck.
"Kid, if not for you, I'd never touch cards of this caliber my entire life. Yet those important people above can casually hand out such cards. This is the inequality people are destined to face. So I accepted fate long ago."
Through Duel Disk projection, the 5 "painfully chosen" cards displayed before Amano.
Three Hell Patrolman and two Manticore of Darkness.
Without exception, all 5 cards had effects activating after entering the Graveyard.
Lucky that lower district Main Deck strength was inherently limited—otherwise this Painful Choice's chain reaction would be far more terrifying.
"I choose Manticore of Darkness." Amano made his "painful" decision.
This Manticore of Darkness was at least a 6-star monster—adding it to hand meant it couldn't be directly Normal Summoned.
"Mm, good choice. Then I activate Hell Patrolman's effect from my GY!"
[Banish this card from your GY; Special Summon 1 Fiend monster with 2000 or less ATK from your hand.]
Since there was no once-per-turn restriction, Akira banished both Hell Patrolmen from his GY at once, activating the effect twice.
"I Special Summon two Fiend monsters from my hand. Come forth, Newdoria and Disc Fighter!"
[Newdoria] [ATK: 1900]
[Disc Fighter] [ATK: 1700]
Both were 4-star Fiend monsters. Newdoria reached the excellent 4-star 1900 ATK standard, even hiding a debuff that could lower opponent's ATK when destroyed by battle.
"Next I activate Manticore of Darkness's effect from my GY."
[While this card is in your GY: You can banish 1 "Ground Collapse" or "Ground Erosion" from your hand or GY; Special Summon this card.]
"I banish the Ground Erosion I just activated from my GY to Special Summon Manticore of Darkness!"
[Manticore of Darkness] [6✪ FIRE]
[Beast-Warrior/Effect] [ATK: 2300] [DEF: 1600]
The mythical manticore monster revived through Special Summon from Akira's broken ground.
"Moreover, Manticore of Darkness's effect—once per turn during the Main Phase, I can add another Ground Erosion from my Deck to my hand!"
Three Special Summons bringing field ATK to 5900 points—this was Painful Choice's payoff.
However, Akira seemingly still wasn't satisfied ending here.
"For this turn's Normal Summon, I Normal Summon the Tuner monster Trap Eater in Attack Position!"
[Trap Eater] [2✪ DARK]
[Warrior/Tuner/Effect] [ATK: 600] [DEF: 600]
"A Tuner monster?"
This was Amano's first time seeing a Tuner monster in lower districts.
Due to very special reasons, Tuner monsters rarely circulated publicly.
Every Tuner holder basically could only summon their own Tuner monster from their initial ten-pull. As if bound to personal fate, they couldn't be transferred to others.
And within Eden Tower, Synchro Summoning was also praised as the summoning method capable of creating the future.
"Quite ironic, right? Even someone like me once tried seeking future direction."
Akira smiled bitterly, removing the cigarette from his mouth corner, using its ember as a guide pointing toward two monsters on his field.
"Level 2 Tuner Trap Eater plus Level 4 Disc Fighter—Synchro!"
2✪ + 4✪ = 6✪
"Knight reigning over earth, pierce through walls with your lance! Synchro Summon—Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth!"
[Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth] [6✪]
[Warrior/Synchro] [ATK: 2600] [DEF: 800]
[1 Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters]
The pure white Synchro card frame perhaps once symbolized the direction toward the future.
But not anymore.
Now Gaia Knight, in Akira's hands, was the lance severing immigrants' futures.
Though the Synchro Summoned Gaia Knight itself had no effect, Trap Eater used as its Synchro Material granted it an effect.
[When a Synchro Monster that used this card as material attacks, your opponent cannot activate Trap Cards until the end of the Damage Step.]
Sealing opponent's trap activation during battle.
Presumably Akira was somewhat wary of Amano's Set cards, even knowing lower district duelists couldn't produce worthwhile traps.
"Finally, I activate the Equip Spell United We Stand, equipping it to Gaia Knight!"
[United We Stand] [Equip Spell: The equipped monster gains 800 ATK and DEF for each face-up monster you control.]
"Since I have 3 monsters on field, Gaia Knight's ATK increases by 2400!"
[Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth] [ATK: 2600 → 5000]
Shio: "(ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ 5000 ATK—that crushes Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
Thanks for the assist, little sis.
Clearly, Akira wanted to use this trap-sealing lance to instantly finish Amano, giving no chance for counterattack.
"Truly airtight—worthy of the strongest inspector."
"Looks like this immigrant's done for too."
On Transit Tower's livestream screens, most people directly pronounced Amano's death sentence.
After completing his lethal formation, Akira returned the cigarette to his mouth.
"Kid, since someone important has their eye on you, don't think about escaping lower districts. Those people can control fates with a casual word. I won't arrest you, but obediently return to living honestly in lower districts."
Akira declared entering Battle Phase. Gaia Knight was about to raise its future-severing lance—
When Amano's voice interrupted.
"The instant you enter Battle Phase!"
Gaia Knight's attack would seal opponent's traps, so Amano could only activate his Set card before the formal attack.
Amano raised two fingers.
"Uncle, you made two mistakes. So you can't defeat me!"
"What?"
"First, because you accepted fate, you can't beat me."
Correspondingly, Amano flipped his first Set card.
Trap Card Grave Robber—effect allowing copying Spell Cards from opponent's GY.
Because after seeing that card, Akira had accepted fate.
Fatalistically obeying orders from important people above.
Fatalistically using that card in his duel against Amano.
Then being caught by fate-refusing Amano's fate-refusing opportunity.
The grave robber infiltrating Akira's GY smirked wickedly, flipping over the stolen card for display.
"I use Trap Card Grave Robber's effect to copy Painful Choice from your GY!"
Now it's your turn to feel pain!