The fight had suddenly settled into a peculiar standstill.
Katsumi had not expected Izaki’s comment, and for a moment, his attention drifted toward the realization that people at school actually viewed him as some sort of celebrity despite his generally antisocial demeanor.
“Phooo…”
He slowly exhaled, allowing the stray thoughts to leave his mind before bringing his attention back to the battlefield.
“Let’s keep the distractions at bay and finish the fight.”
He pointed toward Izaki.
“Your turn.”
Izaki took a moment to register what Katsumi meant before a knowing smile appeared on his face.
“Okay.”
He placed his hand over his deck.
“I draw.”
The card slid into his hand.
Izaki glanced at it briefly before selecting another card from his hand and placing it onto his Vanguard Circle.
“I ride!”
The figure of the alien-like hero descended onto the imaginary battlefield, his blue body framed by the exaggerated posture of a classic superhero.
One fist was clenched beside his body while the other was raised confidently toward the opposing side.
“Mr.
Invincible!”
Izaki’s voice carried considerably more confidence than before.
Katsumi’s eyes narrowed slightly as he studied the new Vanguard.
So that’s his Grade 3.
He had expected Brutal Jack to remain on the Vanguard Circle for another turn, but Izaki had chosen a different route, one that placed greater emphasis on his actual Grade 3 strategy rather than relying on Brutal Jack’s raw power.
“Interesting.”
Katsumi rested his fingers against the edge of his hand.
“You’re not using Brutal Jack as your main Vanguard.”
“Of course not.”
Izaki grinned.
“Brutal Jack is strong, but Mr.
Invincible is the real ace.”
His eyes briefly shifted toward his damage zone before returning to Katsumi.
“And now…”
Izaki dramatically raised his hand.
“I activate Mr.
Invincible’s Mega Blast!”
Katsumi’s expression changed slightly.
Already?
Before he could say anything, however, Izaki broke into laughter.
“Just kidding!”
“…”
Katsumi stared at him.
Izaki scratched the back of his cheek.
“I wanted to see your reaction.”
Katsumi slowly adjusted his glasses.
“That was unnecessary.”
“Haha!
Sorry.”
The brief exchange loosened the tension between them, but the moment quickly passed as Izaki’s expression became serious once more and his attention returned to the battlefield.
Mr.
Invincible stood proudly at the center of his field.
“But Mr.
Invincible’s effect activates!”
Izaki reached toward the top of his deck and placed the card beneath his Vanguard.
“If my Vanguard is Mr.
Invincible, I can Soul Charge at the start of my turn.”
Katsumi’s eyes followed the card as it disappeared beneath Mr.
Invincible.
Soul Charge…
So Izaki isn’t simply relying on straightforward attacks.
He’s actually managing his resources.
King of Sword remained on the rear-guard circle, while Queen of Heart occupied the opposite side.
However, with her comparatively low power, she offered little offensive pressure against Katsumi’s stronger units.
Izaki had not established an overwhelming field.
But he had accomplished something considerably more important.
He had reached Grade 3.
“Battle!”
Izaki thrust his hand forward.
“Mr.
Invincible attacks Megarex!”
The blue-skinned hero suddenly surged forward, drawing his fist backward as the imaginary battlefield seemed to erupt around him.
“Vanguard attack!”
Katsumi’s eyes immediately dropped toward the power values.
10,000.
Megarex was also at 10,000.
Neither Vanguard possessed an inherent advantage.
Katsumi considered guarding for a moment before ultimately lowering his hand.
“No guard.”
The attack struck.
Izaki immediately reached toward his deck.
“Drive Check!”
He flipped the first card face-up.
“First check!”
His eyes moved across the revealed card.
“Death Army Bishop.
No trigger.”
He added the card to his hand before immediately reaching for the second card.
“Second check!”
The card flipped over.
Izaki’s eyes widened.
“Critical Trigger!”
The atmosphere seemed to tighten for an instant.
Izaki immediately assigned both effects to Mr.
Invincible.
“Power and critical to Mr.
Invincible!”
The blue hero surged forward with renewed force, the trigger’s power coursing through the Vanguard as its attack became considerably more dangerous.
Katsumi’s expression remained composed, but his attention shifted toward his damage zone.
That’s two critical damage if I take it.
He could not afford to be careless.
Still, the attack had already connected.
Katsumi reached toward the top of his deck.
The card was revealed before being placed into his damage zone.
“No trigger.”
His damage increased from one to two.
Izaki’s smile widened.
“Now, King of Sword!”
He rested his rear-guard.
“Attack Megarex!”
The mechanical warrior surged forward, its enormous blade sweeping downward with enough force to split the imaginary battlefield.
Katsumi studied the numbers.
10,000 against 10,000.
He could allow the attack through, but with Mr.
Invincible’s increased critical still threatening him, accepting another attack would push him dangerously close to defeat.
Katsumi placed a card onto the Guardian Circle.
“I guard with Savage Warrior.”
The defensive unit materialized between the two Vanguards, its shield absorbing the mechanical warrior’s assault and preventing the attack from reaching Megarex.
Izaki clicked his tongue.
“Nice guard.”
His eyes shifted toward his remaining rear-guard.
Queen of Heart remained standing, but her low power gave Katsumi little reason to respect the attack.
There was no value in wasting the unit’s position.
Izaki lowered his hand.
“That’s all.”
Katsumi nodded.
“Good.”
He drew his card.
The atmosphere had changed.
The casual conversation from moments earlier had disappeared, replaced by the quiet pressure of an actual cardfight.
Katsumi looked toward his damage zone.
Three damage.
Then toward Izaki.
Mr.
Invincible stood proudly at the center of the opposing field, while King of Sword and Queen of Heart remained ready behind him.
Katsumi adjusted his glasses.
“Now it’s my turn.”
Katsumi moved forward and drew one card before placing his hand over his Vanguard.
“I ride…”
His fingers released the card.
“Tyrant, Deathrex!”
The Grade 3 descended onto the Vanguard Circle.
The atmosphere around Katsumi’s side of the battlefield changed instantly.
The Tyrant had finally arrived.
“I call Cannonfire Dragon, Cannogear to the rear-guard and call Sonic Noa to the rear behind Cannonfire Dragon!”
Katsumi placed the two units onto the battlefield, filling another portion of his formation.
“With the boost of Sonic Noa, Cannonfire Dragon attacks your Vanguard!”
Katsumi rested both Cannonfire Dragon and Sonic Noa.
The dragon-like unit raised its weapon toward Mr.
Invincible, the mechanism within its cannon beginning to glow as energy gathered inside the barrel.
Then it fired.
A molten blast tore across the imaginary battlefield, its tremendous force carrying the combined power of 16,000.
“I don’t guard!”
Izaki allowed the attack through.
The molten projectile engulfed Mr.
Invincible, the alien hero staggering beneath the impact as the attack connected.
“Damage Check!”
Izaki flipped the top card of his deck.
The card was revealed.
A Screamin’ and Dancin’ Announcer, Shout.
“No trigger.”
He placed the card into his damage zone.
Izaki’s damage increased from one to two.
Katsumi watched silently.
Two damage.
The battlefield had returned to an even footing.
“Now!”
Katsumi rested Dragon Egg and Deathrex.
“My Vanguard attacks with the boost from Dragon Egg!”
The enormous Tyrant surged forward.
Its massive body cast a long shadow across the imaginary battlefield as it charged toward Mr.
Invincible, every movement carrying the weight and brutality of a prehistoric predator.
Dragon Egg’s support strengthened the attack from behind.
“When Deathrex attacks, it gains 5,000 power,” Katsumi said calmly, adding the numbers together.
“So the total power is 20,000, including Dragon Egg.”
“Ugh!”
Izaki’s expression tightened.
For a moment, he remained frozen, staring at Deathrex as the Tyrant bore down upon Mr.
Invincible.
His eyes shifted toward the cards remaining in his hand.
‘Should I continue defending and sacrifice more of my hand, or should I allow the attack through and accept the consequences?’
“I guard!”
The hesitation disappeared.
Izaki seized two cards from his hand and slammed them onto the Guardian Circle.
“Tough Boy and Shout will add an extra 10,000 defensive power to Mr.
Invincible!”
The two units appeared beside his Vanguard, their combined defensive presence reinforcing Mr.
Invincible as Deathrex continued its advance.
But Izaki wasn’t finished.
His hand moved toward King of Sword.
“King of Sword will intercept!”
The mechanical warrior left the rear-guard circle and moved onto the Guardian Circle, raising its enormous blade as it joined the defensive formation.
The defensive numbers climbed.
25,000.
Five thousand more than Deathrex’s 20,000.
Deathrex’s attack was stopped.
“How is that, Katsumi?” Izaki grinned cheerfully.
“Your strongest attack was blocked by my Nova Grapplers.
And you’re halfway to your defeat.”
Izaki was unusually fired up today.
He normally fought with a calm, methodical strategy, but today felt different.
There was something almost boundless about his imagination as he played, as though the battlefield before him had ceased to be a simple arrangement of cards. Read this novel at novelping dot com for the best experience.
In his mind, the fights taking place on the planet Crey became vivid.
Distant landscapes.
Clashing warriors.
Monsters tearing across unfamiliar terrain.
Every scene existed within the boundaries of his imagination, expanding the cardfight into something far larger than the table before him.
“Are you sure?”
Jolt!
Izaki’s imagination shattered.
His eyes snapped back toward Katsumi.
For a moment, their gazes locked.
What Izaki saw in Katsumi’s eyes was difficult to describe.
It was not anger.
Nor was it fear.
It was something far more unsettling.
It was the expression of someone who had already seen the inevitable.
“That attack was for a completely different reason,” Katsumi continued calmly.
“Your hand was concerning, so I took the liberty of reducing it.”
“What!?”
Izaki’s grin disappeared.
“Reduce my hand…?”
His eyes dropped toward the cards he was holding.
There it was.
Only two cards remained.
And even among those two, neither offered him much comfort as a defensive resource.
Izaki’s expression stiffened.
He had been so focused on stopping Deathrex that he had failed to notice what Katsumi had actually accomplished.
Katsumi had not been trying to break through.
He had been forcing Izaki to spend.
Every guard.
Every shield.
Every resource.
Until the field might still look intact, but the player behind it had been stripped of his options.
“Your skill as a cardfighter is good in the early phase because of your defensive playstyle,” Katsumi commented from across the battlefield.
His voice remained calm, although there was a faint trace of praise within it.
“But your unwillingness to take risks is what brought you to this point.”
He lifted his own hand.
Four cards.
“The difference between your hand and mine is that I have calculated the cards that I would need.”
With that, Katsumi ended his turn.
Izaki stood his rested units before drawing his next card.
He was slightly depressed by Katsumi’s words, but he refused to let the feeling cloud his judgment.
His expression grew more serious.
“Fine.”
His gaze moved across the battlefield.
“I call Brutal Jack to the rear-guard!”
The massive Nova Grappler appeared on the rear-guard circle, its imposing frame immediately becoming the strongest attacker on Izaki’s field.
“And I move Queen of Heart to the back row!”
Queen of Heart shifted behind Brutal Jack, taking position as its booster.
Izaki looked toward Mr.
Invincible.
“Now, my Vanguard will attack Tyrant, Deathrex!”
Mr.
Invincible rested.
The blue-skinned hero launched himself toward Deathrex, his fist cutting through the imaginary battlefield as the attack began.
Katsumi immediately placed a card onto the Guardian Circle.
“I guard.”
Savage Warrior appeared before Deathrex, its shield stopping Mr.
Invincible’s attack.
Katsumi’s eyes remained fixed on Izaki.
At first glance, the attack seemed almost pointless.
Izaki’s Vanguard was attacking into a guarded Vanguard without gaining anything from the exchange.
But then Katsumi understood.
So that’s it.
Izaki wasn’t trying to break through.
He was trying to refuel his hand.
Mr.
Invincible’s twin drive would give him two chances to reveal cards, and regardless of whether either card was a trigger, the checked cards would become additional resources.
Izaki’s eyes sharpened.
“Twin Drive Check!”
He reached toward his deck.
“First Drive!”
The top card was revealed.
Izaki glanced at it.
“No trigger.”
He added the card to his hand.
“Second Drive!”
Another card was flipped over.
Izaki examined it carefully before his expression relaxed slightly.
“No trigger.”
That card joined the first.
Two cards.
Two resources.
Izaki looked at his hand.
The difference had changed.
He was back to three cards.
Katsumi’s eyes narrowed.
Izaki had deliberately sacrificed his Vanguard’s attack in order to replenish the hand that Katsumi had spent the previous turn dismantling.
A faint smile appeared on Katsumi’s face.
So you understood.
Izaki wasn’t merely defending anymore.
He had begun adapting.
But it won’t be enough.
Author’s Note–>
I kind of messed up when choreographing the fight since it is taking me over 3000 words to make it.
Comment if you like it or want to help me be better.
Peace Out!