Whatever Kaiba might have felt about watching his wife get blown off the field, Jamie was having a wonderful time.
Such was the fate of people who showed off their relationships in public.
“Because Dinomorphia Diplos was destroyed, its other effect activates!
I banish Bottomless Trap Hole from my Graveyard, then Special Summon one Level 4 or lower ‘Dinomorphia’ monster from my Graveyard with a different name.” Jamie selected the monster Crush Card Virus had destroyed earlier.
“I Special Summon Dinomorphia Therizia in Defense Position!” A genuine dinosaur girl emerged from the Graveyard.
Compared with Diplos’s armor, Therizia’s futuristic equipment looked even more advanced, and the enormous metal claw covering her arm was nearly half the size of her body.
[Dinomorphia Therizia] DARK / Level 4 / Dinosaur ATK 1500 / DEF 0 “When Therizia is Normal or Special Summoned, her effect activates.
Once per turn, I can Set one ‘Dinomorphia’ Trap directly from my Deck.
Then, because my Life Points are 2000 or lower, Therizia gains 500 ATK.” A card slid directly from Jamie’s Deck into his Spell & Trap Zone.
“I Set Dinomorphia Alert.” Kaiba’s expression darkened.
Jamie had destroyed his Blue-Eyes, then immediately brought his own girl back from the Graveyard.
The entire sequence had an unpleasantly homewrecking flavor to it.
Worse, Jamie was doing all of this during Kaiba’s turn.
And just as Kaiba prepared to continue, Jamie interrupted him again.
“I activate my Set Trap, Hope for Escape!
Time for me to start struggling for my life!” Jamie flipped the card.
“Since your Life Points are at least 1000 higher than mine, I pay 1000 Life Points.
Then I draw one card for every 2000 points of difference between our Life Points.” He glanced at the displays.
“The gap is more than 4000, so I draw two cards.” The version Yusei had used in 5D’s had been even more ridiculous, allowing one draw for every 1000-point difference instead.
Jamie would have loved to own that version.
Unfortunately, wishing did not make anime cards appear in his Deck.
[Jamie St.
James LP: 1750 → 750] [Jamie St.
James: Hand 1 → 3] “You’ve got a full 5000 Life Points while I’m sitting below 1000,” Jamie said brightly.
“You’re in an incredible position, Kaiba!” He examined his two new cards, and the corners of his mouth slowly curved upward.
His tamashii had arrived.
So had the card that worked with it.
Very soon, he would be able to put a smile on Kaiba’s face.
“Hmph.
You reduced your own Life Points to almost nothing,” Kaiba replied.
“Any ordinary attack could finish you now.
Are you really so confident those face-down cards can stop everything I do?” “But you’ve only got one card in your hand, and the only monster left on your field is Giant Germ,” Jamie pointed out.
“How exactly are you planning to break through my defense?” Kaiba had burned three cards from his hand just to bring out Blue-Eyes, and Jamie had been laughing internally at the sheer loss of resources.
Then Kaiba spoke.
“A true Duelist never worries about the cards in his hand!” Jamie stopped smiling.
“I activate Card of Demise (anime effect)!” Jamie stared.
“I draw until I have five cards in my hand!
The drawback is that during my fifth Standby Phase after activating this card, I must send my entire hand to the Graveyard!” [Seto Kaiba: Hand 1 → 5] Kaiba had just followed a three-for-one loss of card advantage with a one-for-five refill.
Jamie could only stare.
He had always mocked this ridiculous fake card whenever he saw it in the anime, but it had never truly bothered him before.
Actually sitting across from someone who activated it was a completely different experience.
‘What kind of joke is that drawback?
What normal Duel lasts another five of your Standby Phases after you draw that many cards?!’ “Now I’ll crush you with the invincible Blue-Eyes!” Kaiba raised another Spell.
“I activate Monster Reborn!” Green light poured out of the Graveyard.
“Return to me—my pride, my soul!” A familiar roar answered him.
Blue-Eyes White Dragon rose from the Graveyard almost immediately after Jamie had destroyed it.
Every bit of Jamie’s previous effort had accomplished exactly nothing.
“And I’m not finished!” Kaiba declared.
“I activate my face-down Trap, Call of the Haunted!
I Special Summon the second Blue-Eyes White Dragon I discarded earlier for Cost Down in Attack Position!” Kaiba’s plays perfectly demonstrated what it meant to possess a true Duelist’s bond with his Deck.
Even costs were resources if you knew how to use them.
Four cards remained in his hand.
Two Blue-Eyes White Dragons stood on his field alongside Giant Germ.
He still had 5000 Life Points.
From Kaiba’s perspective, his advantage was overwhelming.
“Battle Phase!” He pointed toward Therizia.
“Giant Germ, attack!
It may have only 1000 ATK, but your 2000-ATK monster is in Defense Position—and its DEF is zero!” Giant Germ crashed into Therizia and destroyed her with ease.
“Now your shield is gone!” Jamie smiled.
“Is that so?” Kaiba’s eyes narrowed.
“The moment Therizia is destroyed, her effect activates!” Jamie gestured toward his Graveyard.
“Therizia and Diplos share the same revival effect.
When they’re destroyed by battle or card effect, I can banish a Trap from my Graveyard to Special Summon a different Level 4 or lower ‘Dinomorphia’ monster from there.” He raised one hand.
“When one falls, another takes their place and carries the future forward!
I banish Hope for Escape from my Graveyard.” “Come back, Dinomorphia Diplos!” The red-haired dinosaur girl returned to the Graveyard while the white-haired young man took over her role, rising once again onto Jamie’s field as a shield.
“And because Diplos was Special Summoned, its effect activates again.
I send Dinomorphia Reversion from my Deck to the Graveyard.” The Dinomorphia strategy revolved around the constant interaction between its monsters and Trap Cards.
Its Traps could disrupt the opponent while face-up on the field, then remain useful in the Graveyard as resources for either their own effects or the effects of Dinomorphia monsters.
The monsters, in turn, could search, Set, dump, and revive cards, allowing the strategy to maintain a steady stream of disruption when combined with generic support.
Jamie’s particular build had omitted the wonderfully entertaining Lord of the Heavenly Prison for various reasons.
Otherwise, he could have shown Kaiba the unforgettable sight of an enormous monster engaging his wife in some intensely physical hand-to-hand combat.
“You’re only prolonging the inevitable!” Kaiba delivered the insult out of habit.
Then he hesitated.
Something about that statement felt wrong.
Aside from the 500 effect damage Giant Germ had dealt earlier, hadn’t Jamie lost practically all of his Life Points by paying them himself?
Kaiba dismissed the thought.
“Whatever tricks you use, they’re meaningless before Blue-Eyes White Dragon!” He swept one arm forward.
“Blue-Eyes!
Destroy that monster!” The dragon spread its wings and gathered a sphere of devastating white light between its jaws.
“Burst Stream of Destruction!” The blast engulfed Diplos and destroyed him instantly.
This time, because Jamie had already used Diplos’s revival effect, he could not call another partner from the Graveyard.
His field was finally empty.
Kaiba’s eyes sharpened.
“Now you have no shield left!
My second Blue-Eyes White Dragon—attack him directly and take the rest of his Life Points!” The second dragon reared back.
“Burst Stream of Destruction—Double Blast!”