Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon!!!
10: Chapter 10: Come Forth!
Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon!!!
“My turn, draw!” Nate glanced at the card he’d drawn, and a trace of cool mockery surfaced in his previously still-as-an-ancient-well eyes.
He drew a Spell card glowing emerald green from his hand and tossed it onto the Duel Disk.
“I activate the Spell, [Monster Reborn].” Seeing this classic revival card, Tendo was first taken aback, then sneered.
“Have you lost your mind?!
[Monster Reborn] needs a monster in the Graveyard to activate.
You haven’t even finished a single turn.
Your Graveyard’s empty, not a single monster in it.
What exactly are you reviving?” “You really don’t understand a thing, do you?
Someone like you can rank in the top 12 of his class?
Don’t tell me everyone in your class is a useless sack like you.” Hearing this, Tendo flared up.
“What did you say?” “What, did I get it wrong?” Nate sneered.
“Don’t tell me you thought [Monster Reborn] can only revive monsters in your own Graveyard?” Tendo: “?” “The one I’m reviving is the monster lying in your Graveyard.” Nate raised his hand and called out coldly.
“Awaken from the depths of hell, [Red-Eyes Black Dragon]!” The giant cross-shaped mark of revival lit up over Tendo’s field, and then that pitch-black dragon, sent to the Graveyard just moments ago as Fusion material, burst out through the gates of the underworld with a roar and crashed down hard onto Nate’s field!
[Red-Eyes Black Dragon] [ATK: 2400] “You…
you actually dare use my monster!” Tendo ground his teeth.
“It won’t be yours much longer.” Nate sneered, drawing another card and slamming it down.
“Next, I activate the Spell, [Polymerization]!” “I send the [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] on my field, along with the [King of the Swamp] in my hand, to the Graveyard for the Fusion!” Nate’s gaze was sharp, his voice piercing through the entire underground palace.
“And [King of the Swamp]’s effect: when performing a Fusion Summon, this card in the hand or on the field can be used as a substitute for one Fusion material monster whose name is listed on that Fusion monster’s card!
The one I’m substituting for is…
[Dark Magician]!” Hearing this, the onlooking crowd went still.
“Wait…
who did he just say he’s substituting for?” “A Fusion of [Dark Magician] and [Red-Eyes Black Dragon]?
Is there even a Fusion monster that needs these two as material?” Standing not far off, Rio Kastle furrowed her elegant brows slightly too, a flicker of thought crossing her ice-blue eyes.
Suddenly, as if dredging up some exceedingly ancient memory of legend, her pupils contracted sharply and she couldn’t help gasping aloud.
“Could it be…
that forbidden card that vanished long ago?!” The instant her words landed, Nate raised his right hand high, his impassioned chant ringing through the entire underground Ruins like a sacred decree handed down by a god.
“Knight from the far side of the silent galaxy, show your power before the eyes of the world!
Now is the hour of awakening for the memory slumbering among the stars!
Awaken, miracle of the Red-Eyes!
Level 8!
[Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon]!!!” Boom!!!
A dark-gold magic circle exploded in the air, unfurling into a boundless scroll of starlight.
A dragon-magus knight, clad in dark-red heavy armor and wielding a long, slender double-bladed war spear, stepped out from the deepest reaches of the river of stars onto empty air.
Behind him spread pitch-black dragon wings as savage as the Red-Eyes itself, dark-red magic potent enough to melt space flowing through the seams of his armor.
[Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon] [Level 8 / Spellcaster / Fusion / Effect] [ATK: 3000] The instant the monster appeared, an indescribably terrifying sense of pressure spread wildly in all directions, palpable as something physical.
“Urgh…!” The onlooking crowd suddenly felt their bodies sink, as if even the gravity around them had been rewritten.
And Tendo, being the closest, bore the brunt of it!
As the one dueling on the field, he could feel even more keenly the suffocating tremor radiating from this monster.
He couldn’t understand it!
Powerful monsters all had an absolute pride of their own.
Why…
why would a monster with such overwhelming pressure willingly submit to a piece of trash from a bottom class?!
“Ready to receive judgment?” Nate’s cold voice cut through his fear.
“At this moment, I activate the monster effect of [Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon]!” “During my Main Phase, I can destroy one monster on the opponent’s field and deal the opponent damage equal to that monster’s original attack!
And this effect can be used during one turn a number of times equal to the number of Normal Monsters used as Fusion material!” Hearing the effect Nate recited, Tendo’s pupils instantly shrank to pinpoints.
“What?!
It can destroy a monster directly without battling, and also deal effect damage equal to its original attack?!” Tendo roared, his voice breaking.
“You’ve got to be kidding!
How could there possibly be such an unreasonable effect?!!” “How is it impossible?” Nate’s gaze was ice-cold, as if looking at a dead man.
“When I Fusion Summoned [Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon], I used one Normal Monster, namely your [Red-Eyes Black Dragon].
So this turn I can choose one monster to destroy and deal damage.” With that, Nate’s finger suddenly pointed at the massive dark dragon ahead.
“The one I’m destroying is the [Archfiend Black Skull Dragon] on your field, and I deal you 3,200 points of effect damage!
Shatter it, Super Magic Surge Blast!” The Dragoon raised his war spear high, a high-pressure orb of magic woven from pitch-black and crimson gathering at the spearhead, and in an instant it pierced clean through the Dark Dragon’s prized armor.
“Roar!” Amid a piercing scream, the Archfiend Black Skull Dragon, at a full 3,200 attack, shattered with a roar.
The violent shockwave turned into a hurricane and blasted Tendo’s entire body flying, slamming him hard into the stone slab behind him.
[Tendo, LP: 8000 → 4800] “Cough, cough…” Tendo scrambled up in a sorry state, his body tingling all over, but he suddenly slashed his hand out and roared.
“Don’t think destroying one of my monsters means you’ve got this won.
The game’s only just begun!
Open Set card, I activate the Trap, [Call of the Haunted]!” The instant the words landed, the Set card at his feet flipped over.
“This card lets me target one monster in my own Graveyard and Special Summon it.
I choose to Special Summon the [Archfiend Black Skull Dragon] you just destroyed back onto the field!” At that, Nate glanced at the cards in his hand.
It seemed there was no need to use Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon’s negation effect.
He could end the duel this turn regardless.
So he ignored it and let his opponent’s effect through.
The next moment, the pitch-black flames blazed up again, and the just-shattered Archfiend Black Skull Dragon returned to the field laden with fury.
Seeing Nate make no move and his Archfiend Black Skull Dragon revive successfully, Tendo’s confidence came flooding right back.
He rubbed his tingling shoulder and sneered.
“This monster of yours is indeed very strong, but it has one fatal flaw: its attack is only 3,000!
And my two monsters both have a full 3,200 attack!
In the world of Duel Monsters, even a mere 200-point gap is a chasm that can’t be crossed!
Next turn, I’ll use them to clear out your monster!” At that, Nate gave him a sidelong glance.
“Oh?
You still think you have a next turn?” Tendo started.
“?” While he was stunned, Nate drew a card and slapped it onto the Duel Disk.
“I pay 2,000 LP as a cost to Special Summon this monster from my hand!” [Nate LP: 8000 → 6000] “Come forth, [Garbage Lord]!” A blob of sticky purple sludge appeared out of thin air, taking form as a monster built from heaps of trash, a battered crown atop its head, appearing on the field.
[Garbage Lord] [Level 5 / Fiend / Effect] [ATK: 0] Seeing this monster, Tendo was first stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help laughing.
“And here I thought you were going to Summon something earth-shattering, but it’s this piece of junk!
Pay a whole 2,000 Life Points just to call out a 0-attack hunk of garbage?
A card like this, even tossed on the ground, nobody would want it!” Nate looked at him.
“Then take a guess why I run a card nobody wants, and why I’m Summoning it now.” Hearing this, Tendo was taken aback.
While he was stunned…
“I haven’t performed a Normal Summon this turn.” Nate drew his last card in hand and slapped it onto the Duel Disk.
“I Normal Summon the Level 2 Tuner monster, [Fleur Synchron]!” A small mechanical flower wearing a petal headdress, brimming with a natural air, drifted down to settle beside the Garbage Lord.
[Fleur Synchron] [Level 2 / Machine / Tuner / Effect] [ATK: 400] Looking at the assembled monsters on the field, Tendo frowned slightly.
“A Tuner monster?
You’re going for a Synchro Summon?” “Correct, but there’s no prize for it!” Nate’s tone was cool.
“Quit bluffing!” Tendo sneered.
“A person’s energy and comprehension are limited!
How could a piece of trash from a bottom class possibly master and understand three completely different Summoning methods at once?!” Hearing this, Nate gave a soft laugh.
“Does Summoning a monster really require ‘understanding’?” He lifted his eyes toward the man across from him and said, word by word.
“Don’t put yourself and me in the same breath.
Every Summoning method, I know them all…
including Link Summon!” “How is that possible?!” Tendo was thunderstruck.
“Watch closely.
This is the last Summon you’ll ever see.” Nate swept his hand wide, and the Duel Disk erupted with dazzling light.
“I tune the Level 2 Tuner monster [Fleur Synchron] with the Level 5 [Garbage Lord]!” Two green halos rose into the air, enveloping the Garbage Lord as it turned into five stars.
“Cold flames shall devour all in this world.
Pitch-black blossom, bloom!
Synchro Summon, appear, Level 7, [Black Rose Dragon]!” Amid black petals dancing through the air, a stunning massive dragon, its whole body woven from dark-red rose vines, let out a piercing shriek and circled above Nate’s head.
Watching the [Black Rose Dragon] that had appeared on the field, the onlooking crowd erupted into wave after wave of gasps.
“That’s…
Senior Akiza’s Rose Dragon?!” “How does he have Senior’s Rose Dragon???” Meanwhile, inside Duel Academy’s laboratory.
Akiza Izinski, her long wine-red hair flowing, was using a dropper to mix reagents.
Suddenly her motion came to an abrupt halt, as if sensing some resonance from the depths of her soul.
She turned in astonishment toward the direction of the Ruins, an unprecedented ripple flashing through her stunning eyes.
“Strange…
how is there such a familiar aura?”