The ruined palace.
Watching the [Black Rose Dragon] Nate had Summoned, Rio Kastle was momentarily stunned.
In those ice-blue eyes of hers, normally untroubled by any ripple, a trace of disbelief now surged.
Her red lips parted slightly as she looked at the coldly composed youth in the center of the field.
Powerful monsters all had their own pride.
Only one whom they themselves acknowledged could Summon them.
Not only that, powerful monsters were also rare, and there usually weren’t very many of any one of them.
Take Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
In the entire dueling world there were only three, currently in the hands of a third-year senior who was very fond of wearing a white trench coat.
As for Black Rose Dragon, from the time she’d started dueling until now she’d only ever seen Akiza Izinski Summon it.
She’d always assumed there was only one Black Rose Dragon.
She never imagined she’d see another one here.
She had looked into Nate’s records.
Ordinarily, Nate had almost no presence in his class whatsoever.
But at this moment, he had not only commanded that forbidden card that made the very soul tremble, he could even call forth Akiza Izinski’s Synchro ace at will.
“This guy…
has he been playing dumb this whole time?” Her gaze locked tightly onto that proudly standing figure, and her normally glacial heart now stirred with deep curiosity.
On the field.
As the one facing this terrifying sense of pressure head-on, Tendo’s arrogant face had by now completely drained of color.
He stared with a ghastly expression at the Black Rose Dragon roiling amid the sea of flowers, his once-overweening swagger crushed to powder in an instant.
He couldn’t understand how Akiza Izinski’s ace could appear here.
“It seems you know [Black Rose Dragon]’s effect.” Nate’s cold voice was like a reaper’s summons, cutting through the raging wind.
“Then I won’t waste any more words on you.” The words had barely left his mouth when Nate slowly raised his arm.
Watching Nate move to activate the effect, Tendo, on the verge of collapse, suddenly seized on it like a last lifeline, screaming hysterically like a gambler who’d lost his shirt.
“Quit putting on airs over there!!!
Once [Black Rose Dragon]’s effect activates, it destroys every card on the whole field indiscriminately!
The moment you dare blow up the board, [Black Rose Dragon] and that [Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon] of yours get destroyed right along with it!” “And you’ve already used your Normal Summon this turn.
Black Rose Dragon’s attack is only 2,400.
There’s no way you can end the duel this turn, and next turn I can still turn it around!!!” Faced with Tendo’s near-deranged roaring, Nate didn’t argue, just looked at him with a mocking gaze as if at a dead man, smiled faintly, and snapped his fingers.
The instant the snap sounded…
Rumble rumble rumble!!!
Violent crimson-lotus hellfire instantly swept across the entire field.
Tendo’s B.
Skull Dragon and Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, in the sea of flames, were utterly blasted to ashes before they could even let out a scream.
Even the Black Rose Dragon that had triggered the explosion dissipated along with them amid the sky full of flame.
The gale swept through, and the smoke and dust slowly settled.
Nate’s figure gradually emerged from the smoke.
When the onlooking crowd saw the state of the field clearly, every one of them sucked in a sharp breath, disbelief written all over their faces!
For behind Nate, that war-spear-wielding [Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon] still stood towering, without so much as a single scratch on its pitch-black armor!
Tendo stared hard at that perfectly intact monster, his pupils shrinking violently, stumbling back a few more steps in fright before dropping flat onto his backside.
“Impossible…
this is absolutely impossible!
How could your monster not be destroyed?!” Nate looked down at him from on high, the corner of his mouth curving into a mocking arc.
“Didn’t I tell you?
[Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon] cannot be destroyed by card effects!” Hearing this, Tendo’s cheek twitched violently.
But he gritted his teeth and, stubborn to the very end, bellowed.
“So what?!
Even if your monster survived, I still have a full 4,800 LP!
And your monster only has 3,000 attack, so you still can’t end the duel this turn!
Once it gets to next turn…” “Next turn?” Nate cut him off coldly.
“Did you forget I still have a card in my hand?” Tendo froze.
Nate slowly raised his hand and revealed the last card in it.
The instant he made out that card, Tendo’s pupils shrank sharply.
“[Autonomous Action Unit]!?” “That’s right.” Nate slammed the card hard onto the Duel Disk.
“This card’s effect: I pay 1,500 LP and target one monster in the opponent’s Graveyard!
I Special Summon that monster to my own field in Attack Position and equip this card to it!” Because the so-called Hero Deck that Duel Academy had originally handed out to its poor students was a complete pile of cobbled-together, incoherent scrap paper.
To produce an advanced Summon board, it took a massive, scattered investment of resources.
So when adjusting his Deck, he’d deliberately packed it with plenty of generic cards like [Autonomous Action Unit], the kind that could Special Summon the opponent’s monsters.
His own monsters too weak to build a board?
Then just take the opponent’s monsters and use them directly!
Because these cards required paying LP as a cost, not many people were willing to run them, which made them dirt cheap.
On the forums they were sold by the pound.
[Nate, LP: 6000 → 4500] “I pay 1,500 Life Points as a cost to revive one monster in your Graveyard!” Nate raised his hand and looked toward Tendo’s Graveyard.
“And the monster I’m choosing is, of course, the very ace you spoke of just now: [B.
Skull Dragon]!” “Roar!!!” Along with a deafening roar, that terrifying demon dragon clad head to toe in pitch-black armor crawled out of hell once more.
Only this time, it didn’t stand before Tendo.
It descended obediently onto Nate’s half of the field, standing shoulder to shoulder with the [Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon]!
[B.
Skull Dragon, ATK: 3200] “Wh-what?!” Watching the monster he took the most pride in turn its weapons on him, Tendo’s mind went instantly blank, and the last of his psychological defenses collapsed completely.
“B.
Skull Dragon’s 3,200, plus the Dragoon’s 3,000, a combined attack of 6,200.” Nate looked at Tendo slumped on the ground and issued the final command, cold as ice.
“The duel is over.” “Go!
B.
Skull Dragon, Dragoon!
Direct attack on the player!” “Super Magic Surge Slash!!!” The B.
Skull Dragon’s sky-scorching flames and the Dragoon’s dark-red war spear erupted at once, becoming destructive meteors that tore through the darkness, piercing Tendo’s last line of defense without the slightest suspense.
“Wuaaaahhh!” Amid a wretched, agonized wail, the violent shockwave swallowed Tendo’s entire body whole.
[Tendo, LP: 4800 → 0]