"That monster looks familiar…" Tierra crossed her arms, squinting at the enormous dinosaur that had just entered the field. "Hmm… ugh… nope, can't remember. Probably some minor character?"
Seriously?
Hikaru Amagi gave her a flat stare, utterly speechless.
That monster—Jurrac Tyrant—was a major boss in the Duel Terminal storyline, a key powerhouse of the Jurrac archetype. In the lore, the Jurracs were a native faction of the DT world, known for their xenophobic tendencies. When an alien race of Worms invaded their homeworld and awoke the wicked Fabled beasts, chaos erupted. The Jurracs were pushed to their limit.
One day, driven to desperation and fury, the Jurracs ascended into space, transformed into meteor-like beasts, and rained down upon their enemies—wiping out their foes... and themselves in the process.
So yeah, the whole archetype basically self-extincted before Tierra was ever revived. No wonder she didn't recognize it.
Still, if Rex Raptor had summoned Jurrac Tyrant instead of something like Ultimate Conductor Tyranno, maybe this was still manageable. Not that Hikaru feared that card either.
"I activate the Quick-Play Spell—Card Destruction!" Rex shouted. "Both players discard 2 cards, then draw 2!"
"I'll discard Jurrac Monoloph and Dark Driceratops!"
Hikaru glanced at his hand, then discarded the two Thunder Dragons he had just retrieved last turn, drawing two fresh cards in return.
…Oh?
He arched a brow slightly at what he drew.
"Now I activate Jurrac Tyrant's effect! Once per turn, I can banish a Jurrac monster with 1700 ATK or less from my Graveyard to boost this card's ATK by 1000!"
"I banish Jurrac Monoloph to raise its ATK!"
Jurrac Tyrant ATK: 3000 → 4000.
"4000 ATK!?"
"That's way beyond Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Incredible!"
"Mr. Dino is unstoppable!"
"But what now? What's that Hikaru kid supposed to do against this?"
"I heard he only plays Fusion cards. Can he even do anything in this kind of situation?"
Some staffers were already nervously calling out:
"Mr. Raptor! Please wait! This wasn't part of the plan!"
They'd intended someone else to duel Hikaru—not Rex Raptor.
"Hey, kid!" Rex barked.
"…Yeah?"
"You hear 'em? The doubt. The disbelief. The people who don't think you can win."
"I don't care about them. What matters is—what do you think, Mr. Raptor?"
"Heh… you've got guts, I'll give you that. But if my Tyrant lands this hit—you're finished!"
"Then come and get me, old man!"
"Fine—Battle! Super Conductor Tyranno, attack Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon!"
The lightning-infused cyber-dino surged forward, fangs clamping into the twin-headed beast and draining its energy.
Hikaru LP: 4000 → 3500.
"And now—this is it! Jurrac Tyrant, direct attack!"
"Jurassic Devastation!"
The giant beast reared up, leaping high into the air with impossible speed. Time seemed to freeze as it hovered above the battlefield, casting a massive shadow over Hikaru. It locked onto its target—then dove.
In that split second—
The factory staff who'd been showing Hikaru around collectively panicked.
The corporate execs who had just arrived to check on negotiations froze in stunned silence.
And the crowd—employees, bystanders, random onlookers—erupted into cheers.
"A direct attack with 4000 ATK?! That's insane!"
"This is gonna be epic!"
Everyone thought Hikaru was finished.
Everyone except the two duelists on the field.
"Mr. Raptor, I activate my face-down!"
"Trap Card—Necro Fusion!"
A violet-colored trap flipped up behind Hikaru, its swirling magic illuminating the dueling arena.
"A Fusion Trap Card?!"
"A Fusion… as a trap?!"
"What's that do?" Rex asked, tugging his cap down.
"This lets me banish Fusion Materials from my Graveyard face-down, then Fusion Summon one Fusion Monster!"
"Graveyard Fusion, huh? So that's why it's called Necro Fusion…" Rex nodded, impressed but not rattled.
"He's doing it again—Fusing!"
"He always goes for Fusion!"
"No wonder they call him that…"
The company staff wiped their brows in relief. At least he might survive this turn.
"I banish Ancient Gear Golem, Ancient Gear Hound, and Ancient Gear Megaton Golem from my Graveyard—face-down!"
"The ultimate convergence of ancient technology will now descend upon this battlefield!"
Hikaru threw his arms back—then snapped them forward like iron hammers.
"Fusion Summon!
Become my iron fist—
Ancient Gear Ultimate Colossus!"
Metal limbs slammed into place as pieces flew in from every direction. The titan formed in the sky, its crimson eyes meeting the oncoming Jurrac Tyrant without fear or hesitation.
Ancient Gear Ultimate Colossus – Level 10, EARTH, Machine-Type, ATK 4400.
"4400 ATK?!"
"It's only a few points short of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"
"Oh my god—monsters with 4000+ ATK just smashing into each other?! This duel's worth every second of unpaid overtime!"
People chattered excitedly, their voices overlapping.
"4400 ATK…" Rex muttered, staring at the colossal mech. "A first-year student… summoning a Fusion monster that powerful."
"You really are exceptional."
"But kid—'exceptional' isn't enough. If that's all you've got… you'll always be left behind."
He exhaled, like reflecting on something distant.
"End of turn."
"At this moment, Jurrac Tyrant's ATK returns to normal."
ATK: 4000 → 3000.
"Wait—oh no!" someone gasped.
"If he attacks next turn, Mr. Raptor's ace monster will be destroyed! And without Tyrant's 4000-ATK burst… things could spiral out of control!"
Hikaru wasn't celebrating.
He glanced at Rex's set card.
Untouched the whole duel.
Still Jurrac themed…
Don't tell me…
It's a self-destruct trap, isn't it?