"Huff, huff—"
The one taking the first move was the Dragon warrior.
As one of the guardians of The Mountain, this Dragon guardian had a rather imposing appearance.
Orange-yellow scales, broad wings, and a confident smile.
Hikaru glanced to the side. There was a super mini version of it, climbing up the body of Thunder Dragonlord. Those familiar might recognize it instantly, this was one of the classics: Hundred Dragon.
No wonder he had found this dragon so familiar.
So it's the adult form of Baby Dragon.
It held a tiny card with its massive dragon claws, muttering to itself, "I've never fought a human warrior before—."
It couldn't quite gauge the opponent's skill level. Should it go conservative, or play aggressively?
"Forget it, I activate the Spell Card, Foolish Burial!"
It extended its claw, "This card sends a monster from the Deck to the Graveyard."
"I send Eclipse Wyvern to the Graveyard."
'A Forbidden Card, huh!?'
Even though he'd seen countless Forbidden Cards in this world, Hikaru still couldn't help but wonder at the sight of this one.
Because this Forbidden Card… It was just too "Forbidden".
"When Eclipse Wyvern is sent to the Graveyard, its effect activates. I banish 1 LIGHT or DARK Dragon-type monster with Level 7 or more from my Deck." Hundred Dragon searched through its Deck and pulled out a card. "I banish Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand."
"Next, I banish Eclipse Wyvern from the Graveyard to Special Summon—Black Dragon Collapserpent."
A black energy orb floated before Hundred Dragon. Then, the orb twisted. From its distortion, the image of a dragon emerged.
[Black Dragon Collapserpent] Level 4│DARK│Dragon│1800 ATK
"At the same time, Eclipse Wyvern's effect activates. When it's banished, I add the monster it banished to my hand. I add Divine Dragon Lord to hand."
"Set 1 card. End my turn."
After finishing its plays, Hundred Dragon let out a soft breath, as if finally at ease.
"Good luck, big brother!"
"You got this~~"
Whether they were just enjoying the show or genuinely cheering for both duelists, a group of little dragons came over, cheering for both Hikaru and Atticus.
Seeing the adorable little dragons—and even dragon eggs—gathering, Atticus gave a light "Mm" and raised his hand high.
"What am I pointing at!?"
"Huh?" The spirits were confused. One of them instinctively answered, "The sky?"
"Atticus!" Atticus snapped his fingers. "Atticus."
"Wow! So cool—"
"That's so funny!"
A bunch of naive spirits were immediately drawn in by Atticus's flashy self-introduction.
"Then, it's my turn." Atticus didn't forget the duel. He drew a card and casually asked, "Hikaru, anything I should watch out for with that dragon?"
"Black Dragon? If it's sent from the field to the Graveyard, its effect adds a Level 4 LIGHT Dragon to the hand," Hikaru warned.
"Whoa! That's right! That's right!"
"Big brother, you know so much!"
"This guy here is lame."
"Hey, you brats! Don't go giving them tips!" Hundred Dragon panicked.
"As expected of you, Hikaru!" Hearing the effect, Atticus grinned, showing off his nice teeth. "I knew you'd know!"
"In that case, I won't destroy it yet. I'll deal with it when the time comes!"
"I Normal Summon—Black Dragon's Chick!"
A red dragon egg appeared on his field. With a shout, the egg cracked open, revealing a cute little dragon head.
[Black Dragon's Chick] Level 1│DARK│Dragon│800 ATK
"Whoa! That's me, that's me!" One of the baby dragons grabbed its shell and shouted excitedly.
"Lucky! I wanna be on the field too—" The other spirits started getting envious.
"Black Dragon's Chick's effect: I send it face-up from the field to the Graveyard to Special Summon—Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my hand!"
Atticus scooped up the Chick, and in its place appeared a black dragon over ten times its size.
[Red-Eyes Black Dragon] Level 7│DARK│Dragon│2400 ATK
"So cool!" The baby dragons gazed longingly at the massive dragon. "...Will I become like that one day?"
"Of course you will. As long as you try, as long as you grow, one day you'll become the you you dream of!" Atticus was very kind to the children. He glanced at his hand, then shouted, "And next—it's finisher time!
Spell Card: Inferno Fire Blast!"
"During the turn this card is activated, Red-Eyes Black Dragon cannot attack. I Target 1 Red-Eyes Black Dragon you control and inflict damage to my opponent equal to its original ATK!"
"Wha-whaaa???"
"That's so dirty—" some of the younger spirits couldn't help but say.
'Huh?' The two Guardians didn't mind. Effect damage was a valid tactic, yet meanwhile, the Black Dragon's Chick already had teary eyes.
"Waaah!" It burst into tears, forcing some of the older spirits to hurry over and console it.
Still, on the field, Red-Eyes Black Dragon slowly charged its flames, then blasted a fireball at the two warriors.
[Guardians of The Mountain, LP: 8000 → 5600]
A Red-Eyes burning through LP was pretty standard.
But to a dragon who'd always been protected and never seen many duels—who fantasized about being mighty and gallant—this may not have been what it had imagined.
"Uhh—Oof, I didn't make a kid cry, did I?" Atticus stiffened. He stared at his hand—playing now would be bad, though not playing felt worse.
"Hikaru, help me out here!!!"
Hikaru sighed.
"Senpai, just keep dueling."
"You're not even calling me senior anymore, huh?! I knew it!!" Atticus howled dramatically.
"Enough, human warrior," the voice of Thunder Dragonlord rumbled once more. "Let these children witness a true duel ritual, not just playtime. This is how they grow."
"Continue your turn."
"Ugh…" Atticus frowned.
"Then… I set two cards and end my turn." Atticus awkwardly placed two cards face-down.
Now it was the Beast-Winged Guardian's turn.
Unlike Hundred Dragon, whose identity required some familiarity to discern, this Beast-Winged Guardian was unmistakable.
Because it was a giant peacock. But instead of normal feathers on its fan, it bore… snakes.
It was Kujakujaku.
Hikaru thought, 'What a rare card!'