Compared to the Hundred Dragon that still required careful deliberation, Kujakujaku was much more straightforward.
"My turn, draw. I activate the Spell Card, Dark Hole."
"Eh?!" Atticus hadn't expected such an aggressive play from this Winged Beast warrior, "But if you do that, your own monsters will be destroyed too!"
"It doesn't matter." Kujakujaku gently pecked at its feathers with its beak.
The next moment, a giant black sphere appeared over Thunder Dragonlord, absorbing the two different Black Dragons and then vanishing into the air.
"Ah! Why would you destroy your own monsters too?!"
"Mmm, so sad—" Some of the younger Spirits couldn't accept this kind of play.
That said, for them, this Duel really was quite meaningful.
"I activate the effect of Black Dragon Collapserpent."
"What?" Atticus was taken aback when Kujakujaku activated a Graveyard effect.
The currently popular "Standard Tag Duel" in the Spirit World was the version most Duelists had grown accustomed to. Unlike the human world's tag duels, this one had gained traction due to being more "refined."
Under this rule, a tag duel wasn't so much "2v2" as it was a "relayed duel."
Despite being four players, each duo only had access to a single field: five Monster Zones, five Spell/Trap Zones, one Graveyard, and one Banished Zone.
During any turn that isn't yours or your team's next turn—in other words, the opponent's turn, your Deck is treated as "non-existent". Under these conditions, effects that search the Deck upon being sent to the Graveyard cannot activate.
For that reason, Atticus had chosen to go straight for Life Points rather than destroy monsters.
Yet now, Kujakujaku was checking its own Deck!
"I add Eclipse Wyvern from my Deck to my hand." It showed the card briefly, then added it to its hand.
"Eclipse Wyvern? Don't tell me its effect searches for a Dark Dragon? If that's the case, then your Decks have a total of six identical cards!"
Normally, a Deck can only contain up to three copies of the same card.
But in Tag Duels… that's a different story!
Hundred Dragon and Kujakujaku's Decks might even be similar!
"We are warriors who protect The Mountain. To better defend it, our Decks naturally share more connections." Kujakujaku said casually, "Next, I Normal Summon Harpie Channeler."
"Hmhmhm~~"
Along with Kujakujaku's action, a cute girl with a stylish circular hairstyle, black feathered arms, and bird-like claws on her hands and feet flew in from the sky.
[Harpie Channeler] Level 4│WIND│Winged Beast│1400 ATK
"Harpie Channeler?" Seeing this adorable monster appear, Atticus instinctively snapped a photo, then muttered to himself, "I should have Alexis cosplay her."
"What is this human thinking..." Tierra clenched her fist and lightly knocked on her forehead.
"Hahaha, don't worry, Winda! Harpie Lady is a very classic card, it was even covered in school, so there shouldn't be a problem—"
Hikaru was sort of envious of his confidence… If that Harpie Channeler goes into a Synchro Summon, what then?
Thankfully, Kujakujaku's next move wasn't what Hikaru expected.
"I activate Harpie Channeler's effect. Discard 1 'Harpie' card to activate it. Special Summon 1 'Harpie' monster from the Deck in Defense Position, except 'Harpie Channeler.'"
Discarding Harpie Lady Sisters, it Special Summoned Harpie Dancer.
Responding to the summon, the silver-feathered Winged Beast who had just finished tending to the young Spirits flapped her wings and scattered white feathers. In the breeze and among the falling feathers, she performed a soft, elegant dance as she stepped on the field.
[Harpie Dancer] Level 4│WIND│Winged Beast│1000 DEF
"So pretty." Atticus took another picture.
"The real beauty's just beginning, human!" Kujakujaku seemed like a hot-blooded Duelist. Seeing Atticus act without a shred of "warrior's pride" only made its anger spike, "I activate this card in my hand! By banishing a DARK and a WIND monster from my Graveyard, I can Special Summon it!"
Boom—boom—BOOOOM!
A violent windstorm engulfed the field. The gales were so intense that they sent nearby Spirits flying, forcing many adult Spirits to cling to them for safety. A massive divine black bird, wreathed in luminous rings, slowly descended.
"I banish Black Dragon and Harpie Lady to Special Summon—Dark Simorgh!"
[Dark Simorgh] Level 7│DARK│Winged Beast│2700 ATK
"Battle! Dark Simorgh, direct attack!"
The feathers behind Kujakujaku all stood on end like blades, aimed straight at Atticus.
A flurry of black feathers rained down—leaving Atticus, who usually took great pride in his appearance, especially disheveled.
[Duel Academy Students, LP: 8000 → 5300]
"I'm not done yet! Harpie Channeler, attack directly!"
"Wait! I activate the Trap Card, Red-Eyes Spirit!" Just as Harpie Channeler raised her staff to bonk him, Atticus hastily flipped his Set card, "This lets me revive a 'Red-Eyes' monster from my Graveyard!
I Special Summon in Attack Position—Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"
"Roar!"
The Black Dragon returned!
[Red-Eyes Black Dragon] Level 7│DARK│Dragon│2400 ATK
"Heh, a dying struggle. I Set one card and end my turn."
"Phew, survived that one." Atticus exhaled and muttered, "Sorry, Hikaru, I messed things up for you."
While he said that, he glanced at Dark Simorgh, "Dark Simorgh's effect prevents the opponent from Setting cards as long as it remains on the field… Not only did I fail to preserve a good board state for you, I even left you facing a lockdown monster." He scratched his head and gave an awkward laugh.
"It's okay, senpai. I can still handle it."
To be frank—no offense—but Atticus was the certified "Lose Legend" of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.
Hikaru never expected him to set up a favorable board state.
Besides, he was in the "4th position," the support seat in tag duels. For Atticus to leave a Trap and a monster was already pretty generous.
Hundred Dragon was just so-so.
If you can't take out your opponents in a tag duel, then you just have to go for endurance and support.
He drew a card. Suddenly, Hikaru noticed quite a few Spirits had gathered around them.
Most remained silent, simply observing with curiosity, while their presence still made Hikaru slightly uneasy.
Tierra, however, didn't stop them.
Just then, Hikaru heard a zapping sound and instinctively tilted his head slightly.
A golden, sparking little ball drifted past in front of him.
The next instant—"Aha! You're totally gonna lose, huh?!" a high-pitched, childish voice reached him.
'That thunderball can talk?'
'Ah—it's not a "ball."'
"Hey, Koyuan, don't interrupt a warrior's concentration, that's extremely disrespectful!" A Spirit came to grab it.
"But it's true! His hand is all—ah, whatever, he's definitely gonna lose!"
Thunder Dragonlord gently lowered its head, a flash of electricity capturing the mischievous ball and pulling it aside. It then sincerely apologized to Hikaru, "Apologies, warrior of the humans. That was Koyuan, a Spirit of our Thunder Tribe. He's usually very curious and didn't mean any harm. We didn't expect him to peek at your hand…"
And that's when Hikaru realized its identity.
Thunder Dragonmatrix!
"No problem! Even if he says it, I don't mind—" Hikaru said with a grin, completely unfazed, "That's right. Every card in my hand right now is a Spell Card!"
"Whaaat?!"
"Wha—?!"
"Huh??"
A chorus of shocked squeals erupted from the young Spirits. Even some of the adult watchers looked baffled.
'R-Really?'
'If his whole hand is Spells, how's he supposed to win?'
"Then let me introduce myself again! Spirits of this realm!" Hikaru took a deep breath and shouted to the sky. Simultaneously, the ever-resourceful Atticus somehow pulled out a spotlight and shone it directly on Hikaru.
The vibe was immaculate.
"I am a Duelist who seeks the ultimate in Fusion! I extend an invitation to all Spirits here—if any of you desire Fusion, and wish to walk that path, then come! Come unhesitatingly!
For now, I shall demonstrate—the All-Fusion Duel!"
"Waaa—so cool!" The young Spirits, never having seen such a hero-like entrance, were completely swept away by the energy. They didn't even care anymore that Hikaru's tag partner played a burn strategy.
"Mrryaaa!"
Zzzt! Zzzt!
That golden thunderball began sparking wildly again. In its center, a serpentine dragon shadow writhed with excitement, its voice trembling with eagerness.
"Now—first card!"