"My turn." Manjome said in a low voice.
The situation on the field was absolutely disadvantageous, and he currently had no means of counterattacking in his hand. But his HP was still ample, so he had a chance.
"Draw!"
Upon seeing the new card he drew, Manjome's eyes lit up.
"Ha, the goddess of victory is still on my side after all."
Manjome pulled out two cards from his hand, one sent to the Graveyard, the other played directly.
"Activate the Spell Card, 'Cost Down'! By discarding one card from my hand, this turn, all monster cards in my hand have their levels reduced by two stars!"
Cost Down reduces the number of Tributes needed for high-Level monsters in hand, allowing them to be Normal Summoned directly. This was also a common tactic used by Seto Kaiba in DM.
"Furthermore, the card I just discarded to activate 'Cost Down's effect was the Spell Card 'Card of Compensation'. When this card is sent from the hand to the Graveyard, I draw two cards from my Deck." (Original card)
Yugen: "..."
The drawing mechanics in the anime are truly monstrous; they just draw cards for no reason. In a real card environment, it would be absolutely explosive!
"Based on 'Card of Compensation's effect, I draw cards from my Deck."
His ammunition replenished, Manjome's mouth curled into a slight smirk, looking as if things were going well.
"You've caused me quite a bit of trouble, it seems I underestimated you. However! This is where it ends." Manjome raised his voice. "Due to 'Cost Down's effect, 'Kaiser Glider', originally Level 6 in my hand, becomes Level 4 and can be Normal Summoned without Tributes. Therefore, I Normal Summon this guy! Appear now—
—Kaiser Glider!"
A golden storm swirled on the field. From the vortex appeared a magnificent dragon, covered in emperor-like golden scales, its entire body seemingly engulfed in golden flames.
[Kaiser Glider, ATK 2400]
"Your petty tricks end here; in elite duels, only power is the key to victory!" Manjome raised his hand. "With Kaiser Glider, destroy 'Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer'!"
The golden dragon opened its mouth, and a spiraling blast of energy shot out. The rosary-wielding monk was pierced through and, with a boom, left the field in a cloud of smoke.
[Yugen, LP 1700 → LP 1100]
"I set one card face-down and end my turn!" Manjome took a deep breath.
Almost there, just a little bit more.
He had regained the tempo. Just a bit more and he could break through the monk's defenses and deliver a fatal blow.
Manjome himself might not have realized it, but unconsciously, his mood had shifted from "casually crushing an opponent to advance" (a mindset of tormenting a newbie) to "only one of us walks out today." It was as if the duel had become a grudge match as it progressed.
He had never felt such an unbearable urge to defeat an opponent in any duel as he did today.
Just thinking about the opponent's LP hitting zero and being blasted by his full-force holographic impact, he couldn't help but want to laugh out loud in satisfaction.
"My turn, draw!" Yugen calmly stated. "First, I activate this Spell Card from my hand, 'Giant Trunade'!"
A green storm swirled, and a powerful gust of wind swept across the entire field. Manjome had to shield his face with both hands, and his face-down card was also blown back into his hand.
This was one of the standard low-tier cards in Jonouchi Katsuya's Deck in DM, but in a real card environment, it's a long-term Forbidden card.
"Giant Trunade allows all Spell and Trap Cards on the field to be returned to their owner's hand."
"Tch." Manjome looked at the face-down card returned to his hand and clicked his tongue.
His backrow was dismantled. But it wasn't a big problem. Kaiser Glider was a high-level monster with 2400 ATK, it shouldn't be easy to break through.
Moreover, Kaiser Glider also had a powerful monster effect. If it was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, it could return any monster on the field to its owner's hand.
In other words, even if the opponent truly had the ability to summon a big monster exceeding Kaiser Glider in the next turn, after defeating Kaiser Glider, that monster would immediately be dealt with by its lingering effect.
Manjome grew more and more smug as he thought about it.
His opponent only saw the face-down card and must have thought they were safe after dismantling the trap. Little did they know, true elite duels involved deep calculations. He had set up a double-layered trap as insurance.
His advantage was huge!
"I Normal Summon 'Mystic Tomato' in attack position." Yugen continued.
[Mystic Tomato, ATK 1400]
Manjome scoffed: "Ha, as expected, you can only summon small fry as wall monsters. Huh?"
As he spoke, he realized something was off.
Wait a minute, Mystic Tomato in attack position?
He suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Next, I activate a Spell Card from my hand."
Yugen swung his right arm, and the image of a Spell Card appeared before him.
"Spell Card - Creature Swap! Both players must each select one monster on their field and exchange control of them!"
Manjome: "N-nani!?"
Holy crap, are all the cards in your Deck this kind of stuff?!
Can we just have a proper duel?!
"The monster I choose, of course, is this one on my field." Yugen pointed at the large tomato head on his field, "'Mystic Tomato'. Alright, you also choose the monster you want to exchange."
Manjome: "..."
Haha, I choose your grandma.
Clearly, Manjome had no choice; he only had 'Kaiser Glider' on his field.
However, this Spell Card forcefully required both players to choose, and even if there was only one option, the system couldn't choose for the duelist. So Manjome could only tearfully click his Kaiser Glider, reluctantly watching his 2400 ATK ace monster go over to the opponent's field...
And be replaced by a plump, round red tomato head.
Manjome turned his head and even noticed that this time the tomato head was smirking mischievously, as if silently mocking him.
"Battle Phase." Yugen stated. "I attack 'Mystic Tomato' with 'Kaiser Glider'."
The golden giant dragon opened its mouth, and an overbearing dragon breath pierced through the small tomato. It showed no mercy to its owner from a second ago. Mystic Tomato exploded into fragments, and the shockwave sent Manjome staggering back half a step.
[Manjome, LP 3300 → LP 2300]
"Damn it," Manjome muttered through gritted teeth.
But this wasn't even the worst of it.
"'Mystic Tomato's effect activates." Yugen waved his hand. "When Mystic Tomato is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon one DARK monster with 1500 or less ATK from my Deck!"
Manjome: "!?"
Manjome was indeed a high-achiever; with a quick thought, he understood what was going on with this effect's resolution.
In the duel rules, even if control of a monster was temporarily exchanged via a card effect, when it was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, it would go to its original owner's Graveyard according to the rules.
Mystic Tomato's original owner was Yugen, so even if its control was exchanged to Manjome's field, it would still go to Yugen's Graveyard when it was defeated.
Therefore, when its effect activated after being destroyed, it was naturally Yugen who could Special Summon from the Deck, not Manjome.
Manjome's face immediately darkened even more as he grasped this connection.
You mean I take the damage, and you get the search, right?
The monster gets swapped to the opponent, I take the damage, and the opponent still gets to search.
This feeling, a normal person who hasn't spent 10 or 15 years in the underworld probably couldn't come up with this kind of blood-pressure-raising combo.
But Manjome, who already felt like this level was "underworld-tier," was clearly still too young.
Yugen drew the monster card he searched from his Deck.
"Based on 'Mystic Tomato's effect, I Special Summon this card from my Deck—
—Don Zaloog!"
[Don Zaloog, ATK 1400]
"The Battle Phase continues. Since it was Special Summoned during the Battle Phase, my 'Don Zaloog' can still attack." Yugen said with a flourish. "Direct attack on Manjome."
The one-eyed bandit stylishly pulled out two pistols, and the twin guns fired, virtual bullets once again passing through Manjome's body.
"Ugh." Manjome gritted his teeth, struggling to maintain his posture.
[Manjome, LP 2300 → LP 900]
"At this moment, 'Don Zaloog's effect activates." Yugen said. "When Zaloog inflicts battle damage to the opponent, I can randomly select one card from the opponent's hand and discard it.
The card I want to destroy is that card on your right."
Zaloog's pistol fired again, and a bullet bang pierced through one of Manjome's hand cards.
Manjome looked at the "Widespread Ruin" in his hand, now with a hole through it, and suddenly felt his vision darken, as if he was about to vomit blood.
Widespread Ruin: A powerful Trap Card that can destroy the opponent's monster with the highest ATK when they declare an attack. Many duelists on the verge of defeat rely on this to turn the tables.
Clearly, this was the card that was just returned to Manjome's hand by "Giant Trunade," completely unable to unleash its powerful effect before being shattered in his hand.
Manjome's face sank as he sent the broadsword-like card to the Graveyard.
But there was still a chance.
He had one last card in his hand.
The Equip Spell, Premature Burial.
By paying 800 LP, he could revive a monster from his Graveyard. In many situations, it was a god-tier card for turning the tables.
But the problem was, up until now, Manjome had no monsters in his Graveyard; they had all been banished to different dimensions.
"Main Phase 2." Yugen revealed another card from his hand. "Activate the Spell Card 'The Forceful Sentry'. I can check your hand and choose one card from it to return to your Deck, then your Deck is shuffled."
Manjome: "..."
His facial muscles twitched, as if he was desperately trying to control his emotions from spiraling out of control, silently tucking his last hand card back into his Deck. But the strained expression from controlling his facial muscles made him look as if he was performing some bizarre facial art.
And so, Manjome's last hand card was returned to his Deck.
If this were a real card game, the match would effectively be over here; trying to turn the tide from this situation with just one more draw was utterly fanciful. But considering the anime's tendency for "divine draws" in dire situations, Yugen still chose to play it safe.
"I set one card face-down. Turn end."
This was his final safety net to kill the game.
"My turn."
Manjome gritted his teeth, staring at the top card of his Deck, feeling his adrenaline surge.
Being eliminated by a nobody rookie with no record? What a joke!
He, Manjome Jun, had participated in countless tournaments. Even if he didn't always win, an experience like this was truly unprecedented.
Such humiliation was unacceptable to him, and surely to his family as well.
But it wasn't over!
He would bet everything on this next card!
"Draw!"
Glancing at the card he drew, Manjome's expression immediately became complicated.
Graceful Charity.
A Spell Card. It allows you to draw three cards from your Deck, then choose two cards from your hand to discard.
In this dire situation, it was undoubtedly a divine draw; drawing three cards would greatly increase his chances of drawing a comeback card.
However, this made him grit his teeth again as he remembered the "Premature Burial" that was just shuffled back into his Deck. If Premature Burial had still been in his hand, then with this "Graceful Charity," if he drew a high-level monster among the next three cards, he could use "Graceful Charity's" effect to discard it to the Graveyard, then use Premature Burial to bring it back for a beautiful comeback.
Of course, all because of that accursed "The Forceful Sentry," that was no longer possible.
Manjome suddenly realized that dueling this guy felt very strange. The entire match process made him feel somewhat annoyed at first glance, but upon closer thought, it just got more and more infuriating.
But this draw gave him a chance to continue. Manjome collected himself, looked up, and was about to activate the Spell Card, when he suddenly saw that his opponent's face-down card had been activated at some point.
Trap Card - Drop Off. Activate during the opponent's Draw Phase. The opponent must discard the card they just drew directly to the Graveyard.
Manjome: "..."
A fatal trap, Yugen's ultimate safety net, crushing even the possibility of a divine draw in its infancy.
At this very moment, Sato Koji, the senior watching from the front row, suddenly jumped up from his seat and slapped his thigh.
"I know this! This is the flavor!"