The deck Yue Xuan was using this time wasn't the "Monarch Control" build that had once won the World Championship. After all, he currently only had a single Raiza the Storm Monarch in his possession, making it impossible to perform the full lockdown associated with that legendary archetype.
However, he was utilizing another powerful top-tier deck from that eraone that had taken shape shortly after the release of the Storm Monarch: the "Storm Raiza" deck. The name was derived from its two core components, Raiza the Storm Monarch and the trap card Phoenix Wing Wind Blast.
Clearly, this was a deck specialized in "Top-deck Control," designed to bounce the opponent's cards back to the top of their deck.
Any player who had ever been on the receiving end of such a strategy could understand just how nauseating it was. If it was frustrating in the real world, it was even more oppressive in an anime world where "miracle draws" were a way of life.
Case in point: the guy across from Yue Xuan looked like he was about to howl in tears.
Yue Xuan sent a card from his hand to the Graveyard of his Duel Disk.
"Therefore, I discard one card to bounce Darkstorm Dragon back to the top of your deck once more."
Delta's eyes nearly split from the intensity of his glare.
He had only one card left in his hand, and it wasn't a card that could provide a glimmer of hope in this situation. If Darkstorm Dragon was bounced back to the top, then even if he managed to survive the next turn, his Draw Phase would only put that same dragon back into his hand. Those two cards would be stuck, unusable.
It brought to mind the old saying: some people are breathing, but they are already dead.
Is this really the end?
Delta struggled to lift his head, looking forward at Yue Xuan. For a moment, the figure before him seemed to tower to infinite heights, like an insurmountable mountain, an abstract titan named Fate.
Perhaps his opponent was right.
This card, finally bounced back to the top of the deck, was his predestined end. He had exhausted his strength, yet everything he did was ultimately meaninglessnothing more than a futile struggle.
In the end, he could change nothing, just as he was destined to draw that same Darkstorm Dragon next turn.
"I'm sorry, Father."
He closed his eyes instinctively.
The enemy was simply too strong.
Behind his closed eyelids, the image of a man surfaced once more. The man was expressionless and silent, yet his gaze cut like a cold steel blade, hacking deep into Delta's heart.
The pain jolted him back to reality.
"No... it's not over yet."
He snapped his eyes open, his old promise echoing in his ears.
"I will never let you down."
He was the most outstanding of all the children, the one his father had placed all his hopes upon, the special one. He could not fail.
"I chain my face-down card to Phoenix Wing Wind Blast!" Delta roared. "Quick-Play Spell Spell Textbook!"
Yue Xuan frowned.
Wait... is that an anime-original card? What did it do again?
"I can only activate this by discarding my entire hand!"
Delta cast his final card into the Graveyard, his voice heavy.
"I draw one card from the top of my deck. If that card is a Spell Card, I can apply its effect immediately, ignoring its activation costs. If it isn't, it goes to the Graveyard!"
Yue Xuan finally remembered. It was a card used by the Pharaoh. In the Sky Arena, at the moment Kaiba's Obelisk the Tormentor attacked Yami Yugi's Slifer the Sky Dragon, the Pharaoh had used this card to discard his entire hand and top-deck Card of Sanctity. That move had instantly boosted Slifer's ATK to six thousand, leaving Kaiba looking like a fool.
This was indeed Delta's last possible window to use it. If Phoenix Wing Wind Blast resolved first and Darkstorm Dragon returned to the top, Delta would be guaranteed to draw a monster, not a spell, meaning he'd be a dead man next turn.
This was Delta's true desperate gamblethe final draw with everything on the line.
"Interesting." Yue Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly.
Could a man-made AI, even one with such unwavering conviction, pull off a miracle draw like a duelist possessed of true destiny?
Delta's hand and field were now completely empty.
He looked at his deck, his hand hovering over the top card. He closed his eyes.
In the darkness, his father's image appeared once more.
"..."
"Draw!"
Delta drew the card and immediately thrust it high into the air.
"Spell CardDragon's Mirror!"
Yue Xuan raised an eyebrow.
Well, I'll be. He actually pulled it off.
"With the effect of Dragon's Mirror, I can Fusion Summon a Fusion Monster by banishing the materials from my Graveyard!"
Delta shouted as five cards slid out of his Graveyard slot in rapid succession.
"I banish Tyrant Dragon, the Exploder Dragon and Wish Dragon discarded by Graceful Charity, the Frost and Flame Dragon destroyed last turn, and the Troop Dragon I just discarded as the cost for Spell Textbook! I fuse five Dragon monsters!"
The five dragons materialized one after another, swirling into a massive Fusion vortex.
A vortex of earth, water, fire, wind, and darkness erupted, transforming into a brilliant pillar of light that pierced the sky. A divine dragon spread its golden wings, its massive form descending as if to blot out the very sun!
"The strongest, most wicked composite dragon in the world! Descend with the power to shatter fateFive-Headed Dragon, summon!"
[Five-Headed Dragon, ATK 5000]
The ceiling of Yu-Gi-Oh! base stats, the first five-way fusion in historyFive-Headed Dragon had arrived!
Yue Xuan looked up at the domineering dragon. He could feel an incredible pressure radiating from the elemental storm surrounding it. Even though players often joked that Five-Headed Dragon was "fodder that couldn't even serve as a wall," its presence as a real Duel Monster was quite imposing.
"Direct attack from Five-Headed Dragon!"
Delta's voice was a ragged howl.
The five mouths of the divine dragon opened simultaneously, condensing breaths of five different elements into a single, world-ending blast.
Yue Xuan's front row was empty. Facing the swirling vortex within the dragon's maws, he showed no fear, merely whispering to himself, "Even an AI's obsession can reach this level. As far as dueling goes, you are an opponent worthy of respect."
He paused and allowed a small smile to play across his lips.
"However..."
Yue Xuan waved his hand, and a vortex leading to his Graveyard opened before him.
"I activate the effect of Kuribohrn in my Graveyard."
Delta was stunned. "Kuribohrn? Since when... was that the card discarded last turn?"
"When an opponent's monster declares an attack, I can banish this card from the Graveyard to Special Summon any number of Kuriboh monsters from my Graveyard."
Yue Xuan pulled a card that had ejected from his Graveyard.
"I revive Winged Kuriboh from my Graveyard!"
[Winged Kuriboh, DEF 200]
"That thing again?" Delta clicked his tongue. "How persistent... Fine, a battle replay occurs. Five-Headed Dragon attacks Winged Kuriboh!"
"Don't be in such a rush," Yue Xuan smiled. "I still have this card. This is the latest research result from our laboratory, and it hasn't even been publicly released yet."
Ever since obtaining Raiza, Yue Xuan had established a specialized Monarch research team to develop and refine new cards for the archetype.
"What?" Delta felt a sudden, ominous premonition.
"Trap cardDark Advance!" Yue Xuan declared. "It allows me to add a monster with 2400 or more ATK and 1000 DEF from my Graveyard back to my hand. And immediately after that, I can Tribute Summon a monster with 2400 or more ATK and 1000 DEF from my hand."
Delta gasped.
A Tribute Summon during the opponent's turn?!
And a monster with exactly 2400 ATK and 1000 DEF... that could only be...
"Exactly. I return Raiza the Storm Monarch from my Graveyard to my hand," Yue Xuan said calmly. "Next, I offer the Winged Kuriboh on my field as a Tribute to perform a Tribute Summon! The Monarch who commands the wind descends once againRaiza the Storm Monarch, summon!"
Winged Kuriboh dissipated into golden motes of light as a green tempest erupted. The majestic, inviolable Monarch reappeared amidst the howling winds!
[Raiza the Storm Monarch, ATK 2400]
"And now, the effect of Raiza the Storm Monarch! When it is successfully summoned, I bounce one card on the field back to the top of the deck."
Yue Xuan pointed toward Delta's field.
"I return Five-Headed Dragon to the deck. Of course, since it's a Fusion Monster, it can't go to the top of the main deck; it returns to the Fusion Deck instead."
The Storm Monarch's hurricane exploded. The green gale negated the elemental vortex within the mouths of the five-headed beast, swallowing the dragon whole until it vanished completely into the wind.
For the fourth time.
Delta opened his mouth, staring at his empty field. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but the words died in his throat. His face was a mask of sorrow, grievance, and indignation.
How is this fair?
Bounced... again and again and again...
He had pushed himself past his limits, he had played beyond his capabilities...
Is this what they mean by an unshakeable fate?
"My turn. Draw."
Yue Xuan drew his card with absolute composure and then waved his hand.
"I activate my final face-down card: the trap Conscription. I check the top card of your deck. If it is a monster that can be summoned, I Special Summon it to my field. Otherwise, that card is added to your hand."
Delta's heart nearly stopped.
Still reeling from the frustration of the previous turn, Delta almost jumped out of his skin.
What?
Conscription?!
Checking the top card of his deck... wouldn't that card be...
"Now, let me see that top card of yours," Yue Xuan smiled.
"You... you bastard..."
Delta's face twitched.
Even though Delta didn't move, the card at the top of his deck automatically ejected, hovering in the air to reveal itself.
"Ha, what luck I have."
Yue Xuan caught the card as it flew into his hand and displayed it with a grin.
"It's actually Darkstorm Dragon. Just the thing I needed for a summon."
Delta: "..."
He swore that in all the time since he had been brought into this world, he had never wanted to punch someone as badly as he did right now.
"Now then, I Special Summon Darkstorm Dragon to my field."
[Darkstorm Dragon, ATK 2700]
Delta looked up. The monster his father had gifted himthe symbol of everything he carried on his shouldersnow stood on the opposite side of the field. In a trance, Delta felt as if he could see his father's shadow lingering behind the dragon.
The phantom stood across from him, staring with that same cold, knife-like gaze from his memories.
Delta opened his mouth again, but finally, he just shook his head bitterly.
"Battle. Raiza the Storm Monarch, Darkstorm Dragondirect attack!" Yue Xuan ordered.
Delta closed his eyes.
I'm sorry, Father. I really did my best.
But this opponent... he's not human...
[Delta, LP 3900 → LP 0]
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