"Dual Gate's effect: draw two cards."
Kira drew, then immediately played one of the cards he'd drawn.
"I activate the Spell Card 'Fiend's Sanctuary.' I Special Summon a 'Metal Fiend Token' to my field."
A magical barrier spread open, and a small metal demon made of countless tiny spheres appeared on Kira's field.
[Metal Fiend Token, ATK 0]
"Then I tribute 'Metal Fiend Token' to Tribute Summon a Level 6 monster—
—Storm Caller!"
A Level 6 psychic warrior. Waves of psychic force swept across the field as a green tempest rose up. A towering figure stepped forth from within the storm and landed with a heavy crash.
[Storm Caller, ATK 2300]
"Oh? Going straight into a Tribute Summon and attacking right away, huh?"
Trapper chuckled internally.
Good. The stronger the monster, the better. Come on, attack. Harder, harder.
Kira seemed not to notice what was going through his opponent's mind. He just raised his hand.
"Battle.
Storm Caller, attack 'Lure Phantom'!"
The Summoner spread his arms, and a storm of psychic wind howled forth. Green gales crackling with electricity surged toward the transparent phantom.
Trapper finally couldn't hold back the smirk tugging at his lips.
Here it comes.
"Ha ha ha ha, perfect timing!" Trapper laughed. "At this moment, Lure Phantom's effect activates!
When an opponent's monster declares an attack, I can return 'Lure Phantom' on the field to my hand, and in exchange, one attacking monster you control is also returned to your hand!"
Meanae clicked her tongue. "Knew it. That thing was a trap…"
"And that's not all!" Trapper laughed. "I also activate my face-down counter trap, 'Hunting Net'!
When an effect that returns a monster on your opponent's field to the hand is activated, this card can be activated. That opponent's monster is not returned to the hand, but is instead captured and placed in my Spell & Trap Zone, and it gains one 'Prey Counter'!"
The trap activated. The Storm Caller, his mind already muddled by the Lure Phantom, suddenly froze. From the trap card, a massive net shot forth.
It wrapped around the Storm Caller like a fisherman's net. The net tightened and yanked him back, dropping him into one of Trapper's Spell & Trap Zones.
Zaloog roared, "He actually stole the opponent's monster! This kind of dirty trick is way too low!"
But the moment he said it, Meanae elbowed him in the ribs and coughed twice.
Zaloog then remembered that, come to think of it, there probably wasn't a single person more low than their own boss…
The Trapper burst out laughing. "They say the Duel King's duels are something extraordinary, but it looks like you still can't properly show your stuff in front of a Spirit Hunter. That hard-earned Tribute monster got captured by me just like that."
He let out a dark chuckle.
"Well, that wasn't a spirit, so it's not that interesting. Rumor has it the Duel King can command countless powerful spirits. Why not bring them all out and let me have a look?"
"To snatch away my monster right off the bat… you really are a thoroughbred hunter."
Kira's tone was calm.
"I'll set one card in my back row and end my turn."
Trapper grew even more arrogant.
"Ending like that? Then you're in real danger now…
My turn. Draw!"
Trapper drew.
"I Normal Summon 'Malice Doll of Demise'!"
A creepy little doll straight out of a horror movie appeared, wielding an axe bigger than its entire body.
[Malice Doll of Demise, ATK 1600]
"Well, I'd love to have your monster attack you, but unfortunately, captured monsters have to stay trapped in the web and can't attack."
In the anime, the monster looked like it was caught in the capture net, but in terms of the rules, it was treated as a Spell/Trap card placed in the back row, similar to how Crystal Beasts worked.
Trapper continued, "So I'll have 'Malice Doll of Demise' attack you directly."
The doll's wild eyes rolled madly as its half-dislocated jaw flapped up and down. It rushed at Kira and brought its axe down in a heavy chop.
"I activate a trap," Kira said. "Trap Card 'Back to the Front.' I Special Summon one monster from my Graveyard in Defense Position.
I Special Summon this card from the Graveyard…"
He revealed the card he was reviving.
"'Flying Kamakiri #1,' in Defense Position."
A green dragonfly with huge eyes fluttered onto Kira's field, its wings beating so fast they became a blur.
[Flying Kamakiri #1, DEF 900]
"Using a little trash monster as a wall, huh?" Trapper scoffed. "Cursed Doll, chop it apart."
The axe came down in a brutal swing. Flying Kamakiri #1 was split cleanly in two, and both halves scattered into golden dust.
"Flying Kamakiri #1's monster effect," Kira said. "When it's destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon one WIND monster with 1500 ATK or less from my Deck in Attack Position."
Kira drew out the card that popped out of his deck.
"I Special Summon 'Matriarch of Nephthys' from my deck."
A green whirlwind rose, then suddenly ignited, turning into a storm of fire. When the fiery wind dispersed, a curvaceous female spellcaster clad in golden armor appeared, flames dancing in her palms.
[Matriarch of Nephthys, ATK 600]
"Nephthys?"
Trapper frowned.
He'd heard of the Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys—a pretty powerful rare monster. But he wasn't familiar with the Nephthys-archetype as a whole.
Still, at the end of the day, it was just a 600-ATK little spellcaster…
Trapper: "I'll set one card and end my turn."
He didn't re-summon Lure Phantom this turn. One reason was that he needed to go on the offensive and deal damage. Another was that he'd already used the Phantom once, and now that its effect was exposed, it was much less valuable.
Lure Phantom was a gotcha kind of card that needed the opponent to attack into it. It worked best when the opponent didn't know what it did. Once they learned its effect, they wouldn't attack it so easily, and its value dropped sharply.
But that was fine.
Trapper's gaze slid toward his set back row, and he kept sneering inwardly.
Trappers had way more tricks than just the ones he'd already shown. He'd already dug another pit and was just waiting for his prey to jump in.
For hunters, winning the duel wasn't the only goal. The more important part was plunder. They were the predators; spirits were the prey. Snatching away the opponent's spirits mid-duel, watching them rage helplessly, breaking the bond between duelist and spirit to disrupt the opponent's performance—sometimes, they could even win without really fighting.
"My turn. Draw."
Kira drew, his hand pausing for a moment. He slowly lifted his gaze.
"Since you're so obsessed with spirits… fine. Works out perfectly, actually."
He narrowed his eyes and smiled.
"Then I'll summon a spirit on my side too. One that's absolutely unique in this world, a one-of-a-kind, ultra-rare spirit just for you."