"Then it's my turn. Draw."
It was now Kira's turn.
"I Set 1 monster face-down in Defense Position," Kira said. "Then I Set 1 card in my back row. Turn end."
Jim thought for a moment.
So he's going second and still doesn't go on the offensive. Is he just giving me a chance to show my stuff?
Or is he digging a pit and waiting for me to jump in…?
Jim shook his head.
No point overthinking it. Focus on my own Duel first.
"My turn, draw!" Jim said. "I Tribute 'Shell Knight' to Tribute Summon! Appear—
—Twinheaded Beast!"
A flaming centaur, but with two lion heads as its upper body, each wreathed in blazing fire.
[Twinheaded Beast, ATK 1700]
"Battle. First, Twinheaded Beast attacks your face-down monster!"
The beast's right lion head roared; its right hand formed a fireball and hurled it through the air. The flames smashed straight into Kira's set card, which flipped up to reveal a small but somewhat ominous-looking bird.
[An Owl of Luck, DEF 500]
It looked like a white-feathered owl.
"An Owl of Luck, Flip Effect," Kira said. "I choose 1 Field Spell from my Deck and place it on top of my Deck."
Jim frowned.
A monster that searches a Field Spell…
He knew very well that a lot of decks couldn't function without their Field Spells, and some Fields were outright the absolute core of a strategy. He still didn't know what kind of deck his opponent was using, but he definitely couldn't just let him grab his Field for free if he could stop it.
"Then I activate my set card!" Jim said. "Counter Trap 'Face-Off'."
"In the Damage Step when a monster effect, Spell, or Trap is activated during battle, I can activate this. That activation is negated, and that card is destroyed!'"
Kira nodded. "An Owl of Luck's effect is a Flip Effect that triggers when it's attacked, which is still within the Damage Step. So 'Face-Off' can indeed be activated."
"So An Owl of Luck's effect is negated," Jim said with a small, triumphant smile. "Looks like you won't be getting that Field Spell you wanted. Too bad."
"Yeah," Kira nodded, putting on a regretful look.
As they spoke, the An Owl of Luck was destroyed by the Face-Off's might, dissolving into nothing but drifting feathers.
"And I'm not done yet." Jim tipped his hat and continued with a grin. "Twinheaded Beast's monster effect:
Once per Battle Phase, it can attack twice!"
Jim swept his arm out.
"Twinheaded Beast's second swing! Go—this time, attack Kira directly!"
The beast's second head also let out a roar, spewing flames. Kira slowly raised an arm to shield himself; the fire washed over him, and the holograms made it look like he was being engulfed in a sea of fire.
[Kira, LP 3500 → 1800]
"Nice!" Jim was excited.
He'd dealt a huge chunk of damage in one go; this Duel was going much more smoothly than he'd imagined…
But then he heard Kira say, "I activate my face-down card. Trap Card 'Damage Condenser'."
"When I take battle damage, I can discard 1 card from my hand to activate it."
Kira sent a card from his hand to the GY.
"Then I can Special Summon 1 monster from my Deck with ATK equal to or less than the battle damage I took—in this case, 1700 or less—in Attack Position."
A beam of light shot from his Deck into his Duel Disk, landing on his field and forming a somewhat disturbing shape—like a giant tongue with a grotesque eye growing on it.
[Tongue-Twister, ATK 400]
Jim frowned. "You only summoned a monster with 400 ATK…"
He knew there had to be a trick to it, but after mulling it over for a couple of seconds, he chose not to dwell on it and continued his plays after ending the Battle Phase.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card 'Card of Heaven and Earth'," Jim said. "I can only activate this in a turn where I performed a Tribute Summon.
I draw 2 cards from my Deck. The cards I draw can't be used this turn, and if any of them can be set, I must set at least 1 this turn." (Manga card)
Jim drew 2 cards, then slowly ran a finger across the hand he was now holding, finally picking out one card.
"I Set 1 card. Turn end."
"Then it's my turn. Draw," Kira said.
He drew, then revealed a card in his hand. A dignified man wearing a jackal-shaped mask appeared on his field in translucent, ghost-like form, a blue scarf billowing around him.
"I activate the effect of 'Gravekeeper's Commandant' in my hand," Kira said. "I discard this card to the GY to add 1 'Necrovalley' from my Deck to my hand."
He sent the revealed Commandant to the GY, took the card ejected from his Duel Disk, briefly showed it, then added it to his hand.
"I add the Field Spell 'Necrovalley' from my Deck to my hand."
A slot on the side of his Duel Disk popped open.
"Field Spell 'Necrovalley'—activate!"
The ground rumbled. The forest and the night sky vanished in thick, rolling smoke. In their place rose towering mountain ridges, piled up so densely they almost covered the sky. The sunlight was smothered by ashen clouds, as if this were an absolute forbidden zone where even light could not reach.
"Necrovalley… I see. So that An Owl of Luck earlier was trying to fetch this Field?" Jim murmured.
That would mean this Field Spell must have some kind of critical role. But since it was his first time seeing it, he couldn't accurately judge what it did yet…
Kira, however, offered no further explanation; he simply continued.
"Then I Tribute 'Tongue-Twister' to Tribute Summon!
Emperor who rules over light and thunder, shatter any foe that stands in your way with your mighty bolts—
—Zaborg the Thunder Monarch, Summon!"
A domineering white figure slowly descended from the sky. The cloak of the imposing monarch billowed wildly behind him as lightning coiled around his form, surging at his command like a thunderous army charging into battle!
[Zaborg the Thunder Monarch, ATK 2400]
Twinheaded Beast was struck in an instant, blasted to pieces by the crashing thunder.
Jim raised his arm to shield himself from the shock wave, gritting his teeth. "That'd be Zaborg's monster effect, huh…"
"Correct." Kira smiled. "When Zaborg the Thunder Monarch is Tribute Summoned, he destroys 1 monster on the field."
"I see." Jim smiled back. "The famous Monarch series—its power is indeed something you can feel firsthand."
"Also, when Tongue-Twister is Tributed and sent to the GY, I can draw 2 cards from my Deck."
Kira drew 2 cards.
Originally, Tongue-Twister would then have to banish itself from the GY after those 2 draws. But with Necrovalley on the field, cards in the GY cannot be banished, so that part of the effect simply doesn't resolve.
"Now I'll enter the Battle Phase," Kira said.
"I attack you directly with Zaborg the Thunder Monarch!"
…