"I activate the Spell Card 'Creature Swap'!"
Professor Bonaparte's Spell card flared to life.
"Creature Swap: I choose one monster on my field, then the opponent must also choose one monster on their field. We exchange control of the chosen monsters, de aru!"
Kira had used this card often in the past, so he was very familiar with it. He nodded.
"However, in a free-for-all mode, your 'opponent's side' isn't just one person from your perspective. So for effects like this, the player activating the card has to specify which 'opponent' the effect targets."
"I'm aware of that," Bonaparte said gravely. "I designate Professor Crowler as the target of 'Creature Swap'!
I choose to trade the 'Toy Soldier' I revived with Iron Call!"
On Kira's side, two Worms remained. If Bonaparte had targeted Kira, then even though Victory looked terrifying with 12,500 ATK, it was currently chained by Gulliver Chain and stuck in Defense Position, making it useless for the moment. Besides, Victory's attack depended on having a lot of Worms in the Graveyard. Bonaparte had no Worms in his Graveyard, so even if he did gain control of it, it would just be a 0-ATK scrub.
On Crowler's side, though, there was only one monster on the field. So Crowler didn't hesitate.
"Then I'll trade 'Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem' for 'Toy Soldier'!"
Everyone watching was visibly moved.
Professor Crowler actually traded his Ultimate Golem for a tiny monster with only 800 attack… No, it was even more than that. Monsters revived by Iron Call had their effects negated and were automatically destroyed at the end of the turn.
In other words, Crowler had basically let Professor Bonaparte use his ace for free. If Bonaparte failed to finish the duel this turn, Crowler would be left with an empty field going into Kira's turn.
In that case, Crowler might be eliminated before Bonaparte.
"I can't believe these two can cooperate to this extent," Tyranno muttered. "Hard to imagine."
"As expected, this proves that people only truly unite when they're facing a sufficiently powerful common enemy," Misawa said.
"Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem, attack 'Worm Victory'!" Bonaparte shouted.
Despite Victory's attack having exceeded ten thousand, its Defense did not increase with the number of Worms in the Graveyard.
[Worm Victory, DEF 2500]
"Ultimate Golem inherits the abilities of Ancient Gear Golem," Crowler explained from the side. "While it's attacking, the opponent still can't activate any Spells or Traps!
And when it attacks a Defense Position monster, if its ATK exceeds that monster's DEF, it inflicts piercing damage!"
Ultimate Golem's fist shot out, electric arcs coiling around it like writhing serpents. The blow roared forth like an electromagnetic cannon.
Crowler and Professor Bonaparte shouted in unison:
"Ultimate Ancient Gear Heavy Fist!!!"
It truly felt as if both their powers had been poured into that single punch. Carrying unstoppable momentum and a raging torrent of electromagnetic energy, the fist slammed down!
Victory's tough carapace cracked open under the blow. The electromagnetic storm flooded into its body, exploding from the inside out and instantly blowing the bizarre alien to pieces.
[Kira, LP 3600 → LP 1700]
"We did it!"
The two professors were almost moved to tears. When they looked at each other, their eyes were filled with complicated emotion.
Even they themselves had never imagined that these lifelong rivals would see such a day.
That Worm Victory, which had seemed nearly invincible with more than ten thousand attack, had finally fallen. And it took both of them to accomplish it—a feat neither could have achieved alone.
"Don't get ahead of yourselves yet, professors. That battle isn't done resolving," Kira said with a smile.
"Continuous Trap—'Damage = Reptile'!"
Both professors froze.
"Wait," Professor Bonaparte protested. "Ultimate Golem's attack effect stops you from activating Traps—"
"I know," Kira said. "But Ancient Gear Golem's effect is: 'Until the end of the Damage Step, your opponent cannot activate Spell or Trap Cards.'
However, 'Damage = Reptile' is a Trap that cannot be activated during the Damage Step to begin with. It's a Continuous Trap—I'd already activated it before the attack declaration. Its effect only triggers when battle damage is inflicted."
The two professors exchanged a look. Their excitement had already shifted back toward anxiety.
They both had the sinking feeling that the victory which had seemed so close a moment ago was about to slip away.
"Once per turn, when battle involving a Reptile-Type monster causes me to take battle damage, I can activate its effect," Kira explained. "I Special Summon from my Deck one Reptile-Type monster whose ATK is less than or equal to the damage I took."
"Just now, the damage was 1900," Crowler said.
"A Reptile with 1900 or less attack won't be a match for my Toy Emperor, de aru!" Bonaparte declared.
"That's not necessarily true," Kira said, striking a stylish pose that made both professors tense up.
"For a Reptile with 1900 ATK or less, the one I'll summon is this—"
Kira's Deck automatically searched. A dark current surged from it, a card shooting out and slamming down onto his field, its projection condensing into a towering upright serpent.
Dark energy roiled, forming a blood-red cloak behind the giant. Countless writhing serpent heads formed its fingers. Its crimson eyes gleamed with a thirst for blood.
"Vennominon, the King of Poisonous Snakes—summon!"
Everyone shuddered.
The two professors' eyes nearly popped out of their heads, filled with shock.
That thing's ATK is 1900 or less!?
[Vennominon, the King of Poisonous Snakes, ATK 0]
"Vennominon can't be Special Summoned by the effect of Effect Monsters other than itself," Kira said with a grin. "But that restriction only applies to 'monster effects.'
'Damage = Reptile' is a Trap effect, not a monster effect. So it can Special Summon the King of Poisonous Snakes just fine."
The two professors instantly understood.
Vennominon's base attack was 0, so as long as he paired it with 'Damage = Reptile,' he could bring it out of the Deck any time he took battle damage—even if it was just a scratch.
And since 'Damage = Reptile' was a Continuous Trap, as long as it stayed on the field, its effect would keep working. In other words, that previous Worm Victory—whose base ATK was also 0—had also met the summoning condition.
Realizing this, both professors went pale.
In short, as long as Kira took any damage at all, he could immediately pull another zero-attack monster from his Deck that could become a monstrous high-attack threat.
If they weren't careful, every point of damage they inflicted would just be feeding the birth of another terrifying monster.