Chapter 220
From her place in the crowd, Kaiba Chiha stared at the card now sitting inside her sister's monster zone.
Ivaliss, Phantom Rupture.
The sight of it brought complicated feelings. That was the same card that had shut her own field down until she could barely breathe during her own duel against Amano. Watching it deployed against her sister was a strange thing to experience.
With Special Summons locked by Ivaliss, the instant Kaiba Chiaki declared the end of her Battle Phase, Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon self-destructed.
Without that intervention, the situation would have been catastrophic. Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's three consecutive attacks, followed immediately by De-Fusion splitting it back into three Blue-Eyes White Dragons for three more, would have landed six direct blows on Amano in a single turn. The result would likely have looked like every challenger before him: a one-sided, crushing elimination.
Chiaki looked at the Ivaliss card sitting inside her own monster zone.
"No Special Summons except Link Summons." She turned the thought over carefully. "You actually carry something like this, Amano."
Inside Eden Tower, the Extra Monster Zone almost never existed. From any modern dueling perspective, Ivaliss looked like a card that belonged to a completely different era.
And yet, somehow, that description fit Amano Rei more precisely than anything else she could have said.
"Ending this on the very first exchange would bore me," Chiaki said, the faintest edge of a smile crossing her lips. "Let's keep going."
After declaring the end of the Battle Phase, she drew a monster from her hand. Her Normal Summon for the turn had not been used yet.
The solution was simple. Just as Amano had used Ivaliss to lock her out, she would use the oldest mechanic in the game to unlock it.
"I release Ivaliss, Phantom Rupture as a Tribute and Tribute Summon. Crystal Dragon."
Crystal Dragon: Level 6 Dragon-type Effect Monster. Attack: 2500. Defense: 1000.
A single Tribute was all it required. The Special Summon restriction was a wall for everything except the most fundamental Summon in the game. Crystal Dragon stepped right through it, its 2500 attack points placing it in the same tier as Summoned Skull, which had once carried the title of the strongest single-Tribute monster in existence.
"I set one card face-down. Turn end."
Amano noted the backrow. Chiaki now had two face-down cards between her previous setup and the new set. One of them was almost certainly De-Fusion, given that she had let it slip herself earlier in the duel. She only had herself to blame for that piece of information.
"My turn. Draw."
The moment Amano drew, the Continuous Spell sitting in his Spell and Trap Zone activated in the same breath.
The Will of the Commoners read: During your Draw Phase, if the card you draw is a Normal Monster, you may reveal it to your opponent and draw one additional card.
"The card I drew is Unicycler, a Normal Monster. I reveal it for an additional draw."
His second pull did not hit a Normal Monster, but the Draw Phase was far from finished.
"During my Draw Phase, I activate my face-down Trap Card. Commoner's Charity."
Commoner's Charity read: Draw two cards from your deck. Then banish one Normal Monster from your hand. If you have no Normal Monsters in your hand, send your entire hand to the Graveyard instead.
Between The Will of the Commoners and Commoner's Charity, the Draw Phase turned into a filtering engine. Every Normal Monster drawn was another trigger, another free card, another small piece of the puzzle slowly taking shape.
"From the two cards I draw, one is a Normal Monster, Goblin Familiar. I can reveal it and draw once more."
The cards accumulated steadily. Nothing flashy. Nothing legendary. Just the honest weight of resources built up one at a time, the way someone learns to value things when nothing comes easily.
"Next, I activate the effect of White Ecclesia the Virtuous from my hand."
White Ecclesia's effect read: When your opponent controls more monsters than you do, this card can be Special Summoned from the hand.
Chiaki had Crystal Dragon. Amano's field was empty. The condition was satisfied without question.
The armored saint materialized on Amano's side of the field, her traveling clothes road-worn and practical compared to the stiff ceremonial armor of her dueling prime, looking more like someone who had made a difficult escape than someone who had arrived in triumph. But she was here. That was what mattered.
Ecclesia: "My turn already?"
In the audience, Masayo blinked. "Wait, is that not Sister's card?"
Ryoushuu's voice came flat and precise: "That card is mine."
There was a significant difference between a White Ecclesia and a Dogmatika Ecclesia, and one of them had nothing whatsoever to do with the other.
After Ecclesia's Special Summon, Amano placed another card onto the field.
"I Normal Summon Goblin Familiar in Defense Position."
Goblin Familiar was a Level 4 DARK Fiend. Attack: 1300. Defense: 1400. No effects. It was the kind of card that existed purely to be present on the field, a body and nothing else. But Amano was here representing Synchro Academy. Even the weakest monster had a purpose when hope was being gathered into something larger.
"I tune Level 4 Tuner White Ecclesia the Virtuous with Level 4 Goblin Familiar."
Four Synchro rings blazed into existence around Ecclesia as her tuning energy built.
"Crimson flames shall consume the heavens. Bear witness to the moment heaven and earth crack apart."
"Synchro Summon! Level 8! My soul! Red Dragon King!"
The scarlet dragon descended in a burst of fire with one hand pointing skyward, 3000 attack and 2500 defense. This was the first time since the Jack Atlas Chronicle that Red Dragon King could use its first effect properly, on a legitimate Synchro Summon.
Red Dragon King's first effect read: When this card is Synchro Summoned, add one card whose name includes Red Dragon Archfiend from your deck to your hand.
"I add Absolute Authority from my deck to my hand."
The search completed, and Amano moved into the Battle Phase.
Red Dragon King's claws swept forward, trailing scarlet fire.
"Absolute Sovereign Impact!"
"Trap Card activate." Chiaki's hand turned over the face-down.
"Shield of Conspiracy."
Shield of Conspiracy was an Equip Trap. When activated, it attached itself to one of her monsters. The equipped monster could not be destroyed by battle once per turn, and all battle damage from that combat dropped to zero. A shield bearing the Kaiba family crest materialized in front of Crystal Dragon and absorbed the impact completely.
The attack landed. The Dragon did not break.
Amano set four cards to his back row and passed.
The crowd murmured. Four face-downs after already burning through draws meant the hand was fuller than it looked. Chiaki noted each of them carefully as she drew for her turn.
Whatever was coming, she would handle it. She always did.
"Spell Card, Dark Factory of Mass Production."
Dark Factory of Mass Production read: Target two Normal Monsters in your Graveyard. Add them to your hand.
The two Blue-Eyes White Dragons she had sent to the Graveyard answered the summons, sliding back into her grip.
"Spell Card, Graceful Charity. I draw three and discard two."
When the draw and discard resolved, Chiaki held a Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
She turned it to face Amano.
"The hand effect of Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon."
Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon's effect read: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. It can be Special Summoned from the hand by revealing one Blue-Eyes White Dragon in your hand to your opponent.
A streak of white light answered the reveal. Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon materialized at 3000 attack and 2500 defense, its name treated as Blue-Eyes White Dragon in every zone.
Shio's voice drifted down from the stands. "Another monster with the same attack points as Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
Sakuya, seated beside her: "It also looks like Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
Finesse: "Because it is Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
All three of them had a point.
Chiaki considered using Alternative White Dragon's effect to destroy Red Dragon King outright. She decided against it. Red Dragon King's second effect activated precisely in response to an opponent's monster effect: it banished itself from the field to Special Summon Red Dragon Archfiend from the Extra Deck as a Synchro Summon at double its original attack, immune to opponent's card effects. Using the destruction effect would only accelerate the problem.
Dragon against dragon. She would do it the right way.
"I activate the hand effect of Chronicle Magician."
Chronicle Magician's effect read: When a monster with an original attack or defense of 2500 is Summoned to your field, this card can be Special Summoned from the hand in Defense Position.
Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon's defense was precisely 2500. Chronicle Magician floated into place beside it, robes trailing, its open grimoire cycling through centuries of accumulated duel records.
"When Chronicle Magician is successfully Special Summoned, I target one Blue-Eyes White Dragon or Dark Magician on my field. That monster gains 2500 attack and defense points until the end of the turn."
The recorded weight of every legendary battle between the white dragon and the dark magician across three thousand years poured into Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon. Victories and losses compressed into a single surge of amplified power.
Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon: 3000 attack becomes 5500.
"When Chronicle Magician's effect activates," Amano said immediately, "I chain Red Dragon King's second effect."
Red Dragon King's second effect read: When an opponent's monster activates its effect, banish this card from the field. Then, Special Summon one Red Dragon Archfiend from your Extra Deck as a Synchro Summon. That Synchro Monster's attack becomes double its original. It cannot be destroyed by the opponent's card effects.
"Witness the power that shakes heaven and earth. My soul! Red Dragon Archfiend!"
Red Dragon Archfiend blazed onto the field, its 3000 base attack doubling to 6000, armored against every effect the opponent could throw at it.
Chiaki did not slow down.
"Quick-Play Spell, Cavalry Charge. Blue-Eyes gains 1500 attack."
Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon: 5500 becomes 7000.
"My Normal Summon for this turn. I Tribute Chronicle Magician and Tribute Summon my second Crystal Dragon."
With that, two Crystal Dragons took their places alongside a Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon burning at 7000 attack.
A silence fell over the arena as the audience processed what they were looking at.
"Battle Phase." Chiaki's voice cut through it. "Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon attacks Red Dragon Archfiend."
The scaled missile of compressed white light tore across the field.
"Burst Variant Stream Blast!"
"I activate the set card, Absolute Authority."
Absolute Authority read: Target one Red Dragon Archfiend on your field. During this turn, when that monster battles, until the end of the Damage Step, the following apply: the targeted monster gains 1000 attack. The opponent cannot activate Spell, Trap, or monster effects. When the targeted monster attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing battle damage. All battle damage your opponent takes from that battle is doubled.
Red Dragon Archfiend: 6000 becomes 7000.
Both dragons stood at 7000 attack points.
The stage floor cracked.
White radiance and scarlet fire converged with enough force to send fractures running across the gold-paved arena floor. The shockwave twisted into a cyclone of red and white that swept over the front rows of the audience, scattering programs and tournament pamphlets in every direction.
Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon was destroyed. Red Dragon Archfiend was destroyed.
The field went silent.
Students throughout the arena had simply stopped cheering. They stared.
"This is the best duel I have ever watched."
"There is no way I could ever pull off a single exchange like that."
"But it looks like Kaiba Chiaki has the advantage now."
They were not wrong. Amano's field was empty. Chiaki still had two Crystal Dragons standing at 2500 attack each. Both were more than enough to finish the job.
Chiaki did not wait.
"Direct attack. Crystal Dragon. Crystal Impact!"
The first Crystal Dragon launched its crystalline volley across the empty field.
"Trap Card, Counter Gate."
Counter Gate read: When an opponent declares a direct attack, negate that attack. Then draw one card from your deck. If the drawn card is a monster, it can be Normal Summoned in Attack Position.
The gate appeared in front of Amano and absorbed the Crystal Impact, converting the energy into something more useful.
"I negate Crystal Dragon's attack. And now I draw."
Amano looked at the card in his hand.
Drawing a god with Counter Gate. Apparently that was just how things went.
Timelords were gods, technically speaking. Gabrion took its name from Gabriel, the archangel, one of the great divine messengers of mythology.
"I Normal Summon, Level 10. Come out, Gabrion, the Timelord."
A pillar of serene blue-white light rose from Amano's side of the field, massive enough to draw gasps from every section of the audience. An angelic form resolved within it, enormous and utterly still.
Gabrion, the Timelord: Level 10 WATER Angel. Attack: 0. Defense: 0.
Gabrion's first passive effect read: When you control no other monsters, this card can be Normal Summoned without Tributes.
Amano's field had been empty. The condition held.
Up above on Synchro Academy's Gold Stage, Rin Seiya had been standing motionless at her post all morning. She squinted across at the Fusion arena.
"What is that? It is enormous."
She had no reference for it. The 5D's episodes covering the Timelords were among those still missing from her collection.
"Direct attack." Chiaki called the second Crystal Dragon forward. "Crystal Impact!"
The attack landed squarely on Gabrion's towering form.
Nothing happened.
The 2500-point blast dissolved as if it had struck open sky.
"Gabrion, the Timelord's shared passive effect," Amano said.
The shared effect read: This card cannot be destroyed by battle or by card effects. Battle damage from this card's battles becomes zero for both players.
For a duelist encountering a Timelord for the first time, attacking it was completely understandable. A 0-attack target sitting in Attack Position was practically an invitation.
"However," Chiaki said smoothly, "Crystal Dragon's effect still activates after battle."
Crystal Dragon's first effect read: Once per turn, after this card has battled, during this turn's Battle Step, add one Level 8 Dragon-type monster from your deck to your hand.
That was fair. The attack had been declared, the search was earned.
Chiaki declared the end of the Battle Phase.
"At the end of the Battle Phase," Amano said, "the effect of Gabrion, the Timelord activates."
Gabrion's third effect read: When this card battles and the Battle Phase ends, activate the following effect: return all cards on your opponent's field to the owner's deck. Then, your opponent draws a number of cards equal to the number of cards returned this way.
The blue pillar exhaled its stored energy in a single, total sweep. The wave moved across Chiaki's entire field without distinction. Both Crystal Dragons, both face-down Spell and Trap Cards, every piece of Chiaki's board dissolved free from the field and funneled back into her deck.
When the light cleared, Kaiba Chiaki's field was bare. She drew four cards.
The arena was completely silent.
Then the noise came all at once.